Chapter 24 Who is whose mother? She looked up at him pitifully, her little face pleading, "...
With a "bang".
Yu Liuzhu felt as if she could hear the sound of her heartstrings snapping. She sensed the disbelief and doubt in Xie Shi and Shen Linlang's eyes, as if she had returned to the darkest days of her past life.
The way those people looked at her seemed to reflect the same thing.
She subconsciously looked for something different, and the moment her eyes met Yu Qingxue's, her eyes instantly reddened.
It turns out that only her aunt truly loved her!
“Grandmother, Mother, there’s something I haven’t told you. When Ali and I were strolling in the Marquis’s garden earlier, she suddenly ran away and disappeared. Prince Mu was even more worried than I was. I felt it wasn’t appropriate, and I was afraid that Ali wouldn’t know what was going on and that people would gossip. So I had to remind her of her identity, and that if she were to be found entangled with a man, she would probably only be able to become a concubine.”
Shen Linlang's expression softened, realizing that although the words were unpleasant to hear, they were the truth.
“Mother, what Tang’er said makes sense. Ali was born with such a appearance and a naive nature, so we should really give him some advice.”
Yu Qingxue immediately admitted her mistake as if she had made one, saying, "Sister-in-law is right. I will definitely pay attention in the future and teach her properly."
Upon hearing this, Madam Xie gave her a very complicated look, then frowned and glanced at Yu Liuzhu. "Ali is a girl of the Yu family. There is absolutely no reason for her to be a concubine. You must not say such things again."
"Grandmother, don't be angry." Shen Qinglu patted her hand, acting like a child pretending to be an adult. "Ali is very well-behaved and capable. Sister Tang'er told me to wait for her, but when she didn't come, I went to find her. Aren't I smart?"
"Tang'er..." Madam Xie asked instinctively, "Where did you go? Why did you make Ali wait for you?"
Yu Liuzhu would never admit it; in her eyes, Shen Qinglu was just a mentally challenged idiot. What an idiot says is either true or false, nothing to fear.
“Grandmother, Ali got it wrong. I wasn’t watching her for a moment, and she ran off somewhere. I’ve been looking for her everywhere.”
"Ah Li, are you sure you're not mistaken?" Yu Qingxue asked Shen Qinglu, feigning concern.
Shen Qinglu shook her head, as if frightened by her, and hid behind Xie Shi, saying timidly, "Grandmother, Ali didn't remember wrong, Ali didn't lie, it was Sister Tang'er who lied. I even saw Sister Tang'er talking to the servants of the Marquis's mansion. That servant was really good-looking, and her clothes were as white as snow."
Aside from mourning periods, no servant in the entire city of Donglin would wear white clothes, let alone white as snow.
"Ali must have seen wrong." She said dryly, wishing she could cover Shen Qinglu's mouth.
Seeing that Yu Liuzhu was about to speak, Shen Qinglu interrupted her, "Grandmother, I also heard Sister Tang'er call him Ninth Uncle. Is Ninth Uncle a servant?"
The name "Ninth Uncle" reminded Shen Linlang of the most special person in the Marquis's mansion.
That fleeting glimpse was truly unforgettable.
Yu Liuzhu was secretly annoyed that Shen Qinglu hadn't mentioned hearing her talking to Uncle Mu Jiu earlier. She thought to herself that the idiot was indeed an idiot, not knowing to finish her sentence at once, catching her off guard.
But she has been given a second chance at life, so how could she be helpless?
“When I was looking for Ali, I ran into Uncle Mu’s Ninth Uncle. Later, when Ali asked about it, I was afraid she would say something inappropriate, so I lied and said that he was a servant of the Marquis’s mansion.”
This explanation is reasonable.
Shen Qinglu looked like she understood but not quite, and seemed a little dull.
This state of mind convinced Yu Liuzhu that she was an idiot, while also making him secretly annoyed that he had almost been stumped by an idiot.
Madam Xie frowned, glanced back and forth between them a few times, and ultimately did not pursue the matter further, letting it pass.
Shen Linlang took it to heart. After returning home, she dismissed the servants and asked Yu Liuzhu alone, "Tang'er, tell your mother honestly, how did you come to know that Ninth Master of the Mu family?"
Yu Liuzhu saw doubt in her eyes. Thinking of how she hadn't visited him for many days in her previous life, he felt disappointed, sad, and resentful.
"Mother, didn't I tell you about the dream I had? In the dream, Uncle Mu helped me."
It was just a dream, yet it felt so real.
Shen Linlang was extremely conflicted, "So you deliberately abandoned Ali to go see him?"
Yu Liuzhu, her thoughts exposed, should have felt guilty, but instead felt even more resentful. Besides resentment, there was also a hint of defiance. "Mother, why don't you believe me? Aunt is Ali's biological mother, and she believes me, so why can't you?"
“I…” Shen Linlang’s heart clenched for no apparent reason. “I was worried about you…”
“I have said that I do not want to marry Mu Lin. If you are really worried about me, you should resolve the matter of the engagement for me, instead of promising to make the decision for me while still trying to save this marriage.”
“Tang’er…” Shen Linlang was startled by her cold tone and looked at her in disbelief.
Realizing she had brought out the resentment from her past life, she said sadly, "Mother, I'm tired. I want to go back and rest."
Before Shen Linlang could say anything, she bowed her head and took her leave.
The room was warm with plenty of charcoal, like early summer, but Shen Linlang's heart felt as if it had suddenly fallen into winter, as if she had fallen into an abyss of accumulated cold and snow, feeling completely cold.
She didn't know how much time had passed when someone lifted the curtain and came in. She thought it was Yu Liuzhu returning, and looked over in surprise, only to meet Yu Mama's worried gaze.
"Madam, did you and the eldest daughter have a fight?"
As soon as the word "argue" came out, Granny Yu realized she had said the wrong thing.
Everyone in the household knew that the lady doted on her eldest daughter the most, treating her like a precious gem and never letting her suffer the slightest grievance.
"This servant noticed that the young lady seemed to be crying just now..."
"She cried?" Shen Linlang felt guilty and, forgetting her own distress, immediately prepared to go out to Liufang Xiaozhu.
*
Liufang Xiaozhu is built by the water, like a bright pearl held by the water.
Across the water, on the other side, artificial hills, pavilions, pines, cypresses, and strange rocks will soon sprout greenery, and in the height of summer, they will bloom with colorful flowers.
It offers beautiful scenery in all four seasons and is the most exquisite part of the entire East Courtyard.
Near the roadside of Liufang Xiaozhu, Yu Qingxue looked at Yu Liuzhu, whose eyes were red with heartache, and said, "Tang'er, why are you crying? Did you suffer any injustice? Tell me, and I'll help you get revenge."
"I am the eldest daughter of the Yu family. Who would allow me to suffer any injustice?" Yu Liuzhu raised her chin, proud and self-respecting. Suddenly, a hidden thought arose in her heart. Perhaps it was a test, or perhaps it was malicious intent, "Aunt, if you could only choose one between me and Sister Ali, who would you choose?"
"Of course it's you!" Yu Qingxue said without hesitation.
For her, this wasn't a choice at all.
Yu Liuzhu was deeply moved, and the tears she had been holding back finally burst forth. She hugged her tightly, saying, "Auntie, I knew that only you truly loved me. No matter what happens, you will always be on my side."
"Tang'er, my only wish in this life is for you to be safe and well. As long as you are well, my life will be worthwhile."
“Aunt…” Yu Liuzhu was deeply moved, unaware of the deeper meaning in her words, and felt sorry for her. “If it weren’t for Sister Ali, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.”
When Shen Linlang saw them from afar, it felt as if a thorn had been plunged into her heart, or as if a piece of her flesh had been ripped out. It was as if her daughter was about to be taken away, or had already been taken away, and she felt an indescribable panic.
She didn't go forward. Instead, as if she had seen something she shouldn't have, she hid behind a nearby rockery, pressed her chest, took a few deep breaths, and then couldn't help but look at them again.
They embraced, so tightly, so intimately…
They look like a mother and daughter!
When the thought crossed her mind, she was startled by her own idea. When she turned her head and met a pair of dark eyes, she was so frightened that she almost screamed.
"Ah Li, what are you doing here?"
Shen Qinglu's eyes were wet, like a pitiful little thing who had been abandoned and was hoping to be picked up by someone. "She doesn't like me. She only likes Sister Tang'er."
The "she" in question is, of course, Yu Qingxue.
"She's your mother. What mother doesn't love her own child? Don't overthink it..."
"Then why does she never hug me? Why is she so biased towards Sister Tang'er? She won't let me wear red clothes, she won't let me show my forehead. Is she my mother, or Sister Tang'er's mother?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Linlang was so shocked that no one could know what she was thinking.
The thought that had inadvertently surfaced and then been forcibly suppressed resurfaced, so absurd and unbelievable, yet it wouldn't go away.
"Look at her, she looks just like Tang'er's mother."
Shen Qinglu murmured, sounding like a child speaking, yet every word was like a thunderclap.
Shen Linlang looked into her eyes, which were misty with tears, as if she had a thousand words to say, like the sadness of being abandoned, or the grievance of surviving a disaster.
She approached timidly, carefully grasped Shen Linlang's arm, and looked up at her with a pitiful expression, "I really wish you were my mother."
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