Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Nanny Gu wailed, “But I can’t bear to leave Miss Ah Fu, and Miss Ah Fu wants to see me too.”

Nanny Gu was the wet nurse my mother-in-law had found for Ah Fu, and she had raised the child since birth.

Ah Fu was attached to her.

Understanding Nanny Gu’s words, she began to sob in my arms.

“I want Nanny! I want Nanny!”

Nanny Gu was doing this on purpose.

She deliberately made Ah Fu cry to manipulate me.

She was a muddle-headed fool, and she would only grow more senile with age. I could not let someone like her stay by Ah Fu’s side as she grew up.

I used to be a pushover, terrified of conflict.

But this time, I channeled Sixth Sister’s manner and turned back to glare coldly at Nanny Gu.

“You made Ah Fu cry. Your retirement pension will be cut in half.”

Nanny Gu shut her mouth instantly, hurriedly wiping away her tears. She hunched her shoulders, not daring to utter another word.

I fell silent for a moment. As it turned out, handling Nanny Gu wasn’t that difficult.

So why had I endured two years of abuse from my mother-in-law and her for nothing?

I really was useless.

I looked at Ah Fu and gave her little cheek a tender kiss.

Don’t cry, little silly.

She would abandon you for money.

But in your mother’s heart, you are a precious treasure that cannot be traded for a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred million pieces of gold.

In the future, you must never be like your mother: living the first half of her life in a daze and only learning to be sensible in the second half. It is, after all, a bit late.

I did not return to Duke Chengguo’s Mansion. Instead, I went to the palace to pay my respects to my Mother Empress.

Mother Empress had already been informed of Lu Jinghuai’s situation.

She was ill, and her brow held a touch of melancholy and coldness.

“Who would have thought that even Lu Jinghuai would change?”

Indeed.

Good things in this world are never permanent; colorful clouds easily scatter, and glass is brittle.

I had thought that a love forged through countless trials and tribulations would be more solid. I never expected that in just two short years, it would rot.

“What do you plan to do?”

“Mother… I want the palace maids and nannies who used to follow me.”

“Have you made up your mind?”

“I have.”

Mother Empress closed her eyes briefly.

“You came from Little Six’s place? What did she say?”

I couldn’t help but choke up.

One moment I was telling myself to be strong.

The next, I was crying like a child by my mother’s side.

“She said… I should learn to grow up on my own. She said that now that I’m a mother, I can’t be as much of a crybaby as I was before. But I… I can’t help it…”

Tears are like a stutter; you really can’t control them.

Mother Empress couldn’t help but smile.

She reached out and wiped away my tears.

“That certainly sounds like Little Six. However, you truly should learn to grow up. Since you’ve made up your mind, Mother will help you one more time. Go back for now; the people you want will be sent over later.”

When I returned to Duke Chengguo’s Mansion, Lu Jinghuai was not there.

My mother-in-law’s expression was unsightly.

“Are you satisfied now? Jinghuai sent that mother and son to a manor outside the city and forbade them from ever appearing before you again.”

“For your sake, he even gave up his own son. Since that’s the case, you’ll have to give birth to a son yourself.”

She gestured with her hand, and someone brought forward a bowl of medicine.

The liquid was dark and thick, emitting a bitter, fishy stench.

This was the tonic I used to drink often, which was said to help conceive a son.

But all medicine has some level of toxicity; I had felt my qi weakening over the past two years.

I had clashed with my mother-in-law over this before, but seeing Lu Jinghuai argue with her on my behalf, I had compromised.

Back then, he was the young man who gave me a grand and sincere love, and I was unwilling to make things even slightly difficult for him.

But now…

I raised my hand and knocked the bowl over.

The medicine spilled toward my mother-in-law.

She jumped back to avoid it and shrieked, “This is mutiny! What exactly do you think you’re doing? Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because Jinghuai dotes on you! Don’t forget what you owe him-he even gave up his official post for you!”