Chapter 6 I can have two households
Shen Qingci's fingernails suddenly dug into his palm, and the old lady called him Zhan'er.
So, the old lady knew about this, but she kept it from her, right?
Excellent, wonderful, fantastic!
"Mother! You can't tell!"
"I did all this for my elder brother, for the Marquis's mansion! Before he died, my elder brother held my hand and said that the person he was most worried about was my sister-in-law, and that I must take good care of her!"
“My sister-in-law is delicate and frail. If she knew the devastating news of my brother’s death in battle, she would surely not survive. The only thing I can do is to take on my brother’s identity and give my sister-in-law a child. Only with a child to rely on can my sister-in-law live on!”
"Moreover, my father earned this title of Marquis of Yongning through decades of fighting on the battlefield. But after my father passed away, my elder brother and I failed to achieve any great military exploits, and the Marquis's mansion gradually declined."
"My elder brother married my sister-in-law because she was the daughter of the Prime Minister. By marrying her, he could rely on Prime Minister Liu's influence to revive the Marquis's mansion!"
"Now that my elder brother is dead, the position of Marquis of Yongning can only fall to me. But Shen Qingci's entire family has been convicted of a crime; she is the daughter of a disgraced official and is absolutely unfit for the position of the Marquis's wife!"
"The best solution is for me to take my elder brother's place and let my sister-in-law continue to be the Lady of the Marquis!"
"Now that this colossal lie has been told, it absolutely cannot be known by anyone, not even Shen Qingci! Otherwise, it would be... a heinous crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Although she had long since given up on Huo Yunzhan, hearing him say those words still felt like a knife was cutting into her heart!
The old lady's voice grew increasingly urgent: "What about Qingci? You sleep in Ruolan's room every day, have you ever thought about Qingci's feelings?"
"Qingci is stronger than my sister-in-law! Besides, she's pregnant, so she has a child to rely on and will recover quickly."
Huo Yunzhan pursed his lips: "Mother, you heard it too. Qingci said that for the sake of the child in her womb, she will not try to kill herself again and will give birth to the child in peace."
“Once she gives birth and her grief subsides a little, I can propose to her that she take two wives.”
He wants Liu Ruolan and the Prime Minister Liu behind her.
He wants Shen Qingci and his child too.
Although Shen Qingci was the daughter of a disgraced official, he genuinely liked her face.
"To inherit both branches of the family?" The old lady frowned.
Huo Yunzhan nodded and smiled: "This is the best way. In this way, Shen Qingci and the child she has will still belong to our Huo family. I can also take good care of her and the child while maintaining the marriage relationship between the Marquis's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion."
After a moment of contemplation, the old lady had to admit that Huo Yunzhan's suggestion was indeed the best solution: "But, would Qingci be willing?"
"I am Huo Yunzhan. Shen Qingci was able to fall in love with me once before, so I naturally have a way to make her fall in love with me a second time."
"Moreover, she has been married before and has a child. Although I am a descendant of two families, she is still the best choice for her. Her child is of the Huo family bloodline, and is my child. No one will treat her and the child better than me. She will give in for the sake of the child."
Shen Qingci covered her mouth, her chest heaving violently.
Huo Yunzhan! What a shameless person! Does he really think Shen Qingci can't live without him?
Do you still want to use the child to manipulate her?
Absolutely disgusting!
Huo Yunzhan had no idea that the child... had long since ceased to exist!
At this moment, Shen Qingci was incredibly grateful that she had aborted the child without hesitation! She was also incredibly grateful that she had accepted the Regent's marriage proposal!
Wait another forty days!
She eagerly awaited Huo Yunzhan's reaction after he learned that she had married the Regent!
Shen Qingci didn't want to listen anymore and turned to leave, but then she suddenly heard the old lady say, "Very well! What you said is right!"
"But if you're going to do this, you must keep this secret! Qingci is stubborn. If she finds out that you didn't die but instead took Ting'er's place, she definitely won't let it go!"
Huo Yunzhan replied, "Mother, don't worry. Don't you know how good I am at keeping secrets? Shen Qingci and I have been married for almost a year, and she still doesn't know that the Shen family's affairs are related to us!"
What?
Shen Qingci stopped and suddenly turned around.
What did Huo Yunzhan say? Was the Shen family's affair related to them?
What's the meaning?
Shen Qingci felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her mind, and her expression changed repeatedly.
"Shh!" The old lady hurriedly interrupted him, "Never mention this matter again. Let it remain a buried secret and rot there forever!"
"Go ahead, go ahead. I want to go to the funeral hall to spend one last time with your older brother."
Shen Qingci was filled with doubt and surprise, but she also knew that she absolutely could not let Huo Yunzhan and the old lady find out about the many secrets she had just overheard.
Once they find out she heard everything, they will never let her off the hook!
Shen Qingci hurriedly ran out of the courtyard and hid behind the right corner of the courtyard.
After the old lady and Huo Yunzhan left, she came out from around the corner, her face pale, walking like a walking corpse towards her courtyard.
Her father was the General of Dingxi, wielding military power, but he was falsely accused of colluding with an enemy country. Furthermore, numerous letters between the general and the enemy emperor were found in the general's mansion, leading to an imperial decree ordering the execution of his entire family!
At that time, Huo Yunzhan had received the news in advance and rushed to their door to tell them! Her father, believing he had never done such things, refused to flee. Huo Yunzhan then suggested that she marry him first; if the Shen family was safe, all the better; but if something happened to the Shen family, it could at least save her life!
She hastily married into the Huo family, and within a few days, the entire Shen family was indeed executed!
Huo Yunzhan kept comforting her, telling her that he would help her find out the truth and exonerate the Shen family!
Because of Huo Yunzhan's attitude, she had suspected that her father's political enemies had framed him! She had suspected that her father's achievements overshadowed the emperor's, making him a target of the emperor's jealousy! But she never suspected him, never suspected the Huo family!
But what Huo Yunzhan and the old lady said just now clearly told her that the Shen family's affairs were related to the Huo family.
But she didn't understand, why?
Her father had made great military achievements. If the Shen family hadn't met with misfortune, Huo Yunzhan could have relied on them.
No, she must take advantage of the fact that she is still in the Yongning Marquis's residence to find out the truth!
"Qingci?" Huo Yunzhan's voice came from behind. Shen Qingci was startled and turned around abruptly.
Huo Yunzhan immediately realized his current identity and quickly changed his words: "Why are you still here? Didn't you go back to your courtyard a long time ago?"
"You don't look too well, what's wrong?"
Shen Qingci's hands, tucked into her sleeves, clenched tightly, her nails digging into her flesh. The pain forced her to maintain her composure. She shook her head, making up an excuse: "I'm fine, it's just that Yun Zhan's funeral is tomorrow, and I'm hesitating whether to go to the mourning hall to see him one last time, but I'm afraid I won't be able to bear it..."
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