Chapter 108 – The Widow’s Adopted Daughter (part 8)

The nanny thought for a while, then said with a smile, “What is the problem? Young madam, think about it. Who cares about the young lady the most at home?”

Mrs. Wan reacted. “You mean I should go find grandmother?”

“Yeah! That young lady is the old madam’s granddaughter. You can talk to the old madam about her,” said the nanny with a smile.

Mrs. Wan nodded. “That’s right. Qing Hua, have you gone to Auspicious Purple Hall to see if grandmother has rested? If not, I will talk to grandmother later.”

A quarter of an hour later, Mrs. Wan went to Auspicious Purple Hall. At that time, Princess Qing Shan and her two daughter-in-laws were talking to grandmother. When Princess Qing Shan saw Mrs. Wan had arrived, she laughed. “Why did A-Yao come here now?”

Princess Qing Shan had a good relationship with county princess An Le. She also liked Mrs. Wan a lot. When Mrs. Wan married into Yong An Mansion, Princess Qing Shan was the happiest.

“Fourth master sent a letter saying that he has found his cousin. Now he is heading to the capital. In about a month, grandmother will be able to see cousin,” Mrs. Wan said with a smile.

Old madam smiled widely. “Your sister-in-law has read the letter to me. Your aunt and I are setting up a room for your cousin.”

Princess Qing Shan saw that Mrs. Wan seemed to have something on her mind and hurriedly said, “You have always been reasonable. If you have any good ideas, let’s hear them.”

Mrs. Wan laughed. “Grandmother and the princess are well-informed, along with eldest sister-in-law and third sister-in-law. Do I need to talk more? There was just one side point. The fourth master wrote back to me and asked me to find a few nannies. I think it is not cousin who needs the nannies but her daughter. I have not seen my niece and do not know my niece’s temperament. I thought to come here to ask grandmother what kind of nanny I should find for my niece.”

Princess Qing Shan smiled slightly. “If he wanted an ordinary nanny, then fourth master would have said so in his letter. But, he only told you. There must be a reason.”

“Yes, the princess is right,” Mrs. Wan said with a smile.

After the young madam heard this, she motioned for the maids to leave.

Mrs. Wan took out Xiao Zhen Ting’s letter and gave it to the old madam. Mrs. Yang took it and read it to the old madam. She wanted to check the contents in case there was anything in the letter that would shock the old madam too much.

However, even if they didn’t say it, the old madam knew it in her heart.

After Mrs. Yang read the letter, Mrs. Wan said, “According to the fourth master’s letter, my niece is ambitious. As for the nanny…”

Princess Qing Shan took the letter and looked at it. This niece had a humble background, but was ambitious. She would be difficult to teach. However, it wasn’t impossible. She was still young. Princess Qing Shan thought about it and said, “A-Yao, what do you think of Nanny Xu from Ning Shou Palace? She is gentle, modest, cautious, and has good manners.”

Although she was asking Mrs. Wan, she was actually explaining things to the old madam.

The old madam thought for a while. “But, isn’t Nanny Xu taking care of the empress dowager?”

“Yes.” Princess Qing Shan nodded.

“Fine.” The old madam nodded, then sighed. “That child has had a hard life. If anything happens in the future, you should teach her more. For my sake, don’t fuss too much with her.”

Princess Qing Shan laughed. “A-Ling was such a gentle person. As for Su Su… We have known her since childhood. We know her temperament. Even if she lost her memory, her temperament won’t change. With Su Su’s teachings, the girl should be fine.”

The old madam sighed. “You are all not telling me something. But, I know that Su Su must have had a bad life these past years. Alas! I have two sons and one daughter, and many grandchildren. Pian A-Ling! Such a girl was left, but I lost her. For many years, A-Ling hasn’t been in my dreams. I know she isn’t blaming me!” Old madam began to cry again.

A few daughter-in-laws and grandchildren gathered around the old madam and quickly made her happy again.

Princess Qing Shan smiled. “Don’t worry. Our family only has boys and we dream of having multiple girls. Su Su and our niece are here. We will love her and make sure nobody dares to bully her. Besides, with you here, who would dare to bully them? You can take the cane that father emperor gave you and hit those people. Nobody will dare.”

After thinking about it, the old madam took Princess Qing Shan’s hands and said, “This old lady has had a good life. All of you are good daughter-in-laws and granddaughter-in-laws.”

Princess Qing Shan smiled slightly. When the old madam was younger, she was a decisive and outstanding young woman. In the second year of Wan De when father emperor first ascended the throne, the fourth prince rebelled. Prince Qi wasn’t there that year. At that time, there were also spies staging an armed rebellion in the capital. They tried to assassinate father emperor at the palace banquet. At the critical moment, it was the old madam who turned the tide. She lifted the table and blocked the assassin’s sword that was aimed at her father emperor, thus buying time for the guards to kill the assassin and successfully rescue them.

Therefore, father emperor has always respected and treated the old madam with courtesy, therefore marrying her and A-Yao into Yong An Mansion to show his favour. Even before she came, she was urged to be filial to the old madam. Princess Qing Shan was wise, otherwise she would not have stood out and been married into Yong An Mansion to be the future Yong An Madam. In the future, her son and grandsons would also be of Yong An Mansion. As long as Da Qi still existed, her children and grandchildren would always enjoy wealth.

On the way back to the capital, Xiao Zhen Ting talked to Li Su and her daughter about the situation in Yong An Mansion. Li Su remembered some plot points, so she wasn’t as nervous or anxious as Wang Si Qin. She had no impression of the Xiao family, but she knew about Yong An Mansion.

Yong An Mansion had always clearly supported the young emperor. Therefore, the prince regent was dissatisfied and tried to suppress them. Their fate was not very good. Yong An Mansion had 2 sons and 4 grandsons. They died on the battlefield. The second branch of the family was also dead and even their hereditary title was almost lost. In the end, the young emperor took power and allowed Yong An Mansion’s nephew to inherit the title.

Was Yong An Mansion’s nephew Xiao Zhen Ting? Here it seemed like both legs were crippled!

Their ending was really miserable.

Prevent fires, prevent theft, and guard against the prince regent!

Li Su thought that if she told Xiao Zhen Ting to kill the prince regent in advance, would he treat her like she was a fool?

But, what was the prince regent’s title before? She only knew that the prince regent was the young emperor’s uncle. What rank was the uncle?

Li Su couldn’t remember this.

“Mother, what’s wrong?”

Li Su recovered. Xiao Zhen Ting and Wang Si Qin looked at her in surprise.

Li Su sighed. This was the distress prophets faced!

Xiao Zhen Ting smiled at her strange expression.

A month later, Li Su and her daughter finally arrived in the capital.

The carriage entered Yong An Mansion through the side door. After the sedan chair was changed, a young man lifted it to the second door, then stepped back. Several sturdy women came over, lifted the sedan chair, then went inside.

Just a few steps away, they stopped.

Li Su wondered why they arrived so soon.

Xiao Zhen Ting was surprised. “Eldest sister-in-law, third sister in law, what are you two doing here?”

A gentle voice responded, “The elder knows that you are here and has let my younger siblings and I welcome my cousin and niece.”

The sedan curtain rose. Li Su took her daughter to the sedan. She noticed that her daughter’s hand was trembling, so she gave her daughter a soothing look and motioned for her to stop being nervous.

Mrs. Yang looked Li Su up and down, then looked away and went to affectionately hold Wang Si Qin’s hand. “Is this the niece? She grew up well. She and cousin seem to be made from the same mould. Elder will definitely like her. This is a small token from your eldest aunt. I hope that niece accepts it.” When she finished speaking, she pulled a hairpin from her hair and put it on Wang Si Qin’s head.

Wang Si Qin didn’t dare to move. She turned and looked at Xiao Zhen Ting. When she saw that he had no objections, she just said softly, “Thank you, eldest aunt.”

Li Su took a closer look and saw that it was a butterfly-like hairpin. This was obviously specially prepared for a young girl like Wang Si Qin. Sure enough, the people inside the mansion were all smart.

The third young madam. Mrs. Qin, also smiled and untied a white jade pony pendant from her waist. She knelt down and tied it to Wang Si Qin.

Xiao Zhen Ting introduced them. “This is your third aunt.”

“Thank you, third aunt.”

Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Qin saw that Wang Si Qin had skin that was a little darker and rougher, but they thought she was still beautiful. Although the statements were a little small-minded, they meant well. They smiled slightly.

Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Qin walked towards Li Su and Wang Si Qin.

When Li Su saw the old madam, the grandmother of the original owner, Li Su understood why Xiao Zhen Ting was able to confirm her identity as soon as he saw her. If this body was the same age as the grandmother, then she was pretty sure they would look very similar. This family’s genes were strong.

“Su Su!” the old madam confirmed her identity when she saw Li Su. This is my Su Su! The old madam cried.

“Grandmother!” Li Su also exclaimed with great emotion. The two embraced excitedly. The people standing nearby wept sadly.

The old madam cried for a while, then remembered her great-granddaughter. She called for her to come up so she could take a closer look, then cried again. “When you and your parents returned to Qian Tang back then, you were the same size. I can’t believe it’s been ten years already.”

“Great-grandmother, don’t cry. You need to take care of your body.” Wang Si Qin stood on her toes and wiped the tears away.

Li Su didn’t expect this girl to do that.

The old madam held Li Su’s hand with one of her own, and Wang Si Qin’s with her other in distress. The three of them returned to their seats and sat down. Then, she asked, “What is your name? How old are you this year? Did you go to school?”

Everyone else was a little nervous, afraid that the girl would be ignorant enough to say everything. That would make the old madam sad. The old madam was too old, so she couldn’t help but be affected by the excitement from immense joy or sorrow.

They didn’t expect that the little girl was very sensible. She didn’t mention any of her previous suffering and only said happy things, which made the old madam laugh.