Chapter 95 The case is solved!
Mu Xi couldn't sense the difference, but she discussed it with Mu Xun: "You're still worried about Father's health here, so why don't you go and keep watch over him? I'll ask her if there's anything we can talk about later."
“But she…” Mu Xun was still worried that Cao Pan’er might harm Mu Xi.
Cao Pan'er then offered, "If the young master and the second young master have any concerns, they may tie me up."
"No need for that." Mu Xun said, reaching out and pinching Cao Pan'er's left shoulder.
"Ah..." Cao Pan'er's entire left arm was dislocated. She cried out in pain and hugged her left arm with her right hand.
Only then did Mu Xun leave with peace of mind, and instructed Zhe Lan and Tao Er: "You two keep watch outside. As soon as the young master calls, go in immediately."
"Yes," the two maids replied in unison, and closed the door.
Mu Xi knew that Cao Pan'er was enduring pain and suffering, but he didn't show it on his face. He said calmly, "If you know what you need to say, then hurry up and say it all."
Cao Pan'er gritted her teeth and endured the pain, struggling to breathe for a long time before she could speak calmly: "Whatever Your Highness needs to know, this servant will tell you everything without reservation."
"Let's start from the beginning. When did you find out my true identity?" Mu Xi's first question was also a sign of her seriousness.
Cao Pan'er smiled bitterly: "If you want me to answer this question, I'm afraid I really have to start from the beginning. The young master already knows my true identity in the palace hall, but I guess he doesn't know that my mother and I were sent to the West Courtyard on the orders of the Lord, to monitor the West Courtyard's movements and prevent them from doing anything detrimental to the East Courtyard. Therefore, my mother has been secretly keeping an eye on the movements of everyone in the West Courtyard, and so have I."
Mu Xi already knew what Cao Pan'er had said, but she didn't show it and just continued to listen.
Cao Pan'er continued, "The young master was attacked by an assassin and returned to the manor seriously injured. One night, Madam Han sneaked into the east courtyard, and my mother followed her and overheard the young master's secret. My mother secretly told me this during her last visit to the prison before she went to turn herself in. At the time, I disagreed with my mother taking the blame to save me, but my mother..."
At this point, Cao Pan'er choked up.
Mu Xi couldn't help but sigh, "Your mother is just so devoted to her daughter."
Cao Pan'er nodded deeply: "It's out of love for her daughter, and also because my mother suffered the same fate when she was pregnant with me. As a descendant of a former official of the previous dynasty, my father had already been executed, and my mother was already four months pregnant when she was imprisoned in the Sili Prison. The conditions in the Sili Prison were harsh, and no one cared about her until she went into labor. My ten-year-old senior brother, Lu Cao, risked his life to alert the prison warden, and finally a midwife came. It was a near-death experience. My mother was afraid that I would face the same danger if I gave birth in prison, so she insisted on rescuing me."
"Is Lu Cao the person you desperately tried to save just now?" Mu Xi suspected that the relationship between the two was more than just that of senior and junior brothers and sisters.
Cao Pan'er's eyes were filled with sorrow: "Yes, Senior Brother Lu Cao was my father's disciple back then, and he was also my and my mother's savior. My mother used to say that if it weren't for Lu Cao risking being beaten to death to escape from the dilapidated house where they were imprisoned in Sili Jian, and even when he was about to be beaten to death, he still desperately begged for mercy, then my and my mother wouldn't be where we are today. Unfortunately, later on, my mother and I were still assigned to the Jin Fangjun Mansion, while Senior Brother Lu Cao was assigned to the Western Mountain to repair the royal tomb and became a laborer."
No wonder, that makes sense, why they've maintained contact all these years.
“Go on, you knew my identity long before your mother took the blame, but you didn’t use it to threaten me at first. So why did you suddenly leave after giving birth to and losing your child?” Mu Xi continued to ask.
Cao Pan'er composed herself and did not answer the question directly, but continued, "Over the years, my mother has been grateful for Senior Brother Lu Cao's life-or-death rescue, so she has always taken care of him whenever she has the chance. In recent years, as I have grown older, my mother's health has deteriorated, and she still suffers from some ailments left over from childbirth. So, when I had the opportunity to deliver things to Xishan for my mother, I came into contact with Senior Brother Lu Cao. I'm sure you can guess that the child in my womb is actually Senior Brother Lu Cao's."
"Oh..." That solves the case, doesn't it? Mu Xi had long suspected that the child was probably not conceived by Mu Chong, but she was still puzzled. "Since Lu Cao is a slave, why were you in such a hurry to do this... Why didn't you wait until he was released..."
“How can we wait?” Cao Pan’er smiled sadly. “Building the mausoleum in Xishan is a job that eats people alive. Even if the royal mausoleum is completed in the end, I’m afraid these sinful slaves will be buried with it. Of course, the most important thing is that not many people like Senior Brother Lu Cao, who are over thirty, can survive. He might die in Xishan before he is released. I’m with him… I’m doing this voluntarily. I want to leave him an heir, to leave myself a memory, and to repay his kindness.”
Mu Xi was surprised, never expecting Cao Pan'er to have such loyalty and a great sense of responsibility, but the ending was heartbreaking.
Thinking of Cao Pan'er's mother, I couldn't help but ask, "Does your mother know about what you're doing? Does she agree with it?"
"I didn't know at first, but I agreed later," Cao Pan'er said simply and easily.
Mu Xi could understand how much courage and struggle it required.
Cao Pan'er's eyes filled with resentment after a moment's thought: "Originally, I had already asked Lord Jun for permission to move to the estate, but who would have thought that I had only been pregnant for a little over a month, and before Lord Jun could make any arrangements, I was tricked by Li Fu."
Mu Xi knew everything that happened afterward.
Cao Pan'er refused Mu Chong's advances, but was imprisoned by the Court of Justice. To save her life and the child in her womb, she could only give vague answers.
"So, you left to find Lu Cao?" Mu Xi asked, speculating.
Cao Pan'er shook her head: "I initially planned to leave because I wanted to take revenge. Li Fu schemed against me and harmed me to this extent. His lover, Granny Qian, even killed our child. These two were only imprisoned. Are they going to be let off so easily? Unfortunately, I wandered around outside the Court of Justice for two days without coming up with a solution. Then I heard that something happened in Xishan. I was worried about Senior Brother Lu Cao, so I went there."
“Alas, Qian and Li Fu have already been severely sentenced to exile. If you want to take revenge on them… I’m afraid it’s too far away.” Mu Xi sighed, also feeling it was unfair.
When she heard the verdict from Mu Xun, she also felt that the sentence was too lenient.
However, what Mu Xun revealed was that the two men's apparent crimes were not enough to warrant death, but exile was already a serious offense, and they probably wouldn't survive.
Mu Xi had said at the time that this was the only way, but now, standing in Cao Pan'er's shoes, she also wished that Li Fu and Qian Shi would pay with their lives.
But then another thought came to mind: "You sought revenge on those two, but what was the point of stealing the token?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
