The woman who stirred up trouble in the ancestral hall and the maid who hit Shen Qing in the stomach with a tray both confessed under Qi Zhenheng's severe torture.
She was Gao Laosan's daughter-in-law and concubine.
They believed that the decline of the Gao family's third branch was because Shen Qing had killed Gao Laosan, so they had been looking for an opportunity to take revenge.
He never missed any opportunity to take revenge.
Furthermore, since the son Gao Che, born to the daughter-in-law, is Shen Qing's stepson in name, once Shen Qing and the child in her womb die, all the property of the second branch of the Gao family will belong to Gao Che, that is, the third branch of the Gao family.
That's why, after failing to force the clansman to drown Shen Qing, they sent a concubine to infiltrate the Gao family and harm Shen Qing.
Both of them were eventually secretly executed by Qi Zhenheng.
Soon, Shen Qing and Qi Zhenheng's wedding took place.
Qi Zhenheng originally wanted to marry Shen Qing in a grand wedding procession, but Shen Qing refused.
Chunju advised, "We must have a wedding! That way everyone will know that you are the governor's wife, and that Lord Qi is a married man! Otherwise, with Lord Qi being so handsome and promising, many vixens will surely have their eyes on him!"
Seeing Shen Qing remain silent and seemingly indifferent, Chunju grew even more anxious and added, "Once a little vixen takes a liking to Lord Qi, she can easily enter his household and become his concubine. Since the little vixen has never had a child, Lord Qi will definitely be seduced by her!"
At that time, Shen Qing was sitting in a rocking chair, basking in the autumn afternoon sun.
Her expression remained calm. Upon hearing this, she smiled slightly and said, "If Lord Qi is willing to take a concubine, I'll be relieved. With someone to accompany him and serve him, I can devote myself to taking care of the children."
Chunju was almost in tears.
For women in feudal society like them, the thought of their husbands taking concubines and being left alone in their empty rooms was always a sad thing. She couldn't understand why Shen Qing was so open-minded about it.
Shen Qing stroked her pregnant belly, sighed, and said, "My body can't take any more stress. I'd rather forgo the wedding than let my baby be sick."
After saying that, he looked down at the pregnant woman with a satisfied expression.
Later, Qi Zhenheng also compromised. Although he agreed not to hold a wedding, he still followed the local wedding customs of Jiangzhou and sent all the wedding items that should have been given to the bride to the Gao and Shen families.
He invited a highly respected elder to officiate the wedding and wrote a marriage certificate.
That night, several wedding tables were set up in the newly decorated mansion to entertain officials from Jiangzhou and Yongzhou, members of the Shen family, and the eldest son of the Gao family.
The wedding with Shen Qing was completed in a lively yet low-key manner.
Due to physical limitations, Shen Qing went to the bridal chamber to rest after the wedding ceremony, supported by Chunju.
Chunju loves lively places and occasionally goes outside for a stroll before returning to her room to tell her what's happening outside.
"Master and Madam are here! They came all the way from Yongzhou this morning!"
Shen Qing listened quietly: "Do they seem happy?"
Chunju said excitedly, "I'm so happy! Think about it, they thought you were dead. Now you're not only back alive, but you've also become the governor's wife. How could they not be happy?"
Shen Qing recalled meeting Shen Liang at Cheng Zhiwu's funeral last year, and Shen Liang recognized her at a glance.
Later, he took Chen to the Cheng family to acknowledge her as his daughter. At that time, Chen was in very poor condition.
Now, the Chen family can rest assured...
"Didn't the master and mistress introduce you to some widowers before? It's a good thing you didn't agree back then, otherwise you wouldn't be able to marry Lord Qi now!"
Chunju spoke of Qi Zhenheng with admiration: "Compared to those widowers, Lord Qi is not only tall and handsome, and a governor, but most importantly—he is still unmarried!"
After saying that, she looked at Shen Qing with envy and said, "Miss, you are so lucky."
Shen Qing chuckled.
Is her life considered lucky?
As the commotion outside gradually subsided, a knock came from the door of the bridal chamber.
"The groom must have arrived!" Chunju quickly helped Shen Qing sit up, covered her head with the red handkerchief again, and whispered, "Madam, enjoy your wedding night with Lord Qi!"
Shen Qing found it amusing, but also a little nervous.
Tonight is her wedding night with Qi Zhenheng. What should she do if Qi Zhenheng wants to have marital relations with her?
She's really not in the mood for that right now, and doesn't want to accept other men for the time being...
"Madam...my wife..." Qi Zhenheng's voice came through the smell of alcohol.
Immediately afterward, the spot next to Shen Qing swayed, and Qi Zhenheng sat heavily on the bed, sitting next to her.
Shen Qing lowered her head and, through the gap at the bottom edge of the red handkerchief, saw that Qi Zhenheng's knees were leaning towards her.
Immediately afterwards, her red handkerchief was gently picked up.
Qi Zhenheng's face was flushed, and he stared intently at her: "Qing'er... I've finally married you... Do you know how long I've waited for this day..."
After saying that, he cupped Shen Qing's cheeks in his hands and lowered his head.
Shen Qing was nervous and turned his face to the side, so he only kissed the corner of her lips, but he seemed very satisfied. He held her cheeks and caressed the corner of her lips.
Shen Qing felt a little uncomfortable, but she still forced herself to endure it.
Now that she is Qi Zhenheng's wife, she needs to do what a wife should do.
Despite her discomfort, Shen Qing nestled in Qi Zhenheng's arms.
Fortunately, he had drunk too much, and after holding her and murmuring for a while, he fell onto the bed behind him and fell into a deep sleep.
Shen Qing painstakingly helped him take off his wedding attire, and then took off her own heavy and long red dress before lying down on the bed.
She covered both Qi Zhenheng and herself with a bright red wedding quilt.
The hustle and bustle outside had completely subsided, and moonlight streamed in through the pale yellow window.
Shen Qing couldn't sleep, so she turned to her side, put her hands under her ears, and looked out the window.
There was no one outside the gate, except for the occasional patrolling soldiers with swords walking around the courtyard.
The governor's residence was heavily guarded, with soldiers with swords patrolling everywhere. Anyone who dared to break in and cause trouble would have their head chopped off on the spot.
It will never be like the Gao family, where someone could sneak in at any time, punch her in the stomach, or even take her life.
This is also why Shen Qing was willing to marry Qi Zhenheng.
She and her child need Qi Zhenheng's protection.
Behind him, Qi Zhenheng was snoring.
Shen Qing was a little irritated and shifted her body.
She thought of Cheng Zhiwen.
She had previously lived in the Cheng family home, sharing a bed with Cheng Zhiwen. However, Cheng Zhiwen rarely snored, and he hardly drank any alcohol, always remaining vigilant.
The moment he decided to have sex with Cheng Zhiwen, Shen Qing thought he would be with Cheng Zhiwen for the rest of his life. Unexpectedly, he suddenly perished at sea.
Shen Qing silently shed tears.
Over the years, everything about Cheng Zhiwen replayed before her eyes like scenes from a movie.
Only now, in a loveless marriage, can she understand that they once loved each other and how much she loved Cheng Zhiwen.
She gently stroked her pregnant belly with both hands, secretly resolving to give birth to Cheng Zhiwen's child safely, raise him well, and leave him an outstanding descendant!
A month passed by peacefully and uneventfully.
Shen Qing and Qi Zhenheng had been married for a month.
During this time, whenever Qi Zhenheng was in Jiangzhou, they slept together.
At first, Shen Qing was nervous, worried that Qi Zhenheng wanted to have marital relations, but fortunately, nothing happened.
Qi Zhenheng simply hugged her from behind and talked about his plans after the baby was born, without asking her to do anything intimate.
Gradually, Shen Qing also calmed down.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was fast approaching, and Shen Qing was only about half a month away from giving birth.
After much deliberation, she decided to give birth at a Western-style hospital in Guangzhou.
Historically, the hospital successfully performed a cesarean section on a local woman the following year, and both mother and child were healthy.
Rather than having a midwife in Jiangzhou perform an uncontrollable delivery using the oldest methods, she would rather go to a Western hospital that may already have cesarean section technology to give birth.
That very night, Shen Qing told Qi Zhenheng, who had just returned from Hengzhou, about his decision.
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