He had to endure it!
He couldn't quarrel with Shen Qing, at least not in the Duke Protector's Mansion. If people found out that he had quarreled with his wife in front of his mother - in - law in the Duke Protector's Mansion, he would lose all his face!
Xu Yanchi turned around and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Whenever he confronted Shen Qing, something bad was bound to happen!
After Xu Yanchi left, Shen Qing sat down as calmly as ever. She ordered someone to heat up the slightly cold dishes and asked the little maid to bring pomelo leaves for sprinkling water.
This left Jiang Shi gaping in astonishment.
Why did she feel that her daughter seemed to dislike her son - in - law very much?
It was already summer, so the dishes didn't need much heating. Soon they were served again. Shen Qing quietly sent all the little maids away, leaving only the trusted servants of the two of them.
While serving dishes for Jiang Shi, Shen Qing said indifferently, "Mother, you must have noticed the relationship between Xu Yanchi and me. I don't want today's incident to happen again."
Shen Qing's tone was very calm, but Jiang Shi's heart skipped a beat. Qing'er's tone was so much like that of her awe - inspiring father - in - law.
"But you two are husband and wife after all..."
"Husband and wife also have different degrees of intimacy. Mother, the Marquis Mansion is not as simple as you think."
Shen Qing told Jiang Shi about Xu Yanchi keeping a mistress outside and trying to force her to raise the mistress's child.
Jiang Shi looked utterly shocked. "Qing'er, are you mistaken? How could your husband be such a person?"
Shen Qing felt a bit helpless. Xu Yanchi's appearance was indeed very deceptive. He had even deceived her grandfather. Her mother was naturally too innocent to see through him.
"Mother, I saw it with my own eyes. There's no mistake. If mother doesn't believe me, you can send someone to Tonghua Alley. The mistress is about to give birth. Xu Yanchi often goes there to accompany her. If you send someone to keep watch, you'll surely catch him."
"That's out of the question!" Jiang Shi instinctively refused. If word got out that a mother - in - law had sent someone to keep tabs on her son - in - law...
Shen Qing knew her mother's concerns and indecisiveness, so she didn't try to persuade her anymore. But since she had said this, Jiang Shi already believed most of it.
Her face turned deathly pale. "Then, what should we do?"
Shen Qing lowered her voice and tentatively said, "Mother, if I want to divorce Xu Yanchi..."
"No!" Jiang Shi almost jumped up in agitation but quickly sat back down. "This is absolutely out of the question!"
"Qing'er, not to mention how difficult it is to get a divorce. Your father and brother are no longer alive. What will you do if you get divorced? If your father and brother were still alive, it would be okay for you to remarry after a divorce. But in the current situation... Divorce is out of the question!"
She could barely hold on to this huge family business now. But what would happen after she passed away? If the Duke Protector's Mansion were to disappear, what would Qing'er do when she was left all alone?
Jiang Shi was in a complete mess.
Shen Qing sighed silently in her heart. She knew it wouldn't be so easy to persuade her mother.
But whether it was successful or not, she was going to do it. No one could stop her.
After Shen Qing and Jiang Shi finished their lunch, Shen Qing comforted Jiang Shi for a while before asking someone to help Jiang Shi go back for a noon break.
"Mother, please don't worry. I won't go anywhere these days. I'll stay with you in the Duke's Mansion."
Jiang Shi closed her eyes, but she couldn't fall asleep at all.
Divorce was out of the question, but she also couldn't bring herself to ask her daughter to forgive Xu Yanchi.
She had been so lucky in her previous life to marry into the Shen family. Her husband doted on her, and her son was promising. She had never suffered any grievances. The back courtyard was spotless, with not even a single concubine or maid - in - waiting.
She knew that it was hard to find a man as devoted as her husband, and she didn't expect Xu Yanchi to stay with her daughter only. But he had just taken two concubines, and now his mistress was about to give birth. It was simply too much!
Jiang Shi was already in poor health due to an old illness. The combination of anxiety and anger made her fall ill.
When Shen Qing rushed over, Jiang Shi still had a high fever, with a cold - water - soaked handkerchief on her forehead.
Shen Qing sat by the bedside and replaced the handkerchief with a new one. Looking at Jiang Shi's pale face, she couldn't help but feel a bit remorseful. Should she not have told her mother about these things?
But she didn't want her mother to be deceived by Xu Yanchi anymore.
Just then, the doctor finished taking the pulse and motioned for her to go outside to talk.
"Madam already has an old illness. Excessive worry and nightmares have caused this high fever. She has just taken the medicine and fallen asleep. There should be no major problem, but her body... still needs good care!"
Shen Qing quickly said, "Doctor, please use whatever medicine you need. Just name the medicinal materials, and we'll surely find them."
Doctor Gu nodded and went to the front to write the prescription.
Not long after, the medicine was boiled and brought over. Shen Qing personally held the bowl and fed Jiang Shi the medicine. After seeing Jiang Shi fall asleep, she left with relief.
...
Xu Yanchi left the Duke's Mansion in a huff and went straight to Tonghua Alley.
Lu Mian greeted him with her pregnant belly.
"Only Mian'er knows my heart best." Xu Yanchi held Lu Mian's delicate and boneless little hand, and placed his other hand on her bulging belly. The anger he had felt from Shen Qing was somewhat soothed.
In a little over a month, he would have his own child with the woman he loved. And the doctor had said it was a male fetus, his first son.
Lu Mian pursed her lips. "Brother Yanchi, our child is about to be born. What kind of status are you going to give him?"
Xu Yanchi's mind instantly flashed with Shen Qing's face. If there hadn't been that accident, this child would have been smoothly registered under Shen Qing's name and become his legitimate eldest son.
Thinking of the rebuff he had received from Shen Qing today, Xu Yanchi got angry again. Shen Qing occupied the position of his legitimate wife, and she was also the lawful mother of this child!
Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on Lu Mian's hand. Lu Mian winced in pain, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Only then did Xu Yanchi realize that he had hurt her. He quickly apologized and comforted her.
Even the hint of hostility that had appeared on his face when thinking of Shen Qing faded a bit. "Mian'er, don't worry. Shen Qing is the legitimate wife of the Marquis Mansion. She should treat all my children as her own. Whether she likes it or not, she has to raise this child!"
"This child will inherit the Marquis Mansion in the future. How can he not have a legitimate status?"
Lu Mian lowered her head and shed tears. "But Brother Yanchi, I can't bear to part with the child. If he's not by his birth mother's side, and the madam doesn't like me, even if she reluctantly raises the child, how can she treat him sincerely?"
"I'm just useless, Brother Yanchi. I can't do anything to help you, and I can't even protect my own child..."
How could Xu Yanchi bear to see the beauty cry? He quickly pulled her into his arms and comforted her tenderly.
"Shen Qing is just helping us raise the child. Don't worry. I will surely teach him well. You are the only mother he has."
Lu Mian nodded. "Brother Yanchi, will you dislike me in the future?"
"How could I? Did someone say something to you?" Xu Yanchi frowned. Who would dare to talk nonsense in front of Mian'er when she was about to give birth?
"No one said anything. I'm just scared. Brother Yanchi, you've taken a side wife, and there will be more women in the back courtyard in the future. I..."
Xu Yanchi quickly said, "They're not the ones I want. That maid climbed into my bed by using underhanded means at Shen Qing's instigation. I don't like her at all!"
"As for my cousin... It was my mother's idea. I couldn't go against it. But you can rest assured. You've always been the only one in my heart!"
"Really?"
Xu Yanchi swore to heaven.
Only then did Lu Mian stop crying and smile.
These days, seeing more and more women around Brother Yanchi, Lu Mian had been very panicked. She had no family background, and now the only thing she could rely on was her child. If the child was taken away, how could she survive?
But Brother Yanchi was right. The child couldn't be the son of a mistress. If he wanted to inherit the Marquis Mansion, he must have a legitimate status!
Shen Qing. All that she had now should have been hers. She was the one who had stolen someone else's nest!