Bang!
Bang!
The sounds of fighting could be heard coming from inside the courtyard.
Mu Nanfeng punched Bai Yejing in the cheek, angrily pointing at his nose and shouting, "You bastard! Your elder brother murdered my father, and you still have the nerve to ask to marry my sister? Dream on! This bastard must not be allowed to live."
“Brother Mu, I have already found a midwife in the county town. Now everyone in Dongguan County knows that Shen Yu and I are pregnant. This matter must have already reached the capital. If you were to harm my unborn child, wouldn’t that be taking a life?”
Upon hearing this, the three old women released Chen Yu.
Shen Yu was moved to tears. She had intended to tell Mu Nanfeng that the child's biological father was Liu Yu. She thought the Mu family would remember Liu Yu's kindness and adopt her child.
Since Bai Yejing had already acted first and informed her later, she saw no need to risk revealing the truth. After all, the Mu family's affairs were all subject to Princess Yanghua's wishes. Princess Yanghua was straightforward and easily angered; once she lost her temper, no secret could be kept. If anyone knew she had given birth to Liu Yu's child, the child's life would likely be in danger.
Therefore, she decided to follow Bai Yejing's plan and shouted outside, "Yejing, go to the county town to take up your post immediately. Big brother will not hurt the child."
This put Mu Nanfeng in a dilemma. His father had passed away, and his elder brother was like a father to him; he had to stand up for Chen Yu. Therefore, he discussed with Princess Yanghua and decided to adopt the child in Chen Yu's womb and never again form a marriage alliance with the Bai family.
------
One month later.
When Chen Yu woke up, it was almost dusk. She saw Cui Wei sleeping by the bedside, but the child was gone.
She remembered that around 9 AM, many people came to the cemetery, and she suddenly went into premature labor. In order not to let outsiders hear the noise, she could only bite on a wooden stick and give birth to the child without making a sound. After that, she fell into a deep sleep due to exhaustion.
She forced herself to sit up despite the pain and woke Cuiwei.
Where are the children?
"The child... has been taken away by the plump nanny."
Shen Yu nodded. Before giving birth, she had already discussed it with Mu Nanfeng: the child would be raised in Princess Yanghua's courtyard, and the child would call her aunt. She couldn't have been happier; this way, she wouldn't have to marry Bai Yejing, and she could preserve Liu Yu's bloodline.
She turned her head and saw two small fish pendants on the pillow. She picked them up and handed them to Cuiwei, saying, "Take these two pendants to the children. They were left by their father."
Cuiwei lowered her head, tears streaming down her face, and sobbed, "Miss, Cuiwei is worried about the two children..."
"What's wrong with the child? Tell me quickly!"
"From the Jingwang Mausoleum to the Mu family, one should have gone west or south, but Shuxiang and the fat nanny took the child east instead."
There's a mass grave to the east.
Shen Yu was startled. Could it be that her brother and sister-in-law had changed their minds and were no longer willing to adopt the two children? She endured her weakness and the tearing pain in her lower body and struggled to get out of bed.
Cuiwei knelt at the door, weeping bitterly, "Miss, you've just given birth. Going out now will only ruin your health..."
Shen Yu couldn't care less about her own health. With her child missing, how could she be at ease? If her elder brother hadn't broken his promise, all would be well. But if he had, the child was probably already dead in the mass grave.
She donned her cloak and veil, tears streaming down her face. "Cuiwei, don't stop me. These two children are my flesh and blood. If I can't find them, I will not live on."
After saying that, she knelt down in front of Cuiwei with a thud and said in a mournful voice, "Good Cuiwei, help me. Go to the east and look for the child along the road. Go to the mass grave."
After saying that, she staggered to her feet and stormed out the door.
You see, the Jingwang Mausoleum is located in the southeast corner of Dongguan County, and it would probably take five hours to walk there to reach the capital. By this time, it was completely dark, and there were no more carriages on the road. She had no choice but to walk first and figure out a way to get there once she reached Dongguan County.
Fifteen minutes later, she arrived outside Dongguan County and saw a horse-drawn carriage parked in front of the inn, so she ran over to check it out.
An old man jumped down from the carriage and asked her what was wrong.
"Old man, I'd like to buy this carriage. Name your price."
"I still need to go pick up the vegetables..."
"One thousand strings of cash." As soon as Chen Yu uttered the words, she realized that she had not brought any silver notes with her, and there was no maidservant with her. So she fumbled to take out the hairpin from her hair and stuffed it into the old man's hand.
The old man took the hairpin and examined it carefully.
Shen Yu hurriedly boarded the carriage, whipped the horse's rump, and shouted, "Giddy up!" The carriage sped away.
"Ah! Stop! Don't steal my carriage, you liar..."
Desperate to find her child, Chen Yu ignored the old man's calls and instead whipped the horse's rump even harder, making it run even faster. Feeling the cool breeze, she couldn't help but burst into tears. The old man always said that a woman needs to rest and recuperate after childbirth, and should not go out or be exposed to the wind for a month. If she doesn't take good care of her body, her life may be in danger.
Ha! If she loses her child, she'd rather be dead than alive.
With tears in her eyes, she arrived at the Mu family home, held up her waist token, and stormed into Yang Hua's room, with two maids chasing after her with swords in hand.
Yang Hua had already lain down when she saw her barge in. She hurriedly got up and questioned, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into my room?"
She removed her veil and slammed it heavily on the round table, saying coldly, "Where are the children? I want to see them."
"So it's Yu'er who's back." Yang Hua breathed a sigh of relief, waved for the maid to leave, and slowly got out of bed. Today, Mu Nanfeng had a meeting with the Sixth Prince and instructed her to take Chen Yu's child and raise him before leaving. However, she didn't want to raise the child of her enemy, so she ordered Shuxiang and the fat nanny to abandon the child in the mass grave and lie that the child had died.
Seeing that Chen Yu's eyes were filled with tears and she was furious, she must be reluctant to part with her child. It seems that she still needs to be persuaded with kind words.
Yang Hua approached Shen Yu, intending to help her sit down, but she suddenly dodged away, glaring at him and demanding, "Tell me! Where is the child?"
Seeing that Chen Yu was truly enraged, Yang Hua's face darkened, and he slammed his hand on the round table, saying in a deep voice, "Mu Chen Yu! Are you insane? How dare you bear children for our enemy? What will the world think of my Mu family? Let me tell you the truth, those two children have already died, and I have already instructed Shu Xiang and Fat Granny to bury them."
“If my sister-in-law has changed her mind, then give the child back to me, and I will leave the Mu family immediately.”
"Are you crazy? Your sister-in-law is helping you get rid of the root of the trouble, so you can still marry a good man in the future. But if you keep these two children, your life will be ruined, and your mother will not be able to rest in peace after she dies."
Madam Mu walked in shakily, leaning on her cane. Her once kind and gentle face was now streaked with tears.
Shen Yu suddenly knelt down and cried out in grief, “Mother, I am an unfilial child. I am your flesh and blood. You love me dearly, but those two children are my own flesh and blood. Without them, it’s like my heart has been ripped out. I can’t live on!”
After saying this, Chen Yu endured the tearing pain, stood up, and stormed out the door.
Upon arriving at the Mu family's gate, a familiar figure stood beside the carriage—it was Bai Yejing.
Bai Yejing came because the old man had reported it to the authorities. The old man claimed that a woman had tricked a vegetable cart by using a fake hairpin. Bai Yejing then gave the old man one hundred strings of cash and retrieved the hairpin that resembled a fish sinking in the water.
Seeing Chen Yu clutching her stomach and staggering towards him like a heavily wounded soldier still charging into battle, he couldn't help but tear up and went forward to help her up.
He was about to touch Chen Yu's arm when suddenly a sharp sword came flying at him and pressed against his chest.
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