Chapter 358 The Cinnabar Mark (Second Update)
Anyone who thinks they can return to the capital unscathed by abandoning Lord Gu is being incredibly naive.
Marquis Xuanping blocked their way and removed their wheels one by one.
There was no village or shop in sight; it was a place where you could cry out to heaven and earth but receive no help!
Of course, there were also a few who hadn't offended Xiao Liulang, but they were still taken down by Marquis Xuanping.
This is helping them, not harming them.
Marquis Xuanping will not make things difficult for them in the future, but if Marquis Xuanping lets them go, those who dislike Xiao Liulang may make things difficult for them instead.
So, let's just tear it all down!
Xiao Liulang was completely unaware of the Marquis of Xuanping's bullying behavior of blocking the road. He hadn't slept well last night and had a headache when he woke up this morning. He fell into a drowsy sleep not long after getting into the carriage.
I slept so soundly that when I woke up I was already in the capital.
He opened his eyes and found himself lying in a room that felt strangely familiar.
He sat up abruptly, looked at the mermaid-themed gauze curtains on the bed, then at the six-panel screen depicting the misty rain of Jiangnan opposite the bed, and even looked back at the pillow he had just used.
Everything was from my memory; even the scents of fruit and flowers in the room were exactly the same as I remembered.
This is the princess's residence.
Princess Xinyang and Madam Xiao had a strained relationship. Madam Xiao disliked Princess Xinyang's children and was very cold towards Xiao Heng. So Princess Xinyang simply took her son and lived in the princess's residence.
Although it was connected to the Marquis's residence, Xiao Heng rarely went to Old Madam Xiao's place.
Xiao Liulang threw off the covers and got out of bed.
"Young Master, you're awake!" A maidservant entered the room carrying a stack of clothes.
He remembered this maid; her name was Shihua.
However, she has matured a lot since four years ago. It takes some getting used to at first glance, but you'll accept her as she is now after a second look.
Her expression and smile were so natural, as if he had never left in the past four years.
"Sister Shihua! Sister Shihua!"
Another young maid stumbled in; it was Magpie, a servant girl born into the household. Four years ago she was only eight years old, and now she was twelve.
When she saw Xiao Liulang, she smiled and bowed, "Young Marquis! You're awake! The Marquis is waiting for you to have your meal!"
If Xiao Liulang hadn't experienced life and death before, he probably would have been completely disoriented by what he saw.
He glanced at the two men indifferently and said, "I am not the young marquis. You have mistaken me for someone else. Where are my clothes?"
A flicker of panic quickly crossed the eyes of the two maids.
Sure enough, I wasn't dreaming; they were acting.
Xiao Liulang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything was so familiar that for a moment he almost truly believed that the four years he spent wandering among the common people were just a dream, and that the terrible fire was just a nightmare.
If all of that is a dream, then the countryside and Bishui Hutong are also just a pipe dream.
He slowly sat down in the chair, trying to process the lingering fear in his heart.
The magpie hurried forward to pour him tea.
“I’ll do it myself,” he refused.
The magpie hesitated and stepped aside, glancing nervously at Shi Hua.
Shi Hua shook her head at her, signaling her not to say anything more.
"My clothes," Xiao Liulang said again.
"Yes." Shi Hua went to the wardrobe, opened the door, and took out Xiao Liulang's luggage.
She secretly glanced at Xiao Liulang several times. Although they looked alike, their personalities were completely different.
The young marquis never had a stern face with them; he was always chatting and laughing, a warm and approachable young master.
Moreover, the young master's leg is not lame.
"You may all step back."
After listening outside the door for a long time, Marquis Xuanping had no choice but to show himself when his plan failed.
The two maids withdrew with a sigh of relief.
He didn't need to go to the Hanlin Academy today, so he changed into a set of casual clothes and then said to Marquis Xuanping, "You don't need to test me anymore. I am not Xiao Heng."
Marquis Xuanping said, "It's not a test..."
Xiao Liulang interrupted him: "Don't think that as long as I am still Xiao Heng, you can make up for the debt in your heart. You can test me a hundred times or a thousand times, but I am still Xiao Liulang, Chen Yunniang's illegitimate son, not your legitimate son, Marquis Xuanping."
Marquis Xuanping's gaze darkened: "Then tell me, are there really people in the world who look exactly alike?"
"Is it really exactly the same?" Xiao Liulang asked back.
Marquis Xuanping's gaze fell on his right eye.
There used to be a teardrop-shaped beauty mark here, but it's gone now.
Xiao Liulang said, "Of course, if you just want to use me as a substitute for the young marquis, then so be it."
No one can replace Xiao Heng!
He doesn't need Xiao Heng's substitute!
All he wanted was Xiao Heng! His son, Xiao Heng!
These words truly pierced the heart of Marquis Xuanping, causing it to bleed. That's why he's called his own son; he knows exactly what words can hurt him the most.
Xiao Liulang said no more and picked up his luggage: "Where's my medicine?"
“In the courtyard,” said Marquis Xuanping.
Xiao Liulang walked out without looking back.
Looking at his resolute and stubborn back, Marquis Xuanping suddenly called out to him, "Don't you want to see your mother?"
Xiao Liulang paused.
He slowly tightened his grip on the luggage.
I want to see her... Does she want to see me?
Xiao Liulang left without the slightest hesitation.
"Hiss! You little brat!"
Marquis Xuanping has a toothache!
Steward Liu walked over from the other end of the corridor, entered the room, and asked, "My lord, has the young master not yet acknowledged his identity?"
Marquis Xuanping slammed his fist on the table, his lips twitching: "You stubborn little mule!"
"Is it really the young marquis? Could there be a mistake?" Steward Liu asked anxiously, then paused and muttered, "It doesn't really matter if it's a mistake, they're all your offspring anyway..."
Marquis Xuanping glared at him.
Manager Liu gave an awkward smile: "I was just kidding, just kidding..."
Since ancient times, there has been a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, let alone an illegitimate child. How can we allow an illegitimate child to confuse the legitimate bloodline of the Marquis's mansion?
Marquis Xuanping stroked his chin thoughtfully: "Could it be that only his mother can control him?"
"Chen Yunniang is dead," Steward Liu kindly reminded her.
Marquis Xuanping gave him a death stare: "You don't want your monthly allowance?"
Steward Liu shuddered and said, "Ah, Your Excellency, you...you mean Her Highness the Princess. But what if even Her Highness can't do anything about him..."
Marquis Xuanping gazed at the figure disappearing at the end of the courtyard, his eyes deep and thoughtful, and said, "Then I will believe that he really is not Xiao Heng."
Xiao Liulang returned to Bishui Hutong in a carriage from the Xuanping Marquis's residence, arriving home after dark.
His family members were unaware that he was returning today, and they all went about their own business. Only Yao was taking a walk in the yard to digest her food.
"Mother," he greeted her as he stepped forward.
Madam Yao exclaimed with delight, "Sixth Brother is back? Haven't you eaten yet? Yuya'er!"
"Hey!" Yu Ya'er put down her work and came over. "Oh? Young Master!"
Madam Yao instructed, "Go and make something for your son-in-law to eat."
“Okay!” Yu Ya’er agreed and went to the kitchen.
This trip to the countryside was for disaster relief. I didn't bring back any gifts, except for a basket of medicinal herbs and some dried fish that the villagers had dried themselves.
Xiao Liulang took out the dried fish.
"What's this?" A packet of strangely smelling powder fell out from under the dried fish.
"It's a powder made from dried flowers, given to me by an old lady. It's said to be usable as rouge."
It was Zhang's aunt who, upon learning that he was married, gave him this packet of dried pollen.
This was naturally not as good as the rouge from the rouge shop, but it was a small token of the villagers' goodwill, so he accepted it.
Madam Yao said, "Jiaojiao doesn't need it now."
Yao meant that Gu Jiao had a virginity mark on her face and didn't like to dress up. She thought that once the mark was gone, she might start to care about her appearance.
Xiao Liulang misunderstood, thinking that Yao was saying Gu Jiao was ugly. He said, "She is beautiful even without it."
Ms. Yao was taken aback.
Was the son-in-law praising his daughter's beauty?
Although she also thought her daughter was beautiful, she was, after all, Jiaojiao's biological mother, and a biological mother naturally sees her daughter as beautiful no matter what.
Xiao Liulang's serious expression amused Yao Shi.
Although the couple has been married for a long time and has always lived in separate rooms, they have never said that they have not consummated their marriage.
In prominent families, couples typically lived in separate courtyards. In scholarly families, many couples also lived in separate rooms so as not to interfere with the men's studies. Therefore, if it weren't for this "birthmark," the young couple's relationship would not have aroused any suspicion.
Madam Yao originally intended to continue pretending not to know, but now that the topic had come up, she thought it might be alright to tell her son-in-law.
At least, the fact that his son-in-law refuted him so earnestly shows that he doesn't mind his daughter's appearance.
He treated Jiaojiao with sincerity, so why shouldn't he know the truth?
“Actually…” Yao cleared her throat, suppressing her embarrassment, and said, “What’s on Jiao Jiao’s face isn’t a birthmark… it’s a virginity mark.”
Bang!
A figure fell down from the courtyard wall!
Thump!
A person stumbled on the threshold and bumped into the door.
The former is Gu Chengfeng, and the latter is Gu Changqing.
This isn't over yet.
There was a clatter at the door, followed by a series of clanging sounds... It turned out that Empress Dowager Zhuang had accidentally dropped the copper candied fruit box she was holding.
The old priest, who was standing at the newly opened small door between the two houses, was caught in a dilemma—he had only come to deliver some brown sugar glutinous rice cakes to Zhuang Jinse, so how did he hear about this?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
