Mrs. Xu wanted to praise her daughter's skillful technique, but the words suddenly stopped at her lips, and her heart was full of doubts.
How could Liao from Xinghua Village be the concubine of the Duke of Huguo? How could a concubine be hidden in the village?
Song Yi didn't seem to speak, and Wen Chuan and Shu Yue didn't seem to hear their daughter mention Liao's mistress. Could it be that this was just Song Yi's thoughts, and only she, as her mother, could hear them?
Xu felt that this idea was too absurd. If it were made public, people would probably mistakenly think that her headache had caused her to lose her mind.
She suppressed her surprise and continued to rebuke him indignantly: "That Liao is just a country woman, how dare she have such arrogant thoughts!"
Jiang Songyi continued to silently massage Xu's temples, remaining silent. Everything she knew came from her memories of a past life, and without solid evidence, her words alone would be hard to convince anyone.
Liao was no ordinary woman. She had once been a skilled dancer in the Imperial Music Bureau. The women in the Imperial Music Bureau were often the descendants of corrupt officials. Once the daughters of wealthy families, how could they willingly become the butt of jokes, struggling to survive by performing? Thus, she hooked up with the young Protector of the State.
However, the Duke of the Protectorate had not yet inherited the title. Eager to leverage the influence of the Marquisate's household to successfully inherit the title, he proposed to the powerful Yongding Marquisate and married his aunt, Jiang Shu. As the daughter of a convicted official and a former dancing prostitute, Liao's status made it difficult for her to enter the Duke of the Protectorate's household even as a concubine. Furthermore, the powerful in the capital were impressed by the women of the Jiaofangsi, so the Duke of the Protectorate secretly sent her to live in seclusion in Xinghua Village at the foot of Xiangbei Mountain.
Liao was unwilling to let her child repeat her own fate and live in low status. When she learned that she and Madam Jiang were about to conceive, she hatched the evil idea of switching the children and conspired with the Protector of the Country to plot this thrilling scheme. It was this conspiracy that transformed Jiang Yuyao from a concubine of a Duke's mansion into the daughter of a prominent Marquis' mansion.
Jiang Songyi repeatedly recalled the truths that were revealed before her death in her previous life. She was so immersed in it that she didn't notice that Xu was standing there in a daze, her heart filled with shock.
Xu originally thought that Liao was just acting on impulse and was greedy for small profits, but she never imagined that she had actually been planning for a long time, and even the shadow of the Duke of Protectorate was hidden behind her!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but recall the past years, when the imperial physician had predicted that her pregnancy would last another half month. However, at that critical moment, her sister-in-law suddenly invited her to go to Rong'en Temple to pray.
At that time, the Marquis was fighting on the front lines, and they were all escorted by the Protector of the Country himself. However, it was during that period that she unexpectedly gave birth prematurely.
Was all this a conspiracy by the Protector of the Country and Liao? She and her sister-in-law were kept in the dark and were completely unaware.
Although Xu was puzzled about how her daughter knew these secrets, she had an innate trust in her daughter, a trust she had never experienced in Jiang Yuyao.
However, these speculations required solid evidence. If she revealed to the Marquis and her sister-in-law that she had come to such a conclusion based on her daughter's thoughts, she would probably be regarded as a lunatic.
"Oh, what a bad time! It turns out that Madam is reminiscing about the past with the eldest daughter."
Hearing the familiar voice outside the curtain, Jiang Songyi immediately sounded an alarm in his mind!
Xu glanced at Jiang Songyi beside her calmly again.
Although my daughter has just returned to the Marquis' Mansion, she seems to be familiar with all the affairs of the Mansion.
The maid guarding the gate hurried in and immediately knelt to report: "Madam, Concubine Yin insisted on coming to pay her respects to you. She is already pregnant, and I dare not stop her."
Aunt Yin was six months pregnant. Compared with Mrs. Xu's haggard appearance, she was like a peach blossom in full bloom in spring, radiant, with her eyes and eyebrows revealing the charm and elegance of a young girl.
"I come to pay my respects to the Madam."
Hearing this gentle voice, Xu couldn't help but gently press her temples and said calmly, "Hasn't your greeting ceremony been waived?"
Yongding Hou Jiang Dinglian spent most of his life fighting on the battlefield and living in the military camp. He had never been interested in women. His marriage with Xu was just a routine matter, and the two of them got along with each other like guests.
For many years, Jiang Dinglian did not even have a concubine. In order to avoid being branded as jealous, Xu took the initiative to take a concubine for him, but he rebuked her, saying that it was a waste of money and it would be better to donate the money to military expenses.
Until recently, he brought back a pregnant woman from the border and made her his concubine.
From the day Aunt Yin entered the Marquis' Mansion, she repeatedly caused trouble, leading to frequent disputes between her and Jiang Dinglian, and making his headaches more severe.
Aunt Yin's laughter was as gentle as the first chirp of an oriole. "Madam, you have exempted me from the formal greetings, which reflects your magnanimity. However, I come to pay my respects, as it is my duty. Is this the eldest daughter of the mansion? I have been resting in my room to recuperate and have not had the opportunity to meet her yet. Her appearance and temperament are indeed exactly like Madam's, which makes me amazed."
Jiang Songyi responded calmly, "Auntie, you're too kind. If you have nothing else to do, please don't disturb me from enjoying this precious time with my mother."
Aunt Yin didn't seem to take Jiang Songyi's words to heart. She walked forward and filled a bowl of steaming delicious soup. She endured the high temperature from the porcelain bowl, knelt on the ground, and respectfully presented the bowl of soup to Xu.
"Madam, I recently caused a misunderstanding between you and the Marquis due to a momentary carelessness. I owe you an apology. Today, please allow me to personally serve you dinner."
Xu took a step back in surprise, moving the chair along with her. "What are you doing? I didn't ask you to kneel down and serve me."
Jiang Dinglian's backyard has always been simple and peaceful. Xu has never experienced the intrigues in the house for most of her life. Now that she is the mother of four children, she really does not have the extra energy to participate in these disputes.
Seeing this, Shuyue wanted to take the soup from Yin Yi Niang's hand and help her up, but Yin Yi Niang stubbornly insisted, her eyes always fixed on Xu Shi: "Only when Madam personally takes the soup from me, I can feel at ease."
Mrs. Xu was just about to reach out to take it, but at this moment, her daughter beside her quietly grabbed her hand and shook her head gently.
[Don't take it. The soup will definitely spill if you take it, and if it spills, Jiang Dinglian will definitely see it.]
Sure enough, the next moment, Jiang Dinglian's slightly angry voice came from the door: "Xu, what on earth did you do to Xixi?"
Jiang Songyi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall and strong man walking around a screen painted with flower and bird patterns and striding in.
The middle-aged man stood straight and proudly like a lone pine. Although his beard was a little rough, it could not hide his handsome and tough face, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. He had both the heroic and unrestrained character of a military general and the romantic and suave demeanor of a prince.
This person was her father, Jiang Dinglian, Marquis of Yongding, who regarded her as a traitor in her previous life and cruelly executed her regardless of family affection.
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