CHAPTER 440: CHAPTER 440 DISAPPOINTMENT

Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Private room on the second floor.

Chu Shun and the others were drinking tea, waiting idly.

A creak.

The door was pushed open.

Prince NanAn walked in.

A teacup was thrown at him.

Prince NanAn moved the folded fan in his hand and caught the teacup steadily, not spilling a drop.

The tea vapor swirled, and the fragrance was refreshing.

Prince NanAn, holding the tea, walked over. The Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion looked at him and said, "Why did it take you so long to come back from your trip?"

"Uncle Xie went to the Prince Mansion, it delayed me for a while," said Prince NanAn as he sat down.

"...."

"Did something happen at Prince NanAn Mansion?" Chu Shun was a little worried.

Great joy at Prince Zhenbei Mansion.

This should be the time when guests are arriving at the door.

If you’re not at the mansion and run to Prince NanAn Mansion at this time, something big must have happened.

Prince NanAn, "...."

No wonder they are brothers.

Their first reaction was the same.

"Nothing happened at the Prince Mansion. Uncle Xie went to ask about the portrait," said Prince NanAn.

"What portrait?" the Heir of Marquis Beining asked.

"It’s the portrait of Brother Zhao’s mother he’s looking for," answered Prince NanAn.

"Uncle Xie asked very detailed questions. I suspect that the woman in the portrait might be Brother Jingchen’s biological mother," Prince NanAn whispered.

"How is that possible?!" Chu Shun exclaimed.

"Isn’t the person in the portrait in Prince Zhenbei Mansion?"

Prince NanAn, "...."

Prince NanAn was dumbfounded.

Since when were the portrait’s subject at Prince Zhenbei Mansion?

Chu Shun and the Heir of Marquis Beining exchanged glances.

They twitched their mouths wildly.

They forgot to tell Prince NanAn.

On the day the Hidden Guard tested Lady Chi and went to Marquis Dongxiang to find Zhao Xu, Prince NanAn had gone to the restroom.

By the time he returned, the topic about Lady Chi was already finished.

Under Prince NanAn’s glare, the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion said, "My sister-in-law tested Lady Chi with a Jade Pendant, and she recognized that piece."

"My sister-in-law suspects that Lady Chi is the person in the portrait, but Lady Chi’s face is damaged, making it difficult to confirm by removing her veil. Adding that Lady Chi is, after all, Uncle Xie’s concubine, for Uncle Xie’s reputation, we unanimously decided not to mention this before Brother Zhao returns to the Capital to prevent any slip of the tongue, letting others hear, and causing trouble for Brother Jingchen."

"And then, we just forgot about you."

"...."

Speaking of this, Chu Shun and the others didn’t know what to say.

They were all helping to find the person in the portrait.

No matter who Prince Zhenbei asked among them, including Su Chong, they all knew the person in the portrait might be Lady Chi.

He happened to ask the unaware Prince NanAn.

"Could the person in the portrait really be Brother Jingchen’s biological mother?" the Heir of Marquis Beining was skeptical.

"If he did not care about the person in the portrait, would Uncle Xie go to the Prince Mansion to ask my father?" Prince NanAn countered.

"Brother Jingchen’s ancestry has always been unknown, and Uncle Xie never talks about it, perhaps because she is from Nanliang?"

The others looked at each other in silence.

"It seems to make some sense," Chu Shun said.

"Not just some!" Prince NanAn exclaimed.

"It makes perfect sense!"

The Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion suspiciously said, "But Lady Chi has been at Prince Zhenbei Mansion for over ten years. Could Uncle Xie really not have noticed?"

"Lady Chi is not only disfigured but also mute, isn’t she?" Prince NanAn said.

"Should we tell Brother Jingchen about this?" Chu Shun asked.

Once again, they looked at each other in silence.

The Heir of Marquis Beining said, "Isn’t our sister-in-law suspicious that Lady Chi is the person in the portrait?"

"Given our sister-in-law’s nature, I doubt she could resist looking at Lady Chi’s face."

"Let’s subtly bring it up when we see Brother Jingchen."

"If it turns out not to be true, wouldn’t we just be giving Brother Jingchen false hope?"

Chu Shun had the closest relationship with Xie Jingchen.

Although Xie Jingchen never voiced it, they could tell he really wanted to know who his birth mother was.

The pain of having hope, only to have it shattered again.

They didn’t want Xie Jingchen to endure that.

Besides!

The most important thing is that the Prince allowed Princess Nanzhang to become a concubine for Brother Jingchen’s birth mother.

If it were discovered that Brother Jingchen’s birth mother was from Nanliang.

His bloodline has Nanliang lineage, which might threaten his position as Heir of Prince Zhenbei.

Moreover, Lady Chi, being not only disfigured but also mute, couldn’t become Princess Zhenbei.

She would be resented by Princess Nanzhang, seen as a thorn in the side, despised.

This might be why Lady Chi has stayed in the backyard of Prince Zhenbei Mansion for over a decade without revealing a word about her identity.

After weighing the pros and cons, they decided to keep it from Xie Jingchen for now.

Anyway, Xie Jingchen and Su Jin suspect Lady Chi is Zhao Xu’s mother, so they won’t treat her poorly.

...

Qingqiu Garden.

After questioning about the ointment issue for half a day, because the hole was too big, no matter how they patched it, they couldn’t completely cover up the flaws.

The Old Madam, using a headache as an excuse, sent everyone away.

Of course—

The Old Madam might really have a headache.

After being sent away, Su Jin found Lady Chi in a good mood.

She had the urge to look at her face.

Previously, because Lady Chi’s face was disfigured, she was surely resistant to others seeing her face.

Now her appearance had improved, and it was because of the medicine sent by Su Jin and Xie Jingchen.

If Su Jin wanted to see her face, Lady Chi definitely wouldn’t object.

After entering the house, Xique quickly poured tea for Su Jin and Xingxing.

Su Jin looked at Lady Chi’s face and asked, "May I take a look at your face?"

Lady Chi was startled for a moment.

Xingxing thought she was unwilling, and said, "The ointment used on you was prepared by my lady personally."

A trace of surprise flashed in Lady Chi’s eyes.

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

She removed her veil.

Su Jin saw her face for the first time.

The scars on her face had begun to fade, but they were still shocking.

No wonder that after entering the mansion, Princess Nanzhang had stopped bothering with her after seeing her face.

With a face like that, not to mention vying for favor, if she hadn’t contemplated hanging from a beam, it would speak of her tenacity.

Su Jin believed that for Lady Chi to persist until now, she must have someone she remembers dearly.

But Su Jin frowned deeply.

This face didn’t seem to match the person in the portrait.

She looked over at Xingxing.

Xingxing looked back at her.

Xingxing also felt that Lady Chi didn’t quite resemble the person in the painting.

Although the painting had a hazy beauty, the facial shape and contours differed too much.

Even after ten years, one shouldn’t transform into a completely different person, right?

Could it be that Lady Chi, like the Marquis, consumed some Disguise Pill?

But Madam mentioned that the Marquis almost failed to endure the effects of the Disguise Pill.

The Marquis had high martial arts skills and was a man; if Lady Chi used the Disguise Pill, could she have survived?

Could it be that when Lady Chi saw the Jade Pendant hidden in the flowers, she cried with joy for finding unexpected wealth?

The more Xingxing thought about it, the more probable it seemed.

Su Jin felt a little disappointed.

Lady Chi’s eyes dimmed.

She thought her face might never recover.

"Could my lady’s face still improve?" Xique asked.

Su Jin came back to her senses and replied, "Yes."

"Continue using the ointment, and in three months, it should recover eighty percent."

"By then, if the rouge is applied a bit thicker and not scrutinized closely, it probably won’t be noticeable."

"After further recuperation, it could recover completely."