The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

"It was after Mr. Liu came to the mansion that, one time, when I went to Xuezhai to deliver something, I heard the eldest young lady calling her from inside the room... calling her mother."

"I was terrified. I wanted to tell Madam, but... Master found out. He said if I dared to tell Madam, he would... he would kill me. So..."

Yun Jin interrupted him: "So, you went along with Yun Heting and started helping her steal my mother's dowry, right?"

Zijuan trembled, nodded, and stammered, "Yes...yes."

Yun Jin thought to herself, "Just as I thought."

Suppressing her emotions, she asked again, "Then do you know who switched me with someone else back then?"

Zijuan shook her head repeatedly: "This servant really doesn't know. If this servant had known that the eldest young lady would be replaced, she would never have left the madam under any circumstances."

Yun Jin then asked, "Who sent you away?"

Zijuan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Yes... Master, he asked Qinghe and me to do things like cooking, boiling water, and preparing medicine for Madam."

"What did he ask you to do?"

Zijuan replied, "At that time, the master asked me to deliver a message to the old lady, saying that the lady had given birth. Actually, I was also puzzled at the time, since Wang Mama, who was by the old lady's side, was there. Why did I have to make a trip?"

But the master said at the time that he wanted Granny Wang to help the midwife wash the young lady.

Yun Jin was startled; she had never heard Chu Wanqing or any of her maids mention this before. She couldn't help but ask, "Wang Mama? You mean Wang Mama is here too?"

Zijuan nodded and recalled, "At the time, Granny Wang was carrying a food box, saying it was food to reward the midwife."

Yun Jin frowned and asked, "When did Granny Wang arrive? Were Qinghe and the others there when she came?"

Zijuan thought for a moment and replied, "They should not be here. At that time... after Master sent them away, I brought water to help Miss wash up. Just then, Granny Wang came with a food box, and Master told me to go and tell the old lady the good news."

I didn't really want to go at the time. Madam had just given birth and was in a deep sleep, and I was worried about her. But Master said that the midwife said that Madam was just exhausted during childbirth and would be fine after a short rest.

"I never imagined they wanted to switch Miss with... no, with Yunxiu. If I had known, I certainly wouldn't have left Madam."

Yun Jin's heart sank; it really was Granny Wang.

Zijuan's words were like a key, gradually revealing the truth about how she was switched at birth.

Yunheting sent Qinghe and the others out to cook, boil water, and brew medicine, leaving only the midwife and Granny Wang in the delivery room.

Granny Wang carried the food box inside, which contained Yunxiu. When she came out, she had transformed into herself. Granny Wang then gave herself to Liu Zhixue, who, for some unknown reason, sent her to Qingping County.

She pulled her thoughts back from that night fifteen years ago, looked at Zijuan again, and asked a different question: "Zijuan, you helped Yunheting steal my mother's dowry, replacing the real items with fakes. Besides giving the money to Liu Zhixue, who else did you give it to?"

Zijuan's face turned pale, and she stammered, "I gave it back... I gave it back to the old lady and the second master. That is, your second uncle."

The old lady told the old man that the second master was having a hard time back in his hometown and asked him to think of some ways to help him out.

Therefore, this servant guesses that some of the silver obtained from exchanging those items was sent back to their hometown.

Yun Jin couldn't help but sneer. Not a single one of this family was innocent.

She paused, then continued, "Who did Yunheting hire to make those counterfeit items? Are you aware of this?"

Zijuan shook her head: "This servant really doesn't know. Every time, the master asks me to take out the genuine item and hand it to him. After three to five days, he gives me the counterfeit item and asks me to put it back in the storeroom."

"I asked him where these fakes came from, but he just told me not to ask too much, as it wouldn't do me any good. As for who he hired to make the forgeries, I've never seen them and dare not inquire."

"Then how did you manage to keep it from my mother?" Yun Jin's gaze turned cold. "Her dowry was no small sum. Things were missing or replaced, didn't she notice at all?"

Zijuan bit her lip and said guiltily, "Madam's dowry was indeed very large. When it was brought in, the register alone filled a thick book. Those things filled an entire storeroom, and the boxes piled at the back were rarely opened throughout the year."

As the servant in charge of the storeroom, whenever the mistress wanted to retrieve something, I would show her the items that hadn't been swapped out. If the item the mistress specifically requested had just been replaced, I would make an excuse that it was hidden at the bottom of a box and difficult to retrieve, suggesting that I use something else instead, or I would simply say that the item was of an unpleasant color or an outdated style, advising the mistress to choose something else.

The lady has never doubted me; she believes whatever I say, which is why...it hasn't been discovered all these years.

Yun Jin gritted her teeth in anger and said, "You're really something! My mother trusts you so much and has helped you so much, and this is how you repay her?"

Zijuan knelt on the ground, tears of remorse streaming down her face: "Miss... I know I was wrong... I'm not human, I'm a beast! Madam treated me so well, yet I repaid kindness with enmity..."

Yun Jin looked at her quietly, then said sternly, "Zijuan, you helped outsiders steal her dowry! Do you know what that dowry is? It was her only source of security in the Yun family, the foundation of her livelihood!"

She paused, took a deep breath, and asked again, "I'll ask you again, who hired that midwife back then?"

Zijuan looked up at her, sniffed, and said, "It was...it was Master who found it. At the time, Madam was about to give birth, and Master said he would make the arrangements. Madam and Master had a very good relationship at that time, so no one suspected anything."

Later... later I overheard the master and Madam Liu talking and learned that the midwife was actually... actually someone Madam Liu had hired.

Yun Jin sneered inwardly, "Just as I thought."

She continued, "Do you know where that midwife went afterward?"

Zijuan bit her lip and said, "This servant doesn't know. After delivering the baby for Madam, she left, and she left in a very hurry. This servant remembers that she didn't even collect her reward money."

Yun Jin, having asked enough questions, glanced at Xiao Jingyan beside her. The latter nodded at her, then shook his head.

Yun Jin looked at Zi Juan knowingly and said, word by word, "Zi Juan, if one day I need you to be a witness and publicly prove how I was switched, prove that Liu Zhixue is Yun Xiu's birth mother, prove that Liu Zhixue is actually Yun Heting's mistress, would you be willing?"