Chapter 405: Back then

Chen Jia didn't know what to say.

He always likes to blame others for everything, no wonder Li Liang has achieved nothing at the age of nearly 40.

He glanced at Li Liang silently.

Song Mo was too lazy to listen to Li Liang's gossips about the parents, so he asked directly, "Whose child is the grandson?"

Upon hearing this, Li Liang suddenly raised his head and stared at Song Mo in disbelief, saying, "Of course it's your Song family's child!" As he spoke, he showed an expression of sudden realization, and said hurriedly, "That despicable villain Song Yichun must have told your family that Tiao Niang was dead, right? At that time, the old Duke personally brought people to give Tiao Niang abortion drugs, and Tiao Niang bled heavily and indeed fainted. But God opened his eyes, and the old Duke brought a few grown men, who saw that Tiao Niang had served Song Yichun, the beast, and did not dare to look at her any longer, It tried to stop breathing, and then left. My poor mother took care of Tiao Niang for more than half a month without sleep, feeding her ginseng and bird's nest as if she didn't need money, and emptied out all the dowry my grandfather gave to my mother, which saved Tiao Niang's life. We were afraid that you would find out that Tiao Niang was still alive, so we immediately sold the ancestral home and lied that my sister had an acute illness. The Taoist said that the yang energy in Kyoto was too strong, and they were afraid that her life would be in danger, so we moved to my uncle's house in Yuanping countryside to stay temporarily, and took care of her for another two years before Tiao Niang could go out to work.

Who knew your father would come looking for you again?

Poor sister, she is infatuated with your father and wants to serve him wholeheartedly, but she was coaxed by your father and succeeded."

As he spoke, he began to grit his teeth again.

"Your father is a ruthless person.

The next day, when I sent my sister back, she disappeared.

But my sister is pregnant again.

The doctor said that she had been pregnant before and could not have an abortion, so she had to keep the baby.

I had to go find your father secretly.

Your father avoided me at first, but when he saw me he only asked me how much silver I wanted.

I was so angry that I almost slapped your father. Then I went back and took my sister and mother to move to Shizi Hutong outside the city, so that my sister would not have to find a mother-in-law when she gave birth.

Unexpectedly, when the child was seven months old, your father came again. He said that your grandfather was ill and not as strong as before. Tiao Niang was pregnant with the heir of the Song family, and asked Tiao Niang to go back with him. Maybe your grandfather would let Tiao Niang marry him for the sake of the heir.

I think it's better to wait until Tiao Niang gives birth to the child. If it's a boy, your Song family will definitely recognize Tiao Niang and the child; if it's a girl, what's the point of the Song family having a girl?

My mother and Tiao Niang thought this was a good opportunity, and despite my objection, Tiao Niang followed your father to the Duke of England's mansion. In a fit of anger, I went to my uncle's house.

A few days later, my mother sent someone to deliver a letter to me, saying that not only did the Song family disown Tiao Niang and the child, they also drugged Tiao Niang. Not only was the child born prematurely, but Tiao Niang was also in critical condition.

I rushed to Kyoto from my uncle's house overnight.

On the way, he met his mother and his beautiful daughter who had escaped from Kyoto.

The lady was dying, but the child was healthy and lively. Although he was just born and his umbilical cord had not fallen off, he was tender, fair and very beautiful. He was not like other children, who were wrinkled and looked like red monkeys.

I liked it as soon as I saw it.

So when my mother suggested giving her away, I kept the child.

The child was named "Yuangui".

I hope she can share in the Song family's wealth and marry into a good family in the future.

My mother was weak and had no milk, so I made rice porridge to feed her every day.

Tiao Niang hated Song Yichun and didn't want to see the hereditary nobleman, so I saved money on pens, ink, paper and inkstone to hire a wet nurse for the hereditary nobleman.

After I got married, the legacy followed my wife.

I treat her as my own daughter. She has whatever my children have. I also keep her close to anything my children don't have.

I raised her like a treasure until she was in her teens, but who knew that I would harm her at the critical moment..."

Li Liang covered his face with his uninjured left hand and started crying again.

Chen Jia couldn't help but sigh secretly.

He believed that what Li Liang said was true.

Otherwise, the noble would not have followed him so eagerly upon hearing that he and Li Liang were acquaintances, and the noble would not have bowed his head for Li Liang just now.

But even if it is true, what’s the use?

If the heir is really Mrs. Jiang's daughter, even if he had sacrificed his own flesh and blood to feed the heir, the heir is in this state now, and with the prince's temper, he will not let him go.

He might as well try to ask the noble to plead for him in front of the prince... No, the prince hated the Li family so much now. Maybe the more the noble pleaded for the Li family, the deeper the prince's hatred for the Li family would be. The prince's eyes never left the prince all the way. Whenever the prince felt uncomfortable, he would hold Madam Dou's hand, which showed the status of Madam Dou in the prince's mind.

It is better for you to ask Madam Dou for help instead of asking the Crown Prince for help.

Moreover, Madam Dou is an outsider, so she must be calmer than the Crown Prince on this matter.

But there were only three people in the room: him, Li Liang and the prince. How could they send a letter to Madam Dou?

Chen Jia was a little anxious.

Then he heard Song Mo say to him, "Go and tell Xia Lian to bring Li Tiao Niang over!"

Chen Jia hurried out to pass on the message, and while speaking he saw Duan Gongyi pouting towards the compartment.

Duan Gongyi nodded knowingly.

Chen Jia breathed a sigh of relief, and then he heard a "click" sound in the house.

He quickly lifted the curtain and went into the tea room.

I don't know when Song Mo stood up and kicked over the small stool that Li Liang was sitting on. Li Liang fell to the ground. Because half of his body could not move, he curled up on the ground like a shrimp and couldn't get up, moaning softly.

How did Li Liang offend the prince?

The Prince of England is famous for his calm demeanor, but today he must have been extremely angry and showed all his emotions.

Chen Jia muttered to himself as he leaned over to help Li Liang up.

Song Mo stepped on Li Liang's right thumb and asked Chen Jia, "I heard that if your thumb is disabled, you will never be able to hold a pen again. Is that true?"

Chen Jia was shocked.

Li Liang was horrified and shouted, "What are you going to do? What are you going to do?"

Song Mo smiled faintly, like the spring breeze in March, bright and warm, and said in a clear voice: "You haven't told me yet, what will be different if Song Han comes?"

Li Liang and Chen Jia were both stunned.

Song Mo stepped down on tiptoe.

Li Liang let out a scream.

Chen Jia knew without even looking that Li Liang's hand was useless.

Song Mo stepped on Li Liang's index finger without changing his expression, and asked Li Liang softly, "What would be different if Song Han came?"

Although the medicine Chen Jia had given him before could relieve the pain, Song Mo's stomping made Li Liang gasp for air and sweat profusely in pain.

Song Mo stepped down again.

Li Liang's screams rang in Chen Jia's ears again.

He couldn't help but curse Li Liang in his heart.

Li Liang's eyesight is too dim. If he continues like this, he will die here.

Chen Jia squatted down and advised him: "Things have come to this point, what else can you not say? Even if you don't say it, the prince can still ask your sister, the second master, or even the Duke, but you are useless. If you don't think about yourself, you should also think about your wife and children at home..."

However, he forgot why Song Mo didn't step on Li Liang earlier or later, but waited until he finished his work before starting to deal with him.

In Li Liang's opinion, none of these people were easy to get along with. To be honest, only Chen Jia was easier to talk to. He had been in danger several times and it was all thanks to him who interceded. Hearing this, his expression became a little hesitant.

Chen Jia hurriedly said, "You just heard that the most capable guard under the prince went to ask for your sister. Why did you just watch your sister suffer? The prince didn't have any other intentions, he just wanted to clarify the matter of the noble lady. The noble lady grew up with you since she was a child, don't you want her to recognize her ancestors and live a good life?"

Li Liang's eyes dimmed.

He groaned twice in pain, then murmured, "My sister... has been restless since she was a child... The Duke of England dumped her, so logically, she wouldn't give in so easily, but she has lived with me obediently all these years... She doesn't care about the affairs of the heir. When the heir was little, if he didn't do what she wanted, she would beat the child to death with a feather bat. The child cried for mercy and called 'mother', but she remained unmoved. Even my mother, who had always advocated giving the child away, couldn't stand it anymore, so she agreed to give the child to Zhuo Jing to take care of..."

Chen Jia listened and his face turned pale with fright. He glanced at Song Mo quickly.

Song Mo stood there with a gentle expression, as if he was listening to someone else's story.

Chen Jia's heart was pounding and he kept scolding Li Liang.

Even if you say that, you have to be selective about what you say. Aren't you thinking your life is too long?

He wanted to go up and cover Li Liang's mouth.

But Li Liang was unaware of anything and continued in a low voice: "Zhuo Jing said at the time that she had seen cruel mothers, but none as cruel as this. She also said that although the daughter was born prematurely, she was lucky to have a good foundation, otherwise she would have died long ago after such torture... I thought it was a bit strange at the time. Since the Song family knew that there was an heir living outside, they took my sister to wait for the birth of the child. How could they suddenly not want both the adult and the child? Even if they disliked my sister, they should have sent my sister back and kept the child. Could it be that my sister took the child back from somewhere on a whim?

I questioned her again and she said I was just imagining things.

In those days, she treated Yugui much better.

I thought maybe I was just overthinking it and she just didn't like this child.

Five years ago, I caught a cold when I was dying. I took medicine for more than half a year but still didn't get better. Seeing that the family was running out of rice, my mother and Zhuo Jing discussed selling the last dozen acres of ancestral land. Suddenly, she took out a few banknotes, saying that they were her private savings.

I know everything in my house.

In order to take care of her health in the early years, my mother had spent all her money. Later, when she was sent back by the Song family, besides the clothes she was wearing, there was only a 200 tael silver note stuffed in her precious swaddling clothes. In recent years, the family was in financial difficulties, and I only gave her 50 or 60 taels of silver a year at most to buy rouge and powder. She wanted the best, made clothes, and bought snacks. How could she not spend the 200 taels of silver?

I asked her where the money came from, and she insisted that it was given by the Song family.

Later I discovered that she spent more every year than I earned. Not only that, but she was also very generous with her money, as if she had no worries at all about not having enough money in the future.

I just suspect that she and Song Yichun have not broken up yet."