Chapter 20 Killing Three Birds with One Stone
Following Aunt Liu into the inner room, Qiu He couldn't take her eyes off the sleeping child once they fell on him.
There is no need to prove anything, this is her brother's child.
The nose and mouth look like they were carved from the same mold.
Qiu He's legs were shaking, and she fell to the ground, staring at the child almost crazily.
The dead heart suddenly burned violently.
My brother's child.
She has another relative in this world.
She was no longer alone.
For fear of waking up the child, Qiu He didn't even dare to cry out loud, her tears just fell down.
Aunt Liu's eyes also turned red when she saw this, and she wiped away her tears silently.
After the two finished crying, the old woman looked at Ah Fu, and the three of them found a quiet place to sit down.
Qiu He couldn't wait to speak, "What on earth is going on?"
Lu Wanning glanced at Aunt Liu and took a sip of tea. "You should speak."
Aunt Liu nodded. "It's a long story. Back then, your brother and I were innocent and had no affair. It was just that I had stomach discomfort for a few days and was vomiting frequently. The quack doctor took my pulse and said I was pregnant. So, Master started to take better care of me."
"But the master's care has earned me the wife's resentment. She wants to get rid of the child in my womb."
"One day I woke up and found myself lying with your brother. I was terrified, but before we could react, the master rushed in with his men."
"You should know what happened later." Aunt Liu sighed softly.
The Chen family forced Concubine Liu to hang herself on the charge of adultery, while Qiu He's brother was beaten to death and thrown out of the family home, where he died unwillingly.
Qiu He's eyes were red. "Then how did this child come about, and how did you survive?"
"It was Miss Lu who helped me. She had just arrived at the Chen Mansion. When she heard Aunt An say that the master was going to force me to death, she gave me a fake death potion and told me to take it and fake suicide. When the people from the Chen Mansion arrived, she covered my face with a handkerchief. Hanging was not an elegant way to die, so Madam Chen naturally didn't dare to lift it to see."
"As for Ah Fu, I originally thought nothing had happened between your brother and I that day, but not long after I left, I found out I was pregnant. I calculated the date and found out it was your brother's."
She smiled bitterly, "I had no intention of remarrying, and since Madam Chen wanted to get rid of me and implicate your brother, I felt guilty, so I gave birth to Ah Fu."
At this point, Lu Wanning interrupted, "It's not just because she wants to get rid of you. Madam Chen is clearly using a strategy that kills three birds with one stone."
"Liang Changhuai was too straightforward. He discovered that Madam Chen had misappropriated the Chen Mansion's assets to supplement her family's income and planned to report this to Master Chen. This is what brought about his own death."
Qiu He gritted her teeth when she heard this, "This vicious woman!"
Lu Wanning took the opportunity to extend an olive branch, "Now, are you planning to join forces with me?"
"How do you want to do this?"
"It's very simple." Lu Wanning turned around and looked at Aunt Liu, then said with a smile, "It's just to let her suffer the consequences of her own actions and repent for the bad things she has done over the years."
…
After a sleepless night, Qiu He looked extremely tired. Madam Chen skimmed the foam from her tea and glanced at her. "You must be feeling unwell. Why do you look so unwell?"
Qiu He shook her head, forcing a smile as she handed the freshly cooked lotus seed soup to Madam Chen. "Last night, a wild cat from nowhere meowed outside the room for a long time. I'm a light sleeper and was woken up several times."
Mrs. Chen nodded. "It's nothing much, you can just go and rest for a while."
"I'm not tired."
As she listened to Mrs. Chen's concerned words, she could not associate her with that vicious person.
It was a pity that she had served her enemy so carefully for so many years. If her brother knew about this, he would probably be so angry that he would open the coffin and slap her twice.
Seeing Mrs. Chen drink two mouthfuls of lotus seed soup, Qiu He lowered her eyes.
"This lotus seed soup is quite good today. Did you make it yourself? It's much thicker than the ones I made a few days ago."
"I remember Madam said before that the lotus seed soup in the room was not to your liking. I thought I'd give it a try today. If Madam likes it, I'll make it for you from now on."
"Okay." Mrs. Chen nodded and drank the whole bowl of lotus seed soup.
After instructing Qiu He to go to Lian Fang Pavilion to get the newly made clothes, Mrs. Chen sighed as she left, "It seems like it's time for Qiu He to get married, right?"
Mother Gui nodded, "Madam, do you already have a candidate in mind?"
"Butler Liu's distant nephew is quite good," Madam Chen said slowly. "She's stayed with me for so long, and now it's almost time. I've always felt uneasy when I saw her these past two years. The sooner she's gone, the sooner she can rest in peace."
"Keeping her by your side for the past two years is enough to prove your kindness and clear conscience," Mother Gui agreed.
Before her death, Concubine Liu cried out for injustice. The master was reluctant to part with the fetus in Concubine Liu's belly, but also had doubts about it. After Concubine Liu committed suicide, the master placed his suspicion on her.
In order to prove her innocence and that the affair between Liang Changhuai and Aunt Liu had nothing to do with her, Mrs. Chen asked Liang Changhuai's sister Qiuhe to come and serve her.
This is to dispel Mr. Chen's suspicion and establish his own compassionate personality.
This really worked. Even Qiu He had never doubted her in the two years she had been with her.
But recently, maybe it was because she was a little tired, she always felt confused. Maybe sending Qiuhe away would make her feel better.
The wedding date is getting closer, and Aunt An has been coming to Lu Wanning's room more often in the past few days.
I am very dissatisfied with Lu Wanning for being out all the time these days.
Just after coming back from outside, she saw the maidservant beside Aunt An in the yard winking at her as soon as she saw her. Lu Wanning nodded and quietly peeked in to take a look.
As a result, Aunt An happened to be looking outside, and the two of them looked at each other. Aunt An immediately glared at her, "Look for yourself, which bride is running out when she is about to get married?"
Lu Wanning nodded with a smile and handed the newly bought yam cake to Aunt An. "Didn't Aunt An want to eat yam cake yesterday?"
Aunt An immediately lost her temper and angrily said to her, "How can yam cake be as important as your marriage?"
Knowing that Lu Wanning was careless in this regard, she carefully went over all the etiquette and rules for the wedding day with Lu Wanning again. After finishing, she frowned, feeling that there was something she had overlooked.
After pondering for a moment without coming up with any clues, he took a bite of the yam cake and suddenly realized something. He asked Lu Wanning unexpectedly, "Have you read the booklet I gave you that day?"
Lu Wanning blushed and read it several times.
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