"Madam, we have circled around twice, but we have not found the shop you are looking for."
"Cough cough..."
Inside the sedan chair, a white-haired woman was curled up, coughing incessantly.
She removed the handkerchief from her mouth, revealing another pool of blood; she feared he was nearing his end. Her journey to the capital was solely to see one person. Lifting a corner of the curtain, she looked out. The once bustling Qingbai Street was now even more prosperous, but… where was the famous Fish Maiden Shop, once renowned throughout the capital?
Fish Girl's Shop is owned by Mu Chenyu.
Mu Chenyu was extremely wealthy and possessed superb medical skills. She was appointed as a female imperial physician by the government and married General Bai at the age of sixteen.
General Bai was both a scholar and a warrior, brave and skilled in battle, highly regarded by the emperor, and a renowned gentleman.
However, it was this upright gentleman who caused her to be separated from her son, Nian'er.
She took out a red jade hairpin and a letter, handed them to the servant outside the sedan chair, and whispered: "Go quickly to Cheng Garden and give this hairpin and letter... to Madam Bai, Mu Chenyu."
This woman is Hongyu.
Twenty years ago, Hongyu was General Bai's concubine.
Mu Chenyu repeatedly urged General Bai to take Hongyu as a concubine. General Bai outwardly refused, but secretly sent Hongyu to Jiangnan for resettlement. It was not until Mu Chenyu gave birth to her legitimate daughter Yuan'er that General Bai consummated his marriage with Hongyu.
Hongyu gave birth to a baby boy. She thought General Bai would take her and her child back to the capital and make her his concubine, but... General Bai abandoned the mother and kept the child, giving her a cup of poisoned wine...
She survived by using the vomiting and detoxification methods taught to her by Mu Chenyu, and lived in anonymity for eighteen years, all so that Nian'er could have a bright future as the legitimate daughter.
Today, she came to pay her respects to Mu Chenyu, just to catch a glimpse of Nian'er, even if it was just a fleeting glance from afar.
The carriage stopped near Chengyuan Garden. She was still clutching the corner of the curtain, but... her eyes were closed and her breathing was becoming faint.
“Red Jade…”
She opened her eyes and saw an old woman with white hair sitting by the bed. Judging from the white jade mandarin duck hairpins on her head, she could tell that the old woman was Mu Chenyu.
Strangely enough, Mu Chenyu is not yet old, so why does she look so old?
Looking further down, one could see Mu Chenyu sitting on a wheeled chair, her skirt gathered up and pressed under her body, revealing that she had no legs.
She was terrified and anxiously inquired about Nian'er's whereabouts. "Madam, is the eldest young master in the manor?"
Mu Chenyu shook her head and smiled bitterly, then her eyes welled up with tears. Facing the fading light of Hongyu, she could only suppress her sobs and softly comfort her, "The year is going well, Hongyu, don't worry..."
In fact, Nian'er had already passed away two years ago, caused by the poisonous actions of Liu Yao'er and her mother.
Seventeen years ago, General Bai married a concubine named Liu Yao'er. This woman was charming and alluring, with exceptional beauty.
Liu Yao'er gave birth to three daughters in a row, but her fourth child resulted in a difficult labor, leaving the midwife helpless. General Bai was away on a campaign and had not yet returned. Mu Chenyu could not bear to see her suffer, so she personally delivered the baby, sacrificing her own child to save her mother.
Perhaps, the seeds of hatred were sown at that time.
To comfort Liu Yao'er, who had lost her son, General Bai gave her his only son, Nian'er.
They thought the family was harmonious and peaceful. Unexpectedly, two years ago, after Liu Yao'er's eldest daughter, Mei'er, entered the palace and gained the emperor's favor, misfortune befell the Bai family one after another.
First, General Bai was assassinated, and then Nian'er was torn apart by five horses for treason. Mei'er, the Imperial Concubine, never pleaded for Nian'er's life from beginning to end.
After General Bai and Nian'er passed away one after another, Mu Chenyu moved away from the Bai Mansion with Yuan'er and settled in Chengyuan.
Unexpectedly, misfortune continued, and Liu Yao'er falsely accused her of colluding with Japanese pirates.
She and Yuan'er were thus imprisoned. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager pleaded with the Emperor on her behalf, and they were spared. However, Liu Yao'er had already severed her legs and blinded Yuan'er.
With Cuiwei's help, Yuan'er came to the bedside and, feeling around the edge of the bed, asked, "Mother, who has come to visit? Yuan'er has come to pay her respects."
Fearing that this might give away something, Mu Chenyu waved to Cuiwei and said, "The guest is unwell, Cuiwei, please take the young lady downstairs first."
Yuan'er was unwilling to leave. In the past two years, the mansion had been deserted, with no one visiting. Even patients suffering from incurable diseases dared not come to ask for medicine.
Yuan'er was overjoyed to have a guest visit. She reached out and grasped Hongyu's hand, saying with a smile, "Anyone who can enter Mother's bedroom must be an old friend of Mother's. Today we have an honored guest, so we must have a good time."
Hongyu was shocked to see Yuan'er, who was blind. She looked down and saw a jade pendant with auspicious clouds hanging from Yuan'er's waist. She squinted and looked closely. The pendant was engraved with the character "Qi". This was Nian'er's personal item. How could it be on Yuan'er?
Hongyu immediately sensed something was terribly wrong. She grabbed Yuan'er's arm tightly, pulled him to her lips, and asked in a trembling voice, "Where is Nian'er?"
My younger brother has already passed away...
"Yuan'er!" Mu Chenyu shouted sharply, leaning forward to pull Yuan'er to her side. She gave Hongyu a disdainful smile, "Ha! The younger brother Yuan'er mentioned was Liu Yao'er's son. That child had a short life; he died right after birth."
"My son is not unlucky; he deserves his fate." That sharp, piercing voice? It was Liu Yao'er.
Yuan'er collapsed to the ground in fright, clutching Mu Chenyu's clothes and trembling, "No, don't poke my eyes..."
Seeing her daughter so terrified, Mu Chenyu felt heartbroken and utterly hopeless.
Since leaving the prison, Liu Yao'er has never contacted her again. Her sudden visit today must mean ill intentions; she probably intends to destroy Cheng Garden!
She took out three pills from her sleeve, gave two to Cuiwei, and swallowed one herself.
In the corner of her eye, Liu Yao'er, dressed in a dark green dress, slowly approached. She kept her head down, never daring to look directly at the woman who had severed her legs with her own hands.
[Yao'er, I know you resent me for not being able to protect your son. You could have just killed me. Why involve the general and the children?]
【Ha ha……】
Liu Yao'er laughed wildly and threw a letter at her.
[Mu Chenyu, you are utterly foolish. Read the letters my father wrote, and you'll understand why I married into the Bai family.]
Mu Chenyu opened the letter and saw that it was full of the familiar Japanese pirate script. Last time, Liu Yao'er used this kind of letter to frame her for colluding with the Japanese pirates.
Only now did she realize that everything Liu Yao'er had done wasn't directed at her, but rather an act of revenge against General Bai:
General Bai once secretly went to the southeast coast to suppress Japanese pirates. On his way back to the capital, he rescued Liu Yao'er, who was on her way to find her relatives.
Liu Yao'er was skilled in calligraphy and painting, and could sing and dance, which won her the affection of General Bai.
General Bai didn't keep Liu Yao'er by his side; instead, he sent her to the Jia family to work as a dancer. Later, when General Bai wanted to marry Liu Yao'er as his concubine, Mu Chenyu learned of this and agreed to let Liu Yao'er marry into the Bai family.
Now filled with deep regret, she crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it at Liu Yao'er, ["I only have myself to blame for being so blind, allowing the Japanese pirates to enter the Bai family!"]
[Haha... Mu Chenyu, don't be so self-righteous. In fact, the general had already planned my future before we got married.]
I married you because we were of equal social standing, and as for Hongyu, she was only there to carry on the Bai family line.
In this way, the general can both grant me the status of a secondary wife and ensure the continuation of the Bai family line. It's just a pity... I, Liu Yao'er, don't care for someone else's flesh and blood.
Upon hearing this, Mu Chenyu was consumed by rage and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Black blood, poisonous.
Liu Yao'er panicked and yelled at the soldiers outside the door, "Quickly! Before she dies, chop her into eight pieces! Leave no one from Chengyuan alive!"
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