Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Xiao Yiheng signaled to the eunuchs to set up the net and spread it out to encircle the area.

The shadow seemed to sense something and flapped its wings as if about to take flight.

As the bird-catching net swung down, the copper bells jingled, and the creature fluttered in panic, while at the same time, verses were chanted.

"Oh, what a beautiful woman, strolling leisurely and carefree..."

The sound was clearer, eerie and mournful, exactly the same as the ghostly voice I had heard last night.

With everyone working together, they captured the frightened parrot.

Liu Wenying carefully lifted the parrot out of the net; it was a cockatiel.

Its feathers were disheveled, it was terrified and anxious, and it kept repeating the poem to itself.

The parrot had a very thin silver chain around its ankle, but the other end of the chain was broken.

Xiao Yiheng picked up the broken chain and praised, "You were right, someone was indeed keeping it."

Upon closer inspection, a small character "Su" was engraved on the ring of the silver chain that locked the ankle.

Xiao Yiheng instructed: "Go and find out who in the palace has ever kept a parrot, and whose name contains the character 'Su'."

The eunuch accepted the order and left, and news arrived in less than two hours.

They found that there was indeed a Granny Su in the palace, an old woman who had raised birds.

Now I work in the servants' quarters, doing cleaning and sweeping work, which is quite remote.

Liu Wenying and Xiao Yiheng went to the servants' quarters.

That place was in the northeast corner, and it was deserted.

When Granny Su was brought out of her residence, she was wearing an old palace dress that had been washed until it was faded, her hair was gray, and her face was old.

"Is this parrot yours?"

Xiao Yiheng ordered someone to put the parrot on the table. When the parrot saw Granny Su, it flapped its wings, but unfortunately its ankles were tied and it could not get close.

When Su Mama looked at Xiao Yiheng, her eyes were clear for a moment, but then they became complicated. She quickly suppressed her gaze and deliberately distanced herself.

"No, this old servant doesn't recognize it." She glanced at the parrot and denied it.

Xiao Yiheng waved his hand, signaling the eunuchs to leave.

Liu Wenying was about to move, but he grabbed her sleeve and stopped her in her tracks.

"Granny Su, the silver ring on the parrot's leg is engraved with your surname, and the palace servants nearby say they've seen you feeding the bird. If you say it wasn't you who raised it, then who was?"

"This old servant..." Granny Su stammered, tears welling in her eyes.

Liu Wenying stood beside Xiao Yiheng, observing quietly. Her expression wasn't one of fear or apprehension, but rather... excitement.

Why the agitation? When someone is caught doing something wrong, they shouldn't react this way, no matter what.

A thought suddenly flashed through Liu Wenying's mind, "Granny Su, do you know the Second Prince?"

As if afraid of being discovered, Granny Su hurriedly lowered her head.

"This humble servant is too lowly to presume to do so."

Liu Wenying smiled, understanding and convinced: "Then he must have recognized the Second Prince when he was a child."

After she finished speaking, she stared intently at Granny Su without blinking. Seeing the panic flash across Granny Su's eyes, she knew that she was right.

Fearing that more old stories would be dug up, Granny Su simply knelt down and kowtowed.

"The parrot belongs to this old servant. Kill it or do whatever you want with it, this old servant accepts!"

After confessing her guilt, she lowered her head, revealing the top of her gray hair.

Xiao Yiheng shouted to the outside world: "Granny Su is keeping birds in secret and playing tricks. Guards, take her to the Palace Justice Department for punishment according to regulations."

As the eunuchs dragged her away, Su Mama even showed a relieved expression on her face.

It was as if this departure had lifted a heavy burden from my shoulders.

Is that how it ends?

Even after the truth about the ghost story was revealed, Liu Wenying's mood did not improve.

She picked up the silver chain, and the cockatiel landed in her palm, tilting its head and looking at her with its black bean-like eyes.

It began reciting the poem again and again.

Liu Wenying heard it for the first time, yet she could hear the sorrow and melancholy in it.

The eunuch stepped forward to seize it.

Such a beast has caused such a huge mess; it deserves to be punished.

Liu Wenying stepped aside to protect him, and Xiao Yiheng also raised his hand.

"Wait a minute."

"Wait a minute."

The two spoke in unison, exchanged a glance, and saw the same doubt in each other's eyes.

Things are not that simple.

"You go first," Xiao Yiheng gestured.

Liu Wenying didn't mince words, "Granny Su is an old servant in the palace. If she kept a parrot, how could she teach it to recite poetry?"

She wasn't making baseless guesses; Granny Su's residence was simple, lacking even writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Given this situation, where did Granny Su find the leisure and ability to teach the parrot to recite poems?

"You think the same way I do."

What Liu Wenying said was exactly what Xiao Yiheng was thinking.

Things were indeed not that simple, so he immediately ordered someone to check Granny Su's resume.

The eunuch received the order and soon returned with the dossier to report.

Granny Su entered the palace in the third year of the Qingyuan era. If there was anything special about that year, it was the year that Consort Yu entered the palace for the imperial concubine selection.

Granny Su was actually Consort Yu's personal maid.

Consort Yu.

Xiao Yiheng stared at the three words on the file, and for the first time, the smile on his lips was gone.

Liu Wenying asked curiously, "Who is Consort Yu...?"

Closing the file, Xiao Yiheng said, "She is my birth mother. She... has passed away."

From the time Consort Yu entered the palace until her death, Granny Su stayed by her side, remaining in the palace even after her own passing.

Liu Wenying was stunned. No wonder she had never heard anyone mention the Second Prince's birth mother even after she had been in the palace for more than a month.

Xiao Yiheng walked to the window and stood with his hands behind his back.

She died shortly after I was born, and I never even saw what she looked like.

The moonlight shone on his back, which, though straight, revealed a hint of dejection.

"I have only seen her portrait. Back then, before the candidates entered the palace, an artist would paint their portraits so that His Majesty could make his selection."

"According to my imperial aunt, she is of a detached nature and dislikes flattery."

The artist, dissatisfied with her lack of payment, deliberately painted her ugly, not even half as beautiful as she appeared in real life.

"Even so, the people in the painting are stunningly beautiful."

……

When Xiao Yiheng arrived at the Palace Administration Office with Liu Wenying, Su Mama had already been beaten several times.

She was old and couldn't take it, so she lay on the bench, breathing heavily but not exhaling.

Upon seeing Xiao Yiheng enter, the eunuch holding the cane hurriedly knelt down: "Your Highness, this old servant is stubborn. This servant will definitely put in more effort to pry her mouth open..."

"stop!"

Xiao Yiheng ordered the men to stop and helped Su Mama up.

The old man was on the verge of death; he had been badly beaten.

Liu Wenying tore open the clothes on her back and pressed the bleeding area with a handkerchief.

At the same time, immediately have someone fetch clean water, clean cotton cloth, and wound medicine.

Liu Wenying skillfully cleaned the wound, applied medicine, and bandaged it.

Once Su Mama's breathing had calmed down, Xiao Yiheng finally spoke and asked.

"That parrot...is it really yours?"

Granny Su closed her eyes. "Yes, it was raised by this old servant."

"Oh, what a beautiful woman, strolling leisurely and carefree—what is the meaning behind this?"

Granny Su's eyelashes trembled, and her lips trembled, but she couldn't answer.

Xiao Yiheng laughed self-deprecatingly, "You don't even understand poetry, how could you teach a parrot to recite this?"

She opened her eyes and looked at Xiao Yiheng. Her cloudy, aged eyes held a complex mix of emotions: pity and guilt.

"Your Highness, please don't ask anymore..."

Xiao Yiheng grabbed her wrist, along with her sleeve, which was soaked with blood.

"That parrot wasn't yours, why are you taking the blame? Why? Tell me!"

Granny Su turned her face away, tears sliding down her cheeks and mingling with the bloodstains at her temples.

"Is it my mother?"

Upon hearing the words "Mother Consort," Granny Su trembled violently.

It can't be hidden anymore, it can't be hidden any longer.

Granny Su's lips trembled, and after a long while, she finally broke down and cried.

"Yes, it was raised by Consort Shu, but she has already passed away. Let this old servant bear the blame and not disturb her peace any further!"

She grabbed Xiao Yiheng's sleeve and pleaded pitifully.

Xiao Yiheng didn't believe her, brushed her hand away and stepped back, his brows furrowed.

"I have never heard of my mother raising birds."

Granny Su smiled sadly, "Your Highness naturally doesn't know, that parrot was sent by the Eldest Princess to the Empress after she gave birth to you and requested to be sent to the Cold Palace to keep her company."

"When Her Majesty gave birth to His Highness, she did not die of illness. Instead, she was sent to the Cold Palace and neglected by everyone until she finally passed away."

"Back then, everyone thought she was dead, even Your Highness..."

…………