Wife Doting Addiction：My Abducted Tsundere Husband - Chapter 96: To Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn

Chapter 96: To Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Night, Qu Manor.

The entire household was bustling about, busy straightening up the manor from the inside out, because a very important guest was coming.

Food was being prepared, alcohol was being gathered, and incense was being burned, the house was being cleaned…it was like the lively hustle and bustle of celebrating the New Year.

Qu Miao emerged from her courtyard and seeing all the people hurrying about, she stopped a servant and asked, “what is all of this about?”

The Servant replied quickly and said, “Let me report, my lady, the master said that an honored guest is coming. So, we must make every nook and cranny of the estate spotless!”

So that’s what everything was about; they were throwing a banquet to entertain guests. Qu Miao nodded her head casually.

“Go on then!”

She let the servant go. She was puzzled; who was it that was coming that could make her father take things so seriously?

She had spent the past few days thinking of Ji Yuxian every day.

She was ill at ease, but she also had not taken it to heart. She planned to go find her mother and have a heart-to-heart talk with her about the matter.

As soon as she walked to the artificial hill in the flower garden, she saw a woman come out from the door in the courtyard from which flowers were hung. The woman wore a garment adorned with a pinkish yellow pattern. Her dark black hair was magnificently piled up. Her body was tender and delicate. A maidservant accompanied her and they both walked leisurely toward Qu Miao.

Qu Miao’s eyes narrowed, and she went over and blocked the woman, standing right in her face. With a cold tone she said, “Who allowed you to come into the rear courtyard?”

The woman raised her head and looked at Qu Miao, she then immediately lowered her eyes and said gently, “Little sister!”

“Who are you calling little sister?” Qu Miao hollered, annoyed. She continued, “speak, what are you doing here?”

“It was my adoptive father who told me to come, he said there was something he wanted to explain to me.”

The woman wiped her brow indifferently. Her features possessed a certain vitality and there was a sense of gentleness about her that made her seem enchanting. It made her particularly lovable to people.

Furthermore, as soon as men saw her, they fell in love, however the reaction women had was different and this was especially the case for Qu Miao. Whenever she saw this woman, she felt upset.

“I also have no idea.”

The woman’s last name was Yuan, first name Zhu. She was originally the daughter of the Qu family’s housekeeper. Three years ago, the Yuan family who managed the Qu household and Qu Wenchang went on a journey to collect debts. On the way, they encountered bandits and the housekeeper risked his life to save Qu Wenchang. However, he lost his own life in the process and what’s more, his wife had died early and so the only remaining relative was their daughter who had not yet been married.

Qu Wenchang felt indebted to the housekeeper for saving his life and so he took in his daughter and considered her as his own.

The only thing was that Madame Lee and Qu Miao did not like the woman and made her stay in the front courtyard. Thus, she typically was not allowed to enter the rear courtyard.

Hearing that it had been her father who had called Yuan Zhu for some matter, Qu Miao did not dare to detain her any longer. She moved out of the way and staring sidelong at the girl said,

“Well enter!”

The woman curtsied slightly and slowly walked toward the study of the inner courtyard and entered it.

Qu Miao turned her head and watched the woman’s receding figure. She snorted derisively, “Harpy!” and kept glaring at Yuan Zhen’s figure until she was out of sight. She then went to go and find Madame Lee.

Later that evening the carriage of the Ji family stopped before the door of the Qu family estate.

Qu Wenchang had brought Madame Lee and Qu Miao to the door where they waited.

As soon as Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu got out of the carriage, Qu Wenchang immediately stepped forward. “Welcome esteemed Prince, you grace my humble home with your presence!”

“No need for Uncle Qu to be so courteous! Let me introduce you. This is my wife!” Ji Yuxian gestured to Su Jiu as he spoke.

Hearing this, Qu Miao who was bowing her head behind her father, suddenly and wildly looked up. She looked at Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu and was paralyzed. She was instantly dumbfounded and there was a pleasantly surprised look in her eyes. She was stunned and, in her excitement, she wound up her silk handkerchief in her hands. She felt embarrassed and was at a complete loss.

So, he was the prince of the Ji family!

It was him after all.

With her head partly bowed, Qu Miao’s face flushed. Her heart pounded in her chest. Luckily it was night, so that Madame Lee beside her did not notice that anything was off.

Su Jiu also did not expect that the girl they had met on the road on the way to Jingzhou was the daughter of Qu Wenchang. She couldn’t help the delight that showed in her eyes.

Qu Miao looked up and glanced at Su Jiu. She immediately lowered her head.

” I, your humble servant, am glad to have met your wife! Dear Prince and wife please come in!”

The group of people ushered Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu inside. All the servants in the inner courtyard respectfully stood and wished them good health in unison.

They walked directly to the banquet hall where the traditional eight-seat table was already fully set with delicious delicacies. The room pulsed with warmth and everything smelled, looked, and tasted great.

Only once Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu had been seated did Qu Wenchang introduce his wife and daughter, “This is my wife, and this is my younger daughter Qu Miao.

“Prince!”

Madame Lee and Qu Miao bowed and gave them well wishes.

As Qu Miao bowed, she bit her lower lip and looked at Ji Yuxian from the corner of her eye, utterly bashful.

“This meal is a family reunion, no need for excessive ceremony. Mrs. Qu, please have a seat!” Ji Yuxian said with a thin smile.

“Of course! Thank you very much, prince!” Qu’s wife sat down on the right side of Qu Wenchang and Qu Miao, since she was still unmarried, was not allowed to join and sit. So, with a fawning look in her eyes, she glanced at Ji Yuxian, bowed, and left the room.

“My wife, daughter and I raise a glass to the prince and his wife!” Wu Wenchang said with a warm smile . He stood, proposing a toast to Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu.

Madame rushed to her feet, forcing a smile.

“Uncle Qu you’re far too polite!” Ji Yuxian raised his small wine cup and took a sip.

Su Jiu followed suit and raised her glass. She liberally drank half the cup.

“Dear, please eat, I do hope it suits your tastes?”

Madame Lee served Su Jiu some food and respectfully asked, ” I heard you are from Fuyang? That is quite close to our Jingzhou.”

Su Jiu nodded, “thanks a lot. Yes, it is!”

“So that’s why when I saw you, I could just feel like you were a relative. Little Miao’s maternal aunt is my younger sister. She got married and went to Fuyang and I’ve been there twice. It really is a great place that produces outstanding people. Likewise, you are really a woman of matchless beauty!”

Madame Lee said, simultaneously placing food on Su Jiu’s plate and trying to worm her way into Su Jiu’s good graces.

Su Jiu was not formal; whatever she wanted to eat; she ate. She was unconcerned with Madame Lee.

On the other side of the table, Ji Yuxian and Qu Wenchang drank alcohol and discussed business matters. The atmosphere was truly friendly and harmonious.

The wine went around three times.

The servants brought in Sweet Bird’s Nest Soup with Snow Pear and set them down one by one on the table.

Madame Lee personally carried over and set down a bowl of soup in front of Su Jiu and said with a smile, “Please try a little of Jingzhou’s specialty soup dish; it’s best eaten in the winter as it acts like a tonic, providing extra nourishment.”

As she spoke, she moved to set down the soup and immediately the maid servant besides her reached out to hand her a spoon, which caused Madame Lee’s hand to shift. The soup in the bowl instantly gushed out and spilled all over Su Jiu’s skirt, flowing over and onto the ground.

“Oh no!” cried Madame Lee in alarm, she pushed aside the servant girl at once, set down the bowl, and rushed to grab a handkerchief to try and wipe the stains from Su Jiu’s skirt.

“I’m so wretched! I hope you weren’t burnt!”

The small girl on the floor beside her immediately kneeled, begging for forgiveness.

Qu Wenchang frowned and shot the maidservant a look, “look what you’ve done, get out right away!”

Madame Lee frowned and said, “Blame me for everything, I wasn’t holding the bowl properly and so I soaked your skirt, please quickly follow me to the rear courtyard for a change of clothes!”

Ji Yuxian …expression had not changed, he looked coolly at Su Jiu and said with a smile, “Since things are like this, go ahead to the rear courtyard and change!”

Su Jiu originally intended to say that there was really no reason to get so worried, but since Ji Yuxian had already spoken, she swallowed her words and rose from the table, “well, if I must trouble Mrs. Qu.”

“You’re very welcome!” Madame Lee was remorseful, “please come with me, my lady.”

Madame Lee led Su Jiu out of the banquet hall and two servant girls carried lanterns to light the way before them, all the way to the rear courtyard.

Since leaving the dining hall, Qu Mao had been waiting outside the door; she had never left. The fact that Ji Yuxian was the prince of the Ji family still had her in a fuss. She had not even left; she had spent the whole time hiding under a silk tree. She was waiting for Ji Yuxian to come out so she could speak to him.

However, she never expected that after waiting over an hour, that the ones to come out would be Madame Lee and Su Jiu.

What was her mother taking her to the rear courtyard for?

Qu Miao glanced over and stealthily followed them.

After she had started off, a shadow moved. A woman leisurely walked out of the door from which the flowers hung

The woman immediately entered the dining hall, her steps light and graceful. She curtsied slowly, “I heard that an esteemed guest was coming, so I Zhu expressly came to pay respects!”

The woman wore a dark green, light blue and rosy colored upper garment. Her court dress had countless pleats and was the color of willows in the mist. Her skin was smooth and soft, her eyes clear and limpid. Her slender waist was like a flowering crabapple tree in the wind. However, she was not full-figured but carried herself with an effortlessly sweet charm, with the same delicateness of a flower.

Qu rushed to get up and introduce her, “Esteemed prince, this is my adopted daughter, little Zhu.” After he spoke, he turned to her, “Zhu, this is the honorable prince. Since you’ve come, why not propose a toast to the prince!”

“Certainly!” Yuan Zhu bowed her head slightly, and with a supple and graceful carriage, she walked to Ji Yuxian’s side, she then grasped the teapot with her soft white hands and poured a cup for him. She then poured some for herself, and gave him a small glance, and said, her voice like the cry of an oriole, “Zhu pays respect to the prince!”

Ji Yuxian’s gaze fell on the woman’s face, its beauty like a hibiscus flower, and he said with a thin smile, “Accepted!”

Qu Wenchang’s wore a thrilled expression as he glanced over at the two of them and he said warmly, ” Zhu, if you have nothing else to do, why not take a seat and accompany the prince?!”

Yuan Zhu took a seat besides the prince and gave him a coy nod, ” Yes, I can pour wine for you.”

Ji Yuxian and Qu Wenchang were engaged in a discussion while Yuan Zhu sat by him, serving him food and pouring him wine. She hardly said anything but made every care to look up occasionally and give thoughtful glances, it was enough to melt one’s heart.

Ji Yuxian soon felt slightly drunk.

He raised his arm to prop up his forehead and his two eyes were becoming increasingly blurry and unfocused.

“Prince?” Qu Wenchang called out, trying to see what the matter was.

“Uh?” Ji Yuxian raised his head, his voice sluggish and tipsy.

“The prince seems to be drunk. It’s late, why not spend the night here? Tomorrow, once you’ve sobered up, you can return home.”

Ji Yuxian rubbed his forehead and asked foggily, “Where’s my wife?”

“Your wife has not yet returned from changing. Most likely, she and my wife have got to chatting. How about you take the prince to rest, Little Zhu.” Qu Wenchang said, giving Yuan Zhu a meaningful wink.

Yuan Zhu immediately lent the prince her arm to support him and said gently, “I’ll take the prince to go rest!”

Ji Yuxian gave a small smile and his eyes glistened, “sorry to be such a bother!”

Zhu’s face turned bright red, “You’re too polite, prince!”

While they spoke, the two stood up and left the dining hall, heading toward the rear courtyard.

Already having prepared a guest room for Ji Yuxian, Yuan Zhu entered the inner courtyard and took Ji Yuxian directly to the guest room, rolling up her sleeves, she led him along the veranda towards the western side.

At that exact moment, Qu Miao happened to be leaving Madame Lee’s residence. While she had initially found it strange that her mother and Su Jiu were going into the rear courtyard together and was curious to find out why, after standing by the window and listening to their conversation for a while, she realized Su Jiu had just needed to change her clothes. Finding it uninteresting, she thought to return to the front courtyard to see if she would be able to find an opportunity to enter.

Just as she was walking on the small path in the flower garden, she saw some people on the veranda, coming her way, and quickly hid herself behind the artificial hill. In the light coming from the veranda, she could see that it was Yuan Zhu helping Ji Yuxian to the guest room.

She was instantly shocked.

“That slut, she has the audacity to seduce the prince!” Qu Miao said vehemently, cursing her. She then began to follow them.

Yuan Zhu and the prince entered the guest room and she put him on the long, narrow divan. She reached out her hands to take off his clothes and said gently, “Prince, I will attend to your needs so that you can get to bed and rest.”

Ji Yuxian, half-conscious, and being somewhat drunk, said, “I’d like to take a bath first!”

“Certainly! I will take you to the bath!”

Just behind the screen in the room, there was a bathtub, which the servants had already filled with hot water, its hot steam billowing forth.

The two had just turned to go through the screen door, when the door lightly creaked open and Qu Miao slipped into the room.

Behind the screen, the two people’s shadows touched, and Yuan Zhu said, “Prince, let me change your clothes for you!”

Qu Miao stopped and stayed behind the canopy, inwardly gnashing her teeth.

She was dying to rush over and rip into Zhu.

She was truly a slut. She actually dared entertain delusional fantasies about the prince?

“No need, you go out and wait for me!” Ji Yuxian said, his voice low and deep with a thick, nasal quality from having drank. It was hoarse and sexy.

“Very well!” Yuan Zhu said, and she went out.

Qu Miao was panicking slightly, she looked around and quickly got onto the bed, grabbing the bed sheets and pulling them over her.

Yuan Zhu came out from behind the screen and she seemed absent-minded, as if something was on her mind. She did not notice the sheets had been moved. She walked to the divan and blankly watched the flame of the candle on the desk.

The red candle burned quickly, clear spoke curling upwards. Yuan Zhu grabbed a pair of gold scissors and cut the wick a little. The fire shot up, rising higher, and the room instantly brightened.

She turned her head to look at the screen and bit her lips. She read out to begin to take off her clothes.

She took off her upper garment, then took off her skirt, her undergarments and soon the only things on the woman’s body was her underwear. Her naked body was fully bare, supple and smooth like jade.

After a moment the woman continued and removed the underwear, carelessly dropping them on the floor.

On the bed, Qu Miao looked through a narrow slit in the bed sheets and could see the woman’s fully exposed body.

The woman’s hands moved to strangle herself at the foot of the bed. Qu Miao’s two eyes looked as if they would spit venom as she hatefully watched the woman from behind.

After she had taken off all her clothes, Yuan Zhu kicked the clothes about carelessly, she carefully took the teapoy off the divan, and threw off the pillows that were on top of it onto the floor. She let her hair down.

Seeing that everything was well-prepared, she finally poured a cup of water and taking a pill from her palm, she mixed it into the water. She tipped back her head and drank.

Qu Miao watched in surprise as Yuan Zhu did everything. Was this the thing she was supposed to do?

At the beginning, it appeared that Yuan Zhu had planned to seduce the prince, but now that did not seem to be the case at all!

Soon, Yuan Zhu’s face and eyes looked as if she were gradually going into a trance, her body twisted and fell back, leaning on the soft divan. Her eyes went dark and she died.

Qu Miao was paralyzed. She was just about to go and see if Yuan Zhu was dead or if she had just gone unconscious when she heard footsteps approaching from outside. She was scared to go back and behind the screen, the man sat in the wooden tub, unaware of what had occurred in the room.

“Ahem.” came a voice and the door was opened. It was a maidservant carrying a tray of tea. She called for the prince and started toward the inner room.

She saw the chaos in the room and the naked body of the dead woman and immediately froze. She quickly took two steps forward and cautiously called out, “Miss Zhu? Miss Zhu?”

Seeing that Yuan Zhu did not move, she gently raised her hand and felt under her nose. The tray and set in her hand slipped from her grip and shattered on the floor. She cried out in alarm.

“Ah! Murder!”

Qu Miao was also startled; Yuan Zhu was dead?

Why would she do this?

Qu Miao was stunned and suddenly recalled that her father had called Yuan Zhu to his study to discuss something. So, was this, was this what her father had instructed her to do? To frame Ji Yuxian?

Considering all of this, Qu Miao’s eyes widened.

The maidservant scrambled out of the guest room and called out in a loud voice, “Someone come! Someone has died!”

“Someone come, hurry!”

The rear courtyard of the Qu residence was not large and so as soon as she called out, the servants from every part of the courtyard came pouring out. They came, each carrying lanterns and lighting torches.

In a split second, the rear courtyard was illuminated with lanterns.

“Has something happened?”

“Where is the dead person?”

“Who died?”

…

In moments, there was a terrified uproar.

Madame Lee came out of the room with Su Ji and ran into Qu Wenchang who was hurriedly going toward the area. She asked in a panicked voice, “What’s going on? Who died?”

Qu Wenchang frowned deeply, “I don’t know, let’s go and find out!”

Su Jiu was behind the two, followed along, her eyes downcast.

They entered the guest room and saw Yuan Zhu lying on the low divan. The men of the household had covered their faces and entered. Madame Lee frowned, entered slowly, and laid a piece of clothing over Yuan Zhu’s body. She passed her hand in front of her nose to see if she was breathing and recoiled in immediate shock, she turned toward Qu Wenchang, “She’s not breathing!”

Only then did Qu Wenchang step forward, his face was difficult to decipher. He looked toward the bed canopy.

“Prince, what’s going on here?”

No reply came from behind the bed canopy.

“Although Zhu was my adoptive daughter, she was still my family. I saw the prince become drunk and had her help the prince. How could the prince do this kind of thing!” Qu Wenchang said with bitter hatred.

Still no reply came from behind the bed canopy.

“Old Yuan died for me, and I took his daughter in and treated her just like my own daughter. How would the prince help me explain this to her late father?” Qu Wenchang said his face writhing in pain and pitifulness. He stamped his feet forcefully.

The servants gathered around the door all started to chatter amongst themselves, pointing and nodding their heads.

Madame Lee raised her head and looked up at Su Jiu, her face indifferent, “What do you think we should do in this situation?”

What had occurred here seemed obvious. Ji Yuxian had become drunk and was led back to the room by Yuan Zhu. Then, Yuan Zhu’s naked body was found in the room.

There were visible purple bruise marks on her body. Furthermore, the room was in chaos, as if there had been a struggle. As soon as the crowd saw it, they had concluded that Ji Yuxian had forced himself on Yuan Zhu and then killed her.

Su Jiu’s expression remained unchanged, she said indifferently, “So where is Ji Yuxian? How can we be so sure this was his doing? It is important to listen to what he has to say before we pass judgment.”

Qu Wenchang looked over and nodded, he said, “You have a point. Prince! Come out and explain yourself!”

“Prince, no matter what happened, please come and explain what really happened here.”

“Prince…”

Qu Wenchang hollered, but still no one emerged from the canopy. There was only a slight movement from within the bed canopy, as if someone had moved the brocade covers.

Qu Wenchang’s eyebrows furrowed, he stepped forward and pulled apart the canopy, “prince–.”

When they saw the person inside, the crowd of people was stunned.

Qu Wenchang’s face cycled through several expressions and he said in utter astonishment, “Little Miao, what in the world are you doing here?”

Qu Miao trembled as she looked at her own father and slowly rose out of the bed. Her eyes fell on Yuan Zhu’s body and she said quickly, “Father, she’s not…”

“Shut up! Shut your mouth.” Qu Wenchang frowned and hollered impatiently. His eyes flashed and he said sharply, “I’ll ask you again, why are you here?

Having seen this whole scene play out before her eyes this whole time, Qu Miao already understood what was going on here. As soon as her father hollered at her, she grew pale. She stammered and said nothing more.

Madame Lee’s eyebrows raised, and she quickly stepped forward and pulled Qu Miao into her bosom. She put on as if she were greatly distressed and said, “Dear Miao, you accidentally went into the wrong room and saw something you ought not to have seen, didn’t you? Don’t be afraid, your father is here.”

Qu Miao’s complexion drained of all color and she did not utter another word.

Suddenly, the sound of water crashing to the floor came from behind the screen. Everyone looked over and through the screen they could faintly make out a tall figure coming out of the bathtub. The figure casually and unhurriedly got dressed, then pushed open the screen and stepped out. The man looked as beautiful as a celestial being and he moved with a languid, easy-going manner. Seeing the crowd of people assembled and the jumbled chaos of the room, a surprised look flashed in his eyes and he gave a small laugh:

“So many people! I was taking a bath and fell asleep; did something happen here?”

Qu Wenchang and Madame Lee were both stunned.

Su Jiu stepped forward and reached to tie up Ji Yuxian’s belt. She looked up at him and said with a smile, “Dear husband, a woman died in your room and everyone says that you did it, would you like to shed some light on the matter?”

Ji Yuxian lowered his eyes and stared only at Su Jiu, he smirked and said, “And what about you? Do you also think it was me who did it?”

Su Jiu shook her head and said resolutely, ” I don’t believe it in the least! Although you are quite lustful, you usually lust after beautiful women. Seeing how ugly this woman is, there’s no way you’d have eyes for her.”

Ji Yuxian gave something of a smile and pinched her cheek dotingly, “My wife is right, the kind of beauty I like should at least have looks similar to yours.”

Su Jiu raised her head and cast him a sidelong glance. She then fastened the button on his chest.

Jiu Yuxian gave a slight grimace and with a drunken, unfocused look in his long, thin eyes, he looked deeply at Su Jiu. If there hadn’t been other people in the room, perhaps he would have kissed her.

The people around the two said nothing. The expressions on the faces of Qu Wenchang and Madame Lee were rather unsightly.

“I also don’t believe the prince did it, however, dear Zhu died in the prince’s room and so I need an explanation.” Qu Wenchang said in a grave voice. L

“Let me take a look!” Su Jiu turned around. She kneeled in front of Yuan Zhu’s body and passed her hand in front of Yuan Zhu’s nose. Her eyebrows raised, “She’s not dead! I can feel her breathing.”

“Impossible!” Qu Wenchang blurted out. As soon as he said it his face went stiff and his speech faltered.

“Mr. Qu, you haven’t even looked at Miss Yuan, how could you be certain that she had died?” Su Jiu’s eyes flashed. She looked at Qu Wenchang.

Qu Wenchang took a step back and his voice was raspy, : I-I just went with what my wife had said, of course!”

“She’s definitely alive, she’s just unconscious!” Su Jiu said, getting to her feet.

“Still, I think you had better find a doctor to come and check on her.”

“That’s unnecessary!” Qu Wenchang’s eyes gleamed in the dull lantern light.

“Of course, it’s necessary, we don’t know why she’s lying here like this. Wasn’t my husband under suspicion? Once she’s woken up, everything will be revealed.” said Su Jiu and she turned to Madame Lee, “If it’s not too much trouble, please send someone to get a doctor!”

With things having come this far, and all the servants looked at Madame Lee, she had no choice but to yell out, “Xi, go and get and ask the doctor to come here!”

“Yes, ma’am!” a manservant turned and set off at once.

Qu Wenchang grimaced and raised his hand as if to stop him but let him go.

Qu Miao hid behind Madame Lee, occasionally stealing fawning glances at Ji Yuxian. She wore an indifferent expression. She felt somewhat apprehensive and quickly lowered her head again.

The doctor’s son arrived and after he exchanged greetings with Qu Wenchang, he kneeled and checked Yuan Zhu’s pulse.

Su Jiu rolled her eyes and with her long sleeves hanging, she poked the woman lying on the floor with her finger.

“Ow!” came the woman who had been lying on the floor and had just died yelled out in pain. She sat up at once.

Everyone was shocked and stared at her in astonishment.

The woman’s eyes sprung open in panic and she looked up at the doctor and everyone gathered in the room and said unwittingly, “what am I doing here?”

She looked at Qu Wenchang when she asked the question.

Qu Miao was also flabbergasted and suddenly, she no longer understood what was going on. From her father’s casual expression earlier, he had colluded with Yuan Zhu. She was supposed to die in the room and pin it on Ji Yuxian. Although she couldn’t be sure what her father had promised Yuan Zhu that would make it advantageous for her. Whatever it was, she was even willing to die for it.

From the current state of events, Yuan Zhu was alive. Now that she was awake, shouldn’t she be puzzled about why she was alive rather than where she was?

Qu Miao glanced furtively at Qu Wenchang.

“Doctor, how did Miss Qu fall unconscious?” Su Jiu asked.

“There’s nothing wrong with her body, perhaps weakness from her pregnancy caused her to faint.” The old doctor rose to his feet and gave a slight smile as she said the words.

After he spoke, the entire room grew silent.

Pregnancy?

Yuan Zhu was pregnant?

But she wasn’t even married yet!

Whose child was it?

Qu Miao lowered her head and her fingers clawed at her clothes, her face stark white.

Madame Lee looked over and immediately stared at Qu Wenchang, her face instantly twisted.

Her eyes looked like they would burst into flame.

“Miss Yuan, what in the world actually happened?” Su Jiu stared directly at Yuan Zhu.

It seemed that things most likely had not gone according to her plan. Yuan Zhu also seemed ignorant, her hands clutched the clothes by her chest and her expression was dull. Her words failed her.

“Well did my husband touch you or not?!” Su Jiu asked suddenly, raising her voice.

Yuan Zhu jumped with a start and blurted out, “No! No, he didn’t!”

“Then why did you faint? What happened in this room?!” Su Jiu interrogated her, repeatedly demanding an answer.

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” Yuan Zhu nearly appeared insane as she fiercely shook her head.

Qu Wenchang’s face had gone pale and he lightly cleared his thought and said, “since, since it was a misunderstanding the prince was wrongly accused!”

Su Jiu laughed, “From what I can tell, there’s more to this than just a simple misunderstanding! Since my husband didn’t touch her, why did she faint here in this room and why was her body like this? It seems that some wicked person desired to do some harm to Miss Yuan. Furthermore, they hoped to frame my husband. I think we need to report this to the authorities and capture the people behind this. We can’t let him get away scot-free!”

Madame Lee froze and did not say a word.

Yuan Zhu tightly clutched her clothing , her face panicked. She looked pleadingly at Qu Wenchang for her help.

Qu Wenchang’s face was unpleasant and he said, shamefaced, “I personally think it would be best to forget the whole thing, after all, Yuan Zhu is a woman and so her reputation is important. If this gets out, she will be able to look anyone in the eye.”

“Her reputation is important? Is that to say that my husband’s reputation is not important?” Su Jiu said derisively.

Standing behind her, Ji Yuxian’s eyes glistened as he stared at the side of Su Jiu’s face and could not help it, he involuntarily grabbed her hand.

Cold sweat streamed down Qu Wenchang’s face. He got down and kneeled before Ji Yuxian. In a strained voice he said, “Prince, this thing happened in my household. Due to my carelessness, I let Yuan Zhu suffer humiliation and I let the prince suffer an injustice. Please don’t report this matter for my sake!”

I will investigate among all the servants and when I find out the truth, I will give the prince a report!”

Ji Yuxian was not the least interested in any of this. He stepped forward and helped Qu Wenchang up to his feet and said with a cool smile, “I also believe this was simply a misunderstanding. What reason would Uncle Qu have to treat me so poorly?”

Qu Wenchang bowed his head and his old face went between white and red, he stammered to say, ” yes, yes, I will surely make a thorough investigation of this matter.

Everyone in the room had different looks on their faces. It was entirely silent.

The family servants that managed the Qu household had already started to shoo the people who were trying to watch all the drama unfolding.

“It’s getting late!” said Ji Yuxian and he turned to Su Jiu, “let’s go back!”

Since Ji Yuxian was not going to pursue this matter any further, Su Jiu did not demand any more answers. She said simply:

“Very well!”

“I will walk you out!” Qu Wenchang said, his voice low.

“No need, it seems you have things to sort out in your household. No need to be overly courteous!”

Ji Yuxian left and held Su Jiu’s hand as he walked out.

Qu Wenchang was shame faced and he gave a dry, awkward laugh.

Seeing Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu walk out, Madame Lee suddenly transformed, and she said scathingly, “Miao, go to your room!”

“Yes!” Qu Miao looked hatefully at Yuan Zhu on the floor and left the guest room.

As soon as the door shut, Madame Lee stepped forward and seized Yuan Zhu’s collar. She raised her hand.

Pow!

A slap flung Yuan Zhu onto the ground.

Yuan Zhu covered her face. Crumpled on the floor, she sobbed.

“Dear!” Qu Wenchang stepped forward and was about to hold back Madame Lee.

Madame Lee pushed Qu Wenchang toward the door. She moved back and sat on the low divan. She stroked her skirt and her face livid with anger she hollered, “I have tried everything but no matter what I did I could not stop you, you slut. Look at this mess you all have made1”

“Dear, calm down!” Qu Wenchang called out.

“How can I be calm…You’re supposed to be her adopted father and take care of her. Oh, you’ve really taken good care of her, especially her stomach. Why shouldn’t I be angry?” Made Lee said, raising her voice.

On the floor, Yuan Zhu’s sobs became increasingly sad and shrill.

“Wife, it was my mistake. Let’s just discuss things.”

Qu Wenchang said, his face completely flushed, he appeared embarrassed and his face was strained. He entreated her shamefully.

“You’re full of it! You asked me to help you get Su Jiu out of the way. I thought it was so you could give this slut to Prince ji, so I blindly helped you put on this little drama. Never did I expect you all had formed a partnership and were putting on a show for me, too. You played me for a fool, didn’t you?”

The more Madame Lee spoke, the more furious she became.

Her volume grew louder. She had forgotten about saving face and only thought about suppressing the pain in her chest. Her whole body was about to explode.

“Dear, it was simply a momentary lapse of judgment, don’t be angry!”

Qu Wenchang grimaced, trying to explain, to convince her.

Madame Lee heaved, gasping for breath and said scathingly, “you make this girl abort the child and send her out of this household at once, then I’ll stop being upset!”

Yuan Zhu, who had been bowing her head, suddenly looked up. There was a red bruise on one side of her face, which was full of tears. She looked at madame Lee in shock and immediately started crawling toward her. She kneeled on the ground and implored, “Madame, the child is innocent. Have mercy and spare his life!”

Madame Lee kicked her down.

“If he lives, it’ll be more despicable. What is the use of letting it live?”

After she finished scolding, she got up and shot Qu Wenchang a look.

“I have spoken, and I will personally see that it is done myself.”

She finished speaking and did not deign to look at the two of them anymore. She began to leave and left the room.

The door shut with a slam and Yuan Zhu’s whole body shook. She crawled over to Que Wenchang’s feet and pleaded with him, tears streaming. “He’s your own flesh and blood, you can’t kill him, I’ll do anything!”

Qu Wenchang grimaced, he pulled Yuan Zhu up by the shoulders and said deeply, “we had discussed this plan in detail. After you pretended to die, I would take you out of the house and set up a place for you to stay. No one would be the wiser and then after the child was born, we would discuss the rest. Why didn’t you take the drug?”

Yuan Zhu sadly shook her head, ” I took it really I did. I also don’t understand, why did I wake up?”

“You are trying to fool me!” Qu Wenchang pushed her onto the low divan and blurted out, “if you had eaten it, there’s no way you would have woken up!”

“No, I’m not fooling you.” Yuan Zhu shouted, crying. Suddenly, her voice ceased, and she whipped her head and looked at Qu Wenchang.

“What did you say?”

Qu Wenchang had not realized that he had misspoken, and his eyes flashed, “what are you talking about?”

Yuan Zhu got up slowly and her tear-filled eyes became enraged. She looked directly at Qu Wenchang.

“You were the one fooling me! The pill you gave me wasn’t supposed to mimic death, you really wanted me to die!”

Yuan Zhu was not stupid. In an instant she demanded to know what had happened.

The two had illicit sexual relations and she had gotten pregnant. Qu Wenchang told her that if Madame Lee found out, she would not let the two of them get away with it. So, he made her pin it on Ji Yuxian. Then, after she took the pill that mimicked death and everything was completed, he would take her out of the household. After the child’s birth, they would come up with a way to change her identity.

So, it turned out that the medicine was not meant to replicate death but to kill her.

Yuan Zhu was pregnant and with her stomach growing day by day and it would soon be impossible to hide it any longer. When that happened, Madame Lee would cause an uproar. Furthermore, Qu Wenchang’s reputation in Jingzhou would suffer tremendously, especially since Yuan Zhu, after all, was supposed to be his daughter.

Committing a depraved deed like incest would transform him from a man deeply respected by all those whose affairs he managed to a street rat, reviled by all.

If she were to die, then everything would be fine. Furthermore, he could drag Prince Ji’s name through the mud, and embezzle the prince’s money since there would be no one to investigate it.

It was truly a devious plot.

“Qu Wenchang, you truly are heartless!”

Yuan Zhu said derisively, glaring at him. She grabbed Qu Wenchang’s hand and put it on her stomach, “if you kill me, then you’ll be killing your child. Feel him, he’s looking at you from inside me!”

Qu Wenchang pushed her away, raised his arms, and she staggered backwards, “I won’t!”

Yuan Zhu wiped the tears from her eyes and laughed scornfully, “Qu Wenchang you won’t kill me or my child, if you even dare to bother us, I will go and tell your JI Yuxian about your scheme against him. I will bring shame and humiliation down on you and your reputation!”

“You, you wouldn’t dare. Qu Wenchang flew into a rage, his eyes wide. He started to reach out his arms toward Yuan Zhu.

“You still want to kill me!” It was like Yuan Zhu had transformed into a different person, she no longer had the timid and weak overcautiousness from just before. Her expression was resolute. “You created such a fuss today and everyone saw it. You won’t dare kill me!”

Qu Wenchang stared sinisterly at the woman.

Yuan Zhu pulled on her clothes properly, straightened her hair and left the room.

“Tell your wife, I will not leave the Qu household! I will stay here and after the child is born, he will call you father. I don’t have any sense of shame. It’s up to you all to decide if you have any. We will see who can be more ruthless!”

The woman glared back at Qu Wenchang with bitter disdain the likes of which would make a chill run down one’s spine.

She had already died once and escaped, what did she have to fear now?

Qu Wenchang’s whole body trembled and he slumped onto the chair.

In the carriage on the way back to the Ji flower garden, Su Jiu held a round pill in her hand. She looked up and said with a laugh, “so this is the pill you took from Yuan Zhu and switched for the other one? Is it really a pill that mimics death?”

Ji Yuxian, who was holding the tea tray, smirked and said, “no, this is a highly poisonous drug.”

Su Jiu was thinking over today’s events. Qu Wenchang and Tuan Zhu had conspired to frame the prince. The woman was pregnant and did not think she would die. She must have thought it was a pill to imitate death. So, how come this was actual poison?

She thought about it. She was ingenious and her eyes gleamed as she understood.

It seemed that the woman had also been tricked by Qu Wenchang. She thought she would be pretending to die when Qu Wenchang had really wanted to kill her.

“That crafty old fox, he was trying to kill two birds with one stone.” Su Jiu sneered. She then frowned and asked, “so he really wanted to hurt you like that?”

“He had ulterior motives; his own mess blew up in his face. Ji Yuxian said simply, his eyes shining in the night. It was a cool night.

“So, what do you plan to do going forward?” Su Jiu asked, faintly recalling that his business at the pawnshop and the picture he pawned might have some connection to this.

“This adversary of mine is already in a bad way. We can sit back and watch how it all unfolds. That’ll be sufficient.”

Ji Yuxian said, looking out the window his long, thin eyes shining with the elegance of his brilliant scheme.

The carriage wheels turned, rolling through the long, Jingzhou streets. Gradually, it was enveloped in the dark of the night.