Chapter 391 Old Love
Scholar Cen was not a pedantic and stubborn person who did not understand the ways of the world.
Liao Xiaohua had already said this, and if he didn't respond, he would really be disrespecting the Crown Princess.
Moreover, he had just found out about Liao Sibo's affairs, which really overturned his previous cognition.
Seeing Wei Qingyan staring at the top of his house, his heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly said, "Please, Crown Princess, save my Cen family."
Wei Qingyan glanced at the old man who had fallen and looked so miserable, he sighed softly, and said to Jingzhe, "Wait for me here for a moment, I'll be back soon."
Even the guards were left behind, so it was naturally difficult for the rest of the people to follow.
Grand Secretary Cen knew that Wei Qingyan was considering his face, so he hurriedly followed her into the mansion with gratitude.
As the two men walked into the main hall, they saw Cen Xiu, the illegitimate son of Cen Daxueshi, also holding a white silk in his hand. When he saw him coming, he knelt down and hugged his legs.
"Father, Dad, my dear father, it's not that I must stay in the Cen family or covet their wealth, it's that I can't leave.
If my son really leaves the Cen Mansion as his mother wishes, wouldn't that prove that my aunt is unfaithful?
My aunt has been with you all her life and has been law-abiding. My son cannot let her reputation be damaged after she passes away.
My dear father, my dear father, please believe my aunt and your son. My aunt is really not that kind of person. Mother has misunderstood.
If my mother insists on threatening to commit suicide, then I, as a son, can only hang myself with her in this Cen Mansion. In life, I am a member of the Cen Mansion, and in death, I am a ghost of the Cen Mansion."
"Nonsense."
Grand Secretary Cen yanked the white silk from Cen Xiu's hand, his beard twitching with anger. "Get up! Don't embarrass yourself in front of the Crown Princess."
After hearing this, Cen Xiu noticed Wei Qingyan beside her father. She stopped crying, wiped away her non-existent tears, and hurriedly saluted Wei Qingyan.
When Wei Qingyan saw this, he knew that the father and son had a good relationship. Otherwise, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was clear, and the illegitimate son would not dare to make such a fuss in front of his father.
If it weren't for their good relationship, Grand Secretary Cen wouldn't be caught between his concubine's son and his wife, and wouldn't be in the helpless state he is today.
But in fact, although there is resentment in the Cen family, it is not a big deal. But these trivial matters that are causing chaos are the most annoying.
She gestured for Cen Xiu to stand up and said to Grand Secretary Cen, "I think I know where that love poem came from. Sir Cen, would you mind asking Madam Cen to come out and explain the matter clearly?"
That day in the palace, she realized that something must be wrong with the Cen family from the reaction of Grand Secretary Cen, so she asked the secret guards to find out the background of the Cen and Liao families.
Then he knew that the turmoil in the Cen family was caused by some love poems left by his deceased aunt.
Previously, Grand Secretary Cen was unwilling to reveal it to others, and did not agree with her resentment. In addition, she did not have time to interfere in these matters at that time.
But just as she saw some resentful scenes outside the Cen Mansion and Grand Secretary Cen spoke, she helped him to resolve the chaos so that Grand Secretary Cen could concentrate on serving the court and Shi Yu.
When the father and son of the Cen family heard the words "love poem" from Wei Qingyan's mouth, they were shocked. They didn't know whether Wei Qingyan knew it through mysterious means or sent people to keep an eye on the Cen family.
But these are not important at the moment. What is important is that the Crown Princess can help them solve their problems.
Cen Xiu was thirty years old, but he was like a young boy. He turned around and ran into the house, "I'll go get my mother."
Grand Secretary Cen looked embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
Wei Qingyan smiled.
Soon, Madam Cen was personally supported by Cen Xiu and came out. She also held a white silk in her hand and complained, "Let me go. I don't want you to help me."
But he did not struggle to break free, and Cen Xiu supported him skillfully, as if he had done so thousands of times.
Wei Qingyan saw all of this and didn't hesitate. Once everyone involved had gathered, he dismissed the servants and said bluntly, "Master Cen, when you were young, did you promise your maid that you would teach her calligraphy?"
Scholar Cen looked confused. He had only had one concubine in his life. Later, when his wife came into the family, he promoted the concubine to be his concubine, who became Cen Xiu's biological mother.
"Think about it again, it's probably because of drinking." Wei Qingyan reminded again.
Because in the resentment scene, the young University Scholar Cen's face was a little red, probably because he drank some wine, but his eyes were clear, which showed that he did not drink any wine.
Seeing that Lord Cen had been thinking for a long time but couldn't come up with anything, Wei Qingyan said, "Maybe you forgot what you said after drinking, but she remembered it and has been looking forward to it.
But you never mentioned this matter again, and later you got married and had children, and your relationship lived in harmony. She didn't dare to overstep the bounds, nor did she dare to mention this matter to you again.
She practiced secretly, day after day, and the love poems you found were written by the old aunt herself.
If you want to practice calligraphy, you always need brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. If you check, you can find out if she has bought these privately."
"Impossible. If she could write, why would she hide it?"
After Madam Cen finished her rebuttal, she realized that the person in front of her was the Crown Princess, and hurriedly explained, "Please forgive me, Crown Princess, I am not targeting you.
I really can't understand it. I'm not bragging, but looking around the imperial city, there are not many people who treat their concubines as well as I do.
I have never objected to anything she wants to do, and I treat all her children equally. I am not a harsh person, so why is she hiding this from me?"
Wei Qingyan noticed that she said "hidden secrets" twice, and seemed to care more about the concubine's concealment rather than really wanting to drive the illegitimate son out.
"Madam and Aunt have a good relationship?" Wei Qingyan asked.
Mrs. Cen was silent.
Cen Xiu replied, "Yes, my mother treated my aunt very well, and my aunt also put my parents first in her heart. She always taught me to respect my parents and not to compete with my two brothers for attention.
My aunt was bought into the mansion when she was young and served by my father. She has no relatives outside the mansion and rarely goes out. The Cen Mansion is her home, so how could she have any other thoughts?
Wei Qingyan nodded and looked at Madam Cen. "You don't really want to kick Cen Xiu out of the house. You just feel that you've been deceived. You think the harmony between your wife and concubine in the past was all a false facade. You're not satisfied and want to make a scene, right?"
Mrs. Cen's face froze when her true feelings were revealed.
After another moment of silence, she said, "Before I married the master, she was pregnant with his child. For a family of officials and dignitaries, it is shameful to have a bastard child before marrying a wife.
She saw that the master was pleased with me and was worried that I would disagree with the marriage because of her pregnancy, so she aborted the child without telling anyone.
Madam Cen finally spoke, "I learned about this by chance, and at first I thought it was her doing.
But after I got married, she always followed the rules, respected me, and never fought for anything. She even got pregnant with her third child only after I gave birth to two legitimate sons.
People are all kind-hearted. She was nice to me in everything, and over time, I started to treat her like my own sister.
I thought we were close friends until I found those poems, and they were clearly written by a man."
She came all the way to the imperial city to marry because she loved the master. Even though she treated her concubine as her own sister, she felt sad when she saw her husband go to her.
In this world, how many women are willing to share their husbands with others?
But she had no choice but to do so. Her aunt had been the master's woman before her, and there was no other way out for her in this life. And her aunt was so good to her, how could she bear to let her stay alone in an empty room?
Whenever she felt upset, she could comfort herself by using her aunt's kindness to her.
But after her aunt died, she discovered that her aunt had an affair. Wouldn't the suffering she endured silently during the countless nights when she let the master go to her aunt's room become a joke?
Since the concubine didn't have the master in her heart, why didn't she leave the house? Why did she fight with her for the master? Why did she pretend to have a deep sisterly love with her?
Unfortunately, her aunt died, and she couldn't even get a clear answer. How could she feel good?
Wei Qingyan understood her hidden meaning and reaffirmed, "The picture I saw was indeed the result of her practicing day after day."
She then recited a few lines of poetry that she saw in the resentful scene.
There was disbelief in Mrs. Cen's eyes.
She burned those poems in anger after she found them. Only the master and Cen Xiu saw them at that time, so the Crown Princess had no way of knowing what they said.
She moved her lips. "Did you really see it? She wrote it herself?"
My aunt didn't lie to me?
Wei Qingyan nodded, "Is it possible that those poems came from Lord Cen, and Auntie also saw the Madam's affection for Lord Cen.
But she has been with Lord Cen since she was a child, and is willing to sacrifice her eldest son for Lord Cen. Her affection for Lord Cen is no less than that of the lady.
She probably knows how good Madam is and doesn't want to compete with her, but because of her feelings for Lord Cen, she secretly keeps a bond between her and Lord Cen?"
The woman in the resentful picture had a gentle smile on her lips and a calm expression while practicing calligraphy. She must be a kind-hearted person.
Wei Qingyan made the above guess based on this, so she looked at the person involved, Grand Secretary Cen.
At this age, he was still being analyzed for his feelings by the Crown Princess, and Grand Secretary Cen felt very embarrassed.
But he also remembered something at this moment, and muttered to Madam Cen, "Those poems seem to have been written for you after you and I got engaged. Xing'er was right beside me at the time, ready to write."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
