Chapter 683 Not My Biological Daughter
In front of the old ladies of the Yu family, Aunt Jiao San was very tactful and did not ask any further questions. She just suppressed her doubts, kept smiling and chatted with the old ladies for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.
When they came out of the main courtyard, the smile on Jiao San's aunt's face immediately faded. She frowned and hurried to Jiao's courtyard.
Jiao had not yet returned from visiting friends outside, and the maid in the courtyard warmly entertained Aunt Jiao San: "...Why don't you go back to your room and rest first, and when our prince's wife comes back, I will immediately tell her that you came to look for her?"
But Aunt Jiao San just waved her hands.
She was very uneasy, and it would be useless to go back, so she might as well wait for Jiao here.
When Aunt Jiao San finished her third cup of tea, Jiao finally came back.
Jiao was in a good mood, but she was a little surprised to learn that Third Aunt Jiao had been waiting for her in the yard for a long time: "Third sister-in-law? ... What happened?"
Aunt Jiao San held Jiao's wrist, her expression very solemn: "Aunt, let me ask you, are you hiding something from me?"
When Jiao saw the attitude of Jiao's aunt, she was immediately shocked. She avoided Jiao's aunt's inquiring eyes somewhat unnaturally and said with a forced smile: "... Third sister-in-law, what are you talking about? What can I hide from you? What's wrong with you?"
When Aunt Jiao San saw Jiao's attitude, she knew that she was definitely hiding something from her.
She was angry and anxious, and grabbed Jiao's wrist: "Aunt, I asked your old lady tactfully before whether Mingzhu had been promised to marry someone, but your old lady asked me to ask you. Just tell me, have you been hiding from us that we have already told Mingzhu about the other person?... Then just tell me, our Yulou doesn't have to marry Mingzhu shamelessly, and we won't force you to do it if you tell us directly. I am just heartbroken, I am your sister-in-law from your mother's family, and you are hiding this from me?"
Jiao didn't know how to explain it, but the meaning revealed in Aunt Jiao's words made her heart move slightly...
If Yu Mingzhu was her biological daughter, she would naturally be reluctant to marry Yu Mingzhu to her nephew. In Jiao's view, it would be appropriate for her daughter Zhuzhu to marry the prince or even the crown prince.
But here comes the problem: Yu Mingzhu is not her biological daughter.
This matter was not a secret. Although Jiao did not want to admit it, it could not be concealed. Under such circumstances, it was a very good choice for her Zhuzhu to marry her nephew who knew her well.
Jiao's eyes sparkled with brilliance. She grabbed the hand of Jiao's aunt and dismissed the maids in the room: "Third sister-in-law, I have something to tell you."
Aunt Jiao San looked at Jiao's posture hesitantly, and sat on the couch with Jiao.
Jiao held the hand of Jiao's aunt, and after organizing her words for a long time, she finally dropped the bombshell: "... Third sister-in-law, let me tell you, Zhuzhu is not my biological daughter."
Aunt Jiao San was so shocked by this that she stood up and said, "What did you say? You can't talk nonsense about this!"
Jiao quickly pulled Aunt Jiao back and smiled bitterly: "Sister-in-law, I also hope this is fake, but in fact, it is true..."
When Jiao told the story of how the Xin Guo Mansion discovered that Yu Mingzhu was not their biological daughter, Aunt Jiao was so shocked that her soul flew away and she was unable to speak for a long time.
This matter was really too horrifying, and Aunt Jiao San took a long time to digest it, but she still couldn't.
When she reacted, Aunt Jiao was shocked and angry: "No, aunt, you are confused! Why didn't you tell us about such a big thing earlier?!"
For example, this time, she came to the capital from Zhoushui and brought a lot of cosmetics from the female relatives in her family for Yu Mingzhu, many of which were priceless.
If this were a gift to my niece, I would definitely not feel bad about it.
But the problem is that Yu Mingzhu is not Jiao's biological daughter and does not have the blood of their Jiao family!
Jiao's face showed some pain: "Third sister-in-law! It's hard for me to accept what happened. I don't know how to tell you..."
"Then, have you found your biological daughter?" Jiao San's aunt asked anxiously again.
Jiao's face froze, revealing an extremely unnatural expression: "Not yet..."
Aunt Jiao was so shocked that she didn't notice Jiao's unnatural behavior. She sighed and said, "It's been so many years. A thief must have deliberately swapped them. It's hard to find them in such a huge crowd."
As she spoke, Aunt Jiao's eyes turned red again, and she cursed angrily, "This damned villain!"
Jiao also felt a little sad and shed a few tears.
Aunt Jiao scolded the thief for a long time, and finally held Jiao's hand: "Aunt, this is a big deal. I must tell my family about this..."
She paused and asked, "Does Mingzhu know her own life story?"
Jiao sighed, "Zhuzhu naturally knew about this. She was raised in our care since she was little, and she didn't want something like this to happen... Third sister-in-law, you don't know that Zhuzhu went to the temple and wrote a scripture with her own blood to pray for us... Zhuzhu is really a very good child."
Mrs. Jiao thought of Yu Mingzhu's appearance at that time and felt very distressed.
Aunt Jiao San couldn't tell what she was feeling for a moment; her emotions were very complicated.
Jiao held the hand of Jiao's aunt again tightly: "... Third sister-in-law, there is something I have wanted to discuss with you for a long time. Although Zhuzhu is not my biological daughter, everyone in my family has treated her as the apple of our eye since she was a child, and I can't bear to ignore her like this. Look at Yulou...the two of them have been childhood sweethearts since they were young, and you have watched Zhuzhu grow up, and you know what kind of person Zhuzhu is. Third sister-in-law, I want to promise Zhuzhu to Yulou, what do you think?"
Aunt Jiao San felt mixed emotions.
If in the past, Jiao had taken the initiative to betroth Yu Mingzhu to her daughter Yulou, she would have been overjoyed.
But now, Yu Mingzhu is not Jiao's biological daughter, and her bloodline is not good. It is easy to imagine that someone who was deliberately switched into the Marquis' Mansion could not be of a good bloodline.
Her daughter Yulou will take part in the imperial examination in two years. She will definitely pass the exam and if she is good enough, she may even get the first or third place.
With the help of the Zhoushui Jiao family in the court, their future is naturally limitless.
In other words, it is very likely that her son Yulou will be promoted to an official position and become a prime minister in the future.
If Yu Mingzhu's true origins were found out in the future, and it was even confirmed that he was a commoner, that would be fine. But what if he was one of the lower class?
Aunt Jiao San's worry was almost written all over her face.
Jiao looked at her third sister-in-law's expression and her heart skipped a beat. She had never thought that her third sister-in-law would be unwilling? !
Her third sister-in-law used to love Zhuzhu so much that she would sometimes hint at her, saying that they were cousins or something like that.
Isn't it just that you want her to marry Zhuzhu to him?
But she used to think that her Zhuzhu could even marry the prince, so she used the excuse that the child was still young to get away with it.
Soon her daughter Zhuzhu will be one year older. After another year, she will be fourteen or fifteen years old. It is time for her to get married. At present, it seems that Yulou, the nephew of her mother's family, is the best match Zhuzhu can get...
When Jiao thought about this, her expression became more tense, and she held Aunt Jiao's hand more tightly: "... Third sister-in-law, what are you worried about? Are you still worried about Zhuzhu's character? When Zhuzhu and Yulou are engaged, I will send all the dowry I have saved for Zhuzhu to Zhoushui. If Yulou passes the imperial examination and wants to serve as an official in the court, Zhuzhu's father and brother and I will certainly help Yulou mediate in the court..."
The rest were all empty talk. It was these two points that Jiao said that really convinced Aunt Jiao San.
When Jiao got married, she, the third sister-in-law, knew that her mother-in-law gave most of her wealth to her younger sister-in-law as a dowry. Although these money are all external things, it is better to marry a daughter-in-law with a rich family than marrying a daughter-in-law from a small family with no wealth.
But what moved Aunt Jiao the most was Jiao's promise that after Yu Lou became an official, Yu Mingzhu's father and brother would also help promote Yu Lou - this was the most irresistible thing.
But Aunt Jiao San calmed down and sighed, "... Aunt, don't worry. I was shocked to learn that Mingzhu is not your biological daughter. I am a little undecided. Besides, you know that Yulou is the most promising of his generation. It is always the elders who decide who will marry him. So, I will write a letter to my family first. What do you think?"
When Jiao saw that Aunt Jiao San was actually going to discuss this with her family, she felt somewhat unhappy.
In the past, she begged her daughter Zhuzhu to marry her! Now that she knows that her daughter Zhuzhu is not her biological daughter, she picks up Qiao instead!
But Jiao couldn't get angry, so she forced a smile and said, "Okay, Zhuzhu's birthday is in two days. I already have many wives who have sent their invitations, and they are all trying their best to introduce them to Zhuzhu... I just feel sorry for our Zhuzhu and want to marry her back to the Jiao family. After all, we are a family."
Aunt Jiao San smiled and said, "Of course, we all love our children."
But she sneered in her heart. Her aunt really thought she didn't know that if Yu Mingzhu was her biological daughter, her aunt would probably look down on her family's jade house no matter what.
The aunt and sister-in-law talked for a long time, and then the maid came in to report that the cousin and the eldest daughter had returned.
The two mothers were shocked, looked at each other, and tacitly passed over the topic of marriage.
"Mom, look what I bought for you?"
Yu Mingzhu hadn't arrived yet, but a sweet voice had already been heard from outside the door.
Jiao had a smile on her face and gave Jiao San's aunt a meaningful look, as if to say, look, isn't my daughter considerate?
Aunt Jiao San was still a little speechless. What was her aunt so proud of? No matter how caring she was, she was not her biological daughter.
Yu Mingzhu entered the room and saw Jiao's third aunt. She smiled and bowed to Jiao's third aunt: "Third aunt is here too. It's just right. Mingzhu also bought a small gift for her."
It is a cloak from the Western Regions. The color is bold, but it is really beautiful and has a bit of exotic style.
Aunt Jiao was very happy and showed some satisfaction in her eyes, which alleviated some of her resentment about Mingzhu not being Jiao's biological daughter.
Jiao Yulou was standing aside. After Mingzhu showed off the gifts, he smiled and said, "Mother, aunt, who do you think we met outside?"
Yu Mingzhu’s smile froze.
Aunt Jiao San asked curiously, "Who did you meet?"
Jiao Yulou smiled and said, "My cousin and I first met His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince, who invited us to dinner. Then, we ran into Princess Fusui in the wine shop."
When she heard the words "Princess Fusui", Jiao felt a little uncomfortable and she quickly glanced at the expression of Jiao's aunt.
But Aunt Jiao San really didn't think about it elsewhere. After all, she was such a princess and came from the prominent Yu family. After she checked, she didn't think about it anymore.
Even though she learned today that Yu Mingzhu was not Jiao's biological daughter, she never dared to think that Princess Fusui would be Jiao's biological daughter.
After all, if we think about it from the simplest perspective, if she was really Jiao's biological daughter, would she not recognize her until now?
Therefore, Aunt Jiao San just thought it was a coincidence and laughed, "You have also seen Princess Fusui? Doesn't she look a bit like Sister Yuan?"
Jiao Yulou smiled and said, "Really..."
Yu Mingzhu suddenly smiled and changed the subject: "Mother, we also met His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince. He knew that my birthday was in two days, and he said that he would have someone send me a birthday gift."
When Jiao heard this, she was somewhat surprised: "Really? There is such a thing?"
In fact, the husband that Jiao had initially favored for Yu Mingzhu was either the Third Prince Wei Shiyu or the Fourth Prince Wei Shibu.
Of these two princes, one is the Queen's legitimate son, and the other is gentle and polite with a very good personality. Her Zhuzhu would be a good match no matter which prince she marries.
It was just fate that her Zhuzhu was no longer of the bloodline of the Duke of Xin's Mansion. With such a background, she was not even qualified to be a prince's concubine.
Besides, Jiao was reluctant to let her precious daughter, who was as precious as a jewel, become the prince's concubine.
But at this moment, when Jiao heard that the Fourth Prince took the initiative to show his goodwill to her daughter, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of anticipation in her heart.
Her Zhuzhu is so good. If His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince takes the initiative to ask for her hand in marriage, even if he knows Zhuzhu's true background, he will not give up and is willing to marry her Zhuzhu as his principal wife...
Jiao felt warmed up at the thought of this.
Aunt Jiao San glanced at Jiao.
Jiao's thoughts were almost written on her face.
Aunt Jiao San was inevitably a little angry. She stood up with some displeasure and said stiffly, "I've been out for a while. I'm tired. Yulou, please come back with me."
At this moment, Jiao was only concerned about her daughter's good home, so she had no time to care about her third aunt Jiao.
Aunt Jiao San left angrily.
Jiao Yulou was still a little puzzled. After returning to the room, he asked curiously, "Why is mother so angry?"
Aunt Jiao San was still a little angry. After a long pause, she asked Jiao Yulou, "Do you know that your cousin Mingzhu is not actually your aunt's biological daughter?"