Chapter 48 The wet nurse has plenty of milk.
In the flower hall of the Regent's Palace, the aroma of tea was in the air, and sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
Shen Xingwan sat upright on the Huanghuali armchair at the main seat, elegantly picked up the teacup, opened the lid, slowly scraped off the foam, lowered her eyes and took a sip.
She raised her head, with a hint of inquiry in her eyes.
Feiyun stood quietly beside her and told Mrs. Chen: "Tell me everything you know."
"Oh, yes."
Mrs. Chen stood in the hall, raised her hand and gently smoothed her white hair, cleared her throat, and spoke in a rural accent, "Thinking back then, I had just given birth to my little son, and I had so much milk that the child couldn't finish it all."
"But at that time, our family was extremely poor and we lived a tight life. We worried about the next meal every day." As she said this, she shook her head slightly and smiled bitterly, as if she was recalling those difficult days again.
"It just so happened that Magistrate Tang had a concubine who had just given birth to a little girl. The concubine was thin and pale, and it was obvious that she didn't have much milk."
As Mrs. Chen spoke, she gestured with her hands, "That young lady is so thin, she walks so lightly, it makes me feel sorry for her."
"It was also by chance that, after being introduced by someone, I went to the Tang Mansion and became the wet nurse of that concubine's daughter." Mrs. Chen sighed, as if she recalled the situation when she first entered the Tang Mansion.
Shen Xingwan frowned and asked, "Is the concubine's surname Yang?"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Chen was stunned at first, then came to her senses after a moment, her eyes full of surprise, "That's right, how did you know, Your Majesty?" She couldn't help but raise her eyes and secretly glanced at Shen Xingwan, as if trying to find the answer from her face.
Shen Xingwan had no expression on his face, and just said calmly, "Go on."
"Oh, yes." Mrs. Chen lowered her head quickly, not daring to look again, and then added with great interest: "The young lady's surname is indeed Yang. She is very beautiful, with willow-shaped eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and a very pretty appearance. When she smiles, there are two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth, which makes people happy just by looking at her."
It is really a waste of talent for Mrs. Chen to make a living as a laundry worker. She described it so vividly, as if the beauty of Miss Yang was right before her eyes.
"Not only that, she is also extremely intelligent, kind and polite to others, and quite knowledgeable in medicine." Mrs. Chen became more and more excited as she spoke, and her hands began to gesture unconsciously.
"Back then, there was a maid in the mansion who was accidentally burned and cried in pain. Young Miss Yang personally prepared medicine for her and took good care of her every day. In a few days, the girl recovered without a single scar left."
Shen Xingwan exchanged a glance with Feiyun inconspicuously, and a hint of understanding flashed in both of their eyes, and they already had a plan in mind.
Shen Xingwan raised her head slightly and looked straight at Granny Chen, her tone carrying just the right amount of surprise, "What a coincidence, so you must be Tang Lin'er's wet nurse?"
When Mrs. Chen heard this, her body trembled, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes. She nodded quickly and replied respectfully: "Yes, it is me."
As she spoke, she lowered her head slightly, her hands unconsciously tugging at the corners of her clothes, and she looked a little nervous.
Shen Xingwan's eyes rolled slightly, her smile was as kind as the warm spring sun, her tone became gentler, and she said softly: "My mother adopted Tang Lin'er for many years, and I am Tang Lin'er's sister. Because I care about Lin'er, I also want to know what happened to her in the past."
When Mrs. Chen heard this, she nodded hurriedly, with a flattering smile on her face, and said hastily, "Don't worry, Madam. Just ask me. I will tell you everything I know."
As he said this, he patted his chest to show his sincerity. His honest look made people laugh.
Shen Xingwan nodded and signaled with her eyes for Mrs. Chen to continue.
Upon receiving the order, Mrs. Chen narrowed her eyes slightly, touched her chin unconsciously, and fell into memories.
After a moment, she slowly spoke, "The Magistrate Tang was a well-educated scholar. He studied hard for more than ten years before he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. It is said that he saved the life of a nobleman in Beijing, and the two became good friends."
"I heard that the nobleman was very impressed with Magistrate Tang and later helped him a lot."
"Later, he passed the imperial examination, was appointed as a county magistrate, married and had a daughter. The family lived a happy life, and others were extremely envious."
Granny Chen had a look of longing on her face. "At that time, Magistrate Tang was diligent and caring for the people. He had made great achievements at a young age and had a bright future. He was really very proud and made people very envious."
"But who would have thought that within a few years, Magistrate Tang went out to solve a case and when he came back, he actually brought back an orphan girl."
Mrs. Chen's tone suddenly changed, and a puzzled look appeared on her face. "I don't know why, but he was so obsessed with taking her as his concubine."
"Mrs. Tang was naturally very opposed to it, crying and making a fuss, trying to persuade her in every way, but it was of no avail." Mrs. Chen sighed, "Mrs. Tang is also a pitiful person. Such a harmonious and beautiful family was disrupted just like this."
"Mrs. Tang was heartbroken and cried all day long. Unexpectedly, not long after, the concubine became pregnant and later gave birth to Miss Tang." Mrs. Chen described the story vividly, full of regret.
Feiyun listened to Mrs. Chen's chatter for a long time, and couldn't help but frowned and sighed.
"You old woman, this is the Prince Regent's Palace, in front of the Princess, you think you are chatting on your own bed? Get to the point!"
Feiyun's voice was crisp, with a hint of dissatisfaction. She glared at Mrs. Chen slightly, with majesty hidden in her eyes.
When Mrs. Chen heard this, her face turned pale instantly. The excited expression on her face immediately disappeared and she nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes, yes, I'm sorry for being so talkative. I'll get to the point."
As Mrs. Chen spoke, she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand, looking very nervous.
Mrs. Chen swallowed her saliva, calmed down her emotions, and continued, "I have been working as a wet nurse in the Tang Mansion, feeding the second young lady Tang."
She straightened up slightly, revealing a bit of pride, "The second Miss Tang has been well-behaved and cute since she was a child. I watched her grow up little by little with my own eyes."
"That Magistrate Tang was extremely fond of Miss Yang and took her with him almost everywhere he went. Even her daughter was doted on by Magistrate Tang. Whenever Magistrate Tang came back from an outing, he would bring some new and interesting things for Miss Yang."
"I remember one time in particular, when Magistrate Tang came back from the capital, he brought a singing music box for the second young lady, and the second young lady loved it very much."
At this point, Mrs. Chen's expression darkened and her tone became a little lower.
"But Madam Tang is extremely dissatisfied with this. As women, they are all jealous of their husbands being bewitched by others."
She sighed, somewhat helplessly, "Women, no one can escape the word love."
"As long as Magistrate Tang is not in the government office, she will find all kinds of excuses to embarrass and torture Yang Xiaoniang and her daughter."
Mrs. Chen's tone became increasingly heavy, and an expression of reluctance appeared on her face.
"I remember one time, in the cold winter, it snowed heavily and it was extremely cold."
"I don't know exactly how it all started, but Madam Tang suddenly said that the second young lady had deliberately offended her, so she made her kneel on the snow in the yard for a whole afternoon. Unfortunately, the second young lady hadn't recovered from the cold yet, and her body was very weak, so she couldn't stand such torture."
"Mrs. Yang felt sorry for her daughter, so she rushed to Madam Tang to apologize and beg for mercy. Not only did she not get forgiveness, but she was also beaten by Madam Tang several times, and the baby that was just conceived in Yang's belly was aborted."
Mrs. Chen recalled, her face full of pity and tears in her eyes, "That scene was so tragic. Young Lady Yang rolled over in pain, and the Second Young Lady cried until her voice became hoarse."
Shen Xingwan frowned: "Then what?"
"Then...then the second young lady was eager to protect her mother, so she cried and hugged Yang Xiaoniang and refused to let the servants beat her any further. But Madam Tang was furious, and she became even more furious. She ordered the servants not to stop and even beat the little bitch to death."
Mrs. Chen's voice trembled a little and her eyes gradually turned red.
"Later, Magistrate Tang got the news, dropped the case at the yamen, and rushed back to save the dying mother and daughter."
"Tang the Magistrate hated Madam Tang so much that he thought she was extremely vicious and insisted on immediately giving her a divorce letter. But Madam Tang refused to do so. Seeing that Tang the Magistrate had made up his mind, no matter how much she cried and begged, she could not change her mind. So she rushed into Yang Xiaoniang's room, grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed her to death."
Mrs. Chen was filled with grief and indignation. The tears in her eyes could no longer be held back and rolled down.
"When Magistrate Tang rushed in after hearing the letter, he was already a bloody mess, and there was nothing he could do to save him."
"Mrs. Tang was so angry that she turned around and saw Miss Tang curled up in a corner. She grabbed the scissors and stabbed at her. When Magistrate Tang went to rescue her, Mrs. Tang stabbed him in the neck and he died immediately."
Granny Chen raised her sleeves and wiped the tears from her face, choking with sobs, "It's really a sin. A good family collapsed overnight. It's really tragic."
"When Mrs. Tang saw that she had accidentally killed her husband, she went mad on the spot, pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed herself several times, eventually bleeding to death."
After Mrs. Chen finished speaking, she seemed to have been immersed in that bloody night for a long time and could not come back to her senses. Her tired face was full of sighs. She shook her head slowly, a little confused.
Shen Xingwan and Feiyun were silent for a long time when they suddenly heard about such a tragedy in the world. They didn't know what to say for a moment.
The room was silent except for the sound of Mrs. Chen sobbing softly.
They were silent for a long time. Shen Xingwan suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Mrs. Chen, "You just said that Madam Tang also gave birth to a young lady. If you count Tang Lin'er, there are two young ladies in the Tang family."
"That's right." Mrs. Chen nodded and wiped her tears with her sleeves.
Shen Xingwan frowned and asked in confusion, "Then why did my father only bring back Miss Tang when he sent someone to Yangzhou to pick her up?"
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