Chapter 68. Changed
When Zhang Xiangling saw the evidence, she was initially surprised, but later her expression remained calm. She felt that Jiang Jiarong was capable of such a thing; after all, legitimate and illegitimate children are inherently enemies, especially since their branch of the family had never produced a son, while Jiang Jiamu had indeed given birth to one.
In fact, she often wondered why Jiang Jiamu's family hadn't died. And because of this, after she took charge of the household, the servants treated Jiang Jiamu and his family even more coldly.
She was surprised that Jiang Jiarong would cooperate with Aunt Zhao. She was also somewhat disappointed that Jiang Jiarong and his group hadn't made a move against Jiang Yunkang.
At this moment, Jiang Jiamu coughed violently, and Wu Zhengyan patted his back with tears streaming down her face. After learning that Jiang Jiamu had been poisoned, the couple discussed who had poisoned him, concluding that it was Jiang Jiarong and his wife. However, they were only half right; they couldn't accept the other half.
Aunt Zhao is Jiang Jiamu's biological mother. Although she is always crying and always does good deeds but ends up doing bad things, they never thought that Aunt Zhao would harm them. This is not only because Aunt Zhao is Jiang Jiamu's biological mother, but also because they are a community of interests in this Duke of Chu's mansion.
In fact, Jiang Jiamu was Zhao Yiniang's support. Even though he was in poor health, he was a son of the Duke of Chu's family, and Zhao Yiniang would treat him well because of him. Otherwise, the Duke of Chu would never have kept a concubine from a brothel who had never borne children. Therefore, they could not believe, nor could they believe, that Zhao Yiniang would harm them.
The Duke of Chu glanced at Jiang Jiamu and his wife and said, "Bring Granny Li along."
As soon as he finished speaking, Granny Li, pale-faced and with bloodstains on her back, walked in. She knelt on the ground, her body trembling.
“Tell me again what you and Aunt Zhao did,” said Duke Chu.
"Yes." The old woman looked at Lu Yifang, then at Jiang Jiamu and his wife, and said, "This old servant... this old servant was bought by the young master from outside and stayed by Aunt Zhao's side. After Aunt Zhao came to the mansion, she was very well-behaved, and this old servant felt happy for a long time because she had a worry-free master."
Later, Aunt Zhao became pregnant, around the same time as the young master's wife. At first, she was the same as before, rarely leaving the courtyard except for going to the temple to burn incense every month. Later, after returning from burning incense one day, she told me some things, such as giving me information about two midwives and asking me to contact them.
At first, I thought she was looking for midwives for herself. Later, she asked me to make contact with the nanny who served the Duchess of the State. She inadvertently mentioned that the two midwives were famous midwives in the capital.
Because the old servant had given Zhang Mama, who served the Duchess, many favors, she trusted the old servant and recommended the two midwives to the Duchess.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yifang's hands began to tremble uncontrollably. She didn't know what Granny Li would say next, but she was certain it wouldn't be anything good.
At that moment, Jiang Yu took her hand. Lu Yifang turned to look at her, and Jiang Yu gave her a smile, which calmed Lu Yifang down considerably.
Jiang Jiamu and his wife looked serious. They had a premonition that what Granny Li was about to say might have a significant impact on them.
Granny Li looked at Lu Yifang and Jiang Jiamu again and continued, "Later, on the day the young master's wife gave birth, Aunt Zhao knew that the young master's wife was about to go into labor, so she drank the labor-inducing medicine that had been prepared in advance, and soon she also went into labor."
She summoned the young master and asked him to find her two midwives, specifically the two midwives that the Duchess had found for the young master's wife. The young master complied and summoned the two midwives to help Aunt Zhao give birth.
Then Aunt Zhao gave birth to a baby boy. Aunt Zhao had the old servant take the baby boy and secretly go to the back of the Crown Prince's wife's delivery room. The two midwives then went to the Crown Prince's wife's delivery room, where the Crown Prince's wife also gave birth to a baby boy.
However, the Crown Prince's wife suffered a severe hemorrhage, and taking advantage of the chaos, the two midwives switched the Crown Prince's wife's newborn son with the baby boy that I was holding, through the window...
The room fell silent, a deathly silence.
Then Zhang Xiangling's incredulous voice rang out, "Impossible, you old woman must be talking nonsense, you must be talking nonsense."
Lu Yifang stood there blankly for a long time, her face pale, before Zhang Xiangling's voice brought her back to her senses. She looked at Jiang Yu with a pale face and asked, "Zhu'er, what is she saying? Why is she saying that the child I gave birth to, the child I had with Aunt Zhao, was switched?"
Seeing her like this, Jiang Yu felt a pang of sadness herself. She put her arm around Lu Yifang's shoulder, offering her comfort and strength. Then, she heard Lu Yifang burst into tears, a hysterical sob...
Jiang Yu held her, gently patting her back, unsure how to comfort her. But after a while, Lu Yifang fell silent. Jiang Yu looked down and saw that she had fainted.
"Doctor, call a doctor quickly!" Jiang Yu shouted.
As soon as she finished speaking, Doctor Lü walked in from outside. He examined Lu Yifang's condition, took out silver needles and inserted two needles into her, and Lu Yifang slowly opened her eyes.
She glanced at Jiang Yu, then at Jiang Jiamu and his wife, and tears streamed down her face again. Jiang Yu's vision was also blurry, and she whispered in Lu Yifang's ear, "Mother, you have to hold on."
At this moment, Zhang Xiangling walked up to Lu Yifang and knelt down with a thud, saying, "Mother, this is not true, it must not be true. Please have the Duke release Jiarong, we'll ask him, we'll ask him properly."
Tears streaming down her face, Lu Yifang looked at her with a complicated expression, opening her mouth but not knowing what to say. Her mind was completely blank; she didn't know what to do.
The son she had raised for over twenty years was not her biological child, while the illegitimate son she had ignored for over twenty years was her own. She then looked at Jiang Jiamu and his wife, who looked completely bewildered.
“Sister-in-law,” Jiang Yu said to Zhang Xiangling, “only when everything has been investigated and there are witnesses and physical evidence will Grandfather believe it’s true and tell everyone.”
Upon hearing her words, Zhang Xiangling suddenly stood up, pointed at Jiang Yu, and said, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault, isn't it? Ever since you returned to the manor, one thing after another has happened. Jiang Yu, you are a jinx, you are the jinx of the Duke of Chu's manor."
"Shut up!" The Duke of Chu's aged voice was filled with rage as he looked at Zhang Xiangling and said, "Jiang Jiarong murdered the eldest son and committed suicide last night out of guilt. Although he did harm the eldest son, he was still a descendant of my Duke of Chu's family. As his widow, if you wish to continue staying in the Duke of Chu's family, I will certainly not treat you unfairly. But if you continue to cause trouble, my Duke of Chu's family cannot keep you here."
When Zhang Xiangling heard that Jiang Jiarong was dead, she was stunned for a long time, and then she laughed through her tears.
“Hahaha…” She looked at the Duke of Chu and said, “I am the legitimate daughter of a marquis’s family, and I married the eldest grandson of the Duke of Chu’s family, but now I have become a son of a concubine.”
PS: To explain, the deceased Duchess of Chu was in poor health and not very capable, which is why the child swap was so easy.
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