Chapter 2338: The County Princess's Identity?

Chapter 2338: The County Princess's Identity?

Shu Yu spoke and looked at Wei Qin, "Did you mistakenly board the ship belonging to the Cheng siblings in May last year, which happened to be their family's ship? Is that how you became their servant?"

Wei Qin was still a bit dazed. What had she just heard? Shu Yu had said... she was the county princess? She was the county princess?! And what about Prefect Magistrate Cheng? Weren't they just ordinary wealthy people? Their status was so prestigious?

"Are you feeling unwell, sister-in-law?" Shu Yu looked at her with some concern. "Maybe you should rest for now, and we can continue later."

Wei Qin snapped back to reality. "No, I'm okay." She swallowed hard. "Are you really the county princess?"

Shu Yu hesitated and then laughed, "Yes, I am the county princess, but that's irrelevant to our relationship. Anyway, you'll understand more in the future."

"Oh, okay." Wei Qin quickly agreed. "By the way, what did you ask me just now?"

Shu Yu repeated the question, and Wei Qin replied, "Yes, I did board the wrong ship. After getting on the ship, I hid on the second level. The third level was usually for high-ranking guests, while the second level was for their servants."

Those servants were usually busy attending to their masters during the day, so she had relatively more freedom on the second level.

However, she was eventually forced to go elsewhere on the ship to find some food. The first two times went well, but the third time, she was caught by two maids living in the same room.

The maids brought her to the Cheng siblings, and upon hearing that she had hidden in their maid's cabin, Cheng Wenbao immediately said he would throw her into the water. At the time, Wei Qin didn't understand why he had acted so ruthlessly the first time they met. But now she realized that Cheng Wenbao must have done something terrible, and he might have thought she was hiding on purpose, so he wanted to eliminate her as a witness.

However, despite Cheng Wenbao's personality, Cheng Jiatong never dared to directly take someone's life.

Cheng Jiatong had inquired about Wei Qin's background, and upon learning that she was heading north, she burst into laughter and informed her that this was a southbound ship.

Only then did Wei Qin realize her mistake and wanted to leave the ship. But Cheng Jiatong refused to allow it. She found Wei Qin amusing and threatened to accuse her of stealing her belongings.

Wei Qin had no choice but to either sign a contract to become her servant or wait until the ship reached the next port, at which point Cheng Jiatong would report her to the authorities.

Wei Qin couldn't afford to go to the authorities, as she was still officially the wife of the wealthy merchant. If she went to the authorities, she would likely be sent back to the wealthy merchant's house in Huajiang Prefecture, where she would continue to live a confined and miserable life.

Having finally escaped, Wei Qin didn't want to go back, knowing that they would tighten her confinement even further. She feared that she would never be able to see her son again.

She also didn't want to sign a servant contract, as it would mean losing her freedom once again.

At the time, she had no other choice. Moreover, she could sense Cheng Jiatong's implicit threat, and she was afraid that signing the contract was the only way to avoid a worse fate. If she were reported to the authorities, her fate might be the same.