The Twin Who Had to Die

"Probably not? The government office has interrogated that wet nurse repeatedly, and the red mole behind your ear corroborates her story. Your origins are probably true. As for your mother..." The old lady shook her head and smiled, "There are all sorts of people in this world, and all sorts of strange ideas. Maybe someone told her you're a jinx? That's why she treats you this way, it's not surprising."

Xu Xi was not surprised by the old lady's attitude.

She had mentioned her background to the old lady last night, but the old lady didn't even respond, so she knew what the old lady's attitude was.

The old lady now only wants to get through the low period of the Marquis's mansion peacefully and doesn't want to cause any more trouble or create too much chaos. Otherwise, if a thorough investigation is conducted and something bad is discovered, she will no longer be able to cover it up and will have to face the serious consequences. These consequences may very well be ones she cannot bear.

To reiterate, since Zhao Yuanliang is not the old lady's biological son, she doesn't care about the affairs of the second branch of the family as long as they don't hinder the development of the Marquis's mansion. She doesn't care at all who Lady Wei's daughter is.

In modern times, this would be very simple to handle: just take a hair sample from Lady Wei and do a DNA test with Xu Xi's hair to determine if she was his biological daughter. But in ancient times, this was completely impossible. The idea of using blood to determine kinship was pure ignorance.

Given the old lady's attitude, Xu Xi's own lack of money, connections, and ability to investigate the matter, she could only put it aside. Her plan was to quietly accumulate points, earn money, and develop her own capabilities. As long as Lady Wei didn't cause her trouble, and everyone kept to themselves, and since the old lady and the first madam had agreed that she could make her own decisions about the marriage, there was no need to dwell on this point.

But after Lady Wei put on this show, the old lady started to play both sides. As Lady Wei gradually gets closer, at the crucial moment, the promises made by the old lady and the first lady might not stand. Rather than letting them change their minds, it's better to stir things up a bit and ignite a fire in the old lady's heart.

Xu Xi glanced at Matron Jin, Daimao, and Qingfeng standing to the side and said, "You may all leave. I have something to say to the Old Madam."

Everyone remained still, all looking at the old lady.

The old lady looked at Xu Xi suspiciously, thought for a moment, and then waved to everyone.

Once only the two of them were left in the room, Xu Xi spoke up, "Madam, the First Madam once said that she gave birth on the same day as the Second Madam. At that time, you were ill, the First Madam and the Second Madam were both giving birth, and the Third Madam was not in charge of anything, so the whole mansion was in chaos. Now, think back to the Second Madam's behavior during this period. Don't you and the First Madam have any doubts?"

At this point, she blinked, looked at the old lady, and didn't continue.

Often, people only trust their own judgment and are unwilling to be swayed by the thoughts of others, especially a suspicious old lady like her. Rather than letting her express her guesses, it's better to let her draw her own conclusions.

The old lady paused for a moment, then gave Xu Xi a deep look and said, "I've thought about it."

This time, it was Xu Xi's turn to be stunned.

"But that's impossible," the old lady added immediately.

"Hmm?" Xu Xi's eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean?"

Seeing the intense interest in her eyes, as if she were a child who had found a new toy, with only curiosity and exploration in her eyes, but without a trace of sadness or disappointment, the old lady felt increasingly unable to understand Xu Xi.

This girl always says and does things in unexpected ways.

"You look like the Marquis, and the Second Madam was so insistent on bringing that girl named Xu Xue back that we became suspicious. But after thinking it over, we felt it was impossible."

The old lady reached for the teacup, took a sip, and continued, "If you were the eldest madam's daughter, and the second madam switched you with her child, fearing discovery, she deliberately used the excuse of offering incense to switch you with Zhao Ruyu, then what happened to the child who was switched with the eldest madam?"

"Young Master," Xu Xi said.

The old lady nodded. "If it's Young Master Li, then he and Brother An should be twins, right? But they don't look alike at all. Not only do they not look alike, they're completely different."

"But twins can be different too," Xu Xi said.

The old lady was taken aback. "How is that possible? Of all the twins I've seen or heard of, those of the same sex all look exactly alike. Only fraternal twins (boy and girl) don't look alike."

"They're different. Not only are they different, but their appearances are quite different as well. Why don't you send someone out to inquire among the common people?"

Identical twins naturally look exactly alike, but fraternal twins look different. Those of the same sex are usually identical, which is why the old lady made that statement. Although Zhao Jing'an and Zhao Jingli look quite different, this absolutely cannot rule out the possibility that they are twins.

Seeing that Xu Xi spoke with such certainty, the old lady asked, "How do you know so much?"

"I grew up in the streets and alleys, and these are the kinds of things people love to talk about," Xu Xi said, her dark eyes fixed on the old lady. "I've also heard that wealthy families don't allow twins. If they do, one of them must be drowned, otherwise it's considered a sign of family chaos."

The old lady's expression suddenly changed.

The saying that one of the twins must drown was something Xu Xi learned from a novel in her previous life. If two identical twin sons were born, and one inherited the throne or a title, the other, harboring malicious intentions, could easily switch identities and inherit the throne or title by killing or incapacitating the other. The same applied to twin daughters; substitution in marriage was incredibly easy. If one married well and the other poorly, and the poorly married one harbored malicious intentions, substitution was also easily achieved.

Therefore, to prevent this from happening, wealthy families would often drown one of the twins if they were born, to avoid any potential trouble.

She was initially skeptical of this claim, but judging from the old lady's expression, it seemed to be true.

"If the Second Madam had given birth to twins, even if they didn't look alike, wouldn't she have worried that you would drown her children? Wouldn't she have tried to find a way to do so? It just so happened that the First Madam had also given birth. If they had switched the babies, her own child could have survived, and her son could have become the heir of the Marquis's mansion. Wouldn't that have been the best of both worlds? But the chaos in the mansion at that time gave her the opportunity, so she took the risk and had the babies switched."

The old lady was startled by Xu Xi's statement and stammered, "No, that can't be!"

"I think it's very possible," Xu Xi said. "The First Madam is the person involved, you can ask her if this is possible. Also, investigate the events of that year more carefully. In any case, it's better to be safe than sorry. Otherwise, you and the First Madam have put in so much effort to plan for the Marquis's mansion, only to have the Second Madam's son inherit it. You'd be so angry you'd vomit blood, wouldn't you?"