The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 93 - Lianyi

Translator Xiaobai: Chuyi's unanswered questions will be addressed in this chapter :)

_______

By the time Song Chuyi returned to her room, the sun was already high in the sky. Nanny Xu had been anxiously waiting at the door, and upon seeing her, she hurried forward, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "It's her, it's Lianyi, it's Lianyi!"

Nanny Xu had grown up with Lianyi, so there was no mistaking her. Just one glance was enough for her to recognize the rough-looking woman with her hair loosely tied at the back of her head as the once delicate young lady Lianyi, whose hands had never touched rough labor.

"I had someone take her away to wash up. I didn't want her appearance to frighten you," Nanny Xu whispered, wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes. "Damn that Li family! They've ruined her... I heard Lianyi gave birth to three girls, all of whom were drowned..."

Song Chuyi stopped in her tracks, staring at Nanny Xu in shock.

She had grown up in a wealthy and privileged household. Although she knew that many people valued boys more than girls, she had never heard of newborn girls being drowned or taken away.

Nanny Xu could no longer suppress the anger in her heart. "She was once a fine person, but now... she's neither human nor ghost. The Li family has lost their minds. They believe that if they drown a baby girl, the next child will be a boy, so they ignore Lianyi's desperate pleas and drown them... not just one or two, but three! How could they do it? And now, Lianyi is pregnant again... but she's already thirty-two years old..."

Perhaps it was the shock of seeing an old friend in such a state, or perhaps it was the sheer cruelty of the situation, but Nanny Xu was so overwhelmed with emotion that her words came out in a confused rush.

Song Chuyi steadied herself and gently took Nanny Xu's hand. "Nanny, calm down first. No matter what, let me see her."

Nanny Xu wiped her tears and nodded, choking back her sobs. "Yes, I'll make the arrangements right away."

Although Song Chuyi thought she had mentally prepared herself, the moment she laid eyes on Lianyi, she couldn't help but rise to her feet in shock.

Lianyi looked far too old. The face that once had delicate and refined features was now covered in wrinkles, and her chin was mottled with spots. Her eyes were full of the weariness of someone who had experienced too many hardships.

Nanny Xu had said that Lianyi was a few years younger than herself, but now Lianyi appeared to be more than ten years older than Nanny Xu.

"Lianyi, this is our little young lady..." Nanny Xu cried as she supported Lianyi, pointing at Song Chuyi. "Look, she's eight years old now. Doesn't she look just like our lady..."

Lianyi hurried over to Song Chuyi, reaching out as if she wanted to touch her. But just as her hand was about to reach Song Chuyi's face, she stopped.

Unable to speak, Lianyi cried as she opened her mouth, producing harsh, monotonous sounds of "ah, ah, ah." She repeatedly rubbed her hands against her clothes, but in the end, she didn't touch Song Chuyi's face. Her body trembled as she collapsed to her knees with a soft thud.

Song Chuyi was so startled by Lianyi's actions that she instinctively took a step back. But she quickly recovered, feeling both heartbroken and furious, and squatted down to pull Lianyi up.

This was her mother's head maid, who should have had a grand wedding with a dowry, either marrying a steward in the household or becoming the wife of an ordinary man. But now, everything had been destroyed.

She didn't even feel worthy to reach out and touch the orphan of her former mistress.

But what had she done wrong? Song Chuyi sorrowfully helped her to her feet, her tears falling onto Lianyi's hands.

"I'm sorry..." Song Chuyi suddenly felt the inadequacy of her words, unable to express even a fraction of her grief and helplessness. "Lianyi... I'm sorry..."

Lianyi let out two sharp cries, flustered, as she fumbled to offer a handkerchief to wipe away Song Chuyi's tears. But halfway through, she saw her hands, covered in spots, veins bulging, and full of calluses, and she couldn't bring herself to reach out.

With tear-filled eyes, Nanny Xu helped the two of them up, her voice trembling as she asked Lianyi, "Your voice...?"

Lianyi wiped away her tears and gestured with her hands, asking for something.

Qingtao was the first to understand and quickly asked, "Do you need paper and a brush?"

Lianyi made a sound of agreement and nodded repeatedly.

Nanny Xu smiled through her tears and said to Song Chuyi, "Yes, yes, Lianyi and the others know how to read and write..."

Qingtao and Hongyu quickly brought paper and a brush, handing them to Lianyi. Her hands trembled as she scribbled a few crooked characters and held the paper up for Song Chuyi to see.

The Lady was killed by Li Jingshu.

Song Chuyi clenched her fists and stared at those ten words, slowly nodding.

Tears welled up in Lianyi's eyes again. After scribbling for a while, she raised the paper to show Song Chuyi once more.

The midwife is suspicious, the midwife from the Zheng family in the east of the city.

Xu Momo cried out in shock, "Our Lady didn't die from childbirth?! Someone tampered with it?!"

From the snippets of conversation, Qingtao's parents overheard and the information Nanny Xu had gathered, they had only suspected that Lady Cui had been lured by Li Shi into seeing something disgraceful at Qingliang Temple, which had triggered the difficult birth.

But it turns out that it wasn't just that? Or rather, it wasn't limited to that?

Cui Shi's death was part of a meticulously planned scheme, with someone deliberately wanting her dead.

Lianyi opened her mouth and let out a sharp cry, nodding repeatedly.

East City, Zheng family.

Song Chuyi couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. What a coincidence.

The Li's mother and daughter preferred to use the same midwife. It seemed they were quite nostalgic, continuing to support this Nanny Zheng's business. In her past life, when she had a difficult birth, it was also this Nanny Zheng who had helped her deliver.

And then she was declared unable to have any more children.

Were these coincidences, or were they orchestrated? It was becoming increasingly clear.

Hating to the extreme, Song Chuyi found herself unable to feel any other emotions. She clutched the paper Lianyi had given her tightly as if trying to bore a hole through it with her gaze.

"Lianyi, do Grandmother and Father know about these things?" Song Chuyi asked hoarsely, looking at her with no emotion in her eyes, like a clay statue of a Bodhisattva in a temple.

Lianyi pondered carefully, then bowed her head to write a few more characters on the paper before handing it to her.

I don't know. The old lady of the Li family orchestrated it.

A cold smile curled at the corners of Song Chuyi's lips, and her eyes grew more filled with hatred.

"Then why did Grandmother sell you off?" Song Chuyi asked the question that had been stuck in her heart, unable to be resolved. "She values rules so much, so why did she suddenly decide to break them? She even allowed the Li family to come in and made them my stepmother..."

Lianyi finally reached out and grasped Song Chuyi's hand, shaking it vigorously a few times, signaling her to calm down. Then she wrote on another piece of paper and handed it over.

Nanny Xu spat several times on the ground in anger, already having cursed Li Shi countless times in her heart. Qingtao's eyelids twitched as she turned to observe Song Chuyi's reaction.