"I just want you to be happy." Aunt Xu truly meant it.
She did everything for her daughter's good and didn't think she had done anything wrong.
Is it possible for her daughter to live a life where she can't even get enough to eat while living with a poor scholar? This is not the life she should be living.
Even if her daughter isn't exceptionally beautiful, she still cherishes her dearly. How could she let her daughter suffer?
She was a concubine in the general's mansion, with no real status of her own, but her life was much better than that of those outside who were starving and freezing.
"Is this what you call doing it for my own good?"
"Yes." Aunt Xu replied firmly, realizing that she had made a mistake in getting to this point.
"Then you'll kill him?" Joanne roared hysterically.
What did the other party do wrong? Just because of him, does Li Kun deserve to die?
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have fallen for Li Kun, and Li Kun wouldn't have died.
"Yes, he deserves to die, he should have died long ago! My daughter, whom I raised with such difficulty, was ruined by him!" Aunt Xu shouted without restraint.
Upon hearing this, Wang Ma rushed to Aunt Xu's side, trying to stop her and say that things weren't like that. She had hesitated to do it at first, and then... things had dragged on until now, and she didn't know how to explain it to Aunt Xu. Who would have thought that today would catch her off guard?
"Get out of my way." Aunt Xu could no longer contain her anger, which she had suppressed for so many years.
In a corner of the general's mansion, someone without a heart wouldn't notice, but someone with a heart would have noticed long ago.
Wang Ma had intended to try and comfort them, but seeing the situation, she knew they all needed to vent.
Later, he left, leaving the mother and daughter alone, and went to the courtyard to keep watch.
It was late, and there were hardly any people around, but she still thought it was better to keep an eye on things.
Standing in the courtyard, she heard the conversation between the mother and daughter, and she cried.
Over the years, she had watched how Aunt Xu came to the General's Mansion, how she survived in the mansion, and how she endured being bullied by Aunt Guo.
Thinking of Aunt Wang, who is now dead, she is the best example.
She couldn't even save her own child, and in the end, she lost her own life too.
As she pondered, she sighed inwardly.
In the entire General's Mansion, apart from Qiao Zhen who is still alive, there is Qiao Yuchen who was just recognized from outside.
She believed that even if Qiao Yuchen didn't seem like a reliable person, he wouldn't have survived to this day if he were in the General's Mansion.
Qiao Zhen is the best example.
Mrs. Qiao was so careful and protective, yet she still left.
Perhaps, as outsiders say, the General's mansion is indeed as dangerous as people say: the General has fought countless battles and killed too many people over the years, so many dare not trace it back to General Qiao, which is why they are targeting the General's child...
Thinking about it, I sighed.
Now Qiao Zhen is infatuated with other men.
Why!
Is this fate?
Thinking about it, I couldn't help but think of that person in Beiyuan again.
Qiao Yuchen is completely unreliable; he's almost never at home. She heard that the young mistress is ill, very seriously ill, and might very well...
Sigh, it's really too difficult to survive in the general's mansion.
If it weren't for Aunt Xu's careful protection all these years, I don't know if Qiao Zhen would still be alive today.
Unfortunately, Qiao Zhen doesn't seem to understand the hardships and injustices that Aunt Xu has suffered over the years.
Inside the house, Qiao Zhen was no longer afraid and insisted on getting to the bottom of things today.
"Why, why, why did you kill him!" Qiao Zhen shoved Xu Yiniang, who was leaning towards her.
Aunt Xu staggered back a few steps and finally fell to the ground. Looking at her unfamiliar daughter, she cried, sobbing uncontrollably.
"He deserves to die, he shouldn't be alive."
"Who do you think you are? You're just a concubine in the General's mansion, not even qualified to be called 'Mother.' What gives you the right to decide someone else's life or death?"
"Hehe—" Being looked at like that by her own daughter, Aunt Xu was so angry that she was about to go crazy.
At this moment, she hated it even more.
Letting that man die is too lenient. His perfectly healthy daughter has been ruined like this; he deserves to be torn to pieces.
Looking at the unfamiliar woman before her, Aunt Xu stood up and casually wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "No matter how bad I am, I am still a concubine in the General's Mansion. I never have to worry about food, clothing, or daily necessities. But what about you?"
Qiao Zhen looked at Aunt Xu, who was now a stranger to her.
"Don't you even think about why she's nice to you? Isn't it because of your status as the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion? Do you think she's after you?"
"impossible!"
"Okay, impossible. You should know that even if that person becomes successful in the future, do you think he will still treat you like this? Or do you think that you will never grow old and that young and beautiful women will never appear in his eyes? Or do you think that he will treat you like this for the rest of his life?"
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Don't you just think that because she's a scholar, it's a huge favor for her to be with him? Or do you also think that he'll only ever be this way, and that he'll only ever be with you?"
"Don't you know that poverty makes life miserable for couples? Who knows if this man will send you to a brothel for a few taels of silver one day?"
Qiao Zhen's eyes widened. Thinking of Qiao Yang's death, she looked at Aunt Xu and suddenly realized, "What do you know?"
"I don't know anything. All I know is that Qiao Zhen wouldn't go to a place like that. Even if she did, she wouldn't die there and be discovered."
boom--
Qiao Zhen's mind felt like it was exploding.
I tried to convince myself that it wouldn't happen, it wouldn't happen.
Aunt Xu bent down close to her daughter, pinching her chin hard. "You should know that your eldest brother, despite being so protected by Madam, still died. He was poisoned!"
After saying this, he forcefully pushed his daughter to the ground, and regardless of whether she was injured, went directly to the inner palace to rest.
She was an experienced person; only with power in hand could one decide one's own life and death, and control the lives of others. Otherwise, one had to live humbly and cautiously, and only in that way could one perhaps barely save one's own life.
...
Spring Pavilion.
Everyone in the general's mansion thought that Aunt Guo had gone mad.
Only Aunt Hu, who had come with Guo's dowry, was with her in the courtyard.
There were also several maids in this courtyard, but they were all bitten by the madwoman Aunt Guo, and they all ran away in fear.
The courtyard wasn't large; it was only for two people, yet it felt somewhat empty.
No one will come during the day, and certainly not at night.
Now, Hu Mama brings back all the food and clothing and makes them herself in the yard, then personally delivers them to Aunt Guo.
Even so, Hu Ma still had several scars on her body.
That evening, after dinner, Aunt Guo, who had been making a fuss all day, finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
Exhausted, Hu Ma fell asleep by the bedside.
In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, Aunt Guo opened her eyes, glanced around, waved her handkerchief twice in front of Hu Ma, changed into a black dress, and left.
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