mtl008 Chapter 60 You Let Yangyang Go
Chapter 60 You Let Yangyang Go
Manager Zhang inquired very thoroughly.
"About two days after the family left, the village hunters went into the mountains to collect their nets. It was late autumn, almost winter. One of the hunters heard a sound from the trap, like a cat meowing. He thought prey had fallen in, but when he pulled it out, he found a three-year-old girl with blood all over her face, wearing only a thin shirt. She was barely alive and had only one breath left."
"The hunter didn't interact much with the villagers, so he thought it was some child who had accidentally gotten lost and fallen in. He quickly took her back and rescued her before taking her to the village chief's house to ask which family had lost their child. Immediately, someone recognized her as the He family's granddaughter. At that time, the He family had already been gone for two or three days, and it was impossible to catch up with them. Moreover, they had left without leaving a trace, and everyone knew that they had gone to the capital, but no one knew where they had gone."
"The village chief had no choice but to gather the villagers and pool some money to take the child to a doctor, which finally saved her completely. But no one in the village was willing to adopt such a girl, especially since her face was disfigured. It seemed that she would never be able to get married and would not receive a dowry. So Miss Lu stayed at one house for two days and another for two days in the village, trying to survive. Some families were kind enough to let her sleep in their houses, while others wouldn't let her in at all, throwing her a cornbread and kicking her out. After a while, she realized that no one would take her in, so she went to the house of a crazy old woman at the village entrance and squeezed in with her. The old woman's whole family was said to have died, and she had gone mad, living a crazy and foolish life in a thatched hut at the village entrance. Miss Lu lived with her."
"Everyone in the village knew about their situation. The village chief couldn't bear to see the two of them starving, so he would occasionally call on people to bring them some food. When Miss Lu was a couple of years older, she would go around doing chores with different families, which she could exchange for food. When Miss Lu got a little older, she dared to go into the mountains. She was clever, and after running around a lot, she not only picked wild vegetables but also learned to identify medicinal herbs. She would take them to the pharmacy in town, and the doctor there would give her some pointers when he saw how well she was doing. When Miss Lu was about eight or nine years old, she could take pulses and treat injuries. She didn't charge the villagers for medical treatment, only a little grain or a handful of vegetables. At first, the villagers didn't take her seriously, but later they were very happy to see that she really had some skills. In the countryside, it wasn't easy to find a barefoot doctor, so Miss Lu was very famous in the surrounding area, and everyone spoke highly of her."
"By the way, Miss Lu can not only treat patients and get medicine, she can also slaughter pigs. Everyone says she slaughters pigs extremely well, without wasting a single drop of blood. Even the wealthy families in the county often call her over, saying she is a very capable person."
When Steward Zhang was sent to inquire about such an important matter, he took it very seriously and asked about everything he could find out, down to the smallest detail. Unfortunately, when he returned, the Duke did not ask many questions, only confirmed the girl's identity and found nothing unusual, and then gave him some reward money to send him away. Therefore, he did not have time to tell anyone what he had found out.
He took the opportunity today and explained everything in great detail, leaving nothing out.
After I finished speaking, the room became unusually quiet.
The Duke of Sheng's face was ashen, while the second young master was slightly stunned, as if struck by lightning.
He felt a chill run down his spine, worried that he might have said something he shouldn't have.
At this moment, at the door, Madam Lan leaned weakly against Granny Hui with tears in her eyes. Sheng Junye, standing beside her, looked at Madam Lan as if he were in a daze, opening his mouth as if to say something, but not knowing how to start.
Lan bit her lip and pushed the door open.
Both Duke Sheng and Sheng Junyi looked at the doorway in disbelief, as if waking from a dream.
Neither of them expected that, in the dead of night, when the moon was already high in the sky, Lan would appear here!
"Mother!" Sheng Junyi called out subconsciously, glancing sideways at Steward Zhang, wondering how much of what Steward Zhang had said had been heard by her mother.
"Manager Zhang, you go out, you go out too." Madam Lan was already unsteady on her feet. She asked Granny Hui to help her sit down on a chair to the side and said to Sheng Junyi.
Steward Zhang subconsciously glanced at Duke Sheng, who nodded. Steward Zhang hurriedly bowed and took his leave.
Sheng Jun wanted to stay, but seeing his mother's gaze, he could only leave.
In the study, only Madam Lan, Granny Hui, and Duke Sheng remained.
Lady Lan asked Granny Hui to go out as well.
Soon, only the couple remained in the study.
The Duke of Sheng said helplessly, "Madam, I cannot send Yunzhu away."
The moment he saw Lan push open the door and enter, he knew something was wrong.
I don't know how the people in this courtyard handle things; this isn't the first time this has happened.
He couldn't be on guard against his wife all the time.
"No need, no need for you to send Yunzhu away." Madam Lan spoke, her voice a little hoarse, followed by a few light coughs. She gripped the armrest of the chair tightly with one hand, looking up at the Duke of Sheng.
"My husband, we have been husband and wife for over twenty years, and I have never asked you for anything. Today, I beg you, no matter what happens in the future, no matter whether Yangyang's background is exposed or not, you must not let her be included in the Sheng family genealogy. Promise me."
"Do you know what you're saying?" Duke Sheng frowned. He thought Lady Lan was going to make a scene with him again because of Lu Yangyang, but he didn't expect her to say this.
"I don't have many days left to live. My husband has heard about it. Send a message to Ayao and tell him to come back immediately to get married. I will hold on until he gets married and then hand over the management of the household to my daughter-in-law." Madam Lan was no longer hysterical like last time. She looked very calm now, as if she were quietly giving her last words.
Duke Sheng reached out and grabbed her hand; her hand was ice-cold, without any warmth.
Looking at the delicate flower he had cherished for half his life, he suddenly felt lost. He couldn't understand how, in just one month, from learning that they had a biological daughter who had been lost to finding her, this once loving couple had come to this. It shouldn't be like this.
He always felt something was wrong, but he couldn't quite grasp it.
“I know what you’re keeping Yangyang for, it’s because of the Crown Prince, isn’t it? The Empress herself told me that if I gave birth to a daughter, she would definitely be the Crown Princess. But fate is really strange. At that time, Yangyang hadn’t been born yet, and the Empress loved her very much. Then so many things happened. By the time Zhuzhu was brought back, the Empress was terminally ill and passed away in less than two years. She never even saw Zhuzhu once.”
“When the Crown Prince was doing well, you tried to match him with Zhuzhu. But after Zhuzhu met the Crown Prince once, she was rejected. This was the first time you were dissatisfied with Zhuzhu and felt that she was not good enough to be of any use.”
"You were very angry when you found out she was associating with the Third Prince. It wasn't until the Crown Prince was injured that your attitude changed. What you cared about wasn't who your daughter was, but what use they were and what benefits they could bring to the Duke's mansion."
“I didn’t say it before because I knew that as a woman, this is fate, their fate, and my fate. I can’t resist it, and neither can they. Husband, I’m not stupid. You want to use Zhuzhu to exchange for decades of peace in the Duke’s mansion. I will grant your wish, and I will grant hers as well. My only request is that you let Yangyang go. From now on, she will only be a cousin of the Duke’s mansion.”