Yao Zhuhua hurriedly turned around to explain, "Marquis… a misunderstanding… it's a misunderstanding! That was… that was…"
However, Jing Liangyu did not listen to her explanation at all and immediately ordered Nanny Fu and Nanny Liu, "Go, 'invite' that Tang family concubine's daughter over here!"
"Yes!" Nanny Fu and Nanny Liu responded in unison, then quickly ran toward Tang Yingying.
The maids and old women accompanying Tang Yingying were so frightened that they were at a loss. In their panic, they wanted to take Tang Yingying and leave.
"Young Miss, this is bad. They've discovered us. Let's hurry back to our room!"
"Back to what room? Am I so presentable that I cannot be seen?" Tang Yingying forcefully shook off the hands on either side of her and scolded with a cold face, "I am already in the General's residence. Even if I entered as a concubine, I am already the General's woman. Would they dare expel me from the residence on the General's behalf?"
After saying this, she placed both hands on her belly, which was not yet showing much, and with her delicate chin slightly raised, she walked toward Nanny Fu and Nanny Liu of her own accord.
Watching her actions from afar, Du Yuanran's entire face turned ashen.
It was precisely because Tang Yingying was carrying his child that he had agreed to let Tang Yingying enter the household today along with Jing Yun. But he had also long since placated Tang Yingying, telling her she must keep a low profile and, for the sake of the Residence of the Marquis of Anqi, not show herself for the time being. Once she safely gave birth to the child, then, relying on the child's status, he would find a way to give her a better position.
Who knew that this woman not only treated his words as wind past her ears, but actually appeared in front of everyone!
His hands clenched into fists, his chest trembling with pain. He both hated Tang Yingying for her lack of sense and feared the wrath of the Residence of the Marquis of Anqi. At this moment, seeing that the paper could no longer wrap the fire, he could only look at Jing Yun with a sorrowful expression and say urgently, "Yun'er, listen to my explanation. It's not what you think. Bringing her into the residence was not my idea…"
But before he could finish his explanation, Tang Yingying had already arrived before everyone.
She first bowed to Sikong Hengyi, "Your servant greets His Highness the Crown Prince." Then she bowed to Jing Liangyu and the various guests, "Greetings, Marquis. Greetings, my lords."
Then, with lowered brows and downcast eyes, she stood humbly at Du Yuanran's side and asked softly and timidly, "General, what has happened? Why is Elder Sister not in the bridal chamber? Why has the Marquis also come to the General's residence? Is it that he cannot bear to part with Elder Sister?"
Her repeated calls of "Elder Sister" were effectively self-declaring her status. The murmurs among the guests suddenly ceased. Apart from a few of Du Yuanran's good colleagues, all the other guests earnestly began watching the drama, glancing at one moment at this person, the next at that, afraid of missing even a bit of the excitement.
Du Yuanran's face was beyond description in color. If one said it was white, it was white tinged with green; if one said it was green, it was green carrying purple. The look in his eyes as he glared at Tang Yingying was as if he were spraying venom, his fury completely beyond suppression.
"Who told you to come out? Get back to your room!" Then he roared an order at the steward Zhao Hai, "Take her away!"
"General…" Tang Yingying's pair of beautiful eyes instantly filled with glistening tears from panic. Her hands unconsciously protected her belly, as if his roar might at any moment cause some harm to her belly.
However, this "unconscious" movement of hers, because her palms pressed against the fabric, "inadvertently" made her belly appear conspicuous.
Watching this, Jing Yun smiled coldly.
In her eyes, this concubine-born daughter of the Tang family was nothing special. Having grown up in the world of commerce and trade, she could read people with near-perfect accuracy—she'd never once misjudged a person's character. This Tang girl, to put it kindly, was gentle and charming, delicate and pretty. But the cloying sweetness in her demeanor was thicker than the powder on her face, enough to turn one's stomach.
To be honest, in the past, she wouldn't have deigned to even cross paths with such a person.
But watching Du Yuanran bristle like an enraged lion, she couldn't help but remind him, "Brother Du, don't be so fierce. You might frighten the child in Miss Tang's belly. You're about to become a father—such a temper hardly befits a general!"
The atmosphere had already been awkward enough with her silence. The moment she spoke, it was like throwing a torch into a pan of oil—the scene erupted instantly.
"This concubine-born daughter of the Tang family is pregnant?"
"General Du has been secretly involved with her all along?"
"How can this Tang girl be so shameless—conceiving a child before marriage?"
"General Du was already betrothed to Sixth Miss Jing! How could they do such a despicable thing behind her back?"
Unlike the earlier hushed whispers, the guests' voices now rose beyond any restraint. After all, watching a spectacle was one thing, but when faced with such wanton behavior, who could hold back their contempt?
At the endless stream of condemnation, Tang Yingying's face turned pale, genuine panic flooding her tear-filled eyes. She had appeared here to openly claim her place as Du Yuanran's woman—after all, she was already living in the Residence of the Fuyuan General, and she carried his child in her belly. She no longer wanted to keep their relationship hidden in the shadows.
But she had never imagined things would unfold like this…
"Zhao Hai, what are you standing there for? Get her out of here at once!" Seeing the guests begin to censure her son, Yao Zhuhua flew into a frenzy, her face twisted with fury as she barked orders at the steward.
Zhao Hai dared not hesitate. He quickly summoned a matron, and together they flanked Tang Yingying, gripping her arms and escorting her away.
Tang Yingying was still seething with resentment and grievance, but seeing Yao Zhuhua's fury, she was too frightened to resist and could only be led away.
Yet even though she had left, the damage she'd caused could not be undone.
The guests' murmurs continued unabated, and with Tang Yingying gone, much of the scorn now targeted Du Yuanran directly.
Hearing them call her son "fickle" and "ungrateful," Yao Zhuhua wished she could order the gossiping guests beaten out of the residence.
But with the Crown Prince, Sikong Hengyi, standing nearby with the cold, majestic bearing of a deity, she couldn't vent her rage at all. Her face cycled through shades of pale and green with suppressed fury.
"Yun'er, it's not what they're saying, and it's not what you think. Please, just let me explain…" In the critical moment, it was Du Yuanran who regained his composure first, knowing that his priority was to placate Jing Yun.
But before his hand could even reach her, Jing Yun stepped back two paces, imperceptibly, and smiled. "Today is General Du's happy occasion of taking a concubine. We won't intrude any longer. Congratulations, General Du, on the double blessing of a new concubine and a child on the way."
With that, she turned around, not sparing another glance at anyone, and walked out of the Residence of the Fuyuan General.
The marriage contract was annulled, and Du Yuanran's greedy intentions were now laid bare. She had been bothered enough by this fly; there was no need to watch it scavenging through filth.
"Yun'er…"
Seeing her about to leave, Du Yuanran moved to chase after her.
Suddenly, a long, slender arm blocked his path.
He froze, staring at the newcomer in terror. "Your Highness, the Crown Prince… Your subject…"
Sikong Hengyi's handsome face, as always, was warm and refined like jade, yet the aura radiating from him was bitingly cold. "General Du, today is your day of celebration. Don't neglect your new bride for the sake of others." He paused, his tone suddenly turning icy. "Though today is your auspicious day, it's merely the taking of a concubine. Having this prince come personally to offer congratulations is nothing short of an insult to my station!"
With that, he flicked his ornate sleeves and strode away, leaving waves of indignation washing over Du Yuanran.
Du Yuanran shuddered violently, then turned to look at the guests.
Many high-ranking officials, almost in unison, wore grim expressions. One by one, just like Sikong Hengyi, they turned and left without so much as a word of farewell.
It couldn't be said that Sikong Hengyi was harsh with his words. Receiving the wrong bride could be called a mistake, a farce—but with the annulment of the marriage contract between Du Yuanran and Jing Yun, today was no longer the day of Du Yuanran taking a principal wife. It was merely the taking of a concubine. As the Crown Prince of the dynasty, to come and lend face to a concubine's wedding was tantamount to having his princely dignity trampled underfoot. Not making an issue of it with Du Yuanran was already a display of his mercy.
And after Sikong Hengyi's departure, how could the other officials remain seated?
Even if Du Yuanran was the youngest and most accomplished general in the court, they hardly needed to personally offer congratulations for his taking of a concubine, did they? They had come today only out of respect for the Residence of the Marquis of Anqi and Her Majesty the Empress, to witness the ceremony of Sixth Miss Jing. Now that Sixth Miss Jing had severed her engagement with Du Yuanran, for them to stay would—at best—be ridiculous, and at worst, a degradation of their own status!
Within less than a quarter of an hour, all the guests had gone.
The once jubilant and lively wedding venue was left with only leftover dishes and unfinished wine. Just like Du Yuanran's mood, which had been soaring high in the clouds one moment, only to come crashing down to the ground the next, leaving him caught off guard and utterly humiliated. He couldn't even cry out in pain. Staring at the empty banquet hall, he stood frozen in place like a stone statue.
Shame, embarrassment, regret, and even a panicked bewilderment…
Why had it come to this?
Where had things gone wrong?
And he wasn't the only one burning with shame and mortification. Yao Zhuhua was hardly better off. In fact, with the guests gone, she vented all her fury on the servants.
"Are you all dead or blind? What are you standing around for? Why haven't you cleared all this away yet?"
"A bunch of useless idiots! Are you too well-fed on ordinary days?"
"If you don't work properly, I'll sell every last one of you off!"
Under her shrill and scathing reprimands, the servants scrambled frantically to clean up the banquet.
Du Yuanran slowly raised his head and, with trembling steps, made his way toward the study.
"Ran'er!" Yao Zhuhua wasn't just taking out her anger on the servants—she was furious with him too. "Aren't you going to hurry over to the Marquis of Anqi's residence? We went through so much trouble to arrange this marriage. The marriage contract can be redrawn, and the date can be chosen again, but surely she—Jing Yun—can't refuse to marry you altogether?"
Du Yuanran's gaze was vacant. Today's farce had stripped him of both face and dignity, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to hide himself in. Yet now he still had to endure the humiliation and go to the Residence of the Marquis of Anqi…
"Mother… I want some peace and quiet… Don't disturb me…"
"You!" Yao Zhuhua wanted to say more, but seeing his figure sway slightly, as if his feet were weighed down by a thousand-pound stone, she could only swallow the words that had reached her lips.
Just as she was about to take her anger out on the servants again, Zhao Hai came running over, pointing toward the side courtyard and reporting urgently, "Old Madam, Concubine Tang says her stomach hurts—I fear she's had a miscarriage scare!"
Yao Zhuhua's face turned fierce and twisted once more, her gaze glaring viciously toward the side courtyard like a blade.
She actually didn't like Tang Yingying. The concubine-born daughter of a mere Hanlin Academy Expositor—that Tang Guanhan was nothing but a sixth-rank official. How could such an unseemly family background compare to the Residence of the Marquis of Anqi, the Empress's own natal family?
She also knew that Tang Yingying had used tricks to gain her son's favor, and for that she looked down on Tang Yingying even more from the bottom of her heart. But who could have known that Tang Yingying would suddenly become pregnant? Only because it was a seed of the Du family did she agree to let her son take her into the household.
"That shameless vixen—she clearly seduced my son, yet she makes my son take the blame for her. If she weren't carrying my son's child, I'd have my son beat her to death!"
"Zhao Hai, go fetch the doctor and have him examine her properly. If she dares to feign illness, confine her to her room until she gives birth!"
"Yes!" The steward hurriedly responded, then rushed off to fetch the doctor.
Yao Zhuhua gritted her back teeth, glaring viciously toward the side courtyard for a long while.
She now hated everyone she laid eyes on, let alone Tang Yingying. If Tang Yingying hadn't pulled that stunt this morning insisting her son go to the Tang family, her son wouldn't have been pressed for time and taken the wrong bride!
A perfectly good marriage, ruined just like that. Her son had not only broken off his engagement with Jing Yun, but also offended the Residence of the Marquis of Anqi, and even dragged his reputation through the mud because of that wretched Tang Yingying…
Tell me, how could she not hate?
If Tang Yingying could give the Du family a grandson with a handle, that would be one thing. But if she couldn't, she would absolutely have her son throw Tang Yingying out of the household!
…
The Residence of the Marquis of Anqi.
As soon as they returned, Jing Yun used the excuse of being in low spirits and shut herself in her boudoir.
Jing Liangyu understood how she felt, hurt by Du Yuanran, so he didn't say much. He was only worried she might do something rash, so he called Xiangxing, Nanny Fu, and Nanny Liu before him and carefully instructed them to keep a close watch on his daughter's movements in her room.
Jing Yun had sharp ears. Listening to him giving instructions outside the door, she couldn't help but sigh, her face full of sorrow.
If she had a hundred percent certainty that dying would return her to the twenty-first century, she would end herself without hesitation—
The reason her father had so hastily handed the company over to her to manage was that he had been diagnosed with cancer not long ago.
But her eldest brother was truly worthless, constantly goaded by his wife Wang Zidi into opposing their father. Anyone could see that her sister-in-law was a gold-digger, dying to scoop up their family fortune overnight and send it all to her own natal family. Yet her eldest brother always said that he and Wang Zidi had been in love since high school, that they had over ten years of feelings between them, and that Wang Zidi had no other motives besides wholeheartedly wanting what was best for him.
What her elder brother didn't know was that it was precisely because of his love-struck foolishness that their father didn't dare hand him any real power. And their father's wariness toward her elder brother happened to give Wang Zidi the opportunity to whisper poison in his ear. Under Wang Zidi's various manipulations, her elder brother grew increasingly rebellious, and his relationship with their father deteriorated more and more—one could say they had entered a completely vicious cycle.
So she was deeply worried, not knowing how her ailing father was doing. During her absence, who would be by his side to care for him…
"Miss, you haven't eaten all day. The main kitchen has prepared quite a few dishes, all your favorites. Shall I bring them in for you?" Xiangxing's voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.
Jing Yun tilted her head up, forcing back the moisture in her eyes, before finally speaking toward the door. "Come in."
Xiangxing pushed the door open and entered. Seeing her eyes reddened, she quickly set the food tray on the table, then walked over to comfort her. "Miss, please don't be sad. That kind of man isn't worth ruining your health over! That Du Yuanran isn't worthy of you, and the Marquis never wanted you to marry beneath you to him anyway. Now that his true nature has been exposed, it's actually a blessing. You are a person of good fortune—you mustn't let him ruin your life!"
Jing Yun's long, curled eyelashes trembled unnaturally.
"Mm."
After a faint response, she took the initiative to go to the table and begin eating.
Seeing her appetite was decent, Xiangxing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She even took advantage of Jing Yun not paying attention to quietly slip outside the door and report the situation to Nanny Fu and Nanny Liu.
The next day.
Jing Yun had just gotten up when a servant came to report that Du Yuanran wanted to see her.
Xiangxing was doing her makeup, and upon hearing this news, she immediately fumed. "He still has the nerve to come?"
Jing Yun raised her hand and rubbed her temples, her eyes full of disgust.
In order to make Du Yuanran destroy the Marriage Contract, they had been forced to promise to allow him to go through the Six Rites process again. It seemed that Du Yuanran would never give up until he married her.
She still had to think of a way to completely rid herself of this scumbag!