Wei Shuwan hurriedly went back to her room to change into clean clothes before heading to the dining hall—now that Wei Shuyao knew she was back, trying to shirk her duties would be impolite in front of her grandmother and uncle.
The old lady suffered from rheumatism due to dampness in her body and could not tolerate even the slightest cold, so the kitchen staff had lit the floor heater early in the morning to warm her legs and feet. As soon as Wei Shuwan entered the room, she was greeted by a wave of hot steam, and then she saw a group of people sitting around a large round table with a red lacquer waist.
The seat that my father used to sit in every day is now occupied by my grandmother.
To the left of the grandmother sat Wei Chengxu, the eldest grandson of the Wei family; to the left of that was Wei Shuyao; and further to the left were the eldest son, Wei Hai, and his wife, Meng. The chair to the right was empty, and one seat behind it sat Wei Shuwan's father and mother.
In Wei Shuwan's memory, her grandmother was never close to her. She would treat her grandmother equally when distributing things normally, but in private, her grandmother and Wei Shuyao would never have the same smile.
However, her grandmother, whom she hadn't seen for two years, was exceptionally kind and loving when she saw her today.
"Shuwan is back? Come sit next to your grandmother."
The old lady's head was covered with jewels, which weighed down her silver hair. When she smiled, deep wrinkles appeared around her eyes, making her look much older than she had two years ago. In particular, the uneven lines between her brows seemed to indicate that she had not been living a happy life in the past two years.
"Grandmother." Wei Shuwan greeted the old lady first, then greeted her eldest uncle, aunt and elder brother, before sitting down in the empty seat next to her grandmother.
The old lady took her hand, patted it gently, and looked her up and down with affection. She, in turn, raised her gentle and harmless smiling eyes and looked at her grandmother.
This subtle detail revealed something – the jewels and ornaments adorning Grandmother's head were actually fake.
Not to mention that the jadeite was rough and had no texture, the faded pearl in an inconspicuous place was clearly just pearl powder applied to ordinary pearl paint.
The old lady, oblivious to anything amiss, simply praised her granddaughter kindly, saying, "Our Wanwan is growing more and more adorable!"
Madam Meng chimed in, "Indeed! She was so bright and cheerful when she came in just now, I almost didn't recognize her!"
Wei Shuwan smiled shyly, not revealing her thoughts, but observing from the shadows.
Previously, she had suspected that her uncle's family was mistreating her grandmother and deceiving her with some low-class items. But now she could see that her aunt's headdress was also made of cheap goods, and although her body was dressed in expensive brocade, the style and color were very familiar, probably old clothes that she had been wearing for two years.
Wei Shuwan couldn't help but wonder what kind of misfortune had befallen the Wei family of Wu County, to the point that all the women in the household had to wear old clothes and counterfeit goods...
Just then, Grandmother spoke up again: "Wanwan, you've been in the capital for a long time, so you've been to many places and made many friends. Your sister is new here, so take her out to see the world whenever you have the chance. Don't keep her cooped up at home with this old woman."
I see……
Grandmother's unusually warm attitude was merely a ploy to coax her into paving the way for Wei Shuyao to quickly integrate into the upper echelons of Shengjing City. After all, Wei Shuyao was her only granddaughter.
Thinking of this, Wei Shuwan felt a chill in her heart. As a child, she had always been puzzled as to why her grandmother never treated her with the same warmth as Wei Shuyao, despite her being so well-behaved and intelligent. It wasn't until the scandal two years ago was exposed that she finally understood why.
Because she was not her grandmother's biological granddaughter at all, and her father was not her grandmother's biological son either.
After my grandmother married into the Wei family, she gave birth to my sickly eldest uncle. My grandfather, believing the words of a quack doctor, thought that my eldest uncle would not live past twenty, so he was anxious to have another son. However, my grandmother gave birth to two daughters in a row, so my grandfather began to think about taking a concubine.
To consolidate her position, the grandmother soon became pregnant with her fourth child. To ensure everything went smoothly, she arranged for someone to find another woman who was about to give birth. They agreed that if she gave birth to a daughter and the other woman gave birth to a son, the two children would be exchanged, and she would be given one hundred taels of silver as a gift.
Ultimately, the promise came true, and the grandmother indeed switched the dragon with the phoenix. And Wei Shuwan's father was the stolen "dragon."
Two years ago, on her deathbed, the woman told her daughter the truth. The daughter came to confront her grandmother, and that's how the shameful affair was exposed.
When his father learned that he was not his grandmother's biological son, he returned all the Wei family property left by his grandfather to his eldest uncle. The money and food used for disaster relief and the belongings he brought with him when he moved to Shengjing were all earned by him and his mother through their hard work.
However, people say that the kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth. Even though Wei Zheng knew that he was not the old lady's biological son, the old lady was still his mother whom he had to respect since she came to the family.
Since his mother had spoken, he naturally agreed, saying, "Mother is right. In a few days, it will be the sixtieth birthday of the Sheng family next door. In the two years since we came to the capital, our family has received a lot of care from the Sheng family, so we should go to their residence to offer our congratulations. We will bring Shuyao along."
Upon hearing this, Wei Shuyao's eyes lit up, like two small lamps that had suddenly been lit.
Everyone knows that most of the talented young men in the capital admire Master Sheng, and it's rumored that even the Crown Prince wants to become his student. His birthday banquet is sure to be a gathering of celebrities. But…
The light in Wei Shuyao's eyes gradually faded as she realized that she didn't even have a new dress or decent jewelry.
It was the First Madam who understood her daughter's thoughts. Turning her head and glancing at Wei Shuyao's disappointed expression, she said regretfully and self-reproachfully, "When I came, I only thought about traveling light and taking good care of Mother. I never expected there to be such an occasion. It's a pity I didn't bring Yao'er a few decent clothes and jewelry..."
These words were naturally meant for Sun Lurong to respond to. Although Sun Lurong disliked the eldest son's family when they were in Wu County, she couldn't be stingy now that she was in her own territory. So she generously said, "It's alright. We still have a few days. We can have someone come and make it right away."
Upon hearing this, the old lady, the first lady, and Wei Shuyao all smiled, feeling relieved.
After the meal, Sun Lurong settled the old lady and the people of the eldest branch of the family in. Just as she was about to return to her own courtyard, Wei Shuwan quietly caught up with her and told her mother about the situation she had observed earlier.
Sun Lurong looked at her in astonishment, "The jewelry is all fake? How is that possible? Wanwan, did you look carefully?"
“Mother, I can’t be wrong. Something must have happened at the old house in Wu County.”
Sun Lurong pondered for a moment and nodded: "Then let's not tell your father about this for now. Let's send someone back to Wu County to inquire. We can talk about it when we have definite news."
“But Mother, this round trip will take at least ten days to half a month. Why not send someone to the West Market tomorrow morning? Merchants often travel between Wu County and Shengjing there. They are very well-informed and there is no reason why they wouldn’t know about such an important matter.”
"Then let's do it your way."
...
The next morning, Wei Shuwan arranged for two people to go to the West Market to inquire, and news came back before noon:
As expected, something bad has happened to the Wei family of Wu County!
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