CH 92.1

After three consecutive days of snow, the sky was finally clear. The sun shone on the roofs, the trees, and the snow shovelled to the sides of the road. Not only did it not make people feel warm, but it made people feel chilly instead.

It’s not cold when it snows, but it’s cold once the snow melts. This saying has existed since ancient times.

On this type of day, Yao Cheng was reluctant to go out but his mother made a fuss about visiting Yan’er. He was also worried about his mother making such a long journey alone, so he could only follow.

Huiniang only recently discovered that Yan’er disappeared because she went to see her sister, Yaoniang.

Mrs. Li didn’t say a word about it before and acted as if she didn’t know where Yan’er went when confronted by Yao Cheng. After Yan’er’s disappearance, she didn’t dare cause a commotion. The Yao Family could only search for her in private. After all their efforts, the person was still not found. There was no other way. The day before the agreed wedding day with the man’s family, Yao Cheng personally went to the door to withdraw the marriage.

For this, the Yao Family even had to compensate the family with five taels of silver.

Yao Cheng was busy with government affairs all day, while Huiniang took care of the housework and raised their two children. The two of them gradually forgot about this matter. But Mrs. Li, a mother, also acted as per normal, as if there was nothing wrong. Huiniang confessed to Yao Cheng in private that she believed Mrs. Li must know where Yan’er was. She was probably sent to his cousin’s family.

Yao Cheng had an aunt in the countryside. When Yao Cheng’s father was still alive, the two siblings were very close and even spent holidays together. Before, Mrs. Li had always threatened Yan’er by saying that she would send her to the countryside. This was why Huiniang came to that conclusion.

But she never expected that Yan’er would go to Jin Wang Mansion to find Yaoniang.

Actually, Mrs. Li was already a bit restless a few days ago and Huiniang hadn’t understood why. After these two days, Mrs. Li finally couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She confessed to Yao Cheng that she dreamt of Yan’er living on the streets with no food and no place to live. She was also bullied by others.

Huiniang saw that Mrs. Li finally stopped hiding it and even proposed to see if Yan’er was well at Jin Wang Mansion. To be honest, not only did Mrs. Li want to go, but Huiniang also wanted to go there too. She knew her sister’s temperament well. Yan’er’s was both cunning and dishonest. Yaoyao was simply not her opponent.

This was why they were making this long journey.

Yao Cheng could only accompany the two women on the road. Since all the adults in the family were gone, the two children could not be left behind. Like this, all five members of the Yao Family sat in a mule cart and travelled for an entire day before arriving at the gate of Jin Wang Mansion.

This was the first time that Mrs. Li had seen such a magnificent mansion. Even that Master He’s mansion was nothing compared to Jin Wang Mansion.

She didn’t know that such a house could not be built casually. Even the copper nails on the door followed a standard. If any ordinary commoner dared to overstep authority, their property would be searched and confiscated. Their entire family would also end up beheaded. So let alone Master He’s house, in the entire Dagan Dynasty, apart from the imperial palace, it would be hard to find another mansion like a qinwang’s residence.

Yao Cheng was much more knowledgeable about the world. After dealing with the soldiers patrolling the street, he parked the mule cart at the east corner gate.

But once he received word from the gatekeeper, he drove the cart to the back door.

Mrs. Li sat in the cart and complained that the rules of the manor were too much. They simply couldn’t go through any door. She could understand not going through the front door, but they didn’t even let them enter through the side door. They were actually kicked to the back door.

Yao Cheng was afraid that the old lady would cause trouble once they entered the manor later, so he patiently told her the rules. It was likely that even some of the imperial family’s relatives couldn’t go through the front door, so what more ordinary people like them.

At the back door, because of the cold weather, the door was closed.

Yao Cheng knocked dozens of times before the door was opened from the inside. A woman stood there wearing a dark green coat, looking at them impatiently from the corner of her eye. “What are you here for?”

Yao Cheng with a polite smile on his face was about to speak when Mrs. Li interrupted from the side.

“I’m looking for Yan’er. I’m her mother.”

As the saying goes, the prime minister’s gatekeeper is akin to a seventh rank official. The gatekeeper of a prince’s residence naturally couldn’t be someone simple. Between women, there were differences in status. The gatekeeper could tell that Mrs. Li was a countryside woman at first glance. She didn’t even need to look at the quality of her clothes to know. She could tell from just looking at her yellow teeth.

“There’s no one called Yan’er here. You’ve found the wrong place.” She was about to close the door, but Mrs. Li pushed on the door to prevent her from closing it.

“What do you mean? How could my Yan’er not be here?” Mrs. Li had nightmares over the last few days and was greatly disturbed by them. Now that she heard her daughter wasn’t in the manor, she became anxious immediately.

“How do I know where your daughter is! Get out! Don’t stand here in the way. I’ll call for the guards if you don’t leave.”

Mrs. Li wanted to quarrel with this woman, but Yao Cheng stopped her and confronted the gatekeeper. “Auntie, we’re looking for someone called Su Yaoniang. She’s a wet nurse for the little princess in the manor.” 

The woman’s face suddenly became suspicious as she asked, “Who are you to Lady Su?”

“We are her sister and brother-in-law.”

“Then wait, I’ll go in and pass a message.” The woman looked at them again before closing the door and going inside.

Mrs. Li watched the door close again and was about to curse when she suddenly remembered what the woman had said just now.

“Lady? Did that Su Yaoniang actually strike it rich? The prince even gave her a title as Lady? Tsk tsk tsk, I really didn’t think that this girl would have such a blessing. Since she’s the prince’s concubine, my Yan’er must also be inside. She better not treat my Yan’er as a maid or else!”

Huiniang remained in the cart the entire time, watching over the two children. Even after hearing Mrs. Li’s words, she didn’t say anything. She only felt anxious. What this pair of mother and daughter were like, no one understood better than her.

Yan’er’s harmed Yaoyao, so how could Yaoyao keep her in the manor? Needless to say, Yan’er must’ve threatened her. Yaoyao’s greatest secret was that she didn’t marry at all, but gave birth to Xiaobao after being violated.     

Her body wouldn’t be whole either way but there was a big difference between giving birth after marriage and giving birth after being violated.