Even Your Life Won’t Be Spared!
Swearing such a poisonous oath so casually, as if unafraid that the heavens would eventually settle accounts and find the punishment insufficient. Jiang Zhaoying’s long lashes fluttered slightly as she turned her gaze toward Shen Yuefu.
“Brother Chengyu!”
Shen Yuefu was startled by Song Chengyu’s heartless words. Although she guessed he said this to help her, hearing it with her own ears still felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
For some reason, a dull pain began to stir in her abdomen. Shen Yuefu’s heart immediately filled with panic.
Jiang Zhaoying let out a soft sigh and bowed respectfully to Physician Chu.
Song Chengyu and Shen Yuefu exchanged a quick glance, feeling a wave of relief. They thought Jiang Zhaoying had finally let go and would no longer pursue the matter.
“Physician Chu.”
“At your service, Madam Heir.”
Seeing that Physician Chu still treated her with some courtesy, Jiang Zhaoying pressed her lips together slightly and spoke to him.
“From observing Miss Shen’s complexion, I fear she is over three months pregnant. An unmarried young lady with child can only hide and conceal it. However, Miss Shen’s birth chart is too weak, with imbalance between yin and yang. I fear it will be difficult for her to keep this child. Therefore, I would still like to trouble you to examine her.”
…
Shen Yuefu’s face instantly turned deathly pale, her eyes brimming with panic.
Madam Song and Song Chengyu also darkened their expressions, glaring angrily at Jiang Zhaoying. For some reason, they felt as if they had fallen into an icy cavern, their entire bodies chilled.
They suddenly realized that this Jiang Zhaoying might not be so easy to deal with!
“Very well!”
Physician Chu’s eyes were cool and detached as he glanced indifferently at Shen Yuefu. Given his temperament, he disdained to take the pulse of such a woman. Placing his medicine chest on the table, impatience began to seep into his gaze.
“Miss Shen, please.”
The contempt in Physician Chu’s eyes was not only noticed by Shen Yuefu but by everyone present.
A profound sense of humiliation made her restless, her face flushed with shame.
She wanted to flee.
But with so many people here, including the Crown Prince’s men, there was no way she could leave.
Step by step, she slowly shuffled forward, taking a long moment before finally sitting down.
When Physician Chu’s fingertips touched her pulse, Shen Yuefu panicked, tears welling in her eyes, her body growing weak. Tears streamed down continuously as she tilted her delicate, pale face weakly toward the physician and whispered.
“Physician…” Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda.
Her trembling lips silently formed these words, large teardrops falling before Physician Chu.
Usually,
Whenever she displayed this pitiful yet beautiful demeanor, Song Chengyu would do anything to comfort and dote on her, granting her every wish.
She refused to believe
that any man could resist such allure.
The Physician Chu before her appeared to be only in his thirties, handsome and undoubtedly in the prime of his passionate years. Shen Yuefu thought that if Physician Chu were willing to help her, she would be willing to repay him.
Physician Chu naturally understood the meaning behind her words.
He withdrew his hand immediately.
Turning to face Jiang Zhaoying.
“A tiger father does not beget a dog daughter. Madam Heir has already reached the level of discerning everything merely by observing one’s complexion. This Miss Shen is indeed pregnant, and for over three months.”
The Imperial Astronomer’s Bureau.
Within the Great Ye Kingdom, individuals of various talents were gathered there. They conducted themselves with low profiles, living secluded lives, yet when they acted, they struck with precision.
This was well-known among all court officials; otherwise, they would not show deference upon encountering someone from the Imperial Astronomer’s Bureau.
It was just unexpected
that Jiang Zhaoying would be so formidable!
Clan Leader Song’s face turned ashen with rage, his icy glare fixed on Song Chengyu. He had made it clear to Song Chengyu that anything was permissible, except having a child before the legitimate wife gave birth.
Song Chengyu had agreed wholeheartedly at the time!
Yet now, just one day after the wedding, his mistress was already three months pregnant.
No.
This matter could not be pinned on Song Chengyu, or else Jiang Zhaoying would have them by the throat for the rest of their days.
“But this doesn’t prove the child is Chengyu’s.”
As soon as Clan Leader Song spoke, Song Chengyu understood his meaning. His expression darkened, and he said coldly, “Perhaps Cousin simply made a mistake out of deep affection for someone else. Cousin, who is that man? We must find him quickly and arrange your marriage.”
A flicker of satisfaction passed through Clan Leader Song’s eyes. Madam Song felt a bitter taste rise in her throat. These people, one after another, were all ill-intentioned, forcing Fu’er and Chengyu apart.
Tears streamed down Shen Yuefu’s face. Song Chengyu’s words filled her eyes with despair.
Since childhood, she had known she was meant to marry Song Chengyu, to be his wife. She loved only Song Chengyu. Where was she supposed to find someone else on such short notice?
But.
Chengyu did not want to acknowledge them now, and this was not the right time.
What should she do?
“Could it be Young Master Chen?”
Song Chengyu gritted his teeth inwardly and hinted again. Chen Zitao was his closest friend. If he could ask him to take Shen Yuefu as a concubine and raise the child, it might be acceptable.
Later.
She could take a fake death pill and return to his side.
A chill ran down Shen Yuefu’s spine. She looked up at Song Chengyu in horror. Chen Zitao?
But Chen Zitao lived quite far away. It wouldn’t be easy for her to see Song Chengyu, nor would it be simple to leave the estate.
Shen Yuefu quickly calculated in her mind. Jiang Zhaoying walked up to her, slowly bent down, and whispered something in her ear. Shen Yuefu’s face instantly paled. Without hesitation, she pointed at Song Chengyu and said, “It’s Cousin’s. The child in my belly is Cousin’s.”
“Shen Yuefu, what nonsense are you spouting?”
Song Chengyu’s face darkened, his eyes flickering with hidden anger. He stepped forward and slapped Shen Yuefu across the face. This fool! Even if she didn’t choose Chen Zitao, she could have picked anyone in the estate to hastily arrange a marriage. Why did she have to drag him into this?
If The Emperor learned of this, it would be even harder for him to inherit the marquis’s position.
“Chengyu!”
Seeing him strike Shen Yuefu, Madam Song feared that if this continued, the affection between them would be completely destroyed. Swallowing her resentment, she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth helplessly. “Enough. Zhaoying, if you insist on getting to the bottom of this, then so be it. The child is indeed Chengyu’s. She won’t surpass you—at most, she’ll be a noble concubine. If she gives birth to a daughter, she can raise it herself. If it’s a son, we’ll place him under your name as the legitimate heir. That way, everyone saves face.”
Admitted!
A surge of fury flashed in Jiang Zhaoying’s eyes as she coldly watched them. It was good that they admitted it—she had feared they would stubbornly deny it to the end.
Thus.
She asked Song Chengyu, “So you faked your death to live a good life with Shen Yuefu.”
Song Chengyu still wanted to argue, but Jiang Zhaoying threw something in his face. He grabbed it and looked—his expression immediately changed drastically.
It was the deed to that outside residence. How did it end up in her hands?
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as Song Chengyu’s mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. But before he could speak, Jiang Zhaoying sneered coldly.
“Let me guess why you’re doing this?”
Song Chengyu immediately felt the cut on his chest ache so intensely that his whole body went weak, nearly buckling at the knees.
He instinctively looked toward Madam Song.
Madam Song, as arrogant as ever, said coldly:
“Fu’er was always meant to be Chengyu’s noble concubine. Sooner or later, she was going to enter the household.”
Gritting her teeth, Madam Song continued with a pained expression:
“I’ll handle the ancestral hall matter. You just arrange for Fu’er, take care of her daily needs, and let her give birth safely.”
This infuriated Chief Astronomer Jiang so much that he slammed his hand on the table and roared:
“Song Chengyu engaged in an illicit affair without proper marriage rites, and now he’s causing trouble at my daughter’s wedding, barging into the manor. Yet you still try to justify yourselves and now want to brush it aside lightly? What kind of logic is that?”
Not only him, but almost everyone present saw through their scheme.
They were deliberately trying to trap them.
They wanted to shift the burden of the marquisate onto Jiang Zhaoying, then turn around and take their beloved out to enjoy the scenery, have children, and wait until the marquisate prospered through Jiang Zhaoying’s influence before returning to reap the benefits.
As for Jiang Zhaoying—
Her dowry would certainly not be safe. She might not even keep her life!
These beasts!