noffsinger Chapter 473 Joy of Life 29
Chapter 473 Joy of Life 29
After being reprimanded, the maid quickly stood up and curtsied, her tone slightly nervous: "Second Madam, the person who came claims to be a nanny who served the late Madam. After Madam passed away, she was dismissed by the master and sent back to her hometown. She has come today because a family member is seriously ill and she wants to ask for some money to save their life. I have confirmed that this person did indeed serve in the mansion."
Upon hearing that she was the old nanny who had served Fan Jian's first wife, a subtle feeling swept through Aunt Liu's heart.
Although she harbored resentment at not becoming the principal wife, she was not a harsh or ruthless person; her tone was simply a little low: "In that case, let's ask her how much silver she needs and let her take the money and leave. After all, she once served the master in the mansion, so we shouldn't appear too heartless."
The maid nodded and quickly left.
Aunt Liu sat back down at the table and continued to look through the account books, but her mind was no longer as focused as before.
A voice seemed to be quietly stirring her thoughts deep inside.
What kind of woman was the late Madam?
Why could the master declare that he would never remarry after her death?
Even towards her, the young lady of the Duke's mansion, he remained completely unmoved, forcing her to enter the Fan family as a concubine.
Aunt Liu tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her eyes somewhat unfocused, as she recalled her hopes and expectations when she first entered the Fan family mansion.
At that time, she naively believed that with her intelligence and family background, she would one day rightfully become the mistress of the mansion.
However, time flies and years pass mercilessly, and her dream has never been realized.
Now, an illegitimate child has suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaving him unjustly burdened with a huge accusation and nearly arousing the master's suspicion.
The more Aunt Liu thought about it, the stronger her impulse became to get some information about the late Madam from this former personal maid.
So she simply had her maid bring the old woman up. The old woman was grateful for the silver from Aunt Liu, and immediately began to recount the past of the late madam without reservation, telling almost everything she knew.
As the old woman recounted her story, Aunt Liu gradually learned a shocking truth.
The patriarch actually caused the death of his eldest son and indirectly caused the death of his first wife for the sake of the illegitimate child of a woman he kept outside the marriage.
As a result, the late Madam also fell seriously ill and eventually passed away after giving birth to Fan Ruoruo.
The old woman was once just a maidservant who served the lady, of low status, and knew nothing about the entanglement between Ye Qingmei and Emperor Qing.
Therefore, in her simple and straightforward understanding, everything she said was true.
However, due to the limitations of her knowledge and experience, the whole story was inadvertently distorted, resulting in Fan Jian being wrongly portrayed as an unprecedented "scumbag".
The master cruelly sacrificed his eldest son for the sake of an illegitimate child born to a mistress, indirectly leading to the unfortunate death of his first wife.
Aunt Liu!!!
Good heavens! What kind of ridiculous joke is this?!
"This is utter nonsense! How could the master possibly do such a heinous thing?" Aunt Liu slammed her hand on the table, pointing her finger directly at the old woman, her anger barely contained.
The old woman knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and sobbed, "My late wife was kind to me as if she were my second wife. How could I possibly slander her? If I hadn't seen how kind and benevolent my second wife is today, I would never have dared to reveal this matter so easily."
Seeing that she didn't seem to be faking it, Aunt Liu could only warn her not to talk about it in the future and to keep the matter to herself before gently waving her hand to signal the maid to send the person away.
Immediately afterwards, she instructed her trusted confidants to go to the estate and verify the matter with the other retired servants.
Soon after, the confidant returned to report. Although the answer he received was not as detailed as the man's, the key information was the same.
The late Madam did give birth to a son, but one day the master suddenly took him away and never returned. It was said that the child had died, and the late Madam spent her days in tears because of this.
Upon hearing her confidante's reply, Aunt Liu seemed to have all her strength drained away. She leaned weakly against the back of her chair, on the verge of collapse.
Her feelings for Fan Jian were self-evident.
Otherwise, given her status as a daughter of the Duke's family, why would she willingly become a concubine?
However, the shocking "switcheroo" plot from back then was like a heavy hammer blow, shattering the tall and mighty image of Fan Jian in her heart.
When she heard that Fan Jian had actually traded his eldest son for an illegitimate child, her entire worldview collapsed.
The importance of the eldest son to a family is self-evident, and his status in the family is beyond doubt.
Generally speaking, if one's parents pass away, the son is required to wear mourning clothes, also known as "zhancui," to fulfill his filial duty.
If the eldest son were to pass away, the parents would be required to mourn as if they had lost their own parents, and would wear mourning clothes for him to express their grief.
This shows how important the eldest son's position was in the family.
The master actually used such an important eldest son to exchange for an illegitimate son born to a concubine.
This is utterly upside down!
What made it even harder for Aunt Liu to accept was that Fan Jian, as a father, actually watched his son die.
Does he only consider Fan Xian his son, and the deceased child not?
This behavior is utterly inhumane; he is unworthy of being a father!
Thinking of all this, Aunt Liu felt an inexplicable disgust and anger towards Fan Jian.
Although she was unaware of the details of why Fan Xian had brought about his death, this did not diminish her shock and disgust at Fan Jian's actions.
She couldn't help but wonder if Fan Jian valued Fan Xian so much because he was so fond of his mistress that he extended his affection to her as well.
Once this idea takes hold, it spreads like wildfire and cannot be contained.
Recalling Fan Jian's resolute declaration that he would never remarry, Aunt Liu felt a chill run down her spine.
Was the master thinking of his late wife or his mistress, whom he couldn't bear to see in public?
Aunt Liu felt a chill run down her spine. She dared not think any further, fearing that she might uncover more cruel realities.
Thinking of her foolish son, Fan Sizhe, Aunt Liu was even more worried.
Fan Xian's fearless and reckless personality led him to beat up the son of a high-ranking official in the street as soon as he arrived in the capital, and his master turned a blind eye to it. If he continues to be so arrogant, it is hard to guarantee that he will not do something even more outrageous.
At that time, will the master, in order to protect Fan Xian, make her son go to the fire pit?
After all, Fan Jian was willing to sacrifice his own eldest son for Fan Xian, so how much weight could Fan Sizhe hold in his heart?
Thinking of this, Aunt Liu's hands and feet instantly turned ice-cold, and she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
If she was worried before that Fan Xian would fight with Fan Sizhe for the family fortune, now she is more worried that Fan Sizhe might lose his life because of Fan Xian.