Chapter 343: Maternal Grandmother
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Shi Yun tightly clasped the Old Madam’s withered hands.
The frail and terrified Old Madam clung to Shi Yun, as though grasping onto the last straw of survival.
Her mouth opened, blood pooling inside. Before being buried alive, she had been force-fed scalding oil, a sight harrowing to behold.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
She saw Shi Yun and seemed momentarily stunned. Tears cascaded down her wrinkled cheeks…
Rong Che stepped closer, but the Old Madam grew restless once more.
“Brother Che, wait outside the carriage. She is afraid of you…” Shi Yun could feel her fear; the Old Madam trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing Shi Yun nod again, Rong Che leaped off the carriage and stood by the door, ever watchful, afraid that something might happen to her.
“Do not be afraid. There is no one here who will harm you.”
“I am Shi Yun, from Northern Zhao.”
Shi Yun gently wiped the wounds on the Old Madam’s face. “The weather is warming. Your injuries need medicine to heal. I will come every day to treat them, so do not fear…”
“Do not strain your fingers. Your hands…” Shi Yun’s expression softened with sorrow.
“We must restore the flesh and blood.”
“The man outside the carriage is Rong Che, my husband. If you ever need help, seek him.”
Shi Yun’s gentle nature gradually soothed the Old Madam’s turbulent emotions.
“Are you from the Southern Kingdom?”
The Old Madam hesitated, then nodded.
“Where is your family?”
The Old Madam’s clouded eyes welled with fresh tears, and she could only sob in response.
Half an hour later…
It was not until the Old Madam cried herself to sleep that Shi Yun, weary and drained, finally disembarked from the carriage.
“Thinking of Madam Ning because of her?” Rong Che observed her expression and spoke.
Shi Yun nodded lightly.
“Perhaps it is due to my pregnancy. Seeing her so miserable tugs unbearably at my heart. I was not always this sentimental…” Shi Yun murmured in confusion.
“In two more days, you will see Lady Ning. Be patient.”
“Since discovering your identity, I have had people investigate in the Southern Kingdom.”
“Lady Ning once rendered great service to His Majesty, even sharing a marriage cup with him and bearing his daughter. She survived countless tribulations for his sake.”
“The entire Southern Kingdom watches. He must at least treat her with due respect.”
“She resides in the Southern Capital. We will see her in two days. Be patient…”
Rong Che’s voice was calm as he reassured her.
Shi Yun glanced toward the carriage, visibly distracted, exhaustion weighing on her.
By the time Shi Yun returned to the carriage, Lu Chao Chao had already ordered Su Family’s ancestral soup to be warmed.
“Give a bowl to the Old… Old Madam in the carriage. This spirit turtle broth replenishes blood and nourishes the body.”
Shi Yun chuckled, “I never knew you to be so generous.”
Lu Chao Chao muttered inwardly.
Madam Xu hesitated. What was Chao Chao reluctant to say?
“Chao Chao is always generous! One bowl for the Old Madam, one for Mother, and one for Father Rong!” The little one carefully distributed the nourishing soup before resting her chin on her hands in deep thought.
Madam Xu felt that she was acting strangely, as if harboring a secret.
Even her inner thoughts were elusive and guarded.
“Oh, Chao Chao, draw a talisman for warding off evil later. Your mother seems to be haunted by some young pretty-faced specter,” Rong Che said sourly, his jealousy barely contained.
“What happened?” Lu Chao Chao looked at him in surprise.
She had not noticed any malicious aura clinging to her mother.
“Your mother keeps dreaming of a young boy—delicate and handsome. I do not know where he came from, but he appears before her nightly, crying.”
Shi Yun waved a hand. “He does not seem like a wandering ghost. He keeps calling me stingy and asks me to uphold justice.”
Lu Chao Chao: …
Little Heavenly Dao!
The Sunshine Sword hummed in response.
“Alright, Mother, I will draw the talisman later.” Though exasperated internally, Lu Chao Chao obediently agreed outwardly.
After barely resting for a couple of hours, the convoy resumed its journey.
“Deng Zhi, assign two careful maids to attend to the Old Madam. If she needs anything, they must be ready at all times. Do not be negligent,” Shi Yun instructed, unable to stop worrying about the Old Madam.
Lu Chao Chao, her head drooping, secretly fed the Old Madam some spirit spring water before slipping out of the carriage.
The moment she disembarked, Lu Yan Shu caught her.
“Chao Chao, ride with me for a while,” Lu Yan Shu, though a civil official, was well-versed in the six gentlemanly arts, including horseback riding. Effortlessly, he scooped the little one into his arms.
“Chao Chao, do you… know something?” From the moment the coffin was opened, the little girl had been visibly disturbed.
“You recognize the person inside!” Lu Yan Shu spoke with certainty.
The little one clung to her elder brother, her voice muffled.
“Do not tell Mother. She will be furious…” Seeing her own mother so cruelly mistreated, Shi Yun would surely be driven mad with anger.
Lu Yan Shu’s heart pounded heavily.
“That old woman…”
“Is our maternal grandmother.” As soon as the little one uttered those words, she burst into wails.
Though she held little emotional attachment to the Old Madam, the blood bond between them was undeniable. Who could bear seeing their own kin suffer such inhuman torment?
Tears streaming, she clung to her elder brother. “They burned Grandmother’s throat with hot oil!”
“They poured boiling oil on her face to destroy her appearance.”
“Those wretched Southerners did not want us to find her!” The little one dared not tell her mother, fearing the stress would harm her pregnancy.
Even Lu Yan Shu, hearing this, felt his breath hitch.
With great difficulty, he asked, “She is… Lady Ning?”
“Yes.”
Lu Yan Shu gripped the reins tightly, his teeth clenched, rage simmering in his eyes. “How dare they!”
“They lured Mother under the pretense of a family reunion, only to secretly bury Lady Ning alive. What are they scheming?!”
“Vile beasts! Worse than animals!” Lu Yan Shu cursed the Old Emperor of the Southern Kingdom.
“They even used the Soul Nailing Technique to trap Grandmother’s soul, ensuring she remains imprisoned in the grave for eternity, unable to reincarnate.”
“They are divine attendants, likely afraid that Grandmother would seek justice in the underworld after her death.”
Lu Yan Shu sneered coldly. What a well-devised plan!
Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger, he gently comforted Chao Chao. “Chao Chao, we must not tell Mother just yet.”
“Let Grandmother recover first. The journey is long; we must not burden Mother.”
“You are still young and may slip up. Stay close to me for the next few days.” Lu Yan Shu worried that their mother might overhear Chao Chao’s inner thoughts.
The little one obediently nodded.
Over the next two days, Shi Yun and the Old Madam grew unexpectedly close.
Her hands and face remained wrapped in bandages, yet within her eyes, a faint warmth had begun to emerge.
Had her daughter survived, she would have grandchildren by now, wouldn’t she?
Two days later.
The convoy halted outside the gates of the Southern Capital. The city guards called out loudly, “Welcome, Imperial Grandson!”
Inside the carriage, the Old Madam’s expression darkened.
She trembled violently, her gaze filled with hatred and fear as she pointed at Nan Mu Bai. Her eyes bulged, blood vessels bursting. She bit down hard, glaring at the high and mighty imperial grandson.
Her eyes seethed with pure hatred.
“Ah! Ah?” She pointed furiously outside the carriage.
The grandson of that heartless man!
Shi Yun took her hand gently, speaking softly, “He is the imperial grandson, and I am his aunt. I have been lost outside for thirty-six years and have now returned to find my kin.”
“Do not be afraid. I will protect you.”
With just one sentence, the Old Madam froze.
She stared blankly at Shi Yun, unable to recover from her shock.
She is…
My daughter!