On this day, a woman who looked to be in her forties came to the gate of the Eighth Prince's Mansion. She was lying on the steps with tears in her eyes, leaning on a cane with one hand. She was dressed like a beggar, but she stared intently at the plaque of the Eighth Prince's Mansion.
Then she suddenly cried out, "My daughter, my daughter, I've been searching for you for so long!"
When the guard who opened the door saw the beggar arrive, he quickly chased him away.
"Go away, go away, this is not a place for you to run wild," the guard said.
The woman shouted, "I am Xu Lingqing's biological mother. She is my daughter. I have inquired and she is in here."
This shout immediately attracted the attention of many people.
Especially the passersby, who would follow the lead of what they heard.
"Is this the Eighth Prince's biological mother?"
Why are you dressed like that?
The guards didn't believe it at all: "Nonsense! How could you possibly be the princess's biological mother? Where did this stinking beggar come from, daring to claim kinship with someone else!"
The guards punched and kicked the woman.
The woman covered her head and wailed, "Xu Lingqing really is my daughter. I got separated from her and stumbled my way back to her. I am from Xingshan Village and I would never lie."
Seeing that she spoke with such conviction, the guards stopped and looked at each other in bewilderment.
"The Eighth Princess Consort is a peasant girl from Xingshan Village. Could she really be her biological mother?"
"I think their eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar."
The woman revealed her delicate features and shouted to the people outside, "I really am Xu Lingqing's mother. Fellow villagers, if I were to impersonate her, wouldn't I be courting death?"
"Twenty years ago, right after I gave birth to Xu Lingqing, my husband was taken away to fight in the war. He was gone for several years. Later, news came back that he had died. I raised my only daughter all by myself with great difficulty. In order to embezzle the pension money given by the imperial court, the Xu family sold me to a human trafficker, forcibly separating my daughter and me. I fled all the way back from a remote place. Three years ago, I returned to Xingshan Village and heard that my daughter had gone to the north. I chased after her all the way to the north and heard that she had returned to the capital. I almost died on the way, but fortunately, I met a kind person who gave me a ride, and that's how I made it back to the capital."
The woman was eloquent and quickly explained why she had come to the capital to find her daughter at this time.
"My daughter is my lifeblood, I can't live without her..." the woman cried uncontrollably.
This angered many ordinary people.
"All mothers in the world have the same heart. The Xu family is too wicked, forcibly separating family members." Someone cursed.
"Orphans and widows are helpless and at the mercy of others."
"well!"
Seeing that something was wrong, the guard quickly reported it to the steward. The steward was terrified when he heard this and went to Tanghua Pavilion again.
Xu Lingqing was sitting at the table, concentrating on copying scriptures, when suddenly her eyelids twitched.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, something terrible has happened!" the steward shouted.
Snap!
A drop of thick ink splashed onto the paper, ruining the almost-finished copy of the sutra.
She couldn't help but feel annoyed: "What on earth is causing such a panic?"
“There’s a woman outside who claims to be your mother. She’s dressed rather haphazardly, and quite a few people are watching the spectacle.”
Xu Lingqing frowned: "Nonsense, I'm an orphan, where would I get a mother? Why are you bothering me with such a trivial matter?"
The steward said with a bitter face, "Your Highness, you should still go and see for yourself. What this person is saying sounds very convincing."
"You scoundrel!" Xu Lingqing said unhappily.
After thinking for a moment, she stood up and went out to take a look. When she went out, she saw a lot of people standing outside. She saw a woman talking animatedly about the hardships she had experienced during childbirth.
"Lady Liu, look who that is!" someone reminded her.
When Lady Liu came to her senses, she saw that Xu Lingqing and Huamei were dressed very similarly. Huamei was even standing in front of Xu Lingqing, looking more like the matriarch of the family.
But Lady Liu rushed straight to Xu Lingqing, bypassing Huamei: "Daughter! Your mother has finally found you. You are indeed more beautiful now than when you were seven or eight."
Xu Lingqing frowned.
She deliberately had Huamei dress up similarly to herself, hoping that Lady Liu would mistake her for someone else. Unexpectedly, Lady Liu found her accurately.
Reeking of foul odor, Lady Liu hugged Xu Lingqing tightly, almost making Xu Lingqing vomit: "Lingqing, your mother has finally found you! How have you been?"
"you……"
Before he could speak, a familiar carriage stopped at the door. The curtain was lifted, and a man's broad back emerged. He got off the carriage and looked around with a furrowed brow.
The guard stepped forward to report.
Zhao Zhiyan understood.
Xu Lingqing panicked and pushed Lady Liu away, saying, "Your Highness, my mother died long ago. This is not my mother."
Lady Liu was pushed to the ground, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Xu Lingqing in disbelief: "Lingqing, you were already eight years old when I left you... Your grandmother must have made up a lie to deceive you. I didn't die; she drugged me and sold me!"
Perhaps it was Lady Liu's words that struck a chord with many people, for someone immediately became indignant: "That old woman Xu is truly wicked! She embezzled the compensation money and sold Lady Liu out, and what's even more despicable is that she slandered her in front of the Princess!"
"It's no wonder the princess misunderstood. It's normal not to recognize her. No mother in this world would mistake her own daughter. Fortunately, Lady Liu has finally found her daughter."
Xu Lingqing was so angry upon hearing this that she almost vomited blood. She pointed at Liu Niangzi and said, "Who sent you to slander me? My mother is no longer alive, and my grandmother passed away long ago."
"Lingqing, how did you grow up?" Lady Liu questioned.
Xu Lingqing choked abruptly, her eyes flashing with anger.
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