During the time that Concubine Wen was recuperating at the Qu Mansion, Mrs. Qu came to visit most of the time. Every time, she would hold her hand, and after a few words, she would burst into tears.
Her patience is limited, but she will not disobey her biological mother. Instead, she chooses to comfort her tirelessly.
"Miss, why did you go out today?!"
"Is it not possible?"
The maid immediately shook her head in surprise, "No! It's good news! I'll tell Madam right away!"
"Mother is old, please don't bother her or make her run around. I have things to do, and none of you are allowed to follow me."
"yes!"
After giving instructions to everyone, Noble Lady Wen went straight to the back mountain.
At the foot of the mountain is the residence of Concubine Jin's biological mother, Aunt Zhao. It has not changed over the years, and daily necessities are still arranged according to the original layout.
She slowly approached, and the hunched figure gradually became clearer.
"You're not dead yet? You're quite long-lived, aren't you?"
"Fifth Miss is back?!"
Aunt Zhao always put on a miserable face and begged everyone in the mansion in a humble manner.
This is also what Noble Lady Wen hates the most.
"Your daughter is a noble concubine in the palace, and I'm just a humble noble, yet you deliberately don't use honorifics?" She kicked him angrily, venting her anger. "You're truly the same lowly person!"
"My lady, please stop hitting me! I know I was wrong!"
"I heard that you had a good relationship with that bitch. You protected her from childhood, which saved her from physical pain." Noble Lady Wen squatted down and looked at the skinny woman in front of her. "But why didn't she promote you? She let you live in a doghouse and make a living in the Qu Mansion? Have you ever thought about the reason?"
Aunt Zhao shrank back: "This servant does not ask the Imperial Concubine to do anything, I just want to live a peaceful life..."
"Bah! Are you worthy?!"
She poured out the oil she had prepared in advance and lit the tinder. "After all these years, you're still living like a dog. Why not reincarnate sooner? Who knows, you might have a good life like your daughter, and in your next life, you won't be an official's concubine, but the emperor's favorite concubine."
"My lady, what did I do wrong? Are you trying to silence me?!"
"Seeing you reminds me of the freak I gave birth to, and then I think of how your daughter treated me! If it weren't for her interference, I would have a smart and clever prince by my side. Why would I still have to look at her face?!"
Aunt Zhao hurriedly explained, "That's not the case! Yao'er has loved children since she was a child, and there's absolutely no way she would let the young lady...ah!"
Noblewoman Wen pulled out a thin stick from the side and hit the woman's legs hard: "So what?! The deception created by the bitch can't be hidden from me! Today, I will let her taste what it feels like to be separated from life and death! You, go to hell!"
The small room was eventually reduced to ashes by the raging fire.
Many servants came to put out the fire, but none of them saw their fifth young lady running away.
Aunt Zhao's legs were broken and she had nowhere to escape. She was burned to death in the fire and her body was not intact.
When Qu Wenhe heard the news during dinner, he didn't even raise his eyelids: "Just find a grave and bury it. Why do you have to inform me about such a small matter?!"
Mrs. Qu on the side also had an indifferent expression: "She is patient in waiting for the imperial concubine to come back to fulfill her filial duties."
"How can a concubine deserve such courtesy? In the future, when the imperial concubine comes to visit her parents, she will pay her respects to you, her legitimate mother."
No one took this insignificant character seriously, except Concubine Jin.
"Your Majesty, I really haven't heard any news... Please don't ask any more questions!"
Tonight, she felt something was amiss with Qianwei. She hesitated several times and was distracted when she spoke. She kept asking questions, but was always blocked, which aroused her curiosity even more.
"Just tell me what you want, I won't blame you!"
"But your majesty, for the sake of the heir, please don't ask."
Concubine Jin asked tentatively, "Is it related to the Emperor? Or is it related to the newly promoted Concubine Jia?"
“Neither.”
"It has nothing to do with the entire harem?"
Qianwei shook her head again.
She breathed a sigh of relief: "If that's the case, I'm relieved. Speak now! I won't let things outside the palace cause me to get too upset and hurt myself."
"My Lady, there's news from the Qu Mansion."
"Oh? My fifth sister, who returned home to recuperate, is planning to re-enter the palace?"
Qian Wei hesitated for a long time and denied it again: "No, Concubine Wen hasn't mentioned coming back yet."
"What else could my father have asked me for?"
"Yes, Aunt Zhao is dead."
Concubine Jin was picking up flower branches leisurely. When she heard this, her scissors fell to the ground.
She asked in disbelief, "Who?! Is it Zhao Qiu?! Is it my mother?!"
"Yes, every word is clearly written." Qian Wei took out the letter with embarrassment. "Master has instructed that any letter with a seal in the upper right corner is read by this servant alone. I have considered it for a long time and feel that I should inform the Majesty."
Concubine Jin hurriedly took the letter, and after reading Qu Wenhe's description of a fire in the back mountain and Aunt Zhao's body being burned to pieces, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
Qian Wei was scared: "My Lady, don't do this! It's harmful to your health! If it makes the little prince uneasy, it will be my fault!"
"Mother treated me very well. Over the years, if it weren't for her protection, I might not have been able to survive in the Qu Mansion! I am now the emperor's favorite concubine, with considerable power, but I can't change my mother's status. Once a concubine, you will be nailed to the dogma for the rest of your life! To the point that she never asked for a better status until her death!"
Concubine Jin tried hard to control her emotions and recalled every detail of the mansion to Qianwei, feeling her heart bleeding.
She had once mentioned the imperial edict to Xie Yanci and had also considered removing Aunt Zhao from the household register. However, each of these actions proved so difficult to accomplish.
She didn't want to embarrass the emperor, but she received the news of her mother's death!
"My Lady, I will go to the kitchen to make you some soup to help you stay pregnant. Please lie down on the couch and stop crying."
"Go ahead."
Concubine Jin stopped crying and moved closer behind the curtain. "Did you hear that? My mother is dead. She died in that cannibalistic Qu Mansion! The foot of the mountain is already cold and damp. How could she have started a fire in such a place? I still have doubts."
"Don't cry, this isn't you."
"But I feel so bad, it would be better if I could suffer for you!"
The door to the secret passage was immediately opened, and a slender white finger blocked her red lips: "What nonsense are you talking about? I can't bear it. I can't bear it even if it is touched by the flame."
She vaguely saw the undisguised desire and hurriedly took a step back: "It's not convenient today. I feel uncomfortable..."
"Coincidentally, what I am best at is bringing you from the abyss and swamp to the land of bliss."
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