Chapter 66: Initial clues
Thinking about Wanxiang coming to see her yesterday and stammering that she suspected Su Qing had old friends outside, Wanxiang pronounced the word "old friend" very slowly and softly, so that Mother Liu couldn't react for a while.
After listening to Wanxiang's entire account of her last visit to "Defenglou", Mother Liu realized that the "old friend" Wanxiang meant was a lover.
Wanxiang finally said, "I'm not sure either. I just watched from a distance while sitting in the car. I know that man and Su Qing must know each other, and they were very close. Their heads even touched when they were talking. That man wanted to help in person despite the heavy rain. Our driver and servant saw it all. I'm not lying."
Wanxiang looked at Madam Liu's increasingly furrowed brows, and continued, "I really didn't mean anything else. I just saw that Madam Liu has been worried about choosing a maid for the Fourth Miss recently, and I thought that the maid chosen this time must not be any bad. I have been struggling with this matter for a long time in my heart whether to tell Madam about it. If it's nothing, it seems like I am deliberately trying to make Sister Qing unhappy. But if there is something, if something happens, how can the Fourth Miss save her face? Besides, Sister Qing was bought from that kind of place."
Mother Liu was surprised to hear this, "Where did she buy it from?"
Wanxiang pretended to have said something wrong, covered her mouth and said, "Mom, don't you know? I thought that when Mom Yu bought these girls, she would tell Mom Liu about it."
"No, she only reported her name. She checked everything else. And she didn't report it to me. She reported it directly to Madam Wu. Stop talking nonsense. Where do you think Su Qing bought it from?"
Wanxiang hesitated for a while before slowly saying that Su Qing's mother was from "Ruyi Pavilion". At first, Liu's mother didn't understand what this "Ruyi Pavilion" was for, but after Wanxiang's explanation, she couldn't sit still and went to Shanzhi Hall immediately.
After listening to Madam Liu's words, Wang went to see Madam Guo. Madam Guo shook her head and said, "I really don't know about this. Su Qing was brought back. I did ask Madam Wu, but she said that Madam Yu bought the West House because Madam and the Fourth Miss were going to live there. I didn't ask any more questions."
Wang nodded, "We have to look at this matter from both sides. Su Qing has been with Sister Qi for a long time. We can all see that she is a good girl, especially she can read and has a good temper. I see that since she started telling stories to Sister Qi again, coupled with the strictness of the nanny, Sister Qi has made a lot of progress.
"Since her mother does such a job, there must be a compelling reason. Let's not jump to conclusions, we should investigate first. If Su Qing really had a lover before entering the mansion, and now they are in contact, we can't let them stay."
Wang thought for a moment and told Guo's mother, "You should arrange for someone to check Su Qing's mother tomorrow. Remember not to let anyone know. Find out why Su Qing was sold to the West House. Find out whether her mother is her biological mother or just an adopted child."
Mother Guo nodded. It is generally easier to keep a woman by your side in places like that. Some are trained to take over the business in the future and provide for your old age, while others work for you and come in handy at critical moments.
"Also, the young man that Su Qing met that day also needs to be carefully investigated to see if he really had any connection with Su Qing in the past." Wang continued.
Madam Liu saw Madam Guo go out to make arrangements and asked softly, "Madam, what should we do if this is true?"
"If she really has some connection with outsiders, then send her back to the West House. No matter how good a girl like this is, she can't stay with Sister Qi. If she does something bad in the future, it will be a slap in Sister Qi's face."
"What if there is nothing to do with that person, and he is just helping out as Su Qing said. This old servant is saying that there is nothing wrong here. What if it is found out that that person is really Su Qing's biological mother, then what should we do?"
Wang stood up and thought about Su Qing's appearance. This girl gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity. She seemed to have seen her somewhere but couldn't remember where.
"The thing that people can least control is their origin. I really think Su Qing is a good girl. If it's true, find the matchmaker who sold Su Qing to the West Mansion, as well as Su Qing's mother and the people in the West Mansion who know about this. No matter who asks or investigates in the future, Su Qing is an orphan."
Madam Liu understood that as long as there was no such thing as an "old friend", Wang was still willing to give Su Qing a chance. As for the others, they just had to keep their mouths shut. When Su Qing accompanied the fourth young lady to the Prince's Mansion, no one would dare to mention these old things again.
------
Su Qing listened to what Liu's mother said, and cursed herself from head to toe in her heart, saying that she was soft-hearted, that she thought that I would not offend others if I did not offend them, and that she felt sorry for the girl. Look, she even exposed your past and even made up a false accusation against you. Well, Su Qing, you deserve it. You knew what kind of person Wanxiang was, but you let her run wild in front of you.
Without time to think too much, Su Qing had only one thought in his mind, that he must not be kicked out because of this incident, so he knelt down quickly, "Mother Liu, I am really not familiar with the person who helped me that day. I only met him once, once... It was like this. Because I helped him avoid the people chasing him, he told me that his name was Wang Xiaoer, and he worked at Wang's Iron Shop in the south of the city. If I needed anything, I should go find him. The place where the car broke down that day was near the iron shop, so I went to find him for help. It's really like this, Mother Liu, you can send someone to ask."
Seeing Su Qing's anxious but determined eyes, Mother Liu was already 80% convinced. This was good, as long as she was not an "old friend" of the kind that Wanxiang mentioned.
"As for my mother's stay at Ruyi Pavilion, it's true. I don't know if I'm her biological child. I only know that since I can remember, I've been hiding from her and haven't had a full meal. Later, when I was about seven or eight years old, she went there, but my life wasn't easy either. She was not kind to me. Beating and scolding were commonplace. I had to wash her clothes, mend her clothes, and serve her meals. In the middle of winter, if the guests didn't leave, I would have to stay out all night."
When Su Qing said this, the original owner's memory slowly emerged. The scene of the poor little girl standing in the snow with trembling purple hands seemed to be right in front of her. Su Qing's tears fell, "Until one day, the madam of the brothel told my mother that she couldn't let me eat for free like this anymore. Although I haven't grown up yet, I can go to the front to pour wine and tell jokes. It was from then on that my mother started looking for a human trafficker to sell me."
When Su Qing said this, she looked up at Mother Liu. She subconsciously did not mention what the woman had told the human traffickers to sell her to the Huainan Marquis' Mansion when she sold her.
Mother Liu felt sad when she saw Su Qing's appearance. It seemed that Su Qing's mother had no choice. Maybe she was picked up, or maybe she was born to someone she didn't know. But no matter how unhappy she was on weekdays, seeing that the madam was still thinking about her, she might as well sell her. It was better than keeping her in that place.
"Get up. I believe what you said. But Wanxiang told me that I have to ask you. Don't worry, Madam has already said that as long as you don't have any contact with other men behind the family's back, there is nothing else to worry about. Madam will make the decision for you."
Su Qing didn't expect that Wang would still use her. She thought that after something like this, no family would be willing to let a maid from a brothel be with their daughter.