Luo Shi looked at the man before her in disbelief.
After so many years of marriage, he had always been respectful and caring toward her. She truly hadn’t imagined that beneath that hypocritical facade was such a true nature.
She forced back the stinging in her eyes and continued: “I’ve already had someone abort Chu Niang’s child.”
One thunderbolt after another—Qin Mingheng could no longer control his emotions.
He stepped forward and, before Luo Shi could react, grabbed her slender throat with one hand.
“Mmph—”
Luo Shi felt the five fingers around her neck rapidly tighten. The suffocating sensation crashed over her like fierce tidal waves. For the first time, she felt death so close to her.
“Mother, let go of my mother!”
The heir of the Xuanwu Marquis rushed in, punching and kicking at Qin Mingheng.
But he acted like a madman and shoved the young heir aside with one push.
With a bang, the child’s head struck the doorframe, erupting into earth-shattering wails.
Only then did Qin Mingheng awaken as if from a dream and release Luo Shi.
“Cough, cough, cough!” Luo Shi coughed violently, instinctively pulling the child into her embrace. “Mother is here, Mother is fine. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…”
She had the wet nurse quickly carry the child away.
Only then did she look at Qin Mingheng: “Husband, I was deceiving you just now. I didn’t touch the child in Chu Niang’s belly…”
She had only been testing this man, wanting to know how important that unborn bastard was in her husband’s heart. She had gotten her answer.
Qin Mingheng let out a heavy sigh of relief.
He crouched down and helped Luo Shi up: “I’m sorry, wife. Just now I was too impulsive. Does your neck hurt? Shall I find a physician to examine you?”
Luo Shi bit her lower lip.
He had transformed back into that gentle husband from before.
If not for the pain still lingering on her neck, if not for having deeply experienced that sensation of approaching death, perhaps she would have been fooled once again.
If this man still had even the slightest bit of feeling for her, if this man showed even a little concern for their child, perhaps she would have hesitated.
There was no need.
Absolutely no need at all.
“Chu Niang and Qiu Wen are at the Luo family residence.” Luo Shi straightened her body. “I’ll go bring them back to the marquis’s residence right away.”
Qin Mingheng’s lips pressed together: “You said you told Madam Xie about my mistresses. After hearing this, what was her reaction?”
“Madam Xie said that men having multiple wives and concubines is perfectly normal, and advised me to accept it.” Luo Shi lowered her eyelids. “It’s getting late. I’ll return to my natal home for a visit.”
She turned and walked out of the room, had the wet nurse bring the child, and left the Xuanwu Marquis residence at the fastest speed possible.
The next morning, just after those coming to pay their respects at Shengju Courtyard had left, a servant from the front courtyard hurried to the side hall.
This servant was named Duoxi, fifteen or sixteen years old and quite clever. Standing at the bottom of the steps, he reported: “Yesterday evening, the Marchioness returned to the Luo family with the young heir. This morning at first light, Madam Luo and Master Luo personally escorted the Marquis of Xuanwu’s two mistresses to his door, claiming their daughter was jealous and unable to tolerate the mistresses and their children. On their daughter’s behalf, they requested self-dismissal, asking the Marquis of Xuanwu to divorce their daughter, even relinquishing the heir’s position as heir.”
Tingfeng’s face was full of shock: “Why request self-dismissal? Why not mutually divorce?”
Yun Chu smiled slightly.
The Marquis of Xuanwu was, after all, a prominent household of standing. To preserve face, the Marquis of Xuanwu would absolutely never agree to a mutual divorce—who knew how long the entanglement would drag on.
But by Luo Shi claiming she was jealous, requesting self-dismissal, and yielding the heir’s position, on the surface it appeared she was the one at fault, giving the marquis’s residence full dignity.
In reality, however, it was Luo Shi’s parents going in person, overtly and covertly pressuring the Marquis of Xuanwu so he had no choice but to agree to divorce his wife.
The Luo family’s reputation would only suffer temporarily. Once the Marquis of Xuanwu met with disaster, the Luo family’s self-dismissal would become the wisest move.
Therefore, as long as they knew the Marquis of Xuanwu had offended the Yun family, the entire Luo family from top to bottom, including all the clan elders, would certainly swiftly draw a clear line with the Xuanwu Marquis residence.
It must be said, Luo Shi was a clear-headed woman.
After suffering such a devastating blow, she could still devise what was currently the most secure path.
The affair between the Xuanwu Marquis residence and the Luo family caused a tremendous uproar throughout the capital, quickly overshadowing the news of Old Madam Xie’s death.
While Yuan Shi breathed a sigh of relief, she couldn’t help but sigh: “After learning her husband had mistresses, the Marchioness left the marquis’s residence without hesitation… Back then, if Chu’er had known Concubine He was a mistress and had already borne Jingyu three children, she probably would have left our Xie family too… Chu’er was deceived for so many years and suffered so many grievances, yet still wholeheartedly considered our Xie family. She’s truly a rare good child.”
Xie Zhongcheng frowned: “Tell me, where exactly is that scoundrel hiding?”
At the mention of Xie Shiwei, Yuan Shi’s heart ached. He was only an eight-year-old child, hiding outside alone—who knew what hardships he was suffering.
She didn’t dare say much more. She selected a hairpin from her cosmetics box, wrapped it up, and went to find Yun Chu: “Chu’er, your younger sister is about to marry. Our Xie family is still in mourning, so we won’t attend the Yun family’s wedding celebration. Please give this hairpin to Ran’er as a gift on my behalf.”
Yun Chu nodded and placed the hairpin in the box.
Yun Ran and the Dai family’s wedding was set for autumn. It was already late August, long past the Beginning of Autumn, but the weather was still unbearably hot.
Early morning was still relatively cool, but once the sun came out, the temperature rapidly rose. Sitting in the carriage without ice basins would make one break out in sweat.
Yun Chu brought Xie Ping along to return to the Yun family for the wedding celebration.
When they arrived, it was still fairly early. There weren’t many guests in the courtyard yet—or perhaps because it was a concubine’s daughter marrying, the Yun family hadn’t invited many people.
Yun Chu went directly to Yun Ran’s courtyard. The Yun family’s female relatives were all there at this time, with people both inside and outside the room.
The Five Blessings wedding matron was dressing Yun Ran’s hair. She wore red wedding attire with exquisite makeup on her face, looking bright and charming.
“Elder Sister.”
Seeing Yun Chu, Yun Ran called out shyly.
Yun Chu took a box from Tingxue’s hands behind her, opened it, and placed it before Yun Ran: “This is what your elder sister prepared as a gift for you.”
Before Yun Ran could speak, a hand reached over from the side—it was the Yun family’s Third Aunt, who took the box: “Chu’er, you’re truly generous. This complete set of pure gold hair ornaments with emeralds must cost at least a thousand taels of silver as a base price. And that’s not all—there’s actually a box of gold beans… Incredible, there’s even a stack of banknotes…”
The surrounding women all craned their necks to look.
For a household of the Yun family’s standing, dowries for marrying daughters were substantial. When the Yun family’s legitimate eldest daughter Yun Chu married, her dowry was a full thirty thousand taels of silver. Better-off branches of the Yun family would gather ten thousand taels of silver for their daughters, while lesser ones still managed five thousand taels… Here with Yun Ran, just what Yun Chu had prepared already amounted to five thousand taels of silver. Adding what her legitimate mother Lin Shi had prepared, it would be close to twenty thousand taels of silver. For merely a concubine’s daughter, marrying into a household like the Dai family, to have such a substantial dowry!
Many women cast envious glances.
Xie Ping stood outside the crowd, standing on tiptoe to peek. Seeing that pure gold hair ornament set and that stack of banknotes, she couldn’t help but redden her eyes.
Her dowry consisted only of wedding clothes she’d embroidered herself and some private savings—not exceeding one hundred taels of silver…
But she was clear in her heart that if Mother didn’t prepare a dowry for her, Mother certainly had her reasons. She only needed to obediently listen…