"You met her during a mission?"
He Jiuniang asked casually, and Lu Baichuan hurriedly nodded and explained, "It wasn't exactly a mission. His Highness needed some information and asked me to go to Qianfan Pavilion to find someone to investigate. She was the contact person at Qianfan Pavilion at the time, so I went to Fengyun Manor to look for her. We cooperated several times after that. After I learned that you went to Anzhou, I asked her to help look for you, but I couldn't find you."
"After I got my money back, I had no further contact with her. I only saw her when I went to Uncle Ming to borrow someone to protect Qin Jian a while ago. But I haven't seen her since."
Having learned his lesson, Lu Baichuan honestly told her everything after He Jiuniang only asked one question.
"Um."
He Jiuniang nodded without asking any further questions, but she could understand that Wei Yu had come to Jingzhou for his sake. Otherwise, why would she have followed Lu Baichuan so eagerly after all these years?
However, He Jiuniang didn't really take these things to heart. She still trusted Lu Baichuan a lot. As for Wei Yu, she'd just have to see what tricks she had up her sleeve.
Lu Baichuan was still a little worried. His wife was so calm, and he felt that something was wrong.
Unexpectedly, He Jiuniang had already turned to leave, saying, "Go back to your room and wash up. There's still some food warming up for you in the kitchen. I'll go get it for you."
"Wife, have you forgiven me?"
Lu Baichuan was still a little taken aback, thinking his wife would be angry for days.
Of course, this also shows that his wife is a good person; as long as things are explained clearly, everything will be fine.
He Jiuniang ignored him and went straight to the kitchen. Lu Baichuan clenched his fist and excitedly returned to the master bedroom.
After a quick wash, He Jiuniang brought the food, all of which were his favorite fresh dishes, not leftovers.
Lu Baichuan was deeply moved and resolved to treat his wife even better in the future. He would tell her all his secrets, and it would be a terrible thing for him to keep anything from her.
"How did you find out about Aunt Jiang and your relationship? Did Aunt Jiang tell you?"
Now that everything was resolved, Lu Baichuan finally had a chance to ask about the specifics of the matter.
"No, Aunt Jiang wants to go to the capital with us. Uncle Ming is worried that if she goes to the capital, she will be triggered by those memories again, so he asked me to help persuade her. I had a vague idea of what was going on, and when I asked, it turned out to be true."
He Jiuniang had eaten some food at Cheng Xuewei's place, so she wasn't hungry. She sat next to him and watched him eat, chatting with him as they went.
Lu Baichuan couldn't help but admire his wife's intelligence; Mingze must have been quite startled at the time.
"Now that you know, aren't you going to acknowledge Aunt Jiang as your wife?"
"Didn't you say you were afraid that if I went to find her and try to reconcile, it would upset her?"
He Jiuniang rolled her eyes, and Lu Baichuan gave an awkward smile, realizing he had been out of his mind.
Fortunately, He Jiuniang did not make things difficult for him and continued to explain, "Since she already knows, let's wait until she is ready before she speaks. As for the capital, I need to investigate the affairs of the Duke of Mu's mansion. We can't just stay in the dark and be schemed against."
If she had never known the original owner's background, she wouldn't have cared, since she wasn't the type to cause trouble. But now that she knew, she couldn't pretend not to know, because even if she didn't want to provoke them, they would come knocking on her door.
No matter what, we have to get justice for Jiang Ruoya and the original owner of this body.
Therefore, He Jiuniang did not object to Jiang Ruoya going to the capital. Why should bad people be able to get away with it, while the victims can only hide in the shadows and lick their wounds for the rest of their lives?
"So you've guessed the connection between the Duke Mu's mansion and you?"
Lu Baichuan looked at her with a smile in his eyes. They were indeed of one mind; they had thought of the same thing.
He Jiuniang responded, "They've been jumping around like that, it's impossible not to suspect them."
Lu Baichuan nodded; he thought so too.
"Leave this matter to me. I will begin working on it after I arrive in the capital."
He Jiuniang didn't refuse; if he wanted to investigate, she would let him, which would save her a lot of trouble.
Back in Mingfu, Jiang Ruoya hadn't eaten for a day and a night.
Since meeting He Jiuniang yesterday, she has locked herself in her room and refused to see anyone, including Mingze.
It was only later, when Ling Yue and Ling Xue told Mingze that Jiang Ruoya had overheard what he said when he met He Jiu Niang alone.
When the lady heard that He Jiuniang had arrived, she was very happy and came out to greet her, wanting to take He Jiuniang to her courtyard to taste her newly made pastries. However, she overheard them talking outside the courtyard.
The two were speaking softly, and Jiang Ruoya, lacking internal energy, couldn't hear them clearly, so she asked Ling Yue and Ling Xue to help her listen.
Originally, I was just curious about what the two of them were talking about behind my back. I was worried that my daughter would ask Mingze for a favor and he would make things difficult for her. I thought I could help him if I knew. But I didn't expect to hear my daughter asking Mingze about their relationship.
It turned out that she had already guessed this relationship, but she still had to consider her illness and did not acknowledge her as her own.
What's most heartbreaking is that she didn't blame her at all.
He was considerate in every way and always thought of her.
In contrast, she, as a mother, was completely irresponsible. When faced with problems, she only knew how to run away. Even after knowing her daughter's true identity early on, she dared not acknowledge her.
"Ruo'er, why are you doing this to yourself? Open the door and let me come in and keep you company, okay?"
Mingze stood patiently outside the door, trying to soothe her, appearing calm and gentle, but inside he was frantic with worry. He hadn't eaten for a day and a night, and his Ruo'er was getting thin from hunger.
"Don't overthink it. Jiu'er is a very sensible child. She understands your difficulties and has never blamed you. You..."
"Whoosh..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and Jiang Ruoya stood in the doorway looking at him with a pale face and red, swollen eyes, which was heartbreaking to see.
She asked, "Aze, am I a complete failure?"
"No..."
"I am not a good mother."
She ignored Mingze, turned around and walked inside, continuing to mutter to herself. Mingze quickly followed her inside.
"You have no idea how I felt facing her yesterday. I heard you talking, but I had to pretend I didn't hear anything. When she casually called me 'Auntie,' I almost couldn't hold back my tears..."
“It’s not that I don’t want to acknowledge her, it’s that I’m afraid. I’m scared. I don’t deserve to be her mother. I haven’t taken care of her all these years…”
Jiang Ruoya couldn't help but burst into tears. What a wonderful child! Even though she herself was not doing well, she was still so understanding, which made Jiang Ruoya feel even more guilty.
The reason He Jiuniang was able to do this was entirely because the original owner of this body had died long ago on the way to escape famine.
If she hadn't transmigrated, the original owner's body would have been defiled by those disgusting men, or even cooked and eaten.
The reason why He Jiuniang can understand Jiang Ruoya now is simply because she stands from the perspective of an outsider, feels sorry for the original owner's experience, and understands Jiang Ruoya's helplessness, which is why she has reached the current balance.
Mingze felt a pang of heartache as he looked at Jiang Ruoya. He said, "Let's take it slow. We'll go find her again once you've thought it through..."
Jiang Ruoya replied firmly, "No, I can't wait any longer!"
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