“Daughter-in-law, how could you be pregnant?”
“Why can’t I be pregnant?”
“My son isn’t even home. How did you get pregnant?”
Her husband wasn’t home.
Yet she was pregnant.
Surprised? Shocked?
Wen Jiushu’s head throbbed.
“You’ve been married into the Marquis’s household for barely half a month. Right after the wedding, my son left on an imperial assignment to the south. Even if you and my son had consummated the marriage, you should only be half a month pregnant. Yet the physician says you’re already three months along. Daughter-in-law, you’ve lost your senses!”
Meng Shi, her nominal mother-in-law, pointed at Wen Jiushu in furious accusation. But the smug satisfaction in her eyes was impossible to hide.
“You’ve done something so shameless, bringing disgrace upon the Marquis’s household! What of the family’s reputation? What of my son’s honor? Don’t blame me, as your mother-in-law, for refusing to tolerate you. The bastard child in your womb absolutely cannot be allowed to remain!”
Excellent. Simply excellent.
She had finally caught Wen Jiushu with undeniable evidence against her.
The Marquis’s household had no need for two mistresses.
As long as she drove this little vixen out before the Marquis returned, she would remain in control of the household.
Wen Jiushu’s gaze was cool and distant. She studied Meng Shi’s features and spoke with amused curiosity.
“Aren’t you a widow? Where did this son of yours come from?”
“You—! I may be a stepmother, but I’ve always treated the Marquis as my own son. You’ve committed adultery and conceived an illegitimate child. Throwing you into a pond to drown would not be excessive. Speak! Who is the adulterer you’ve been sleeping with?”
Who said she didn’t have a son?
One day, the entire Marquis’s estate would belong to her own child.
“I don’t know…”
She truly didn’t know.
Wen Jiushu asked herself: she had spent her life cultivating the Dao, accumulating good deeds—building bridges, paving roads, helping old ladies cross the street. She had earned great merit.
So why had she transmigrated into such a cliché cannon-fodder matriarch?
She was about to be thrown out of her husband’s home.
Who could she even complain to?
Meng Shi was the late Marquis’s second wife. Originally, she had been the younger sister of the late Marchioness.
After the first Marchioness passed away, the Meng family, determined to maintain their connection to the Marquis’s household and prevent the position of mistress from falling into another family’s hands, orchestrated a scheme that led to the old Marquis sleeping with his late wife’s younger sister.
Out of respect for his deceased wife, the old Marquis brought Meng Shi into the household.
And so she naturally became the second Marchioness.
“Wen Jiushu, since you’re unwilling to reveal your adulterer, then for the sake of preserving the Marquis’s honor, I’ll have to deal with you myself!”
Meng Shi sneered, putting on the airs of a mother-in-law.
“Someone, bring the medicine.”
A maidservant carried over a bowl of dark, murky liquid.
The moment Wen Jiushu smelled it, she knew exactly what it was.
An abortifacient.
“Drink this medicine—”
“All right.”
“…”
Before Meng Shi could finish speaking, Wen Jiushu had already drained the bowl.
She even turned it upside down to show that not a drop remained.
Meng Shi froze.
She had expected Wen Jiushu to struggle and resist. She had prepared an entire speech of harsh insults and never got the chance to use them.
She hadn’t expected her to be so straightforward.
“It’s useless.”
Wen Jiushu released the bowl, letting it shatter into pieces on the floor.
Did they think she’d never taken abortifacients before?
Eight bowls.
Including this one, that made nine.
From the moment she discovered the child in her womb, she had known she couldn’t keep it.
She couldn’t be blamed for being heartless.
This was never her karma to bear.
But the child simply could not be aborted.
The original host’s memories didn’t even contain the father’s face.
Ridiculous.
Seeing that Wen Jiushu remained standing without the slightest reaction, Meng Shi grew anxious.
“Why are you completely unaffected? You—you must have tampered with the medicine!”
The concoction was extremely potent. It should have taken effect immediately.
How could this little wretch be perfectly fine?
She must have switched the medicine!
Wen Jiushu laughed.
“Wasn’t this medicine prepared by you, Mother-in-law?”
“What you’re carrying must be some kind of monster!”
Meng Shi stared suspiciously at her stomach.
“Today, on behalf of my son, I’ll divorce you. Pack your things and return to your Wen family. Don’t dirty the grounds of my Marquis of Pingnan’s estate. The Shen family has no need for such a shameless daughter-in-law!”
“You can divorce me if you like. Have the Marquis of Pingnan come in person.”
Wen Jiushu studied Meng Shi’s face and smiled.
“Father-in-law has been dead for years, yet Mother-in-law, your complexion is rosy and radiant. You’ve clearly been very well taken care of.”
“You—!”
A flash of guilt crossed Meng Shi’s eyes.
“What nonsense are you spouting? You’re the one lacking in virtue, yet you dare slander your mother-in-law! Aren’t you afraid the Shen ancestors will punish you?”
“If you’re not afraid, why should I be? After all, I’m not the one who put a green hat on the old Marquis.”
In other words, she wasn’t the one who had cuckolded him.
Meng Shi trembled with rage, nearly unable to catch her breath. The steward beside her quickly stepped forward to support her.
“Madam, calm yourself. Don’t harm your health. This household still depends on you. Wen Shi conceived a child out of wedlock and disgraced the family, yet she still has the nerve to disrespect her mother-in-law. Is this how the Wen family raised you?”
Wen Jiushu was the legally wedded Marchioness. By rights, her mother-in-law should have been addressed as the Dowager Marchioness.
But Meng Shi refused to relinquish her authority.
Originally, Wen Jiushu had no interest in competing for the position of household mistress. The only thing she cared about was cultivating the Dao.
But since Meng Shi was so determined to drive her out—
Wen Jiushu decided she wouldn’t let her have her way.
After all, she had always been rebellious by nature.
With an easy smile, Wen Jiushu walked forward and raised her hand.
“Steward Lin, do you know what this is?”
“A hand?”
“Correct.”
“You win a prize.”
She swung her arm and slapped Steward Lin across the face.
The smile remained on her lips, but her eyes turned icy.
“What are you barking for, you cur? Did you think no one knew about your filthy little schemes?”
“You—Wen Jiushu, how dare you! You actually strike someone right in front of me!”
Meng Shi’s eyes burned crimson with fury. She wanted nothing more than to skin Wen Jiushu alive.
Wen Jiushu replied coolly:
“If my mother-in-law weren’t getting on in years, with all that plowing and sowing you do every night, you might’ve even given the Marquis a few younger brothers and sisters.”