Chapter 82 It's all about timing and fate.
"It's been so long!"
"Yes, it's been twenty-five years, hasn't it?"
...
The torrential rain pounded against the roof. Under the eaves, Niu Tielan sat casually on a wooden chair. She wore a plain white dress, her hair loosely tied back, and her face was free of makeup, yet her stunning beauty was still undeniable.
There are two types of beautiful girls: those who are beautiful from childhood to adulthood, and those who grow up to be beautiful gradually.
The first type is the 'Golden Tillandsia'.
Everyone who has seen her praises her as a natural beauty. When she was little, she always got more things than others when she went shopping.
Standing amidst the chaotic crowd, she was easily recognizable and spotted. Had she grown up peacefully at home, she would undoubtedly have become a sought-after daughter by many families.
But no
Niu Tielan still remembered that she was buying sugar figurines at that time. It was only a blink of an eye, and when she woke up again, she was in the small house.
She was only seven years old then, a tiny little girl. She climbed out the window and ran away, stumbling and staggering all the way back, only to see the corpses being carried out of the mansion.
She was taken back again.
The person in front of me was the one who was in charge of taking care of her back then.
Niu Tielan quietly watched the people walking towards her in the downpour.
Hou Qiaohe was dressed in the rain, wearing an expensive raincoat and carrying an umbrella made by a master craftsman from Jiangnan. Any one of her items could have been enough for an ordinary person to make a living for half a year.
Yet all of them exuded a low-key demeanor.
She was without a maidservant by her side. Holding an umbrella, she struggled to lift the hem of her rain-soaked skirt, layer upon layer, not caring about the wide sleeves, making her look rather disheveled.
Niu Tielan held a hand warmer in one hand and a cup of hot tea in the other, sipping it quietly, as if the raging storm outside had nothing to do with her, her tranquility existing in its own way.
She's completely different from the little girl who used to bite and throw tantrums, yet she's still instantly recognizable.
Hou Qiaohe had only spent two months with her, but she recognized her at a glance. She recognized the lady of the Song family in front of her as the child she had personally brought back years ago, the one who had suffered so much.
The girl beside her looked exactly like the Grand Secretary Song she had seen before; she must be Princess Mingguang, who had caused such a stir today, offending the Duke of Ying's mansion and the Prince of Jin, yet still receiving the title of Princess.
There is no stronger evidence than that face, and no one knows her past sins better than Hou Qiaohe.
Hou Qiaohe's heart sank, her knees buckled, and she knelt down in terror, kowtowing and crawling forward.
"Please spare me, young lady! Please spare me, young lady..."
This reaction took everyone by surprise, even Song Jin was taken aback.
She knew this person must be an old acquaintance of her mother's, perhaps not a very good one, but her mother acted far too calmly.
She thought it might not be that important, but she could try to find clues here and trace back to the person behind it.
Now it seems incredibly important; given this performance, it would be hard to believe there wasn't some kind of grudge or resentment involved.
A flash of ferocity crossed Song Jin's eyes, and the next second she stood up menacingly.
Niu Tielan pulled her back: "Stop fooling around."
Song Jin: "I'm not making a fuss. I'm the best at interrogating people, Mother, leave it to me."
A hint of helplessness flashed in Niu Tielan's eyes. She gently squeezed her hand: "If you keep making a scene, we're leaving."
Song Jin glared menacingly at Hou Qiaohe, who was pleading for mercy in fear. Reluctantly, she looked away, squatted back down on the small stool, and gripped her mother's hand firmly.
"Mother, I will definitely avenge you."
Niu Tielan's expression softened, and he gently stroked her cheek before turning back to look at Hou Qiaohe, who had crawled to within a meter's distance on her knees.
Her raincoat was wet, and her skirt and sleeves were soaked. Kneeling on the ground, she quickly became covered in mud. With each thud of her kowtowing, the mud grew thicker and thicker.
Completely different from the bright and noble people of yesteryear
Her appearance wasn't because she knew she was wrong, nor because she felt guilty or remorseful; it was simply because she was afraid of dying and implicating her child.
Involving plots from the previous dynasty, and with the Song family as scapegoats, all of this is enough to kill her and her child hundreds of times over.
Hou Qiaohe is a smart person
Niu Tielan sat there, coldly watching her beg for mercy, sipping her tea until it was finished, then gently setting the teacup down.
"You seem to be doing well these past few years."
Hou Qiaohe raised her head, blood seeping from her forehead, her hair disheveled. Her face was deathly pale, and she gave a bitter smile: "Miss is joking. If I were truly doing well, I wouldn't have had to hide like a rat in a sewer all these years, afraid to show myself in public."
Niu Tielan said calmly, "You seem to know yourself quite well."
Hou Qiaohe wiped away the blood with a bitter smile: "I know that no matter what I say, it won't be enough to hide your anger, Miss, but I must say this: I used to be like a rat in a ditch, someone anyone could step on. I had no choice in the matter."
Niu Tielan: "Can a simple statement like 'I had no choice' really cover up all the evil deeds I've committed?"
Hou Qiaohe said bitterly, then kowtowed twice more: "I accept everything you say, young lady, but my two sons know nothing; they are innocent."
Niu Tielan: "Innocent? I wasn't innocent back then, my father wasn't innocent, and none of the women in the women's garden were innocent?"
Hou Qiaohe was speechless, but she kowtowed twice more heavily and said with difficulty, "It's fate, it's destiny."
In the chaos of the previous dynasty, they were powerless to control their own destiny; they were simply born at the wrong time.
It's all fate.
Niu Tielan threw down his teacup, the porcelain shards shattering on the floor with a crash, disappearing into the sound of rain.
She stood up, walked to Hou Qiaohe, and looked down at her with exceptionally cold eyes.
"Fate? So you accept your fate?"
Hou Qiaohe lay on the ground without saying a word.
If she had accepted her fate, she wouldn't be here, and she wouldn't have become the mistress of the Dai family.
Niu Tielan: "Look up"
Hou Qiaohe raised her head in a disheveled state, her face streaked with blood, her lips bitten and bleeding, the blood and mud mingling, yet her vibrant beauty still shone through.
Every woman in the girls' garden was carefully selected; each one was exquisitely beautiful with skin as white as snow.
Hou Qiaohe was no exception; however, she wasn't actually a member of the women's garrison. She didn't stay there for two months; she simply gave a brief reprimand to those who had been captured before being sent to an unknown place.
The world is vast, and Niu Tielan thought she would never see this person again. Now that she has, she can finally ask the question that has been hidden in her heart for twenty-five years.
She said, "If I hadn't gone out to buy candied hawthorns that day, would everything have been fine?"
Hou Qiaohe was stunned.
She didn't actually remember the scene of the arrest, but she was certain: "No, they went over there because of you."
In Xi County, there was a beautiful woman who was presented to a nobleman, who was delighted and rewarded her handsomely. Those below, knowing that the beautiful woman also had a daughter, began to have designs on her.
Niu Tielan closed her eyes, her gaze devoid of sorrow or joy. She had already suspected this, and now it was finally confirmed.
She was utterly disgusted: "The previous emperor was a tyrannical and incompetent ruler who committed countless evils, but how are they any different from him?"
Even if the previous dynasty is overthrown, it will only be another previous dynasty.
Hou Qiaohe smiled wryly: "The merchants were short-sighted; fortunately, nothing came of it."
As she spoke, she drew three strokes on the ground with the blood from the rain on her hand, then kowtowed.
"I know I deserve to die, but my two children are innocent. I beg you, young lady, not to implicate them. Whatever you wish to know, I will tell you without reservation."
Niu Tielan looked down at her, his eyes lowered, and suddenly changed the subject: "I'm asking you, is your involvement in the incident involving Prime Minister Song?"
Hou Qiaohe looked up abruptly, her pupils dilating instantly. She was completely flustered and shocked: "How could this be? I... I have no such ability! I've never dared to show my face all these years, how could this be, how could this be..."
Her nervousness and fear were genuine.
Niu Tielan asked the question suddenly, just to see her reaction.
Since that wasn't the case, Niu Tielan lowered her eyes, sat back down in her chair, and said softly, "Xiao Mei, please have a seat for the Lady of the Marquis."
Xiao Mei suppressed her surprise and replied, "Yes."
Hou Qiaohe carefully got up, staggered, and sat back down, trembling slightly. "Miss, I really don't know anything about this. When I left the girls' garden that year, I was sent to a family and suffered a lot. Later, the man died, and I escaped and met my current husband, which gave me a place to live."
However, the man was fickle; after the initial sweet period, his true nature was eventually revealed. She could only fight and struggle, raising her children little by little, to achieve her current position.
Hou Qiaohe: "I haven't run into those people in all these years. I thought, I thought, that they had all gone their separate ways."
Even so, she has rarely gone out in recent years, afraid to let outsiders see her face, lest she be recognized.
Niu Tielan scoffed at her words: "Scattered? So many families have fallen apart, but do you even remember where my family is?"
Hou Qiaohe took a deep breath: "I only remember, I recall, Mingshuang Prefecture, Xixian County, but the specifics are from far too long ago."
This is enough. Niu Tielan still has some memories of his home; he can find out more when he goes there.
But even if they were found and brought back, there were no relatives left in the family.
Thinking of this, Niu Tielan's expression darkened, and he grasped her burning hands.
Song Jin said softly, "I'll accompany you back to see Grandpa then, Mother."
Niu Tielan forced a smile and gave a low reply, clearly not in the mood to say anything more.
Song Jin patted her hand, then looked at Hou Qiaohe opposite her with a cold expression.
"You arrest people, fine, but why wipe out the whole family?"
"Because the girl's father was too persistent, he reported it to the authorities and mobilized people to search. They found some clues, but they were afraid he would cause too much trouble and that would have a negative impact, so..."
Hou Qiaohe smiled bitterly: "You saw it, young lady? I was thinking, if I hadn't let you out back then, you probably wouldn't have seen that scene either."
Song Jin was somewhat surprised
Niu Tielan, however, wasn't surprised. They had gone to so much trouble to capture her; if it were so easy for her to escape, they wouldn't have made such a fuss.
She asked, "Who are those people?"
Hou Qiaohe shook her head: "It's been too long, I really can't remember. I only remember that the leader's surname was Wu, he was a martial arts figure, and he had a sword mark on his chest from being stabbed."
As for how she knew, it goes without saying.
In chaotic times, women are as worthless as grass; even in prosperous times, after all the hardships, it is still the women who are unhappy.
Niu Tielan drank another cup of tea, slamming the cup down on the coffee table. She looked at the disheveled and cowering Hou Qiaohe, then closed her eyes.
"You can leave now."
Hou Qiaohe suddenly looked up: "You, you..."
Niu Tielan said calmly, "Let's end things here. But if anyone else comes looking for you, it's your just deserts."
Hou Qiaohe's eyes welled up with tears, and she got off the chair and kowtowed to the ground: "Thank you, thank you for your generosity, thank you, thank you for your great kindness, thank you..."
Niu Tielan didn't look any further: "Xiaomei, go inside and get a veiled hat, and escort the Lady of the Marquis back."
Xiao Mei responded, went inside to fetch a veil, then helped Hou Qiaohe up, tidied her face, and saw her out.
The torrential rain continued outside, and the cold raindrops lashed against my skin, making my hair stand on end.
Hou Qiaohe limped as she knelt and kowtowed so forcefully that her wounds stung in the cold wind, yet she felt strangely at peace.
As long as the Song family doesn't mind
As long as they don't mind
"By the way, you'd better be careful lately. The people from the Women's Garden are already watching you and your son."
Niu Tielan's voice drifted over again.
Hou Qiaohe's pupils dilated, her teeth chattered, and she could not hide her fear.
Niu Tielan said calmly, "Your younger son is fine for now, but you'd better ask about your eldest son. Some paths, once you take a wrong step, there's no turning back."
...
Hou Qiaohe left the courtyard in a daze, saw her two tall sons, and calmly returned to the carriage.
She lifted the curtain, revealing a very noticeable scar on her forehead.
Dai Yuanhong and Dai Yuanhua's expressions immediately changed: "Mother!"
Hou Qiaohe didn't speak; she just gripped Dai Yuanhong's arm tightly, her teeth chattering: "Tell your mother, has someone been looking for you? Has anyone?"
Dai Yuanhong was taken aback, then quickly fell silent.
Hou Qiaohe felt as if the sky had fallen, grabbing him and demanding, "What did they make you do? What did they do to you? Tell me, tell me now!"
Dai Yuanhong remained silent.
Dai Yuanhua glanced at his mother, then at his elder brother. He subconsciously touched the back of his neck, where a scar the size of a hairpin was clearly visible.
The carefree life of the past ten years has now been shrouded in shadow.
He carefully pulled Hou Qiaohe, saying, "Mother, Mother, calm down. Be careful of your head. How did you hurt it? And eldest brother, say something too!"
Nobody paid him any attention.
The mother and son faced off for a while. The usually composed Dai Yuanhong lowered his head, his voice hoarse: "Mother, I... I didn't mean to, I didn't know."
Hou Qiaohe's heart sank.
...
Song Mansion
Song Jin leaned against a pillar, reaching out to catch the raindrops. The drops fell into her palm, stinging slightly.
She looked up: "It looks like it's hailing."
Niu Tielan snapped out of her reverie, picked up the cup in her hand, and threw it at him, saying irritably, "Feeling cold is nice, isn't it? Come sit down here."
Song Jin didn't move, twirling her teacup in her hand, and said seriously, "Mother, should I go and kill her?"
Niu Tielan took a deep breath, poured himself another cup of tea, took another deep breath, still unable to suppress his anger, picked up the cup and smashed it, angrily saying, "Are you trying to make me die of anger because you think I'm too long-lived?"
Song Jin shut her mouth, holding two cups in her hands, turning them around like a vaudeville performer.
Raindrops splashed in from outside the eaves, soaking most of her clothes.
Niu Tielan glared: "Nowhere to sit, huh? Get over here."
Song Jin puffed out her cheeks, said "oh," and slowly walked over.
Niu Tielan touched it, then slapped it and said angrily, "Go back and change your clothes. Do you think you're made of iron?"
Song Jin really felt she was almost as tough as iron; in fact, she could even break iron. But even if she were steel, she still had to listen to her mother.
She pouted and reluctantly went back to her room to change her clothes. When she came out again, Niu Tielan was no longer there.
Xiao Mei stood outside with a smile: "Madam said she's tired and needs to rest. She tells you to play by yourself, but don't play in the water or get caught in the rain."
Song Jin wasn't too surprised, and pursed her lips: "Then what else is fun?"
Xiao Mei smiled and said, "How about Xiao Er and I play chess with you?"
Song Jin waved her hand: "Forget it, you guys go and rest. Don't go out in the rain. I'm going to read."
She's been busy with this and that lately and hasn't really had time to read. She hasn't really read the books Shu Chenghao gave her when she was in the county last time.
Song Jin turned and went back to her bedroom. She rummaged through the bookshelf and found the travelogues she often read.
The travelogue is quite ordinary; it tells the story of the protagonist traveling the world with a sword.
However, the author clearly lacks education; the writing style is mediocre, and the stories that should have been dramatic and exciting are written in a dry, bland style.
Song Jin quite enjoyed reading it. She flipped through the table of contents and found a story about autumn rain.
The story is simple: the protagonist is traveling when he is caught in a sudden downpour. He finds a cave and unexpectedly encounters a black bear. After a fight, he acquires a fur coat for winter.
Then he continued on his way, and was caught in another thunderstorm. He found shelter under a tree, and a flash of lightning struck.
He continued on his way and encountered someone who had fallen in the rain. He went to help them but was robbed instead...
It feels somewhat familiar.
With these doubts in mind, Song Jin ran back to the shelf and took out all the relevant books, spreading them out on the small couch and flipping through them one by one.
I lost track of time while flipping through the pages until there was a knock on the door.
Song Jin slammed the book shut, her phoenix eyes bright with excitement, like a bear that had successfully stolen honey.
She rolled off the small couch, slipped on her shoes, and went outside. Opening the door, she saw Xiao Mei standing there as always.
Song Jin: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Mei smiled: "The gentlemen have finished their court session."
Song Jin: "They're off to court, what's wrong? Did they get arrested again?"
Xiao Mei sighed helplessly, "How could that be? I heard that both the eldest and third young masters have been promoted; that's great news!"
Song Jin raised an eyebrow: "I see. What did my mother say? Is she awake? Is she in a better mood?"
Xiao Mei said softly, "Madam is still asleep, so I didn't wake her. The Second Young Master sent someone to say that His Highness Prince Qi has also arrived, and I thought it would be best for Miss to go and see him."
Song Jin immediately changed her tone and complained, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
With that, she ran back to pick up her books again, casually put on her coat, tied her belt, and slipped on her shoes. After quickly getting ready, she grabbed her oil-paper umbrella from outside and rushed into the pouring rain.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com