Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Wei Chun was lying on the hay, and when he saw Jiang Bingzhong enter, he was greatly surprised, rising to walk toward him. Liu Yingrong, who had never met Jiang Bingzhong, leaned against the wall and quietly watched him, not getting up.

"How did you get in? Did His Majesty bring Jiang Mo back to the palace? Has she been made a consort?" Wei Chun laughed loudly and shook his head in self-mockery. "I worked so hard to scheme, only to pave the way for you."

Jiang Bingzhong saw that he was disheveled, with a stubbly beard, and that within his official robes, it seemed he had been flogged, faint traces of blood showing through.

He did not answer Wei Chun's question but pulled out the jade bracelet from his sleeve and held it before him.

"Your Grace, have you ever seen this jade bracelet?"

The light in the cell was dim. Wei Chun glanced at it, then looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean by this?"

Liu Yingrong looked casually at the bracelet and found it vaguely familiar, but thought that all jade ornaments looked alike, so she didn't pay much attention.

Still, she was curious why Jiang Bingzhong would bring out a jade bracelet to ask about, so she stood up and walked over.

After getting closer, Liu Yingrong found the bracelet increasingly familiar. She picked it up and examined it closely by the faint candlelight filtering in from the corridor.

Jiang Bingzhong took out a tinder box from his bosom to illuminate it for her.

After looking for a moment, Liu Yingrong took out her own jade bracelet from her bosom and placed it next to the other. The two bracelets looked like a pair. She returned the bracelet to Jiang Bingzhong. "Do you know Midwife Li?"

Seeing Liu Yingrong's calm expression, Jiang Bingzhong felt something was off. "Did you give this jade bracelet to the midwife who delivered your child? As far as I know, you only gave birth once—was it when you delivered Miss Wei?"

Liu Yingrong grew impatient. "Why are you asking about this?"

Jiang Bingzhong's breath sank, and his face turned serious. "This was what I found in a swaddling blanket on the morning of the seventh day of the fourth month, nineteen years ago."

Liu Yingrong and Wei Chun both sensed something unusual. Liu Yingrong couldn't help asking, "You said the morning of the seventh day of the fourth month? Whose child was in that swaddling blanket?"

Jiang Bingzhong gave a light laugh. "Naturally, Jiang Mo's."

"What did you say!"

Both Liu Yingrong and Wei Chun realized what was being implied. Liu Yingrong began to tremble. "Are you saying that I gave birth to twins, and Midwife Li took one away? No, no, you're wrong. The physician didn't say it was twins, and during the birth, I only heard one baby's cry. You must be mistaken."

The truth seemed about to surface, and Jiang Bingzhong's heart was a mix of emotions. "I am merely stating the facts. On the morning of the seventh day of the fourth month, nineteen years ago, a swaddling blanket was left at my gate. Fortunately, that year had a warm spring, or the child would have frozen to death overnight. Perhaps the midwife thought the child could not be saved and feared your blame, and the physician did not detect twins, so she simply took the child away secretly."

Liu Yingrong shook her head incessantly. "No, no, Jiang Mo is not my daughter. This jade bracelet should not be here. I clearly gave it to Midwife Li's daughter..."

Jiang Bingzhong sighed. "It seems Midwife Li's daughter was a kind person. After taking the child, she found it was still alive, so she placed the jade bracelet in the swaddling blanket and left it at someone's doorstep."

Wei Chun's eyes were filled with hatred. "Why had we never seen Jiang Mo in the eighteen years before? Why did she appear just when I needed someone to substitute for the marriage?" He looked up at the small window. "Heavens, what heinous crimes did I commit in a past life to deserve such punishment?"

Jiang Bingzhong said, "Mo'er was only a month old when I took the whole family to Jiangnan. We didn't return to the capital until eight years ago. Mo'er has a beautiful face, and I didn't want to confine her, so I always made her wear a veil when going out. The day you said Mo'er looked exactly like your daughter and wanted her to substitute for the marriage, I had my suspicions, but I didn't dare to bring out the jade bracelet."

Liu Yingrong stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Bingzhong by the front of his robe. "Why didn't you bring it out! I'm asking you—why didn't you! Why didn't you speak? My poor daughter, how much suffering she endured following you! I, I..." She began to sob. "I, as her mother, actually treated her that way."

Wei Chun asked Jiang Bingzhong, "Have you told Jiang Mo about your suspicions?"

"No."

"Don't tell her. Don't let anyone know. Let this matter rot in your belly. She didn't enjoy the honor of being a legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion in the first half of her life, and she cannot be the daughter of a disgraced official in the second half."

Jiang Bingzhong gave a cold laugh. "If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? As her biological parents, you have the right to know Mo'er's situation."

Before they died, it was not enough to let them know the truth—he wanted them to die with regret, to die with guilt and remorse. If not for these two, he would still be a minor official in the Ministry of Works, and Mo'er would still be a carefree young girl.

"Mo'er has not been made a consort. His Majesty doesn't even know where Mo'er is. Mo'er is pregnant with His Majesty's child. The Empress Dowager has taken Mo'er to Kunning Palace. After she gives birth, the Empress Dowager will send us out of Great Qi. Mo'er will have to continue living a hard life with me, her incompetent father."

With a sharp "smack," Liu Yingrong slapped Jiang Bingzhong across the face. "You deserve to die! It's all because of you—your cowardice, your timidity. You didn't dare to bring out the jade bracelet, causing us to miss the chance to reunite as mother and daughter. If I had known Jiang Mo was my daughter, how could I have forced her to substitute for the marriage! I would have doted on her—how could I have treated her like that!"

Jiang Bingzhong looked coldly at Liu Yingrong, feeling a sense of satisfaction. He would never let Jiang Mo suffer. He had deliberately said that to make Wei Chun and his wife suffer. Even if they left Great Qi, he had his carpentry skills—no matter where they went, they might not be rich, but at least he could keep his son and daughter fed and clothed.

Wei Chun felt more bitter than if he had eaten a golden coptis root. "His Majesty has deep feelings for Jiang Mo. If I had known she was my daughter earlier, things wouldn't have come to this." He sat down weakly on the hay bed. "I had planned that once Lan'er continued to be favored and bore a child of the imperial bloodline, I would confess everything to His Majesty and become a meritorious official in suppressing the rebellion, offsetting my previous crimes. Who would have thought His Majesty insisted on having Lan'er recover her memories, and even suspected Lan'er had been body‑snatched or disguised? It caused a lot of trouble—and after ascending the throne, he didn't make Lan'er empress. Seeing that Lan'er would eventually lose favor, I burned my bridges and bet everything on An Shengwu, then shipped a batch of black gold to the Northern Territory. If not for that shipment, His Majesty would never have gotten solid evidence."

Jiang Bingzhong's heart was incredibly heavy. "You balanced both sides but pleased neither, and in the end, you reaped what you sowed. I don't regret not bringing out the jade bracelet. Having parents like you is Mo'er's misfortune. If she had been raised by you, she would likely have turned out as violent, intolerant, and willful as Wei Yalan. Rest assured—I will never let Mo'er know she is the daughter of people like you."

He threw the jade bracelet to the ground and walked out of the cell.

Liu Yingrong picked up the jade bracelet, piece by piece, and clutched the shattered bracelet to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

Wei Chun said nothing, quietly holding Liu Yingrong, tears streaming silently.

When Jiang Bingzhong walked out of the prison, he felt light as a feather. That jade bracelet had weighed on his heart for nineteen years, and when he smashed it, he also shattered the stone in his heart.

He wanted to thank the midwife and her daughter for giving him a daughter as kind‑hearted and filial as Jiang Mo.

This father‑daughter bond was a blessing that could not have been earned in several lifetimes. He would keep this secret buried in his heart forever.

After returning to his room, Jiang Bingzhong finally had a good night's sleep. He felt that Heaven must have eyes, letting Wei Chun and Liu Yingrong receive their deserved punishment. Mo'er had never done a single wrong thing, and Heaven would also bless her with a smooth delivery.

*

The next day at noon, Chen Yingchou bestowed poisoned wine upon Wei Chun and Liu Yingrong.

As Jiang Mo was having lunch, she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. She put down her chopsticks and rubbed her chest.

The maid beside her quickly asked, "What's wrong, miss?"

Jiang Mo shook her head. "Nothing, just feeling a bit stuffy. Maybe it's too hot."

The maid gave a small palace maid a look, and soon a physician came. After taking Jiang Mo's pulse, he said it was nothing—just pregnancy-related body heat.

After the physician left, Jiang Mo did not dare go out into the courtyard to enjoy the sun and instead rested in her room.

The further along she got, the more she wanted to sleep. She soon fell asleep. After an unknown amount of time, she heard someone calling her in her daze, "Wei Yalan, wake up. You've been asleep for four hours. Wake up..."

Jiang Mo opened her eyes and saw Su Jiying sitting by her bed, holding a bowl of medicine.

"I've been waiting for you for almost four hours. Sleeping too much is not good either. Get up and drink your prenatal tonic."

Jiang Mo hesitated as she sat up, a bit incredulous, feeling like she was in a dream. She reached out and grabbed Su Jiying's arm—the real touch made her heart leap with joy. "How are you here?"

Su Jiying looked delighted. "I heard that my aunt hid you away, so I begged her to let me see you. My aunt couldn't resist my pleading, so she allowed me to come."

Jiang Mo knew that for the Empress Dowager to agree, Su Jiying must have put in a lot of effort—probably said many flattering words, shed many tears, and perhaps even endured hardship.

She wasn't wrong. Su Jiying had knelt outside Kunning Palace for an entire night and swore by her own marriage prospects never to reveal Jiang Mo's whereabouts to Chen Yingchou. The Empress Dowager made her swear again that if she broke her oath, she would not only fail to find a good match but also that her mother would suffer from various ailments and die in agony. Su Jiying gritted her teeth but swore the oath anew before the Empress Dowager agreed.

"You really know how to bewitch His Majesty and then bewitch my good niece. You've made both of them suffer greatly just to see you."

The Empress Dowager walked in from the door and shook her head with a smile as she watched Su Jiying feeding Jiang Mo medicine.

Jiang Mo took the medicine bowl from Su Jiying's hand and placed it on the side table, then grasped Su Jiying's hand. "Were you punished?"

Su Jiying gave the Empress Dowager a pitiful look and shook her head. "No, don't worry. Her Majesty couldn't bear to."

Jiang Mo knew Su Jiying was lying. Her heart ached, and her eyes reddened.

The Empress Dowager sighed, "When you meet Lord Jiang, you start crying after just a few words. Now that you see Jiying, you're about to cry again. If you keep this up, I won't let you see anyone. The imperial physician says you need to keep your spirits up—it's best if you carry the baby to full term."

Jiang Mo wiped away her tears and put on a smile. "Your Majesty, you misunderstand. I'm joyful, truly happy. I'm overjoyed, I really am."

Su Jiying stood up and took the Empress Dowager's arm. "Aunt, please go take care of your other business. With you here, we can't have our private talk."

The Empress Dowager tapped Su Jiying's nose. "I'll give you just one hour. Remember, don't let Jiang Mo get too emotional."

Su Jiying coaxed, "Aunt, rest assured. I care about her even more than you do. I can't bear to make her sad."

"Alright, you're the only one who knows how to cheer me up."

The Empress Dowager left. Su Jiying sent the attendants away and handed the tonic back to Jiang Mo. "Drink the medicine first."

Jiang Mo obediently finished it, her fingers circling the rim of the bowl. She lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry. I've been deceiving you all along."

Su Jiying's eyes moistened, but she smiled. "What are you saying? I'm not mad at you." She took the bowl from Jiang Mo's hand and casually placed it on a side table. "You don't know yet, do you? Duke Qingguo and his wife died in prison today, and Wei Yalan was sent to the cold palace early this morning."

This was within Jiang Mo's expectations, but Chen Yingchou had left Xiling County in such a hurry that she hadn't had time to tell him who Duke Qingguo's accomplices were. She wondered if they had been identified by now.

"What crimes did His Majesty execute Duke Qingguo for?"

"Besides embezzlement and lying to the emperor, there's also the illegal transport of black gold to the Northern Domain." Su Jiying frowned. "His Majesty has issued an edict summoning An Shengwu to the capital to assist in the investigation."

It seemed that Chen Yingchou had already gathered evidence of the rebellion. Jiang Mo felt very uneasy. "I wonder what Old General An will decide."

Black gold is used to forge iron tools and weapons. An Shengwu's treasonous ambitions are out in the open now. The imperial decree has been issued. From the capital to the Northern Domain, delivering the edict will take at least half a month, at most a month. By October at the latest, the situation will become clear.