Chapter 253: with translation of chapter title

Zheng Wanshou's eyes filled with surprise: "You... you know everything?"

Jingchuan looked at his mother's expression and continued: "No. Perhaps it wasn't you who investigated; maybe you, Mother, already knew the truth?"

"You long ago knew that Luo'er was taken away by the midwife who swapped her identity, waiting for a day when you could use this, and when the time was ripe, you leaked the clue to Pei Lao Furen..."

Zheng Wanshou said nothing.

Seeing her reaction, Jingchuan asked: "Mother, were you involved in this?"

Zheng Wanshou hurriedly defended: "I didn't! Mother, I hated Qu Shi for harming you back then, so when she gave birth, I indeed had the thought of also killing her child!"

"But Mother, you hadn't acted yet when you saw the midwife do that; you merely didn't stop it, let it happen, and were just a bystander. Is that also wrong?"

Jingchuan: "Mother is not at fault. But Mother, Qu Shi is vicious, yet Luo'er—how innocent she is—must she repay her mother's sins?"

"Like her son, she was born ignorant of the world's wickedness and of your grudges, yet she must endure all suffering. Does it mean that a son's childhood suffering is also to repay his mother's debt?"

Hearing this, Zheng Wanshou raised her hand and slapped Jingchuan impulsively.

"You—scoundrel!"

But as soon as she struck, she immediately regretted it.

She then cried and rushed forward to hug Jingchuan tightly.

"Little Chuan, Mother... Mother didn't mean it; I just got angry hearing you say those things."

"Little Chuan, don't hate Mother..."

Jingchuan shook his head: "Son won't."

"However Mother treats me, I will never bear resentment. My life was given by Mother; since childhood I have made Mother endure enough hardship and worry; I will owe Mother for my whole life."

"But Mother, although I can only barely survive, I am no longer a child."

"I know what you and my maternal uncle have done."

Zheng Wanshou jumped in fright: "You... what do you know?"

Jingchuan: "You and your maternal uncle designed to have Luo'er return to the Jiangjun Fu, not merely to muddy those waters."

"Nor is it only to win over and use Luo'er so that one day you could destroy the Jiangjun Fu and avenge the humiliation you suffered when that man forcibly took you and the suffering you endured in the Jiangjun Fu."

"You and your maternal uncle... have another motive. And all you have done is solely for the sake of your son."

Zheng Wanshou clapped a hand over Jingchuan's mouth.

She stared at him nervously: "How did you find out!?"

"Chuan'er, listen to Mother: things are not as you think. I and your maternal uncle indeed intended to use Luo'er to stir up the entire Jiangjun Fu, gambling that she would take revenge for herself and make those people pay."

"That would also count as helping Mother."

"But Mother and your maternal uncle also, out of consideration for you, felt pity for that child..."

Jingchuan seized Zheng Wanshou's hand and pulled it down forcefully.

He looked at Zheng Wanshou with sorrow: "Mother, you are still deceiving me."

"You just said I am merely Luo'er's half-brother."

"Yet you and your maternal uncle then went and told everyone in the Lotus Sect not to provoke Luo'er, regarding her as a close niece, intending to protect her, the Jiangjun Fu's legitimate daughter."

"Mother, what exactly do you and your maternal uncle intend to do? Can I not guess?"

"Although I initially denied it, Luo'er is indeed my blood-related younger sister! This is an undeniable fact."

"Perhaps it's the blood tie? I pity her, sympathize with her; after truly seeing her, my heart likes her even more, wanting to draw close and protect her."

"Mother, even if I beg you, please don't hurt Luo'er... alright?"

"Don't let me later... die with unresolved resentment."

Zheng Wanshou looked at Jingchuan, could no longer hold back, threw herself into his arms and burst into tears...

At the same time, the Pei Guo Gong Fu.

The main branch, Pei Siniang's residence.

Pei Siniang furiously smashed everything inside the room to pieces, yet still could not quell her resentment.

The Pei Guo Gong Lady entered, saw the scene, frightened, cried out "My son!" and quickly had the door shut tight, had all the servants guard the gate, then rushed over and enfolded Pei Siniang in her arms.

"Siniang, Siniang, do you really want our entire Guo Gong Fu to fall again into today's predicament, with everyone above and below arrested and thrown into jail?"

"The palace just issued an edict ennobling you as Chang Zai; yet you are here smashing things—if even a whisper gets out, our whole household will be doomed!"

"Mother's heart also aches! My daughter..."

Only then did Pei Siniang fall into her mother's embrace and sob loudly.

She is the youngest daughter of the main branch, and the Pei Guo Gong Lady, after her thirties, risked her life to give birth to this dear child.

From childhood she enjoyed countless favors from the Pei Guo Gong Fu; among the legitimate daughters, she is the most noble.

Yet Pei Siniang, at nineteen, had still not been betrothed—not because the family was reluctant to part with her, but because she was originally slated at sixteen to be sent to the Eastern Palace as a consort to the Crown Prince.

Who would have thought, the Crown Prince committed a grave fault overnight, was deposed, and sent to an outer palace residence where he remains confined to this day.

Pei Siniang waited with hope, which suddenly came to nothing.

That year she suffered a heartbreak, but later her father personally said, as long as the Crown Prince does not die, there will be a day he can return to the Eastern Palace.

Pei Siniang thus waited on.

The Pei family hardly associates with outsiders; she never leaves the Guo Gong Fu, nor does she heed outside gossip.

Over these years, Pei Siniang's thoughts have been solely on the Crown Prince.

Although the Crown Prince has passed the age of twenty, he is handsome and graceful, mighty and imposing, and the sole prince who will ultimately inherit the throne; thus, since Pei Siniang saw him at age ten, she has regarded herself as his future woman.

She hopes day by day, endures night after night.

Waiting for the Crown Prince to return soon to the Eastern Palace, so she can marry him again.

She knows it is coming soon...

Having waited until she turned nineteen, she instead received a summons to the palace and became a lowly attendant of the old emperor—what a result!

"Haha... hahaha..."

"Mother, the daughter's bloom is about to be cut!!"

"What hope can the daughter have left in this life?"

"Haha, hahaha..."

"Fourth Madame Pei is about to go mad."

"She was in a confused state of crying and laughing, unable to accept the fact."

"Duchess Pei clung tightly to her, covering her mouth: 'This is your fate, your fate!'"

"Fourth Madame, if it weren't for Prince Su driving our family to this point, His Majesty wouldn't have taken you into the palace to protect us. You can't blame His Majesty either."

"If you must hate someone, hate Prince Su, hate him!"

"His methods are too cruel and vicious; he wants to destroy our entire Pei family."

"And there's the Li family's eldest daughter Li Qingluo, and the Pan family's young lady Pan Li—together with Prince Su they've driven our family to desperation, forcing us to sacrifice you, my child..."

"None of this is your fault, nor ours."

"It's fate..."

"Fourth Madame Pei slumped into the Duchess Pei's embrace, crying until she fainted."

"After settling Fourth Madame Pei, the Duchess Pei returned to the main hall, exhausted."

"Seeing her enter, the Duke of Pei immediately rose and asked, 'Fourth Madame, are you alright?'"

"Duchess Pei wiped her eyes: 'What can we do? She's been the apple of our eye since childhood; at ten she already knew she was destined to marry the crown prince...'"

"Even though the Pei Duke's legitimate daughter can't become the crown princess, being a mere concubine would be bad enough, but now she has to enter the palace as a mere answering lady! Or rather..."

"Thinking of how His Majesty already has one foot in the grave, how could we as parents not feel heartbroken?"

"The Duke of Pei sighed: 'There's nothing we can do. If it weren't for this imperial decree granted to Fourth Madame Pei, our household would truly have no way out.'"

"We still have no news of Third Son and Father."

"Although Prince Su has returned to his mansion and the Ministry of Justice personnel have withdrawn, his guards are not to be trifled with; perhaps Third Son and Father have already been seized by them?"

"Duchess Pei jumped in fright: 'My lord, if Father really fell into their hands, what—what are we to do? Will our family be investigated again?'"

"Duke Pei: 'The Ministry of Justice people have come as well. Zhang Ji is Prince Su's man; they want to exhume the corpses from the prison cell. If they really dig up something, this matter will indeed be troublesome.'"

"Duchess Pei was also shocked: 'My lord, do you really not know? What's in that prison cell…'"

"Duke Pei: 'I only know a little, but not much.'"

"For example, over these years, just how many women have they killed to make elixirs for Father? And how are the corpses of those killed disposed of?"

"I myself have never been to that prison cell; Father gave the order while lucid, forbidding me from getting involved."

"So only Third Son knows everything."

"But if we are truly driven to desperation, I believe Third Son will swiftly decide to give Father a quick end, for no matter what we must never let Father fall into Prince Su's hands!"