Chapter 447 It was all a conspiracy by Empress Zheng from beginning to end.
"When we get back, we'll have someone rent a yard and renovate it into a home specifically for stray dogs. I'll provide all the food and water."
"Yes, Princess."
Sheng Sheng pondered, thinking that she could have Xie Yunyang take over the matter later.
Xie Yun-yang has always enjoyed interacting with these living creatures, and once the matters of the past few days are resolved, he can finally relax a bit.
Looking at the little dog with teary eyes, Sheng Sheng smiled and asked, "By the way, have you seen a beggar around here?"
"A beggar? I know a few, but I don't know which one you're talking about."
After thinking for a moment, he added in a low voice, "It seems like he can't move his hands."
"I know, I know!"
The puppy barked a few times in one direction, "Come with me!"
Sheng Sheng's face lit up with joy, and she said to Zijuan, "Zijuan, let's hurry and catch up!"
"yes!"
The two followed the dog, turning left and right. After turning the last corner, the dog suddenly stopped and barked at the figure huddled in the corner.
Sheng Sheng quickly stepped forward and saw that the person's hair was messy and stuck to his face, his tattered clothes were thin and dirty, and his arms were tightly pressed against his sides, so he was indeed unable to move.
She slowed her pace, lowered her voice, and tentatively asked, "Butler Wang?"
The person raised their head, revealing a pair of bloodshot but clear eyes. They paused, then asked in a hoarse voice, "You are... the Second Princess?"
The beggar's face was dirty, but his features were still clearly visible, and I could vaguely recognize him.
It seems this person is indeed the former steward of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
Butler Wang smiled, his voice hoarse: "I knew it. You really are the child they used to make blood bags. Back then, the Duchess of Zhenguo gave birth prematurely. Qin Weiwei should have died before she was born, but she was prolonged by your birth chart and blood. Although she is still frail now, her fate has already changed."
"Blood, blood pack?"
Zijuan covered her mouth, looking at Shengsheng in surprise.
Without the slightest change in expression, Sheng Sheng tacitly agreed with Butler Wang's words.
Zijuan was both surprised and heartbroken: "Princess, you..."
Zijuan didn't know what to say. The beggar's few words were like a long story to her.
She pursed her lips, still feeling a little scared when she heard these things again.
But she is already trying her best to control herself.
"You've come to me now because you want to know more about the truth, right? I know I wasn't exactly a good person before, but don't worry, you saved me once, and I was harmed to this state by the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. I consider the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion my enemy. So, I will tell you everything I know."
Did you save him?
She frowned, wondering how she could not recall ever saving him.
It doesn't matter, as long as I know the truth.
A slight tremor ran through Sheng Sheng's heart as she asked, "What do you know?"
Steward Wang coughed twice, his withered hands gripping the tattered straw mat beneath him tightly, his knuckles turning white: "Back then, when the Duchess of Zhenguo was pregnant with Qin Weiwei, she suffered a miscarriage and went into premature labor before seven months. Matchmakers from all over the capital came overnight, and they all asserted that Qin Weiwei was stillborn. But what no one expected was that Qin Weiwei actually survived."
The master said the child was born of calamity and wouldn't live past her first month. To protect his daughter, the Duke of Zhenguo listened to the master and secretly searched for a female infant with a compatible destiny to raise in his mansion, ostensibly for a "lucky marriage," but in reality, he would draw her blood monthly to concoct medicine, thus secretly altering her fate.
I listened silently to each sound.
These are similar to what Sheng Sheng knows.
And the master that Butler Wang mentioned... Images flashed through Sheng Sheng's mind.
She had met that master before, but he didn't visit the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion often. She had only seen him two years ago on the day Qin Weiwei suddenly developed a high fever.
That same day, she had half her body drained of blood and was then left to fend for herself in the rainy night.
"Who is that master? And that day, was it because Qin Weiwei suddenly developed a fever that I had to give her my blood earlier than planned?"
“That’s right.” Butler Wang nodded. “I don’t know much about that master either. I only know that he goes to the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion every three months and stays for only half an hour each time. To be honest, even the Duke and Duchess of Zhenguo don’t really know much about this master.”
"Then why do they still trust him so much?"
"They had no choice but to believe it. Qin Weiwei was not expected to live more than a month, so they had no choice but to try anything. Besides, Qin Weiwei had indeed survived until now thanks to the master's method, hadn't she? And most importantly, this master was introduced to them by the Empress."
"What!?"
Sheng Sheng took two quick steps forward and asked him incredulously, "Who did you say introduced that master to them?"
"It is Her Majesty the Empress."
Butler Wang was startled by her suddenly raised voice and shrank back, but still nodded firmly: "It's absolutely true. Back then, Qin Weiwei was on the verge of death, and the Duke and Duchess of Zhenguo were extremely anxious. It was a nanny from the Empress's side who delivered a message overnight, saying that there was a reclusive master who could save her life. Back then, the Third Prince was kept alive for three more years under the guidance of that master."
However, I think the Duke and Duchess of Zhenguo probably didn't know you were actually a princess; otherwise, even the boldest couple wouldn't dare keep a princess in their household. I suspect Empress Zheng never told them your true identity from beginning to end.”
So that's how it is! So that's how it is!
She explained that it was clearly Empress Zheng who caused her to "disappear" in that fire, but in the end she appeared in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
It turns out that this was all planned by Empress Zheng!
The old woman who delivered the message must have been Liu, the old woman who suddenly passed away.
Empress Zheng, Empress Zheng, would it be more satisfying for her to die in that fire and be tortured like a blood bag in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion than to let her die directly?
Zijuan trembled all over as she listened, tears streaming down her face. "How could these people be so cruel! Princess, they... they've gone too far! Back then, the Third Prince's illness suddenly worsened, and one of the necessary medicines was missing. That herb was unique to the Northern Territory, which happens to be the territory guarded by our General Zhenguo. Empress Zheng couldn't find the medicine and mistakenly believed that the Rong family was deliberately obstructing the process. Later, when the Third Prince passed away, Empress Zheng vented her anger on our Noble Consort. It must be because of this that Empress Zheng set her sights on the Princess, wanting the Noble Consort to experience the same pain of losing a child as she did!"
Sheng Sheng's eyelashes trembled, and she felt a pang of heartache.
It wasn't just for himself, but also for Consort Rong.
She was the biggest victim in this conspiracy, but how innocent was her mother?
While we can understand Empress Zheng's pain at losing her son, why did she turn her unvented suffering into anger directed at others?
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