301: Chapter 81 Azi Argues with Her Mother

Hearing A Zi's question, Ruan Xingzhu sighed and, filled with guilt, briefly recounted the events of the past.

The general situation was that after Duan Zhengchun and Ruan Xingzhu were together, he had to leave due to some matters. After he left, Ruan Xingzhu discovered she was pregnant. The rules of the Family Ruan Xingzhu belonged to were strict; she didn't dare let anyone know she was pregnant out of wedlock, so she had to find a place to live in seclusion to give birth to her daughter, then gave her to someone else to raise.

Both A Zhu and A Zi were treated this way, just at different times.

After the story was told, A Zhu lowered her head and remained silent.

When she heard her biological father was Duan Zhengchun, she had a premonition that she and her sister had likely been abandoned.

With Mu Wanqing's example before her, she had some understanding of Duan Zhengchun's situation and knew what kind of character he had.

But when the premonition became reality, A Zhu still felt distressed.

Finding one's biological parents was certainly joyful, but learning she had been abandoned made it inevitable for resentment and hatred to brew in her heart.

However, she was perceptive and wise. Seeing Ruan Xingzhu's face disfigured and Duan Zhengchun's situation seemingly poor, she felt that if she spoke harsh words for a moment's satisfaction, it might cause trouble and make things worse. Yet, if she were to say something pleasing, she didn't have the heart for it at the moment.

Thus, A Zhu could only choose silence.

A Zi, however, didn't think that much.

She sneered and said pointedly, "So it turns out you two are true love, while my sister and I are just accidents."

Ruan Xingzhu shook her head repeatedly and hurriedly explained, "No, you two..."

"If not, why did you give birth to us but not raise us?" A Zi went straight to the point, then continued, "Don't tell me anything about being abandoned by a man. There are plenty of women abandoned by that bastard. Just from what I know, including you, there are three."

"The other two, one named Gan Baobao and the other named Qin Hongmian, both gave birth to daughters for that bastard."

"After Gan Baobao got pregnant, she married a man named Zhong."

"Later, that man named Zhong died, Gan Baobao and that bastard rekindled their old flame, and their daughter became the Princess of Dali."

"Qin Hongmian didn't marry and raised her daughter alone."

"To this day, both mother and daughter are living well."

"How come when it's your turn, you just had to give your daughters away? And you gave away two, one after the other."

Ruan Xingzhu was speechless, her face turning pale.

A Zhu opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.

A Zi continued, "Isn't it just because you feel my sister and I were accidents?"

"Because we were accidents, we couldn't stay by your side and had to be disposed of promptly."

"That's why you gave me and my sister away one after another."

As she spoke, A Zi tilted her head and asked in confusion, "Since you already gave us away as accidents, why acknowledge us now?"

Just as she finished, a flash of insight struck her, and she said with a mocking expression, "I understand, it's for that bastard man. You see that your beauty is ruined and you're shunned by him, so you want to acknowledge me and my sister and use us to please him and stabilize your position in his heart."

A Zhu suddenly looked up, staring straight at Ruan Xingzhu.

Ruan Xingzhu hurriedly shook her head in defense: "No, A Zi, it's not like that."

"Then why, as soon as you recognized my sister and me, were you in such a hurry to have us meet that man?" A Zi asked back with a cold laugh.

Ruan Xingzhu was at a loss for words, but after a moment she said, "He is your biological father. Since I recognized you, isn't it only right that I take you to see him?"

"Biological father?" A Zi sneered, her face turning cold. "To give birth but not raise is to fail as a human! He fathered daughters and abandoned them without a care, and not just one, but one after another. Just from what I know, including my sister and me, there are four."

"Such a scoundrel doesn't deserve to be anyone's father!"

Ruan Xingzhu's face was pale, but she still defended him: "Your father had unspeakable difficulties, it was out of necessity..."

"Unspeakable difficulties, out of necessity?" A Zi interrupted directly, pointing out the core issue: "Just because the wife in his home doesn't allow him to take concubines?"

"What a joke!"

"The dignified Town South King of Dali is actually so henpecked it's laughable. If word got out, people would laugh their heads off."

"Even if his wife's clan is powerful and he doesn't dare take concubines, could he really not even manage to keep you all as mistresses outside?"

"Men keeping mistresses isn't uncommon, is it?"

"Even an ordinary wealthy merchant can do such a thing. As a Prince, how could he not?"

Ruan Xingzhu was silent.

A Zhu felt dejected.

Seeing this, A Zi's words became even more piercing: "If he couldn't do it, why did he provoke so many romantic debts? If I'm not mistaken, your transformation into this ghostly state and him becoming a cripple are both related to the romantic debts he owes, right?"

Ruan Xingzhu didn't speak, which amounted to a silent admission.

A Zi immediately said, "Harming others and himself, he got what he deserved. It serves him right!"

Ruan Xingzhu felt as if she had been struck heavily; her face turned deathly pale, and her body swayed, making her unable to stand steadily.

Seeing this, A Zhu quickly stepped forward to support her, while also lightly shouting at A Zi, "A Zi!"

A Zi gave a light snort, withdrew her sharpness, and turned to leave.

A Zhu looked at Ruan Xingzhu and opened her mouth, but the word "Mother" was hard to say. She had to skip the address and said softly, "A Zi has a mischievous nature and often speaks without thinking. She's frequently punished by the Young Master for this, but she never changes."

"She means no harm, so please don't take it to heart. I will definitely give her a good scolding later."

Ruan Xingzhu gave a bitter smile and said dejectedly, "Why scold her?"

"She's right. For things to turn out like this today is inseparable from your father's romantic debts."

"He harmed others and himself, getting what he deserved. It truly serves him right."

"And so do I."

"It's I who have failed you."

"That's not it." Hearing this, A Zhu subconsciously denied it, but after doing so, she didn't know how to explain.

Ruan Xingzhu sighed, "I want to be alone for a while."

A Zhu looked at her intently for two seconds, then turned and left.

Leaving the guest room, A Zhu didn't go to find A Zi but instead planned to find Meng Li.

Before long, she encountered Meng Li on the way to the drawing room, where he was seeing off Kang Guangling and the others.

"Young Master."

Meng Li nodded slightly and then asked, "How is the situation with you, your mother, and A Zi?"

A Zhu sighed and told him everything that had just happened truthfully.

After hearing it, Meng Li said crossly, "That girl A Zi probably has an itchy skin again. I'll find an opportunity to give her a good lesson later; you're not allowed to protect her again."

A Zhu nodded, "This servant definitely won't protect her."

Meng Li didn't believe her at all: "You say that every time, but you protect her every time."

A Zhu blushed slightly.

This was indeed the case; whenever Meng Li "dealt with" A Zi, she would indeed protect her. The reason, besides their deep sisterly bond, was also that she wanted to be "dealt with" by Meng Li as well, but was too embarrassed to say it plainly.

Meng Li saw through her but didn't say it, instead asking, "What did you want to see me about?"

A Zhu said, "I remember when I was learning the Disguise Technique, Young Master, you said you had a way to help people restore their appearance."

Meng Li nodded, "That's right, but it depends on the specific situation."

"You want me to help your mother?"

A Zhu nodded.

"I can, but..." Meng Li paused and whispered something into A Zhu's ear.

A Zhu's face instantly turned red as blood, and she chided coyly, "Young Master~"

"Hmm?"

"This servant is used to being toyed with by you and is naturally willing, but I'm afraid the Young Mistress might find it hard to save face."

"I'll go talk to Yu Yan."

...