Chapter 136 The Mystery of Life
At dawn, Pei Jing was already standing in front of a remote courtyard in Huaitang County.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the small blue brick courtyard was hidden in the haze, appearing particularly quiet.
"Your Highness, this is it." Duan Jiu whispered, "Prince Ping's wet nurse has been hiding here and there since leaving the capital. She has only settled down here in the past two years. She has an adopted little girl who is eighteen years old. She has no one else around her."
Pei Jing's Adam's apple moved, and he waved his hand backwards. In an instant, the guards disappeared into the woods.
Pei Jing straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and raised his hand to knock on the door.
After a while, there was a sound of footsteps in the room. He withdrew his hand, put it behind his back and waited quietly.
The door creaked open a crack, revealing a pair of vigilant eyes. It was a young girl with loosely tied black hair and a look of vigilance on her plain face.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" The girl held the door tightly with her hands.
Pei Jing nodded slightly, "My last name is Pei, and I've come to visit Aunt Qu."
A trace of panic immediately flashed in the girl's eyes, "You've got the wrong person. There's no one named Qu here."
As he said this, he was about to close the door.
Pei Jing raised his hand to press against the door panel. "My name is Pei Jing, my courtesy name is Songnian, and I am..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden "pop" sound from the room, like the sound of a teacup breaking.
Then, an old, trembling voice was heard: "Songnian... Is it Songnian?"
The girl was stunned, looked at Pei Jing hesitantly, and finally slowly opened the door.
Pei Jing walked into the room. The light was dim and a white-haired old woman was standing by the corner of the table with a broken tea bowl at her feet.
"Madam Qu."
Aunt Qu trembled all over, staggered forward, and stretched out her hand to feel around, "It's really Songnian, it really is you..."
Pei Jing stretched out his hand tentatively, but was held tightly by Nanny Qu.
She was thin and her eyes were cloudy. She had to get very close to see Pei Jing's face, and tears immediately streamed down her face.
"You, you have grown up so much. Back then... when I fled the capital, you were just born." Nanny Qu grabbed Pei Jing and cried.
Pei Jing choked up a little and helped Nanny Qu sit down. Nanny Qu then moved closer to look at Pei Jing. He never interacted much with others, so he moved back a little, not feeling comfortable.
The girl explained in a low voice, "Grandma is old, and her eyesight has long been useless. She can only see people clearly when she is close."
Pei Jing stopped retreating and let Nanny Qu look him over carefully.
"Your eyebrows and eyes look like your mother's, and your nose looks like A-Yu's."
Aunt Qu looked at him with tears streaming down her face. Her skinny fingers tightly grasped his sleeves. "It's been twenty years... twenty years! When I left, you were only this old..."
She gestured, crying and laughing, "Now we have grown up..."
Pei Jing lowered his eyes, "I think Madam should know the purpose of my visit this time."
"I know, I know." Aunt Qu patted the back of his hand gently. "I'm glad you came. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'd have to take this secret underground."
She took a deep breath and said, "When Prince Ping left, your mother urged me to leave the capital. She was already pregnant with you at that time, but Ayu had just left, leaving your mother and you an orphan and a widow. How could I bear to stay in the palace until the day you were born?"
Nanny Qu didn't speak for a long time, as if she was lost in memories and couldn't extricate herself. Pei Jing didn't disturb her, as if he was not in a hurry, but also seemed afraid to hear the final result.
After a long pause, Madam Qu continued, "Seven months after Prince Ping died, your mother gave birth to you."
The last glimmer of light in Pei Jing's eyes was extinguished in an instant.
Therefore, he is the emperor's son, not King Ping's son.
He lowered his eyes and muttered a passage: "Historical records: Three months before Prince Ping's death, Princess Ping was ordered to enter the palace. It was a cold day and she caught a cold, becoming bedridden. She stayed in the palace to recuperate, and after more than a month she returned to the palace. Two months later, Prince Ping passed away. Seven months later, Princess Ping gave birth to—"
"No! You're not that man's child!" Aunt Qu suddenly interrupted, grabbing Pei Jing's hand and saying excitedly, "You are Prince Ping's child. You are Ayu's child. Did you know that? You were born prematurely!"
Pei Jing suddenly raised his head.
If he was born full-term, then the time when Princess Ping became pregnant with him would coincide with the time she was in the palace. But if he was born prematurely...
Pei Jing's head buzzed and his heart began to beat wildly.
"You are indeed the flesh and blood of His Highness Prince Ping!" Nanny Qu coughed twice in a hurry, and Qiao Niang hurriedly brought water.
"Don't be impatient, mother-in-law. Drink some water first and speak slowly."
Nanny Qu drank some water and continued, "After the princess returned home, she had her period and later became pregnant with you, but you were born a whole month earlier than expected."
She gestured tremblingly, "You're truly amazing! You were born a month premature and still weighed a full seven pounds. You were white and plump, and your cry was resounding. No one could tell you were born prematurely. That's how we hid it from the midwife sent by the palace and saved your life."
Pei Jing's hands began to tremble, and it was hard to tell whether it was shock or excitement. "I am... Prince Ping's child."
"But why... did she do this to me? Why did she let me think..."
Aunt Qu was already in tears. "You 'must' be the Emperor's child to survive, child, do you understand? If you were Prince Ping's child, the Emperor would have killed you! But since you're the Emperor's child, how could she be close to you? That's why she became a nun after giving birth. Firstly, she was thinking of your father, and secondly, the Emperor is suspicious by nature. This was the only way she could convince him that you were his child."
Pei Jing's eyes were red, and his fingertips pinched his palm unconsciously, thinking of the woman standing in front of him crying and telling him that she had her own difficulties.
Suddenly, all the little things in the past have taken on new meaning.
I understood the trembling back of the monk when he turned around. I used to think it was disgust, but now I know that there were hot tears hidden in his deliberately distant eyes.
When he learned that his mother was still alive, he ran to the Buddhist temple with joy, but saw her reciting scriptures with her eyes lowered, and she didn't even want to look at him. It was not that she didn't want to, but she was afraid that others would see the attachment in her eyes.
The quick glances that passed by him during those years were actually secretly counting how much taller he had grown.
The woman resolutely stepped into the nunnery, exchanging the rest of her life in confinement for his right to live.
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