Reborn as the Crippled King s Beloved

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Taking Her to See the Bustle at Fu Baozhu’s
 

After recognizing each other, their days seemed not to have changed much.

But Chun Tao could clearly feel that her mistress smiled more than before.

The Prince, except for when urgent matters required him to leave, spent the rest of his time in Qiyun Courtyard, even moving his study there.

Gradually, Murong Jiu’s pregnancy symptoms eased, and she no longer suffered from frequent nausea; she ate more than before.

She felt her belly visibly growing; clothes from a few months ago no longer fit her.

Jun Yuyan was extremely considerate towards her, paying great attention to every little detail, and had Steward Lin bring in the best embroideress from Capital City to tailor new clothes for Murong Jiu.

Clothing for every stage of pregnancy was made in advance, in the most fashionable styles, and the fabric was nothing less than imperial gifts.

Originally a reward from the Emperor, Jun Yuyan had given all to Murong Jiu, but she felt her beauty did not match the quality of the materials and had sealed them away; now she let Jun Yuyan ask Chun Tao to take them all out for tailoring.

All sorts of jewelry and ornaments were also continuously sent into Prince Mansion.

Although Jun Yuyan never mentioned it, Murong Jiu knew that he was trying to compensate her for her brothers and father, so that she would not envy Fu Baozhu.

Murong Jiu indeed had envied Fu Baozhu in the past, envious of the love she received from her family, but after knowing that all that was stolen from her life by Marquis Mansion, she only felt hatred.

That day, Jun Yuyan took Murong Jiu out to relax.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴονǤᴑ.ƈο

After hearing from his master that pregnant women should not stay in one place all the time and should go out often to relax, he frequently took her out.

However, this time, they boarded a very ordinary carriage.

She was curious, “What are we going to do?”

Jun Yuyan did not keep her guessing and smiled, “I’m taking you to see something exciting, about Nanny Fan.”

Murong Jiu’s eyes lit up immediately.

It had been almost ten days since their last outing on the lake.

According to Jun Yuyan, General Fu had been informed about the incident on the boat by Fu Heng and Fu Han on their return that day.

The amount of jewelry involved was not something a mere maid would dare to steal, and besides, they had already sent people to investigate the pawnshops, finding that it was Nanny Fan who had gradually pawned these items.

Moreover, Nanny Fan had been doing this for years.

Previously, Nanny Fan had only taken trivial items, but now as her appetite grew and her grandson continuously lost more at the gambling hall, she had to pawn Fu Baozhu’s precious jewelry to fill the gaps.

Their question to General Fu was to see what his attitude toward this matter was.

Nanny Fan had been in the General’s Mansion for over a decade, taking care of Fu Baozhu, and even if she had no merits, she had put in hard work.

General Fu immediately said, “My General’s Mansion can’t shelter such thieving, scoundrel people; how can I trust her to look after Treasure Bead with such a character? What if she misguides Treasure Bead?”

Then he personally went to Fu Baozhu’s courtyard to question Nanny Fan.

But before he could start the interrogation, Fu Baozhu, who had returned to the courtyard early, hurriedly stopped them, defending Nanny Fan and claiming that a maid was the thief and she had already dismissed her.

At this, the expressions of the father and son both darkened.

Fu Baozhu’s haste in dismissing the maid clearly indicated she was aware of Nanny Fan’s crime and had scapegoated the maid.

That was cover-up.

General Fu directly ordered someone to bring back the dismissed maid, Fu Baozhu turned pale and hastily interjected, even crying, accusing General Fu of not trusting her words.

But her pretended grief did not change General Fu’s mind; he believed that Nanny Fan had deceived his daughter into lying.

The maid was found and quickly confessed, saying the mistress had given her some silver and a deed of sale, instructing her to take the blame and leave quickly.

Now the truth was fully revealed, and Fu Baozhu could no longer defend herself.

General Fu and his sons were extremely angry, having not anticipated that Fu Baozhu would lie and deceive, but they refrained from beating her, choosing first to punish Nanny Fan with a flogging before deciding to sell her off.

Nanny Fan pleaded continuously, claiming her years of hard service and loyalty.

Fu Baozhu also pleaded on her behalf, and eventually said something that disheartened General Fu.

She said, “Since childhood, I’ve had no mother, and it was Nanny Fan who was always with me. It was a moment of confusion that led her to steal, but she was also compelled by circumstances! If you’re going to beat her to death or sell her, you might as well kill me too! Since I’ve never known a mother’s love, dying won’t make a difference. It’s better to go with Nanny Fan!”

The faces of General Fu and the others turned very gloomy.

They had showered Fu Baozhu with enough affection, personally teaching her to read and write, to ride horses and shoot arrows, to play musical instruments, chess, and to paint, yet she claimed that no one loved her!

In Capital City, which woman could claim to receive the amount of affection from her father and brothers that she did?

To shield a nanny, she had uttered such heart-chilling words.

But Fu Baozhu was also clever at a crucial moment, knowing her father and brothers cared about her mother, she repeatedly mentioned having no mother and being always accompanied by Nanny Fan, repeating things like Nanny Fan being the first person she sees when she wakes from a nightmare.

This left General Fu burdened with guilt.

Fu Baozhu was right; everyone else had a mother, but she was born without one.

Reminded of his deceased wife, General Fu’s mood also dampened.

With his daughter behaving like this, what more could he do if he really sold Nanny Fan off, fearing his daughter might hate him.

In the end, he could only issue a verbal warning, declaring that if there were a next time, he would no longer forgive Nanny Fan.

Thus, the matter was sloppily concluded.

This was information gathered by a Hidden Guard skilled in Qinggong at the General’s Mansion on behalf of Jun Yuyan.

Although in the end, neither Nanny Fan nor Fu Baozhu were punished significantly, disappointment accumulates day by day, and once the seed of doubt is sown, it will eventually take root and grow.

Murong Jiu originally planned to quietly observe the changes.

Unexpectedly, Jun Yuyan had acted behind the scenes, making Nanny Fan’s grandson, who had claimed he would not gamble again, lose everything in one gamble and even accrued a debt of eight thousand taels of silver.

Eight thousand taels was a huge sum for a commoner, and Nanny Fan’s grandson had fallen into a trap set by Jun Yuyan.

That night, the deed of the small courtyard house Nanny Fan had bought for them was taken away, and the family was evicted, and the grandson of Nanny Fan was detained.

They were ordered to repay the remaining thousands of taels within three days, or else Nanny Fan’s grandson’s hand would be chopped off.

Having no other choice, Nanny Fan didn’t stoop to stealing jewelry again; she pleaded with Fu Baozhu to help her one last time.

Of course, Fu Baozhu was reluctant, but Nanny Fan knew her secret, and the reason she had saved Nanny Fan that day was precisely because she feared Nanny Fan might speak out if expelled.

Thus, Fu Baozhu had no choice but to scrape together the money for Nanny Fan. As she was usually extravagant and saved little from her allowance, she had no choice but to pawn the jewelry and treasures her father and brothers had given her.

Fearing her father and brothers might see, Fu Baozhu secretly went out, disguised herself, and specifically sought out individual resellers on the black market to offload a batch of exquisite and expensive jewelry.

She thought no one knew, but as soon as she left, she was discovered by the three brothers Fu Heng, who bought back all the items and grew even more disappointed in her.

Yet she was their sister, and they believed she had been profoundly deceived by Nanny Fan, only planning to wait until Nanny Fan got the money, redeemed her grandson, and then drive her out of the General’s Mansion.

As it happened, Jun Yuyan had taken Murong Jiu out just to show her this spectacle.