The Red Mole
Xu Yongyi stepped aside, and Matron Ruan and Matron Li walked in.
Madam Xie pulled Xu Xue over and stood with her before the two matrons.
"This..." Matron Li studied the mother and daughter, unable to speak for a long while.
If Xu Xue resembled Lady Wei, it was only because there had been no one to compare her with. Now that Madam Xie and Xu Xue stood together, the resemblance between their brows and eyes was such that no one could have said they were not mother and daughter.
It seemed the second madam really had made a mistake.
Only then did Matron Li turn her gaze to Xu Xi.
When Xu Xi and Xu Xue had appeared together that morning, Matron Li had thought the same as Lady Wei: Xu Xue must be Lady Wei's daughter, because Xu Xi looked so unlike Lady Wei. Not only did she look unlike Lady Wei, she bore no resemblance to Zhao Yuanliang either. So once Lady Wei had settled on Xu Xue, no one had paid Xu Xi any more attention.
Even now, looking Xu Xi over with the thought that she must be Lady Wei's daughter, Matron Li had to admit that there was not a single feature in which the child resembled Zhao Yuanliang or Lady Wei.
Was she really Lady Wei's daughter? Could there have been a mistake?
When Matron Ruan had first met Xu Xi, it had never occurred to her that she might not be the child who had been switched at birth in the marquis's residence. Now that Lady Wei had made such a fuss, she scrutinized the two girls anew and had to admit that Lady Wei did have some reason to believe Xu Xue was her daughter.
The same doubts that troubled Matron Li arose in her heart.
Xu Xi knew what the two were thinking as well. She stood there openly, letting them examine her.
At last, she said with a smile, "Do you two think I look nothing like your second master or second madam? I think so too. So you'd best get to the bottom of it. Don't force me to go back with you, only to throw me out again later; or spend all day suspecting I'm not a child of the marquis's household and giving me the cold shoulder, as though I'd gone to the residence of my own accord and asked to be its young lady. I'm telling you, if that happens, I'll go to the yamen and beat the drum to cry out for justice. You can't just do whatever you please."
Those words left both Matron Ruan and Matron Li looking distinctly displeased.
Matron Ruan was the steward of the marquis's inner household; Matron Li was someone who could throw her weight around in the second branch and was also Lady Wei's wet nurse. Even the young masters and young ladies of the marquis's residence did not dare disrespect them. The two women were used to being flattered and had a very high opinion of themselves.
Yet this little farm girl showed them not a shred of respect, and from the sound of her words, she did not seem to hold the marquis's residence in any regard either. She was just like a country shrew, forever making threats and kicking up a fuss.
In the two matrons' eyes, someone like her deserved a ringing slap across the face and a faceful of spit. Then they would turn on their heels and leave, and see if she still thought herself somebody!
But they could not!
All of the capital knew that the second madam's biological daughter had been switched by her wet nurse, and that the girl was now in Little Banyan Village. If they failed to bring her back, the marquis's residence would be utterly unable to save face.
Matron Ruan's expression changed several times before she managed to force a stiff smile. "I will report your words to the old madam and the madam, miss."
Xu Xi nodded, then looked at Madam Xie and raised her chin, meaning: It's your turn.
Madam Xie had always been forthright and fierce, and she had nothing to ask of the marquis's residence. Seeing that even Xu Xi dared speak so boldly to the two women, she could hardly back down.
She gave Xu Xi a smiling, reproachful glance, then turned to Matron Li. Her face darkened as she said coldly, "You've had a good look at me and Miss Xue now, haven't you? Miss Xue is my own flesh and blood, the child I carried for ten months. No one's going to snatch her away from me. If the marquis's residence dares use force, the capital isn't far from here, and for my daughter's sake, I'm not afraid to go beat the drum and cry out for justice. So when you return, Matron, please tell the second madam to wipe her eyes clean and take a good look, so she doesn't mistake someone else for her own daughter."
With that, she took Xu Xue's hand and turned back into the main room.
Xu Xi followed them inside.
"Please see yourselves out," Xu Yongyi said, making a gesture.
Matron Ruan and Matron Li exchanged a glance and left the courtyard in embarrassment.
Once they were in the carriage, Matron Li wanted to voice a few complaints about Xu Xi. But when she considered that this was a young lady of their second branch, Lady Wei's own daughter, and that speaking ill of Xu Xi before Matron Ruan would do the second branch no good at all, she forcibly swallowed the resentment in her heart.
Matron Ruan's expression remained indifferent throughout, betraying neither joy nor anger.
When the carriage entered the capital, Matron Li did not dare accompany Matron Ruan to the old madam. Partway there, she made the excuse that Lady Wei had ordered her to go back to the Wei Residence to fetch something. Matron Ruan did not stop her and had the carriage halt to let her off.
Though Little Banyan Village was not far from the capital, the journey there and back had taken long enough that it was already dinnertime when they returned to the marquis's residence.
The old madam had just finished eating, and Lady Zhu, the marchioness, was also present. Matron Ruan gave them a full account of the day's events, passing on Xu Xi's words without missing a single one.
The old madam looked at her eldest daughter-in-law. "What do you make of this child?"
Lady Zhu smiled. "I still say the same thing. The child didn't come rushing over the moment she saw someone from the marquis's residence had come to fetch her, and now she's said all this. It shows she doesn't covet power and wealth, has plans of her own, and is forthright by nature. Though I haven't met her yet, I rather like her."
The old madam smiled. "But someone else doesn't like her and insists she isn't her own daughter."
The prefect's yamen was closer than Little Banyan Village, and Steward Liu had returned long ago.
They had questioned the wet nurse again, and she had provided two clues. She said the child had no other distinguishing marks on her body, only a tiny red mole behind her ear. The wet nurse also said that a matron at Lady Wei's side had instigated her to switch the children. The woman had given her two hundred taels of silver, helped tamper with things, and even threatened her with her son, which was why she had committed such a grave crime. Otherwise, however bold she might have been, she would never have dared do it.
When Steward Liu returned and reported this news, the old madam's brows had knitted tightly.
The matron named by the wet nurse had been forced to drink a drug that rendered her mute and sold off for stealing Lady Wei's jewelry, not long after the wet nurse herself had left the residence that year. Within days of being sold, before the broker could find another buyer for her, word had come that she had died of illness.
It was no longer possible to investigate what had happened back then through that matron. Fortunately, they had the clue of the red mole. They only had to send someone to see whether Xu Xi had one behind her ear, and they would know. As long as they brought her back safely, it hardly mattered if they could not get to the bottom of what had happened.
Besides, hadn't Xu Xi asked for proof? With that proof, she would have no reason not to return to the marquis's residence.
The old madam told Matron Ruan what Steward Liu had learned. "You've been running back and forth all day and must be tired. Go back and rest. Tomorrow you'll have to make another trip to Little Banyan Village and confirm Xu Xi's identity once more."
Lady Zhu, the first madam, said from beside her, "Once you've confirmed that she has a red mole behind her ear, tell her that I'll personally go and bring her back the day after tomorrow."
Matron Ruan respectfully assented, then smiled and said, "With you going to fetch her in person, Madam, I imagine Miss Xi will have no more misgivings."
Lady Zhu was the current marquis's wife and the mistress of the residence. A guarantee from her carried a hundred times more weight than Lady Wei's own promise.