Few people remember what happened when they were three years old after they grow up.
Three years old, not even aware of anything! How could a young lady remember the sweet sticky rice cake?
It must be Wu Momo, it has to be Wu Momo.
Thinking of this, Yu Momo's heart calmed down slightly. "Young lady, these things happened so long ago. This old servant is old and can't remember some things clearly. However, a Daoist priest once divined your fate, saying that you would have hardships first and then good fortune. Doesn't this fit?"
Li Man'er truly admired the old woman's glib tongue, daring to quibble even now.
"Is that so? There was such a thing, why haven't I heard Wu Momo mention it!"
Yu Momo breathed a sigh of relief, thinking thankfully that the matter of the sweet sticky rice cake was told to the young lady by Wu Momo.
"Let me ask you again, all these accidents in my childhood, they were all related to the Madam, right?"
Yu Momo quickly waved her hand, "No, the Daoist priest divined your fate, this is your destiny."
"Bah!" Li Man'er spat at her fiercely. "Do you really think this young lady is a three-year-old child? I'll believe whatever you say?"
"Young lady, a person's words are sincere when they are about to die." Yu Momo's face was full of misery. "At this point, this old servant has no reason to lie to you."
"Is that so?" Li Man'er smiled, but her eyes were full of coldness. "It's fine if you don't say anything, I have ways to make you spill everything you know."
Yu Momo was shocked. Just as she was about to call for help, Li Man'er suddenly grabbed her by the throat, making it difficult to breathe. Yu Momo's pupils dilated, and her hands flailed. Unfortunately, she was too weak to budge Li Man'er's hands. She felt her consciousness growing hazy.
At this moment, Yu Momo seemed to hear a voice from afar. The voice was so familiar, like her mother's voice, who had passed away many years ago.
"Mother..." Save me.
Li Man'er's image became increasingly blurry. Her face suddenly transformed into the vague face from her memory, so clear, so real.
Yu Momo's eyes became vacant, and her struggling hands drooped down, showing no resistance at all. Li Man'er released her grip and asked softly, "Who am I?"
A look of remembrance flashed in Yu Momo's eyes. "Mother." This was her most honest and direct answer.
"Who are you?"
"Yu Da Ya."
Li Man'er silently grumbled, Yu Da Ya, really?
"Who is your master?"
Without any hesitation, Yu Momo immediately replied, "My Madam is the successor wife of the Iron-Bravest Marquis's mansion."
"How did the former Madam die?"
Yu Momo's brows twitched slightly. She didn't answer Li Man'er's question immediately, as if struggling.
A sense of resistance arose in her heart, indicating that this matter was very important to her and could not be easily revealed.
"Da Ya, what can't you tell your mother? Don't worry, Mother is just afraid you're suffering inside and wants to ask. You've suffered so much, my Da Ya, all these years."
Yu Momo's lips trembled slightly. "Mother, the former Madam died of poisoning."
As expected!
Li Man'er quickly asked, "What kind of poison? Who wanted the former Madam dead? Who administered the poison?"
"The former Madam was poisoned by Gu. I don't know the exact name." Yu Momo seemed a little scared. "It was the Madam who did it! At that time, the Madam had not yet married. The Old Madam said that if the former Madam didn't die, the Madam, even if she married, would only be a concubine. Even a noble concubine would be a lowly thing serving others, and even if she had sons, they wouldn't be raised by her side."
Li Man'er's anger surged. "So, the one who wanted the former Madam dead was the Old Madam?"
"Yes." Yu Momo shivered. It was evident that she was very afraid of the Old Madam.
"How did Madam do it back then?"
Yu Momo struggled again. It was clear that her loyalty to Madam Guo surpassed her regard for Cui Shi.
"Da Ya, don't be afraid..." Li Man'er comforted her again. Only then did Yu Momo calm down.
"That year, when the young lady had her full moon banquet, Madam came to the Marquis's mansion with her maternal family. While looking after the child, she secretly placed the prepared Gu worm into the baby's swaddling clothes."
Li Man'er gnashed her teeth in anger. "Wouldn't that Gu worm harm the child?"
"I heard that the Gu worm only harms those who have blood on them."
Li Man'er understood everything.
At the time of the child's full moon celebration, Ning Shi had not fully recovered, and her lochia had not been expelled. Therefore, there was blood on her body. The Gu worm lay dormant in the baby's swaddling clothes. When Ning Shi held the baby, the Gu worm would seize the opportunity to burrow into Ning Shi's body, thus succeeding.
"Who gave the Gu worm to Madam?" The Guo family's strength might not be enough to procure such a thing.
This time, Yu Momo did not hesitate at all. "It was the Old Madam. She personally handed the Gu worm to Madam."
Li Man'er's face turned ashen. "Did the Guo family know about this matter?"
"They didn't know before. It wasn't until the former Madam was dying that the Old Madam mentioned the matter of Madam marrying in as a replacement bride that the Guo family found out."
Li Man'er asked again, "Did the Marquis know about this?"
Yu Momo shook her head, her eyes still vacant. "He didn't know."
"Truly excellent." Li Man'er sneered. "You are tired. From now on, you are not Yu Momo, nor Yu Da Ya. You are a sinner. To atone for your sins, you will not eat or drink, do you understand?"
Yu Momo nodded and mumbled, "I am a sinner, I am a sinner, I will not eat or drink."
Li Man'er repeated it a few times, and Yu Momo echoed her, "I am a sinner, I will not eat or drink."
"Go to sleep!"
Only then did Yu Momo close her eyes and fall into a deep sleep.
Li Man'er then got up and left the woodshed. She locked the door of the woodshed and returned to her Qingping Pavilion the way she came.
No one noticed Li Man'er's departure, just as no one noticed she had gone to the woodshed.
The next day, as soon as Li Man'er got up, she heard Luyi say that Yu Momo had woken up.
"Miss, you wouldn't believe it, although she woke up, she's gone mad. She keeps muttering about being a sinner, being a sinner."
Li Man'er was not surprised at all. "And then?"
"No one can get any information out of her. The doctor has seen her, but found nothing. When the maidservant heard she woke up, she was almost scared to death, but she doesn't know why she went crazy again."
Luyi handed Li Man'er a wrung-out towel. "If you ask me, she must have done too many bad deeds, and retribution has come looking for her."
Li Man'er reached out and flicked her nose. "You're right."
Seeing that Li Man'er was in a good mood, Luyi became bolder and asked, "Miss, since Yu Momo has woken up, will Madam wake up?"
Madam?
Li Man'er sneered inwardly. She would never wake up in this lifetime.