"There is one more thing."
An Shi has been investigating information over the past few days and has learned that a year ago, the Lin'an Marquis's mansion found a cousin who was not good-looking.
However, this young lady does not often appear at banquets, so the Shadow Guards do not have much information about her.
All that is known is that this person is a refugee who fled from Qingyuan Prefecture to Luzhou Prefecture due to famine.
An Shi saw that Lu Qiqi's lips were pursed straight, as if she knew this cousin.
"However, this Miss Cousin was rumored to have been promiscuous on New Year's Eve."
It is said that Miss Biao has an ambiguous relationship with the fourth son of the Marquis of Anchang and is pregnant.
The two families hastily arranged the marriage on the ninth day of the month, and now that cousin has already joined the Anchang Marquis's household.
Lu Qiqi learns that Lu Changping has married someone else, which means that Lu Changping already knows and will go to the new capital to recognize her relatives.
Fearing her identity would be exposed, she married herself off.
But she never considered that if the Marquis of Anchang's family hadn't valued the Marquis of Lin'an's family background, why would they have married her?
After all, the Anchang Marquis's family was in a hurry to buy land before the New Year, probably to raise money. Perhaps the money to marry Lu Changping was the silver from selling the land.
If that's the case, I should have delayed the purchase of that land longer. The Marquis of Anchang was in urgent need of money, so they would have accepted it.
Now Lu Changping has benefited.
But it doesn't matter. Impersonating someone else for profit, once the Marquis of Lin'an finds out, they certainly won't let her off easily!
Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Marquis of Lin'an's residence, the atmosphere was somber, as all the masters of the mansion had gathered there.
Manager Chen explained the whole story in detail.
The men remained silent but looked grim, while the women were so astonished they could hardly believe their eyes.
Although Chen Siyi is a junior, the person she dislikes the most is Lu Changping.
Now that they know she's a usurper and an imposter who has caused them to lose face among the noble ladies of the new capital, they are furious.
She said, "Grandpa and Grandma, you must not let that imposter get away with it so easily."
I always said that the young lady in the portrait was as beautiful as an angel and had a great reputation for being talented. How could she have given birth to someone who was ugly and vulgar?
"So she's a fake. She lived off our family, used our resources, and now she's married into the Anchang Marquis's family with the dowry we prepared."
Chen Siyi became increasingly angry as she spoke, "What about the shopkeeper who brought her back in the first place?"
I now suspect he received a bribe to be so certain that woman was my aunt's daughter!
When Ding Wanyue heard her daughter speaking loudly in front of her parents, her heart nearly jumped out of her throat.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Don't you have any manners?"
"Who gives a junior like you the right to speak here!"
She quickly stood up, walked to Chen Siyi's side, grabbed her arm and dragged her behind her, giving her a warning look.
Chen Siyi pouted in resentment, flung Ding Wanyue's sleeve away, and angrily sat back down in her seat.
When the Marquis of Lin'an and his wife learned that Lu Changping's identity was fake and that she had been deceiving them for nearly a year, their expressions were indescribably complicated.
When the Shu brocade wrapped in Chen Wenjun's wedding dress was sent back from Qingyuan Prefecture, everyone in the Lin'an Marquis's mansion was overjoyed.
However, when they learned that Qingyuan Prefecture had suffered from drought for many years and that the Tatars had come to attack, causing all the people of Qingyuan Prefecture to flee their homes, they were filled with worry.
The Marquis of Lin'an's mansion also sent people to search for the person on the route from Qingyuan Prefecture to Luzhou Prefecture, but to no avail.
Old Madam Chen had longed for her daughter for so many years, and after finally receiving news, she was struck by natural disasters and man-made calamities, and her fate remains unknown.
When news of the widespread famine and starvation during the escape reached the Marquis of Lin'an's residence, it was a devastating blow to Old Madam Chen.
Less than three days later, Madam Chen suddenly fainted and fell seriously ill. Marquis of Lin'an specially asked the emperor to send an imperial physician to her residence to treat her.
Despite using countless precious medicinal herbs, there was still no improvement. At that time, the coffin was already prepared and placed in the woodshed, just in case.
Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper of Tongfu Pawnshop, Manager Ma, sent back a copper coin with a scroll pattern, which actually helped the old lady's condition gradually improve.
Even though everyone was greatly disappointed when they saw Lu Changping's face, no one doubted her identity.
After all, Lu Changping had spent several years with Chen Wenjun and could recount most of his habits.
Even if there were discrepancies, Lu Changping could use excuses like she couldn't remember or that Chen Wenjun had changed her mind to deceive everyone and gloss over the details.
Therefore, no flaws were revealed throughout the year.
After a long pause, Madam Chen spoke up, "It seems that the child knew that things were going to be exposed, which is why she was in such a hurry to marry herself off."
Chen Zirong immediately replied, "It seems so."
Madam Chen said, "A petty thief, used to stealing and robbing others, really thinks he can hide it forever."
That's utterly wishful thinking!
These words resonated deeply with those present.
If it weren't for Lu Changping who stole the sisters' things back then...
A year ago, the Lin'an Marquis's mansion found not her, but Chen Wenjun's real child.
After all, the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion had sent a considerable number of people to search for him.
Luzhou Prefecture isn't very big; you can usually find someone within a month.
Therefore, the claim that finding Lu Changping saved Madam Chen's life is unfounded.
Chen Xianming sat to the side, silent, listening to his wife's arrangements.
Before long, he heard his wife's voice, "Wanyue, Yuqing's indenture is still in my hands."
Tomorrow, send someone to the Marquis of Anchang's residence under some pretext, and have Yuqing keep a close eye on things.
The reputation of the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion must not be tarnished by that thief!
Ding Wanyue was caught off guard when she was suddenly called out, but when she saw Xuan Wenying's expression, she immediately took over the matter.
She said, "Yes, Mother. I will get someone to take care of it tomorrow."
The matter reported by Steward Chen was infuriating, but Chen Wenjun's two children were to return to the Marquis of Lin'an's residence the next day.
Madam Chen specifically asked, "Wenying, with the two children staying in your room, has the yard been tidied up?"
Xuan Wenying said, "Everything is all packed up, and we've added a lot of things that young girls like."
The servants assigned to the house were all carefully selected; they were all honest and capable maids.
Hearing this, Madam Chen nodded in satisfaction and said, "Since things have come to this, let's go back and rest early today."
The two children are coming back tomorrow; neither of them can be absent.
After saying this, the Marquis of Lin'an and his wife returned to their house.
The younger generation present also dispersed.
When Ding Wanyue walked out of the hall, she tripped on the threshold and almost fell.
She was already angry, and if it weren't for Lu Changping, she wouldn't have thought that the old lady would be indifferent to the person she had found again.
That's good. The two orphaned girls who were found have been brought back to the manor and will now live in the main courtyard.
From now on, all the good things will inevitably go to the eldest son's wife.
If the old lady liked the two sisters born to Chen Wenjun, she would definitely treat the eldest son's family differently!
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