Seeing Shi Yutong like this, Madam Sun, who had just been feeling somewhat impulsive, now considered herself to have been extraordinarily wise.

If they were to bring home a daughter-in-law like this, she would do as she pleased by trading on her status as the Commander’s daughter. Unable to bear children herself, she would in all likelihood also prevent Sun Changyou from taking concubines. Yet the Sun family would have no way to deal with her.

Madam Sun felt as though she could breathe freely at last.

“Shi Yutong.” The Commander’s expression darkened immediately at Shi Yutong’s inexcusable rudeness. “That is enough.”

Shi Yutong’s face flushed scarlet with anger. “Commander, she is slandering your daughter in such a manner, and you still take her side?”

“Yutong.” Qian Lan stepped forward. “This is not the time to say such things. Calm yourself first.”

“It is all because of you.” Shi Yutong heard Qian Lan’s voice and whirled around, delivering a slap across her face.

The slap rang out sharp and clear, leaving not only Qian Lan stunned but every onlooker utterly speechless. The garden was filled with people, yet in that instant the silence was so complete that one could have heard a pin drop.

It was only when the Commander came to his senses that he immediately shoved Shi Yutong aside and stepped forward, cradling Qian Lan’s face in his hands with frantic concern. “Lan’er, does it hurt? Let me see.”

Qian Lan slowly recovered herself and shook her head at the Commander. “I am fine, Commander. Yutong has only just learned of this news and is upset. Please do not blame her.”

Shi Yutong’s palm still throbbed faintly. She had struck Qian Lan on impulse, but now, seeing the Commander’s furious expression, she realized what a foolish thing she had done.

“You — you wretched creature.” The Commander turned to Shi Yutong and swung his hand in a slap.

The Commander’s force was several times greater than Shi Yutong’s, and the blow sent her crashing to the ground, blood seeping from her lips.

“Who gave you the right to lay hands on the First Madam?” The Commander glared down at Shi Yutong. “I see that you have become utterly lawless and ungovernable. Not only do you show no respect for the Madam, you show not the slightest fear of me either. You dare strike the Madam today — will you dare strike me tomorrow?”

Shi Yutong crumpled to the ground, her face burning, her head ringing.

From childhood to now, she had always been held in the palm of someone’s hand and cherished. She had never been treated this way before, least of all in front of so many people.

She could feel it — the laughter, the mockery, the scorn, the gloating — pouring over her from all sides.

But what she found most unbearable of all was the reality that she could never bear children.

The surgery she had undergone — Du Linghua had told her it was merely an appendectomy, and she had believed it. She could never have imagined that she had been left permanently unable to conceive.

For a woman who could not bear children, even the most illustrious birth could not secure her a good marriage. To say nothing of a man of great talent and renown like Jiang Zeluo.

“You wretched daughter.” The Commander’s fury had not yet abated, and one slap was not enough to satisfy it. He sent a savage kick at Shi Yutong.

“Commander.” Luo Huaimeng and Yan Qing hurried forward and caught hold of him.

Luo Huaimeng said in a low voice, “Commander, with so many watching, one should not air one’s family’s shame in public. Whatever needs to be said, we can discuss it behind closed doors.”

The rage in the Commander’s heart had not been quenched. His mind was full of the five bright red finger marks on Qian Lan’s face — the woman he held in the palm of his hand and cherished, subjected to such humiliation. It was not Qian Lan’s face that had been struck. It was his own.

Nevertheless, Luo Huaimeng’s words were effective. The Commander heard them and drew a long breath. “Very well. Everyone disperse.”

Liu Yin also arrived swiftly with his men, and courteously escorted the surrounding ladies and young women out of the garden.

What transpired afterward was beyond the knowledge of those ladies. But from that moment on, all manner of rumors spread like wildfire through high society in countless different versions.

No matter how much truth or falsehood those rumors contained, one thing was beyond dispute: Shi Yutong had not yet married, and she was already unable to bear children. In that era, a woman who could not conceive was like a discarded piece on the board — even ordinary families would not consider her, to say nothing of wealthy and distinguished households.

Furthermore, Shi Yutong had gravely offended the Commander, and the Commander would no longer intervene on her behalf in matters of marriage. Shi Yutong had effectively become a plague carrier. Every family with an unmarried son was terrified of being associated with her.

Once the onlookers had dispersed, Shi Yutong was taken inside.

Madam Sun and Sun Changyou were also present. Everyone sat together, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

A maidservant brought an ice pack, and the Commander personally pressed it to the injury on Qian Lan’s face. Yan Qing watched the Commander’s frantic, desperate expression and could not help shaking her head inwardly.

Qian Lan had only been slapped once, and the Commander was already beside himself with worry. If something truly serious were ever to happen, would he not lose his mind entirely?

At this moment, Du Linghua also rushed in. Catching sight of Shi Yutong kneeling on the ground with her hair in disarray, she cried out and threw herself toward her. “Yutong, what happened?”

Hearing Du Linghua’s voice, Shi Yutong looked up at her with unfocused eyes. “Am I truly unable to have children?”

Du Linghua was horrified and looked to the Commander for help, but his attention was entirely elsewhere, occupied only with anxious inquiries about Qian Lan’s injury.

“San Yitai.” Madam Sun’s voice was cold. “The last time we met, you spoke to me of the Eighth Miss’s marriage. At the time, you said nothing to us about her being unable to bear children. Were you intending to conceal this and marry the Eighth Miss into our family without telling us?”

Du Linghua was momentarily speechless, for what Madam Sun had described was precisely her plan.

Since Shi Yutong could not bear children, marrying her off in the future would be extraordinarily difficult. Even if someone were willing to take her, it would not be into a good family.

Du Linghua had therefore intended to present the Sun family with a done deal — marry Shi Yutong in first, and if the Sun family discovered the truth afterward, she could always offer to let Sun Changyou take a few beautiful concubines to produce heirs. As long as Shi Yutong secured the position of principal wife in the Sun family, her status as the Commander’s daughter would ensure that the Sun family would not dare to divorce her.

But now that Madam Sun had exposed her on the spot, Du Linghua’s face cycled through shades of red and white, leaving her deeply embarrassed.

Du Linghua’s reaction confirmed Madam Sun’s suspicions. Madam Sun let out a cold laugh. “San Yitai, you truly have a fine head for scheming. You may have married your daughter off, but did you spare a thought for our Sun family? Our Old Sun has worked tirelessly and faithfully for the Commander. Just the other day, with his asthma acting up, he was still pressing on through his duties. He has been fighting to build the Commander’s domain. And for all that, you scheme against our Sun family’s bloodline? Even if Changyou were to take concubines, the children born of them would be without proper standing. How would they ever hold their heads up before others?”

“Madam Sun,” Qian Lan said, enduring the pain in her face. “San Yitai surely did not mean it in that way. She simply had not found the right moment to speak with you.”

Madam Sun gave a cold smile. “If she had wanted to speak to me, she would have done so long ago. I have nothing but free time. Had I not heard of this from someone else, I might have remained in the dark forever — and ended up bringing home a hen that cannot lay eggs for my son.”

Madam Sun had called Shi Yutong a hen that could not lay eggs in front of the Commander himself. Du Linghua was deeply shocked and furious. Yet when she looked to the Commander, he seemed not to have heard a single word, his full attention trained on Qian Lan. He was not inclined to spare even a fraction of it for anyone else.

Du Linghua’s heart went cold with despair, and yet she burned with resentment. In the past, who would have dared say such outrageous things in her presence? Before she could even open her mouth, the Commander would have been the first to object.

But this was no longer the past. Facing Madam Sun’s reproaches, Du Linghua could only swallow her humiliation, for she was the one who had been in the wrong first.

“Madam Sun.” It was Qian Lan who stepped forward, not Du Linghua. “Yutong is a daughter of our Shi family. Is such a description really appropriate? Even if she were not the Commander’s daughter, any young woman who suffered such a misfortune would be facing the cruelest kind of blow. Yutong’s feelings right now are something that you and I can scarcely imagine, and yet you would pour oil on the fire. Even if the Shi family was the first to conceal the truth from you, what you are doing now is hardly decent, is it?”

Qian Lan’s words were firm and resolute, leaving Madam Sun utterly speechless.

Hearing Qian Lan speak, the Commander said with his full air of authority, “Madam Sun, Lan’er is quite right. Yutong is my daughter after all. Speaking to her in such a manner — is this how little regard you have for our Shi family?”

“Commander, Madam.” Sun Changyou immediately rose to his feet and bowed deeply. “I apologize. My mother was carried away by emotion and spoke without thinking. Please forgive her, Commander and Madam.”

The Commander looked at Sun Changyou. This young man was sharp and capable, and had always been his preferred candidate for a son-in-law. Unfortunately, fate had not been on their side. The way things stood with Shi Yutong, it was impossible for her to marry into the Sun family now.

Not into the Sun family, and not into any other wealthy and distinguished family either — they would all avoid her like the plague.

The Commander, despite his high position, could not force someone to marry his daughter when the whole world already knew. The gravest of filial failures was leaving no heir. No one wished to be seen as disloyal and unfilial to their ancestors.

“Commander,” Sun Changyou continued, “I do have a compromise to suggest, if the Commander and Madam are willing to consider it.”

“Say it,” said the Commander.

Sun Changyou looked at the vacant expression on Shi Yutong’s face, and a trace of compassion rose within him. This woman who had captivated him at first sight — even if her temperament was somewhat overbearing — had ultimately been someone he had cared for. Seeing her reduced to such a wretched state, he could not bring himself to feel nothing.

“I would like to take the Eighth Miss of Shi as a concubine.” Sun Changyou said earnestly. “I guarantee that after she enters the Sun household, she will want for nothing in terms of food, clothing, and comfort. I will treat her no differently than I would a principal wife.”

“Do not even dream of it.” Shi Yutong suddenly leaped to her feet from the floor, glaring at Sun Changyou. “I would sooner marry anyone else than you, you ugly wretch. I, Shi Yutong, can only ever be a principal wife. Who wants to be your concubine? Your Sun family — every one of you is more shameless than the last.”

Sun Changyou and Madam Sun stared at Shi Yutong in disbelief.

“Yutong.” Du Linghua rushed forward to restrain her. “You must not be rude to Madam Sun and Changyou.”

Sun Changyou was not wrong. Under the present circumstances, if Sun Changyou were willing to take Shi Yutong, she could trade on her status as the Commander’s daughter, and the Sun family would have to hold her in high regard. Moreover, Sun Changyou still had feelings for Shi Yutong, so he would naturally not be too harsh with her.

—