Everyone rushed forward, trying to grab Shen Qing.
Jiang Shen shielded her behind him, and seeing that the situation was getting out of control, he desperately tried to draw his gun.
Seeing this, Shen Qing growled, "Jiang Shen! No way!"
If the first shot is fired at the Gao family today, she and her child will find it difficult to survive in Jiangzhou.
She would rather go to the ancestral hall with these people than let Jiang Shen fire a gun in front of them.
Jiang Shen turned his head and roared, "There are too many people, we can't hold them off!"
Shen Qing knew this too, so he lowered his voice and said, "I'll go to the ancestral hall with them first. You and He Fei, one of you go and inform Lord Qi!"
Jiang Shen nodded, taking his hand off the holster: "I'll accompany you to the ancestral hall!"
"good."
...
Shen Qing was eventually taken to the Gao family ancestral hall.
Madam Gao and several respected elders of the Gao family sat together, looking at her with red eyes, clearly having just cried pitifully in front of their relatives.
Shen Qing ignored her, pressed Su Lan's hand, and walked into the ancestral hall with her pregnant belly.
Jiang Shen followed closely behind them, and took a stool from the side for Shen Qing to sit on.
Before Shen Qing could even sit down, someone immediately jumped out and said, "How dare you! You unchaste woman, how dare you sit before our ancestors? Kneel down now!"
Shen Qing replied calmly, "I'm due to give birth in two months, so I can't stand for long; I need to sit."
Her eight-month pregnant belly was bigger than other women's ten-month pregnant bellies, and her knees and lower back would start to hurt after standing for just a short while.
With one hand on Su Lan's arm and the other supporting his waist, Shen Qing sat down.
Before she could even settle in, the elder sitting next to Gao Liu asked, "I heard you threatened your mother-in-law, saying that all the second branch's properties are now in your name and have nothing to do with your mother-in-law?"
Shen Qing coldly stared at Gao Liushi and asked in return, "Are you really saying that?"
Gao Liu choked and said nothing.
Shen Qing reiterated: "I did not threaten her. She was the one who wouldn't let me in, so I had to tell her that everything in the Gao family was earned by me, and she had no right to prevent me from entering. My intention was to state my position, not to threaten her. These two things are fundamentally different."
“We do not deny your contributions to the Gao family. You could have stayed in the Gao family forever, but now that you are pregnant with another man’s child, you can’t blame the Gao family for not being able to tolerate you.”
"Exactly! A few years ago, we asked her to choose a child from the clan to raise, and she chose Gao Che from the third branch of the family. But then she changed her mind and sent the child back! I found it strange at the time. No woman doesn't want a child and someone to rely on! It turns out she was planning to have a child with some random man outside!"
This statement sparked outrage among the crowd.
"We can't let her give birth to an illegitimate child! Otherwise, the second wife's family's property will all be seized by outsiders!"
"Exactly! If she wants a child, she can only choose from the descendants of the clan! We absolutely cannot let her give birth to this bastard!"
Amidst the murmurs, Shen Qing had a headache and a backache. She was also worried that the noisy environment would affect the child, so she stood up, holding onto Su Lan's arm, wanting to go back to rest.
Suddenly, two young men carrying a sack rushed out from the side and put it over her.
Shen Qing's vision went black, and she could only hear people outside grumbling that they were going to drag her to the pond and drown her.
She instinctively protected her pregnant belly.
Su Lan was about to remove the sack covering her when someone rushed up to stop her, only to be kicked away by Jiang Shen. However, people continued to rush forward one after another.
They were determined to kill Shen Qing so that the second wife's lineage would be cut off.
The thought that the second wife's assets were at least several million taels of silver made these people's eyes turn red. Killing a widow was nothing to them.
In the chaos, Shen Qing was suddenly pushed.
She lost her balance and fell to the ground.
"Get away from me!" Su Lan screamed and pushed a woman away, but the other woman was stronger and grabbed her hair, throwing her to the side.
Those people rushed towards Shen Qing, grabbed her body, and tried to drag her to the pond to drown her.
Shen Qing felt fear, but could only use her hands to protect her stomach tightly.
Suddenly, several steady and orderly footsteps came from over, and upon closer listening, one could also hear a faint metallic sound.
Before Shen Qing could even discern what the sound was, she heard Qi Zhenheng's furious voice.
"Guards!" he roared, "Take these unruly commoners away!"
Shen Qing's eyes reddened, and she knew she was saved.
The next moment, she was helped up and the sack was torn off.
Qi Zhenheng's anxious face appeared before her.
She suddenly felt that this scene was very familiar.
Years ago, she was drowned in a pig cage, and it was Qi Zhenheng who rescued her from the river and personally dismantled the cage that bound her.
"Lord Qi, this is a family matter of the Gao family. As the governor, it is probably inappropriate for you to interfere in private affairs of ordinary people."
The eldest member of the Gao family spoke up.
Qi Zhenheng ignored her completely and picked Shen Qing up in his arms.
At this moment, a soldier ran in and shooed away the elder of the Gao family who was sitting in the armchair: "Don't you see Lord Qi? Give him the chair!"
The man quickly got up.
The officers and soldiers picked up the armchair and placed it beside Qi Zhenheng.
Qi Zhenheng then placed Shen Qing on the chair.
The armchair had a backrest, and Shen Qing leaned back, feeling much more comfortable.
She looked at Qi Zhenheng.
He stood in front of her, still wearing his official robes, and loudly asked the crowd, "What were you all doing just now?"
"Shen is unfaithful and pregnant with another man's child. She's also plotting to seize the property of the second branch of the Gao family! We must drown this wicked woman!"
"That's right! Call her an adulterer! Call her pregnant with an illegitimate child!"
Suddenly, a woman in her thirties jumped out and said in a shrill voice, "That bastard Shen must have been coveting the second wife's property for a long time. We should report him to the authorities and have him arrested and drowned!"
"Yes! It's a conspiracy! The Shen family colluded with some random man to ruin the second branch of the family! Perhaps this person even murdered the second brother and his son!"
The woman successfully steered the conversation towards the bizarre deaths of the Gao family father and son.
The crowd clamored to report the incident to the authorities and demand a thorough investigation into the father of Shen Qing's unborn child.
Shen Qing sensed a conspiracy and looked at the woman.
She didn't remember ever seeing this person before, and there was no record of this person in the original owner's memory bank.
But this person was able to enter the Gao family ancestral hall, so he must be a member of the Gao family.
For a woman to dare to express her opinions in an ancestral hall full of men, there must be someone behind her instigating her.
Who exactly is it...?
"Shut up, all of you!" Qi Zhenheng roared. "What's all the noise about?"
Everyone fell silent.
He glanced at everyone with a deep gaze, gritted his teeth, and said, "I am the father of the child in Qing'er's womb, so what?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers with swords stepped forward in unison, forming a human wall for him and Shen Qing.
"I'm putting this out there before the Gao family ancestors—Qing'er is carrying my child. Before you try to harm her or the child, think about whether you can bear the consequences of offending me. If anything happens to Qing'er or my child, I will make you all pay with your lives!"
As soon as Qi Zhenheng finished speaking, the officers and soldiers immediately drew their swords with practiced ease.
The blade emitted a chilling white light, much like the color of human bones.
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