Xu Rong's heart skipped a beat, but she remained expressionless and asked, "What?"
This was precisely her purpose in coming. There were many ambiguities in Lord Xiao's instructions to Xiao Xin. After all, he was still too young and not the eldest son to inherit the family business. Lord Xiao would not tell him all the core secrets of the family all at once.
However, Madam Xiao was only just hearing about this matter. Judging from the fact that she made a big fuss by directly arresting Xiao Shan, which caused rumors at the time, it was clear that she was unprepared. So, as the person involved, Xiao Shan might know something that others did not.
“It was my sister-in-law.” Xiao Shan gritted out the words through clenched teeth. “She’s the one who told Madam. I didn’t provoke her, but she’s the one who harmed me!”
Xu Rong had already guessed this, and she didn't pretend to know it, but Xiao Shan's lack of surprise only fueled her resentment. "You knew? Looks like I'm the only fool here!"
She coughed twice in her excitement before saying, "But there's something you probably don't know—do you know why Madam insisted you marry my second brother back then?"
Xu Rong's heart tightened, and he said, "Isn't it because you're afraid my mother will gossip outside and harm the young master?"
Xiao Shan shook her head, her gaze towards her carrying a hint of smugness and even pity. She suddenly realized that Xu Rong was just as "pitiful" as she was, kept in the dark and unaware of anything. "Second sister-in-law, so you didn't remember."
Xu Rong was taken aback, but then realized that Xiao Shan's words in this context could not be unrelated to the past—she thought that Xiao Shan had remembered the part about "amnesia," which was why she knew that Xiao Houye was not his biological daughter.
In other words, the source of the original owner's fall down the hillside was right here!
She maintained her composure: "Please enlighten me, young lady."
Even without her asking, Xiao Shan would have told her. She was currently in the stage of trying to bring everything in sight into the water: "When Madam called me over, my sister-in-law was right next to me. I heard her ask my sister-in-law, 'Was it really because of this that you pushed Xu Shi down?' How much did she hear?"
That's enough, that one sentence is enough to seal the deal.
However, Xu Rong did not feel at ease, because she suddenly discovered another strange thing - that is, Madam Xiao did not know the deeper reason why Xiao Lun attacked her. She really thought that Xiao Lun pushed her accidentally, and the subsequent series of actions were just to protect her son's reputation.
That makes sense. The severity of simply breaking off an engagement and falling in love with someone else is different from almost killing one's fiancée. The latter is enough to arouse the protective instincts of a mother, especially a mother like Madam Xiao.
This leads to the most important conclusion: the British government was also unaware of this particular case.
Therefore, when Madam Zhang tried to dissolve her engagement with Xiao Xin, she must have learned about Xiao Lun's actions from Madam Xiao. In order to protect him, she wanted her to maintain the old engagement with Xiao Lun, but she never had any special intentions towards the Duke of Zheng's mansion.
Xu Rong let out a slow sigh.
This is the only good news in this mess: the situation has been brought under control within the Xiao family. If there's a problem, it's only the Xiao family's problem.
At the same time, it was precisely because Madam Xiao missed the crucial information and was suddenly shocked that she answered Chang Shuyin directly in front of Xiao Shan; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have heard any of this.
"What did Grandma say?" Xu Rong asked softly.
“My sister-in-law said, I’m not sure if you heard it, but they were talking about—” Xiao Shan’s expression became a little complicated. She paused for a moment before saying, “My aunt, if she has any other dirt on me.”
Xu Rong put it in perspective: "They were talking about how Aunt Ruan was a weakness?"
Xiao Shan nodded reluctantly.
Xu Rong pondered for a moment.
Why was Aunt Ruan a weakness? The answer is obvious: her background.
Lord Xiao's act of redeeming Concubine Ruan back then was rather unwise, but from another perspective, since he was able to rescue her before she entered the brothel, it can be seen that this action was not particularly taboo. Judging from Lord Xiao's current status, he has not been implicated much. So why is she still a handle to be used against him nearly twenty years later?
Putting that aside for now, why did Xiao Lun talk about his stepmother with Chang Shuyin during their private meeting? Who started this topic first? And what was the significance of starting it?
Faced with her three questions, Xiao Shan was quickly dumbfounded. She shook her head dazedly: "I don't know, I—right, it seems to be related to my sister-in-law's family. I heard Madam ask my sister-in-law how much her family knew, saying that she didn't expect the Chang family to be so capable, not only able to target the son-in-law's concubine, but also not letting go of the secrets of the previous generation's in-laws."
This is obviously ironic. Madam Xiao was probably furious about being kept in the dark, and she took it all out on Chang Shuyin. But the irony also revealed an important piece of information: Chang Shuyin didn't learn about Xiao Shan's background from Xiao Lun, but from her own family.
This makes much more sense. Xu Rong had found it strange before, and couldn't imagine why Xiao Lun would need to tell Chang Shuyin such a secret.
“Oh, right,” Xiao Shan remembered something else, “I heard my sister-in-law explain that she didn’t mean to tell her family. It’s just that she was ignorant before and wanted to please my brother. She wanted to find topics to talk about with him, so she told my brother about the conversation she overheard between her father and brothers. When my wife asked her what it was, she said it was something, something about a king—?”
Xiao Shan paused, her expression suggesting she was recalling something.
Xu Rong tentatively prompted in a soft voice: "Prince Qing?"
“Yes, yes,” Xiao Shan suddenly realized. She had little contact with the outside world. Although she knew that her birth mother’s family’s crime was related to Prince Qing, she had no concept of this prince, so much so that she couldn’t even remember his title. “They said that Prince Qing seemed to be well-behaved, but he actually held some dirt on some court officials. Then they mentioned my aunt and said that it was not appropriate for Father to take in a concubine.”
As Xiao Shan spoke, her expression turned displeased. Due to excessive fear, her memory of the time was fragmented and chaotic. With Xu Rong's prompting, she finally recalled and pieced it together. "My sister-in-law said that she didn't think much of it at the time. She was just bored lately, and the more she thought about it, the stranger my brother's reaction seemed—" She couldn't help but sneer at this point, "I think she wasn't just bored. She was provoked by my brother and was deliberately looking for his weaknesses. Otherwise, how come she hadn't thought of it for so long!"
Xu Rong agreed with her analysis. When husband and wife are of one mind, their strength can break metal; when they are not of one mind, they will stab each other in the back. Chang Shuyin was sincere to Xiao Lun and even told him about her father and brother's private conversations, but in return she got an older brother. How could she bear it? Even the deepest filter should wake up. Once it does, she will start to pay attention to the things she didn't notice before.
—And this is probably also related to Zhi Tao's identity. It was because Zhi Tao was her maid and appeared at the scene of the fall that Chang Shuyin was also brought back to that year.
It has to be said that some things may indeed be preordained.
Encouraged, Xiao Shan pressed on, "She asked Madam Chang to inquire, and it turned out that my aunt was already pregnant before she entered the manor—"
She couldn't continue, and her expression turned ashamed.
Xu Rong's expression remained unchanged: "Young lady, fate is cruel, it's not your fault. But Madam already knew about this, didn't she?"
Otherwise, why would someone utter the phrase "rape first, then accept as a concubine"?
Xiao Shan said in a low voice, "I don't know how they found out. I only heard my sister-in-law say that she wrote a letter to some second brother of hers, and then she insisted that I wasn't my father's biological son. Madam called me over and looked at me like I was some strange thing. She wanted to interrogate me, but what do I know..."
Tears streamed down her face, sliding down her cheeks and soaking into the soft pillow.
She cried so intensely, while Xu Rong sat quietly.
Chang Shuyin's second brother, Second Master Chang, was someone she met once that year. He has not yet completed the three-year term of office that is customary for court officials. In other words, he is still serving as an official in Pingliang Prefecture, which is the fiefdom of Prince Qing.
He wasn't very old, and he lived a thousand miles away. Chang Shuyin went through her family to inquire about him, which meant he must have a reason or a way to find out. What way? His unique place of work.
All the fragments came together and returned to their places. At this point, she had nothing left to ask her, and nothing left to be confused about.
Xu Rong silently but carefully looked at Xiao Shan, who was still crying.
Lord Xiao acknowledged her, but not voluntarily. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used the guise of affection to treat her so indifferently and raise her to be like this.
With his method of "pampering," it would be better to leave Xiao Shan to be mistreated by Madam Xiao, at least that would toughen her up a bit.
Twenty years ago, Lord Xiao was also the heir of the Changxing Marquis's mansion. He had never experienced a low point in his life. What kind of person could force him to take on such a burden?
The answer couldn't be more obvious.
But she couldn't say it.
In her current state, Xiao Shan cannot keep the secret, nor can she reveal that she already knows the whole truth—it's too dangerous.
“Young lady,” after Xiao Shan had cried herself to sleep and was staring blankly with wet cheeks, she slowly stood up, “No matter what, I still stand by what I said: if the Marquis acknowledges you, then you are the eldest daughter of the Marquis’s mansion. Once you marry and leave the Marquis’s mansion with this status, what does it matter what the people here say? What can they do to you?”
"But—" Xiao Shan came to her senses a little, then hesitated.
She wanted to ask her biological father, but she didn't want to either. The thought of that word filled her with horror and shame; it would shatter all her pride. She would rather never know for the rest of her life.
So, as Xu Rong said, treating it as a nightmare, where nothing actually happened, is the only and best option.
...
When Aunt Ruan saw Xu Rong out, Xiao Shan was already willing to drink medicine and eat, unlike a few days ago when she could only be forced to drink it.
Aunt Ruan, her eyes red with tears, was very grateful to her: "Second Madam, thanks to you, Shan'er is willing to listen to you. Please come and visit more often when you have free time."
"Let's wait a while," Xu Rong politely declined. "If I keep coming here now, it might not be good for my aunt and eldest daughter if the Marquis and his wife find out."
The guards at the gate are still there right now.
Aunt Ruan understood: "Then I'll invite Second Madam over to sit down after I've tidied up here."
Xu Rong exchanged a few more pleasantries with her, then turned and walked back.
On the way, she seemed to be deep in thought. She noticed that Aunt Ruan's spirit was quite extraordinary. Even in this predicament, she was only worried that Xiao Shan might do something rash. She didn't seem to have any other concerns, which showed that she still had confidence and didn't think that Lord Xiao would do anything to her.
This confidence doesn't seem to come from Lord Xiao; it probably comes from another source.
Madam Xiao probably never knew that the concubine who had poked her eyes for so many years had such a powerful background. The conflict between her and Marquis Xiao was too deep and too irreconcilable. At first, Marquis Xiao probably couldn't speak up—after all, he really had feelings for Concubine Ruan, otherwise he wouldn't have dragged Wei Shi, a completely innocent commoner, into it. But later, he couldn't speak up anymore.
However, he could not keep this secret alone forever. He needed allies, so he told Xiao Lun. No matter how much he cared about Xiao Lun, Xiao Lun was also the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and his interests were inextricably linked with those of the Marquis of Changxing. Xiao Lun knew his mother's temperament well, and after learning about it, he remained silent to his mother.
The father and son's plan was simply to marry Xiao Shan off, but their efforts ultimately failed due to internal problems.
As Xu Rong walked towards the entrance of the courtyard, she almost bumped into Cai Die, who was coming out of the courtyard. Cai Die said, "Grandma, Grandma."
Xu Rong: "Hmm?"
She looked at the butterfly as if it had something to say.
"Brother Yue sent word that he wants Grandma to go to the bookstore." Cai Die said honestly, "Grandma isn't here yet. I was just about to go find her. Brother Yue also said that he wants Grandma to come as soon as possible."
Xu Rong was puzzled, but didn't take it too seriously, nodding, "Okay, I'll go right now."
Although she didn't take it to heart, she didn't delay and went to ask for a carriage. While sitting in the carriage, she thought about Wei Shi again: she had been too suspicious of Wei Shi before. How could someone with her courage and character cause such a disaster?
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