Amidst the swaying of the vehicle, Xu Rong pondered for a while.
She was misled by Wei Daxiong's one-sided story and thought that Wei was breaking free from constraints to pursue a free love, not realizing that it was actually arranged by their parents.
This is more in line with the Wei family's temperament, and it's also reasonable. Given the Wei family's circumstances, they couldn't even get close to becoming a wealthy family, so they probably didn't have such grand ambitions to climb the social ladder from the beginning. Lin Bao'er had an unusual background, but she was grateful and generous. Even before she was an adult, she was already earning money, and she contributed every penny she had to the Wei family. Many families don't raise such a filial son. It's only natural that the Wei family parents had the idea of taking in a son-in-law at that time, hoping that he would help them now and in the future help the lazy and good-for-nothing Wei Daxiong.
However, no matter how economical Lin Bao'er was, he was too weak when Lord Xiao appeared. Therefore, Wei's parents abandoned him without hesitation, and even Wei's words about losing her virginity could not stop them. In the end, this tragedy of human relations was brought about.
While pondering, Xu Rong picked out a few more questions and learned that after being sold into the Marquis's mansion, Wei Shi soon discovered she was pregnant. Wei's mother was overjoyed and came to visit her. It was only then that Wei Shi told her the truth. Wei's mother was terrified and regretted it too late. She was powerless to harm Wei Shi in the Marquis's mansion, so she could only cooperate with Wei Shi to firmly pin the pregnancy on Marquis Xiao.
To succeed, the production stage is unavoidable.
Women typically carry a pregnancy for ten months, but Ms. Wei could not carry it for twelve months.
She had to be born prematurely.
Finding this opportunity wasn't difficult, because at that time, Lord Xiao had already become entangled with Concubine Ruan. Madam Xiao, full of violent temper, couldn't reach Concubine Ruan, who was being protected outside the mansion, so she took it all out on Madam Wei, scolding and punishing her every few days.
Madam Wei endured everything until she was about to give birth. Then, Madam Xiao forced her to kneel, which upset her and caused her to have a premature birth.
When Lord Xiao heard the news, he rushed back, but not to visit Lady Wei, who was on the verge of death. Instead, he used her as leverage to negotiate with Madam Xiao and ask her to let Concubine Ruan into the family.
The couple had a huge fight, and no one paid any attention to Ms. Wei, who was being carried back to the delivery bed struggling. The midwife that Ms. Wei's mother had paid for came in handy. The not-so-clever plan worked because it was the perfect combination of "right time and place".
After that, Ms. Wei kept a low profile, remaining silent no matter how much she was mistreated and oppressed. She lived a muddle-headed life for twenty years until now, when Wei Daxiong finally took revenge and exposed her.
...
“Daxiong didn’t know about this at the time.” Madam Wei bit her lip and said in a low voice, “He can’t keep a secret. Mother kept it from him all along. After I gave birth to Erlang, Mother became more and more frightened and even moved away. So… if I had known that Mother had told him later, I wouldn’t have let Erlang get rid of him like that.”
Xu Rong nodded. It was understandable that Madam Wei was afraid. Her first night was just one night, and it would be over once it was over. However, she gave birth to a child who was not of the Marquis's bloodline, but it would be a lifelong worry for her. As the child grew older, he might be exposed at any time. The Wei family was so frightened that they did not even dare to accept the wealth they had climbed up to, and they abandoned Madam Wei and Xiao Xin in the Marquis's mansion and ran away.
“The old lady must have told him before she passed away,” Xu Rong thought for a moment and said, “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have only come looking for her now.”
Wei Daxiong's personality was different from his mother's. He was a gambler who was willing to risk his life. If he had known he had this leverage, he would never have suffered poverty in the countryside. He would have come to extort money from Wei's family long ago.
Madam Wei nodded slightly, a hint of anger flashing in her usually gentle eyes: "Mother is probably worried that after she leaves, Daxiong will be too unruly to survive."
So she left her daughter's secret to Wei Daxiong as a last line of defense, without considering how Wei and Xiao Xin would survive if the matter were exposed.
It's no wonder that with Wei's temperament, she felt no gratitude towards her parents.
As they talked, Xiao Xin sat silently to the side, his eyes downcast, seemingly listening, yet not really listening. In the grand scheme of things, he was the most innocent and unaware victim, but the grudges and entanglements of the previous generation had ultimately converged on him, leaving him without choice or preparation to be pulled off the course of his life, unsure of where he would be led astray.
Xu Rong felt he needed a few more days to calm down, so she didn't try to get him to talk. She continued talking to Madam Wei, who had finished recounting the past. Madam Wei showed gratitude and shame: "Second Madam, it was all my foolishness. Please don't blame Erlang. You—or you should go back. Erlang and I will not live a good life from now on. If you go back, just say it was all my fault. In fact, it was the Xiao family who wronged you. The Marquis will not want to cause you any trouble."
Xu Rongyang raised an eyebrow, about to reply, when a wheel rolled over a pebble, the carriage swayed, and Xiao Xin leaned towards her, squeezing her against the side of the carriage. After the carriage stabilized, Xiao Xin did not sit up straight, but just slumped against her, still without saying a word.
Xu Rong was squeezed so tightly by him that she couldn't move. She seemed to understand his meaning a little, but she didn't quite understand it either. The feeling was so subtle that she couldn't even describe it. It was probably somewhere between amusing and affectionate. She wanted to slap him and tell him to move aside, but she also wanted to ruffle his hair and tell him not to be sad.
In front of Madam Wei, she remained composed and did nothing wrong. She said with a serious face, "What did you do wrong, Aunt? You openly rejected the Marquis and told him that you were already engaged. He still insisted, using his money and power to bully people and forcibly take a woman from the common people. It is we who should settle accounts with him."
Aunt Wei: "...Huh?"
She was caught off guard, and even Xiao Xin turned his head slightly to look over.
Xu Rong told him to squeeze in, which wasn't very spacious, but it wasn't as shaky either, so he didn't struggle and nestled in the corner, saying, "Auntie, you haven't wronged anyone. You were forced to submit to power to protect your fiancé's child. Far from being unfaithful, you are virtuous and chaste. To protect the Second Young Master's reputation, let's follow this line of thinking from today onwards, okay?"
Mrs. Wei was stunned: "This—can it still be saved?"
She stammered, pausing twice in her few words, but at the same time, her usually dim eyes lit up.
What she feared and worried about most was Xiao Xin's future. But in her mind, it would be good enough if she could keep her life. As for anything else, she dared not think about it, and she didn't even dare to mention it to Xiao Xin for the time being.
Xu Rong shook her head: "I don't know."
Before Mrs. Wei could show any disappointment, she raised her chin, her eyes bright, "But how will we know it won't work if we don't try?"
Mrs. Wei's lips trembled; she wanted to ask urgently, but couldn't utter a word.
“The Second Young Master earned his academic honors step by step on his own. He did not benefit from the Marquis’s family’s fame, and the Marquis’s family should not have the right to deprive him of them,” Xu Rong said firmly. “He may not be the Marquis’s Second Young Master, but he is still the top scholar in the imperial examination.”
She knew all too well the importance of reading, and she knew even better how Xiao Xin had learned it. When she told Bai Fu to "give it a shot," she wasn't talking about running away, but about this matter.
Even if Lady Wei made a mistake, Xiao Xin shouldn't have to pay for it with everything he had.
Moreover, since Lady Wei is completely innocent, Xiao Xin should not be made a sacrifice.
Xu Rong glanced at Xiao Xin. There were some things that Madam Wei didn't fully know, and it wasn't easy to discuss them with her. She planned to wait a few days until Xiao Xin had recovered before explaining things in detail.
...
Over the next few days, Lady Wei, who hadn't left the mansion in twenty years, was at a loss. Xiao Xin, who needed to process and accept his background, had no time to think much. The carriage, following Xu Rong's instructions, headed south for seven or eight days. The weather grew colder and colder. Brother Hongliu had never traveled so far before. Sometimes they could reach their lodging, sometimes they couldn't, and they had to make do in the wilderness. They even went the wrong way once, but fortunately, the journey was safe, and they didn't encounter any robbers.
On this day, they left Henan and entered the territory of Huguang.
Xu Rong and her brother Hong Liu went out for a walk to buy various things needed for the journey, and also went to a teahouse to sit and listen to the new story.
There was no gossip about the Changxing Marquis's residence. Perhaps it was because they were too far away to reach us, or perhaps Marquis Xiao considered it a family scandal and suppressed the news of their escape. In any case, no news was good news at this time.
Xu Rong carried the large and small bags back to the inn where she was staying.
Xiao Xin came out to greet him and took it.
Xu Rong looked him over and smiled, "Second Young Master, are you in a better mood?"
Xiao Xin shook his head: "Don't call me Second Young Master anymore."
As he said this, his expression was calm, and Xu Rong knew that he was indeed cured.
No matter how much pain he was in, he endured it.
"I asked my aunt what kind of person he is," Xiao Xin said after sitting down in the room.
Xu Rong listened as she packed her things.
“My aunt said that he is very smart and kind, and he is devoted to her. He is completely different from my father—” Xiao Xin paused, “from the Marquis.”
“My aunt said that my eyes look like his.”
After saying this, Lady Wei regretted it, fearing that Xiao Xin might not be able to accept it. But Xiao Xin subconsciously thought that he had always thought he was exactly like Lady Wei, but he never expected that he was like another person.
This sentence sparked his imagination, but he would never see that person again, and he didn't know what his eyes looked like or how they resembled his.
“My aunt said that my temper is not like his. He is much gentler, and he has a sweet tongue and is good at coaxing people.”
Lady Wei has a follow-up sentence here: it's all her fault that Xiao Xin developed such a temperament. But Lady Wei went through countless hardships and dangers to give him the most important life, so how could Xiao Xin blame her? This sentence is left unsaid.
“Auntie—” Xiao Xin changed his words, “My mother did not do it willingly back then. The Marquis forced her and never treated her well for a single day. We don’t owe the Marquis of Changxing anything.”
As he uttered those words, his eyes cleared, and a layer of gloom dissipated from his body.
Xu Rong stopped what she was doing and smiled happily: "That's the right way of thinking."
Xiao Xin sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her: "Where are we going now?"
Once he recovered, he began to attend to important matters.
South is just a direction; there should also be a specific destination.
"Annan." Having gotten the information, Xu Rong perked up and went over to sit down next to him.
Xiao Xin was taken aback for a moment before realizing what was happening: "You're going to find the Duke of England?"
Since he was not the son of Lord Xiao, the Duke of Ying could not be considered his maternal grandfather.
Xu Rong nodded happily: "That's right. We are not without bargaining chips. My original plan was to use the matter of Aunt Ruan and the eldest daughter as a condition to force the Marquis to make concessions."
However, approaching Lord Xiao directly for hasty negotiations might be a death sentence, only hastening their demise.
So she had to run first, save her life, and then come back to talk.
“Now that we have the concubine’s testimony, it turns out that the Marquis was in the wrong first, so our chances of winning are much greater. However,” Xu Rong held up one finger, “we need a mediator.”
“This middleman must be trustworthy, able to keep the Marquis in check, and have some stake in this matter so that he won’t tell anyone if he finds out. After thinking it over, I can only think of one person.”
British public.
“He is about to return to the capital, and may already be on his way. Let’s go find him and ask him to make the decision.”
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