Never Seeing Her Again in This Lifetime
“Fu’er, you mustn’t.”
Seeing her feign strength for his sake despite her inherent fragility and timidity, Song Chengyu rushed forward to stop her.
Shen Yuefu’s eyes flickered slightly. Her body went limp, tears streaming down her face as she collapsed into Song Chengyu’s arms. Her delicate frame trembled uncontrollably, as fragile as a small flower in a storm, seemingly ready to shatter at the slightest touch.
“Don’t stop me, Cousin. I love you so much, how could I bear to see anything happen to you? If we have no fate in this lifetime, you must come find me early in the next. I’ll bear you a son then, and our family of three can be together happily.”
After speaking,
She lifted her tear-streaked face, looking toward Jiang Zhaoying with choked sobs.
“Cousin-in-law, everything Cousin said is true. He was just unwilling to marry someone whose background is unclear, but he never meant to target you. It’s my fault for standing between you. After I die, please bury me and the child far away. Don’t tell Cousin, lest he grieve.”
Having said this, Shen Yuefu’s eyes brimmed with deep affection and endless reluctance. Seeing her truly intent on ending her own life, Song Chengyu’s guilt tore at him. He held her tightly and said,
“No, I won’t let you die.”
The two resembled a pair of mandarin ducks cruelly torn apart, enacting an extreme scene of parting and unbearable sorrow. Shen Yuefu’s gaze shifted subtly toward Jiang Zhaoying, the triumph deep in her heart nearly surging forth.
Run into a wall?
After scheming so meticulously to stand by Song Chengyu’s side, she wasn’t foolish enough to seek death. She merely wanted to gamble on how important her position was in Song Chengyu’s heart, and incidentally make Jiang Zhaoying see her own place clearly.
Now it seemed,
She had won completely. Song Chengyu was utterly, desperately in love with her and couldn’t bear to be without her.
As long as he was willing to go all out, coupled with the bargaining chip in her womb, she would definitely be fine.
Song Chengyu looked down at Shen Yuefu, whose face was pale with fright, then glanced at Jiang Zhaoying. Comparing the two, Jiang Zhaoying could call upon a crowd of people for support if needed, but Yuefu… her eyes and heart held only him.
“Uncle.”
Song Chengyu spoke with a resolute expression.
“I have never asked anything of you, Uncle.”
Clan Leader Song’s heart clenched painfully. Song Chengyu’s direct gaze made him feel somewhat ashamed.
It was true.
Over the years, Song Chengyu had indeed never asked him for anything. If he really subjected Shen Yuefu to the drowning punishment and killed his child, father and son would likely never reconcile, and Madam Song would hate him to death.
This person truly couldn’t die; he had to save her.
With a somber expression, his voice somewhat hoarse and carrying a hint of pleading, he said,
“Zhaoying, Fu’er was originally the noble concubine we prepared for Chengyu, and we planned to bring her into the household right after the wedding. Fu’er knows her status is not high; she has been sensible since childhood, never clamoring to marry Chengyu as the principal wife or demanding to enter the household. They grew up together, their feelings run deep. It’s understandable they couldn’t control themselves for a moment. Let’s just let this matter pass. Don’t dwell on it too much.”
“If Fu’er is really executed, it will affect your relationship with Chengyu. Even without Fu’er, there will be another. It’s better to keep her to serve you both. How about this: Chengyu receives thirty strokes of the rod, Yuefu twenty. If the child is lost, that’s her fate. If the child survives, you can raise it if you wish. If you don’t want it, she can raise it herself, or give it away for adoption—it’s all up to you.”
Of course, the child would not be given to Jiang Zhaoying. The goal was simply to force her to relent, to arrange their own people to carry out the punishment, and then to fake it—making a big show but delivering only a light blow.
There were still over half a year before the child was born. Once this matter was settled, they would speed up their plans to obtain what they wanted. By then, Jiang Zhaoying’s life would still be firmly in their grasp.
When that time came,
it would be Jiang Zhaoying kneeling before them, begging for mercy.
Shen Yuefu knew that Clan Leader Song was protecting her. A faint smile flickered at the corner of her lips as she nestled deeply into Song Chengyu’s embrace, making him feel even more distressed.
Jiang Zhaoying lowered her gaze and smoothed her long hair, her voice icy.
“A noble concubine is acceptable, but forty strokes each—not a single one less.”
She turned and looked at Wei Jiuzhao, who pursed his lips slightly. Xu Zhiyan noticed their subtle exchange and understood the meaning in their eyes.
Madam Song, who had been on edge, saw that Jiang Zhaoying had finally relented and even elevated Fu’er to noble concubine. A flash of triumphant delight crossed her eyes before she signaled Nanny Liu to make the necessary arrangements.
Soon,
a long bench was set up in the courtyard. Servants escorted Song Chengyu and Shen Yuefu to the bench.
Shen Yuefu threw herself into Song Chengyu’s arms, sobbing softly.
“I’m sorry, cousin. It’s my fault. Jiang Zhaoying said if I didn’t tell the truth, she would set fire to the Song residence tonight. She even dared to burn the ancestral hall… I… I was afraid.”
“It’s alright. They would have found out sooner or later. It’s not your fault.”
Song Chengyu turned and cast a dark, resentful glance at Jiang Zhaoying. He removed his outer robe and placed it over Shen Yuefu’s belly before lying down on the bench himself.
“Don’t be afraid. Mother will handle it properly.”
Song Chengyu tightly grasped Shen Yuefu’s hand. Overwhelmed with emotion, Shen Yuefu nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face.
“Cousin, it’s all because I was too cowardly. From now on, I’ll serve you well and make it up to you.”
“Silly girl, you just need to stay in the manor and enjoy a life of luxury.”
A gust of wind swept through the courtyard, rustling the branches. Leaves, already beginning to yellow, drifted down in a flurry.
Jiang Zhaoying stood in the corridor, watching the scene coldly.
She reached out and caught a yellow leaf, a cold smile on her lips.
The scenery was beautiful, but it was nearing dusk—there was little hope left.
“Begin.”
As she released the yellow leaf from her fingertips, letting it fall, the first heavy stroke landed squarely on Song Chengyu’s buttocks.
“Ah—!”
Song Chengyu arched his back in agony, letting out a hoarse, tortured scream. His hands clenched the edges of the bench, his body tensing so violently that veins bulged on his forehead.
Hearing his cry, Shen Yuefu, lying on the bench, pursed her lips slightly. She thought to herself that her cousin was putting on quite a convincing act. Her aunt had signaled her earlier—the people she had arranged would fake the strokes, so no one would actually get hurt.
But the moment the thought crossed her mind,
a sharp gust of wind swept across her lower back, followed by an excruciating, piercing pain in her buttocks. Shen Yuefu was stunned by the agony, momentarily forgetting to scream.
Pain, pain, pain—it hurt so much.
Her mind went blank for an instant, and then she kept asking herself: How could this happen?
Instinctively…
Both of them struggled, but… Jiang Zhaoying had long anticipated this move, so while they were deeply engrossed in their affection, she had the servants tie them to the rope, leaving them with nowhere to escape.
“Help! Aunt, save me!”
Shen Yuefu screamed in terror. If they continued beating her like this, forget fifty strokes—even five would be enough to make her lose the child in her womb.
“No, no, no, it’s not like this. Someone, quick! Go find Aunt, hurry!”
Shen Yuefu widened her tear-blurred eyes and vaguely spotted a figure in the corridor. Desperate, she shouted toward it.
“I’ll give you a hundred taels of silver. Go find the Madam, quickly!”
Hearing her frantic cries, Jiang Zhaoying slowly emerged from the shadows. Her solitary and stunning beauty instantly overshadowed the utterly disheveled Shen Yuefu by a hundred thousand miles.
“Zhaoying, you wouldn’t treat us like this. Make them stop, please help Fu’er. I promise that after she gives birth, the child will be adopted under your name. I’ll never compete with you for it. Fu’er can even spend her whole life without ever seeing the child.”