Su Qingyu stood up suddenly, "What did you say?"
After saying this, Aunt Lian let out a long sigh. Seeing Su Qingyu looking at her in surprise, she wiped away her tears and took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes.
"Aunt Xue is using this matter to threaten me. If I don't listen to her, she will tell everyone about it."
"I can't let her tell anyone, or it will be the end of Madam."
Having said this, Aunt Lian seemed to have suddenly made up her mind, and a hint of determination appeared in her eyes.
"Miss, don't worry about it. I will take care of this matter."
"I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I never took that ruthless approach. But she's become more and more unscrupulous, and now she's even coveting the throne of the crown prince."
"In this case, there is no way to keep her."
Aunt Lian, who had always been weak, suddenly had a murderous look in her eyes.
Su Qingyu knew that Aunt Xue had forced her into a corner, and even a clay figure had some temper.
"Aunt, please tell me slowly. What happened that night eighteen years ago?" Su Qingyu pulled an armchair and sat down opposite Aunt Lian.
She had recovered from her shock and was now eager to know what had happened.
When Aunt Lian heard Su Qingyu's question, she also tried hard to recall the details of that night.
"At that time, I was the Madam's maid, and had not yet become the Marquis's concubine."
"That night... Madam took me on a tour of the Marquis's mansion, and halfway through, she developed a stomachache and couldn't get up. There happened to be an uninhabited Hanyan Pavilion nearby, so I helped Madam inside. I also called a little maid nearby and had her call the old lady and the doctor over."
Su Qingyu asked, "Were you and my mother the only ones in Hanyan Pavilion at that time?"
Aunt Lian nodded and said, "Yes, there was a great commotion in the capital that day, and Madam ordered the servants not to wander around. Most of the guards were stationed in Songhe Hall to protect the old lady, and the rest were to guard the gates of the Marquis' Mansion."
"Seeing Madam's condition, I was worried she might be in labor prematurely. So I went to the small kitchen next door and tried to boil some hot water for her."
"The small kitchen is very close to the room where my wife rests. I can hear her voice and I don't worry about not being able to take care of her."
"But...I..."
When Aunt Lian said this, she began to cover her face and cry bitterly again.
Su Qingyu held her shoulders, stared into her panicked eyes, and asked in a deep voice, "But what? What happened?"
Aunt Lian sobbed twice and said, "Maybe I was too tired. I fell asleep in the small kitchen."
"It's all my fault. If I had been more alert, I wouldn't have fallen asleep, and Aunt Xue wouldn't have seen me."
Su Qingyu's brows furrowed. How could she fall asleep at that time? Aunt Lian was loyal to her mother and acted prudently and properly. How could she fall asleep during her mother's premature birth?
"How long did you sleep and what happened after you woke up?" Su Qingyu asked again.
Aunt Lian thought for a moment, then frowned and replied, "I put a pot of water in the stove. The fire wasn't very big, and when I woke up the water was just about to boil."
"I estimate I slept for about two-quarters of an hour, or maybe a little longer than that, but probably less than half an hour."
"After I woke up, I heard no sound from my wife, so I hurried over to check."
"Wait until I come into the house..."
When Aunt Lian said this, her face turned pale instantly, and her eyes were filled with fear.
Su Qingyu grabbed her cold hand and coaxed her softly, "It's okay, it's all over. Just tell me what you saw, and I'll take care of the rest."
Aunt Lian took two deep breaths and said, "When I went in, the bed was covered in blood. Next to the lady was... a bloody crow. It was already dead."
"What happened after that? What did you do?" Su Qingyu continued to ask her softly.
She was certain that this was a man-made conspiracy. Concubine Lian, who was in the middle of the situation and couldn't see through it, lived in constant fear.
This is exactly the same as the tragedy of "The Cat Substituted for the Prince" that happened in the previous dynasty.
Aunt Lian calmed herself down and continued, "I was so frightened that I grabbed the crow and ran out. I went to the corner of the garden and burned the crow to ashes."
"But after my wife gave birth, she lost the child. I must find her a child."
"I thought of my sister-in-law from my natal family. She also works in the mansion and just gave birth to a child ten days ago."
"I was planning to take the child here first to deal with it, and then find a body in a few days, say the child is gone, and return it."
"But when I ran back, I found out that my little niece had died of typhoid fever."
"I begged my sister-in-law to secretly bring the child back and put him next to the lady."
"I had just put the child down when the old lady came with her people. Luckily, they didn't look at the child for long, so the matter was covered up."
"But ever since Madam promoted me to concubine, Aunt Xue started threatening me, and from time to time she would bring up what Madam gave birth to eighteen years ago. Only then did I realize that Aunt Xue also knew about this."
At this point, Aunt Lian felt noticeably more relaxed. She had been brooding over this matter for eighteen years, and it was practically driving her crazy.
Sometimes she hated herself for being so useless. Not only did she fall asleep at such an important moment, but she also had to be threatened by Aunt Xue for so many years.
Countless times, she wanted to die with Aunt Xue, and take this secret to hell together. But she couldn't bear it, and she couldn't bear to leave her daughter.
Su Qingyu sat there motionless, not saying a word for a long while. She silently replayed the scene in her mind, pondering the whole process.
Someone must have tampered with Concubine Lian while she was sleeping. The person knocked her unconscious and took away the child while the mother was unconscious after giving birth, and placed a crow beside the bed.
When the man finished dealing with the child and came back, Aunt Lian had woken up and found a new corpse.
Judging from this, this person is most likely Aunt Xue.
Su Qingyu suddenly asked, "Auntie, when my mother gave birth, Auntie Xue was already pregnant, right?"
Aunt Lian nodded and said, "Yes, at that time Aunt Xue was pregnant with the young master and was already more than seven months pregnant."
Su Qingyu muttered softly, "Where is the stolen child now?"
Aunt Lian was startled and asked, "What child? Which child?"
Su Qingyu didn't answer her question, but continued to ask: "Auntie, when mother was pregnant, did the doctor say whether it was a boy or a girl?"
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