Chapter 119: Recognizing Mother

  PS: More updates, seeking pink tickets

  "Don't get any wrong ideas, your father's death has nothing to do with Duke Cao! As expected, upon hearing this, the old lady's expression immediately turned stern. "When your father was convicted, Duke Cao was just a Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat and hadn't even entered the cabinet yet, he couldn't have harmed your father."

  Not saying a word, Zhen Shiniang could only look at Old Lady Xiao with suspicion.

  Made uncomfortable by her innocent gaze, Old Lady Xiao sighed and said, "It's all old news now, we're all almost dead anyway. I had planned to take it to my grave." Her words carried a hint of desolation.

  "Aunt..." Zhen Shining softly called out.

  “…Your mother and Cao Xiangye were originally childhood sweethearts, but due to various twists and turns, she ended up marrying your father.” Recalling that he was after all Zhen Shiyin's father, now deceased, Old Lady Xiao didn't reveal the despicable tactics Zhen Shangshu had used back then. She merely stated lightly, “When your father was later convicted of a crime, Master Cao hadn't yet been transferred out, and he discussed with him how to bribe the prison guards to rescue your mother...” As father and son served in the imperial court together, with the son holding a higher position than his father, it was glorious but also awkward. When Xiao Shuo rose to the position of Minister, Old Master Xiao arranged for an external transfer, taking his concubine to Shun Ning. “Everything had been planned out, unfortunately your mother was also a strong-willed person, and on the night their household was confiscated, she took poison and died. Before her death, she wrote a letter to Cao Xiangye, asking him to remember their childhood affection and take you in when you were expelled by the Shen family, giving you a meal to eat...”

  Because of this letter, Lord Cao had run around looking for Zhen Shiniang's whereabouts, and Lady Cao had not hesitated to quarrel with him about it. Old Lady Xiao did not continue speaking.

  So that's how it is!

  Zhen Shining was stunned. No wonder Lord Cao was so excited when he first saw her. Perhaps, in that instant, he had mistaken her for his mother from years ago.

  Afraid that she would be expelled by her husband's family and starve to death on the streets, she swallowed her pride and went to beg a man who had been wronged by her... Mother, it's not that I don't love her.

  For some reason, Zhen Shiniang suddenly remembered that she had married at the age of eleven, "Her mother must have been heartbroken back then?"

  Mother, what kind of person did you end up marrying?!

  The house fell silent, and the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

  The old lady changed the subject, “...... How did you come to know medicine?” That night, when she suddenly heard that she was Shen Zhong's legitimate wife, the old lady was really frightened.

  "...is a long illness makes a good doctor." Zhen Shining smiled and said the excuse she had made up early in the morning.

  The old lady sighed, "You've had a hard time these years." Mentioning Shen Zhongge. She also said, "Since you're here, rest well for two days at my place. When Rui'er is done with his business, I'll have him go find General Shen and bring you back in an eight-man sedan chair."

  Zhen Shiniang broke out in a cold sweat.

  "I've gotten used to living in Wutong Town, it's quite nice being free and alone. The general had already made plans for the new year. As soon as spring began, he had my ancestral home renovated." This was a subtle way of telling Old Lady Shen that Shen Zhongjie never intended to bring her back to General's Manor.

  The old lady was stunned for a long time, "You are his legitimate wife and have the imperial edict of Wan Sui..." And also Cao Xiangye's dying entrustment, how dare Shen Zhongjie put her outside!

  She had spoken halfway, suddenly remembering Shen Zhongge's favoritism towards Chu Xinyi, and secretly thought to herself: "I see, going back to the General's residence, she has her mother-in-law making things difficult for her above, and a favored concubine in charge below. Such days... are not as good as being alone in Wutong Town, free and easy." Thinking of this, she nodded in agreement, "...you're originally not in good health, going back would be worrying. It's better to be alone on that side, quiet and peaceful!"

  Unlike those aristocratic families, Shen Zhongge was born into a common family. His mother was an illiterate village woman who was somewhat shrewd but not refined like the ladies from noble families whose dignity and elegance were innate. Whenever they got together, apart from constantly scheming, Old Mrs. Shen always gave off a tacky air of a poor person trying to act rich. Nobody dared to offend her in high society, mainly because Shen Zhongge was overbearing but also because:

  Indeed infuriating, Old Lady Shen really dares to throw a tantrum like a village woman in public.

  This is something that these ladies from noble families are unmatched in.

  Shen Zhong's words were effective in making the old lady behave, and she didn't dare to be unreasonable or argue back. Faced with such a coarse and overbearing mother-in-law, Zhen Shiniang felt suffocated at the thought of returning to the General's mansion. The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. So, Xiao Lao Furen secretly made up her mind to let Zhen Shiniang stay in Wutong Town and not return to the General's mansion even if they came with eight sedan chairs!

  Seeing her no longer stubborn, Zhen Shiniang also let out a sigh of relief.

  The old lady thought of Jian Wu and Jian Wen again, "...... Is he really General Shen's child?"

  "Hmm..." Qiujie had long sold Jian Wu's letter, and there was no need to hide it anymore. Zhen Shiniang nodded calmly, "It was only after moving to the ancestral mansion that I found some of them, and they have been kept by my side ever since."

  "...and you don't plan on sending it back either?" The old lady's eyebrows rose up.

  This is Shen Zhongjie's own flesh and blood!

  "I don't have many years left to live, and I really can't bear to send them back." Zhen Shi Niang's voice was tinged with a hint of helplessness. "Wait until they're a bit older, the children will understand things, know how to get along with their stepmother, then we'll send them back."

  She's still alive and well, but she's already thinking about how to get her son to curry favor with his stepmother!

  Gradually, the old lady's face changed from initial astonishment to indignation. "So be it, you can take care of the child yourself, that stupid fool can't see your goodness, he must be blind!" She glared at Zhen Shiniang, "It's not easy for one person to raise a child, if you have difficulties, bring them here and I'll support you!"

  “…I’ll thank Auntie and Uncle on behalf of my brother first!” The old lady was furious and said in a fit of rage, but didn't expect Zhen Shi Niang to stand up and kowtow three times, “I'm worried that if something happens to me, Qiuju and Xique won't be able to take care of them, so I beg you, Auntie, to treat them as your own grandsons in the future.”

  It's not that she was forced, but she really didn't have time to make plans with Jian Wu. The Shen family is unreliable, and now they have the opportunity to acknowledge a wealthy, powerful, and just grandmother, how could she miss it?

  In just a few days, she had to kneel twice for her son, which made Zhen Shi Niang, who had modern egalitarian ideas, feel an unspeakable pain in her heart. "Is this what they mean by 'humbling oneself'?" A rare look of distress appeared on her face.

  “Th...th...th...” The old lady was shocked and couldn't speak, she pulled Zhen Shiniang into her arms and said, “Good child, what nonsense are you talking about!” Feeling like she was holding a ball of willow catkins in her arms, Xiao Lao Furen's heart ached again. "You can rest assured, now that you've said this, it means you consider me your own mother. From now on, Wen Ge and Wu Ge are my own grandsons. As long as I'm alive, no one will dare to bully them!" Remembering something, she added, "If you don't mind, just call me 'mother'. The Zhong Tang Fu will be your maternal home from now on. If that Second Master gives you any more trouble, just come here."

  Zhen Shiniang took advantage of the situation and called out, "Thank you, Niang."

  The old lady was delighted and couldn't close her mouth.

  Let Xi Chun move the jewelry box, find a pair of golden green cat eye bracelets and personally put them on Zhen Shi Niang, which is considered to be recognized as this daughter.

  Pulling Zhen Shiniang's hand, the old lady looked more and more delighted. "Now that you have a maternal home, don't do things alone in the future. If something happens, just come back to your maternal home and I'll take care of it for you!" She also said, "I'm not capable, but your elder brother has some face in front of the Emperor, if that Second Master dares to bully you again, let your elder brother report it to the Emperor and have him deal with him properly!"

  As soon as Xiang Ye was mentioned, Zhen Shi Niang's heart skipped a beat. She leaned into Old Lady Xiao's bosom and called out intimately, "Mother... there's something that I really need you to decide for me."

  "What's the matter?" The old lady straightened her back.

  “…Big Brother wants to take back all the contracts with Ta Hospital!” She said, disapproving of Xiao Yu's refusal to let her open a medicine factory. “I'm not going to be in charge myself, I'll just invest and provide the medicine formula, hire someone to manage it for Zhang Luo, it won't tarnish General's reputation.” She looked at Mrs. Xiao, “Opening a medicine factory is just so I can earn some private money, so that in the future, Wen Ge and Wu Ge will have their own property left by their biological mother, and suffer less grievances from their stepmother.”

  "Nonsense!" The old lady's eyes stood up immediately, "The daughter of a wealthy family, which one doesn't come with one or two shops? I have dozens of properties under my name. If a woman doesn't have her own private money, won't she be controlled by her husband's family everywhere?" Patting Zhen Shiniang's hand, "Don't worry, Ah You, I'll talk to Rui'er about this. If he dares to return those deeds, I'll hit him with a big stick!"

  Cherish the flowers and cherish the moon, then cover your mouth and smile.

  Zhen Shining quietly let out a breath of relief, “......thank you, Mother.”

  At the sound of her daughter's call, the old lady felt warm in her heart. She responded with a gentle "ai", saying: "If Ah You doesn't have enough capital to open the medicine factory, take some from me." She added, "Don't worry, it's all my private savings, no one dares to covet them."

  "The place hasn't been found yet, and I don't know how much silver is needed... Zhen Shi Niang thought for a moment, "The general gave me 600 taels of spending money during the New Year, if it's not enough at that time, I'll come to you again." She looked up at the old lady, "Let's make it clear first, I can use your silver, but I have to pay interest on a monthly basis. If you don't agree, I won't borrow it!" Her tone was unusually firm.

  "You... also know that Zhen Shiniang is gentle on the outside but strong inside, and Old Lady didn't decline. 'Wait until your medicine factory makes money, you won't be able to repay me then.' She also said, 'You go back and focus on doing your job, find a good place, if you need official documents or anything, just come find me, I'll let your brother handle it, he dares to say no try it.'"

  Zhen Shining's eyes lit up, "Why don't we both invest? We'll each put in half the silver and split the annual profits evenly."

  A small pharmaceutical factory can make a few points of profit, but the old lady wouldn't be able to make this little bit of money. She smiled and shook her head, "I'm old, I won't get involved with you young people." Remembering something, she added, "Opening a pharmacy is fine, but from now on, you can't practice medicine anymore." Seeing Zhen Shiniang's face turn gloomy, she explained, "Practicing medicine and buying medicine are different. As the general's wife, once the general's political enemies get a hold of something, it could be disastrous... even your brother won't be able to protect you..."