Su Rong thought to herself, how does a woman beg a man? By seducing him physically, probably, flattering words won’t be enough.
"Daliang and Dawei agreed to a marriage alliance, causing a temporary ceasefire. Duchess Zhenmin was sent to Dawei for the arranged marriage. However, once she and her entourage reached there, a power strugggle broke out within Dawei for the throne. Stranded in the midst of this chaos, Duchess Zhenmin was supposedly killed during the power tussle. The late Emperor was so enraged that he declared war on Dawei. In a desperate bid for peace, Dawei then pleaded for a ceasefire. Ignoring Dawei’s pleas, the late Emperor personally led the troops to war. The flames of conflict ignited rapidly. But, just then, the Emperor recieved a letter from Duchess Zhenmin. She informed him that she was alive and pleaded with him to cease warfare. She suggested using this opportunity to recover from the losses. As for her, she urged the Emperor to keep believing that she was dead, and assured him that she would never return. There would be no need to search for her. Upon hearing that Duchess Zhenmin was safe, the Emperor’s fury died down. On her advice, he ceased hostilities. In signing this peace treaty, not only did Dawei return three cities to Daliang, but they also agreed to a non-aggression pact for thirty years." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Sixteen years have passed since then," said the wet nurse Zhao. "After her disappearance, both the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager had sent people to look for Duchess Zhenmin, but people think they couldn’t find her because she’s guarded by the secret agents that Prince Mingrui left with her."
After she finished narrating that episode, she looked at Su Rong, "Pardon my candidness, you Miss Seventh, you bear a certain resemblance to Duchess Zhenmin. Could it be that you are her daughter?"
Su Rong squinted, chuckled, and responded: "Wet nurse, perhaps you’re overthinking. It is not uncommon to find people in the world who resemble each other. Jiangning County, where I live, is just a thousand miles away from the Capital City. If my mother was Duchess Zhenmin as you insist, she should have gone far away from the Capital City instead of staying somewhere so close."
"That’s because it’s the darkest under the lamp. This is what both the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager also thought back then, so they searched every corner of the world. Old Duke Residence purposely kept his distance from Governor Jiangning for all these years, probably not wanting to disturb the peace of Jiangning County," said the wet nurse Zhao. "Furthermore, very few people know that Duchess Zhenmin had someone she admired. The man, who once topped the imperial examinations, was famed throughout Daliang. However, he quit his official position, travelled to many places, and finally settled in Jiangning County for over a decade."
Su Rong looked at the wet nurse Zhao.
Wet nurse Zhao met her gaze, "You’re right, I happen to know about it. The man Duchess Zhenmin admired is Xie Yuan."
Su Rong felt a sudden clarity in her heart. Her Uncle Xie did indeed have feelings for her mother. As a child, she had known about this for a long time. It was almost certain now that her mother was Duchess Zhenmin. She honestly said, "Wet nurse, you have told me so much, aren’t you afraid it might frighten me?"
Wet nurse Zhao smiled, "If Miss Seventh, you were so easily scared, you wouldn’t have grown up to be so strong."
Su Rong responded noncommittally, "Then, wet nurse, why are you telling me all of this now? What do you want to say? What do you want to do?"
Wet nurse Zhao shook her head, "I just want to verify a couple of things. After all, the Empress Dowager was constantly worried about Duchess Zhenmin till her last breath. If your mother is truly Duchess Zhenmin, I have nothing but love for you."
Su Rong looked into the nurse’s eyes, "How can you verify it? Is it just based on the manners my mother taught me? Or just because of your speculation?"
"Miss Seventh, do you remember your mother? Could you draw a portrait of her? All it would take is one look," the wet nurse Zhao pleaded hopefully.
Su Rong shook her head, "I can’t, and won’t, draw my mother."
Wet nurse Zhao was taken aback, "Then do you have any of your mother’s belongings left? For me to take a look?"
Su Rong shook her head again, "Everything in the location where she used to reside was burned down. Nothing was left."
Wet nurse Zhao seemed somewhat disappointed, "Miss Seventh, don’t you trust me?"
"It’s not that, I can feel that you are sincere," Su Rong replied smiling, "I don’t mind telling you. After my mother passed away, someone tried to kill me. They broke into my mother’s Nuanxiang Pavilion. They didn’t know I’m not that easy to kill, so I ended up killing them instead. In order to avoid any trouble, I lit up the Pavilion. The wind was strong and the fire quickly went out of control. It was too late to save anything when I ran out with Yuewan. Everything was burnt down to ashes."
Wet nurse Zhao was shocked, "Who tried to kill you?"
"I don’t know, I have been hunted for many years," Su Rong looked at her, "I suspect that it’s someone from the Palace. Why don’t you try guessing, who wants me dead?"
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