"My daughter, you have to be careful. Walls have ears. Don't let your grandmother know that you are investigating her. Otherwise, those people back then might be suspected of being silenced. Besides, Granny Huang, you should ask your father to send someone to protect her. Do you understand?"
"Mother is really thoughtful." An Qingran said with a smile.
In fact, she had thought of it and asked the prince to arrange someone, but it was difficult to say it.
Lian Jinyu asked her again how she found Granny Huang, and she told her mother the truth, saying that it was the prince who helped her.
Lian Jinyu thought about it and didn't say anything. It was true. If it weren't for the help of the prince, how could a girl like her go out in public to look for someone? Moreover, An Qingran was so calm that she only told her about it at this point. In short, she was happy when she thought that every step An Qingran took was reasonable and well-founded.
Her daughter's behavior made her feel distressed and relieved. With such meticulous thinking, she would not be plotted against even if she entered the palace.
In fact, it’s a little early to say this.
An Qingran told her mother now for a purpose, mainly to ask her mother to help investigate the maids and nannies who went to the countryside, mainly Madam Lan's maid.
Madam Lan was a concubine, and my grandmother was the principal wife who was carried in through the front door. There is no doubt about this.
Soon there was news that Madam Lan's maid had come.
An Qingran and Lian Jinyu met her together in the villa of the general's mansion.
What happened here will not reach the old lady's ears.
When An Qingran entered the room, a grandmother in her sixties looked at her and became a little excited: "So similar, so similar..."
He stood up and walked forward tremblingly, his eyes still full of excitement: "You are..."
"I'm An Qingran..." An Qingran saw that she was excited but didn't know why, so she still answered with a smile.
The old woman nodded: "Why does she look so much like Madam Lan back then..."
The old woman talked about what happened that year.
She has been wronged for so many years just because she is an insider.
Moreover, she had waited for this day for too long. She did not dare to forget about it and told herself every day to recall everything that happened that year.
It turned out that forty years ago, there were two ladies in the general's mansion, one was the mistress Shen, and the other was Lan.
Lan was beautiful, kind-hearted, and extremely gentle.
Back then, the general favored Lan. Her status in the mansion was very high, only slightly lower than that of the mistress, and the old general intended to make her his co-wife.
It just so happened that she and the mistress were both pregnant that year, and the old general thought that after the child was born, he would establish a second wife as the icing on the cake. But it was even more coincidental that the two wives gave birth at the same time. That day, the weather was very good, and the general's mansion was full of joy. Lan's move came first, and then the mistress's move. At that time, the old general had won a great victory and was rushing back from the border...
The maid recalled that there was movement between Madam Lan and the mistress that day. When the old general returned home, news came from both rooms, but the mistress had given birth to a young master. But later, it was said that Madam Lan's child died at birth. The maid found it strange at the time, because the midwife left after delivering the baby with a happy face and a gold ingot in her hand. She wanted to enter the room, but she was a maid doing chores outside at the time, so she was not allowed to go in. She stayed outside and followed the joy.
What happened next was very strange. The mistress of the house found many reasons to drive away all the maids who served Madam Lan personally, saying that they did not take good care of her because she was not a personal servant. Therefore, she was sent back after Madam Lan died.
At that time, Mrs. Lan cried day and night because her son had died. The old general kept comforting her and took better care of her than the mistress of the house. However, Mrs. Lan's health was getting worse day by day. It was not known whether the new person who took care of her was not good enough. Anyway, Mrs. Lan became weaker day by day. The general invited a doctor to see her. The mistress of the house was also anxious and took the initiative to invite a doctor for her. However, after taking the medicine, she still did not get better. In the end, she coughed up black blood. Poor Mrs. Lan died a year later. When she died, her lips and nails were black. The mistress said that she was too sad and had a lung disease...
An Qingran listened to her incoherent talk until she finally finished telling the story. She had a vague idea in her mind that the black lips and nails could not be caused by lung disease, but must be poisoning.
"Is the doctor always hired by the mistress of the house?" An Qingran asked again.
"Yes, the mistress was very sad at the time. She stayed with Madam Lan every day, saying that as long as she got better, she would be the mistress of the house, because only when Madam Lan was around would the general be happy... But for some reason, Madam Lan didn't want to see the mistress anymore. Whenever she came, she would pretend to be asleep..."
An Qingran nodded: "Did the maidservant beside the mistress also get replaced at that time?"
"Yes, the mistress said that some of the maids had the same fate as the young master, so she replaced a large number of them. However, considering the hard work they put in serving, the mistress sent several carts to personally send them back to the countryside. Those who had families went home, and the mistress also made arrangements for those who didn't, and arranged for them to get married. Anyway, everyone approved of the mistress's approach at that time and praised her highly..." After saying this, Grandma Zhang sighed, as if she was thinking about something.
Because I said that I praised the mistress highly at that time, there was a digression, which is that when I think about it now, it’s not the case.
Lian Jinyu remained silent during the whole process. She knew what her daughter was investigating. As Grandma Zhang spoke more and more, she had more and more associations with the situation back then.
Let’s not talk about anything else, just the birthmark. If the mother-in-law who delivered Lan was right, An Zhongtao was Madam Lan’s son. Only in this way can it be explained why Shen used various excuses to drive away the maids.
When she thought of this, her heart started beating wildly. What would happen if Zhong Tao knew the truth? The mother he had been filial to for so many years was not his biological mother, and it was very likely that it was because she took him away that his mother died. She could be said to be an indirect murderer.
But An Qingran didn't think so. She felt that Shen was the direct murderer. She probably understood why Lan didn't want to see her afterwards. It was just that she didn't know that her child was still alive. If she knew, she would probably resist in the end. She wouldn't be so sad and silent.
Seeing that she asked so many questions, Granny Zhang had some clues in her mind: "Is Madam Lan's child still alive? I have actually always thought about this in my heart, but I didn't think it through thoroughly at the time, and I wasn't sure, so I didn't dare to tell Madam Lan. Madam Lan was a very gentle and kind person, the best master I have ever met in my life. So many years have passed, and when I think of what happened back then, I still feel sorry for Madam Lan. That look is really rare in the world, just like you, girl, you really look alike..."
Granny Zhang repeated that An Qingran looked like Madam Lan.
An Qingran felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Madam Lan was most likely her biological grandmother, so it was natural for her to look like her.
East warm room.
Lian Jinyu had been sitting there in a daze since she came back from the villa. This incident was so shocking. She didn't know where her daughter got such sharpness to think that there was a conspiracy in what happened back then. An Qingran also sat there thinking of a solution. She knew that the evidence of the midwife and Granny Zhang alone was not enough to prove it, because one was a maid beside Lan, and the other was the one who delivered Lan. She could deny it and accuse her of a crime, or make a big fuss. The General's Mansion could not allow scandals. If her father was really not a legitimate son, it would be really troublesome...
She bit her lip and kept thinking about whether she should tell her father about this matter first.
Inside the general's mansion, everything seemed calm on the surface, but no one knew that a turbulent undercurrent was about to emerge.
The old lady has been feeling unwell these past few days, and she is certainly unhappy too. Nothing has been done properly, and nothing has gone her way. What should she do?
Seeing that An Zhongtao had no intention of adopting An Mingbo, and Chu's fuss, she lost her mood. She was clearly fighting for them, but now she was blamed. What was she trying to do?
Fang was only concerned with watching the fun, but there was nothing exciting to watch these days, and she found it even more boring. If her son hadn't been preparing for the exam, she wouldn't have been able to stay.
Fortunately, Qiaojie was someone who could comfort him. She came forward to serve him from time to time, and was more useful than Shen Zhiyun who always went to Qiwuyuan.
Just as he was thinking about it, Shen Zhiyun came back mysteriously: "Mother, I found a strange phenomenon."
"What's the matter? Why are you making such a fuss? How can you behave like a lady from a noble family?" Fang said to her dissatisfiedly.
Shen Zhiyun took a breath and said, "It's not easy to get into Qiwu Courtyard now. An Qingran hasn't been in her courtyard or the East Warm Pavilion for several days. I don't know what she's busy with. The Crown Princess shouldn't be so mysterious."
"What's the big deal? She just went out for a walk, so what?" Fang disagreed.
"She went out for a walk, why did the maids not allow anyone to enter her yard as if they were guarding against thieves?"
"That's not impossible. Now that she's the Crown Princess, things will naturally be different... You've been hanging out with her all day... That's good. If she enters the palace and can find a good family for you, it means that you haven't been trying to make her happy in vain." Fang finally figured it out.
She just thought her daughter was making a fuss, but in fact Shen Zhiyun almost discovered their secret.
Finally, An Qingran arrived outside the study. She went in and didn't come out until an hour later. When she came out, there was a look of satisfaction on her face.
night.
As expected, today is the first day of the new year. The sky is very dark, but the palace lanterns in the palace are flashing a dim light. There is a breeze, and a hint of chillness is felt.
It's midsummer, how can it be cold?
The old lady sat up: "Min'er, close the window...Min'er?"
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