Chapter 44
Jiang Shu had the habit of digesting food after meals, so after dinner that day, Zhu'er accompanied her for a walk in the small garden. As luck would have it, she and the Hu aunt and nephew walked across the street.
She didn't want to cause any more trouble, so she stepped aside and signaled Aunt Hu and Hu Lingshuang to go first.
Jiang Shu wanted to be humble, but Hu Lingshuang refused to give in. If it weren't for the child in Jiang Shu's belly blocking the way, her child would be the future Marquis of Xinyang. Whenever she saw Jiang Shu, she was filled with resentment.
She sat down on a stone bench by the roadside, her big belly bulging, and sneered, "Second sister-in-law is so arrogant! She doesn't even bow to my concubine. She was brought up in a humble family and doesn't know the rules."
If the two of them had not yet had a grudge against each other, Jiang Shu would have endured it, but since there was no possibility of reconciliation, she did not need to tolerate it anymore.
She sneered and said unhappily, "Third sister-in-law, what you said is really funny. I am the master, and Aunt Hu is a servant. There is no reason for a master to bow to a servant when she comes down from the heavenly bed.
I was already magnanimous in not letting Aunt Hu perform the ceremony, but do you think you should reverse the hierarchy and disregard moral principles?"
Jiang Shu is the Crown Prince's wife, and the future mistress of the Marquis's Mansion. The future mistress is naturally more noble than a concubine.
She argued eloquently and with solid evidence. Even if the Hu aunt and niece worked together, they would not know what to say in response.
Jiang Shu pressed on, taunting Hu Lingshuang, "In terms of status, I'm the Crown Prince's wife, so I hold a higher position than you. According to seniority, I'm your sister-in-law, older than you. You should bow to me, both publicly and privately. Not only did you fail to do so, you even provoked me. Is this how the Hu family raised you?"
The Hu aunt and niece are from the same family. Jiang Shu's words were ambiguous and not only scolded Hu Lingshuang, but also implicated Aunt Hu.
Aunt Hu was not someone who could be manipulated. Unable to reason with Jiang Shu, she started with the principle of karma. She said softly, "I know the Crown Prince's wife is of noble status, but no matter how high your status is, you still have to consider the child in your belly.
If you indulge in momentary pleasure and commit verbal offenses, the consequences will be felt on your child."
Fortunately, Jiang Shu was not pregnant. If she was really pregnant, she would be furious to hear someone cursing her child.
Just as she was about to scold Aunt Hu, she saw Zhao and a group of servants walking to the middle of the road.
She glared at Aunt Hu and cursed, "Bitch, how dare you curse the Marquis's grandson? Are you trying to make the Marquis's family childless?"
Zhao never liked to argue with others, and she would never use words when she could use her hands. She ordered in a deep voice: "Mother Zhou, give her twenty slaps on the face. Let Aunt Hu learn a lesson."
Aunt Hu came from an official family and gave birth to a child for Lu Lin. Although she was not as prosperous as the Zhao family in the Xinyang Marquis' Mansion, she was also very respectable.
She didn't expect Zhao to dare to let someone slap her. She said, "Madam, did you say something wrong? I am the biological mother of the Third Master and the legitimate sister of Magistrate Hu. I am not a servant who can be manipulated at will."
Zhao scoffed lightly, "Hu Weizhi only holds a fifth-rank official title, a lowly official not even qualified to guard our Zhao family's gate. And yet you're bringing this up? How ridiculous."
As she spoke, she cast her eyes towards Madam Zhou and said loudly, "Madam Zhou, please do it!"
The Zhao family was not bragging. They had produced two grand tutors and four assistant ministers. Although this generation had declined a bit, their family still had a deep foundation that was by no means comparable to that of the Hu family.
Nanny Zhou waved her hand, and the maids beside her stepped forward, twisted Aunt Hu's arms on the left and right, and forced Aunt Hu to kneel on the ground.
Aunt Hu did bring two maids with her, but how could the weak maids defeat the group of servants behind Zhao? The two of them looked at each other and knelt in front of Zhao to plead for Aunt Hu.
Zhao was unmoved and watched with her own eyes as Madam Zhou slapped Aunt Hu. Madam Zhou used all her strength and the two slaps made Aunt Hu's cheeks swollen.
Her cheeks burned with pain, her face crushed under Zhao's feet. Hu looked at Zhao fiercely and said sternly, "Zhao Yunzhang, I will remember today's shame. There is still a long way to go. Let's wait and see."
Zhao was too lazy to pay attention to Aunt Hu. She glanced at Nanny Zhou, and Nanny Zhou started to attack her left and right again.
After twenty slaps, Aunt Hu's nose and face were swollen. Her originally charming face was now swollen like a green steamed bun. Just one look at it made people feel nauseous.
Concubine Hu was utterly humiliated and fell to her knees, not even having the strength to stand up. Hu, with her large belly, pulled her up from the ground and helped her walk towards Bihua Tower.
Zhao looked at Jiang Shu and gave her a rare smile: "You did very well just now. You are the wife of the prince of Xinyang Marquis's Mansion, so you should act like a prince's wife.
In this mansion, except for me and the Marquis, no one can give you face. If there is anyone who is ungrateful and wants to commit treason, just teach them a lesson.
If they dare to act rashly, you can come to Yanxi Hall to find me. I am your mother after all, and I will never let anyone bully you."
Aunt Lin is weak in nature, and Jiang Rong is young. Ever since Jiang Shu could remember, she has been worrying about Aunt Lin and Jiang Rong. Since her mother is weak, she has to be strong, and since her sister is immature, she has to be mature.
She had no choice but to mature herself and support her biological mother and younger sister for a day.
She had always been the one taking care of others, but now Zhao suddenly stood up and said she would support her and protect her. Her tough heart softened. The look in her eyes when she looked at Zhao also had a bit of tenderness.
She said to Zhao: "I will keep your words in mind, mother. I will not let you down."
Zhao nodded and said, "I just got a box of cloth. Go pick out a few pieces you like and make some clothes for my grandson."
"Although the Marquis's Mansion has no shortage of embroiderers, their skills are ultimately not as exquisite as yours. My grandson must wear the best clothes."
Jiang Shu responded with a gentle "yes" and followed Zhao to Yanxitang to pick out materials.
Six rolls of cloth were neatly stacked on the small couch beside the bed. Jiang Shu felt a headache when she saw all that cloth. She had to do the whole act; she couldn't just be perfunctory because she was pregnant.
She took out a pair of scissors, cut out a goose yellow belly-hugging piece, drew two red carps on it, and began to embroider it carefully.
The autumn heat is so intense that the glaring sun makes it impossible to open your eyes. At noon, not only people but even cats and dogs dare not go out in the sun.
Zhu'er pushed the door open and entered the room. She quickly strode to the bedside and said anxiously, "Miss, Third Madam left the servants and went to the Tingyu Pavilion in the back garden. She was sneaking around, and she must have gone to meet her adulterer.
Hurry up and change your clothes, put on your bamboo hat to protect yourself from the sun, and let's go to the back garden to catch the adulterer. We must make Third Madam lose face."
Zhu'er became more and more excited as she spoke, her eyes shining, and she wished she could fly to the back garden to watch the fun.
Jiang Shu smiled helplessly and said softly, "The rapist must be caught, but it's not easy for us to get involved in this kind of thing. Why not let the Third Master catch him himself?"
"Let Third Master catch him?" Zhu'er was puzzled. "Third Master was beaten so badly that he couldn't even get off the bed. How could he go to the back garden?"
Jiang Shu replied, "Tell Chu Xia to go to Bihua Tower and tell the guards at the gate that Third Madam had a miscarriage at Tingyu Pavilion and ask Third Master to go and see her as soon as possible."
Chuxia is the only daughter of the head of Tianzhuang. Today she came to the mansion to give Jiang Shu an autumn gift. No one in the mansion knew her.
Lu Changfeng is a playboy and a womanizer. He spends three out of five days in brothels. His body has been exhausted for a long time. He finally got pregnant and values the fetus very much. He will definitely rush to the back garden to visit Hu Lingshuang.
Zhu'er suddenly realized and ran out like the wind.
Chu Xia followed Jiang Shu's instructions and arrived at Bihua Tower. She didn't even enter the courtyard. Instead, she rushed to the gatehouse and said, "Oh no! Oh no! Third Madam went to Tingyu Pavilion to enjoy the cool air and accidentally slipped. She's bleeding! Let's get Third Master to take a look."
The Third Master valued the fetus in the Third Mistress's belly more than his own eyes. The doorman did not dare to delay and quickly ran into the main room.
"Third Master." The doorman repeated Chu Xia's words while panting.
Lu Changfeng had gauze wrapped around his head, his right leg was in a cast, his back was covered with bruises from being beaten, and there was not a single intact part of his body.
When he heard the fetus was in trouble, he was extremely anxious and said to the doorman in a hoarse voice, "Hurry up and send a sedan chair to take me to Tingyu Pavilion."
Lu Changfeng was unable to move. Two servants, one holding his upper body and the other holding his legs, lifted him onto the sedan chair.
He was half lying on the sedan chair, constantly urging the bearers, who did not dare to stop for a moment and ran to Tingyu Pavilion in one breath.
Tingyu Pavilion was quiet, the main room was locked, and the servant pushed the door several times but failed to open it.
He didn't know how bad Hu Lingshuang's condition had become. She had even gone to the point of trying to lock the door. He became increasingly anxious and shouted urgently, "Hurry up and break the door open! Hurry up!"
As soon as the words fell, Lu Lin's personal attendant rushed out from the side and urged anxiously: "Third Master, you can't do this, you can't do this!"
As he spoke, he winked at Lu Changfeng. Lu Changfeng was usually quite active, but now he was extremely anxious. He turned a deaf ear to the servant's words and insisted that his followers break down the door.
The servant was extremely anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only watch helplessly as the wooden door was smashed open.
"Mei'er, I'm here. Are you feeling better now?" Mei'er is Hu Lingshuang's nickname.
Lu Changfeng looked at the bed while speaking. When he saw the situation on the bed, his pupils suddenly dilated and he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
Lu Lin was standing by the couch tying his belt. His eyes were calm, but his face was gloomy, as if he wanted to kill someone.
Hu Lingshuang was huddled in the corner of the bed with disheveled hair, covered with a brocade quilt. At the bottom of the quilt lay a light red dress embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water.
The room was packed with people. The affair between the daughter-in-law and the father-in-law was exposed to the public. Hu Lingshuang knew that she was completely finished. She lowered her head in misery and helplessness, not knowing where to look.
It was as if a hand was strangling Lu Changfeng's throat, and the hand was tightening little by little, almost suffocating him.
Lu Changfeng, who didn't know where he got the strength from, jumped up from the stretcher and threw himself directly onto the couch. He grabbed Hu Lingshuang's neck and cursed, "Bitch, you shameless bitch, you have made me lose face.
Your reputation is ruined, what's the point of living? You might as well go to hell and see the King of Hell!"
He acted like a madman, and he didn't care about the strength of his blows, not even caring about the baby in Hu Lingshuang's belly. He strangled Hu so much that she was breathing rapidly and her eyelids kept rolling up.
"Are you going to strangle your own child?" Lu Lin's voice suddenly rang out, bringing Lu Changfeng back to reality from his frenzied state.
Lu Changfeng let go of his hand and turned to look at Lu Lin. At this time, Lu Lin had put on his clothes. He sat leisurely on the chair, looking straight at Lu Changfeng with a calm face and no trace of shame.
Lu Changfeng was so angry that his teeth were itching, but he didn't dare to say a single harsh word.
That man was his father, the ruler of the Xinyang Marquis's mansion, who could send him from the clouds to hell with just a few words. How could he dare to disobey the Xinyang Marquis?
He slumped down on the bed and began to sob softly.
Jiang Shu estimated that it was about time, so she took Zhu'er to the back garden to watch the excitement. From a distance, she saw that the door of Tingyu Pavilion was full of people. The master and servant smiled at each other and slowly walked over.
When they got closer, they found that the person guarding the gate was Xiao Wei, the commander of the guards of the Marquis' Mansion. Xiao Wei only took orders from Lu Lin. Jiang Shu didn't expect that Lu Changfeng's act of catching an adulterer would alarm Lu Lin.
She couldn't force her way into Tingyu Pavilion just to watch the fun, so Jiang Shu turned around and wanted to take Zhu'er back to Xinchun Garden.
Zhu Er refused to do so, and quietly tugged at Jiang Shu's sleeve, saying slyly, "Since you're here, why don't you stay and find out what's going on?
That adulterer is quite capable. He was able to seduce the Third Lady into having sex with him even when she was pregnant. He must have something extraordinary about him."
Zhu Er became more and more excited as she spoke: "Third Master's eyes are so high up in the sky that he often annoys Second Madam. Doesn't Second Madam want to see Third Master being cuckolded and humiliated?"
Jiang Shu was not interested in seeing Lu Changfeng suffer a setback, but she was very curious about who the adulterer was that Hu Lingshuang was having an affair with. Since Hu Lingshuang could often meet with the adulterer in the back garden, it meant that the man was from the Marquis' Mansion.
I wonder which servant has the guts to covet the grandmother of the Lu family?
Out of curiosity, Jiang Shu and Zhu'er hid in a house beside the waterside pavilion. There was a row of diamond-lattice windows on the wall of the house, through which they could see the situation outside clearly.
As soon as the two hid inside, they saw Tingyu Pavilion open its door. The first person to come out was Lu Changfeng. He was lying on a stretcher, his eyes were red, his hands were clenched into fists, and he looked like he wanted to eat someone.
The next person to come out was Hu Lingshuang. Her cheeks had turned the color of liver, and there were some faint red marks on her neck, obviously she had been beaten severely.
After Lu Changfeng and Hu left, Lu Lin also walked out slowly. Jiang Shu and Zhu'er ignored Lu Lin. Qing waited for the guards to deal with the adulterer, either by killing or beating him, there had to be a result.
The two waited for half an hour before realizing that Tingyu Pavilion was completely empty. There was no sign of the adulterer anywhere...
Zhu Er was a little dissatisfied and muttered softly: "Where is the adulterer? Why can't I see the adulterer?"
Jiang Shu's face turned pale, and she whispered, "The adulterer has left. It must be the Marquis."
Apart from Lu Lin and the head of the Marquis's Mansion, no adulterer could walk out of Tingyu Pavilion unscathed.
After being reminded by Jiang Shu, Zhu Er suddenly understood. She looked at Jiang Shu and whispered, "I originally thought that the plot of a father-in-law and a daughter-in-law having an affair only appeared in operas, but I didn't expect that such a dirty thing would happen in the Xinyang Marquis' Mansion.
There are so many beautiful maids in the mansion, you can choose any of them, why does the Marquis choose to take a fancy to his own daughter-in-law?"
At this point, Zhu'er's eyes rolled around. She looked at Jiang Shu and asked seriously, "Third Madam's belly is as big as a watermelon. Even in this situation, she still has an affair. Is this considered a natural talent?"
Jiang Shu felt a headache. She rubbed her forehead and scolded in a low voice, "What's with the 'gifted talent'? That's just something a girl like you can say. Swallow what I said today and don't mention it again."
Zhu'er said "Oh" and said no more. She turned back to Xinchunyuan with Jiang Shu.
Fang Yuhou was at the entrance of the flower hall. Seeing Jiang Shu, she bowed and said softly, "Second Madam, there's a commotion at Bihua Tower. I don't know why, but Third Madam suddenly had a seizure. I think she's going into premature labor."
Hu Lingshuang's child is only seven months old, and she doesn't know if she can keep the baby if she gives birth now.
Her hands tucked into her sleeves were clenched tightly together, and Jiang Shu's face lost all color.
No one knew better than her how important a child was to a mother. Hu Lingshuang had framed her first, and she had really wanted to teach Hu Lingshuang a lesson, but she hadn't expected to end up hurting her...
Zhu'er knew Jiang Shu best. After Fang Yu left, she held Jiang Shu's hand and whispered to her, "If Aunt Ye hadn't discovered something was wrong with Yingluo, the baby in your belly would have been lost long ago. You're just fighting back. Why are you so anxious?"
Having said that, the child is innocent after all, and Jiang Shu always feels uneasy.
She said to Zhu'er, "Send someone to Bihua Tower to keep an eye on it. If anything unusual happens, report back to me immediately."
Inside the Bihua Tower, Mrs. Hu was sweating profusely, her body aching as if it was about to split apart, and a roar escaped from her throat, which was terrifying to hear at first sight.
The midwife was busy in the room, and basin after basin of blood was brought out by the maid.
Lu Changfeng sat in the outer room, his eyes fixed on the inner room, extremely anxious. He hated Hu Lingshuang, but he didn't want her to lose her life.
They were husband and wife, as well as cousins, having grown up together as childhood sweethearts and possessing a deep bond. She had made a mistake, but it was not punishable by death.
He couldn't just watch her die.
Lu Changfeng looked at the maid beside him and scolded, "Didn't you hear that Third Madam has no strength left? Hurry up and get some ginseng soup."
The maid nodded repeatedly and ran quickly to the kitchen.
Time passed little by little, and after two hours of struggle, Hu Lingshuang finally gave birth to the child. Unfortunately, the baby was too young and died as soon as it was born.
Lu Changfeng had just been cuckolded by his own father, and now he had lost his beloved son. Under the double blow, he seemed to have lost all his energy and spirit. He lay dejectedly on the chaise longue, and couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head, and he realized that he had been used by someone with ulterior motives. He looked at the servant and said urgently, "Send the doorman in."
The doorman entered the inner hall and saw Lu Changfeng's face was gloomy. He quickly knelt on the ground and answered tremblingly.
"Who told you today that Second Grandma had a miscarriage?"
The doorman thought carefully and could vaguely remember the man's face, but he didn't recognize who he was.
This was a serious matter, so the concierge didn't dare to speak carelessly. He stammered, "The man looked very unfamiliar. I didn't recognize him."
Lu Changfeng smiled bitterly and waved his hand to send the doorman away.
Although Hu Lingshuang was wrong, the person who humiliated him was even more hateful. Unfortunately, that person came prepared, and he couldn't even find any clues.
When the news of the fetus's death reached Xinchunyuan, Jiang Shu felt even more guilty and had no appetite. She sat on the chair, staring blankly outside.
"Second Madam, the master is here." Fang Yu came in to report.
What was Lu Changji doing here? In this situation, Jiang Shu didn't want to deal with Lu Changji. She wanted to find an excuse to avoid him, but before she could open her mouth, Lu Changji walked into the house.
Lu Changji looked at Jiang Shu and saw that she was as graceful as a willow, pitiful, with a very pale face and a look of panic and helplessness in her eyes. She was indeed frightened.
He walked to the opposite side of Jiang Shu and said in a gentle voice: "You are not Hu, and your child will not have any accidents. I will protect your child and bring him up safely. You can put your heart at ease and just take care of the baby."
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