The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

When Xie Yuzhen saw this, he waved his hand and only asked the palace maids to leave, leaving only the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, and Xie Yi did not ask them to take them away.

"I still remember that when I was Tan Nu's age, you and mother would discuss things with us without avoiding siblings." Xie Yuzhen patted the child's head lovingly, "He will be five years old after the Chinese New Year, and he is at the right age to know things. In the palace... our situation is different from that of ordinary concubines and heirs. It is a good thing to teach him to be sensible and sociable as early as possible."

Mother Xie couldn't help but feel sorry for her daughter again: "I just can't bear it. Our family was a mess when you were a child. That old man was shameless. Unfortunately, my sister couldn't handle it, and I was too young... If I could, I would want you to grow up happily and stay away from these bad things."

She looked like the nagging mother in the alley who was coarse but loved her daughter very much: "Forget it, forget it. After all, you have grown up. I can't help you much. Your brother said he was a simple and honest man, but he is actually a piece of wood... In the future, this kid will have to support the Xie family. It's better to be grateful."

Xie Yi had just finished peeling an orange. He broke the orange in half and handed it to Xie's mother: "Don't worry, grandma. Tan Nu will study hard and think hard."

Xie's mother hugged him in her arms and fed the hot roasted orange into Xie Yi's mouth: "Little clever boy."

After entering the palace, although she did not show it on her face, she was still a little nervous in her heart. The room was full of palace servants just now, and even if Xie's mother wanted to kiss her grandson, she had to watch because of the rules. Now that the palace servants had left, there was only the summer solstice and the spring equinox left, so Xie's mother relaxed a little and hugged Xie Yi affectionately, and then she remembered from her daughter's playful eyes that she had something to tell her, and asked her to help make a decision.

"Ahem." Mother Xie cleared her throat. "That Xue Zhuo, after his aunt's exchange of her daughter for her son was exposed, his marriage to your eldest brother fell through. He changed his name and returned to his family. The aunt who exchanged her daughter for her son was sentenced to exile by the government, but his uncle was only sentenced to three years of hard labor because of his mother's plea."

"If you ask me, his mother is also confused. She was criticized many times by her husband's family for only raising a girl for many years. Now that she knows that her own son was deliberately swapped by her brother's wife, she only blames her brother's wife and doesn't doubt her own brother who has accomplished nothing at all."

As Xie's mother spoke, she became angry.

Xue Zhuo's father was just a small scholar. His maternal grandfather, the Guan family, was in business, and originally the family was quite wealthy. But after Grandpa Guan passed away, not only did his uncle Guan not have the ability to protect the family business, he also got into the bad habit of gambling. Within a few years, he squandered all the family fortune, and in the end he could only live off his brother-in-law's family.

But Xue Xiucai's family is not wealthy, so how could they afford to support a gambler?

When Xue's mother was pregnant with Xue Zhuo, she had already used all her dowry to pay off Uncle Xue's gambling debts. Scholar Xue would not allow her to use her husband's family's money to subsidize her own family, so Xue's mother could only work with Aunt Guan to do some embroidery work and sell it to earn money for Uncle Guan.

She kept her embroidery work and sold it without telling her husband's family, and every time she did so she would sneak into Guan's yard.

It happened that Aunt Guan was also pregnant at that time. Both pregnant women were caring for the same man, and their relationship gradually improved.

But one day, when Xue's mother sneaked into Guan's house again, she accidentally slipped in the yard. She was already pregnant, and the fall caused her to give birth, and also scared Guan's aunt into premature birth.

Two pregnant women should not be moved.

She can only give birth in Guan’s yard.

Although Aunt Guan was frightened and gave birth prematurely, her delivery was smoother than that of Aunt Xue. Her daughter was born small and looked like she was born with congenital deficiencies. She also thought that her husband was such a gambler and her family might not have enough money to support her. On the other hand, although Xue Xiucai's family was not very wealthy, they could still afford to see a doctor for their child...

Aunt Guan, who blamed Xue's mother for causing her premature birth, bribed the midwife to switch the two babies. However, when she gave birth, the midwife had told people outside the house that it was a girl. When she saw that Xue's mother had given birth to a boy, it was too late to change her statement, so they could only raise the baby as is.

But after both of them gave birth, they changed their children.

Uncle Guan's luck suddenly improved, and before long the Guan family became richer than the Xue family again. Uncle Guan gradually quit gambling and started a business with others.

Aunt Guan regretted her decision but did not have the courage to confess the fact that she had swapped her daughter. However, she was glad that due to the coincidence that day, her eldest sister-in-law's son could no longer compete with her later son for the family property.

"The man surnamed Guan said that he didn't know the child was switched and that it was all his wife's doing. But I don't believe it. This is his wife's first child and he, as a father, has never even looked at the child or held the child once?" Xie's mother said angrily, and after getting angry she couldn't help but sigh.

"Her sister-in-law is also a fool. I don't know what kind of magic potion that man fed her. She actually took all the blame on herself. She also used the kindness of raising her to force Xue Zhuo to sign a document of forgiveness, exempting the couple from the death penalty."

In Dasheng, anyone who stole another family's child or kidnapped an innocent family's child and sold him would be sentenced to death. However, if the victim forgave him, the sentence could be slightly lighter.

"Since Xue Zhuo changed his name to Guizong, what happened to the girl who was replaced?" Xie Yuzhen asked curiously.

Mother Xie sighed heavily again: "That child is a kind-hearted one. She was driven out by the Xue family, her father was in jail, and none of her relatives on her father's side cared about her, but she was willing to accompany her mother and take care of her on the way to exile... But she is a little girl, and because of this, her marriage was ruined. Her parents had called her for more than ten years, but in the end they became enemies. Alas..."

"It's better to leave. Such a scandal, such a father... It's better to go far away. If she leaves Kyoto, who knows who she was originally?" Xie Yuzhen pouted. "If I were her, I would wait until my miserable and confused mother was safely taken to the place of exile, then change my name and find another place to live."

"Who said it wasn't... Oh, I'm getting off topic." Mother Xie waved her hands quickly. "As he got older, he started to talk a lot. Originally, I wanted to talk about Xue Zhuo. He was born a boy but raised a girl. Although Xue Xiucai took him home, he felt that he was a disgrace and wanted to have another biological son. However, his family had no money. As an ordinary citizen, he couldn't just take a concubine when he was not old enough. So he wanted to send Xue Zhuo to the merchant from the south as an adopted son so that he could earn some money and rent a concubine who had given birth to a son."