Chapter 133: Who Is My Biological Mother?

Qi Rongzhi’s maid, who had previously been pinned down by the servants of the Qin estate, saw her mistress bolt out of the room and immediately shook herself free to chase after her.

The room fell into sudden silence.

A shadow flickered across Qin Wanru’s clear, water-like eyes. With Qi Rongzhi gone, even if Lady Di intended to scheme, she would be unable to carry it out—but Wanru would not let her guard down.

"Wanru, look at the mess you’ve made! You’ve driven Qi Rongzhi away. When your father asks about this later, you can explain it yourself!" Lady Di’s face darkened as she immediately shoved the responsibility onto Qin Wanru.

"Madame, didn't this whole incident start because the Eldest Sister and Miss Qi were fighting? Or were you expecting me to help Miss Qi beat up the Eldest Sister?" Qin Wanru blinked her large, beautiful eyes and asked with an expression of utmost innocence.

"You still shouldn't have hit her at a time like this!" Qin Yuru stood firmly on Lady Di’s side. Having realized the consequences, she felt a tremor of fear and, sharing Lady Di’s intent, sought to pin the blame entirely on Qin Wanru.

Seeing them both insisting that it was Qin Wanru who had driven Qi Rongzhi away, Shui Ruolan grew indignant. She let out a low cough and said with a touch of sarcasm, "The Eldest Miss’s words are truly ungracious. Didn't Wanru strike Miss Qi precisely for your sake? How is it that instead of thanking her, you are casting all the blame on her? Or are you suggesting that it was Wanru who forced the two of you to fight?"

"What is the meaning of this, Aunt Shui?" Qin Yuru retorted with a cold, indignant snort. She sat up straight, casting a cold, sidelong glance at Shui Ruolan. She had always looked down on her, maintaining only a veneer of civility in the past, but seeing Shui Ruolan dare to interject in her affairs now, she could no longer hold back.

"Aunt Shui?" Qin Wanru let out a cold laugh, her gaze icy as it settled on Qin Yuru. "Does the Eldest Sister mean to say that my mother is still merely an 'Aunt'? Are you still refusing to acknowledge my mother’s status even now?"

"Qin Wanru, you are being insolent!" Lady Di slammed her hand on the table again. "What would a child like you know! Shui Ruolan, are you not going to discipline Wanru? Look at her behavior—how could any noble family dare to marry her in the future? Not only does she strike people, but her tongue is sharp and arrogant. If this gets out, people will say our General’s Manor lacks proper breeding!"

"Lacks breeding? Then let the Madame spread that word. Everyone knows that my mother was married to my father with full, proper rites, and was brought into this house specifically to look after me. Yet, from the Eldest Sister’s lips, it is 'Aunt Shui' again and again. Does the Eldest Sister feel that Father is not worthy of Mother?"

Qin Wanru had long wanted to teach Qin Yuru a lesson. She had persistently called Shui Ruolan "Aunt Shui." If outsiders heard this, they would inevitably gossip about Shui Ruolan’s status. Since she was legally wed into the Qin family, calling her "Aunt" was a deliberate attempt to cast doubt on her standing, implying she was nothing more than a concubine. Wanru decided to take this opportunity to settle the score.

There were indeed many complex reasons why Qin Huaiyong had married Shui Ruolan, and if those were dragged into the light, it would inevitably lead back to the affairs of Jiangzhou—to Qi Tianyu, to Qin Yuru, and to the marriage alliance between those two that had nearly come to pass. In all those tangled tales, there was not a single word of virtue to be found in Qin Yuru.

Her words were sharp. Standing in the room, Qin Wanru’s petite figure exuded an undeniable, chilling authority. Realizing the situation had turned, Lady Di hurriedly steadied her breath. Her earlier frustrations had left her pent up and eager to lash out, which had caused her to lose the upper hand.

"Yuru, correct yourself," Lady Di said slowly, suppressing the malice in her eyes while giving Qin Yuru a subtle look.

"Mother!" Qin Yuru was not truly dull; she understood at once. Since Lady Di had provided a way out, she took it. She looked up at Shui Ruolan, her eyes reddened, and performed a deep, respectful bow. "Lady Shui, I... I have offended you."

Her voice ended in a sob. She was indeed in a wretched state; her hair had been pulled loose from her fight with Qi Rongzhi, and her clothes were disheveled and dirty. Appearing as if she had suffered a great blow, she stepped back after speaking, her body went limp, and she fainted.

Meixue, standing behind her, hurriedly caught her, shrieking, "Eldest Miss! Eldest Miss, wake up! Please, don't let anything happen to you! It was only a bow, it wasn't a big deal..."

Before she could finish, a heavy slap landed across her face. It was Yujie who had struck her. After doing so, she mimicked Qin Wanru’s manner, meticulously wiping her hand as if she had touched something filthy.

"This is rebellion! Absolute rebellion! A lowly maid dares to strike someone!" Lady Di could no longer restrain herself. Fury-stricken, she stood up and commanded two of her matrons, "Drag this maid away and give her ten heavy slaps!"

The two fierce-looking matrons stepped forward, but before they could grab Yujie, she shoved them back with such force that they stumbled and knocked over several chairs.

"Lady Di, I recall that Father agreed that my personal servants are to be disciplined by me alone. I ask that you stop interfering in my affairs," Qin Wanru said coldly.

Lady Di had repeatedly schemed against her, and Qin Huaiyong had indeed said those words in a fit of anger. Now, with so many servants watching, Lady Di appeared weak. Her face stiffened, her eyes burning with rage.

"Qin Wanru, you have such grand airs! How dare you speak to your mother like this? Have you forgotten who raised you? Who has the grace of raising you?" Qin Yuru, seeing her mother losing ground, immediately stopped feigning unconsciousness. Supported by Meixue, she stood straight, pointed a finger at Wanru, and spoke with righteous indignation.

"Because I was raised in the Qin Manor, does that mean I must sacrifice my reputation and my life for the Eldest Sister?" Qin Wanru tilted her head, a trace of provocation flashing across her face.

It was an overt provocation, her petite, cherry-colored lips curling into a mocking smile. Her words were even more biting.

"Qin Wanru, you ungrateful mongrel! You... how dare you speak like this!" Qin Yuru trembled with rage, nearly losing her mind. The affair in Jiangzhou was a festering wound she could never overcome, and to hear it brought up again and again by Qin Wanru was more than she could bear.

"A mongrel? Am I not born of my father? Or is there something unspeakable about my background?" This was exactly what Qin Wanru had been waiting for. She had been goading Lady Di and her daughter specifically to extract the truth about whether she was truly Qin Huaiyong’s daughter. The Old Madame and Shui Ruolan would not speak of it, and she would not force them.

But the mother and daughter duo were different; they were already her avowed enemies.

"I..." Qin Yuru had not expected Qin Wanru to seize upon this point. Recalling her mother’s warnings, her expression turned panicked, and she instinctively looked toward Lady Di.

"Lady Di, Eldest Sister, do you mean to say that I am not Father’s biological daughter? Is there some mystery surrounding my parentage? I beg you to speak clearly. If I am truly not Father’s daughter, then who are my biological parents? Why did Father adopt me? And why has he never told me the truth?"

Qin Wanru spoke each word with chilling precision, pressing them step by step.

Shui Ruolan bit her lip, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent. In truth, she did not know the specifics. She had only heard the Old Madame mention that Qin Wanru’s origins were unusual and that her father had performed a service for a cousin, but the details remained a mystery. The Old Madame had told her not to ask Qin Huaiyong.

It seemed they believed it was better not to know, that as long as they raised Wanru well in the Qin Manor as a granddaughter, it was better than letting her know her parents were dead and letting her suffer the grief.

"Wanru, what nonsense are you spouting? How could you not be your father’s biological daughter? Your sister only spoke in anger because your maid struck hers. I will certainly discipline her when we return," Lady Di hurriedly tried to explain, her face tense.

Whether it was Qin Huaiyong’s will or her own, they were absolutely determined that Qin Wanru must never know she was not his biological child.

"Then tell me, Madame, who is my biological mother?" Since Qin Wanru had made up her mind to open a breach through Lady Di and Qin Yuru, she would not let them off so easily. She asked again, her small face frozen like frost.

Lady Di’s face stiffened; she had not expected Qin Wanru to be so difficult to deceive.

"Madame, who is my mother? Whose daughter am I, and why have I never seen her!" Qin Wanru’s eyes turned red. She was truly furious. In her previous life, she had never cleared this up. She had died without ever knowing her own parents, only to be framed and lose her life in confusion.

In this life, she would never let herself be slaughtered like prey again!

"She... she died. She died of illness. She was... someone from outside the manor. Your father couldn't bring her in... and your father didn't know you existed at first. By the time he found you, your mother was already failing. Your father took pity on you, brought you into the manor, and raised you under my name, giving you the status of a legitimate daughter!"

Lady Di stammered through the explanation, but as she went on, the story became increasingly practiced.

Qin Wanru did not believe a word of it. If it were truly so simple, the mother-daughter pair would have used it to crush her in her previous life, reminding her constantly that she was merely the daughter of an outsider. Yet, in her past life, she had only known she wasn't Qin Huaiyong’s daughter—nothing more.

"Madame, I do not believe you!" Qin Wanru clenched her hands into fists and said coldly.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask your father. This matter... it is not a pleasant one. If you hadn't pressed me so repeatedly, I would not have said so much. Very well, Wanru, go and rest. Let this matter end here. Your sister has suffered a great grievance today; do not make any more trouble!"

Lady Di put on an act of being completely exhausted, supporting her forehead with one hand as if she could not bear to speak another word.

"Second Sister, I was wrong earlier. I... I was just bullied so severely today, that is why I... why I spoke without thinking. Please, forgive me, Second Sister!"

Qin Yuru covered her face with a handkerchief and came over, weeping and apologizing, appearing full of regret.

She had indeed been bullied by Qi Rongzhi, and being provoked by Qin Wanru to the point of losing control was, in a way, understandable.

"Mother, let us go."