Fearing that Shen Xinyan might misunderstand, she immediately added, "The child, the child is not the Duke's."

Shen Xinyan’s eyes widened even further.

"If it's not the Duke's, then whose is it? How could you do such a thing?"

Lian Xiang kowtowed again and said, "Madam, please have mercy on me. I, I have no other choice."

"No way? Is there anyone who dares to force you?" Shen Xinyan was angry.

"The Duke only has you in his heart, Madam. He doesn't care about anyone else, let alone touch them. Although I am called a concubine, I have been innocent for many years."

"I am also a human being! I am also afraid of being alone and having no one to rely on for the rest of my life."

"You're afraid of having no one to rely on, so you have an affair with someone and get pregnant before marriage? What kind of logic is this? If all the women in the inner chambers of the world are like you, what will happen?!"

"Besides, since you are innocent and don't want to stay in the mansion, you can just ask the Duke to let you go. Why do you have to do such a shameful thing to bring shame to him!" Shen Xinyan became more and more angry as she spoke, and questioned loudly.

Lian Xiang's face turned pale, and she smiled sadly when she heard this: "Madam, you are right to scold me. It's all because of Lian Xiang's shamelessness. But Madam, you don't know that when His Highness gave me to the Duke, the Duke clearly stated that he didn't like me, so he would never touch me, and gave me two choices."

"One was that he would prepare a dowry and let me choose another man; the other was that I could stay, but I would be nothing more than a maid for the rest of my life. I had extravagant hopes, thinking that I would impress him one day, so I chose to stay."

"I made the choice back then. How dare I ask the Duke for help?"

Shen Xinyan was so angry that she laughed: "You don't have the courage to ask the Duke to let you go, but you have the courage to do such a thing?"

"You are not the Duke, how do you know that he will not let you choose again?"

"The Duke said back then that this is the only chance, so don't regret it once you choose it." Lian Xiang explained in a low voice.

Shen Xinyan simply didn't know what to say.

At this moment, she suddenly understood where the concubine who had disappeared from Wei Junhang's side for two lifetimes had gone. She thought that most of them chose to stay because they were unwilling at first, but regretted it not long after, so they went to Wei Junhang for help and got the opportunity to choose again.

After all, a woman’s youth is limited, and she cannot hopelessly wait for someone who does not belong to her and waste her precious time.

And Lian Xiang was probably the stupidest and most self-righteous one, not following the usual path but taking such a big detour.

"You have been with the Duke for so many years, yet you don't understand his character at all. If you really want to leave, would he not let you go just because of something he said casually back then?"

Lian Xiang's eyes widened.

"Now you are so smart that you have made a very simple matter so complicated. Even if someone wants to help you, it will be difficult."

Lian Xiang sat paralyzed on the ground with a pale face.

The next moment, she knelt and crawled to Shen Xinyan, crying, grabbing her skirt and saying, "Madam, please save me, please save me..."

Shen Xinyan was so overwhelmed by her crying and begging that she rubbed her forehead, feeling helpless and angry: "Get up first and talk."

“Okay, okay, I, I’ll get up, get up…” Lian Xiang stopped crying, wiped away her tears quickly, and stood up tremblingly.

"You should know that you are committing adultery in the harem. As the mistress, I will never allow such a thing to happen, not to mention that you are nominally the Duke's concubine. You have brought shame upon him by doing this. How can I pretend that nothing has happened?"

"If you set a precedent today and someone else follows suit in the future, wouldn't the Duke's Mansion become a joke?" Shen Xin said seriously with a stern face.

"Madam, I..." Lian Xiang wanted to explain something, but Shen Xinyan interrupted her and continued, "Tell me, whose child is in your belly? Does he know that you are pregnant with his flesh and blood?"

Lian Xiang was a little hesitant, unsure whether she should tell the truth.

"What? You still want to protect him now? If you dare to do something, you must take responsibility. As a man, if you can't even take responsibility for this, what's the use of him!"

Lian Xiang bit her lips lightly, and after a while she stammered, "It's the old village head's son, Daniu."

Shen Xinyan frowned: "He was working in the manor, and you were in the mansion, how did you get involved?"

"I have known him for many years. Since last year, he has been responsible for delivering the harvest from the farm to the mansion, so, so..."

"So it makes it convenient for you to do those things in the inner courtyard?" Shen Xinyan's face looked quite ugly.

She was in charge of the inner courtyard, yet she allowed them to do such a thing under her nose. Upon closer inspection, she could hardly deny her fault.

"No, no, no, I, we are not, not in the house... We are, we are outside," Lian Xiang explained stutteringly.

The house is full of people, and the lady is very strict in managing the household. Even if she has the courage of heaven, she would not dare to be afraid!

"I know about this. You go back first. From now on, you are not allowed to leave the house without my permission. Do you understand?" Shen Xinyan said seriously.

"Madam..." Lian Xiang wanted to say something, but was frightened by her cold face and left in a daze.

Shen Xinyan rubbed her forehead with a headache, leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply, unable to think of any solution for a moment.

It would have been easy for Lianxiang to leave with a clean record, but she had an affair with a man and lost her chastity, and even became pregnant with his child. The nature of the matter had changed.

Isn't this just putting a green hat on Wei Junhang? Even if Wei Junhang is a good-natured person, I'm afraid he won't be able to stand it. After all, all men in the world regard this as the greatest shame.

Unable to grasp Wei Junhang's attitude, she couldn't make any decision for a while.

But, this matter can't be kept secret from him.

She sighed and was once again annoyed by Lian Xiang's stupidity.

It was the simplest thing, but she had to make it so complicated. She was brave, but she didn't even dare to ask for mercy from Wei Junhang; she was timid, but she dared to do such a shocking thing.

Although it was a headache, when Wei Junhang came back that night, she still told him the truth about Lian Xiang.

Wei Junhang's expression changed when he heard this. His brows were tightly knitted together, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Shen Yan couldn't guess what he was thinking, so she pondered and said, "What does the Duke mean? How should this matter be handled?"

"Don't worry about this matter. I will handle it." Wei Junhang replied.

"This...even though she made a big mistake, it's just...after all, it's a human life, you..." Shen Xinyan spoke hesitantly.

Wei Junhang said helplessly: "What do you think I want to do? Although she made a big mistake, it is not to the extent that her life is in danger. Don't worry, I have my own ideas."

Hearing him say this, Shen Xinyan felt relieved and nodded, "In that case, I'll listen to you."

Half a month later, Lian Xiang disappeared silently in the mansion.

Lian Xiang's mother, Mrs. Zhang, thought this was a good opportunity, so she came before the Grand Princess crying and begged her to take charge of her poor daughter. She did not mention Shen Xinyan in any of her words or actions, but her words hinted that it was the Duke's wife's unforgiving nature that caused her poor daughter to die.

How could the eldest princess, a maid like her, be dragged away? Upon hearing this, she just frowned and told the people around her to take her away.

When Shen Xinyan learned about this, she just sneered.

No matter how useless that old woman Zhang was, as a servant she would never dare to provoke him. If she said there was no one instigating her, she would never believe it.

So many years have passed, but some people still refuse to give up and are always unwilling to face the current situation. Today, the Duke of England's Mansion is no longer her world.

"That old woman is so despicable. Everyone knows how she treated her daughter. When Lianxiang was still a little girl, she either beat or scolded her. As soon as Lianxiang became a little successful, she turned into a blood-sucking leech. Why is she crying about her poor daughter now? Her daughter's life is miserable because of a mother like her!" Chunliu was very angry.

When the Grand Princess sent someone to invite her, Shen Xinyan was not surprised at all.

She also knew that the Grand Princess would not believe what the old woman said, and she must be dissatisfied with her in her heart.

Over the years, Wei Junhang had only one son, Wei Chenglin, and had no one else around him except his wife. Earlier, he had a "concubine Yan", but Yan died of illness.

Lian Xiang was given to Wei Junhang by her anyway, and even though she was just a maidservant, it wouldn't be unfair to his son. Maybe she would give birth to a boy or a girl in the future, which would at least add a child to the second room.

But now, even Lianxiang, the concubine, is gone, and she, the principal wife, has not had any children in all these years. Even if the eldest princess is very reasonable, I'm afraid she won't be very happy in her heart.

So, when the Grand Princess asked her about the matter of Lian Xiang with an unhappy look on her face, Shen Xinyan told the truth without hesitation.

She would not sacrifice herself for other people's mistakes. She could not be so "magnanimous" and "kind".

The eldest princess had not expected the situation to be so unbearable. Her expression changed slightly. When she heard that it was Wei Junhang who handled the matter, her eyebrows wrinkled again and she said unhappily, "As the mistress, the affairs of the inner house are your responsibility. How could you let Junhang handle such a matter?"

"It is my daughter-in-law's fault. Please punish her, mother." Shen Xinyan lowered her eyebrows and eyes, and admitted her mistake very straightforwardly.

She admitted her mistake so straightforwardly, but she blocked all the eldest princess's words of admonishment, but she was not happy at all. She added with a sullen face: "You have indeed failed to fulfill your duties as a wife. There is no one around Junhang to take care of you. As a wife, is it possible that you, as a wife, will not choose some smart people to surround him? Brother Lin will not even have a brother to help him in the future. Isn't it your fault?"

Shen Xinyan could not say anything else in rebuttal except listening obediently.

This is the way the world works. If a man is childless, the only thing that is strange is that the woman is childless. If she is childless, her husband's family lineage must be cut off, which is one of the seven grounds for divorce. Another ground is jealousy. If a woman is jealous, she will cause chaos in the family, which can also be abandoned.

She has a son and a daughter, so she can't be called childless, but Wei Junhang is the only one with her, so it is understandable to say that she is jealous.

Although the Grand Princess did not say it explicitly, she might have meant it that way.

Perhaps it was because of the matter of Lian Xiang that touched upon her dissatisfaction with herself. I was afraid that her life would not be easy for a long time to come.

She sighed helplessly.

I just wonder how many more concubines he will be given this time. In a more serious case, will he bring in a concubine?

But no matter which one it was, she had no say in it.