Chapter 620: Exploration (Part 2)

"Then, then I am..." Xu Siyi looked at Nan Yong's wife earnestly, the words rolling on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them no matter what.

"You were brought back from outside by the Marquis." Nan Yong's wife stared into Xu Siyi's eyes. "At that time, you were only three years old. You were ragged and skinny, and you ate anything you could find. The Marquis handed you over to the Madam, saying that your biological mother had passed away and you had no one to entrust your care to, so the Madam should take care of you. I was originally a hairdresser for the Madam, but the Madam saw that I was steady and honest, and that she had a daughter who was about the same age as the Fifth Young Master, so she moved me into the Fifth Young Master's room."

"Brought him back from outside..." Xu Siqi murmured, and many dusty past events became clear as if the dust had been brushed away.

A gray house, worn-out cotton quilt, a roof dripping with rain, drunk people smashing things, and the sound of opera singing coming from next door...

"Then what kind of person is my biological mother?" Xu Siqi murmured, looking at Nanyong's wife with pleading eyes, as if he was begging Nanyong's wife to tell him the truth, and as if he was begging Nanyong's wife not to tell him the answer that he had guessed in his mind.

"I don't know either!" Nan Yong's wife's expression was so frank that Xu Siyi had to believe it. "The Marquis just said in front of people outside that it was a dream. A deceased concubine Tong lived a miserable life. After her death, no one even burned incense for her. Occasionally, she saw the Fifth Young Master who had the same eyes as the Marquis in the charity hall. She thought it was fate, so she brought him back."

Xu Si'e's mind was in a mess, and he thought about Nan Yong's wife for several times before he calmed down and thought carefully.

Since he was adopted from a charity, how did his father know that his biological mother had passed away and that there was no one he could trust.

Although Tong was a concubine, I have never heard of a concubine cutting off the family line.

Before he came home, his father already had two older brothers, and his mother wasn't very old, so why did she keep him indoors... And his eyes were exactly the same as his father's, second brother's, and sixth brother's...

In the flash of lightning, an idea came to mind.

"Mom!" Xu Siyi murmured with a pale face, "Am I, am I raised by a concubine?"

Nan Yong's wife looked at him sympathetically and sighed softly: "That's what people outside say."

Yes, that’s the only way to explain it!

Xu Siqi stood there in a daze.

Nanyong's wife hugged him tightly.

After a while, he broke away from Nanyong's wife's arms and walked out in a daze.

Nan Yong's wife couldn't help but worry secretly when she thought about what Xu Siwei had done these days.

As children grow older, they become more thoughtful and harder to discipline... He suddenly heard these words and didn't know what he would do.

Thinking of this, Nan Yong's wife hurriedly called Xu Siyi: "Fifth Young Master, do you believe what I say?"

Xu Siqi turned around and looked at Nan Yong's wife blankly.

Nan Yong's wife stepped forward and held Xu Si'e's hand: "Your mother Nan is a very practical person who only knows how to stick to her principles. I don't care what people outside say, what the Marquis says, or what you think. In my opinion, the lady agreed to raise you, which means she acknowledged you. You are the Marquis's son, the fifth young master of this mansion..."

Before she finished her words, Xu Siqi laughed: "I, I am not the fifth young master... No wonder Mr. Dou ordered me to do something, no wonder the lady doesn't like me... I..." His smile was miserable, "The son of a concubine... I will only bring shame to my mother..."

"Fifth Young Master!" Nan Yong's wife's face darkened upon hearing this, and she said in a stern voice, "If you say that, Madam will be so sad when she knows! Although you are not Madam's own, Madam has raised you by her side and treated you as her own child. What belongs to the Fourth Young Master is yours, and what belongs to the Sixth Young Master is yours. You only care about your own life, and have you ever thought about Madam's feelings!"

Xu Siqi was stunned when he heard this, and a gloomy expression gradually appeared on his face: "I... I..."

My mind was filled with images of Shiyi Niang. On snowy winter nights, I accompanied her to study under the dim light... On hot summer days, I fanned him as he wrote in large characters... When he made a mistake, I gently taught him... When he received praise from the teacher, his face lit up with joy, and he would even hold me in his arms...

"Mother Nan!" Xu Siyi threw himself into the arms of Nan Yong's wife and burst into tears.

It’s good to be able to cry!

I’m afraid he’ll be stubborn and won’t listen to any good or bad advice.

Nanyong's wife hugged him and patted his back gently, comforting him just like she did when he was a child.

Xu Siqi cried even louder.

A woman who lived in a courtyard heard the noise and walked in with a smile: "Hey, what's going on?"

When he saw it was Xu Siqi, the man smiled.

This is the good thing about being a mother working as a housekeeper in the young master's room. No matter how old the master is, she will always be thinking about him... It's a pity that she is working in the fifth young master's room. If she was working in the sixth young master or the fourth young master's room, let alone the west chamber, it would be easy for her to be sent out to be a housekeeper of a farm in the future!

Thinking of this, he made a "don't disturb" gesture to Nanyong's wife and walked out quietly.

Nan Yong's wife went to the inner room with Xu Siqi.

Xu Siqi lay in the arms of Nan Yong's wife and cried bitterly.

Nan Yong's wife watched him calm down gradually, and advised him carefully: "Fifth Master, the Marquis handed you over to Madam, and Madam could have just left you to the care of Madam, who is in charge of the housekeeping, or she could have borrowed you to be raised in another courtyard under the name of Aunt Tong to accommodate you. But you see, Madam, who is in charge of the imperial family, is busy every day, and yet, not only did she not neglect you, she also rewarded Madam Nan and raised you in the main courtyard. When it's cold, she makes you a small silk-carved tunic; when it's hot, she lets you go to the "I went to the main room of the house to get some cool air. I also asked Mr. Zhao to teach you and send you to school. Even if you were my biological child, it would not be more than that, not to mention that you were brought back from outside by the Marquis. But look at you, what have you done? I don't know where you heard some gossip, and you came to me crying and making a fuss. Fortunately, the door is closed. If the housekeeper in the mansion knew about this, wouldn't she laugh at my wife behind my back for not knowing people and raising you in vain? That would be a joke, right?"

Xu Siqi was so ashamed by what Nan Yong's daughter-in-law said that his face turned red. He lowered his head and muttered in silence.

Nan Yong's wife heaved a sigh of relief and continued softly, "Fifth Young Master, Nan's mother has never been educated and doesn't know those great principles. I only know that the more this is the case, the more you should be humble and courteous, study hard, and save Madam's face, so as not to let Madam down for raising you."

Xu Siqi was so excited that he nodded repeatedly: "I will study hard and make my mother proud."

"That's right!" Nanyong's wife hugged Xu Siqi happily, "Okay, okay, look at you, crying and laughing at the same time, your face looks like a cat. How can you go out like this! Mom will fetch some water for you to wash your face. Don't do this again in the future!"

Xu Siqi replied "yes" shyly, and when Nan Yong's wife went to fetch water, he could not help but think of this incident again.

Is it because of this that my mother particularly dislikes singing opera herself?

He couldn't help but make up his mind secretly.

I must study hard in the future to make my mother proud!

Thinking of this, he suddenly wanted to see his mother.

After washing his face quickly, Xu Siqi went to Shiyi Niang's place.

Eleventh Lady was discussing the New Year's Eve with the housekeeper. When she saw him come in, she put her business aside and asked him with a smile, "What's wrong?"

A pile of account books were spread out on the kang table, and seven or eight mothers in charge stood there with their hands hanging down, waiting for them to finish speaking so that they could continue the meeting.

Xu Siqi suddenly felt ashamed and guilty.

He knelt in front of Shiyi Niang, hugged her legs, and rested his head on her knees.

"Mother..." The past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, all of which were scenes of Shiyi Niang dressing him and playing games with him when he was a child.

He choked up and could not utter a word, tears welling up in his eyes. He was afraid that others would notice his abnormality, so he quickly closed his eyes. However, his nose was lingering with the familiar scent of roses that he had smelled since he was a child.

My heart instantly calmed down, and I only felt my eyes became wetter.

Eleventh Lady looked at him strangely, thinking that he had been wronged in the outer courtyard. She asked a few housekeepers to wait in the side hall, and gently stroked Xu Siyi's dark and shiny hair, and her voice became gentler: "What's wrong? Did my brother encounter something unpleasant? What's the use of crying? Hurry up and tell me."

Xu Siqi finally managed to hold back his tears.

He smiled and raised his head, his eyes soaked in tears were clear and transparent.

"I'm fine, I just miss my mother!" he said, and once again rested his head on Shiyi Niang's pillow.

Eleventh Lady could sense that he was different, but she couldn't force him to say anything in this situation. She smiled and said, "You are so old, why do you always act like a child?"

Xu Siqi smiled and stayed with Eleventh Lady for a while before leaving the flower hall: "Mother, please discuss matters! I'm going back to study!"

Eleventh Lady stared at his back in deep thought for a moment, then asked Qiuyu to call Xier, who was serving Xu Siqi, over, while she continued to talk to the mother in charge.

In the Tanbo Zhai, which was far away from the main house and the flower hall, Xu Sizhen stood opposite Ge Jin as if they were wrestling.

Ge Jin looked at Xu Sizhen's angry eyes, sighed secretly, and whispered: "I know that the Fourth Young Master blamed me for not telling the Madam about this. But this is what the Madam has repeatedly reminded me of, and I also think that what the Madam said makes sense. Although you and the Fifth Young Master are brothers, you are the Crown Prince, so you should act like a Crown Prince. The Fifth Young Master is a half-brother, so he should act like a half-brother. Otherwise, in the eyes of others, wouldn't the Xu family become a family without distinction of high and low? If you go out like this, not only will you be laughed at, but even the Fifth Young Master has always been pointed at behind his back and become the one being ridiculed!

Xu Sizhe thought of Dou Jing, Chigongpu, the anger of the lady, and the worry of Shiyi Niang...all the words froze on his lips.

His shoulders slumped in frustration.

Ge Jin looked at him and regretted his harsh words. He lowered his voice and said softly, "If the Fourth Young Master really cares about the Fifth Young Master, he should treat the Fifth Young Master better in private. If you put it in public, people will inevitably gossip about it..."

Before she could say anything, Xu Sizhen shook his head at her and said, "Sister Ge Jin, there is no need to say more. This is my business. You were given by my grandmother, so I have always respected you, sister. Let's let it go this time. If there is anything else in the future, I hope sister Ge Jin will tell me first." After that, he stood up and went into the inner room, leaving Ge Jin with a face full of surprise.

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Everyone, just watch for now and catch some bugs later!