Shen Qing returned to the carriage, looking utterly dejected.
Seeing her red and swollen eyes, and her distraught appearance, Old Xu asked worriedly, "Are you alright? What did the doctor say?"
Several years ago, Cheng Zhiwen asked him to go to Huai County to ask the miracle doctor Shen Qing what was wrong with his body. The miracle doctor told him that Shen Qing's pulse was almost undetectable, which was a sign that he would not live much longer.
He didn't believe it at the time and even scolded the miracle doctor.
Seeing Shen Qing emerge from the hospital in this state, I couldn't help but recall the divine doctor's prediction.
The carriage turned around and headed back to the Zhu family's residence.
Old Xu held the reins with both hands, looking ahead as he comforted Shen Qing: "Miss Zhu, these Western doctors haven't been here long. They like to grab people and cut them open. They'll make your condition sound terrible. Please don't believe their nonsense!"
Behind the carriage curtain, Shen Qing clutched her abdomen with both hands, filled with despair, tears streaming down her face.
Spring passes and autumn comes, cold comes and summer comes.
Shen Qing's belly grew bigger day by day, and she was due to give birth in two months.
She had been living with the Zhu family and planned to take her child to a quiet rural place to live after she finished her postpartum confinement.
Perhaps she and her child will die in childbirth, then there's no need to even look for a place in the countryside. Old Xu and the others can just bury her and the child, and then nothing will happen.
A few days ago, she heard that Qi Zhenheng had left the Imperial Textile Bureau to take up the post of Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang and went to work in his post in Hengzhou.
The governor was the highest-ranking official in the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang region.
The military supplies and rations case originally occurred in Jiangzhou, and Qi Zhenheng, now the governor, is fully capable of reopening the case.
Shen Qing originally wanted to write to Qi Zhenheng and ask him to inquire about the case of military supplies and rations again, but when she thought about the letter that He Fei had personally delivered to him last time, which he ultimately did not reply to, perhaps because of some reason that he had to distance himself from her, she gave up the idea of writing to him.
She didn't blame him. She knew that her existence had repeatedly dragged people down, and had already caused the Cheng family to be destroyed. She couldn't let Qi Zhenheng suffer as well.
Shen Qing lay on the recliner, her hands instinctively protecting her prominently pregnant belly, looking out the window.
Autumn has arrived, and there's already a slight chill in the air during the mornings and evenings. In another month and a half, it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Thinking of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shen Qing thought of Cheng Zhiwen.
The thought of him sinking alone into the suffocating depths of the sea, never to see the light of day again, made her heart ache and brought tears to her eyes.
"Third Miss," a maidservant announced as she entered, "a gentleman surnamed Qi is looking for you."
Shen Qing raised her hand to wipe away her tears: "Who do you think is looking for me?"
“A gentleman surnamed Qi.”
Lord Qi?
Shen Qing immediately thought of Qi Zhenheng.
The person I was just thinking about suddenly appeared.
She was somewhat delighted, and with a heavy hand, she stood up, clutching her lower back. Her maid immediately came forward to help her.
The maid was always startled when she saw her huge pregnant belly.
She had seen other concubines in the Zhu family pregnant, but she had never seen anyone with such a big belly, as big as twice the size of a woman's.
"Where is Lord Qi?" Shen Qing asked urgently. "Take me to see him quickly!"
"Lord Qi is in the main hall; the master has already gone there."
Shen Qing followed the maid out of the room and glanced at Jiang Shen, who was guarding the door.
Jiang Shen glanced at her but did not stop her.
Shen Qing knew that this must have been at Cheng Zhiwen's behest.
A wave of sadness washed over me.
She arrived at the main hall.
Several armed soldiers stood at the entrance of the main hall, each with a stern and fierce face, clearly well-trained assassins.
Seeing this commotion, the maid shrank back, somewhat frightened.
Shen Qing stood at the door and looked inside. He saw a man in a dark blue official robe with a pheasant embroidered patch talking to Zhu Min'an in the main hall.
A golden pheasant in ceremonial robes signifies a second-rank official.
It is Qi Zhenheng.
Shen Qing exclaimed happily, "Big Brother!"
Qi Zhenheng turned around and looked at her face. He was so excited that he stood up and went to greet her.
But after taking only a few steps, he saw her pregnant belly and was so shocked that he stood still.
Shen Qing, holding the maid's hand with one hand and pressing her lower back with the other, walked towards him: "Big brother, you've finally arrived!"
Qi Zhenheng snapped out of his daze and quickly helped her to sit down on a grand chair.
He leaned down and looked at her: "I'm here. I've come to take you back to Jiangzhou."
After saying this, his eyes were already red. He looked down at her prominent pregnant belly and asked softly, "How many months pregnant are you?"
Shen Qing smiled happily: "Eight months."
Qi Zhenheng concealed the melancholy in his eyes, nodded, and smiled, "Pack your things in a bit, and we'll head back to Jiangzhou today."
Hearing this, Zhu Min'an, who was sitting to the side, said worriedly, "Lord Qi, when Zhiwen entrusted Shi Ning to my Zhu family, he said that she was a wanted criminal of the court. She committed a crime in Jiangzhou. It would probably be inappropriate for her to return to Jiangzhou."
Qi Zhenheng gritted his teeth, straightened up, and looked at Zhu Min'an with a fierce gaze.
"Nonsense! Jiangzhou is merely a small county under the jurisdiction of Jiangzhe Prefecture. Now that I am the Governor-General of Jiangzhe, am I not even capable of resolving a miscarriage of justice in Jiangzhou?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers with swords standing at the door immediately drew their blades.
Zhu Min'an coughed lightly and said no more.
Shen Qing interrupted the tense atmosphere: "Brother, has my case been resolved? Can I go back now?"
Qi Zhenheng turned to look at her, his expression softening again: "Yes, it's all resolved. Your elder brother has cleared your name! Today, your elder brother will bring you back to Jiangzhou in style!"
Shen Qing nodded with tears in her eyes.
God knows how long she had been waiting for this moment.
She didn't ask Qi Zhenheng how he cleared her name; the process was no longer important. Now, as long as she could return to Jiangzhou and give her child a home, that was enough. She didn't want to care about anything else, nor did she have the energy to.
The baby in her belly took up too much of her energy, her health deteriorated day by day, and she could no longer manage many things.
She is no longer the energetic and successful businesswoman Shen Qing of the past...
"Alright, I'll take Qing'er to pack her things now," Qi Zhenheng said, taking out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and handing them to Zhu Min'an. "Thank you for taking care of Qing'er these past few days."
Zhu Min'an didn't take it, but looked at Shen Qing: "I am grateful for everything Zhiwen has done. Taking care of his family is what I should do."
"Qing'er is not his family! Qing'er has absolutely no relation to him!" Qi Zhenheng's expression suddenly changed. "If you dare to divulge even a single word about Qing'er, I will hold your Zhu family accountable!"
Shen Qing shook his head at Zhu Min'an, implying that he should not clash with Qi Zhenheng.
He and Cheng Zhiwen were both revolutionaries, while Qi Zhenheng was a royalist.
Qi Zhenheng came today dressed in official robes and with a large number of soldiers, intending to settle scores with the Zhu family on the spot if they refused to let her leave.
Under these circumstances, the Zhu family has no need to clash with him.
Zhu Min'an understood, smiled at her, and indicated that he didn't mind.
Qi Zhenheng helped Shen Qing back to her room, while Jiang Shen and He Fei stood guard at the door.
Upon seeing Qi Zhenheng, the two men bowed to him and said, "Lord Qi."
Qi Zhenheng glanced at the two of them coldly, said nothing, and helped Shen Qing into the house.
Shen Qing quickly packed a few changes of clothes: "Let's go, there's nothing to pack."
Qi Zhenheng nodded and took the valuables from her hand.
The two went out the door and were about to leave the courtyard when Jiang Shen and He Fei silently followed.
Qi Zhenheng noticed and turned to look at them: "Leave Qing'er to me, you guys go do what you need to do, don't follow me."
He Fei didn't dare to say a word.
Jiang Shen respectfully said, "We have nowhere to go, so we want to go back to the Gao family with Boss Shen and continue to be servants of the Gao family."
Qi Zhenheng looked at Shen Qing: "Qing'er, what do you think?"
After considering for a while, Shen Qing said, "Then let's go together!"
Although they resented them for letting Cai Chongsheng's men into the courtyard, which led to Cheng Zhiwen's disappearance and accident, they thought again that keeping them around might be useful in the future.
They should know where Cai Chongsheng's headquarters are...
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