The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

Chapter 1118 Extra: Tang Ma's Daily Life (4)

On this day, several uninvited guests came to the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion.

An old woman led the way, scolding with a stern face, "Don't look around! If you look around again, you'll get a beating!"

Several people were so scared that they shrank their necks and stared at their feet, not daring to look up.

The old woman couldn't help but grumble, "My daughter is the eldest young lady of your Duke of the Guardian's Mansion. Is your attitude reasonable?"

The silver hairpin on the old woman's temples flashed coldly, the corner of her mouth curled up, and a half-sneer rolled out of her throat, "Don't recognize relatives carelessly, be careful of the harm caused by your words!"

The old woman couldn't swallow this breath, "My daughter is indeed the eldest young lady of your family! Humph, you look down on others with your dog eyes, wait until my daughter takes over the family, and you will be in trouble!"

The old woman's silver hairpin twitched, and her eyes rolled back to the top of her head. "Oh, ho! Our eldest young mistress is a princess from some tribe, so noble." The tip of her shoe rubbed the dust on the ground. "I advise you to take a piss and look at yourself! And you have a daughter! I wonder where this unrelated relative came from!"

Amid the clamor, they reached the steps of the main hall, where the ebony threshold was higher than their knees.

After the old woman went in to announce it, two men and one woman entered the hall.

The old woman looked up and could not utter the word "Ya'er". She felt that she did not recognize anyone in the hall.

What a rich and noble place! Glittering with gold, shining brightly, everyone in the hall, young and old, looked like jade.

Even the maidservant serving beside her had wrists as white as peeled bamboo shoots.

How come this is so long?

The old woman thought she was a very eloquent person, but now her tongue was numb and she couldn't utter a word.

Five women sat in the hall. Zheng Qiao'er sat at the center, the main seat. To her left was Hong Que's biological mother, Queen Mother Hai of the Vina tribe. Next to her was Yan Xingchen, an imperial official.

On the right is Hong Que, who had just finished her confinement, leaning on a brocade cushion, and sitting next to her is her sister Mu Sang.

Zheng Qiao'er's voice was as soft as ice beads falling on a jade plate. "How many of you claim to be the parents and brothers of my legitimate daughter-in-law?"

The old man and the middle-aged man in the hall, who usually slammed the table and cursed at their mothers at home, now had cramps in their spines. Suddenly, their legs bent and softened, and they knelt on the ground, not daring to even fart.

The old woman trembled and took half a step on her knees. "Madam... please allow me to report... my daughter is indeed from your house..."

Before he could finish his words, Zheng Qiaoer's fingertips snapped the tea lid shut, and the remaining words were stuck in his throat, causing him to choke and break out in a cold sweat.

Hong Que stood up and bowed to the two mothers, pointing at the three people and acknowledging that they were indeed her former father, mother and brother.

The old woman burst into tears of joy, "Girl! Girl, I knew you were not dead, I knew..."

I took a quick look just now and didn't recognize that the noble and impressive woman was my own daughter.

Furthermore, the two people in the hall, or rather the three people, all looked very similar, making it even more difficult for her to tell who was who.

As she spoke, she reached out to pull Hong Que, but Hong Que dodged sideways. Her hand hung in the air, shaking like a dead leaf in the wind.

Hong Que stared at them, her voice cold, "Back then, I told you I was seriously ill and needed some money, and you never came to see me again."

The old woman waved her hands hastily, "No, it's not like that..."

Hong Que interrupted her, "Then the Marquis' Mansion sent people looking for you, but you were afraid I'd be sent back and asked to pay compensation, so you moved away overnight and hid. You thought I was dead, didn't you? You haven't paid any attention to me for so many years, and I thought it was fine. Let's just let it go and I'll just pretend you're gone."

Her throat suddenly choked, and she took a breath before continuing, "You still dare to come to my house now? Then let's settle the old accounts!"

Zheng Qiaoer heard a hint of sadness in her daughter-in-law's voice and said hurriedly, "Hongque, take a rest. I will make the decision for you."

Hongque agreed and sat back in her seat obediently.

Zheng Qiaoer turned her head and asked Yan Xingchen, "Master Yan, how do you distinguish between human traffickers and biological parents selling their children?"

Yan Xingchen put down his teacup. "When parents pawn their children, they need to sign a 'red deed'. One document proves the family is too poor to survive, two documents prove the sale wasn't forced, and three documents allow the child to be redeemed. It might be like cutting flesh to satisfy hunger, but at the end of the day, blood is left behind. As for human trafficking, they're tied up like animals and sold, regardless of life or death! In the Northern Wing Law, this is called 'human trafficking'. The principal offender will be sentenced to lingchi, and the accomplice will be hanged."

The people in the hall were stunned.

Zheng Qiao'er suddenly smiled and turned the lid of the teapot. "That's easy. As long as we report it to the authorities and prove that they aren't Hong Que's biological parents and yet they sold her, they're human traffickers! Those who deserve it will be skinned alive, and those who deserve it will be strangled!"

The tea lid closed with a "ding" sound, like a guillotine falling.

Several people in the hall shuddered suddenly!

The old woman collapsed to the ground and wailed, "Hey! Say something! How could your parents be human traffickers?"

Hong Que lowered her eyes and stroked her sleeve, saying indifferently, "Whether it's true or not, let the authorities investigate. If they are indeed your biological parents, I will provide you with luxurious clothes and food for the rest of your life. If not... ha!"

The "huh" that escaped from the cold and beautiful red magpie's mouth was somewhat ironic.

Hai folded her sleeves and sat upright. "That would make it easy for the government to investigate. Aren't we three just cut from the same cloth? Besides, children in our tribe are born with special markings, especially the princess. When she was born, a special herb was used to imprint the Siliang vine pattern on her arm. The government would know easily."

Yan Xingchen knocked on the table with her knuckles. "The case is simple, and it can be investigated in half a minute." She glanced at the people in the hall and said in a calm voice, like an autopsy examiner, "The principal offender will be executed by lingchi, and the accomplices will be hanged. It's too early for you to tremble now."

The old man suddenly slapped the old woman in the face, "You're asking for death, bitch! I told you not to try to get close to me, but you're asking for your own death!"

His forehead hit the ground, sending dust flying. "Please have mercy! I'm not your father, but I'm not a human trafficker either. I've never been one!"

Yan Xingchen said calmly, "Since you're not selling it, tell me where the red magpie came from. How did the red magpie end up in your house?"

The old man nudged the old woman with his elbow and said, "Go ahead!"

The old woman knelt on the ground and answered, "Listen, listen to my mother-in-law, she found the girl in the snow in her hometown of Tongcheng."

She remembered it clearly. Her mother-in-law said it was just a few days after the Lantern Festival. The little girl, who was three or four years old, had her face frozen purple, and her bare feet were stuck in a snow hole, curled up like a stiff bird.

"My mother-in-law dug through the snow without saying a word, carried the body back to the house, wrapped it in her cotton-padded jacket, and fed it ginger soup for three days before it came back to life!" The old woman tried hard to recall what her mother-in-law had said at the time.

As Hong Que listened, his eyes became redder and redder.

The best grandmother in her life! Without her grandmother, she would not exist. She is the little granddaughter who was raised in the palm of her grandmother's hand.

Hong Que dug her nails into her palms, trying to steel her heart as she said, "You are not my biological parents, yet you sold me for silver. This is an ironclad fact. For my grandmother's sake, I will let you go for now. If you dare to bring up the Duke of Huguo's Mansion in the future, I will not let you off lightly."

After a pause, she took out fifty taels of silver and gave them money to go back to the old capital.

Because they were all her grandmother's descendants, she thought, let's just repay her grandmother for the kindness she had shown her by wrapping her in a cotton-padded jacket.

However, Hong Que's momentary weakness became a death warrant. After returning to the old capital, her so-called brother stole money to indulge in women and wine, and competed with others in a brothel for their affections. He was stabbed and killed on the spot.

But this has nothing to do with Hong Que anymore. In this life, she has achieved perfection.