Brother Cheng’s eyes flickered, he nodded heavily and said, "I can. Whatever foster father asks, I will answer; I will hide nothing."
Gu Jinghui then asked, "Did you see your mother before she left the mansion? Or did she leave any messages for you? About the matter of the princess entering the mansion... who did you hear anything from?"
After asking, he stared unblinkingly at the two children.
Brother Cheng lowered his brows and tightened his fists, his cheeks bulging with a tense bite.
Sister Yu softly sobbed, occasionally calling out for her mother, as if saddened by the mention of Lady Zhao, crying alone.
"No, we haven’t seen our mother," Brother Cheng said after a while, then eagerly asked Sister Yu, "Isn’t it right? Tell foster father it’s just as I said."
"... Wuwuwu... Yes... Sister Yu really wants to see her mother. Foster father, when will my mother return? My mother isn’t a bad woman. They said she did bad things and hid away, not coming back. They’re all lying to me, aren’t they??"
Sister Yu pouted, her face full of tear stains, pitifully reaching out, wanting Marquis Gu to hold her and comfort her.
Gu Jinghui remained motionless.
Previously, he worried about hurting the hearts of the two children, and considering Lady Zhao claimed illness, the twins were raised by the Old Madam, they shouldn’t know the facts.
But once he discovered they could enter and exit through a dog hole, Marquis Gu could no longer be sure.
In the Northern Border, even young children can kill enemies when necessary.
Though he sympathizes with the weak and protects women and children daily, he dares not underestimate anyone.
"Enough, enough, eventually you have to know," Marquis Gu pondered and said, "Rather than letting others embellish the truth and tell you, let me, your foster father, tell you the truth. It prevents future resentment towards me and the Marquis Mansion."
Upon hearing this, Brother Cheng tightly gripped his belt, and fear filled his little face when he looked at his foster father.
Sister Yu, still unable to understand, managed to stop crying, quietly waiting for her foster father’s words.
Marquis Gu closed his eyes forcefully, then opened them, a layer of coldness in his sharp gaze.
"Recently, your foster father sent Sixteen to Jizhou to find your paternal family’s whereabouts. Since your father, Pang Hai, claimed to belong to a side branch of the Pang Family in Jizhou, Sixteen went to investigate. However, there was no one named Pang Hai, nor anyone resembling him in the Pang Family, so he returned to report."
The two children listened blankly, hearing about their father for the first time.
Marquis Gu continued, "After learning this, I planned to ask your mother if she knew about your father’s background, but unexpectedly your mother suddenly left the mansion with a nanny, while another died beside the rockery."
"Initially, I thought your mother had some unspeakable secrets. I took people to search extensively but found nothing. When I returned to the mansion, I realized a smallpox outbreak was happening."
"Your sixth uncle’s two children fell ill, initially thought to be chickenpox, but after seeking the Imperial Physician, realized it was smallpox, which came strangely. And since your mother disappeared and someone died in the mansion, the housekeeper went to report it to the Capital Governor Mansion."
"The magistrate came to investigate, finding that the two nannies your mother brought from the Northern Border had moved near Sixth Madam’s courtyard, with clothes used by smallpox patients left in boxes in Fengxuan Pavilion. Zihe and several other servants were also infected with smallpox."
"Even the magistrate concluded that the smallpox was deliberately released by your mother or someone around her, so when people in the mansion said your mother spread the smallpox, it wasn’t false."
Brother Cheng’s face turned ashen, Sister Yu was dumbfounded, and Gu Jinghui’s expression was grave.
Despite some reluctance, he continued, "Your birth father is a mystery, and your birth mother has disappeared, causing such an incident. Your future will likely be affected. Brother Cheng cannot continue his studies at the Imperial College, and Sister Yu’s prospects also need reconsideration. But your foster father once promised your father to take good care of you. In the future, I will properly arrange for you both, ensuring you’re free from want."
Over these days, Brother Cheng has witnessed many subtleties, heard much about worldly affairs.
He understood clearly from Marquis Gu’s words, knowing there was no room for negotiation.
Brother Cheng suppressed his urge to cry, choking on his words, "Foster father, since my mother did such things, do you hate us as well?"
Marquis Gu looked at him, speaking earnestly, "Foster father doesn’t know why your mother did this, yet I care for you because of your father’s matter; you also grew up before my eyes, how could I hate you? Now..."
Brother Cheng then asked, "Can’t we stay in the mansion anymore?"