MFURCC -Chapter 38 Liuzheng Takes Sides

Nanny Qian looked like she had something to say.

Liuzheng said, “Nanny Qian, the matriarch looks very weary. I happen to have a ginseng root; come with me and give it to her.”

Nanny Qian quickly nodded. “Yes, miss!”

They soon returned to Tinglan Courtyard.

Everyone in this courtyard held contracts under Liuzheng, so Liuzheng’s future was their future as well.

Seeing Liuzheng return safely, though her face looked a little pale, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Liuzheng reassured them briefly, telling them to attend to their own tasks, then called Nanny Qian inside.

Once the door was closed, Nanny Qian immediately said, “I’ve done everything according to your instructions, miss… could you allow me to return to my hometown?”

A thin layer of sweat covered her forehead.

By helping Liuzheng today, she knew that once the matriarch had time, she would definitely come after her. She dared not stay any longer in the General’s residence.

Liuzheng sipped her tea; the warm liquid soothed her dry throat considerably.

She said, “I remember… Nanny Qian, your hometown suffered a famine years ago, which is why you came to work at the Ruan household. If you go back now, is it possible to find your family?”

Nanny Qian lowered her head.

“I already sent people to look. Those who died… died; those who fled… fled. They’re no longer in our hometown. But I thought, if I search carefully, I might still find them.”

In short, she absolutely dared not stay.

Liuzheng said, “Whether you find them or not is another matter. The matriarch knows where your hometown is; finding you would be effortless for her.”

Nanny Qian’s face turned pale, and suddenly she knelt with a thud.

“Please, young miss, show this old servant a clear path!”

Liuzheng said, “I’ll have someone rent a residence. At that time, a noble guest will move in. You won’t need to return to your hometown; just stay there and take care of this noble guest for me. I guarantee the matriarch won’t find you, and your future will be much brighter.”

Nanny Qian kowtowed repeatedly.

“Thank you, young miss! I will never betray you again in this life and will take good care of the noble guest!”

Though she dared not remain in the General’s residence, she did not truly wish to return home.

Her hometown was barren; even if she returned with money, in that poor backwater, she would sooner or later be noticed by others.

Liuzheng’s solution was exactly what she wanted.

“I will never, ever betray you or the matriarch again.”

Liuzheng said, “I’ll have someone find a suitable house. You should also tell the matriarch that you wish to retire to your hometown.”

“Yes…”

“Go with peace of mind. I will arrange this as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, serve the matriarch faithfully; she won’t dare trouble you directly.”

“Yes.”

Nanny Qian thanked her profusely and withdrew.

Nanny Jiang came over and asked, “Young miss, would you like to lie down and rest?”

Liuzheng shook her head.

“No need.”

She knew she would be fine, which was why she dared take such a risk—drinking the porridge even knowing it was poisoned.

She understood her own body clearly.

This life was a gift from heaven; she would never recklessly put herself into a real trap.

“Bring Pan Hong in.”

“Yes!”

Soon, Nanny Jiang returned with Pan Hong.

“General!” he knelt with his fists clasped.

“No need for formalities. How is Pan Zhan?”

“He’s mostly recovered. He insisted on coming just now, but since you instructed him to rest, I didn’t let him.”

Liuzheng nodded.

“The poison he took was stronger than mine; he needs a period of recovery.”

“And how is your health?”

Liuzheng smiled faintly. “What do you think?”

Seeing her reaction, Pan Hong knew she was fine and finally relaxed completely.

Liuzheng said, “Thanks to your lock-picking skills, you were able to place the monkshood juice in Mrs. Zhao’s room, enter the storeroom, and retrieve the silver reward plaque.”

Pan Hong felt deeply ashamed.

“At that time, we brothers were just… low-level thieves. You rescued us from the beatings and allowed us to join the army, reforming us. Our current lives are all thanks to your mercy. Doing this small thing is nothing.”

If not for Liuzheng, they would still be petty thieves, sneaking around. No—by then, the people who caught them stealing might have already beaten them to death.

He sighed again. “It’s just a pity that our plan didn’t take the lives of those two. We only sent them to the temple to reflect on their misdeeds.”

Liuzheng smiled. “Don’t think like that. One shouldn’t be too greedy. Besides, we still gained something.”

Although Mrs. Zhao did not die, she could never return to the General’s residence or have another chance to cause trouble for the matriarch.

The third household would now gain favor from the matriarch since the second wife was sent to the temple, no longer the least valued members of the residence.

As for Ruan Yunzheng, she never intended to take Ruan Yunzheng’s life.

The matriarch would never agree to let Ruan Yunzheng die.

That’s why she didn’t have Xianghe directly reveal Ruan Yunzheng’s involvement. Instead, Xianghe was told to inform Pan Hong to place the monkshood juice in Mrs. Zhao’s room, not Ruan Yunzheng’s.

And the silver reward plaque—Liuzheng’s target was never Ruan Yunzheng but her trusted aide, Su Luo.

“Now, under these circumstances, we’ve already profited.”

Not just profited—huge profits—

She had discovered that Su Luo held secrets worth exploiting.

“Assign someone to keep a close eye on Su Luo. Wherever she goes, whoever she talks to, report it to me.”

“Yes!”

She also instructed Nanny Jiang to find a residence.

“There’s a nobleman. Once Third Aunt finds him, I’ll have him placed there. Then, let Nanny Qian serve him.”

Nanny Jiang hesitated slightly. “Though I do not know who this nobleman is… are you sure you want her to serve him?”

Liuzheng said, “People who are cowardly and selfish are easy to manage. She has no other choice now. She fears the Madam giving her trouble, and she fears I might expose her. Weighing the two, she has no option but to side with us.”

“Yes, your servant will go handle it immediately.”

Nanny Jiang moved quickly and soon found a residence.

It was located on the outskirts of the capital, large and new, requiring no renovations.

Liuzheng then called Xianghe.

She handed Xianghe a silver note.

“Take this money and use it to treat your mother’s illness.”

Xianghe refused.

She declined repeatedly.

“I have already committed a grave crime. You spared my life, which alone is a blessing for three lifetimes. How could I possibly accept this money?”

Liuzheng said, “It’s not for you—it’s for your mother. Moreover, this silver isn’t purely a reward; it’s also for buying you over.”

“?” Xianghe didn’t understand.

“I need you to go to a residence and keep an eye on Nanny Qian for me.”

The nanny’s words were not without reason, so Liuzheng wanted double assurance.

After giving her instructions, Xianghe finally accepted the silver note.

She performed a deep bow to Liuzheng, then left with Nanny Jiang.

With that, the matter was fully settled.

Yet Liuzheng continued to carefully review whether there were any loopholes left—

When she first returned to the General’s residence, she had been blocked by people of the Madam and the Elder Master. At that moment, she thought of making a big scene—not only to let the Madam see the cold indifference of these two, but also to reclaim all the rewards she had received from the palace.

She hadn’t expected the later incident with Ruan Yunzheng attempting to poison her.

So she decided to use the scheme against itself, first letting Xianghe pass a message to Pan Hong for her.

Once Pan Hong completed the matters with Aconite juice and the silver reward, she had him go fetch Prince Su.

She hadn’t expected the Duke of Wei to arrive as well.

But that was beneficial rather than harmful.

Prince Su might not spread word of today’s events, but the Duke of Wei certainly couldn’t resist.

He was grateful to her, and he would sympathize with her.

The Madam’s reputation would worsen.

From then on, if the Madam wanted to do anything to her, she’d have to consider whether outsiders might suspect the Madam’s involvement.

The only one Liuzheng truly worried about was Prince Su.

Between the Crown Prince and Prince Su, though she had no real choice, she still had to determine whether the one she sided with would be a wolf like the Crown Prince.

If there was no difference between the two, why bother taking sides?

Better to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

After thinking it over, Liuzheng decided she would visit Prince Su the very next day.

She needed as much contact with him as possible to understand his character.

To learn who the real Su Heng was, not the masked Prince Su.

But at the thought of Prince Su, Liuzheng couldn’t help but recall Little Hengzi.

At that time, Little Hengzi was among a group of refugees.

When she led her squad past, she saw him fighting with several others, all for a single steamed bun.

At first, Liuzheng thought he was simply starving, risking everything to protect that bun.

But after driving off the thieves, he turned and gave the bun to a child.

It was this act that made Liuzheng take him under her command.

Afterward, they trained together, fought together.

He was sincere and upright, yet in the end, he was burned alive.

At that time, she had sneaked into the enemy camp amidst the chaos of their supplies being set ablaze, risking her life to kill enemy officers.

That should have been her happiest moment, but upon returning to camp, she learned that Little Hengzi had been accidentally killed while burning the enemy’s supplies, his body burned to black along with the grain.

Liuzheng initially refused to believe it until she found the silver talisman she had once given him on his body.

She buried Little Hengzi but shed no tears; her grief turned to rage, fueling her fearless slaughter of enemy soldiers in subsequent battles…

Unconsciously, tears streamed down Liuzheng’s face.

“Miss…” Nanny Jiang awkwardly handed her a handkerchief. “Why are you suddenly crying? Isn’t everything settled?”

Liuzheng came back to herself.

She gently wiped her tears and said, “I was just remembering old events.”

Then she asked Nanny Jiang, “Have Xianghe and Nanny Qian been properly settled?”

“Yes, they have. If you’re worried, another day I can take you to see for yourself.”

“No need, I trust you.”

She returned the handkerchief to Nanny Jiang, then suddenly asked, “Nanny, tell me—do you think there can be two people in this world who look exactly the same?”

“Exactly the same? What about their temperaments and way of speaking?”

“Seems… not quite the same.”

“Then they would be twins!” Nanny Jiang said. “In my hometown, there was a family with twins who looked identical. Even their parents couldn’t tell them apart, so they tied a red string on the elder one. Seeing the red string, everyone knew who was older.”

“Could people who aren’t related by blood look the same?”

Nanny Jiang thought for a moment. “In this vast world, it’s certainly possible, though very rare. Most cases are twins, which is why they look alike.”

Liuzheng’s thoughts stirred.

“Only twins?”

She looked out the window.

From here, she could glimpse a corner of the imperial city.

Could it be that the Empress Dowager didn’t give birth to only Prince Su, but to two?

Liuzheng was determined to find out.