Chapter 38 Miss! You're finally awake! [3]
Aunt Meng's smile froze on her face.
"What did you say?" She thought she had misheard.
Achu repeated, "I don't want to marry my cousin."
Aunt Meng's face immediately darkened.
She raised her hand and slapped Achu hard across the face.
Achu could have avoided it, but she didn't.
The gold ring on Aunt Meng's hand grazed her face, leaving another bloody scratch.
Half of her face quickly turned red.
"Chen Jingtan! Did you hear a thing I said?!"
"Is this how you taught me to disobey me?!"
Aunt Meng was furious; she knew this wretched woman was no pushover!
She felt that she had been too lenient lately, which emboldened that bitch.
Aunt Meng pointed at A Chu's nose and berated him.
Not satisfied with just scolding, she glanced outside, pointed to the courtyard paved with bluestone slabs, and commanded:
"Get out and kneel down! Get up when you realize your mistake!"
For the original owner, being forced to kneel as punishment was commonplace.
Kneeling as punishment on rainy days, kneeling as punishment under the scorching sun, kneeling as punishment on snowy days, kneeling as punishment on cold nights.
Whenever Aunt Meng was unhappy, she would make her kneel as punishment.
Before Achu could move, Xiaoliu had already knelt down and begged Aunt Meng for mercy.
"Auntie, please spare Miss! Miss is already frail, and with the rain outside, she'll surely fall ill kneeling like that!"
Xiaoliu cried and begged.
Aunt Meng retorted fiercely, "She deserved to die!"
She couldn't wait for that bitch to die!
That wretched woman was just too lucky; she survived over a decade of torment without dying, though her health deteriorated.
What a pity!
Aunt Meng glared fiercely at A Chu: "Get down and kneel down right now!"
Achu's eyes were filled with tears, and she seemed about to collapse.
But she remained firm, saying, "Even if I kneel to death, I will not marry my cousin."
After saying that, Achu lifted her foot and walked outside.
Looking at her frail and thin back, Aunt Meng gritted her teeth and said, "Then you can kneel to your death!"
It's impossible to die from kneeling.
Achu knelt down in the rain.
She was already dressed lightly, and the spring rain was chilly, quickly soaking her through.
When Rong arrived with her people, they found Achu kneeling in the rain, shivering.
On her pale face, the swollen handprint and two bloody marks were particularly noticeable and glaring.
But she held her head high, her frailty revealing a tenacious spirit that refused to accept her fate.
Although they came here because they had solid evidence proving that Aunt Meng had indeed switched her two daughters.
But when Rong finally saw Achu's face clearly, she was still deeply shaken.
The girl had exquisite features; every part of her face, from her eyebrows to her eyes, was beautiful.
Despite her stunningly beautiful appearance, she possesses a delicate and fragile demeanor.
She doesn't look particularly like Rong Shi, but she looks a lot like her deceased older sister!
It was only then that Aunt Meng learned of Rong's arrival.
She rushed out and approached Madam Rong, about to bow: "Madam, what's wrong... Ah!—"
Aunt Meng was stunned by the slap that Rong slapped at her.
"lady?!"
She covered her face, looking at Rong Shi in panic and confusion, not knowing what she had done wrong.
Rong glared fiercely at Aunt Meng, as if she wanted to tear her to pieces.
Aunt Meng trembled and turned pale.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Granny Lin and another maid help A-Chu, who was kneeling on the ground, up.
Aunt Meng quickly explained, "Madam, please listen to me. I punished Tan'er by making her kneel because... Ah!—"
Rong slapped Meng Yiniang on the other side of her face.
"Meng Fang! How dare you! You actually bribed the midwife to switch my daughter!"
With a loud bang, Aunt Meng looked up at Madam Rong in disbelief.
How...how could anyone possibly know?!
Aunt Meng tried to calm herself down and knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Madam! Madam, please don't believe the slanderous lies of these wicked people!"
"I am utterly loyal to you, how could I have done such a thing!"
Rong glared at her with bloodshot eyes: "I have found the midwife from back then. That midwife is still holding the jade pendant you gave me, the jade pendant I rewarded you with!"
"And I've also found the murderer you bribed to cover up your crime."
Aunt Meng was extremely flustered, never expecting that her secret would be exposed.
But she simply couldn't admit it.
Just as Aunt Meng was thinking of how to argue her way out, Ah Chu, who had been draped in a cloak by Granny Lin, spoke in a trembling voice:
"So... I'm not your daughter, Aunt?"
"No wonder you've been beating and scolding me all these years... If I'm even slightly unhappy, you make me kneel or deny me food..."
“Cousin Wu is already thirty years old. He beat his last wife to death, yet you forced him to marry you…”
"I thought you just didn't love me, your daughter. I never imagined that I wasn't even your daughter!"
"I……"
Rong looked at Achu, whose face was as pale as paper and who was almost swaying.
Hearing what she said, Rong felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
Her face turned pale, and she hated Aunt Meng even more.
Just as Rong was about to say something, she saw A-Chu roll her eyes, go limp, and faint.
Her expression changed drastically, and she quickly went over and hugged Achu.
"Quick! Carry Tan'er to her room! Quickly, fetch a doctor!"
Chaos broke out at Mengfang Garden.
As for Aunt Meng, Rong ordered her to be taken away and imprisoned in the manor jail to await her fate.
The doctor arrived quickly.
After taking his pulse, his expression turned grave.
"Sixth Miss is too weak! This is a chronic illness she's had since childhood!"
"If you don't take good care of yourself, not only will you have difficulty having children in the future, but your lifespan will also be greatly reduced!"
Madam Rong looked extremely pale. She said to the doctor, "How should I treat this? I still have a century-old ginseng in my storeroom..."
The doctor shook his head: "No, Miss Liu's body is too weak. Too much nourishment would be too harmful. She needs to be nourished slowly and gently."
"I'll write a prescription and make a list of dietary supplements for Miss Liu to take care of for now."
Madam Rong nodded and instructed her maid to accompany the doctor to get a prescription.
After the doctor left, Rong sat down by the bedside.
She looked at Achu, who was lying on the bed with her eyes closed.
The wound on Achu's face had been treated with medicine, but it was still very obvious and glaring.
Looking at her pale, sickly face, even in her unconscious state, her brows were tightly furrowed.
Rong recalled that when she had just hugged Achu, she could feel her bones even through the thick cloak.
Too thin!
How exactly did Aunt Meng mistreat her all these years?
Rong's eyes were red.
She carefully took Achu's cold hand.
After a long pause, she quietly instructed Granny Lin: "Select the one most skilled in interrogation to go to the prison. I need to know how Madam Meng has treated Tan'er all these years."
Granny Lin responded softly.
Ah Chu remained unconscious for a full day.
When she woke up, Xiaoliu was by her side.
Seeing that Achu had woken up, Xiaoliu exclaimed with delight, "Miss! You're finally awake!"
Achu opened her mouth, her voice low and weak: "I want to drink water."
Xiao Liu made two "oh" sounds and quickly went to pour water for A Chu.
She helped Achu drink a glass of water.
"Miss, you've been unconscious for a whole day!"
Ah Chu looked up at her and asked weakly, "How is it outside?"
Before Xiaoliu could answer, someone came in from outside the door.
Rong's voice rang out from the doorway: "How is Tan'er?"
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