Two days later, the sky cleared up.
Seeing that Cheng Zhiwen was not taking action against Cheng Zhiwu, Qi Zhenheng went to the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's residence early in the morning and asked the Commissioner to bring men to the Cheng residence to arrest Cheng Zhiwu that day.
Qi's father was a high-ranking official of the first rank in the imperial court. When the provincial inspector met Qi Zhenheng, it was as if he were meeting Qi's father.
Upon hearing that Qi Zhenheng's sister had been bullied by Cheng Zhiwu, and that Qi Zhenheng was a witness, he readily agreed.
Qi Zhenheng had kept a low profile for many years and had never used his father's identity to exert pressure, but this time, for Shen Qing's sake, he made an exception and vowed to kill Cheng Zhiwu.
On the other side, seeing that the weather was nice, Shen Qing went out to feed the goldfish by the artificial hill.
He Fei stayed by her side without leaving her side, helping her hold the fish food bowl.
Noticing He Fei's pale complexion, she asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so pale?"
He Fei snapped out of his daze: "I'm fine."
Shen Qing continued throwing fish food into the pond, muttering to himself, "Why do you all seem a bit unhappy lately..."
He Fei remained silent, looking at her with pity.
Both he and Jiang Shen believed that Cheng Zhiwen would definitely send her to the dungeon for Cheng Zhiwu today.
They all felt great sympathy for her, but there was nothing they could do. If they didn't sacrifice her, all their brothers, including their families, would lose their heads.
Seeing Shen Qing carefree as she tossed the fish food, and knowing that once she went to the dungeon, she would probably never have the chance to see live goldfish again in her life, He Fei couldn't help but hand her the whole fish food bowl.
"Miss Zhu, feed her more."
Shen Qing laughed: "Feeding too many goldfish will make them bloated and die."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion erupted at the courtyard gate.
Shen Qing handed the fish food bowl to He Fei, then went down the artificial hill and took a look.
A dignified and elegant lady stood outside the courtyard gate with several maids and servants. She was stopped by Cheng Zhiwen's subordinates and they shouted, "I am Cheng Zhiwen's mother! Get out of my way!"
"He Fei!" Shen Qing whispered, "It's Mr. Cheng's mother. Go and let her in."
He Fei quickly jogged over.
Madam Cheng stormed into the courtyard, and Shen Qing quickly went to greet her, bowing slightly: "Greetings, Madam."
Madam Cheng frowned as she looked at her, somewhat displeased: "Where's Zhiwen?"
"Zhiwen has gone out on business. I will send someone to find him now. Madam, please come in and have a seat."
Madam Cheng snorted and led her maids into the house.
Shen Qing followed her inside and, seeing the elegantly dressed woman standing beside her, asked, "And who is this?"
“This is Zhiwu’s wife. Even though you are a concubine, you should at least call her ‘sister-in-law’.”
Shen Qing bowed slightly to Madam Cheng: "Greetings, sister-in-law. Please come in and sit down."
"Greetings, sister-in-law." Before she could even sit down, Madam Cheng hurriedly said, "I heard from the servants in the manor that Zhiwu locked you up, and then your brother came to our door?"
Shen Qing immediately recognized that Qi Zhenheng had gone to settle scores with Cheng Zhiwu.
She had already decided not to pursue the matter any further, so she said, "My brother misunderstood, it's not true."
Only then did Madam Cheng feel relieved. She pressed her hand to her chest and smiled at Madam Cheng, saying, "I knew Zhiwu would never do such a thing. There must be some misunderstanding."
She sat down next to Madam Cheng.
Shen Qing could tell at a glance that she was pregnant.
I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
If she knew what Cheng Zhiwu had done, she'd probably be so angry she'd miscarry...
Shen Qing poured hot tea for Madam Cheng, then went to Madam Cheng's side and asked softly, "Is my sister-in-law pregnant?"
Cheng Zhangshi nodded, her face flushed.
Shen Qing quickly instructed Zi Yan to put away the hot tea and bring up milk instead.
"Sister-in-law, this is fresh milk transported from Shanghai. It has a high calcium content, which is good for the baby's bones."
At that time, all the fresh milk in Shanghai was produced by imported British Ayrshire cattle to meet the milk demand of foreigners in the concessions. The price was extremely high, and few families in the Qing Dynasty could afford it, nor did they have any way to buy it.
Cheng Zhangshi picked it up and smelled it.
Looking at the white liquid, he didn't dare to drink it right away, and asked in a low voice, "I've never seen this in the market before. Did my second brother specially buy it from Shanghai?"
Shen Qing explained with a smile, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. This was just delivered from Shanghai this morning. It was kept on ice all the way, so it's very fresh."
Mrs. Cheng asked, "Why did you specially buy this from Shanghai? It doesn't look much different from the soy milk we usually drink."
“I’m used to drinking black coffee in the morning, but my stomach can’t handle too much of it. So Zhiwen had someone send me milk to add to my coffee. It’s good for my stomach and also helps with calcium intake, since drinking coffee can cause calcium loss.”
Madam Cheng Zhang didn't understand why milk was added to coffee; she only knew that Cheng Zhiwen spent a fortune every day to bring fresh milk from Shanghai for this concubine.
He immediately said enviously, "The travel expenses from Shanghai to Yongzhou are not low. My second brother really cares for his wife."
After saying that, he immediately complained to Madam Cheng: "Mother, look how good my second brother is to his wife! Zhiwu is always cold to me. I'm pregnant now, and he's never around. He just sits in the accounting room all day. You have to talk to him..."
Madam Cheng immediately raised her hand and pressed down on her eldest daughter-in-law's hand, comforting her, "Mother will definitely talk to him properly! Don't be anxious, it's not good for the child."
Cheng Zhangshi nodded meekly and took a sip of milk.
Although Shen Qing did not interrupt, he felt even more sorry for Madam Cheng.
However, she felt that Madam Cheng was a nice person, very kind, without the airs of a wealthy young mistress, and she did not look down on her as a concubine.
Logically speaking, these first wives would disdain to speak to concubines.
Just then, a sound came from outside.
"Madam! Madam! Young Mistress! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"
Madam Cheng quickly helped Madam Cheng out of the house, and Shen Qing followed.
The servant boy stood outside the courtyard gate, wailing and howling as if he had seen a ghost. When he saw Madam Cheng and Madam Cheng Zhang come out, he knelt down with a thud and cried out, "Something has happened to the young master!"
Shen Qing was taken aback: Something happened to Cheng Zhiwu?
What happened? Why is the servant crying like this?
Madam Cheng jogged forward, helped the servant up, and asked in a trembling voice, "What happened to Zhiwu?"
The servant boy sobbed, barely able to speak coherently: "Young Master... Young Master..."
Standing to the side, Madam Cheng also asked, "What's wrong with Zhiwu?"
Seeing this, Shen Qing calmly asked, "Where is the young master?"
"In the accounting office... Waaah..."
Shen Qing quickly called to Jiang Shen and He Fei, "Let's go check the accounts."
Jiang Shen said worriedly, "Why don't you let He Fei stay with you in the yard? I'll go check on things and come back to tell you."
"No need, with the two of you here, everything will be fine."
The group hurried toward the accounting office.
On the way, I encountered the butler, whose face was pale.
The butler said, "Young Madam, the master has invited a doctor to examine the young master. Please come with me."
Madam Cheng glanced in the direction of the accounting office: "But the servant said that Zhiwu has had an accident, and my mother and I want to go to the accounting office to check on him."
The butler forced a smile: "Young Master is fine. He tripped and fell in the accounting office. Master has already gone over there. He's alright. You and Madam, please come with me."
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