Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

Chapter 118 Su Meng's Plan

The Chu father and son sat by the window and saw the shopkeeper leading a young man out with a respectful expression.

Chu Xia was able to communicate normally, though he spoke a little slower than others. He stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "And you are...?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly introduced, "This is our boss, Su Ziyuan, the eldest son of the Su family."

“Su Zi…”

“The ‘Yuan’ in ‘Yuanyuan’ (meaning ‘origin’).

Su Ziyuan added.

"Su Ziyuan," Chu Xia said, calling his name, "Is Su Meng yours?"

"My aunt."

"where is she?"

Knowing their purpose, Su Ziyuan feigned confusion and asked, "My aunt has passed away. Are you her old friends?"

Chu Xia's eyes widened instantly. "She...she's dead?"

Worried that his old illness would relapse, Chu Jiuchuan helped him sit down and looked at Su Ziyuan apologetically.

“My son and Miss Su had a past relationship. Later, my son suffered a misfortune, and the two were separated for nearly twenty years. A few days ago, my son regained his memory and sent people to Qingzhou to look for her, but they were told that there were no unmarried women in the family.”

The servants of your household said that the master of the house had arrived in Shengjing, so we rushed over to see you. Who knew that Miss Su had passed away so soon? It is truly regrettable.

"To be honest, my aunt went to Shuozhou nineteen years ago and never returned to the Su family. I only learned of her death from her daughter."

Chu Xia jumped to his feet, a glimmer of hope in his teary eyes.

"daughter?"

He grabbed his father's arm, his voice filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy, "Dad, did you hear that? Meng'er left me with a daughter!"

Chu Jiuchuan was surprised. Even if the young hero was reckless in his youth, he never really did anything serious. How could he have had an affair with Miss Su without any matchmaker and even had a child?

Seeing that Marquis Changping's expression was unfriendly, Su Ziyuan immediately poured cold water on him.

“Master Chu is mistaken. My cousin’s surname is Yuan. She is the daughter of Yuan Pu, a former assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The Yuan family was exiled to Lingzhou. I came to the capital to help my cousin.”

Chu Jiuchuan also thought it was unlikely, and asked his son in a low voice, "How can you be sure she's your daughter?"

Chu Xia didn't answer, but turned to Su Ziyuan and asked, "How old is she this year? What was her birth date?"

“The child is eighteen years old this year, born in the third month of the second year of Zaiyuan.”

"Based on our calculations, Meng'er should have become pregnant in June of the early years of the Zaiyuan era. At that time, we had already consummated our marriage." Chu Xia said excitedly, "Young Master Su, your sister is undoubtedly my daughter!"

Su Ziyuan hesitated and said, "Master Chu, I know you have deep feelings for my aunt. However, the bloodlines of noble families cannot be confused. Even if I really want to save my sister, I cannot hide it from you. Zhi'er... was not born at full term, but was born prematurely by my aunt."

"You said Meng'er has never been back to the Su family. Then who told you that?"

“My sister told me, oh, she said… Yuan Pu told her!”

"How can we believe the words of such a villain!" Chu Xia suddenly thought of something, took out the jade pendant from his pocket, and questioned his father, "Was this given to me by that child?"

Feeling guilty, Chu Jiuchuan looked away and nodded slightly.

Chu Xia stroked the patterns on the jade, secretly shedding tears.

"Even knowing he would be imprisoned, he was still thinking of others. How could such a good child be Yuan Pu's bloodline!"

He clenched his fist. No matter who her father was, she was Meng'er's child.

For Su Meng's sake, he will protect her for the rest of his life!

“Father, I have wronged them for twenty years. It’s time to fulfill my responsibilities as a father.”

Chu Jiuchuan advised, "Xia'er, don't be foolish. This matter needs to be considered carefully!"

"The Yuan family is being exiled tomorrow, there's no time to wait. Father, believe me, she is definitely my child!"

Su Ziyuan's eyes turned cold. "Marquis Changping, there is no need to worry. My Su family once sent people to Shuozhou to look for my aunt. Perhaps she did not want to come back, so she had her servants lie."

I will immediately send a message to those people by carrier pigeon, seeking their verification. If no one can prove that the child is of the Chu bloodline, my Su family will not bother to acknowledge kinship!

Marquis Changping nodded, "In that case, I'll trouble Patriarch Su! As for His Majesty, I will plead with him to allow Lady Yuan to stay in Shengjing for a few more days."

"No need. My Su family's carrier pigeons can make a round trip in one night. I will definitely give you a prepared answer before noon tomorrow!"

Chu Xia disagreed and strongly advocated following his own ideas.

Chu Jiuchuan appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him.

"Xia'er, the case of the Yuan family even implicates the Eldest Princess. Without sufficient evidence, Yuan Zhi's identity cannot be proven, so how can His Majesty pardon her?"

Chu Xia thought about it and realized there was some truth to it, so he had no choice but to compromise.

After the two left, an old woman came out from the back room and asked, "Master, why didn't you tell us the truth?"

"People are always suspicious of things that are easily obtained, especially this father and son. They've been schemed against for half their lives, so how can they easily trust others? Why not put the bait in the water and let them taste the sweetness little by little, and they'll naturally take the bait!"

The woman glared at him disapprovingly. "The evidence is all true. Miss Zhi'er is indeed a descendant of the Chu family. Why are you acting like a thief?"

Su Ziyuan pinched the bridge of his nose and said lazily, "Human hearts are unpredictable. If we want to rescue the child safely, we can't afford the slightest mistake. Granny, we can't afford to gamble!"

On this point, he and Xiao Zong were of the same mind, so the two joined forces to set up this game.

The lady sighed, "Very well, this old woman will go through with this for once. I only hope that Miss Zhi'er will turn out well and be free from all troubles from now on!"

"Will do."

Su Ziyuan looked up and said with a smile.

That night, Xiao Zong received the message and stood by the window, unable to sleep all night.

The next day at 9:00 AM, Su Ziyuan pretended to be in a hurry and rushed to the restaurant with the woman.

Not only the Chu family father and son, but also the other branches of the family, including the younger generation, were present in the main hall.

Su Ziyuan wiped the sweat from his brow, his breath coming in short gasps: "This is my aunt's wet nurse. She went to Shuozhou with the servants back then and even met my aunt herself. She can testify that my aunt was pregnant before she married Yuan Pu."

The old woman took a letter from her sleeve, handed it to Chu Xia, and said, choking back tears:

"After so many years, I wonder if you still recognize... my young lady's handwriting."

Chu Xia opened the letter, his eyes welling up with tears. "This...this is definitely Meng'er's handwriting!"

The letter stated that Su Meng was devastated upon hearing the news of her husband's death. However, she was pregnant with his child and, for the sake of the child, she had to persevere and live on.

Yuan Pu brought wine to offer her condolences, but her words were tinged with strangeness. She pretended to be drunk and overheard him admit that he had killed her husband. He even mentioned the Eldest Princess.

Not only that, but to prevent her from causing trouble, that man even tried to take advantage of her. She dared not make any rash moves, so she pricked her finger with a hairpin to fake the fact that it was her first time.

Afterwards, she faked suicide attempts several times to prove her deep love for Chu Xia. Later, she bribed a doctor to make Yuan Pu mistakenly believe that she was pregnant with his child, and that it was because of the child that she had no choice but to stay by his side.

Yuan Pu fell for the trap and promised to take her to the capital after the flood was resolved.