This question had crossed his mind countless times.
If he were her son, why was there such a vast difference in how his mother treated him compared to his eldest brother and third-youngest brother, when they were all sons?
If he wasn’t, then where did he come from?
The elders all said he was born after his mother suffered a difficult labor, and they had summoned seven or eight renowned midwives at the time.
He had secretly sent people to question those midwives who had attended his birth. Aside from one who had passed away and another who had left the capital, the remaining midwives all swore to heaven that they had personally witnessed him emerge from his mother’s womb, and there was no possibility of his being switched.
Those suspicions were quietly suppressed by him in the face of such witness testimony, but today, he still couldn’t convince himself.
How could there be such a heartless mother? Just how terrible was he that his mother felt his death wouldn’t be enough to quell her hatred, that she must make him suffer a fate worse than death?
Marquis Jing’an was struck speechless by the question. Shao Mingyuan’s tone was resolute as he asked again: “Father, please give your son a clear answer. Am I truly my mother’s biological child?”
The room fell into a prolonged silence.
Outside the window, cicadas on the treetops chirped incessantly, making the summer heat feel even more intense and causing irritation in those who heard it. Yet neither father nor son in the room could feel the summer’s scorching heat; instead, a chill seemed to emerge from their very bones.
Just when Shao Mingyuan thought Marquis Jing’an wouldn’t answer this question, the Marquis finally uttered two words: “No.”
Having said this, he heaved a long sigh, seeming to age several years in an instant.
So it wasn’t true?
At this moment, as if everything suddenly had an answer, Shao Mingyuan felt the mountain that had been weighing on his heart suddenly lighten, no longer crushing his internal organs with pain.
“Then whose son is Mingyuan? Or rather, could it be that Mingyuan’s biological father is someone else?”
“No!” Marquis Jing’an abruptly interrupted Shao Mingyuan’s words, his chest heaving with rapid breathing. “You are certainly my son, how could you be someone else’s! How can you make such wild speculations? Don’t you fear hurting your father’s heart? I never want to hear you mention such words again, not even half a word!”
“Your son understands.”
Everyone said he was like father, like son—that the student had surpassed the master. If he wasn’t his father’s son, whose son could he be?
“Then what about Mingyuan’s biological mother? Who is she? Where is she?”
“When your father was young, I once kept a concubine outside. You were born to that concubine. Later, your birth mother passed away, so I brought you back home.”
“But mother did indeed give birth to a child back then.”
“Yes, your legitimate mother had just given birth at that time too, but unfortunately, that brother of yours was born weak and died within a few days of birth. At that time, you had lost your birth mother, and your legitimate mother had lost her child. I thought that being born to a concubine would be disadvantageous for you, so I brought you back and raised you as that deceased child. I had intended this arrangement to solve the problem of your birth status while preventing your legitimate mother from being heartbroken, but who would have thought your legitimate mother always knew the truth in her heart…”
Marquis Jing’an couldn’t help but tear up: “Earlier at home, I already warned your mother not to target you anymore. Mingyuan, you’ve suffered grievances all these years. Please consider it as pitying your mother’s pain of losing her child, and I hope you won’t hate her.”
“I see now.” Shao Mingyuan murmured.
So he was the son of a concubine, which was why his legitimate mother hated him to the bone…
But even so, some things couldn’t be justified simply with the word “hatred.”
“Father, Mingyuan has been investigating something for a while now. I just got the results and was preparing to tell you about it.”
“What matter?”
“Father, please wait a moment.” Shao Mingyuan called for one of his guards to enter and gave him quiet instructions. The guard acknowledged the order and left.
About half an hour later.
Marquis Jing’an was startled to see the person his guard brought in: “Steward Shen?”
Steward Shen’s eyes flickered, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at Marquis Jing’an.
A tall, burly man beside Steward Shen also remained silent.
Marquis Jing’an grew even more confused and looked toward Shao Mingyuan: “Mingyuan, why did you bring Steward Shen here?”
Shao Mingyuan, still somewhat weak, leaned against the headboard and said calmly: “Steward Shen, tell the Marquis what you know.”
Meeting the young general’s dark, cold, icy gaze, Steward Shen, who had already received his lesson, dropped to his knees with a thud. He raised his hand and slapped himself twice across the face before crying out: “My Lord, this old servant is guilty!”
Marquis Jing’an had never seen someone begin by slapping themselves twice while pleading guilty, and was greatly astonished.
Steward Shen pressed his forehead to the ground: “This old servant truly didn’t dare to conspire with the enemy—it was all arranged by Madam—”
“What conspiracy with the enemy? What arrangement by Madam? Tell me everything clearly, one by one!” Marquis Jing’an’s heart skipped a beat, and he kicked Steward Shen over.
Steward Shen crawled back up and began pouring out his confession like bamboo from a broken tube: “At the beginning of the year, when the young madam was sent to the Northern Territories to reunite with the second young master, Madam sent this old servant to accompany her. Privately, Madam instructed this old servant to find a way to leak the young madam’s identity and route to the Qi people—”
“Nonsense!” Marquis Jing’an slammed the table, his expression extremely grim.
Steward Shen was so frightened he shuddered and didn’t dare make another sound.
Shao Mingyuan said calmly, “Father, why not let him finish?”
“Fine, tell me this: you’re Madam’s household servant, but even if you truly wanted to contact the Qi people, having never been to the Northern Territories, how could you have managed it?”
Steward Shen kept his head down: “Years ago, Madam told this old servant that to understand the General’s situation in the Northern Territories, she had me arrange for someone to enter the military camp, so I arranged for my cousin Xie Wu—”
The man beside Steward Shen immediately lowered his head.
Marquis Jing’an’s gaze swept over Xie Wu like a blade.
Steward Shen continued: “More than three years ago, Xie Wu returned due to injury. Having spent many years in the Northern Territories, he was very familiar with that area…”
After Steward Shen finished his complete account from beginning to end, Marquis Jing’an’s expression was extremely ugly, and he looked deeply at Shao Mingyuan.
“Mingyuan, this matter is of great importance—”
Shao Mingyuan interrupted his father’s words: “Which is why your son collected extensive evidence.”
He called out, “Shao Zhi, present that evidence for the Marquis to examine.”
Shao Zhi entered carrying a box, opened it, and took out items one by one for Marquis Jing’an to see: “This is a topographical map drawn by Xie Wu in the Northern Territories, this is correspondence between Xie Wu and Steward Shen, this is the deed to a manor in Jiangnan that Xie Wu received after escorting the General’s wife back to the capital. That manor, through several transactions, actually belongs to Madam’s dowry…”
Shao Zhi laid out the evidence piece by piece before Marquis Jing’an, who examined each item and listened to every word without missing a single detail. By the end, his face had turned iron-blue.
With both human and material evidence laid before him, he couldn’t harbor the slightest doubt.
Marquis Jing’an couldn’t help but look toward Shao Mingyuan.
That fragile little life from years past had grown into such a man—composed, calm, patient, and when he had grasped the complete situation, would strike decisively without giving his opponent the slightest chance to recover.
Such an outstanding child, yet with his wife, things had deteriorated to this extent…
A surge of blood rushed through him, and Marquis Jing’an raised his hand to press against his chest, unable to utter a single word.