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"Splash..."
Shen Yu woke up to the sound of rain. When she opened her eyes, she saw plain cloth curtains. She turned her head and looked around. The room was empty and sparsely furnished. Apart from a bed and a stool, there wasn’t even a table!
Where is this place?
"Young Master Bai, Bai Yejing..." Shen Yu called out softly to Bai Yejing, then got up and got out of bed. She was about to open the door when she heard the murmurs outside.
“This morning I went to the county town and saw the yamen runners reading out a notice, saying that the villain who defiled Mu Chenyu was Liu Yu.”
"Ah? So it's the fake legitimate son of the Duke's mansion?"
"That's right. Now the emperor's brother-in-law has taken wives and concubines, and three of them are already pregnant."
"I've heard that Prince Hong drugged Liu Yu and Mu Chenyu, intending to bring them together."
"Huh? When the Empress removed the fetus from Chen Yu's womb, didn't that also remove Liu Yu's child?"
"Alas! Now that Liu Yu has been assassinated and Mu Chenyu is guarding the mausoleum, these two are truly pitiful!"
Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling lingering fear. Fortunately, she admitted to giving birth to Bai Yejing's child.
squeak……
Bai Yejing pushed open the door and entered, then closed it. He said in a low voice, "Chenyu, I checked the carriage tracks early this morning. The carriage did indeed come from the mass grave to this village, but once it entered the village, the wheel tracks became messy, making it impossible to find out where the carriage went last night. Now that it's starting to rain, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find."
"A village? Where is this place?"
"Dongsheng Village, east of the mass grave."
Chen Yu nodded, raising her eyes to meet Bai Yejing's gaze.
Bai Yejing's eyes were bloodshot, his cheeks were wet, and his robe was soaked by the rain. He must have stayed up all night searching for her child and gotten caught in the rain.
Thinking of her family's cold indifference and Bai Yejing's meticulous care, she couldn't help but burst into tears, and bowed, "Thank you, Young Master Bai, for helping me find my son."
“No need for formalities, Chen Yu. Last night, Gu Erlang took away the fat nanny for the crime of harming an infant. It seems he intends to let you off the hook. However… the authorities have already intervened in this matter, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to hide your child's birth any longer. I have already declared to the public that I am the child's biological father, so I hope you won't let it slip.”
Shen Yu looked up at Bai Yejing and quickly explained, "I'm not taking advantage of your situation, I just want to help you and your child. If you want to marry someone else, I will not bother you."
Chen Yu nodded, tears streaming down her face.
She knew full well that her search for her son had not only alarmed the government but also caused a great uproar throughout the city. If the Liu family knew that Liu Yu's son was alive, they would surely eliminate him. If the emperor learned that she had given birth to the son of a villain, he would surely punish her for deceiving the emperor. Even if Bai Yejing was the child's father, her crime would only be: disobeying the imperial edict and fleeing the mausoleum.
Just then, someone knocked on the door, "Young master, it's time for your meal."
Bai Yejing opened the door, and an old woman wearing a straw raincoat carried in food and placed it on a stool next to the bed.
"Young master, young lady, please don't be offended. Our village is remote and poor. We are lucky to have enough to eat."
Upon hearing that the village was poor, Chen Yu became even more worried about her child's situation. If her child was in a poor family, wouldn't he have to go hungry?
She rushed out the door and hurried along the path.
She walked for a long time, her clothes were soaked, but she did not hear the baby crying.
So she ran to the village entrance and began searching house to house. The first five houses had no babies. She rushed into the sixth house, pushed open the door, and saw a strong man eating, with a baby lying in a cradle beside him, who looked to have just been born.
"My child," Chen Yu called softly, rushing to the cradle and reaching out to lift the baby's blanket, wanting to check if there was a red birthmark on the child's waist. Yesterday, she gave birth to a son and a daughter, both of whom had red birthmarks on their right waists, resembling half a red belt around their waists, presumably inherited from Liu Yu.
She had just lifted the baby's blanket and hadn't even checked the baby when a large hand grabbed her arm.
The burly man threw her onto the path and shouted, "Help! Someone's trying to kidnap my child! Help!"
"Bad guy, she's the one who broke into my house and ransacked it. Before I could catch her, she ran away."
"She even broke into my bedroom; I think she's a thief..."
The villagers gathered around, some holding sticks, some holding hoes, and others holding stones...
Pairs of eyes glared angrily at Chen Yu.
With her only thought in mind to find the child, Chen Yu braced herself with her hands on the ground, struggled to her feet, and continued walking toward the next house.
"You dare trespass?"
"Get her out of here!"
"Go!"
The villagers chased after her and threw the objects they were holding at her.
"Ah! Stop!"
A man suddenly embraced Chen Yu, shielding her from sticks, hoes, and stones...
Blood seeped from Bai Yejing's forehead. He wrapped one arm around Chen Yu and took out his waist token with the other hand, holding it up in front of the villagers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am the county magistrate of Dongguan County. This is my wife. Our newborn son has been kidnapped by villains. We have been searching all night, but to no avail. My wife is heartbroken over our child. If she has offended anyone, please forgive her."
"Dongguan County Lieutenant? Bai Yejing? General Bai's younger brother?"
"Is that General Bai who murdered Master?"
"Oh... so she's Mu Chenyu, the one who gave birth to the enemy's child?"
"How utterly unfilial and disobedient!"
Listening to the discussions, Bai Yejing's face remained ashen; he had anticipated this.
Ignoring the disapproval of the crowd, Chen Yu struggled and cried out in Bai Yejing's arms, "Let me go, I want to find my child..."
Just then, the burly man's wife returned. Seeing everyone gathered together, she grabbed the burly man and asked, "Honey, what happened?"
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