Chapter 63: They didn't consummate their marriage, and the whole of Yanjing knew.

Drunken Flower Pavilion.

In a private room on the second floor, Zhang Shuheng leaned back in his chair, slowly swirling the wine glass in his hand.

He was surrounded by the melodious sounds of traditional Chinese string and wind instruments, and before his eyes were the graceful figures and alluring eyes of a dancer. But he felt a surge of resentment raging within him, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Since Qixi Festival, everything around him seems unchanged, but in reality, everything has changed drastically.

His father's scolding, his mother's tears, and all sorts of strange looks and gossip were driving him crazy. When had he ever suffered like this?

He can play with a few lackeys, so what?

He comes from a noble family, so isn't it an honor for those servants that he takes a fancy to them? He's just playing around and hasn't taken their lives, which is already very merciful!

After patiently playing with Sheng Huai'an for several days, he was already fed up.

Let's just close the net.

Zhang Shuheng nudged the young master next to him and whispered, "Go fill Sheng Huai'an's glass. The Daughter's Red wine is good tonight. Everyone drink more and drink until you're drunk."

"Understood!" The young master immediately understood, took the wine pot and walked to Sheng Huai'an's side, praising his poem for the day, and coaxing him to drink three cups in a row.

Seeing the young master get moving, the others exchanged glances and began urging Sheng Huai'an to drink, one cup after another, until he was half-drunk.

It is said that people speak the truth when they are drunk.

A drunk person is indeed less guarded.

Seeing that Sheng Huai'an was starting to talk nonsense, Zhang Shuheng thought the time was right, so he sat down next to him and asked with ill intent, "Brother Sheng, when you were forced to marry Sheng Yunche on your wedding day, did you feel any resentment?"

"Unwilling? What are you unwilling to accept?" Sheng Huai'an asked, his eyes glazed over and his words slurred.

"I heard that you and the Duchess of Wei were very much in love. You must be heartbroken to have your love stolen away so suddenly. Is it because you said something unpleasant to Sheng Yunche, or because he was worried that you and your sister-in-law were still entangled, that he kicked you out of the Duke of Wei's mansion?"

"Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law?!" Sheng Huai'an shook his head violently, hiccuping as he said, "No, not sister-in-law, but sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!"

One shout wasn't enough, so he laughed foolishly and shouted several more times, his eyes glazed with drunkenness.

"Brother Zhang, there's hope!" one of his henchmen whispered excitedly.

"What's the difference between a sister-in-law and a sister-in-law?" another person asked.

"What difference could there be? Don't take it too seriously if he's a drunkard."

"..."

Zhang Shuheng smiled.

"Are you calling for Ye Mingzhu?" Zhang Shuheng continued, "Seeing her being held in someone else's arms, did you feel intense hatred and just want to take her back?"

"Wh-what do you mean, 'holding in one's arms'?" Sheng Huai'an was momentarily displeased, then burst into laughter, saying mysteriously, "Let me tell you a secret, Ye Mingzhu and Sheng Yunche never consummated their marriage. They're a fake couple, hahaha!"

"What? How did you know?"

"Of course, uh... I heard it from their maid, I overheard it secretly..."

"Really?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuheng immediately asked, "Is it that Ye Mingzhu is unwilling, or that Sheng Yunche won't touch her? Could it be that Ye Mingzhu is still entangled with you and is remaining chaste for you?"

"For, for me?" Sheng Huai'an, reeking of alcohol, suddenly became alert, clutching the bottle as he retorted, "I, I don't like Ye Mingzhu, I only like my sister-in-law, don't even think about, hiccup, don't even think about pairing us up..."

"Yes, yes, yes, I won't pair you two up."

With a casual reply, Zhang Shuheng stood up with a smile, feeling that it was about time.

He instructed the young men around him: "Throw him outside and make him call her 'sister-in-law' a few more times in public. Also, spread the word that Ye Mingzhu's heart belongs to her own brother-in-law and that she has refused to consummate her marriage with Sheng Yunche."

"Tomorrow, I will make sure that the scandals of the Duke of Wei's mansion are known to everyone!"

He lost so much face at Yunxi Mountain Villa, how could he possibly let the Duke of Wei's mansion get away with it?

If Ye Mingzhu hadn't been so bad at managing the maids, how could that trash Wang Jing have caught him in the act? How could his liking for men have been leaked?!

It's all her fault!

...

Linfeng Hall.

Ye Mingzhu was somewhat surprised when she heard Ruyi report the rumors circulating outside.

She suspected that Zhang Shuheng's approach to Sheng Huai'an was ill-intentioned, possibly to deal with her and vent his anger on her.

She was also well-prepared for how to deal with Zhang Shuheng if he wanted to use her past relationship with Sheng Huai'an as a pretext.

But what she didn't expect was that Sheng Huai'an was so drunk that he not only shouted "sister-in-law" in public, but he also knew that she and Sheng Yunche had not yet consummated their marriage, and he even revealed this to the whole of Yanjing!

She wasn't flustered, but what troubled her was that she didn't know what Princess Ronghua would think.

Princess Ronghua was good to her, and she didn't want to disappoint her.

Although her mother and sister-in-law knew long ago that she and Sheng Yunche had not yet consummated their marriage, they were probably still worried...

Baozan asked cautiously, "Miss, does the young master's health really need further treatment? You haven't consummated your marriage with him yet, are you still thinking about that other person?"

"Oh dear!" Ruixiang quickly stopped her. "What nonsense are you talking about? Miss is disgusted with that hypocrite, how could she possibly still have feelings for him?"

“That’s true, that’s true.” Baozan slapped her own mouth, annoyed. “I was actually worried about Miss. I shouldn’t have done that! The Duke is much better than that trash. Miss would definitely like the Duke more!”

The composed Yu Fu also said, "Let's not worry about it. Miss knows what she's doing. Once the Duke recovers, it's certain that she and the Duke will consummate their marriage. There's no need to rush things because of some gossip. But Miss, when do you plan to consummate your marriage with the Duke?"

Ye Mingzhu: "..."

See, all her maids are like that.

As evening fell, Princess Ronghua returned from Yunxi Mountain Villa.

She immediately sent Yaqin to Linfeng Hall to invite Ye Mingzhu to Jingchun Residence for a talk.

When Ye Mingzhu arrived at Jingchun Residence, Princess Ronghua first presented her with a pile of fine gifts as usual, and then took her hand and asked worriedly, "Mingzhu, did you and Junzhao really not consummate your marriage?"

"Yes," Ye Mingzhu readily admitted, then blushed slightly as she said, "But the reason we haven't consummated our marriage yet is for the sake of the Duke's health. We, we'll... cough cough, we'll consummate our marriage in about half a month."

By the end, Ye Mingzhu's cheeks were flushed.

Seeing that she wasn't unwilling, Princess Ronghua breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good, that's good." Princess Ronghua then instructed Yaqin, "Go and find my two boxes of the finest bird's nest and bring them back to Madam."

"Yes." Yaqin smiled and gave a curtsy.

Princess Ronghua then said earnestly to Ye Mingzhu, "Don't be afraid. This anger won't go unpunished. I'll deal with that scoundrel in the next room for you!"

Ye Mingzhu curtsied and sincerely said, "Thank you, Princess."

The atmosphere at Jingchun Residence was very pleasant, but it wasn't so relaxed at Rongshou Hall.

Hearing Wang Mama talk about the rumors outside, Jia Shi's face turned extremely ugly, and she couldn't help but panic. She almost crushed the teacup in her hand.

She gripped Wang Mama's hand tightly and asked in a trembling voice, "Tell me, who is that unfilial son in his heart, Ye Mingzhu or Liu Rumei?"