Seeing that she couldn't avoid him, Nan Yu simply stood still.
Shen Yanche stared at her. Noticing that she had changed into Tan Linyuan's long gown, his face darkened. "Yuyu, last night..."
"Don't touch me." Nan Yu's eyes were cold. "It was you who drugged me."
"You... know?" Shen Yanche was only stiff for a second, but then gritted his teeth and said, "So, you slept with Tan Linyuan?"
Out of anger, he even forgot to address him as Uncle. "You were alone with him for a whole night. Did he help you out?"
Nan Yu neither denied nor admitted it. She just kept silent.
Seeing that she didn't say a word, Shen Yanche was even more convinced of his suspicion. His face turned ashen, and he said something mean. "Nan Yu, aren't you cheap? You're my fiancée. How could you sleep with someone else?"
Nan Yu remained expressionless. Her voice was cold as frost as she sneered, "Haven't you slept with someone else too? Isn't the baby almost due?"
Shen Yanche was at a loss for words. "...But you're still my woman. How could you be touched by another man?"
Nan Yu said expressionlessly, "Oh, then let's call off the engagement."
Hearing this, Shen Yanche immediately panicked. He tightened his grip on her arm. "You've already slept with someone else, and now you still want to call off the engagement with me? You're dreaming!"
Nan Yu felt a sharp pain in her arm. Her voice turned even colder. "You know I've slept with someone else, but you still insist on marrying me. Are you not afraid of wearing a green hat? If you hadn't drugged me, I would never have had a relationship with Tan Linyuan. This is all your own doing."
It was the first time she had fallen out with Shen Yanche. "Moreover, you don't like me that much. You can't get any benefits from me. Why do you insist on marrying me?"
Shen Yanche raised his voice and denied, "Of course I do. Your father..." Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly realized something and stopped.
Almost instantly, Nan Yu caught the meaning in his words. "My father what?"
"...It's nothing." Shen Yanche's tone weakened. "I mean, your father has agreed to our marriage. You've seen the letter with your own eyes, haven't you? I've liked you since I was a child."
His explanation was very weak and unconvincing.
Nan Yu had already caught the important information from his reaction and words: Nan Jiwen had left something important for her.
Moreover, this important thing was probably in the hands of the Shen family. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so eager for her to marry Shen Yanche.
Although she didn't know what it was, Nan Yu now understood why the Shen family had helped her back then and why they had insisted on marriage as a condition.
Only by getting married could her personal property become the common property of the couple.
Only in this way could the Shen family legally annex what belonged to her.
Nan Yu sneered. Suddenly, a maid walked over and whispered to Shen Yanche, "Young Master Shen, the engraved tombstone has been delivered."
Tombstone?
Nan Yu remembered that Shen Yanche had said before that he would engrave her name on the Shen family's ancestral tombstone and let her be included in the Shen family's genealogy.
Nan Yu had a feeling and asked, "Is my name on it?"
Shen Yanche showed a smug smile. "Of course. Grand Uncle Shen passed away, and it's just the right time to erect a tombstone for him, so the date has been brought forward."
Nan Yu's hands instantly turned cold.
"Yuyu, you can't change this." Shen Yanche smiled and took her hand. Looking at her blank face, he said, "You'll be a member of our Shen family from now on. Are you happy?"
"From now on, your fate will be tied to our Shen family's fate, for generations to come..."
Nan Yu's blood turned cold. She hardly listened to the rest of his words.
She was almost dragged to the mourning hall by Shen Yanche.
The mourning hall was already crowded with people. Everyone looked solemn, ready to send Grand Uncle Shen to his final resting place.
Standing in front of the coffin, chanting scriptures with his eyes closed, was Tan Linyuan.
When he turned around, his eyes were cold and silent. His thin lips parted slightly. "Let's go."
Immediately, someone came in and opened the coffin in the room.
Instantly, there were cries and sobs from the female relatives in the room. The whole mourning hall was in an uproar.
The chanting of the monks, the crying of the female relatives, the mourning of the crowd... all the sounds merged together.
Affected by this atmosphere, Nan Yu's palms were sweating.
What would happen if her name was really engraved on the tombstone?
Yesterday, she had heard some discussions saying that the Shen family's good fortune was about to run out and they needed new descendants to continue it.
She had heard from the conversations that she was the one who could support the Shen family's good fortune.
Remembering what Tan Linyuan had said half-jokingly and half-seriously before, she felt a chill down her back.
For generations to come.
"Yuyu, we have to keep up." Shen Yanche took her hand. Her expression was still stiff, and her steps were almost out of her control.
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier.
In the crackling sound of the rain, the car arrived at the Shen family's ancestral cemetery.
The tomb had been dug in advance, leaving a place for the coffin.
The rain was so heavy that Nan Yu couldn't see clearly. She could only stare closely at Tan Linyuan in front of her.
His figure was solemn. His white clothes made him look even thinner, as if he could fly away at any moment.
He was chanting scriptures, and his expression was very calm, as if he was guiding the souls of the dead.
Nan Yu's eyelashes trembled.
She seemed to suddenly understand why so many people believed in gods and reincarnation.
The world was full of hardships. Only by having a spiritual sustenance could people have the hope to live on.
When they couldn't save themselves, they would pray for the gods to save them.
Just like her at this moment.
After the chanting ceremony was over, Tan Linyuan turned around.
His face appeared in the rain, blurred and unclear. His gaze passed through the crowd and entangled with hers.
His eyes were calm, just looking at her.
Grand Uncle Shen's coffin was placed in the tomb. Someone was responsible for filling the soil, shoveling it up one by one.
Until finally, the whole coffin was covered.
Tan Linyuan said lightly, "Erect the tombstone."
The huge tombstone was quickly transported over. Everyone was concentrating, waiting for this moment.
Erecting a tombstone was a symbol of the prosperity of a family and also represented the bloodline and inheritance in the genealogy.
Watching the tombstone being lifted and about to be erected and inserted into the soil, Nan Yu's fingers curled up.
She bit her lip, summoned up her courage, and looked up at the words on the tombstone, trying to find her name on it.
There was none.
She was stunned for a moment, lowered her head and rubbed her eyes, and then looked again. Still, there was none.
According to the order of seniority and age, her name should be next to Shen Yanche's, but there was nothing there.
Shen Yanche also noticed this. His face turned extremely ugly.
He subconsciously looked at Shen Suhai. Shen Suhai's face was also gloomy. Obviously, he hadn't expected such a result either.
Before the tombstone had fallen into the soil, Shen Suhai said slowly, "Wait."
None of the Shen family members had expected someone to interrupt the ceremony at this moment. Their gazes all fell over.
Now that Grand Uncle Shen had passed away, according to seniority, the one who had the most power was still Shen Suhai.
His voice was hoarse and very slow. "Linyuan, there's something wrong with the tombstone."
Tan Linyuan in the rain was unaffected. His eyes were calm. He didn't show any fluctuations because the ceremony had been interrupted. He just calmly asked, "What's wrong with it?"