Chapter 33 The Second Room is Excited Again
The air in the front hall of Weiyuan Marquis Mansion almost froze.
Cui Yan and Xiao Zhou felt dizzy when they saw Hu Qing being brought in front of them and the shocking white jade pendant in his hand.
Although Hu Qing was covered in dust and his face was slightly roughened by the wind and frost, his calm demeanor, especially the outline between his eyebrows and eyes, was similar to that of the Zhou clan of Xiao Zhou's natal family.
At this moment, in the eyes of Cui Yan and Xiao Zhou, it was like a red-hot iron, burning their hearts.
He calmly recounted his life story: He was adopted by the head of Yaowang Valley when he was young, and had this jade pendant with him since he was a cradle.
The master told him that he was found at an intersection called "Liuxi Village" on the official road from Qingzhou to the capital. He was very weak at the time.
Wrapped in an ordinary coarse cloth swaddling cloth, he had nothing else with him except this jade pendant which was obviously worth a fortune.
Xiao Zhou muttered to herself, her body trembling violently, and tears burst out like a dam breaking.
The nightmarish childbirth experience fifteen years ago, accompanied by great fear and despair, instantly swept over her.
"My Lord... the jade pendant... our love jade pendant... I discovered it was missing when I returned home that year! I thought... I thought some dishonest palace maid had stolen it..."
Xiao Zhou grabbed Cui Yan's arm, her nails almost digging into his flesh, and her voice was broken.
"And the child... the day I brought him home... I always felt... I always felt something was wrong! He seems... seems thinner than when he was first born?
The eyebrows and eyes… didn’t look like what I’d seen at first daze… But at the time, I was in excruciating pain, and worried that the child wouldn’t survive, so I just thought I’d misremembered… I just thought the child had grown a little… wuwuwu…”
She finally spoke out the doubts that had been buried in her heart for fifteen years.
Back then in the palace, she was the empress dowager's distant cousin, with no capable confidants around her, and was isolated and helpless.
The child was dying when he was born and was taken to the next room to be cared for by several palace maids.
She endured the severe pain and weakness after childbirth and tried her best to bring the child back to her side to take care of him personally.
The fear of being a new mother and the worry about her child's life made her subconsciously ignore those minor abnormalities, and even feel guilty for her "suspicion".
Now the truth was like a poisoned dagger, piercing her heart fiercely - her own flesh and blood had been replaced right under her nose at such a chaotic moment!
Cui Yan's face was paler than paper. After the huge shock, there was overwhelming anger and cold fear.
Who was it?! Who was so audacious as to swap the legitimate son of the Marquisate in the inner court of the Imperial Palace during the period of mourning for the Empress Dowager?!
This is definitely not something an ordinary palace maid can do! There must be a shocking conspiracy behind it!
He looked at Hu Qing, this calm and outstanding young man, who should have been a treasure held in the palm of his hand by him and Xiao Zhou, but he was wandering around and suffering.
Guilt, heartache, and anger intertwined together, almost tearing him apart.
However, another more realistic and cruel thought instantly overwhelmed all emotions - Cui Xiao!
The "Cui Xiao" who accompanied the prince in studying in the palace, was deeply favored by the emperor, and whom he had poured fifteen years of effort into and had long regarded as his own son!
Whose child is he? Who are his biological parents? More importantly, his current identity is a knife hanging over the head of Weiyuan Marquis Mansion.
Deceiving the emperor! Confusion of noble bloodlines! If any of these charges are proven, the family will be confiscated and the clan will be exterminated!
Hu Qing is indeed excellent and a true bloodline, but he has been wandering around for many years and has suddenly returned. How can he immediately take on the heavy responsibility of being the eldest son of the Marquis' Mansion?
How to deal with the turmoil in the court? And Cui Xiao... After fifteen years of living together day and night, the father-son relationship has been engraved in their bones.
Cui Yan's heart was torn with pain.
He wanted to recognize Hu Qing immediately and make up for all his debts, but he also instinctively wanted to protect his "son" Cui Xiao, whom he had personally nurtured and had high hopes for!
He even thought with fear, what would be waiting for him once Cui Xiao's identity was revealed?
How would the emperor and the princes deal with a "bastard" with mixed blood?
All of this will inevitably be seized upon by the second wife and that old hag, and used as a deadly weapon to attack the first wife and seize the title!
Cui Yan felt a splitting headache, as if countless steel needles were stirring in his brain.
The news spread like wildfire and flew into Yanshou Hall.
Old Madam Zhou was lying on the kang, listening to the exaggerated report from her trusted maid. Her cloudy old eyes burst into an unprecedented and terrifying light!
“Heh…heh heh heh…”
A rapid and excited roar like a broken bellows came from her throat, her skinny fingers dug into the edge of the kang tightly, the twisted muscles on her face twitched desperately, and she actually forced out a hideous smile like that of a ghost!
God help me! God help me!
Little bastard! Little bastard! Your good days are finally over! What prince of the marquisate? What prince's companion?
It's just a bastard who came from nowhere! The eldest wife deceived the emperor and confused the bloodline. This is a grave crime that will punish all nine generations of the family!
The title! The title of the Marquis! And that precious place as the prince's companion! They should all belong to my son! My own grandson!
The immense ecstasy and pleasure of revenge surged through her decayed body like magma, causing her to burst out with astonishing strength. She struggled and hoarsely ordered
"Help...help me up! Change...change my clothes! Put on the imperial robes! Quick!"
She wanted to witness the downfall of the first house with her own eyes! She wanted to personally beat the death drum!
Under the astonished and greedy gazes of the Second Master Cui Jun and the Second Madam Wang, Old Madam Zhou miraculously "recovered"!
She refused help and sat up tremblingly, waving her skinny hands excitedly.
The maids hurriedly helped her put on the phoenix robe and crown that symbolized her status as a first-rank lady.
The heavy crown pressing on her thin head seemed particularly abrupt and ironic.
"Go! Enter the palace! Beat the drum! File a complaint with the emperor!"
There was a crazy fire burning in Mrs. Zhou's eyes, and her voice was hoarse but filled with hysterical excitement.
"Mother! This... this Dengwen drum is no joke!"
Although Cui Jun's wife also wanted the eldest wife to fall immediately, she felt that beating the drum to file a complaint with the emperor, especially for the crime of deceiving the emperor, was too risky! What if she was implicated...
Madam Zhou glared at him fiercely, her spit almost spraying on his face.
"Wealth and honor are sought in danger! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The little bastard's identity is fake, and the eldest wife's deception of the emperor is a foregone conclusion!
As long as you report it, the emperor will be furious and the eldest wife will be killed! Then, the title will be yours! Who dares to compete with my son? ! "
She gasped, her eyes like poisoned hooks
"You guys aren't going? I'll go by myself!" He said as he was about to rush out.
Cui Jun and Wang looked at each other, with fear and greed in their eyes due to the temptation of huge profits.
Title! That's the hereditary title of Marquis Weiyuan!
It is enough for them to completely turn over and no longer have to look at the face of the eldest wife! Wang gritted her teeth.
"Mother is right! Husband, let's go with mother! It is our duty to clean up the house for the Marquis and expose the traitors who deceive the emperor!" She was also determined to do it.
The three people from the second wife, along with a few trusted servants who were also dazzled by the huge "prospects", took advantage of the panic in the mansion due to the controversy over the real and fake prince and the lax guards, and actually sneaked out of the mansion and went straight to the palace!
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