One hour later, at the Su family home.
The county magistrate's office clerk flipped through the household register in his hand, glancing at the register and then at Su Geng: "Su Hunter, are both of your daughters your own biological children?"
"This…" Su Geng rubbed his hands together, his old face stiffening.
His eldest daughter, Su Ruolang, was brought by his first wife.
When his first wife married him, she already had this infant daughter in her arms, crying and needing care, claiming she had picked her up on the road. Regardless of whose seed she was, she was certainly not his.
His younger daughter, Su Yunshan, was born to his second wife, Chen Shi, and her former husband.
In truth, neither of them were his biological children.
This matter was embarrassing, and Su Geng never voluntarily mentioned it to anyone. Unexpectedly, today the clerk came to his door to inquire.
"A family in the Capital City lost their daughter in this area years ago. Calculating the age, it matches your two daughters, so the County Magistrate sent me to ask. Don't be afraid, just tell the truth," the clerk continued.
Chen Shi, standing nearby, brightened at the mention: "A family from the Capital City?"
What kind of status could prompt the County Magistrate to mobilize such efforts, sending people to inquire at every household?
Suddenly thinking of something, Chen Shi asked again: "Sir, how old was the girl when she was lost, and… did she have any belongings?"
"There was a jade pendant and a silver hairpin," the clerk answered truthfully.
A jade pendant?
Chen Shi didn't know about the jade pendant, but she remembered Su Geng telling her that Su Ruolang was an abandoned infant taken in, and when she was taken in, there was a silver hairpin in the swaddling clothes.
That hairpin had intricate patterns and exquisite craftsmanship. Chen Shi had always kept it in her dressing box, reluctant to wear it. Hearing this, she hurriedly went into the room, found the silver hairpin, and presented it to the clerk, eagerly saying: "Sir, look, is this the one?"
Although the clerk didn't recognize it, the man beside him changed expression.
This man was none other than Jing An, Qin Moqing's attendant.
"Where did you get this item?" Jing An hurriedly asked.
Chen Shi clutched the hairpin and retreated slightly, as if afraid someone might snatch it, her gaze flickering uncertainly: "This… this belongs to my younger daughter Shan'er. When I took her in, this hairpin was in the swaddling clothes…"
Su Geng heard something wrong and stammered, about to refute, but Chen Shi glared at him, silencing him.
"Sir, I have treated my Shan'er as my own, never mentioning her origins to outsiders, so even her household registration is listed together with our family, treated as if she were my own biological child!" Chen Shi continued.
In the household register, Su Ruolang and Su Yunshan were of similar age, differing by only half a year.
Jing An heard this and had no doubts: "May I ask where this Shan'er girl is? My master wishes to invite her to the county magistrate's office for a meeting."
"That would be wonderful!" Chen Shi, ecstatic, went into the inner room, pulled Su Yunshan aside, and lowered her usual loud voice to an extremely low tone.
"Shan'er, a tremendous fortune… Mother has raised that wild seed for so many years, and it hasn't been wasted!"
…
Several hours later, Su Ruolang returned from the town.
She had been quite busy today, not only going to Deshan Tang but also visiting the county magistrate's office.
As she entered the small courtyard of the Su family, she heard the voices of Su Geng and Chen Shi inside the house, deliberately hushed, only faintly able to discern words like "infant girl" and "silver hairpin."
Just as she was puzzled, suddenly a basin of water splashed toward her face.
Following that, Su Yunshan's affected voice rang out: "Su Ruolang, you actually know to come back?"
Su Yunshan stood at the courtyard gate, her eyes filled with contempt, as if Su Ruolang were a filthy, dirty thing.
She had thought she would succeed in splashing Su Ruolang this time, but unexpectedly, Su Ruolang managed to evade it?
Su Yunshan snorted, growing even more irritated: "You haven't even married yet, yet you go out and show your face all day long, so lacking in virtue… Qin Gongzi truly misjudged, how could he fall for such a fickle woman like you?"
Fickle?
Su Ruolang remained silent, leisurely stepping toward her.
Su Yunshan had just begun her barrage of sarcasm when Su Ruolang arrived before her.
"What did you say? I didn't quite hear it clearly." Su Ruolang casually scratched her ear, her expression calm, her tone indifferent.
"I said you… you haven't even married yet…" Meeting Su Ruolang's watery gaze, Su Yunshan couldn't help stammering, unable to finish the rest of her sentence.
Clearly, Su Ruolang was the one who had lost her chastity; clearly, Su Ruolang had been foolish and silly before, a laughingstock among everyone…
But why, at this moment, the Su Ruolang standing before her made her inexplicably breathless?
"Why aren't you speaking?" Su Ruolang urged.
The clearer those eyes were, the more they unsettled Su Yunshan, as if all her shameful deeds had been exposed…
Su Yunshan forcefully suppressed the panic in her heart: "I… I'm just worried about you, afraid that you'll be rejected before even marrying, which would disgrace our family and cause me to be gossiped about!"
"So I should thank you for your concern?" Su Ruolang raised her eyebrows slightly.
Su Yunshan grew even more guilty, gritting her teeth to bluff: "You… whether you thank me or not, I'll soon be marrying anyway. If you dare to envy and cause trouble then, watch how I'll have Mother deal with you!"
After speaking, she dared not linger for even a moment, hurriedly carrying the basin of water into the house.
She still needed to dress up and go to the county magistrate's office to meet that wealthy family from the Capital City!
Su Ruolang: ""
Someone actually wants to marry her step-sister? Who is that person? Could their eyes be blind?
…
Meanwhile, in the wing room of Deshan Tang's backyard.
Qin Moqing, who had not caught a cold for over ten years, was bent over the desk reviewing household records when he suddenly sneezed without warning. He lifted his face, his expression inexplicable.
"Your Highness." Jing An hurriedly reported.
"What is it?" Qin Moqing's tone was as indifferent as usual.
"Someone just reported that Su Ruolang went to the county magistrate's office this afternoon, saying that keeping the betrothal gifts at home might attract thieves, and she intends to move them all to your residence for safekeeping." Jing An said.
Keeping them at home might attract thieves?
That reasoning is rather novel.
"Perhaps the Su family courtyard is too dilapidated, and with the New Year approaching, thieves here are rampant. It's possible someone might be tempted by the wealth…" Jing An seriously analyzed.
Thieves?
Thinking of Su Ruolang's stepmother, whose eyes gleamed at silver, and Su Ruolang's faded, washed-out dress… Qin Moqing's dark eyes deepened with meaning.
A thief within the family is also a thief, and harder to guard against than ordinary thieves.
He deeply understood this point.
His pale, thin lips moved slightly, three words succinctly: "Let her move them."
"Yes." Jing An respectfully nodded.
After a moment of silence, Qin Moqing added impassively: "If she encounters any difficulties, help her as much as possible."
"…" Jing An couldn't help feeling surprised upon hearing this.
Didn't the prince previously treat Su Ruolang with extreme coldness, barely interacting with her beyond necessary formalities, and never intending to have too much involvement with her?
So why has he now instructed me to help her whenever possible?
How truly strange and puzzling…