Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 515: The Origins of Madam Feng (9)
"It’s the young lady."
Feng Xuxu paused, then looked at Nanny Feng, "Nanny Feng, do you still have family at home?"
Nanny Feng’s body visibly stiffened, and an unnatural smile appeared on her face, "Replying to the young lady, this old servant has no family left."
Feng Xuxu sighed upon hearing this, originally thinking of giving her some money, cancelling her servitude, and letting her go home to live the rest of her life in peace. Who knew that she had no family left? Well, it’s just as well, she can stay in the manor and retire.
Feng Xuxu waved her hand, just about to get up and walk to her room when she heard a thud; Nanny Feng, with her face stained with tears, knelt on the ground, her head knocking heavily against the bluestone tiles.
Feng Xuxu half-closed her eyes, looked at Nanny Feng kneeling on the ground, then turned back and sat down again, waiting quietly for Nanny Feng to speak.
Feng Shuhua stopped crying, looked up at Feng Xuxu seated in the higher place, and began to tell her tale of injustice.
Nanny Feng was originally a official’s daughter. She once attended a gathering at a powerful minister’s daughter’s home, only to catch the eye of the male host. He privately approached Nanny Feng’s father, wanting to take his daughter as a concubine. He told her father that if he could give his daughter to him, he guaranteed her father’s swift rise in rank.
However, Nanny Feng’s father was a stubborn old man who, pointing at the man’s nose, scolded, "You could practically be her father; how can you have the shame to say such things – you are worse than a beast."
A few brief words, but they spelled an end to the entire family lineage. The scene where people were captured is still vivid in Nanny Feng’s memory. She happened to run out of rouge that day and went out with her maid to buy some. Before she reached the manor’s gate, she saw whole families, including her own brother, not yet four years old, being taken away. She was so frightened she stood there motionless. Luckily, someone who had once been helped by her family dragged her away, and she avoided disaster.
After spending years in hiding, at one point masquerading as a begging old man, as a blind old woman, she eventually had no choice but to sell herself into servitude at the Ministry House to become a maid—a position she held for her whole life. Fortunately, she was clever, had caught the lady’s eye for being sensible and not talkative, and so she was promoted to nanny. She had originally planned to present her case to the Chief of Staff, but unexpected turns of fate intervened; the Ministry House was soon charged with offenses by the Emperor, and she was sold away again. Who would have thought that the person who bought her was now her young lady? She had no intention of bringing up her grievances, but today, she inadvertently learned that the current Emperor was present, so she boldly sought to clear her name with the Empress.
Feng Xuxu listened quietly to Nanny Feng’s experiences, thought for a while, and then patiently asked. It had been many years, and everything had changed. But looking at Nanny Feng, a woman she had shared fates with, she asked anyway. If there truly was a day she could help, it might be possible, and it could give Nanny Feng a chance to clear her name.
"How did you know who I am?"
"Replying to the Empress, I remember the Empress once asked the servant about the Prince, and today, when I was delivering clothes to the young lady, I heard Baihe call the young lady ’Princess.’ Only then did I realize the Empress’s identity," Nanny Feng answered truthfully, still kneeling on the ground.
Feng Xuxu nodded, then asked further, "What was the charge against your family that resulted in the extermination of your entire clan?"
"It’s said that my father treasured a booklet, which contained some rebellious poems."
"Such poems wouldn’t warrant the extermination of an entire clan."
"True, but during the raid on my home, they found letters plotting rebellion, which is why the Emperor, in his rage, exterminated our clan." Nanny Feng closed her eyes, allowing tears to fall freely.
Feng Xuxu’s frown deepened as she inquired into the intricacies of the matter, "Letters plotting rebellion? With whom?"
"It was with the then Vassal King, the Emperor’s own younger brother, Prince Fu."
"Were those letters personally written by your father?"
"No, he was framed," Nanny Feng insisted with determination.
Feng Xuxu locked eyes with her for a long time, seeing not a trace of panic, but rather a face filled with resolve.
Feng Xuxu pondered for a while. Prince Fu? The one who claimed to be ill and didn’t attend when Dugu Chen ascended the throne? She hadn’t expected him to be implicated now. If the letters weren’t written by Nanny Feng’s father, then who had the audacity to accuse Prince Fu of rebellion? Moreover, Prince Fu was still alive, suggesting that the matter wasn’t as simple as Nanny Feng had said.
