After Xiao Rencheng came out of the prison of the Ministry of Justice, he blocked Wen Zilong, who was about to go to court, at the gate of the Wen Mansion.
Both of them were dressed in the purple official robes embroidered with golden pheasants, the symbol of second - rank officials. Wen Zilong was forced to step back by Xiao Rencheng until he retreated to the main hall of the Wen Mansion.
Wen Zilong plopped down into the official chair. Looking up at Xiao Rencheng's cold and stern face, he asked in fear:
"Lord Xiao... What do you mean by this?"
Xiao Rencheng said, "Lord Wen, let's not beat around the bush. I'm here to talk to you about the case of your honorable wife."
At the mention of Lan Jinqin, Wen Zilong recalled the night when he saw the two of them riding horses in the Western Market. Coupled with the fact that Xiao Rencheng had even been imprisoned in the prison of the Supreme Court for Lan Jinqin, he was immediately enraged:
"Adulterers and whores! Your affairs have made me lose all my face. Even though Sheng Jiangli acquitted you and you were released from prison after retracting your confession, the heavens are watching. I saw clearly whether there was an affair between you and that bitch!"
"Humph! The heavens are watching!" Xiao Rencheng let out a deep laugh. "If the heavens had eyes, they would have punished you long ago. If adulterers and whores should be punished, you can't escape either. You've been keeping a mistress outside behind your wife's back, and even got her pregnant. You've allowed your mistress to bully your lawful wife... A person like you can still live well. Why should I be afraid of the so - called heavenly justice?"
Wen Zilong flinched and gritted his teeth, asking, "Did Lord Xiao come today just to stand up for my wife?"
"Not exactly." Xiao Rencheng sat down. "I'm here to tell Lord Wen the truth."
Wen Zilong frowned and looked at him in confusion.
Xiao Rencheng waved his hand, and a young and delicate - looking but cowardly man in his twenties was escorted in by Xiao's attendant.
"Who is this?" Wen Zilong asked angrily.
Xiao Rencheng said, "Lord Wen, this man is Peilan's cousin and her lover. Moreover, he is also the father of the child in Peilan's belly!"
Since Xiao Rencheng noticed that Peilan was pregnant while Wen Zilong was unable to have an heir, he had already started investigating.
"Bang!" Wen Zilong angrily slapped the table and stood up. His face flushed red as he shouted, "Xiao Rencheng! How dare you slander me for wearing... wearing..."
"Lord Wen is unaware of the cuckold on his head. I had no choice but to come and tell you in person." Facing Wen Zilong's outburst, Xiao Rencheng calmly sat on the official chair and said to Peilan's cousin, "Tell Lord Wen yourself!"
The man named Cui Shichang was as timid as a mouse. When he saw the two court officials, his legs had already gone weak. He knelt down with a thud and kowtowed nervously:
"Lord... Lord Wen... The child in Peilan's belly is mine..."
"She... She had been with you for four years and hadn't been able to conceive. She was eager to be part of the family, so, so she... seduced me!"
It took Wen Zilong a long time to digest these two sentences. Then he grabbed Cui Shichang by the collar.
His face turned green, and the veins on his forehead bulged. Staring at Cui Shichang's collar, he gritted his teeth and said, "Do you know what the consequence of deceiving me is?"
Cui Shichang was so scared that he almost wet his pants. "I dare not deceive Lord Wen... Everything I said is true!"
"Peilan got pregnant on the second day of the second lunar month. She saw Doctor Qu from Yiyuantang in the east of the city. I accompanied her... There are records in their shop. It can't be fake."
The second day of the second lunar month!
But that day was the Dragon - raising Head Festival. There was a grand banquet in the court that day. For half a month around that day, the Ministry of War had to pay attention to the safety of the royal family. At that time, he was still a deputy minister, and he had to handle everything personally.
So he simply had no time to go to Lanfangju.
Wen Zilong said with a livid face, "Nonsense! Peilan said the child in her belly was conceived on the twentieth day of the second lunar month!"
Xiao Rencheng smiled and asked another old man to enter.
"I'm Qu Bailing, a doctor in Yiyuantang in the east of the city. I've come to pay my respects to the two officials."
Qu Bailing was one of the best gynecologists in the capital!
Peilan had often mentioned this doctor in his ear.
Every time she asked him for silver to buy medicine, she would mention this doctor, saying that Doctor Qu's medicine was good and it was good for the fetus.
So Wen Zilong remembered this doctor.
Wen Zilong stared blankly as the doctor presented the medical record, on which it clearly stated that the day of conception was the second day of the second lunar month!
Wen Zilong pointed at Qu Bailing with a trembling finger and said, "It's only half a month's difference... Are you sure your estimation of the pregnancy period is correct?"
Qu Bailing, as a doctor, was most afraid of people doubting his medical skills. He immediately promised:
"I've been practicing medicine for decades and have seen countless pregnant women. I've never made a misdiagnosis. Not to mention a half - month difference, there has never been a one - day difference!"
"Sir, don't you believe me? I'm not only good at gynecology but also at andrology. Sir, you have dark circles under your eyes, and your tongue is purple and dull with a thin white coating when you were speaking just now... It's a sign of kidney deficiency and weak essence. Lord Wen, it will be difficult for you to have a child!"
What?
Wen Zilong was struck like by lightning and stood there in a daze, showing an incredulous expression. It took him a long time to squeeze out two words:
"What?"
Xiao Rencheng explained leisurely, "Doctor Qu said that Lord Wen is infertile and has no destiny to have an heir. So the child in Peilan's belly..."
Wen Zilong suddenly threw the teacup on the table out and roared, "Nonsense! Nonsense! You guys have colluded to deceive me! Xiao Rencheng! What on earth do you want to do?"
Although his roar was blusterous but actually weak, his heart couldn't help but feel uneasy.
He and Lan Jinqin had indeed been married for seven years without having a child. Later, with Peilan, there was still no news for four years.
But... Peilan's medical record showed that the child in her belly was not his!
Xiao Rencheng looked at the shattered pieces on the ground without changing his expression and said, "Lord Wen has always been very confident about his own body. So for the two women, Lady Wen and Peilan, who have been infertile for many years, Lord Wen has never thought that it might be his own problem."
"Lord Wen and the old lady always thought that if a woman couldn't conceive, it was always the woman's fault... So Lord Wen never bothered to see a doctor for himself. In fact, there was a visiting doctor in the mansion who specialized in seeing the old lady. If Lord Wen had just let the doctor feel his pulse, he wouldn't have been wearing a cuckold for so long."
Wen Zilong gulped and, as if reminded, quickly called for the visiting doctor in the mansion.
He didn't believe it!
How could he be infertile?
He was in his prime, only thirty years old this year. How could he have a problem?
It must be that Xiao Rencheng and Lan Jinqin had colluded to frame him.
It must be!
The visiting doctor had been practicing medicine in the Wen family for many years. He was the exclusive doctor of Wen Linshi and was trustworthy.
After feeling Wen Zilong's pulse, he said sympathetically, "Lord Wen... It seems that you won't be able to have an heir in the future. My medical skills are shallow, and I can't help much."
It was said that Lord Wen's only child had died in the womb together with its mother before it was born.
Alas!
The Wen family was going to have no descendants.
Wen Zilong was like a man who had been sentenced to death. He staggered and slumped back into the official chair in shock.
He... was really, going to have no descendants?
Wen Zilong's vision went black. The blood in his chest churned, and a sweet and fishy taste rose in his throat. He spat out blood and cried out heart - rendingly:
"Peilan! You! Bitch!"
"Good riddance!"
"Good riddance!"
He let out a long string of crazy laughter that lingered for a long time.
Everyone in the room didn't even dare to breathe. They wished they could shrink their heads into their pants.
They were doomed. They had heard the secret of a high - ranking official...
Xiao Rencheng didn't have time to let Wen Zilong go crazy.
He waved his hand and asked the attendants to take the witnesses away.
There were only the two of them left in the room again.
Xiao Rencheng said, "Lord Wen, now let's talk about the real business."
Wen Zilong gradually sobered up from his crazy laughter at the beginning. He took a breath. The steam in front of his eyes blurred his vision, making it hard for him to see Xiao Rencheng's face clearly.
Wen Zilong showed a cruel smile and asked rhetorically, "Lord Xiao has spent so much effort. What on earth do you want to do?"
Xiao Rencheng smiled gently. "Can't Lord Wen see it yet?"
His voice was slightly hoarse, like the withered branches rustled by the autumn night wind. "I, Xiao, want a divorce letter from Lord Wen!"