Zhu Kongshan brought up returning home to attend the funeral, and the Eighth Prince had no reason to stop her. Right before leaving, he reminded her once more: "Remember your own status and remember your own future. You must not be hindered by a lowly Zhu manor. The deceased is already gone. Just cry for a bit. After the funeral is over, immediately return to the capital. Don't stay in Peng Zhou for too long. "
Zhu Kongshan was in no mood to listen to these things. She even felt a bit of resentment towards the Eighth Prince for not helping out at that time. If the Eighth Prince had expressed his stance earlier, the Zhu family would not have allowed Liu shi to die. Although she had died by hanging, if the Zhu family had not locked her up in the firewood storage room, how could Liu shi have had the chance to hang herself?
Returning to Peng Zhou, it was the Sheng Palace's maidservant who knew martial arts that drove the carriage. Zhu Kongshan sat in the carriage with A-Huan and A-Ruo. She was dressed plainly; however, the two maidservants were dressed the same as they usually were. There were even pink cuffs on their sleeves. Zhu Kongshan coldly glanced at them. At first, she did not want to say anything about the two maidservants that Zhu Kongyue had sent over, but this was her mother's funeral. With these two people dressed like this in front of her, she truly could not get over it, thus she said: "You sold yourselves as slaves, yet you don't even understand the rules. The manor's master is holding a funeral, yet you're dressed like this. Who are you wearing this for?"
The Sheng Palace's maidservants were not in the carriage. A-Huan and A-Ruo were not afraid of Zhu Kongshan, who was about to return to Peng Zhou, because they knew that once she left the capital, this young miss of a concubine would be at the Zhu family's mercy. In front of the young miss of the first wife, she was nothing. Moreover, her birth mother had caused such a scene. Who could treat her well?
A-Huan shrugged and smiled, asking Zhu Kongshan: "It's third young miss that has forgotten Dashun's rules, right? I've never heard of a family having a concubine die, and the entire family needs to be in mourning. To put it bluntly, if something happened to the head madam, we would definitely be in mourning, but third young miss should not forget that Liu shi was just a concubine. Why should we be in mourning for a concubine? "
A-Huan's words left Zhu Kongshan speechless. That's right! Liu shi was just a concubine, and she had caused such a huge scandal right before she died. She faintly began to wonder how exactly did Liu shi die? She was Madam Liu's daughter and understood her mother too well. Hang herself? What kind of joke was this? Was Madam Liu the kind of person who had the courage to hang herself? But if that wasn't the case, then what was the real cause of death? Why didn't the Liu Family pursue this matter?
Zhu Kongshan's mind was filled with countless question marks. On the way from the capital to Peng Zhou, she had been thinking about what exactly had happened. Some guesses swirled in her heart, but in the end, she did not dare to be certain. When the carriage entered Peng Zhou and stopped in front of the Zhu manor, when she saw Eldest Uncle from the Liu family talking to someone with a smile, her guesses deepened.
Zhu Kongshan returned to the manor; however, there was not a single person in the Zhu family that welcomed her with a good expression. Everyone looked at her with disdain and contempt. There were even some servants that quietly discussed: "Even if she has the support of a prince and imperial concubine, so what? With such a mother, how could a prince take such a person as his wife? "
It was as though Zhu Kongshan had been struck by lightning, as she suddenly realized a very real problem: These servants were correct!
The most important thing in the imperial family was face. It was fine if she was the daughter of a concubine. The daughter of a concubine could also become the daughter of the first wife. It was also fine if her father's position was not high. He could be promoted again. Or it could be said that she and the Eighth Prince had feelings for each other. The Eighth Prince was not the sort of person that only cared about status. Being labeled as someone who cared about relationships would have a good effect on his reputation.
But now? Not only was she the daughter of a concubine, but her birth mother had also had an affair with the manor's housekeeper and had been caught in bed by her father. With this sort of background, how could the Eighth Prince want her!
The ripples that had appeared in her heart over the past few days immediately froze. Zhu Kongshan stood in the middle of the yard and did her best to think about the cause and effect of this matter. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she had been tricked by the Eighth Prince. What future empress. Even after Liu shi's scandal had spread, that person was still talking about the future empress. At that time, her mind was in a mess and did not think too deeply about it, but now that she thought about it, how could that cousin treat her with any sincerity?
Suddenly, Zhu Kongshan turned around and glared at the Sheng Palace's servant, coldly asking: "Speak, how exactly did my mother die?"
The servant frowned and shook her head, replying: "This servant only just returned to Peng Zhou with young miss. How could I possibly know how she died?"
"Hmph!" Zhu Kongshan snorted coldly, "You don't know just because you're not in Peng Zhou? I fear that you know even more in the Sheng Palace! "After saying this, she turned around and headed straight for Liu shi's mourning hall.
Although she was a concubine, the Zhu manor still set up a small mourning hall due to the Liu family's pressure. It was just that aside from family members, there were no outsiders who came to offer condolences.
When she arrived, there were people from the Zhu family and people from the Liu family in the mourning hall. When they saw her arrive, they all opened up a path for her. Zhu Kongshan went forward to kowtow and light incense. She then walked over to the coffin and felt the coffin. The expression on her face was also very complicated.
In regards to this mother, she could not describe how she felt. Love, it was definitely love. After all, they were mother and daughter. But if it was hatred, it was definitely hatred. After all, it was Liu shi's misdeeds that had affected the latter half of her life. Zhu Kongshan now knew what sort of fate awaited her. Would she be completely abandoned by the Eighth Prince, or would she be abandoned after being used by the Eighth Prince for a while? Or could it be that her cousin really did not care about these things and still took her in as an imperial concubine?
As she thought about it, she began to laugh to herself. Turning around, she saw her eldest uncle from the Liu family come in. When he looked at her, there was a clear look of irritation on his face. She took the initiative to go forward and salute, calling out: "Eldest uncle."
He just nodded and did not say anything. He just said to Zhu Xinjie: "Kongshan has also returned. Let's bury her tomorrow!"
Zhu Xinjie nodded with a heavy expression. From beginning to end, he did not say a single word to Zhu Kongshan. She was unwilling to accept it and weakly asked: "How exactly did concubine mother Liu die?"
Zhu Xinjie's face was filled with disgust, as he waved his hand like he was swatting away a fly, saying: "Did you not hear? Liu shi had an affair with the manor's housekeeper and committed suicide to escape punishment. "
Zhu Kongshan did not like hearing this sort of thing and replied: "But daughter also heard that before concubine mother Liu hung herself, her finger was stained with blood, and she wrote down the word 'injustice'. Why is it that the family did not investigate? "
"What's there to investigate?" Zhu Xinjie really wanted to slap this daughter to death, "It's something that I personally saw. What is there to investigate!"
"I'm not talking about investigating that." When Zhu Kongshan said this, her gaze turned toward the side where the Liu family was standing, faintly saying: "My meaning is, why didn't you investigate? She clearly wasn't wrongly accused, so why did she write down the word wrongly? Concubine mother Liu feared pain the most and cared about her appearance the most. How could she possibly hang herself? Who could do such a thing? Even she could not do it. "
Hearing her say this, Zhu Xinjie also felt that there was indeed something fishy about the situation. Based on Liu shi's personality, it was not too likely that she would commit suicide. But he did not want to continue investigating. The more he thought about it, the more disgusted he felt. Regardless of how Liu shi had died, she was now dead. He felt that things were peaceful, and he felt that the manor was clean. As for the true cause of her death, that was none of his business. She was just a concubine. If she died, she died.
Seeing that Zhu Xinjie did not speak for a long time, Zhu Kongshan did not find it strange. She just asked the Liu family: "Uncles, will you not support concubine mother?"
Liu Wannian glanced at her and said in a heavy voice: "I thought that you would have made some progress after going to the capital. Who knew that you would still be like this. Since your concubine mother is the Zhu family's concubine, everything will be handled by the Zhu family. How could my Liu family interfere? "
These words made the Liu family's attitude clear. Zhu Kongshan nodded and did not continue to ask; however, she had already made a pretty good guess about this matter.
Liu shi's death might not be unrelated to the Liu family or even the Eighth Prince of the capital, right?
Ever since they returned to the manor, A-Huan and A-Ruo immediately returned to Zhu Kongyue's side. Zhu Kongshan only kept the servant from the Sheng Palace. But that servant had been left outside the room the entire time and was not allowed to get close to take care of her. The one at her side was still the person that had been taking care of her in the manor.
That night, the head madam came to Zhu Kongshan's room and told her: "Your father has already arranged a marriage for you. It's a scholar from Peng Zhou. You will be marrying over to be his official wife. Thinking about it, you will be climbing up the social ladder. Just make some preparations. You will be marrying over in half a month. The Zhu family will not be lacking in your dowry. "
Zhu Kongshan did not say anything. Instead, she nodded and put on a very cooperative appearance. This made the head madam very satisfied, as she left the room with a smile; however, she did not notice the wolf-like gaze of the girl inside the room.
The servant at her side handed her a letter at this time, saying to her: "This morning, before young miss entered the city, this servant went out to buy some things. A child casually handed me this, saying that it was a letter for the Zhu family's third young miss. Young miss, please take a look after returning to the manor."
Zhu Kongshan was puzzled; however, she quickly received the letter. To be able to send a letter in this manner meant that the contents of the letter were very secretive. Seeing that the wax seal was still intact, she let go and sent her personal maidservant away. Only then did she open the letter.
The contents of the letter were very simple. The Liu family's eldest master went to the capital. After discussing things with the Eighth Prince, he returned to Peng Zhou and sent a hidden guard to kill Liu shi. Third young miss, please investigate thoroughly.
It happened to coincide with what she had imagined!
Zhu Kongshan held the letter tightly in her hand. She no longer had any time to think about who had sent the letter. She just thought about how she had been helping the Eighth Prince with his matters over the past few months. She had put in so much thought, but in the end, the Eighth Prince had worked with her eldest uncle to kill her mother. What sort of situation was this?
The truth was often difficult for people to accept; however, Zhu Kongshan understood that even if she did not want to accept it, she had to accept it. The situation had already become like this. The latter half of her life had already been ruined by this matter. It was impossible for her to return to the past. In fact, her father and the head madam had already chosen a husband for her. In another half a month, she would be married off. For them to be in such a rush, it was clear that they did not want her to return to the capital. As for the Liu family's attitude, it was clear that they did not want to concern themselves with the matters between mother and daughter.
The Zhu family was anxious to break free, and the Liu family was also anxious to break free. Just a few days ago, she had still been living a glorious life in the capital. Now that she had returned to Peng Zhou, it was as though she had entered hell on earth. Everyone hated her.
Zhu Kongshan felt that she could no longer continue to stay in this family. Regardless of whether it was the Zhu family or the Liu family, they were both dangerous to her. This life could be lost at any moment. Since this was the case, she did not plan to continue being benevolent. The glory that had been given to certain people, she would now take it back one by one!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
