An hour ago, the eldest daughter vomited blood continuously. The wife of Duke Mu was really panicked at that time. She asked people to invite all the famous doctors in the capital, and ordered people to use the invitation from the Duke's Mansion to invite the imperial physician. As a result, Nanny Chen said that it would be better to go find Chu Qianchen.
Madam Mu was just thinking that Shen would want to see Chu Qianchen, so she let Nanny Chen go and ask for help. She didn't expect Chu Qianchen to be so young and have such extraordinary medical skills! If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Madam Mu wouldn't have believed that a young girl who hadn't even reached the age of marriage could have better medical skills than the gray-haired imperial physician.
This girl is truly amazing!
The Shen family also had many talented ancestors. The great-uncle of the current Duke Mu had a photographic memory and won the first place in the imperial examination at the age of 18. He was a genius who won three consecutive first places. Duke Mu's late father was particularly good at solving cases. He could see the big picture from the smallest details and no clues could escape his eyes. He was also a capable official in the court when he was alive...
Thinking of this, Lady Mu, the Duke of Mu, looked at Chu Qianchen with a little more kindness in her eyes. She seemed to want to say something but stopped herself, and her eyes were extremely complicated.
With the help of Nanny Chen, Shen sat up, leaning against a large pillow, her eyes still fixed on Chu Qianchen.
Shen wanted to say something, but Chu Qianchen held her hand. "Mother, do you have something to tell me? Let's talk after you take the medicine."
Given Shen's current condition, it is not advisable to get too excited.
Lady Mu looked at Shen with mixed feelings. She knew her daughter was going to have a long talk with Chu Qianchen, so she lowered her head and said to Chu Yunmu, "Brother Mu, it's getting late. You still have classes tomorrow. Go back to your room and rest. Your second sister and I are here."
Chu Yunmu looked at the wife of Duke Mu, then at Shen and Chu Qianchen. He always felt that they were hiding something from him and were deliberately trying to get rid of him.
At this time, Chu Qianchen asked: "Brother Mu, do you still want to go to the military camp with your brother-in-law in the future?"
Chu Yunmu's eyes suddenly lit up and he nodded.
Chu Qianchen said again: "Then go to sleep."
Chu Yunmu felt that he was threatened by his sister, and he should remain firm and unyielding. However, when he met his sister's eyes, he became dejected and touched his nose.
"Then I'll wait until mother drinks the medicine before leaving?" Chu Yunmu raised his head and discussed with Chu Qianchen.
Seeing the happy couple, Lady Mu felt even more emotional, warm and bitter. Alas, could this be fate?
Chu Yunmu stayed beside Shen's bed, asking about her health, pouring tea and water for her, wiping her sweat, running around and taking care of Shen very well.
About an incense stick of time later, Dongmei came in with a tray with a steaming bowl of medicine on it.
After watching Shen drink the medicine, Chu Yunmu even gave her a candied fruit and reminded her, "Mom, you have to have a good rest."
"Grandma, please don't rest too late."
"Second sister, I'm leaving now."
Chu Yunmu greeted everyone with some concern and finally left, looking back every few steps.
The wife of Duke Mu's face straightened up, and she ordered her personal maid, "Go and invite the monk who is in charge of reception."
The maid retreated as ordered.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn.
Shen was still staring at Chu Qianchen, her eyes slightly moist. She held Chu Qianchen's hand tightly, and there seemed to be a voice in her heart shouting at the top of her lungs.
She managed to calm herself down, her chest still rising and falling slightly, and she got to the point in a hoarse voice: "Fourteen years ago, I went to your hometown in Yuzhou with your father and the whole family to attend the funeral of your great-uncle. At that time, I was eight months pregnant and suddenly went into labor, so I could only give birth at Daping Temple."
"Because of premature birth, this baby was born with great difficulty..."
"After giving birth to a baby girl, I fainted from exhaustion. Nanny Chen was worried about me, so she ran to a nearby village to find a doctor for me. When I woke up again, a day and a night had passed."
Shen's voice was weak and slow. When she spoke about certain parts, she became very emotional and almost choked. Crystal tears stained her eyelashes.
She is usually smart and decisive, but now she seems so fragile.
In the past fourteen years, she had never suspected what happened during the short half day when Nanny Chen was away, until recently more and more things aroused her suspicion...
Nanny Chen's eyes also turned red, and she regretted deeply: If she hadn't walked away and left the Madam alone, this wouldn't have happened...
Chu Qianchen listened silently and moved his fingers slightly twice.
Many of the things that Shen was talking about now were things she didn't know.
After having a hint of doubt in his heart, Chu Qianchen asked Amber to ask the old people in the mansion and found out that Aunt Jiang gave birth to him in her hometown, and that Shen gave birth to her first child on the way to her hometown.
Chu Qianchen remained silent, his eyes trembling slightly.
The wife of Duke Mu tightly grasped the Buddhist beads in her hand, veins bulging on the back of her hand, and she was thinking: the timing of her daughter's premature birth was too deliberate, and too coincidental.
If the situation had been in the capital, my daughter would have noticed something was wrong long ago. However, we were on the way, in an unfamiliar environment, and there were folk rumors that "seven babies will survive and eight babies will not". In such a chaotic situation, it was impossible for my daughter, who was giving birth for the first time, to notice these "deliberate" things.
As Shen spoke, Nanny Chen recalled the past again, feeling as if she was being grabbed.
During this period of time, she has been recalling the events of more than ten years ago over and over again, regretting over and over again that she was so reckless back then.
Nanny Chen took two deep breaths, sorted out her thoughts, and continued, "That day was really too chaotic."
"That year, my wife had heavy bleeding and fainted after giving birth in Daping Temple. I was worried, so I followed a young master from the temple to the nearby Wangjia Village and found a midwife who knew medical skills."
"I was only away for half a day, about two hours. When I returned to Daping Temple, Madam was still unconscious, but a doctor had already examined her and said that Madam was not seriously injured..."
"I also heard that the baby girl was suffocated by amniotic fluid, her whole body was blue and purple, and her life was hanging by a thread. Daping Temple is in the suburbs, and the doctor couldn't get there at the moment. The Marquis heard that the abbot of the temple was good at medicine, so he took the baby girl to the abbot. She was brought back the next day, and she was safe."
"At that time, so many things happened in just one day, and it was so chaotic that I didn't think much about it. I just felt that Madam was blessed by heaven. Although the birth was difficult, mother and daughter are safe."
As she spoke, Nanny Chen's voice became increasingly hoarse, as if it was being squeezed out from the bottom of her throat.
Duke Mu did not leave either. He just listened outside the screen, his fists clenched tightly together. His old yet clear eyes were as deep as the abyss, and his body was as stiff as a stone sculpture.
Lady Mu, the Duke of Mu, pursed her lips tightly and dug her nails deep into her palms.
The air was heavy and oppressive.
Afterwards, Shen continued what Nanny Chen said, "I was unconscious for a whole day and night, and I have no idea what happened during that time. Everything I know is what others told me. They said that I fainted because of blood deficiency and exhaustion, and that the baby girl was in critical condition, but fortunately she was safe...
"When I woke up, the baby was sleeping in the crib next to me. She was very thin, even thinner than an ordinary premature baby, and she didn't even weigh five kilograms."
To this day, Shen still remembers that scene clearly, as if it was engraved in her heart.
That was the first time she saw her child. The tiny baby was sleeping peacefully. He was so petite and fragile, like a delicate petal. She didn't even dare to hold him.
Shen stopped again, her chest rising and falling slightly, and she tried hard to calm herself down.
It was a hot summer day, but the room was filled with a bone-chilling chill.
Lady Mu, the Duke's wife, couldn't help but look at Chu Qianchen.
Chu Qianchen sat upright on a stool beside Shen's couch, with an elegant posture, calm demeanor, and a calmness that was as firm as a mountain and as profound as a pond.
This girl is so calm.
Lady Mu, Duke of Mu, suddenly had an idea.
This girl is a smart person. It is impossible for her not to understand what her daughter and Nanny Chen have said...
so……
Did Chu Qianchen suspect her background a long time ago? Did she guess what they had been investigating for more than a decade, and figure out why her daughter was so angry that she fell ill today...
This child is really too smart! Lady Mu looked at Chu Qianchen with a look of love, heartache, pity, joy and other emotions.
She calmed down and said, "The abbot of Daping Temple passed away eight years ago. It was just a small temple, and there were not many monks left fourteen years ago..."
Moreover, childbirth involves female members of the family, and there were not many monks who would appear in the courtyard where Shen lived at that time.
"The people we sent to Daping Temple found a monk who was in charge of reception back then. He just arrived in the capital today."
After a pause, Lady Mu looked at Chu Qianchen's expression carefully, and then said, "The monk in charge of reception said that your father went to the abbot and brought out a swaddling baby..."
"Later, he occasionally heard the abbot sigh and say that he hoped the child would have a long life..."
After saying this, Lady Mu, the Duke's wife, looked even more cautious, her eyes still fixed on Chu Qianchen.
On the day of the Wanshou Festival, when she first met Chu Qianchen, she felt like she was seeing her eldest daughter when she was young.
It’s not that Chu Qianchen looks so much like the eldest daughter. They just have a pair of phoenix eyes that are 80% alike, but their figures and temperaments are very similar, which made Lady Mu Guogong feel familiar in an instant.
In fact, up to now, the fact that the two children were swapped is just their speculation, and there is no more concrete evidence. However, judging from various clues, this matter is 80 to 90 percent correct.
This was not the first time that Shen had heard the monk's words. When she heard her mother's words again, she felt a burning and tormenting sensation in her heart, and a dull pain in her chest.
This pain was also revealed in her appearance. She raised her hands to cover her chest, her brows furrowed, and her face showed pain.
"Azhi!" Lady Mu, the Duke's wife, was anxious, fearing that her daughter would vomit blood out of anger again.
Duke Mu, who was outside the screen, heard his wife calling him and was also worried about his daughter. He no longer cared about the rules and etiquette and rushed in around the screen.
Chu Qianchen was sitting next to Shen. She moved even faster, taking out a sachet from her sleeve pocket and placing it under Shen's nose.
"Mother, listen to me. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth."
"Breathe in. Breathe out."
Chu Qianchen guided Shen with words in a calm tone and regulated her breathing. At the same time, she massaged several acupoints on her hands and signaled Amber to massage Shen's back.
Her unhurried voice carried a soothing power that gradually calmed Shen down.
Soon, Shen recovered her breath, but her face was still a little pale.
"Sister Chen," Shen held Chu Qianchen's warm hand tightly, "Do you still remember what your second aunt said?"
Her hands were cold, her voice trembled slightly, and even her hands were shaking slightly.
"Remember." Chu Qianchen nodded, with a cold light in his eyes.
Liu said that fourteen years ago, Mrs. Xu saw with her own eyes Chu Lingxiao carrying a baby into Aunt Jiang's delivery room.
Shen held Chu Qianchen's hand tighter, and there seemed to be two flames burning in her eyes, and her expression became more excited.
She adjusted her breathing according to Chu Qianchen's instructions, and said slowly and firmly: "You, you are not Jiang Minshan's child, nor are you the child of an illegitimate wife, you are my child!"
She is her daughter!
This sentence has been hidden in Shen's heart for some time, until now she can finally say it out loud.
She was sure that Chu Qianchen was her daughter! Shen's voice was hoarse and choked with excitement, and her heart was beating violently in her chest.
Boom, boom, boom! Her heart seemed to be beating out of her chest.
Chu Qianchen made eye contact with Shen beside her.
Compared to Shen, her expression and eyes were very calm, or should I say, cool.
She has a wisdom beyond her age, and her eyes are as deep as a pool of water, so deep that it seems to suck people in.
"Mother," Chu Qianchen asked, "Did the monk who was in charge of reception just see it from a distance?"
"Yes." Shen replied.
She thought Chu Qianchen didn't believe her, so he pulled her to sit on the couch, and looked at her delicate and soft features with his eyes, infatuatedly and tenderly.
"Do you remember the housekeeper Nanny Yu and the wet nurse who used to serve you? They are all gone?" Shen asked again.
Chu Qianchen nodded, and the fingers holding the handkerchief suddenly tightened.
Shen said, "Your wet nurse died of illness, and Yu Ma was alive and well, but just last month when I had people start investigating her, she was hit by a flower pot while walking on the road. Her death was very strange.
These two people had served Aunt Jiang in her hometown in Yuzhou and stayed with her for many years. Later, they were awarded to Chu Qianchen.
Shen kept staring at Chu Qianchen's face with a burning gaze.
Her fingers were weak, but she still held Chu Qianchen's hand tightly.
During this period of time, this matter has been lingering in Shen's mind.
At the beginning, she just suspected that there was something wrong with Chu Qianchen's life experience and suspected that Aunt Jiang was not Chu Qianchen's biological mother, so she began to investigate the matter. When she found that Nanny Yu was suddenly smashed to death, she vaguely realized that there might be something wrong with Chu Qianchen's life experience, and the problem was not small, so much so that someone wanted to kill him to silence him.
When she heard that Chu Qianchen was brought to Aunt Jiang by Chu Lingxiao, her suspicion reached its peak, and a terrible guess began to emerge in her mind: Could her daughter have been swapped? ! From the moment this thought emerged in her mind, this matter became a source of worry for her.
Even she herself didn't know whether this hope was true or false. She was thinking about it day and night, and was tormented day and night.
Gradually, I felt depressed.
In fact, long before the monk arrived in Beijing, Shen had already felt that this matter was 80% certain. What the monk said today only further verified her guess.
Then, the anger that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time suddenly burst out.
She was so angry that she vomited blood.
At this moment, Shen's mood was so complicated that it was difficult to describe in words.
She wanted to hold Chu Qianchen in her arms, wanted to say a lot to her, saying that she was sorry, that she had been so stupid these years, and that she would make it up to her in the future...
But when the words came to her lips, she felt that the words she wanted to say were so powerless. The child had lived such a hard life over the past decade.
Shen's eyes turned red again, with a hazy gleam of tears in them, but she tried hard not to let the tears fall.
Lady Mu, the Duke of Mu, felt very distressed when she saw her daughter like this.
She wanted to say something, but Duke Mu held her back and motioned for her to let her daughter do it herself. After all, this was a matter between mother and daughter. There were some things that outsiders could not help with, and some things had to be said by the daughter herself. If the daughter's knot could not be untied, the granddaughter might not be able to let it go either.
Duke Mu also felt uncomfortable and pulled his wife to sit beside him.
Shen took a few deep breaths before she spoke again, her voice even hoarser, and asked a series of questions: "Sister Chen, do you remember that Aunt Jiang has been unwilling to let you get close to me and Brother Mu all these years?"
"Do you remember that Aunt Jiang always wanted you to live in a farm in the suburbs, away from the Marquis's mansion?"
"Do you still remember that in the past few years, whenever you wanted to leave the mansion or there was a big banquet in the mansion, Aunt Jiang would feel unwell and use various reasons to keep you by her side and not let you see outsiders?"
"besides……"
Shen stared deeply into Chu Qianchen's eyes and said in a difficult voice, "Aunt Jiang doesn't even like you getting close to Brother Yi, right?"
As she spoke, Shen couldn't help but think of Chu Qianchen's childhood.
At that time, the little girl had two buns on her hair and a delicate face like a white porcelain doll, fair and cute. She was well-behaved, always spoke slowly and softly, and was very obedient and sensible.
Seeing that the child was well-behaved, she wanted to get closer to her. Moreover, Chu Qianchen and Chu Qianhuang were of the same age, so she could let them play and study together. However, during that period, Jiang Minshan was sometimes sick, and sometimes cried to Chu Lingxiao, as if she wanted to snatch the child from her.
Later, Chu Qianchen hid whenever he saw her, and she knew that it was Aunt Jiang who told her not to get close to her.
She has never liked forcing others to do things, so she became cold towards Chu Qianchen.
Looking back now, it was simply because Jiang Minshan was feeling guilty. She was afraid that if she stayed with Chu Qianchen for too long, he would find out something was wrong, so she didn't want them to get too close.
Jiang Minshan wanted to raise Chu Qianchen in a wrong way and make him useless, and wanted to make this child isolated and helpless in the Marquis' Mansion!
Thinking of this, Shen's heart began to ache again, as if it was being cut by a knife.
Her daughter should have been a treasure that she held in her hands and protected. She should have wanted to enjoy all the pampering from her family and should have lived a vigorous and carefree life instead of living such a humble and difficult life.
Shen hated Chu Lingxiao, hated Aunt Jiang, and hated herself.
As a mother, she should have protected her daughter, but she failed to do so.
This kind of guilt and regret made Shen feel very uneasy, and she almost dared not touch Chu Qianchen.
She was afraid her daughter hated her.
Shen's words were like countless needles piercing the hearts of Duke Mu and his wife.
The two elders felt uncomfortable and looked extremely unhappy. However, it was too late to regret now.
Chu Qianchen didn't say anything. He held the handkerchief even tighter, his eyes were deep, and he seemed to be thinking.
Her silence made Shen Shi feel even more tormented. Shen Shi called out cautiously, "Sister Chen..."
Everyone's eyes fell on Chu Qianchen, including Nanny Chen and Amber.
"Mother," Chu Qianchen looked at Shen's clear eyes and said in a steady tone, "You mean, after I was born, my father took me away and replaced me with Aunt Jiang?"
"I wasn't actually born to Aunt Jiang, but to my mother, right?"
Shen was stunned for a moment, and after recalling for a while, she realized that she had only said that Chu Qianchen was not Jiang Minshan's son, but her own, but she forgot to mention that she and Chu Qianhuang were swapped.
"Yes!" Shen nodded repeatedly and said in a deep voice, "Fourteen years ago, after I gave birth to the child in Daping Temple, your father secretly took you away and took you back to my hometown. Sister Huang... Chu Qianhuang was the one born to Jiang Minshan!"
At first, Shen's tone was relatively restrained, but as she spoke later, she became excited again, her body trembled uncontrollably, and her voice became almost a scream.
At this time, Shen thought back to the suspicious points about Chu Qianhuang, and finally figured out the things that had been confusing before.
I see.
No wonder Chu Qianhuang used all means to get into the palace! No wonder many of Chu Qianhuang's behaviors in the past six months are simply inexplicable!
No wonder Chu Qianhuang suddenly seemed like a different person...
These doubts can be deduced to an obvious conclusion:
"Chu Qianhuang also knows the truth!"
Shen came to the conclusion with certainty.
Her words made the final decision, causing the faces of Duke Mu and his wife, Nanny Chen and others to change again, and a bitter feeling rose in their hearts.
The dedication and time spent together over the years were not fake. No matter what Chu Qianhuang's true background was, Duke Mu and his wife had treated her like their own granddaughter all these years. How could they let her go just like that?
Shen closed her eyes with difficulty, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her, and her heart was as cold as ice.
It finally dawned on her.
The reason behind all the unreasonable things is actually very simple. Because Chu Qianhuang recently learned about her own life experience, she doesn't trust herself, so she wants to make her own future, and so she disobeys herself again and again.
“Bang!”
The wife of Duke Mu couldn't suppress her anger and slammed her palm heavily on the coffee table next to her.
She was filled with anger and hatred, and she gnashed her teeth and cursed, "Chu Lingxiao is such a piece of shit, he can do such a despicable thing."
"Our Shen family has done our utmost to treat the Chu family well!"
"I promised them my eldest daughter, but he actually passed off a concubine as the legitimate daughter. He even deliberately humiliated my granddaughter over the years!"
The more Lady Mu, the Duke of Mu, thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more she cursed, the ang
If Chu Lingxiao was in front of her now, she would have slapped him. No, this slap was not enough to vent her hatred! For fourteen years, their Shen family's good granddaughter was treated as a concubine's daughter and trampled on like dust by that concubine Jiang, but they knew nothing about it and treated a concubine's daughter like a treasure.
The hatred in the wife of Duke Mu was boiling with hatred, like a volcano that was about to erupt.
It's like you help someone in time of need, but the other party is not only ungrateful, but also repays you with the greatest malice.
This is not a marriage between two families, it is simply an enmity! It was not until today that Lady Mu realized that a person's heart could be so despicable and filthy. Her chest began to ache, as if thousands of needles were piercing her heart.
She raised her hand to cover her heart, her cheeks turned blue, her breath was slightly gasping, and the blue veins in her neck appeared and disappeared.
Seeing this, Shen was frightened and said hurriedly: "Mom, you have a heart disease, don't get too excited."
"Mother, I'm here."
Chu Qianchen said this and walked quickly towards the wife of Duke Mu. He felt her pulse and gave her a heart-protecting pill.
Having just witnessed Chu Qianchen's medical skills, Lady Mu, Duke of Mu, naturally would not have the slightest doubt about her. She followed every command and was extremely obedient.
Soon, the wife of Duke Mu calmed down.
Chu Qianchen looked at Duke Mu, who was sitting next to his wife. Compared with his wife, his complexion was much better, but he was old after all. Veins on his forehead were bulging and his complexion looked a little dull.
Chu Qianchen stretched out his hand and said as a matter of course: "Give me your hand."
Without waiting for Duke Mu to react, his wife impatiently pushed his wrist towards Chu Qianchen.
Chu Qianchen also took Duke Mu's pulse, then told Amber to take a sachet from the medicine box and handed it to him, "Wear it for the next few days."
Duke Mu took the sachet, put it to his nose and sniffed it. He immediately felt his chest become much more relaxed and as if suddenly enlightened.
After dealing with the two elders, Chu Qianchen looked at Shen again and asked seriously, "Mother, can I go see the monk who knows guests?"
(End of this chapter)