After Old Madam Liang entered the room, she listened carefully to confirm there was nothing unusual, then reached for a railing at the head of the bed, turning it three times to the left, three times to the right, then once more to the left.

“Zeze ze…”

A strange sound emanated from the bed frame, though it wasn’t very loud—an ordinary person wouldn’t even notice it.

Inside the bed curtains, Old Madam Liang bent down and lifted the bedsheet, revealing a pitch-black opening beneath the bed.

Old Madam Liang glanced around through the curtains, confirming nothing was amiss, then sat on the edge of the bed.

After waiting for quite a while, ensuring the hole was properly ventilated, she crawled through the inner curtains, grabbed a luminous pearl from the bedside, and entered the dark opening.

Two quarters of an hour later, Old Madam Liang crawled back out, gasping for breath as she sat on the bed’s edge, casually restoring the opening to its original state.

She carefully arranged the bedsheet and mosquito net, finally stepping out from the outer curtains, showing no signs of anything unusual.

However, the disappointment and anger in her eyes seemed to have intensified several fold. She muttered under her breath: “This is absolutely infuriating! Absolutely infuriating!”

She sat with her eyes closed to rest for quite some time until she heard Nanny Luo speaking outside: “Old Madam, this servant is coming in.”

Old Madam Liang gave a faint “Mm” and resumed her usual cold demeanor.

After Nanny Luo entered, she chatted about the evening meal arrangements. Old Madam Liang listened with seeming indifference.

Nanny Luo noticed that Old Madam Liang seemed somewhat distracted.

When she finished speaking, Old Madam Liang was still lost in thought—she probably hadn’t heard a single word.

Nanny Luo tactfully remained silent, standing quietly to the side.

After a long while, Old Madam Liang suddenly asked: “Xinchun, tell me, do all men love the new and abandon the old?”

What?

Nanny Luo was stunned, but hastily summoned all her mental faculties while not daring to pause in her response: “This… though this servant doesn’t understand such matters, I’ve heard others say it seems to be the case.”

Old Madam Liang’s eyes grew deep and thoughtful as she stared blankly for a moment, then said: “You may go.”

After Nanny Luo left, Old Madam Liang remained seated in her armchair. Even as the sky gradually darkened, she didn’t move again.

Equally motionless was Liang Yunshan in his outer study.

Though Qin Shuying’s words were harsh and disrespectful, they had given him the most direct shock.

She was his daughter-in-law—which family’s daughter-in-law would dare treat her father-in-law this way? Yet Qin Shuying had not only done so, but done it with righteous confidence and full of contempt.

Where did she get such audacity?

Could he really have been wrong?

No, no, no, impossible.

Regarding Zhao Wanniang’s matter, it wasn’t surprising that Qin Shuying knew those details—she must have learned them from Zhao Zhenyuan. But what Zhao Zhenyuan knew wasn’t enough.

Zhao Zhenyuan didn’t know that when Zhao Wanniang died, she was with child, yet he himself had never touched her during that time. So where did her pregnancy come from?

Zhao Wanniang had betrayed him, yet he, Liang Yunshan, had kept this secret unto death. Wasn’t that enough? Wasn’t it enough?!

After a while, Liang Yunshan was stunned again.

“Being manipulated by women, believing whatever others say…”

Qin Shuying’s words seemed to still echo in his ears.

The scene of Liang Zhen having people guess the length of lines and size of solid circles seemed to still be before his eyes.

Those two lines were clearly one long and one short, the two solid circles clearly one large and one small… but what was the result? What was the result?

Liang Yunshan’s mind was in chaos, completely blank.

The matter of Zhao Wanniang’s pregnancy—that was what Mother had said, so then…

No, no, no, Mother would absolutely never falsely accuse Zhao Wanniang like that. The person was already dead, yet she would claim there was a child in her belly? Mother was naturally aloof and cold by nature—she would never falsely accuse Zhao Wanniang!

But those two lines, those two solid circles…

Perhaps Mother had also seen incorrectly at the time. Yes, it must be so—Mother had seen wrong!

Whether he and Zhao Wanniang had been intimate, Mother naturally wouldn’t know. At that time, they were having marital conflicts but still slept in the same bed, just ignoring each other.

Mother would naturally assume the child was his. She had been extremely sad then, saying: “My lord, Wanniang already had a child in her belly. How could you accidentally push her into the water, killing two lives? Though I didn’t like her, the child was innocent. You really, really…”

He needed to ask Mother, ask her whether she had seen wrong back then, whether she had seen wrong…

Thinking of this, Liang Yunshan stood up and strode toward Ning Garden.

Old Madam Liang had just finished her evening meal and set down her chopsticks when she saw Liang Yunshan enter. Her eyes darkened: “Has the Earl eaten? If not, have something here.”

Liang Yunshan said: “Mother, I want to ask you about something.”

Old Madam Liang glanced at Nanny Luo, who immediately dismissed everyone and left herself.

Seeing that no one could overhear their conversation, Liang Yunshan spoke: “Mother, I remember that after Wanniang died, you said she had a child in her belly?”

Old Madam Liang lifted her eyelids and said unhurriedly: “Yes. If that child had lived, it would be seventeen years old by now.”

Liang Yunshan asked urgently: “Mother, are you certain she really had a child in her belly?”

“Yes, what of it?”

Seeing Old Madam Liang growing impatient, Liang Yunshan still pressed on: “Mother, think carefully—could you have seen wrong at the time?”

Old Madam Liang threw her hand towel onto the table and raised her voice: “That wasn’t something I said—it was what the imperial physician said at the time. You’re asking me, but who should I ask?”

Liang Yunshan was speechless.

The imperial physician from that time was already around sixty then and had long since passed away.

Old Madam Liang sneered inwardly. Wanniang, Wanniang—after being provoked by a few words from those two little sluts Qin Shuying and Liang Zhen, he actually dared to suspect her! Still calling her Wanniang, Wanniang!

She’d be damned if she didn’t destroy you worthless bastards!

Did he think she didn’t know that Liang Yunshan and Zhao Wanniang hadn’t shared a bed? She knew perfectly well, which was precisely why she had deliberately said Zhao Wanniang had a child in her belly. As for the imperial physician, of course he knew Zhao Wanniang wasn’t pregnant.

But she had simply said so at the time, and Liang Yunshan had believed it without ever confronting the physician.

Liang Yunshan was still quite devoted—though furious at the time, he had still thought only of protecting Zhao Wanniang’s interests and hadn’t used this to threaten the Zhao family.

If that old fool Liang Changshun had shown half of Liang Yunshan’s devotion back then, how could she have…

This was what the Liang family owed her, Luo Yanyan. Don’t blame her for being ruthless!

She had coldly observed afterward as Liang Yunshan began to suspect the parentage of Liang Zhen and Liang Zhe as well, often scolding and berating the siblings harshly.

But Liang Yunshan was still a man of character—in the end, he never said anything that would damage Zhao Wanniang’s reputation.

Nevertheless, it had still planted a thorn in his heart. For all these years, he had never been able to warm up to Liang Zhen and Liang Zhe.

Men, no matter how deep their feelings, cannot withstand suspicion and the interference of beautiful women.

They’re all the same!