Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Replacing the Legitimate with the Concubine-Born

Before long, everyone arrived at a secluded little courtyard. It was truly secluded, truly small. Sheng Zhi Wan frowned openly, and First Madam Liu gave a dry laugh as she said, “My family’s Second Miss had only recently returned from the estate, so she stayed here for now.” [A year, and that counted as “recent”?] Sheng Zhi Wan raised her brows but did not expose the lie, and she followed them inside.

As soon as they stepped in, they heard coughing in broken bursts. An older nanny came out of the room, froze for a heartbeat when she saw them, and hurriedly saluted. First Madam Liu snapped, “Enough. Go down first,” and she personally led Sheng Zhi Wan into the room.

The room was just as cold and plain. When she heard footsteps, the miss on the bed looked over. In her previous life, Sheng Zhi Wan had seen Liu Yan and Liu Xu, but she had not in this life. First, a young miss of the Liu Manor could not go out often, and more importantly, Sheng Zhi Wan did not like hosting or attending banquets the way other noble ladies and princesses did.

Before she married, Sheng Zhi Wan either stayed in the Imperial Palace with Grandmother or stayed at the traveling palace. When Sheng Zhi Wan went out occasionally, it was only to meet Qi Shu Xian. So when a frown of surprise appeared on Sheng Zhi Wan’s face, First Madam Liu instinctively glanced at Liu Xu, as if she feared something about Liu Xu had given it away.

First Madam Liu looked left and right, but she could not find anything wrong. Sheng Zhi Wan ignored her, stepped closer, and bent down.

First Madam Liu asked softly, “Princess, what is it? Is there something wrong with my daughter?”

Sheng Zhi Wan did not answer. After a moment, her expression turned cold, and she asked, “First Madam Liu, are you saying this is Second Miss Liu?”

First Madam Liu blinked, confused. “Y-yes… yes.”

Sheng Zhi Wan’s eyes sharpened. “And you are certain the person Young Master Shang Er saved yesterday was Second Miss Liu?!”

First Madam Liu’s eyelids twitched as she looked at Sheng Zhi Wan. “N-naturally it was.”

Shang Xiu Yuan could not enter a woman’s chamber, so he stood outside the door and only heard the muffled voices within.

Sheng Zhi Wan let out a hard laugh. “Does First Madam Liu think you can grab any miss and fool the General Residence, fool Young Master Shang Er, and no one would know? What a shame – I saw that miss yesterday. She got into a carriage pulled by a white horse, and I saw her maid clearly. She was absolutely not the one in front of me!”

As soon as Sheng Zhi Wan finished, First Madam Liu’s face went white. [How could this happen? Why did Yan’er never tell me?] If First Madam Liu had known Sheng Zhi Wan had seen Yan’er, she would never have brought Sheng Zhi Wan to see Liu Xu.

[As long as Liu Xu entered the General Residence first, what would it matter if someone noticed later? Once she married in, she married in.] But now it was different. Nothing had been settled yet, and Princess Qing Ning had called it out.

First Madam Liu forced a smile. “Princess, could you have seen wrong? The one who fell into the water yesterday truly was my Second Miss.”

Sheng Zhi Wan’s voice turned sharp. “Are you questioning me, First Madam Liu?!”

First Madam Liu laughed awkwardly. “No, of course not… It’s just that the one who fell into the water really was my Second Miss. Otherwise, how could she have caught a chill? Perhaps her sickly face now looks different from how she looked with makeup yesterday…”

Sheng Zhi Wan frowned. “Impossible! The woman I saw yesterday was tall and full-figured. She had a tiny mole on the lower right side of her jaw, and she seemed to have almond-shaped eyes. No matter what, she was absolutely not this one!”

First Madam Liu’s face turned even uglier. Tall and full-figured, a mole on the lower right jaw, almond-shaped eyes – not a single detail matched Liu Xu, and every detail pointed to Yan’er.

Sweat broke out on First Madam Liu’s back before she could stop it.

Sheng Zhi Wan gave a cold laugh. “I understand now. This one is indeed Second Miss Liu, but the one who fell into the water yesterday probably was not her. It was someone else, wasn’t it?”

Sheng Zhi Wan’s gaze cut through the room. “Which miss of the Liu Manor was important enough to use Second Miss Liu as a shield?”

As she spoke, Sheng Zhi Wan looked at Liu Xu lying on the bed, her eyes full of tears. Liu Xu bit her lip until it turned white, while First Madam Liu stared at her as if she could tear her apart.

Yet when Sheng Zhi Wan looked over, First Madam Liu hurriedly forced a flattering smile. Sheng Zhi Wan did not spare her a glance and walked straight out of the room.

Outside, Shang Xiu Yuan’s face was tight with worry. When he saw Sheng Zhi Wan come out, he hurried forward.

Shang Xiu Yuan bowed with clasped hands. “Princess, Madam, how is Second Miss Liu? It’s all because my younger brother spoke and acted without restraint that he drove Second Miss Liu to seek death. If Second Miss Liu truly suffers any mishap, the General Residence will have nowhere to hide our shame.”

Shang Xiu Yuan bowed deeply toward the direction of the sickroom. First Madam Liu’s face looked painfully stiff.

Sheng Zhi Wan snorted. “Young Master Shang, don’t rush to take the blame for Young Master Shang Er. You should first ask the Liu Manor who the woman who truly fell into the water yesterday was!”

Shang Xiu Yuan froze. First Madam Liu opened her mouth, about to explain.

Sheng Zhi Wan cut in at once. “If I remember correctly, the Liu Manor has a very famous First Miss. Where is she? Could I see her?”

First Madam Liu’s mind spun as she searched for an excuse.

A bright, girlish voice sounded from outside. “Mother, I heard Princess Qing Ning came?”

First Madam Liu’s body went rigid.

A young woman in a gorgeous long dress, a cloak trimmed with fox fur draped over her shoulders, walked in slowly with a maid behind her.

First Madam Liu rushed up in panic. “Nonsense! What are you doing here? Go back at once!”

First Madam Liu pushed the young woman around, and Liu Yan turned without understanding what was happening. Liu Yan had come on purpose just to show her face in front of Princess Qing Ning.

Sheng Zhi Wan said, “Wait,” and the curve of her lips deepened.

Liu Yan really was just like she had been in Sheng Zhi Wan’s previous life. She loved to be loud, loved to join any excitement. This time, she had joined the right one.

First Madam Liu forced a smile at Sheng Zhi Wan. “Princess, my daughter was unruly and offended you. I will have her leave at once.”

Sheng Zhi Wan walked over step by step. “I said wait.”

Regret stabbed First Madam Liu to the bone, but Liu Yan still did not see the danger. She only looked up when Sheng Zhi Wan stopped in front of her.

Sheng Zhi Wan looked Liu Yan up and down.

Liu Yan hurriedly put on her most proper smile and saluted. “This girl, Liu Yan, greets Princess Qing Ning.”

Sheng Zhi Wan answered with a single sound and kept smiling as she examined Liu Yan. “So you are Liu Yan, the Liu Manor’s First Miss?”

Liu Yan responded at once, “Yes.”

First Madam Liu’s face turned ashen white, as if she might faint at any second.

Sheng Zhi Wan gave a soft laugh. “So that’s how it is.”

First Madam Liu closed her eyes. Shang Xiu Yuan stared in shock, and at last he understood what Sheng Zhi Wan meant.

So the woman Shang Xing Yu had saved yesterday was not Second Miss Liu at all. It was Liu Yan, the Liu Manor’s legitimate daughter, the First Miss.

Sheng Zhi Wan’s voice stayed gentle, but the chill in it deepened. “Replacing the legitimate with the concubine-born? Liu Manor, if you couldn’t bear to let First Miss Liu marry Young Master Shang Er, you could have refused. Why push out a concubine-born daughter instead?”

Liu Yan’s pretty face stiffened in an instant. She stared at Sheng Zhi Wan, unable to believe what she was hearing.

Sheng Zhi Wan smiled back at her. “First Miss Liu, did you know about this?”