My Poor Mother

Chapter 3: Oh, My Poor Mother

The matchmaker fell silent. She stood stunned for quite a while before saying, "Y-you're talking nonsense!"

Jian Ruonan said, "You'd better watch out, or the skin on that mole by your mouth will get sucked right off. There used to be ten hairs on it, but last time, two got sucked out..."

The matchmaker said, "...Stop talking!"

What in the devil was going on? How did she know something so private?

Jian Ruonan said, "What are you staring at? Go pay the bill. Ooh, these cold dressed pig ears are delicious. I want two portions to take away. Pay for those too."

The matchmaker said, "..."

After finishing her meal, Jian Ruonan saw that the coachman was still waiting downstairs, so she simply paid him to take her to Capital City.

The journey from the Farm Estate to Capital City took about three days by carriage. For all three days, Jian Ruonan lounged inside, eating and drinking.

Three days later, Jian Ruonan was still thin, but she looked much healthier, and her complexion had improved considerably.

The Marquis's Estate was heavily guarded; not just anyone could enter. After dismissing the coachman, Jian Ruonan simply waited by the entrance for someone to come out.

She had no idea who might be sitting inside the carriages, but fortunately, she had the gossip system. Whenever a carriage emerged, it began reporting gossip about its occupants.

Before long, Jian Ruonan spotted the carriage belonging to her biological mother, Min.

Min was about to attend the one-month celebration for the Duke Who Protects the Nation's legitimate grandson. As she sat in her carriage, a voice suddenly rang out-

[This concubine really is tenacious. She's been bleeding for days, but she's determined to hold out until she can miscarry in my mother's room and pin the blame on her!]

[Are concubines these days all this hardcore?]

Who?

Who was speaking?

There were only two maids in the carriage, both with their mouths shut. When their mistress looked over, they seemed bewildered.

Min rubbed her temples, suspecting that her poor sleep these past few days had caused her to hear things.

She had barely settled back into her seat when the voice rang out again-

[What? That concubine isn't carrying my father's child? My father's actually taking on another man's baggage!!]

[Doesn't my father work at the Ministry of Justice? Surely he can't be that stupid?]

Min: "..."

Taking on what baggage?

Min's brow furrowed. Suddenly, the carriage stopped short, and the accompanying servant called, "Madam, a young girl is blocking the carriage. She says she's your relative and has a token from the Marquis's Estate. Would you like to see her?"

Zang Chun, the senior maid sitting beside the door, lifted the curtain and peered outside. She was Min's personal maid and had been born into a family of servants in the Min household.

Normally, anyone who stopped the carriage like this would be sent away. But the moment Zang Chun lifted the curtain and saw Jian Ruonan, she froze for a long while.

This young girl looked exactly like Min in her youth. She resembled Min even more than the young lady back at the estate did.

"Zang Chun, what's going on?" Min asked when the carriage failed to move.

Zang Chun lowered the curtain and whispered in Min's ear. After listening, Min frowned slightly. "Have her come up and speak."

A maid helped Jian Ruonan into the carriage. The moment she saw Min, her heart began pounding wildly.

[Oh, my God!]

Her biological mother was simply too beautiful!

Min wore a pale green dress embroidered with misty cloud patterns. Elegant orchids covered its trailing hem, and her long, silken hair was gathered into a simple bun. Her lofty, cloudlike coiffure lent her an air of dignified grace.

[Is this my biological mother?! Mother, you're so beautiful! Forgive your uneducated daughter. I've scraped every corner of my brain, and all I can come up with is "holy shit"!]

[As expected of a daughter from a great aristocratic family. That bearing, that presence-she's practically a fairy descended to earth!]

Min paused. Was she hearing things again?

She looked up at the young girl before her. The girl was skinny and appeared to be eight or nine years old. She did indeed look very much like Min as a child.

The girl lowered her eyes and stared timidly at the tips of her shoes.

She twisted her fingers together, looking rather at a loss and shy around strangers.

The voice in Min's head was far too unrestrained. Surely it couldn't belong to this girl.

"What's your name?" Min asked.

Jian Ruonan answered in a tiny voice, "My name is Jian Ruonan."

Min: "..."

Mystery solved. The voice in her head belonged to this young girl.

The girl before her looked meek, harmless, and timid, yet that voice in her head was...brazen and flamboyant.

"Why have you come to see me?"

The girl raised her head tentatively and said softly, "I came from the Farm Estate in Great Xing. Once, when Madam Zhou was drunk, she said I was actually your daughter. She secretly switched me and Chuxue during a fire. I wanted to come and find out whether it was true."

[Mother, my own mother, I'm your flesh-and-blood daughter!]

[Mother, open your eyes and look!! Boohoo, your biological daughter was being beaten and abused by Madam Zhou at the Farm Estate, while the fake daughter enjoyed wealth and splendor here!!!]

[There's no DNA testing in ancient times, only blood testing, and even that isn't necessarily accurate. I wonder whether my beautiful mother can recognize me?! My life is so miserable, boohoo!]

Min: "..."

She was now absolutely certain that the voice in her head was the inner voice of the girl before her.

Suddenly, Min felt as though her mind could no longer keep up. She didn't know whether to be more shocked that she could hear someone else's thoughts or that Madam Zhou had switched their daughters.

Jian Ruonan had expected Min to be bewildered. After all, anyone hearing this news would be doubtful and shocked.

She stood quietly, chatting with the system while waiting for Min to digest it all.

[Oh my, how did that concubine get into the estate? She's my father's cousin? So they were childhood sweethearts. No wonder she's so brazen. She's put a green cuckold's hat on my father, yet still dares to frame my mother.]

[That concubine is carrying Second Uncle's child?!]

[Is the Marquis's Estate really this messed up?]

Min: "..."

Could you let me think in peace for a moment?

[That concubine knows she can't save the baby, so she's waiting for my mother to return before deliberately framing her. She wants to use this to get promoted to co-wife?!]

[No, I have to warn my mother! Otherwise, if this drives a wedge between my mother and that cuckolded idiot of a father, won't someone else reap the benefits?]

[My own mother is as beautiful as a flower, with such elegant bearing. Why does my father still need so many concubines? His head must have been caught in a door!]

Min: "..."

She was a little noisy, but she was a dutiful child.

When Min first saw Jian Ruonan, she had thought the girl must be related to the Min family. Could she actually be her own daughter?

If Jian Ruonan was her biological daughter, what about Chuxue? Was Chuxue Madam Zhou's flesh and blood?

Thinking it over carefully, Min realized that Chuxue really did bear some resemblance to Madam Zhou.

Looking again at Jian Ruonan, apart from her bearing, the girl's features were practically cast from the same mold as hers.

Min rubbed the space between her tightly knitted brows.

She lifted the curtain and instructed the accompanying servant, "Send word to the Duke Who Protects the Nation's Mansion. Say that something unexpected has come up at home and that I'll visit another day to apologize in person. Also, send someone to wait at the Ministry of Justice. When they see the master, tell him to come home immediately."

No matter how strong the resemblance, she still had to investigate first. She couldn't simply take someone home on a whim.

The Jinyang Marquis Residence had three branches in all. Jian Ruonan's father, Jian Zhang, was the eldest brother and held a post at the Ministry of Justice. Besides his principal wife, Min, he had four concubines.

The concubine Jian Ruonan mentioned was probably Wei.

Min said, "Send someone to Wei's courtyard and find out when she last had her monthly bleeding."

Once she finished making arrangements, Min looked at Jian Ruonan again. Jian Ruonan sat obediently, holding a cup in both hands and sipping her tea.

She looked very reserved.

[What? My full sister, Jian Xilu, has it even worse?!]

Min frowned slightly. What had happened to her eldest daughter, Xilu?

How did she have it even worse?

Min pricked up her ears, but Jian Ruonan fell silent.

"..."

Go on, say it!

You were rattling away like firecrackers just now. How did you suddenly go mute?

Jian Ruonan took two sips of tea. [I'm hungry. I'll feast on this gossip after I've filled my stomach.]

[I wonder what delicious food the Marquis's Estate has?]

From childhood, Min had been taught to be cultured and sensible, graceful in appearance and wise within, measured in both speech and action. Suddenly left dangling with only half a juicy piece of gossip, she wished she could feed Jian Ruonan immediately and let her spill it all in one satisfying burst!

"Return to the Marquis's Estate. Have the kitchen prepare plenty of food."