Prince of Jin lowered his guard in front of Tang Zhuyun, revealing a look of bewilderment and dejection.
"A-Yun, he told me he doesn't know who my birth mother is."
He said that looking back now, something about what happened back then seems a bit off.
The Emperor said that the first few times he was intimate with Xiao Wu were all after he was drunk, and he couldn't remember them clearly when he woke up.
Now that he has become suspicious, he suspects that Xiao Wu replaced her with someone else back then.
But who exactly is that person?
"Nanny Rong wasn't sure, but now she had someone to suspect."
Nanny Rong said that back then, besides her, there was another maidservant by Xiao Wu's side named Bai Lu.
Bai Lu is timid and kind-hearted, and also skillful. She is usually quiet and only knows how to work silently.
Xiao Wu did not show favoritism towards either of the two maids.
But later, Bai Lu changed.
At least that's how Nanny Rong saw it at the time.
Bai Lu became vain, dishonest, and entangled with other men... which led to Xiao Wu's rejection of her.
Nanny Rong also began to dislike Bai Lu, and everyone in the courtyard disliked her.
Later, Bai Lu was driven out.
Nanny Rong didn't even have time to see her off.
However, many years later, from the conversation between Xiao Wu and Qiao Geng, Nanny Rong pieced together another highly probable fact.
--Back then, it wasn't Bai Lu changed, but Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu accidentally learns that Bai Lu is actually her father's illegitimate daughter.
Moreover, this secret was kept only from her and her mother.
It turns out that Xiao Wu's mother came from the Prince Who Guards the South's Residence, and was a noble princess with a title.
At that time, intermarriages between several royal families of different surnames and between the royal family were perfectly normal.
This marriage was arranged by Xiao Wu's parents when she was young.
However, an unexpected incident occurred: Xiao Wu's father and his head maid developed feelings for each other, and the maid became pregnant.
This incident, once it became public knowledge, naturally became a major event for the Xiao Family.
After all, neither family wanted to become enemies, and at that time, the legal wife had not yet entered the household.
Moreover, the Xiao Family has rules that forbid maids from dreaming of such a meteoric rise in rank; otherwise, if the upper class sets a bad example, wouldn't things get chaotic in the future?
So the head maid was sent away, and eight months later she gave birth to Bai Lu.
The Xiao Family's bloodline cannot be revealed to outsiders; however, due to Xiao Wu's mother, she cannot be given a formal status, so Bai Lu's background became a secret among the Xiao Family's masters.
Bai Lu followed Xiao Wu, and although she was a maid, she was still accompanying Xiao Wu and received good treatment...
Tang Zhuyun was so angry she laughed when she heard this.
Is there not a single person in the Xiao Family who is clear-headed?
Bai Lu is also a daughter of the Xiao Family, so why should she be treated like a slave, especially with the Xiao Family acting like, "We'll take good care of you"?
If you really can't acknowledge her, then let her grow up outside, give her a dowry and let her get married. That's much better than her serving others!
Tang Zhuyun: Sure enough, brain damage is hereditary.
Oh, except for the Prince of Jin; the Prince of Jin is like a bad bamboo that produces a good shoot.
I feel so sorry for Bai Lu; it turns out she's the real mother-in-law.
Xiao Wu felt that Bai Lu had stolen her position as the eldest daughter?
But Bai Lu has always been a maid!
Why don't you curse your dad for being a scumbag?
"Nanny Rong said that some things were just her guesses, without any evidence, and asked me to investigate." Prince of Jin held Tang Zhuyun's hand. "She said that should be my mother."
Bai Lu was ultimately expelled because she was pregnant.
She was extremely flustered and went to find Nanny Rong.
However, Nanny Rong had been brainwashed by Xiao Wu and believed that Bai Lu was having an affair, so she was very angry and didn't want to talk to her...
Now, more than twenty years later, Nanny Rong finally realized, how could that timid, cowardly, obedient, and kind-hearted Bai Lu have dared to have such audacity?
"Nanny Rong also said that she suspected Xiao Wu would kill her to silence her after she gave birth to me..."
Tang Zhuyun's hatred level was instantly maxed out.
--Xiao Wu, are you even human?
How can you be so at ease using and harming innocent people?
"Xiao Wu said to Qiao Geng, ' The Prince of Jin's temples were throbbing with veins, clearly he was trying his best to suppress his anger, 'Just thinking about that... her, how she managed to lure away the assassin Xiao Wu sent before she died, makes me furious...'"
The assassins sent by Xiao Wu disappeared along with Bai Lu.
"A-Yun, if she really is my mother, would she still be alive?"
The Prince of Jin didn't ask for much; he simply wanted to find out about his origins.
Unexpectedly, things took many twists and turns, becoming increasingly unpredictable and confusing.
Even if we find Bai Lu, won't she reveal other hidden secrets?
The Prince of Jin felt a deep sense of desolation and said with self-mockery, "A-Yun, I am someone who doesn't even know where I came from."
"What does it matter? Your home is with me," Tang Zhuyun said.
She hoped Bai Lu was alive, and she hoped Bai Lu would cherish this son.
She wanted the Prince of Jin to be loved by another person.
She wanted true maternal love to heal the wounds Prince of Jin had suffered with Xiao Wu; even if it was wishful thinking, she still wanted it.
Even just a sliver of genuine maternal love!
"I don't completely believe what Nanny Rong said anymore. Some things can't be undone."
Trust is invaluable; once broken, it is extremely difficult to rebuild.
Tang Zhuyun gripped his large hand tightly. "Whether it's true or not, it at least gives us a clue. We were originally going to leave anyway, but this time we've gone to the Northwest to investigate thoroughly."
"Hmm." The Prince of Jin smiled slightly. "I'm fine."
"What does this have to do with you going to see Xiao Pang?" Tang Zhuyun asked. "Could it be that Nanny Rong said Xiao Pang might know the truth about what happened back then?"
"Yes, A-Yun is indeed incredibly clever."
"But is Xiao Pang a womanizer?" Tang Zhuyun asked.
Wasn't he supposed to have reformed himself for Xiao Mo?
"He's not a womanizer; he can't forget his sister, Mo'er."
Xiao Mo treated Prince of Jin very well, and Prince of Jin regarded her as a half-sister.
"Looking back now, the kindness the Xiao Family showed me was actually due to my maternal grandfather and his family's influence."
Zidu treated him well, others naturally followed suit.
My maternal grandfather and the others probably know about my background.
If what Nanny Rong said is true, even if Prince of Jin was born of Bai Lu, he still has the blood of the Xiao Family flowing in his veins.
This is probably why Xiao Wu hates the Prince of Jin of Jin.
--Even though she wasn't born from her womb, she still enjoys the Xiao Family's favor.
He's clearly a bastard's child!
"Nanny Rong said she suspected Xiao Pang knew a lot of things and told me to ask him."
Prince of Jin hadn't told Tang Zhuyun much about Xiao Pang before, but today, when the topic came up, he talked about it much more.
Tang Zhuyun only knew that he was under the influence of drugs, becoming neither human nor ghost, but she didn't know that even under the irresistible power of the drugs, Xiao Pang never revealed a single word about what the Prince of Jin wanted to know.
This person's willpower is so strong that it leaves others powerless.
He was in agony, he banged his head against the wall, he begged for death, he pleaded, he was like a stray dog, but he gritted his teeth and refused to speak.
"So, you've thought of finding a woman to lie to him about being Xiao Mo while he's in a semi-conscious state?"