Chapter 160: Seeing it with my own eyes
Seeing that scene, Xie Yunqing's face suddenly turned pale, and his whole body trembled unconsciously, and was about to collapse.
That was her husband.
She fell in love at first sight and chose the man she wanted to be with for the rest of her life, without even a concubine. They had been in love for more than twenty years!
Xie Yunqing took half a step back, his body softened, and then he was firmly held by the person beside him... He turned his head in a daze, and met his daughter's somewhat complicated and reluctant eyes, and Xie Yunqing suddenly realized something.
"Ningning, you already knew this. You deliberately lured Mom to see it, didn't you?"
Xie Yunqing looked obviously shocked. At this moment, Shen Ning was suddenly unsure whether what she did was right.
She sighed softly and nodded: "Yes."
Shen Ning said gently, "I know this method may be too direct and cruel, but if I don't let you see it with your own eyes, I'm afraid you won't believe it... I'm also afraid that if I just tell you, you won't be able to help but question it and then alert the enemy."
She looked at Xie Yunqing and spoke each word with emphasis: "Because, the matter is far from being as simple as Shen Xiuhe having a mistress."
Xie Yunqing was a little dazed by the sudden change. Shen Ning helped her into the carriage. Wu Yue was driving outside, and Qi Yue and the maid Lu Yue were also outside. Only the mother and daughter were in the carriage.
Shen Ning spoke slowly, "Before, Sister Su, who was good friends with me in Pingning, was also deceived by her in-laws and husband for three years. I was a little hesitant at the time and didn't know how to make a decision. It wasn't until she was poisoned and almost lost her life that I decided to tell her... So I don't want to make the same mistake this time."
Xie Yunqing's mind went blank, and he couldn't help but recall how he met and married Shen Xiuhe.
At that time, Shen Xiuhe was not yet the elegant Minister of the Honglu Temple he is today. He was just a poor and noble man who had just moved back to the capital with his family in order to take the imperial examination.
At that time, Shen Xiuhe's father was seriously ill, his mother and sister were women, and Shen Xiuhe was devoted to studying. The family's daily expenses depended on their savings. In order to move back to Beijing, they spent all their last money on renting a house.
The first time I met Shen Xiuhe was when his classmates congratulated him on his new house and he had to treat them to dinner at a restaurant.
At that time, he still had a few coins in his pocket, and he barely managed to maintain this decent status, but he never expected that when he paid the bill, he was two coins short.
Seeing his classmate about to come out, Shen Xiuhe's face flushed with anxiety. He didn't know what to do under the suspicious gaze of the waiter. It happened that Xie Yunqing, the daughter of the general's mansion, who was also eating in the restaurant, stopped him.
"Sir, did you drop your wallet just now?"
The little maid handed over a plain purse. Xie Yunqing winked at the somewhat surprised handsome scholar and left with the maid.
At that time, she just thought that this young man might have fallen on hard times and was short of money, so she helped him out. However, she didn't expect that when they met for the second time, he had already become a top-ranked Jinshi.
Xie Yunqing was knocked to the ground by a student who went crazy when the results were announced. He was helped up by Shen Xiuhe, and the two recognized each other.
Xie Yunqing had already been captivated by the handsome scholar the first time they met, and when they met again, he felt even more strongly that they were destined to be together. For some reason, he grabbed his sleeve and asked, "What's your name?"
The young lady from the general's mansion was always bold. She said directly, "I'll ask my family to propose marriage."
This time, the scholar was frightened again and fled in panic.
Xie Yunqing made up his mind to take a fancy to the scholar, and after sending people to investigate, he finally found Shen Xiuhe's home. However, at this time, the results of the palace examination were announced, and Shen Xiuhe was ranked third in the imperial examination.
Xie Yunqing was a little nervous now. After all, although the General's Mansion was of good family background, she herself was not a well-read and virtuous person. The third place winner was extraordinary, and even Princess Shang might be a good match.
She hesitated a little, and comforted herself that the person who proposed marriage would definitely be rejected... and then the matter would end there. However, she never expected that the other party would actually agree to the marriage.
That handsome scholar, no, that top scholar, actually agreed to the marriage after he knew it was her...
Then they started preparing for the wedding in full swing. The Xie family also bought a new house for the Shen family, but Shen Xiuhe refused to accept it and rejected the house. Then he got married and took up an official position. Two years later, he bought a small house for himself.
Later, with Xie Yunqing's dowry and Shen Xiuhe's smooth official career, the Shen family prospered day by day, and Shen Xiuhe's sister even married into the Prince's Mansion...
Shen Xiuhe was born handsome and elegant. He had been surrounded by many admirers over the years, but he was never moved. He even flatly refused Shen's mother's indirect suggestions to him to take a concubine.
Because when they got married, Xie Yunqing had told him that they only wanted to be together for the rest of their lives, and Chen Xiuhe agreed... She originally thought that he had done it.
Even many people in the capital envied her, Madam Shen.
But now, she saw with her own eyes that her husband, who had not taken a concubine in twenty years of marriage, had a mistress outside!
Xie Yunqing’s body was shaking all the time, and he held Shen Ning’s hand tightly.
Shen Ning gently stroked her back and apologized in a low voice: "I'm sorry, mother, I probably shouldn't be so direct."
"No, no, I don't blame you. How could I blame you?"
Xie Yunqing held her hand tightly: "Ningning, you are right, you did the right thing. You are my daughter, you can't watch me stay in the dark like everyone else."
It's possible that no one knew about Shen Xiuhe's mistress, but who knew if others would say on the surface that they envied her and her husband's deep love, but secretly laugh at her for being deceived like a fool.
No matter what, she can't be a fool!
There was some helplessness in Shen Ning’s eyes: “I’m afraid you can’t bear it.”
After a pause, she took out a porcelain bottle and said, "Here are some pills to regulate your Qi. Mother, take some first."
Otherwise, she was afraid that Xie Yunqing would be even more unbearable later... After all, since she had chosen to reveal it, she could not hide anything. She had to tell Xie Yunqing everything including Shen Nian's identity.
Otherwise, Xie Yunqing only knew one side of the story and not the other. If he rashly alerted the enemy, he would probably suffer even greater losses.
Xie Yunqing obediently swallowed a few pills, and after a while, he barely recovered. It was at this time that Xie Yunqing, who had finally calmed down, realized that his daughter's expression was not right, and it seemed that she had something unfinished.
She slowly held her daughter's hand and said, "Ningning, with His Royal Highness Prince Ding's help, you will definitely know things that others don't know. If there is anything else, don't hide it from me. Tell me everything."
Xie Yunqing spoke each word with great emphasis: "Mother can bear it... Even if I can't bear it, Mother doesn't want to continue to be a fool."
Shen Ning raised her eyes and looked at her: "What if I tell you that Shen Nian was born by that concubine?"
Sure enough, with just one sentence, the color that had finally recovered on Xie Yunqing's face disappeared in an instant. If Chen Ning hadn't asked her to take the medicine in advance, she would have held her breath in her chest.
Xie Yunqing closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He wanted to speak, but his lips were trembling. It took a long while before he could make a sound: "Niannian... Niannian... does she know?"
"She knows."
Shen Ning spoke slowly: "Back in Pingning, she tried to kill me, and it was she who pretended to shout to get rid of me and Prince Ding."
Having already started, Shen Ning did not stop and told everything clearly.
"...She was certain that Mother wouldn't believe me. Actually, I still don't know whether Mother would believe me."
Chen Ning looked at Xie Yunqing and said slowly, "I've thought about uncovering the true faces of those people bit by bit and letting mother find out slowly, but I don't want to gamble. I'm afraid you'll suffer a big loss due to deliberate schemes. The son born to the illegitimate wife is only half a year younger than Qingbai, and he also found other connections to study in the Imperial College. Father treats him more strictly than his brother..."
"I'm afraid they have other plans, and you're completely unprepared and unable to resist."
Chen Ning slowly held Xie Yunqing's hand: "Mom saved me in Lanting at the beginning, regardless of her own danger. I know how much Mom loves me. I have thought of many ways, including dealing with the concubine's family myself... But after thinking it over, I decided to let you know everything, and then you can decide whether you will accept Chen Xiuhe's change of heart."
"No!"
Xie Yunqing almost shouted: "I can't accept it, I can't accept it!"
It was precisely because of her love that she could not accept it. She could not accept that her husband, who seemed to be in love with her, had another family outside... She could not accept even more that when she lost her beloved daughter, her husband gave her the daughter from his concubine.
Her own flesh and blood were left behind, but she was coaxed into raising her daughter as a concubine's daughter for more than ten years.
What's even more hateful is that after raising her for more than ten years, Shen Nian kept it a secret from her and even wanted to hurt her biological daughter whom she had finally found...
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