In the past, Lǜchá had always handled matters steadily by her side—how could she make such a blunder at a critical moment?
Ah, she should have let the second son handle it himself. When it came to things like this, a man could bring himself to do it.
But regret was useless now.
"Nanny Zhao, go bring the second couple here," Ruan Ruoying ordered.
Meanwhile, in the Second Branch's Wenhua Courtyard, Feng Zuwu had just returned from his post. Before he could even change his clothes, his wife Zheng Lian pulled him into the bedroom and sent all the servants away.
"My lady, what is it?" Feng Zuwu knew from her behavior that something big had happened. "Is Eldest Brother not going to make it?"
He had been uneasy all day at work and had sent his page back several times to check, but he heard no news of his eldest brother's death—instead, he learned that his eldest nephew's engagement had been broken off.
"Eldest Brother is still alive, but whether he'll die is still unknown. What a life he has—a knife stabbed right into his heart and he still won't die. What is Imperial Physician Hong doing? Why didn't he tamper with anything?" Zheng Lian was very frustrated.
Imperial Physician Hong was someone the Zheng family had bought off—the physician who had always attended to her noble consort sister, Zheng He.
"With Doctor Zhang present, it wasn't easy for him to act. Forget it—maybe Eldest Brother won't pull through anyway. They say he burned with fever all last night, and even when the Emperor sent people over today, he still hadn't woken.
"Husband, there's something else I need to tell you." Zheng Lian lowered her voice and spoke quietly.
"What is it?" Feng Zuwu grew serious.
"Sister-in-law picked up a child begging at the gate. Only after she was washed clean did I see her true face—she looks six parts like Sister-in-law. Could it be that the child didn't die back then?"
"What did you say?" Feng Zuwu was greatly shocked.
He had heard there was a child begging at the estate gate these past few days, but he hadn't given it much thought.
Besides, every day when he left for his post, the child hadn't arrived yet, and by the time he returned, the child was already gone.
He had never seen her. Even if he had, a beggar child would surely be filthy—impossible to tell.
"Your mother and I both saw her today, and we both thought she looked alike." Zheng Lian affirmed again.
"Let's go to Mother."
The couple had just reached the door when they saw Nanny Zhao hurrying into the courtyard.
"Second Young Master, Second Madam, the Old Madam requests your presence."
The two hurried to Renshou Courtyard.
The moment they entered, they saw Lǜchá kneeling on the ground.
Ruan Ruoying had Nanny Zhao close the door, then briefly recounted what Lǜchá had said to the couple. Hearing this, Feng Zuwu flared up in anger and kicked Lǜchá to the ground.
But it didn't quell his rage.
"Second Young Master, spare my life! Spare my life! I was so frightened at the time that I didn't dare confirm it." Lǜchá kowtowed desperately through the pain.
"Second Son, what do we do now? We still can't be sure whether that little beggar is really the child. But we must guard against every possibility." Ruan Ruoying was at a loss too.
"Mother, perhaps it's just a coincidence—they simply look alike. I'll go to my father-in-law's house now." Feng Zuwu had no good ideas either; for many matters, he consulted his father-in-law.
His father-in-law was Zheng Zigang, heir to Duke Zheng.
His eldest daughter was a noble consort in the palace, second in status only to the Empress—and far more favored by the Emperor than she.
The reason he had managed to marry Zheng Lian was that he had used schemes; otherwise, how could the granddaughter of the Duke Zheng household possibly have married him, a marquis's second son who could not inherit the title?
So he clung firmly to the Duke's estate, which was tantamount to binding himself to Noble Consort Zheng and her son.
"Go, then."
Feng Zuwu had barely left the marquis's residence when he ran into a servant sent by the Duke of Zheng's household to find him.
He hadn't expected his father-in-law to be looking for him as well.
He arrived at the Duke of Zheng's residence.
Zheng Zigang had long been waiting in the study.
Though nearly fifty and only a Bureau Director in the Ministry of War, a rank five official, Zheng Zigang had one thing going for him: his daughter, favored by the Emperor, was an imperial consort—and one who had borne a prince, no less.
If the old Duke were not still alive, his official position would surely be even higher.
"Father-in-law." The moment Feng Zuwu saw Zheng Zigang, he immediately bowed in greeting.
"Sit." Zheng Zigang had many dissatisfactions with this son-in-law, but back then his third daughter had been smitten with him and refused to marry anyone else, so he had no choice but to accept.
And so he could only spare no effort in helping this son-in-law.
This son-in-law had one good point: he was a scholar, and had at least passed the imperial examination to become a jinshi. Otherwise, there would have been no way for him to help even if he wanted to.
Now Feng Zuwu was a Bureau Director in the Ministry of Revenue, rank five, the same rank as his father-in-law. That, of course, owed much to his consort daughter's influence.
Feng Zuwu sat down obediently and took the initiative to pour tea for his father-in-law.
"How is your eldest brother?" Zheng Zigang got straight to the point.
"Father-in-law, he is still alive for now, but it's hard to say how long he can hold on. Your son-in-law had only just arrived home, and before I could even visit him, I came to see you. I don't know the details yet, but during the day I did send a servant back several times to check—he hasn't woken up." Feng Zuwu answered truthfully.
"Ah, if he passes away, we only need to exert a little effort, and the title will be yours. If he survives, then we can only wait slowly." Zheng Zigang sighed.
"Then what is your intention, Father-in-law?" Feng Zuwu didn't know what Zheng Zigang was thinking.
"What is your intention?" Zheng Zigang wanted to hear the young man's own thoughts.
Feng Zuwu naturally hoped that Feng Zuwen would simply pass away and be done with it once and for all.
That way things would quickly go as he wished, and he wouldn't have to worry about anything else—for instance, the day their child-switching was exposed.
But that was his own eldest brother. If he were to directly make a move on him, he couldn't quite get past the hurdle in his own heart—after all, that was his elder half-brother, born of the same father.
Feng Zuwen was a military man, straightforward in character, clear about love and hate, without any scheming thoughts, and wholeheartedly devoted to him as his younger brother.
It was just that he was somewhat foolish—loyal only to the Emperor, loyal only to the legitimate line.
Marrying the Duke of Zheng's granddaughter did not mean he would side with them and pave the way for the Second Prince. On the contrary, he often urged Feng Zuwu not to get too close to the Duke of Zheng's faction.
"Your son-in-law… your son-in-law naturally hopes things go as I wish, but I cannot bring myself to do it." Feng Zuwu had not yet extinguished the last of his conscience.
"Ah, it seems the Marquis of Wu'an truly cares for you, his brother. Then let nature take its course—we don't lack for anything with him around. Besides, with such severe injuries, he will hardly be fit for great responsibilities in the future.
Most likely he will be plagued by illness for the rest of his days, and his life won't be long." This was what Zheng Zigang said on the surface, but what he was thinking inside, no one could know.
Sometimes this son-in-law was a bit indecisive, so as the father-in-law, he could only worry a little more.
Hearing Zheng Zigang's words, Feng Zuwu's shoulders relaxed and sank slightly.
Seeing this reaction, Zheng Zigang sighed inwardly.
"Father-in-law, there is a matter your son-in-law must tell you."
Zheng Zigang picked up his tea and took a light sip, gesturing for him to continue.
"Elder sister-in-law has adopted a beggar child who looks remarkably like her. My mother suspects it might be that child from back then."
"What did you say?" Zheng Zigang was so startled he nearly dropped his teacup, his hand trembling and spilling the tea.
As the heir of a duke's household, he naturally wouldn't care about a little beggar, so he had paid no attention to the matter of Feng Tianxing begging outside the marquis's residence.
"Father-in-law?" Feng Zuwu looked at Zheng Zigang in confusion.
"I asked you here tonight precisely to tell you about this matter. I never expected things had already gone this far." Zheng Zigang had never imagined that child would end up in the marquis's residence.
"Back then, when that child was abandoned in the grass, she didn't die. Fortunately, I had someone follow the little maid who was sent to deal with it.
Later, I thought it over and decided we could keep her—she might prove useful someday, and at a critical moment, she could be used to threaten your elder brother.
But not long ago, the child suddenly disappeared. The family who adopted her was arranged by me, and they searched for a long time without finding her before sending word to me. I only received the message today, and then you tell me that your sister-in-law has adopted a beggar."
Zheng Zigang had kept this matter hidden from his daughter and son-in-law all along, precisely because he didn't want them to worry too much. He never expected things to go wrong anyway.
"Father-in-law, you should have told us," Feng Zuwu said, finding it hard to accept.
After making such a great sacrifice, his own child still might be discovered.
"Enough. I'll make the arrangements from here. You may go back. Perhaps it isn't that child?"