Chapter 167: The Truth of the Swapped Daughter! The Midwife Dies!

Back then, your household had a Concubine Zheng who was your father's most beloved concubine; she was pregnant with twins… When she was about to give birth, I, following your mother Lady Qu's orders, took some silver and threw the twin sons born to your father's most beloved concubine… specifically that bastard son, into the pond in the freezing winter month.

Originally, throwing it away would have been the end of it, but your mother somehow had a change of heart… she suddenly regretted it… fearing we hadn't handled it properly, fearing the body would float up the next day and your father would discover this…

So, we were again ordered to hurry and fish out the corpse for a more proper disposal…

But in the middle of the night, how could we possibly fish out a drowned and frozen infant from such a huge pond?

In the end… we only managed to fish up the corpse of a little cat…

So we hastily buried the cat's corpse, just to placate your mother…

But I also feared that the matter would be exposed the next day… so that very night I gathered my belongings, intending to flee…

But I waited and waited, yet I never saw any movement from your manor!

Just then… an old woman came looking for me again…

Guess whose person she is?

She is an old servant beside your household's Elder Aunt Deng! She told me she knew what we had done… and said she knows all those secrets of your household.

She wanted me to submit and become her person… otherwise, she would go to the authorities to denounce me!

During those years, I indeed helped her with some things; although I also earned some silver, some of those matters were literally matters of life and death!

The more I did, the more fearful I felt inside…

Later, only when your mother became pregnant with you did I suddenly discover another truth… guess what I discovered?

I discovered that the two of them were actually in cahoots from the start!!

Hahahaha… hahaha…

Your mother and she had long been colluding; as for what exactly they did, I don't know……

I, this foolish wretch, just like a simpleton, lived in anxiety for years, doing many things for them, only to end up being nothing more than a knife they used and discarded!

If things are exposed in the future, will I still have a life to live?

So, filled with both resentment and hatred, I went to confront Elder Aunt Deng—guess what she actually said?

She said, it's because your mother is stupid; she merely used a little trick and your mother went to her for help with the inner household's troubles, intending to stir up your manor into greater chaos and pleasure, so she gave your mother some ideas—like the matter of Concubine Zheng's twins, which were all the methods your mother consulted her about, and thus caused their deaths!

It seems she also hates your father to the core… hahaha!

But I've been dragged into this murky water of noble family feuds—shouldn't I leave myself a way out?

So, when that old hag Elder Aunt Deng again gave me an idea, saying I should leave myself a trump card—namely, to swap your manor's child, raise it myself, so that if any scandal ever breaks out, I can also hold it hostage to threaten your mother into letting me escape.

Then I thought, who should I take to swap?

My daughter-in-law Lady Wang happened to be due to give birth a few days earlier than your mother; if I let the Liu family's offspring grow up in your manor and become your manor's legitimate son or daughter, raised in riches and honor, wouldn't that be even better?

But what I waited for turned out to be Lady Wang's disappointing only daughter!

Never mind, just a daughter—she'll be useful enough in the future!

If in the future trouble comes upon me, I'll use you to threaten your mother into shielding me from disaster; if nothing happens, my whole Liu family can still rely on my biological granddaughter for a chance to rise to prominence! Anyway, my Liu family will never lose out!

Your manor has plenty of Elder Aunt Deng's informants, so swapping you on the day your mother gave birth was really no difficulty.

Li Qingluo suddenly interjected, asking: "What about the Qu family? Did the Qu family also have a hand in this?"

Lady Zhao's gaze at this moment had already begun to scatter.

Upon hearing the two words 'Qu family,' she gave a cold smile: "They? Your maternal grandmother was by your mother's side when she gave birth to you. She was also the first person to see you—do you say she had no part in this?"

Having seen her just after birth, if she had been swapped, she could not possibly have failed to notice!

Li Qingluo felt icy cold all over.

She had long suspected something, but never imagined the truth would actually be like this.

"Why? Why would the Qu family do this?"

Lady Zhao shook her head: "I don't know… I really don't know…"

Seeing that nothing more could be gotten from her, Li Qingluo, fearing she might die before finishing her words, could only urge her to continue with what she had been saying.

Lady Zhao muddled for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed 'Ah': "It's just a pity… man's schemes cannot match heaven's! I, Zhao Xiu'er, had been waiting for the scandal to surface, yet it was your origins that were exposed first!"

"I have come to this point today; although it is my own doing, could it be that none of this is your mother's fault?"

"If it weren't for her forcing me back then to do those things, I wouldn't have resorted to fearful risky moves and underhanded tactics… alas, in the end… I had a dream of millet porridge, gaining nothing at all!!"

After Lady Zhao finished speaking, a mouthful of black blood again surged up with a 'ge-ge' sound.

"I was wrong…"

"I shouldn't have harmed others…"

"I shouldn't have harmed those twins for the sake of silver…"

"Otherwise… I would still be me…"

"Even if I were just a midwife… my whole family could also live a good life in this Jinling City…"

"Why return to those mountains… to live in fear and anxiety for all these years…"

"In the end, I got nothing at all…"

"They live good lives… while I am about to die… and they even want me to hurry up and die…"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!!!"

She made a 'ho' sound from her throat, suddenly widened her eyes, opened her mouth, and stared fixedly at the pitch-black ceiling of the heavenly prison.

Deng Mama pulled Li Qingluo and hurriedly left the place.

Li Qingluo, however, kept turning back, watching Lady Zhao painfully breathe her last.

Outside the prison, Sha Lei had been left behind and was still waiting for them.

Seeing them come out, he immediately raised the umbrella that Prince Su had specially left behind: "Miss Li, the curfew has arrived; let me escort you back to the manor."

By this time, Li Qingluo did not stand on ceremony, and gladly accepted: "Then I thank you, guard young lord."

The carriage slowly returned to the manor; although patrol soldiers blocked the way along the road, each time Sha Lei flashed his waist token, the passage was cleared again.

Li Qingluo directly returned to Hongfenguan.

But the news of her leaving the residence and returning still quickly spread throughout all the courtyards of Jiangjun Fu.

The people of the Second and Third Branches were all surprised, how could she still go out running in such heavy snow?

Moreover, it was already curfew time, how could she return safe and sound?

Li ChaoHuai: "Looks like this dead girl really has some talent!"

Li ChaoAn of the Third Branch is currently also in the Second Branch, drinking with his older brother who shares the same mother.

Hearing his older brother say that, he also gave a cold smile: "Otherwise, what do you think happened to our mother being harmed and sent to that nunnery? I think it's all this dead girl's doing!"

Li ChaoHuai thought of his mother still suffering in the nunnery, and couldn't help clenching his fists.

"No way, Old Three! We must rescue our mother. All these years she's done everything for us two brothers! Even back then, for that matter, she did it for us!"

"We can't be unfilial and watch our mother suffer while we enjoy fine food and drink as unworthy children!"

Li ChaoAn gave a dry laugh twice: "But things have come to this, what can we do? The entire residence is now guarded by the Old Lady inside and out; we're powerless!"

Li ChaoHuai: "Before mother left, she left a note saying that although she'd been away from Jiangjun Fu for many years, she still had many people and eyes placed inside the residence. If we just find those people, what do we have to fear?"

Li ChaoAn's heart gave a hard thump.

"Second Brother, this is no joke. Although Jiangjun Fu appears to be in the eldest brother's hands, it has actually long been completely controlled by that old lady."

"Even if mother had placed some eyes and ears, how many are left now? How could we succeed?"

"Moreover, look at how ruthless and selfish the eldest brother is—you know that, otherwise he wouldn't have driven our whole family away back then!"

"This time the old lady summoned everyone from the Second and Third Branches back, and I've felt something odd… Just a few days after returning, our mother was locked away in the nunnery."

"I've figured it out—this is the old lady coming down the mountain specially to deal with our mother and the children she bore back then!"

"I think we should hold our forces for now; otherwise, if we get caught with a handle, we'll be completely finished..."

Li ChaoHuai specially prepared good food and drink today to invite his younger brother, intending to discuss how to rescue their mother.

But unexpectedly, he turned out to be so timid, fearful, and a coward!

Li ChaoHuai jumped up angrily with a 'Teng' and grabbed his younger brother by the collar.

"If you're this fearful, then get out!"

Li ChaoAn was pulled and shoved out by Li ChaoHuai.

Although Li ChaoAn rolled around on the ground, after getting up he wasn't angry; instead he sighed and advised: "Second Brother, you need to think carefully before acting—why not wait a year or two and discuss it later?"

In a year or two, it would be fine if the concubine died.

Maybe the old lady will let go of her anger and not hold a grudge against this son of a concubine.

The Third Branch would then be completely at peace.

Anyway, after Li ChaoAn returned to Jiangjun Fu and enjoyed the good life of wealth and status, he never wanted to go back to the manor.

Although life at the manor is now carefree and relaxed, when he goes out no one calls him 'Third Master'!

Still, the Jiangjun Fu name carries weight; wherever he goes, he has more prestige.

Moreover, the matter of the concubine and Li Yunchu has been exposed; even if they returned to the manor, could they still have the good old days?

This second brother is really clueless!

"Second Brother, you should think not only of yourself but also of your branch's wife and children; if you miss the concubine, you'd better just send her some money and nice things—forget the rest for now."

Li ChaoAn earnestly tried to advise him, but Li ChaoHuai's thoughts were completely different from his.

He angrily thought Li ChaoHuai was a weak, selfish, unfilial son, took off his shoe and threw it at his younger brother.

"Get out! From now on I'll never again always think of you first, favor you, indulge you—! Mother might as well have given birth to you for nothing!"

Li ChaoAn patted his clothes, indifferent.

"I've given you good advice; if you won't listen, fine! From now on, if anything happens, just don't drag me into it."

Li ChaoHuai trembled with anger, took off his other shoe, and before he could throw it, Li ChaoAn had already run away.

After Li ChaoAn left, Li Qiongya took the youngest brother's hand and turned to hide in a corner of the wall.