chapter 9

I calmly took the child from her.

“There is nothing strange about a nephew resembling his uncle.”

A few days later, my mother-in-law caught a chill and suffered a stroke.

Her suspicions grew heavier by the day. She feared I was too young to remain chaste and constantly tried to keep me away from Cheng’er.

I kissed Cheng’er’s little cheek until he giggled.

“Grandmother is ill. Shall I take you to Grandfather? We can ask him to buy you vegetarian noodles from outside the city.”

Cheng’er clapped his hands.

“Noodles! Noodles!”

My father-in-law never refused Cheng’er anything. With a hearty laugh, he agreed to visit Guangfu Temple and buy them.

But just as his carriage reached the foot of the mountain, bandits attacked.

There were too many of them. The guards could not prevail.

In the end, they brought my father-in-law’s body home.

What could I do? Those guards had risked their lives protecting their master.

Through my tears, I rewarded them with a hundred taels of silver and allowed them to return to their hometowns.

After distributing the money, Xiaotao came to me panting.

“My lady, this must be the last time. If there is another, my heart will fail.”

She had followed me for so many years, yet Xiaotao remained timid.

Whenever my father handled a matter, he left everything perfectly clean.

The marquis was dead, and his wife lay bedridden.

All authority in the residence fell into my hands.

I had always been thrifty. I dismissed many servants at once.

My mother-in-law never rose from bed after her stroke. I kept only a deaf-mute old woman to feed her.

When I entered, her eyes darted toward the doorway. Drool ran from the corner of her mouth as she made desperate noises.

I took the bowl of rice porridge and fed her one spoonful at a time.

“Cheng’er has gone to visit his maternal grandfather.”

She quieted and struggled to form clear words.

“You’an… death anniversary.”

“My husband’s death anniversary is here. You want Cheng’er to pay his respects?”

She nodded.

I considered it.

“That is true. As his nephew, Cheng’er should honor his eldest uncle.”