As soon as Wei Shuwan said this, the three members of the eldest branch of the family and Wei Ping all stood up and looked at her in disbelief.
Is this true?
Wei Shuwan glanced at them coldly, and said with a hint of sadness, "After all, we are family. How could I keep this from you? I told you in advance so that everyone would be prepared and not be too surprised when the imperial decree comes down."
These words sounded plausible, and the group exchanged glances. The second wife and her husband were the first to step forward: "Mother, Chengxu's injuries are serious. The doctor examined him today and said his right leg might not be salvageable. We were thinking of taking him back to Wu County for another checkup. Isn't there a famous bone-setting doctor there..."
"He's so badly injured, and you still want to take him with you?" Wei Wenshi questioned, though she knew in her heart that these words were just an excuse. The second couple were afraid of being implicated and suffering imprisonment again, just like last time.
The saying "when disaster strikes, everyone flees" is true and wise, but what saddened Wei Wen Shi the most was that the second branch of the family, upon leaving, hadn't even considered taking her, their elderly mother, with them. Were they afraid of imprisonment, but not her, this old woman?
While Madam Wei was grieving, Wei Ping seized the opportunity to step forward: "Mother, Cai Die is also seriously injured. Since my elder brother and sister-in-law say there are good doctors in Wu County, I thought I'd take Cai Die to see one too..."
As Wei Ping spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, because Wei Wen's gaze was fixed on her intently, making her feel somewhat guilty.
Wei Wenshi gave a bitter laugh. Fine, the eldest son and daughter-in-law don't want to care about this old woman. Even the daughter she went through so much trouble to find is only concerned with her own escape and has no intention of taking care of her.
Wei Wen sighed and said, "Fine, go if you want to, why bother asking this old woman?"
Watching from the side, Wei Shuyao felt a pang of pity and asked, "If Grandmother is homesick, why don't you come back with us to visit her?"
Madam Wei looked up at her beloved granddaughter, whom she had cherished for so long, with some emotion. She was about to say a few comforting words to her when her eldest daughter-in-law interrupted her: "Shuyao, your grandmother is getting old. How can she withstand the hardships of travel? Let your grandmother spend her old age here in peace."
Seeing her mother say this, Wei Shuyao dared not disobey her any longer.
Wei Wen felt a chill run down her spine. She got up, leaning on her cane, and walked into the inner room. Just as her figure was about to disappear from sight, a faint sentence drifted out from the inner room: "A bleak snowy night at the thatched gate, at this moment, having a son is worse than having none."
Hearing this, the eldest son, Wei Hai, felt bad. He knew that if he brought Wei Wen Shi along, the journey would be like the one they came by, with many stops and starts. Not to mention the cost of food and lodging, what if the court investigated and eliminated the pursuers?
So Wei Hai hardened his heart, took his wife and daughter out of Songhe Residence, then ordered a servant to carry Wei Chengxu onto the carriage, and hurriedly left the city before dark.
Wei Ping didn't dare to fall behind, so she called two old women to carry Cai Die on a stretcher onto a hired carriage and they also returned to Jiangzuo.
Even if the rest of one's life is spent in poverty, it's still better than being implicated and losing one's freedom.
At dinner time, Lady Wei came to the dining hall, but only the second branch of the family was sitting there. Ironically, the second branch was the one she felt the least at home with.
Wei Wenshi forced herself to sit down, then stared blankly at the empty chairs before her vision went black and she fainted.
When she woke up again, Wei Zheng was sitting by her bedside changing her handkerchief.
Upon seeing that Lady Weiwen had woken up, Wei Zheng told her the truth: "Mother, there is no need to worry. Shuwan's words were just to scare my elder brother and the others. It is true that Xingjian's escort of the princess to the marriage alliance was unsuccessful, but His Majesty has no intention of pursuing the matter. He has only issued a warrant for the arrest of those thieves and to bring the princess back to the country."
Hearing this, Wei Wenshi didn't know whether to be happy or sad. She sighed, "Although Sanya was just trying to scare them, they really abandoned this old woman and ran away to save their lives."
“Mother, you still have me, and you still have Lu Rong, and you still have Shu Wan.” Wei Zheng gently comforted her, then dipped a handkerchief in water and placed it back on Wei Wen’s forehead.
He added, "In another month, Wanwan will get married, and you'll have an extra grandson-in-law to take care of you."
Hearing this, Madam Wei felt guilty. She had always been biased, feeling that only the eldest son's family was her own son and granddaughter. Therefore, she always put the eldest son's family first, and only gave the rest to the second son's family. Later, after recognizing Wei Ping, she wanted to make amends even more, and put her above the second son's family in everything.
Now it seems she was wrong. What does it matter if she is a biological child or an adopted child? In the end, isn't it still the adopted child who takes care of her at her bedside?
Lady Wei nodded. "You mean..."
After saying this, he slowly closed his eyes, but could not stop two lines of tears from flowing down his cheeks.
...
The following day, notices were posted in all prefectures and counties from Shengjing to the border, featuring portraits of the princess to be sent for marriage and offering a large reward. At the same time, the imperial court also dispatched a large army to Yandang Mountain to search for her.
However, half a month passed without any news. It seemed that neither the band of bandits nor the princess had vanished into thin air.
Compared to a princess sent for a political marriage, Emperor Pingjia cared most about the opinion of the Ziyi Kingdom delegation. As long as they did not give up, he, the Emperor of Daye, had no choice but to investigate to the end and could not let the matter rest.
But to his surprise, Awuge took the initiative to see him that day, saying that he wanted to return to Ziyi Kingdom. These days he had thought about it and felt that this princess who was to be married off was really not good enough for his father, the emperor. The queen of their Ziyi Kingdom should be a Ziyi woman.
Of course, Emperor Pingjia never doubted that the Crown Prince Awuge in front of him was an imposter.
The other party's statement relieved Emperor Pingjia of a great worry, so he immediately ordered a banquet to be prepared to bid farewell to Prince Awuge, and then notified all prefectures and counties to remove the arrest warrants.
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