The Prime Minister's Darling

Chapter 74: Identifying Relatives

“Rest assured, I don’t mean any harm,” Huang Zhong said, “It may be a bit abrupt, but could I meet Miss Gu Jiao?”

“No.” Gu Changlu rejected without a second thought.

If the other party doesn’t even let him meet her, how can he bring her to the town to meet the Marquis? He surely could not knock out a whole family, and kidnap the child, could he?

Moreover, he didn’t even know who the child was yet!

Huang Zhong thought there was a high chance that the child could be his young mistress, so he dared not offend the child’s adopted parents.

He softened his tone, “May I know where the child’s parents are? I have something to discuss with them.”

Madame Wu said, “Her parents passed away. I’m her nanny and I took care of her. So you can talk to me!”

Had the child been orphaned since young? Huang Zhong’s emotions became complex. He thought for a moment and then asked, “May I come in and talk?”

Madame Wu lead Huang Zhong into the house.

Huang Zhong proceeded to ask some detailed questions about the childbirth years ago, especially why Madame Xun, with her heavy pregnant belly, climbed the mountain.

It turns out that Madame Xun was not from this village. She married far away. A letter from her parents reached her, saying that her father was dying and wanted her to find a way to visit him.

Madame Xun was pregnant, so naturally, her in-laws wouldn’t allow her to travel far. In desperation, she decided to go to the temple to pray to the Bodhisattva.

She went to the temple without telling her in-laws, saying that she went to pick some wild vegetables, thinking that she could be back before dark. But, unexpectedly, a thunderstorm broke out, and she was trapped in the temple, where she slipped and fell.

The Marquis’ wife gave birth prematurely due to twin pregnancy, but her premature birth was an accident.

The Gu family initially didn’t know she had gone to the temple. It was raining heavily and she hadn’t come back, so Gu Sanlang insisted on going out to find his wife, but was stopped by his two brothers.

To enter the forest in a thunderstorm was like asking for death!

Madame Xun returned two days later. By that time, she had already given birth to a daughter, who had a red blotch on her face, so ugly it didn’t look like Gu Sanlang’s biological child.

Gu Sanlang had a well-known handsome face. Many people from nearby villages were willingly married to him, but he chose Madame Xun, mainly because of her substantial dowry.

Madame Wu once suspected that Madame Xun had fallen and miscarried in the mountains. Out of fear of blame, they picked up a child and brought it back.

Madame Xun was an honest person. She said that it was her child, born in the temple. If they didn’t believe her, they could ask the abbot of the temple.

Madame Wu and her second daughter-in-law, Madame Liu, went to ask and confirmed that Madame Xun had given birth in the temple, and the baby was alive when born, and her crying was heard throughout the temple.

“It wasn’t picked up?” Madame Wu asked at the time.

The monks all laughed: “Do you know who the other woman in labor was at the temple that night? It was a noblewoman from the capital city. Who could possibly pick up her child?”

Madame Wu was immediately stunned into silence.

A noblewoman’s child was more precious than gold. Not to mention picking one up, not even stealing was an option.

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhong was entirely certain that the child Madame Xun had given birth to was the one he was looking for.

However, it seemed that Madame Xun didn’t know she had taken the wrong child.

“Also a Gu, what a coincidence.” Huang Zhong suddenly felt a sense of fate. He quickly asked, “Did Madame Xun and Sanlang love their child?”

What kind of question is this? Madame Xun and Gu Sanlang treated the child as if they should’ve tied the child to their waistbands!

This was also something that Madame Wu was not happy about. Madame Xun, that barren hen, occupied such a wonderful husband like Sanlang, but couldn’t produce a son.

They finally had a daughter, not only was she ugly, she was also dumb.

The dumbness was discovered as she grew up. Other kids could jump and hop around, but she still didn’t know how to walk. She didn’t call out ‘mother’ until she was three.

Despite that, Sanlang and his wife didn’t despise her at all and loved the child dearly.

Gu Jiao’s hard days only started after the couple passed away.

Of course, Madame Wu did not mention that.

Huang Zhong had too much information to digest in his head at the moment, so he didn’t notice Madame Wu’s reluctance to speak.

He looked at Madame Wu and her group, suppressing his excitement, he said, “Honestly, the noblewoman who gave birth in the temple that year was my lady. The two children… might’ve been mixed up.”

Madame Wu and the others were dumbfounded.

“I… I didn’t really understand, could you repeat?” Madame Wu stuttered.

Huang Zhong smiled and replied, “The daughter of Sanlang is my young mistress.”

Madame Wu opened her mouth and asked, “Your family is…”

Huang Zhong gently answered, “The Residence of Marquis Ding’an.”

Boom!

The whole room was stunned as if they all had been hit by a thunderbolt.

They didn’t quite understand what Ding’an meant, but they understood the last two words.

The Marquis Residence!

Was that girl actually from the Marquis Residence?

“Does the title of Marquis hold a higher rank than that of the county magistrate?” Madame Liu asked tentatively.

The Marquis Residence is not an official title, it is a mansion. The Marquis is the official, but Huang Zhong understood what Madame Liu meant. He chuckled, “Of course.”

Huang Zhong didn’t elaborate on how much bigger of a difference it was, as they wouldn’t understand anyway.

In the Capital City, anyone who would dare to ask such a question might have already been squashed to death by the Marquis.

How dared anyone to compare him with the insignificant county magistrate? Who were they looking down upon?

Even though, Huang Zhong was more polite to the Gu family. After all, they had raised his young mistress for a while. He said with a pleasant expression, “Our Marquis is in town right now. Could I take the child to meet our Marquis?”

These people were completely dumbfounded, so much so that they couldn’t even speak. First, they were surprised. They never thought that Gu Jiao’s background was so extraordinary; second, they were scared. They had always mistreated Gu Jiao during these years. If the Marquis found out that they were so harsh on his biological daughter, would they be sent to jail in Yamen?

At the time when everyone was at a loss, Gu Changhai arrived home.

He first noticed the carriage outside the door and then saw the shocked faces of his family. He took a glance at the powerful aura of Huang Zhong, furrowed his brows, and asked Madame Wu, “Mother, what happened?”

“Where’s your father?” Madame Wu looked behind him.

“My father went to see my uncle, and asked me to come back first.” Gu Changhai answered.

“Well…” Madame Wu didn’t know how to tell her son.

Huang Zhong understood their dilemma and smiled, “How about I send a message to the Marquis first, you can discuss how to tell her. If it’s absolutely inconvenient for you to tell her, I can do it.”

Given such a significant matter, it was only right and reasonable to give them some time to digest, but it couldn’t be delayed for too long. Regardless, he had to meet that child today.

Once Huang Zhong left, Madame Wu and her daughter-in-laws nervously shared Gu Jiao’s origins with Gu Changhai.

Despite Gu Changhai being a grown man, his reaction was no stronger than the women’s. His face turned pale, and his legs weakened.

If they had treated Gu Jiao well, the news would have been reason for joy but the key point was that they… they had never treated Gu Jiao as a proper human being!

She couldn’t enjoy good food or drink, all the heavy and dirty work was left to her. Cutting pig grass, feeding pigs, shoveling pig manure… It was just because she was so dumb and always messed things up that they gradually stopped asking her to do these chores.

But she was still often beaten and scolded. Not only that, when she was not even fourteen, they forcefully married her off to a lame man they had found, and even drove both of them away to live separately.

What if the Marquis found out about all these? Would they still have a way to survive?