readytorunbook Chapter 396: Testing, Turning Danger into Safety
Chapter 396: Testing, Turning Danger into Safety
"Well, how are Youran and Prince Rui doing? Prince Rui already has a wife in his mansion. If she marries him, she can only be a concubine. Why don't you consider changing someone?"
"Mother, please don't worry about this matter. Prince Rui is the most favored prince in front of the emperor except for the crown prince. Although he has a wife, the princess is weak in character. If Nianran enters the palace, she can give birth to a boy and a girl. With her intelligence and talent, it will not be difficult for her to become a princess." Shen Wenting had already inquired about this matter. Once she entered the palace, everything would be easy.
After Shen Wenting came out of the old lady's yard, he immediately found a few people to go to the countryside to inquire about Shen Nianran's news.
A few days later, the person who went to inquire about the news came back, and brought back an old woman. This old woman lived in the yard next to Shen Nianran and the others. She had three sons at home and they were noisy all day long. They knew the situation of Haitang and the other two very well.
Yesterday, when she was working at home, someone came in to inquire about the news. She didn't want to pay attention to it at first, but when she saw the person holding out the silver, her eyes immediately lit up and she told him everything she knew. The person who came to inquire about the news asked her to go to the capital to see if the person in the mansion was Miss Nian Ran who lived next door to them. After the task was completed, she would be given fifty taels of silver as a reward. The old woman became even more excited, and without saying a word, she packed up her things and followed them into the city.
"Ahem, do you know Shen Nianran?" The person who was inquiring brought the old woman to the old lady's yard. The old lady saw the old woman Cai, who was behaving rudely and wearing coarse cloth, looking around with greed on her face and a gleam in her eyes. She interrupted her with two coughs, and then the old woman Cai restrained her expression.
"Madam, I know her, how could I not know her? I watched her grow up, and she was very pretty, different from the girls in our countryside.
When they first came, my son felt sorry for them and secretly went to help them. In the end, he fell in love with the woman named Haitang and wanted to marry her. But Haitang said that she was already married and her husband was in the capital. Sooner or later, they would have to go back to the capital, so she rejected my son. From then on, she didn't want my son's help anymore and raised two children by herself. Everyone in the village knew about this." Mrs. Cai said loudly.
"Why did Haitang die?" the old lady continued to ask.
"She died of exhaustion! In order to feed her two children, she tried her best to find ways to earn money. She chopped wood and washed clothes for others during the day, and embroidered purses day and night to make money. She finally raised the two children and could get married to earn money. Unexpectedly, she became ill from overwork and died a few years ago." Mrs. Cai said carelessly, cursing in her heart. If she had married her son, there wouldn't have been so many problems. She had to pretend to be strong and say that she had a husband. No one saw her man until she died.
"Go, call the eldest lady over!" The old lady asked the people around her to call Yao Qingnian over. Whether it was true or not would be known only by having someone confirm it in person.
"Madam, you have asked all the questions you should ask. When will you give me the silver? My whole family is still waiting for me to take the silver to buy food!" Mrs. Cai smiled, revealing a mouthful of big yellow teeth.
"I'll give it to you after it's done." The old lady covered her mouth and said with disgust.
A quarter of an hour later, Yao Qingnian entered the old lady's room and saw a burly, dark-skinned woman standing beside her. He wondered what they were doing. "Father, grandmother, what do you want from me?"
"Big girl, look at the old woman next to you. Do you recognize her?" the old lady asked, pointing at the woman.
"Grandma, what does this mean?" Yao Qingnian looked at the woman in confusion.
"You just need to tell me whether you know him or not!" the old lady asked again in a deep voice.
"do not know."
"Take a closer look, do you really not recognize him?" Shen Wenting stared at her.
"I don't know her." Yao Qingnian glanced at the woman beside him and continued to answer.
"She is your neighbor in the countryside, Mrs. Cai. She has watched you grow up since you were a child. How could you not know her?" After hearing that she didn't know her, Shen Wenting slammed the table in anger. So, this daughter is fake?
Only then did Yao Qingnian realize that they were trying to test him.
"Tell me, where are you from? How dare you pretend to be the eldest daughter of the Shen family!" the old lady echoed.
"Father, grandmother, what are you talking about? What impersonation? I am Shen Nianran." Yao Qingnian looked calm.
"Then why don't you know this woman?"
"The reason I said I don't know her is because I'm afraid she would beat me and scold me and take the opportunity to retaliate against me. She bullied and beat me, Haitang and the other two, robbed us, instigated the villagers to isolate us, and let her son bully Aunt Haitang. I remember all these things clearly. If I say that I know her, will you vent my anger for me, father?" Yao Qingnian pretended to be afraid and shrank back, looking terrified.
"What? There is such a thing?!" When the old lady heard her say that, her anxious heart finally settled down a little. There was no flaw on Yao Qingnian's face. It was true that the eldest girl had come.
"Girl, I didn't know you were a daughter of an official family in the capital. If I knew, I would not dare to bully you even if you gave me a hundred guts. I was blind to your virtue before. I apologize to you here. Please forgive me and don't bother with a vulgar woman like me, okay?" Mrs. Cai didn't expect that this girl was from a wealthy family. If she were to pursue what she had done before, it would be disastrous. So she apologized quickly.
"Did you come here just to apologize?" Yao Qingnian looked at Mrs. Cai, unable to tell whether she was happy or angry.
"I asked her to come. I wanted to know how you have been living these years, so I specially asked this old woman to come and question her. She said she lived next door to you and knew a lot about your affairs, so I brought her to the capital. I didn't expect that this old woman would bully you so much in the past. Don't worry, your grandmother will definitely stand up for you and make this old woman pay the price." The old lady softened her tone and comforted softly.
"In that case, thank you, father and grandmother." Yao Qingnian bowed obediently with difficulty.
"Well, you can leave first." Shen Wenting waved his hand, motioning her to go down first. She had a play with King Jing, and now it was confirmed that it was the real Shen Nianran. Shen Wenting wanted to ease the relationship between father and daughter first so that he could make better use of her in the future, so his voice became softer.
"Okay, father and grandmother, Nianran will go down first. You must make the decision for me." Yao Qingnian added, then came out of the old lady's yard.