Her words stunned everyone present once again. Even Old Madam Song stood there dumbfounded, looking at Song Juncai's face with a complicated expression.

Zhao Qianlan's shrill cries stopped abruptly at that moment. She was stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses, and endless fear arose in her heart.

She glanced at the divine physician Rihua, then quickly looked away, pitifully tugging at Song Juncai's sleeve, and asked, "Husband, who is this woman?"

Her heart was in turmoil, and her eyelids kept twitching for no reason. Without waiting for Song Juncai's reply, she hurriedly said, "Our child died so tragically, husband, you must avenge him!"

"The doctor said it was a fully formed male fetus! Very healthy! It looks just like you! But because I was abused by Song Xizhi, who forced me to drink his urine, my body was damaged, and that's why we couldn't keep the baby!"

Upon hearing this, Song Juncai couldn't help but close his eyes.

His chest heaved violently, and when he opened his eyes again, they were bloodshot.

"You can examine the child. After the examination, give the child a proper burial."

He finished speaking in a cold, hard voice, then suddenly took a step back, pulling the hem of his clothes away from Zhao Qianlan's grasp.

Zhao Qianlan's eyelids twitched, and she looked up in alarm: "Husband? What do you mean by this?"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Doctor Li! My mother-in-law has been watching here the whole time; she knows everything!"

"Who is this woman? Why do you believe her?"

But no one answered from inside the bedroom.

Madam Song was taken aback and finally noticed that Song Juncai's expression was strange.

Something was off the moment he stepped into the bedroom.

Upon hearing Song Juncai's words, the renowned physician Rihua found the fetus again, examined it, and finally shook his head.

"It wasn't a natural miscarriage, it was a medical abortion. And the fetus looks quite large, not just three months, but four or five months."

Upon hearing this, Song Juncai remained standing there with a gloomy expression, silent.

Madam Song was completely stunned, looking as if she had been struck by lightning.

She hurriedly sought out other doctors, who confirmed that the fetus was not just three months along, but at least four months old.

Four months ago, the Fengshan ceremony took place on Heyan Mountain.

Song Juncai and Zhao Qianlan both went to Heyan Mountain. Not only were they separated, but they also abstained from sex. Therefore, this child was not Song Juncai's at all.

Song Juncai listened as several doctors, whom Madam Song had invited, repeatedly confirmed the baby's gestational age.

Every word he uttered was like a mockery, or a dagger piercing his heart.

The sound of Zhao Qianlan's mournful wails filled her ears. She was begging Song Juncai to give her another chance, saying that she was wronged and that she had done nothing wrong.

Song Juncai wanted to sneer, but for some reason, he suddenly felt that the world in front of him was sometimes black and sometimes white, and his vision was blurred, and he could not see anything.

Song Xizhi was not his child. He knew this from the beginning and had always held a grudge, which is why he abused Song Xizhi and always spoke coldly to him.

Knowing that she was not doing well and that she longed for his love, he treated Song Ruoan even better, allowing Song Ruoan to trample Song Xizhi on the ground like mud.

But after living for more than thirty years, he only realized today that Song Ruoan, the apple of his eye, was not his child at all!

He risked his life, kowtowing and climbing nine thousand stone steps to protect a son who was not his child.

Even the child born from Zhao Qianlan's affair with someone during the Fengchan ceremony is beyond measure!

He is infertile; he can't have children!

He's a cripple! No different from the eunuchs in the palace!!!

As soon as Song Juncai thought of this, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in the wound on his head, as if his head was about to split open. But the wound was like a joke, reminding him that it was a joke!

In the noisy bedroom, only a loud thud could be heard as Song Juncai collapsed straight down, unconscious.

Old Madam Song's eyes widened, and she let out a scream.

...

It's unclear how much time passed before Song Juncai finally woke up on the bed.

The entire Song family mansion was in an uproar. After learning the truth, Old Madam Song gritted her teeth and summoned all the elders of the Song clan to deal with Zhao Qianlan.

The news of Song Juncai's infertility spread throughout the capital.

When Song Juncai woke up, he felt the complicated looks in the eyes of the clan elders and almost suffocated.

Ignoring everyone's advice and attempts to persuade him to stay, he insisted on getting out of bed and hurriedly left the Song residence.

He didn't actually know where he was going, but he could no longer bear to stay in the Song residence for even a moment longer.

Song Juncai staggered through the streets of the capital, the wounds on his head and legs constantly reminding him of the joke, and the world before him seemed to turn black and white at that moment.

Song Juncai didn't know why, but suddenly he walked to the gate of Dali Temple.

When he stumbled into the Dali Temple, he saw the familiar official.

It was he who led a group of soldiers to the Song residence, intending to take Zhao Qianlan away.

"What's going on? Zhao Qianlan... who exactly is the man she's secretly seeing?"

Song Juncai moved his lips, squeezing out each word from his throat.

The official had already heard the rumors circulating in the capital, and his eyes held a hint of pity as he looked at Song Juncai.

"The investigation into the Zhao family case is more than halfway complete, and I have also found out the truth you are looking for. Zhao Qianlan and Zhao Qingshu have an affair, and the two have a love nest in the backyard of Heyan Mountain."

Song Juncai felt a dull pain in his heart, and his eardrums were thumping loudly. Everything in front of him seemed unreal.

"They...they...had already started back then?"

The official shook his head: "No, according to the servants, Zhao Qianlan and Zhao Qingshu had already been having an affair more than 30 years ago."

"The incident and evidence have been written down in the document, which will soon be presented to His Majesty. However, because of your imperial edict, Zhao Qianlan will not be in danger. But you have failed to discipline your wife properly, allowing her to be involved with the rebels, so you will be demoted and investigated."

Iron Certificate of Merit...

Demotion and investigation...

His words pierced Song Juncai's ears, like a knife twisting and turning in Song Juncai's chest, leaving it bloody and mangled.

Who exactly was the person he saved with his precious imperial edict?!

Song Juncai felt a salty, metallic taste rise in his throat, and he couldn't hold back any longer; blood gushed straight from his mouth.