Jiang Wansu was currently recuperating at the Xie family’s suburban villa. When Xie Xuchuan arrived, she was sitting in the inner hall, lost in thought.
“Miss, Young Master Xie is here.”
Jiang Wansu turned her head. The moment their eyes met, tears fell from both of them.
Half a month apart had left Jiang Wansu much thinner. Her plain white cotton dress hung loosely on her frame, and even the simple act of standing up made her vision darken and her head spin.
Seeing the pure white paper flower pinned in her hair, Xie Xuchuan spoke hoarsely, “How have you been these past few days?”
“Not bad.”
She reached out to touch her belly, her eyes reddening once more.
The two sat in silence for a long while before Jiang Wansu gestured to the chair beside her. “Did you return today?”
Xie Xuchuan hummed in affirmation, sitting upright in the seat farthest from her.
Though the villa was empty, all four doors of the inner hall were wide open, as if the two were deliberately avoiding suspicion.
Jiang Wansu was naturally elegant and refined, but recent sleepless nights and loss of appetite had left her with a frail, sickly pallor.
When pouring tea for Xie Xuchuan, her hands trembled so violently she could barely lift the teapot.
“Let me.”
Taking the teapot, Xie Xuchuan poured a cup for himself. “You’re with child—best not drink tea.”
Jiang Wansu nodded, gently stroking her belly.
The sight pained Xie Xuchuan, and he turned away, fighting back tears.
After a long silence, he said, “I just returned from the Shen residence.”
Jiang Wansu murmured, “Did Shen Yuanzhu agree?”
Seeing Xie Xuchuan shake his head, her eyes reddened. “Forget it. Yulin and I were simply ill-fated.”
Mentioning Cui Yulin brought silent tears to Jiang Wansu’s eyes, while Xie Xuchuan’s heart tightened.
Cui Yulin’s father was the manager of the Xie family’s weaving workshop. Xie Xuchuan and Cui Yulin had grown up together, and their bond was closer than even that between Xie Xuchuan and his own temperamental, eccentric twin brother.
Wherever Xie Xuchuan went, Cui Yulin was always by his side.
The Xie and Jiang families were close, and over time, Jiang Wansu and Cui Yulin had quietly developed feelings for each other.
But even though Jiang Wansu was only a Jiang family concubine-born daughter, she could never marry down to Cui Yulin, who was practically half a Xie family servant.
Young love burns brightest when the future seems hopeless.
It wasn’t until they discovered the pregnancy that Cui Yulin and Jiang Wansu panicked, rushing to Xie Xuchuan in desperation.
Cui Yulin dared not propose to the Jiang family. If things went wrong and it became known that Jiang Wansu had lost her chastity before marriage, the Jiang family would certainly not keep her.
So Xie Xuchuan had given Cui Yulin an idea.
Remembering this, Xie Xuchuan clenched his curled hand tightly, only releasing it when he noticed the damp sweat stains he had left on his robe.
“Don’t worry about Yuanzhu. She will agree.”
Seeing Jiang Wansu’s red, swollen eyes, Xie Xuchuan turned away. “This is what my wife and I owe you and Yulin. I will raise the child in your womb until he grows up.”
Hearing this, Jiang Wansu lowered her gaze. “As a woman, I understand a woman’s heart better. Shen Yuanzhu doesn’t know your difficulties—she only sees your betrayal and must hate you now.
“How could it be easy to make her agree to bring this child into the Xie family?”
Xie Xuchuan said, “Once everything is settled and there are no more variables, I will explain it to Yuanzhu. She will understand.”
But not now.
The child shared half his bloodline, yet even entering the Xie family registry would be immensely difficult. If word got out that the child in Jiang Wansu’s womb had no connection to the Xie family at all, then no matter what, both the child and Jiang Wansu would be left with only a path to death.
He could not bear it, nor could he turn a blind eye.
“Mm.” Jiang Wansu responded softly, then after a moment added casually, “Shen Yuanzhu is currently furious. The more you say, the more she’ll resent you. It would be better to go directly to Shen Yanhuai or Ye Yunyi.”
Shen Yanhuai is Shen Yuanzhu’s half-brother, and Ye Yunyi is her sister-in-law.
Back then, after Shen’s mother married into the Shen family, she remained childless for many years, so Shen’s father took a concubine who gave birth to Shen Yanhuai.
Twelve years later, the Shen couple finally had Shen Yuanzhu.
After Shen’s mother became pregnant, the couple had always hoped to have another legitimate son to whom they could entrust the entire Shen family business. Unexpectedly, within a few years, Shen’s mother fell seriously ill.
With no other choice, Shen’s father proposed registering Shen Yanhuai under Shen’s mother’s name, allowing him to legitimately inherit the Shen family business.
Shen’s mother agreed but presented Shen’s father and the concubine with one condition.
Fearing that after her death, the concubine would gain too much influence and persuade Shen’s father to mistreat Yuanzhu, she gave the concubine a choice: her son’s future or her own.
The next day, Shen Yanhuai’s birth mother hanged herself in her own room, and Shen’s father vowed never to remarry in the future.
But alas…
What happened afterward is widely known. After forcing the concubine to her death, Shen’s mother did not die, but Shen’s father passed away prematurely due to an accident.
Within two years, Shen’s mother succumbed to her serious illness and followed him in death. Before she died, she arranged every possible safeguard for Yuanzhu.
But what did it matter?
Overnight, Shen Yuanzhu fell from being the Shen family’s treasured pearl to a “dust-covered pearl” with no one to rely on.
Jiang Wansu wiped the tears from the corner of her eye, looking pitiful: “As long as you agree to hand over the other parts of the Xie Family Farming and Weaving Manual and the Shen Family Dyeing Manual to Shen Yanhuai, the Shen family will agree to stand up for you.”