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On the night before Jiu Sheng arrived in Chang'an, Xie Sili met the old nanny who had served Xie Sinian years ago, arranged by An Yi.
The old woman recognized her immediately upon seeing her; she was the daughter born to Madam Lu.
"You're the Third Miss?" The old woman grasped her hand excitedly. "You're the child the Madam gave birth to later! You survived!"
Xie Sili nodded to the old woman, "Although I don't know who you are, my biological mother is indeed Madam Lu. The reason I was able to survive is because of the care my grandparents have given me over the years."
Of course, no one knew that the real Xie Sili had already died when she was five years old.
“My surname is Lu. I was the nanny who took care of your mother back then.” As she looked at her, Granny Lu recounted some past events between her and Madam Lu.
Granny Lu was a nanny whom Madam Lu rescued on her way to escape. To express her gratitude, Granny Lu stayed by Madam Lu's side and took care of her. After Xie Sinian was born, Madam Lu had no one she could trust, so she asked Granny Lu to take care of Xie Sinian.
It turned out that Xie Sinian was well taken care of by her; the only regret was that Xie Sinian died in that cold pond.
"The eldest son is not dead."
Hearing what Granny Lu said, Xie Sili suddenly looked up at her, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Granny Lu's voice continue.
"I discovered the eldest young master's body in time after the master dumped it. I went into the water and rescued him. After that, I secretly went to see the madam, who used her extraordinary medical skills to bring him back to life..."
When Granny Lu said these words, her eyes reddened. "But Madam knew that the eldest young master could no longer live in the Prime Minister's residence, so she asked me to take him away from the residence and to take good care of him. Before leaving, Madam gave me all the silver notes... She said that no matter what, I must protect the eldest young master."
"After I settled the eldest son in, I originally wanted to come back to see the lady again, since she was about to give birth at that time. However, when I returned to Chang'an, the lady had already died. With no other choice, I could only burn paper money for the lady at night when no one was around and promise her that I would take good care of the eldest son."
“I opened a shop in Chang’an City using the skills my wife taught me, and lived a good life with my eldest son. Then one year, my eldest son had a fever and almost died. Later, I met a very skilled doctor. My eldest son recovered, but he forgot all his previous memories. I asked the doctor if there was a way to change his appearance, and he told me a prescription. Then I changed my eldest son’s life from then on.”
After finishing her sentence, Granny Lu turned her gaze to her again, "Miss, you must avenge Madam. The ones who killed Madam must be Huang Shi and Xie Zhun. Neither of them is a good person!"
"What's that miracle doctor's surname?" Xie Sili asked, his gaze falling on Granny Lu.
"That miracle doctor said his surname was Huang, and asked everyone to call him Doctor Huang. He also said that he was not a miracle doctor, but just a wandering doctor."
An image immediately flashed into Xie Sili's mind, and she turned her gaze to Granny Lu, "Granny Lu, how has my elder brother been all these years?"
"The eldest son is an outstanding person. He has been diligent and hardworking since childhood. He also studied at Longmen Academy and was often praised by the teachers. Because of me, he is ridiculed by everyone, but he never cares about those things."
Granny Lu continued, "He's been learning his craft from me ever since he went to Longmen Academy. It's a pity he didn't read enough books. If he were still the eldest son of the Prime Minister's family, he would have achieved even greater things." As she spoke, her eyes reddened.
Xie Sili gave Granny Lu a hug and said softly, "Granny, could you take me to see my elder brother?"
Granny Lu wiped away the tears in her eyes. "Alright, I'll take you to meet the eldest young master now. If you and the eldest young master stand together, he'll recognize you as siblings at a glance."
Xie Sili followed behind Granny Lu, preparing to see Xie Sinian. Along the way, she kept thinking about what to say as her first words to Xie Sinian and how to behave.
When they walked to the next courtyard, they saw a figure sitting in a room. The moment Granny Lu pushed open the door, she saw a young man sitting in the room reading a book.
"Mother, you've come."
Xie Sili watched as the young man stepped forward to support Granny Lu's hand, then glanced at her.
"Why have you brought us here?" the young man asked calmly, his eyes revealing no trace of panic.
Xie Sili turned her gaze to him, and was about to speak when she heard Granny Lu's voice, "A Yuan, this young lady is your biological sister, and I am not your biological mother. In fact, you are the child of the current Left Prime Minister Xie Zhun."
The young man looked up at her calmly. "Mother, I actually regained my memories a long time ago, and I go to pay my respects to you every year."
Granny Lu subconsciously took a step back and fixed her gaze on the young man. "You remember everything?"
He nodded. "Do you remember the year I came back from school injured? That injury brought back memories of the past, of my father harming me, and of my mother's tears."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Xie Sili, "Later, I never forgot those things from back then for a moment."
He gave a bitter smile as he said this, “I have thought about taking revenge on my father, but I don’t even have the right to step into the Prime Minister’s mansion to see him.”
As he spoke, he slumped into the chair behind him and turned his gaze to Xie Sili. "At that moment, I even felt that I had wasted my time studying the classics."
Xie Sili looked at him and shook his head. “You have not wasted your time studying the classics. I hate and despise Xie Zhun just like you. I even thought about killing my father when I learned the truth. But killing my father would only bring us infamy and might even implicate my mother. So the best way is to trample Xie Zhun underfoot and expose his ugly and hypocritical mask.”
At this point, Xie Sili reached out her hand to him, meeting his eyes, which were almost identical to hers, and calmly said, "Big brother, would you like to create a new world with me? A world of peace and tranquility."
Xie Sili held her hand there for a long time without getting a reply from Xie Sinian. Just as she was about to give up, Xie Sinian suddenly grabbed her hand and said, "Okay, I'll go with you. I want to see the world you described as peaceful and prosperous."
Xie Sili gave Xie Sinian a hug. "Brother, you haven't wasted your time studying. Now you can use your knowledge to defeat Xie Chun and use your abilities to trample him underfoot. I will personally pave a broad road for you and help you ascend to the position of Right Prime Minister."
Seeing this, Granny Lu's eyes reddened slightly. She glanced at Xie Sinian, then at Xie Sili standing beside her, and finally, without any hesitation, took out a dagger and slit her own throat when they weren't paying attention.
"Mother (Granny)!" Xie Sinian took the lead and hugged Granny Lu into his arms. "Mother, why are you so foolish?"
“Young Master, now that you have found the Third Miss, you are no longer alone. But the young lady has always been alone. If it weren’t for taking care of you back then, I would have followed her without hesitation long ago.” Granny Lu said intermittently, “My life belongs to the young lady, and I want to follow her forever.”
Granny Lu then turned her gaze to Xie Sili and put their hands together. "Third Miss, I'm entrusting the eldest young master to your care. I believe you will be able to avenge the young lady."
In Xie Sinian's arms, Granny Lu murmured "Miss, I'm here to keep you company" a few times before slowly closing her eyes.
“Bury Granny Lu next to Mother.” Xie Sili turned her gaze to Xie Sinian. “After Mother passed away, Grandfather built a tombstone for her. Although Xie Chun never went to see it, I would send someone to pay respects every year.”
Xie Sinian looked at her and nodded, "Okay."
Three days later, after settling the affairs of Granny Lu, Xie Sili moved into Siyuan with Xie Sinian without much thought. When they met Xie Ling, Xie Sili simply told him that he was also his friend.
Xie Sili originally wanted to tell Xie Ling that Xie Sinian was still alive, but Xie Sinian refused. He said that he was not qualified to be by Xie Ling's side yet, and his appearance would only cause trouble for Xie Ling. Therefore, he wanted to wait until he had achieved something before appearing in front of him as Xie Sinian.
Xie Sili respected Xie Sinian's idea and asked him again for details of the incident from back then.
“My mother told me something, that I should never seek revenge against Xie Zhun no matter what, and that the reason she married Xie Zhun was to have a place to stay.” Xie Sinian lowered his head and a slight smile appeared on his lips. “When I was little, my mother always liked to sing me a song. She said it was a tune from their hometown.”
As Xie Sinian spoke, he hummed a tune for him, "I've always remembered this tune. Sister, you're well-traveled and knowledgeable, so you should have heard this tune before. Maybe you can find Mother's family someday."
Xie Sili was indeed very familiar with the tune Xie Sinian was humming. It was a tune unique to the Su Kingdom. Could it be that her mother was from the Su Kingdom?
If Lu was truly from the State of Su, then why did she end up in the State of Jun? Or did her mother also experience those things?
If her mother is indeed from the Su Kingdom, it seems necessary to start the investigation from the Su Kingdom's perspective. Xie Sinian is eight years older than her, which means it was at least thirty years ago.
Is it really possible to find even the slightest clue about something that happened more than 30 years ago? Or are her mother's family members still alive?
If she were still alive, why did no one search for her when she was lost and wandering off? What exactly happened during that time?
Just as Xie Sili was about to ask for more details, she heard a voice from outside the door, "Miss, Miss, Second Master and Ninth Saint have arrived."
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