Chapter 138: A Pair of Monk Shoes

  The Qin family was in a state of panic, with rumors circulating that the concubine in the mansion had contracted the plague and infected the servants. Those who had attended to Su's needs were even more fearful, afraid that they too would contract this disease.

  Mr. Fang had the people who attended to Su isolated, and even more so, he had Su's three servants who were already ill locked up in a separate small house. After some time of observation, it was found that except for Su's three servants, no one else had contracted this strange disease with blisters that caused pain and itching.

  Mr. Fang said that he would send the person to the villa to be taken care of, Qin Zongwen knew that once the person went to the villa, it was basically up to fate, and life and death were at the mercy of heaven. He wanted to object, but facing Mr. Fang's tough attitude and the constraint of dozens of lives in the entire mansion, Qin Zongwen fell silent.

  Thus, the three members of the Su family were sent to a remote village, where they lived a peaceful life without any disturbance.

  Qin Dai Xin asked: "Which village did you go to at first, was it Xiao Qian Zhuang?"

  Tie Wenyang shook his head, "That Zhuangzi is very remote, the house is small and dilapidated, there's only an old woman with a hearing problem watching over it. At that time, apart from her, no one else was left there. That Zhuangzi has long been sold, I heard it was bought by someone to build a cemetery."

  Qin Dai Xin was really shocked, it had become a cemetery? It can be seen that the place is indeed a good place with mountains and water, far away from the hustle and bustle.

  "If it was just the two of us, then why were you suddenly sent away for no reason?"

  Just then, Ying Er, who had been in a "dormant" state all along, suddenly stood up and shouted at Tie Wenyang: "Young Master, who is this person?"

  She stretched out her hand to point at Qin Dai Xin, making the bewildered Qin San Niangzi even more suspicious of her own IQ. This person isn't crazy after all! She still recognizes people!

  Tie Wenyang was overjoyed: "Aunt Ying, are you better?" He seemed to remember something and said to Qin Daihe: "Aunt Ying's illness is unpredictable, sometimes good, sometimes bad. When she has an episode, she doesn't recognize anyone, just hugs a doll and calls out 'Young Master'. When she recovers, she's like a normal person again and can even recall past events."

  Is this the so-called "intermittent mental disorder"? No wonder he knew so much about the secrets that had been sealed, with Ying Er as one of the parties involved, what else wouldn't be clear?

  "English aunt, this is..." Ti Wei Yang was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of how to introduce Qin Dai Xin.

  "I am the daughter of Madame Su of the Qin Manor."

  The young boy's eyes lit up and he said, "No wonder, no wonder, you really look like your aunt."

  "Ying Yi, what really happened back then?" Qin Dai was eager to know the truth. She also followed Tie Wei Yang's lead and started calling her Ying Er, "I already know about what happened earlier, just tell me why my brother was sent away. And how did you hand over my older brother to Wu Ben Da Shi? Also, why did you get sick with a mental illness?"

  Ying'er sighed and slowly recounted what had happened back then.

  After Su was driven to the villa, her heart finally settled down a bit. The villa was very remote. Apart from a dilapidated small house and dozens of hectares of mountainous land, there were no other properties. Due to the sparse population here, nothing valuable could be grown, so only a deaf Wu Pozi was left to watch the house.

  The fewer people the better! Mrs. Su was eager to secretly give birth to her child and couldn't wait for there to be as few people around as possible.

  It's just that the environment there is not good. Life is also very hard, although when leaving the Qin mansion, they brought some food, clothing and jewelry, etc. But for Su Shi, these things are still not enough. What about the three adults? How will they manage after the child is born?

  Originally, Su Shi had planned to send the child away, but when she arrived at the villa, she changed her mind. It was so remote here that no one would come even in three to five years. If she could give birth smoothly, she would claim that the child was picked up and raise a foster son or daughter by her side for company. By then, perhaps the Qin family would have forgotten her existence, thinking she had died long ago. She would live a peaceful life with this child, wouldn't it be better than fighting with a group of women in the mansion?

  Su made up her mind and started preparing the things needed for the birth of the child. The small clothes and quilts could be made by herself, and she was skilled in needlework, with delicate stitches. She had given birth to three children before and had some experience. When the time came for the child to be born, she would temporarily act as a midwife. Otherwise, in this remote mountainous area where people were unfamiliar with each other, where could they find a midwife?

  The young master is in charge of the family's livelihood, and everything needs money to spend. Although Su had some savings, she didn't bring them all out, and her jewelry only had a few pieces with her, but they couldn't be moved unless it was absolutely necessary.

  Ying'er was skilled with her hands, good at knitting all sorts of socks, and could also make delicious pastries. Everyone thought this was a great way to make money, so they had Ying'er go into town to buy various colored threads and ingredients for making pastries, then make some to take into town to sell, and indeed they were able to earn some silver coins.

  Things went more smoothly than they had imagined, and the people of Qin's house seemed to have forgotten about Su Shi's existence. They didn't even send someone to check if Su Shi was recovering well. That deaf Wu Baozi probably got used to living alone and never spoke to Su Shi or her three servants, nor did she go to their backyard, which actually helped them.

  Su quickly adapted to life on the farm, she was never a woman who craved wealth and luxury, and being able to raise her own children with her own hands was an unexpected joy, what's not to be happy about? At that time, she was already nine months pregnant, everything was ready, just waiting for the child to be born.

  On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, as soon as it was dawn, Su's belly began to ache. The wet nurse calculated the days and knew that the child was likely to be born, so she hastily ordered Ying'er to boil water, while she herself prepared the scissors and cloth package that had been ready since morning. Because it was her first childbirth, there was still some time before delivery, so the wet nurse feared that Su would not have enough strength during childbirth and gave her a bowl of noodles to eat in one breath, saving up energy for giving birth.

  Su Shi struggled for a whole day, and it wasn't until midnight that she finally gave birth to the child, a fair-skinned boy. The moment the child was born, Su Shi was so exhausted that she couldn't say a word. The wet nurse personally cut the umbilical cord, simply washed the child, and brought him in front of Su Shi. Ying Er, although an unmarried girl, had to help out because there were not enough people around. She had been by Su Shi's side throughout her labor, busily helping with various tasks. At the moment the child was born, not only was Su Shi excited, but also the wet nurse and Ying Er were so happy that they didn't know what to say.

  Su held her newborn son in her arms, and she was over the moon with joy. This was the flesh and blood that she had carried for ten months, how could she not love him?! Because he was born before dawn, Su named this child "Weiyang".

  "Ying'er brought up the past, and couldn't help but shed tears continuously. 'This matter is just like it happened yesterday, I clearly remember my aunt's eyes at that time, the love in her eyes was almost overflowing.'"

  Qin Dai Xin let out a long sigh, "How was that child's matter discovered again?!"

  Ying'er said: "Auntie doesn't have milk, and the young master is so hungry that he's crying. Although we've fed him rice porridge a few times, he seems to not like it. So I discussed with the wet nurse, and we went to the nearby village to find a goat to buy, but unexpectedly, Auntie found out about buying the goat."

  Qin Dai's heart tightened with a frown, "Is it Qin Fengge?" Why is she everywhere?

  "It just so happened that she had a maid by her side whose home was in that village, and those few days coincidentally rotated back home on vacation, and discovered this matter."

  Even if Ying Er didn't say it, Qin Dai's heart could have guessed what happened next. Qin Feng Ge received the message from Xiao Yatou and suspected that something was fishy, so she stirred up Fang Wanjun. Fang Wanjun was six months pregnant and about to give birth, naturally fearing that the title of "eldest son" would fall into someone else's hands. This kind of thing is naturally better believed to exist than not to exist.

  As expected, Ying Er said that Fang Wanru's most capable Li Mama led three or four sturdy women, got on the carriage and rushed to Su Shi's "convalescent" villa. Coincidentally, Ying Er was returning from selling pastries that day and saw Qin Fu's carriage from afar, with Mrs. Li sitting outside the carriage! She thought it wasn't good and took a shortcut back to the mansion, panting and telling Su Shi about it.

  Madam Su knew that if the child fell into Fang Wanru's hands, it would be a disaster. Rather than letting that happen, she decided to send the child away, even if it meant separating from her own flesh and blood. At least this way, she could ensure her son's safety. Madam Su was decisive in her actions and not one to drag things out, so she steeled herself and let Ying'er take the child away.

  "The aunt took out a pendant that had been hidden close to her body and placed it on the child, saying only that she was leaving some proof, perhaps heaven would take pity and they might meet again. Ying'er paused, then continued: 'Auntie wasn't reluctant to part with the child, but what she feared even more was the child falling into the hands of the mistress. She kissed the child, carefully placed it in the food box I used for selling pastries every day, gave me a bag of silver coins, and told me to hurry up and find a good family to send the child to.'"

  Ying'er was almost in tears, "I'm reluctant to part with Auntie, but I know things can't be delayed. The horse carriage from the mansion won't be slow, it'll arrive soon. I bid farewell to Auntie on my knees, carrying the food box and running out, I didn't even know where we were going, just thinking of taking Young Master away from Taizhou."

  Ying'er, carrying the newborn young master, ran northward alone. Before long, it started raining and the sky turned dark. Ying'er was soaked from head to toe, her heart racing with worry that the child would go hungry or suffocate in the food box. She wanted to find a place to take shelter from the rain as soon as possible, preferably someone's home where they could stay for the night, so the young master could have some rice porridge to fill his belly.

  Who would have thought that the road was too slippery? Ying Er's foot slipped and she immediately rolled down from the mountain slope.

  "I was so scared at the time, I could only desperately hug the food box, and Young Master was still inside, I must not drop him. But the slope was too steep, I rolled for a long time, and finally I just felt my head hit something hard, it hurt so much that I fainted and didn't know anything else." Ying'er furrowed her brow to think carefully, "In a daze, I seemed to see a pair of monk shoes."

  ps：

  Thank you for Wen Haha's reward, I'll work harder!