Lin Xi achieved her goal and did not do anything more to Jiang Chuting, letting him go.
Two days later, Jiang Chuting was finally able to get out of bed and leave his own courtyard. He walked slowly and aimlessly for a while.
The sun shines warmly, and a gentle breeze blows.
In the garden of the East Courtyard, a young man and woman were flying kites together, their bodies very close. Jiang Chuting stared intently in that direction, listening to the occasional soft laughter, feeling a pang of pain in her heart. She paused for a moment, then turned and left.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ling Guang, who was on duty nearby. Perhaps because Ling Guang looked so unwell, Ling Guang followed him with an extremely worried gaze, almost catching up to him.
After returning to her room, Jiang Chuting sat quietly for about half an hour before getting up to pack her belongings. She was only halfway through when she suddenly frowned, rushed out of her room, and vomited.
Jiang Chuting clutched her lower abdomen with one hand and held onto the tree trunk with the other, barely managing to stand.
At noon, someone brought him lunch. Even though his stomach was still churning, he still sat down at the table and forced himself to eat some in order to maintain his strength.
Lost in thought until nightfall, Ling Guang indeed climbed out the window again.
Jiang Chuting stood up, but before he could tell him to leave, Ling Guang rushed forward, grabbed his wrist without a word, and took his pulse.
Jiang Chuting struggled for a moment, and Ling Guang suddenly looked serious and said in a low voice, "Don't move."
Ling Guang had never spoken to him in this tone before, and Jiang Chuting was taken aback. Ling Guang had said he knew medicine; could this reaction really mean that something was wrong with his health?
Seeing Ling Guang's increasingly surprised and grim expression, Jiang Chuting asked, "How is it?"
Ling Guang glanced at him, then remained silent.
Jiang Chuting said, "There's no need to hide anything. Just tell me the truth, and I can handle it."
He still didn't answer. After a long while, Ling Guang finally released his hand from taking Jiang Chuting's pulse and stared intently at him. Jiang Chuting was a little confused by his hesitant gaze.
What's wrong with me?
Hearing his persistent questioning, Ling Guang paced back and forth a few steps, raised his hand to scratch his hair in frustration, and kept saying, "How could this happen? Why did this happen?"
Seeing this, Jiang Chuting sat back down in his chair, poured himself a glass of water, and waited for himself to calm down.
Even if he were to be diagnosed with an incurable disease, he wouldn't be too heartbroken. Life and death are preordained; let nature take its course. However, given the current situation, there will undoubtedly be some regrets.
Ling Guang finally couldn't hold back any longer. He rushed to Jiang Chuting, knelt down on one knee, and grabbed his arm. The water glass in Jiang Chuting's hand wobbled because of his movement, spilling water and wetting his sleeve.
Jiang Chuting was about to put the water glass back on the table before listening to him speak when Ling Guang blurted out a shocking statement.
"Young master, you are pregnant."
Jiang Chuting heard all six words clearly, without missing a single one.
Jiang Chuting's mind went blank for a moment. He stared wide-eyed back at Ling Guang's face. His expression clearly showed no hint of a joke, and Jiang Chuting was certain that Ling Guang wouldn't joke with him like that.
Jiang Chuting pondered for a moment, put down his water glass and was about to speak when Ling Guang seemed to know what he was going to ask. He shook his head and said firmly, "I won't make a mistake. I'm not lying to you. You are indeed pregnant."
Perhaps because the matter was so absurd and sudden, Jiang Chuting didn't feel it was real, so the strangeness in her heart far outweighed the shock.
"But I'm a man, how could I possibly be pregnant?" Thinking of the abnormalities in his body these days, the loss of his power, and the constant abdominal pain and nausea, Jiang Chuting couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
Could it be as Ling Guang said?
Ling Guang struggled in his eyes as he released him, stood up, hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind and said in a low voice, "You must find it hard to believe, right? I never thought you would fall for it too."
He clearly had more to say, and Jiang Chuting waited for him to continue.
Ling Guang sighed bitterly, "Since things have come to this, I can only tell you everything I know."
Jiang Chuting's thoughts raced, and he immediately asked, "Is it related to the Lin family?"
Ling Guang nodded, his eyes darkening. "Yes. Young Master, have you taken any strange pills before?"
Upon hearing his question, Jiang Chuting suddenly understood: "A few years ago, Lin Xuan forced me to take a pill."
"Lin Xuan?!" Upon hearing this name, Ling Guang's eyebrows twitched violently: "That's it, she's using you as a test subject for drugs."
Ling Guang gritted his teeth and said, "A kind of drug intended to make men pregnant and give birth."
A drug that allows men to get pregnant and give birth?
A male prostitute suffering from persistent abdominal pain, an abandoned freak, the mysterious Misty Moon Valley... Jiang Chuting's head began to buzz, and his face turned extremely pale.
No wonder Lin Xuan let him go back then, no wonder he hasn't had any problems all these years after taking the pills.
I see.
Ling Guang said angrily, "The root of all this is Lin Xuan! She was already weak, and almost died during childbirth, which fueled her resentment. She felt it was unfair that only women had to endure the pain and risks of pregnancy and childbirth, so she wanted to defy fate and started developing a pill that could make men pregnant. For this outlandish idea, she captured people to test the drug. After she died, although Lin Xi was of little use, she still had a group of loyal dogs helping her fulfill her last wish. For over twenty years, she has harmed countless lives! We are powerless and cannot compare to the Lin family's absolute power. Even if we know all this, we cannot change anything, and we might even lose our own lives. Young Master Yun is a living example of this!"
Ling Guang grew increasingly resentful as he spoke, until his eyes were finally red and moist.
Mentioning Zi Que, Jiang Chuting closed her eyes sadly. She had made many guesses when she was investigating with Lin Zhi, but she never expected the final answer to be so unbelievable.
Ling Guang calmed herself down and knelt down beside him again, earnestly saying, "Young Master, the pills they've been developing have never truly succeeded, so the reactions of those who take them are all different. Some die directly, some become seriously ill, and some, even if they get pregnant, give birth to deformed babies that can't survive... Only a very small number of babies are born healthy. Moreover, those who get pregnant can't easily abort, otherwise it will result in the death of both mother and child. Although your current situation is relatively lucky, what the future holds is still unknown. You can't stay here any longer. I'll take you to find my friend; he has experience in this area and will definitely be able to take good care of you."
Jiang Chuting lowered his eyes, and before he could speak, Ling Guang gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, saying again, "Young Master, don't hesitate any longer. Everyone knows that Young Master Lin is going to marry Miss Li. Are you still going to be so stubborn? Back then, Young Master Yun married Lin Xi out of necessity, afraid of implicating you, but Young Master Lin did it willingly. He doesn't cherish you and hurts you so recklessly. Do you want to ruin your reputation for him again? Let go! From now on, stay away from the Lin family, and don't get involved in the drug trials anymore. I'm begging you, I'm begging you for Young Master Yun's sake. Please promise me?"
Jiang Chuting remained silent for a long time, looked at him, and said softly, "Ling Guang, thank you. I... I'll think about it some more."
Even though he was heartbroken, he still clung to a sliver of hope for Lin Zhi, hoping there was still room for a turnaround.
Ling Guang wanted him to leave immediately, but he also knew that letting go of someone was not so simple. His attitude had already softened, so he didn't dare to press him. He quickly said, "Okay, okay, you can think about it. But it's best not to take too long, lest things get complicated."
Jiang Chuting nodded.
The candles in the room had been extinguished at some point. Jiang Chuting sat quietly in the pitch-black room, her body fluctuating between hot and cold, her whole being in a state of shock as she slowly came back to her senses.
He's pregnant; he's carrying Lin Zhi's child.
He couldn't believe that there was a life growing inside him.
How should I tell Lin Zhi about this? What will his reaction be? Will he believe everything the Lin family has been doing behind the scenes?
Jiang Chuting thought it over and over, but in the end there was only one possibility—he wouldn't believe it, at least not for now.
According to Ling Guang, the practice of using humans for drug trials has been going on for over twenty years, costing countless lives and involving many complex issues. If he were to resolutely investigate and collect evidence, and successfully expose this act, which violates human ethics, reverses the natural order, and disregards human life, it would surely cause a huge uproar. At that time, the imperial court would intervene, the Lin family would be in trouble, and Lin Zhi, the young master, would be unable to escape unscathed.
But if we don't do anything about it, then there will be more and more victims like him, like the male prostitutes before him.
Jiang Chuting pressed her throbbing temples and took a deep breath.
That night, Jiang Chuting had a dream in which a bloody child crawled out of her stomach. The child had no eyes, no nose, only a small, split mouth that was crying loudly. It was both terrifying and pitiful.
Jiang Chuting woke up with a start and sat up, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. Her fingers curled up and then opened, finally slowly rising and gently touching her lower abdomen.
Ling Guang said the child couldn't be aborted, otherwise it might be born as a freak.
Recalling the rumors of abandoned babies and ghost fetuses I heard on the street before, now I think that the person who gave birth to the child was very likely the one who was infected.
Jiang Chuting gently closed her eyes, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
At that moment, a faint noise came from outside. Jiang Chuting was on guard for a moment, but almost instinctively, without even putting on her shoes, she quickly got out of bed and opened the door.
"Lin Zhi, is that you?"
A dark figure flashed in the courtyard and disappeared into the darkness in no time; Jiang Chuting didn't even have time to chase after it.
He disappeared so quickly that Jiang Chuting began to wonder if she had just hallucinated.
Dejected, I returned to the house and sat there until dawn. Then, rain began to fall outside, and a cold wind blew in through the window, instantly filling the empty room with a sense of desolation.
Jiang Chuting counted down the time, and when the servants came to bring breakfast, he stopped one of them and asked gently, "Excuse me, where is your young master now?"
Whether he stays or leaves, there should be some kind of resolution between him and Lin Zhi.
The servant hesitated, glancing at him, but before he could answer, a young man in purple robes stepped into the courtyard, holding an umbrella, and raised his voice slightly, saying, "What do you want from me? Do you want your broken hairpin back? Or do you want to take the coffin?"
Upon hearing the voice, Jiang Chuting stepped outside and quietly watched him approach. His thin, wide-sleeved clothes and sash fluttered in the wind, like pale blue clouds.
Lin Zhi walked to the corridor, closed the umbrella, and handed it to a servant next to him to take away.
Lin Zhi met his gaze, then gave a cold, smirking smile and said, "It's a pity, the hairpin has been burned to ashes, so even if you hate me to death, there's no way to get it back. And my father's coffin has been moved, so even if you search for it your whole life without eating or drinking, you won't find it. Forget about it."
Jiang Chuting's lips moved silently before she looked at him and asked, "Lin Zhi, are you getting married?"
"Yes, that's right." Lin Zhi wasn't surprised that he knew, nodded, and chuckled, "Next month at the latest."
His tone was nonchalant, but his eyes were fixed on the reaction on his face.
Jiang Chuting lowered her eyes slightly before looking at him again, suppressing the lump in her throat, and said in a trembling voice, "I told you, you can do anything, but if you betray our feelings, then it's over between us, there will be no turning back. Do you really want to get married? Or are you just lying to me in a fit of anger?"
Lin Zhi scoffed and said, "Lying to you? You'll find out next month whether I'm lying or not."
His meaning was clear and firm. Jiang Chuting's long, moist eyelashes trembled, and she pleaded, "Lin Zhi, please don't do this to me."
"Why?" Lin Zhi asked him in return, "Do you want to marry me? I'm sorry, but if that were the case, wouldn't the whole world laugh at me? I can't afford to lose face like that."
Jiang Chuting felt a pang of pain in her heart. She grabbed his wrist, her eyes red-rimmed, and asked, "Lin Zhi, when will you finally grow up?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiyi seemed to be enraged. His face turned cold, and he pushed him away, shouting, "Grown up? So you think I'm a child, that whatever I say or do is just a joke? Let me tell you, I'm serious about marrying Li Ruoshuang, and I will never change my mind!"
Jiang Chuting stared at him, choked up for a moment, then suddenly took two steps back and turned her back.
Seeing him like this, Lin Zhi's anger flared even more. Without even taking the umbrella, she turned and left.
He had just stepped down the stairs when Jiang Chuting caught up and grabbed his wrist from behind. Lin Zhi's hair and clothes were already soaked, his face was tense, and his chest heaved heavily. He neither struggled nor spoke.
Jiang Chuting walked around to stand in front of him, the water streaks on his pale, handsome face were hard to tell whether they were rain or tears.
Jiang Chuting said in a hoarse voice, "Lin Zhi, I'm pregnant." She grasped his hand and pressed it against her flat stomach. "I'm carrying your child, because back then..."
"Have you had enough?!" Lin Zhi suddenly shook off his hand, and he staggered before regaining his balance.
Lin Zhi sneered, "Pregnant? Do you think I don't know whether you're a boy or a girl? How did you get pregnant? You'll say anything to stay by my side, you really can't bear to part with my face?"
Jiang Chuting said urgently, "If you don't believe me, you can come with me to find a doctor."
"Fine, if you're really that capable, able to have my child." Lin Zhi grabbed his chin and said in a condescending tone, "Then after I marry Li Ruoshuang, if I'm in a good mood one day, I might take you as a concubine."
Jiang Chuting's expression froze slightly, her eyes dimmed, and she quietly looked at him, raindrops running down her nose and chin onto his hand.
It felt like my chest had been hollowed out by a sharp knife or blade; the pain was so intense that I lost all feeling.
Lin Zhi withdrew his hand and said, "Come on, let's go find a doctor. What? You're scared?"
“…No need, no need to go.” Jiang Chuting murmured, dejectedly moving aside.
Lin Zhi sneered, walked past him, and left without looking back.
Jiang Chuting stood rooted to the spot, his soaked clothes clinging to his body, chilling him to the bone. His gaze followed Lin Zhi's retreating figure until she could no longer be seen.
The last glimmer of hope in my heart was finally extinguished by the rain.
Returning to her room, Jiang Chuting stood quietly with her eyes down for a while, then raised her face and breathed a sigh of relief. She picked up her already packed bundle and, without any further hesitation, strode out of the Lin residence in the rain.
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