Her Son Was Adopted

Thunder rumbled across the heavens~~~~

Judging by the timing, Zhuo Lingqi should have been the child conceived out of wedlock back then.

But now she was saying she had lied?

Then what about Zhuo Lingqi?

Everyone's brains ground to a halt.

Except Su Xue'er and... Zhuo Lingqi.

Su Xue'er was only shocked that even this had been discovered.

Zhuo Lingqi, meanwhile, had gone a little pale. He seemed somewhat panicked and guilty.

The next second, Chacha gave a definite answer.

Chacha: [Zhuo Lingqi isn't Marquis Chengping's son.]

Shen Anxin: [Whoaaaa! He really isn't!!!]

The gossiping crowd had never imagined that, while eating the melon of a colleague shamelessly stealing credit, they would uncover a secret like this. Once this melon burst open, there would be no cleaning up the mess.

After all, given the relationship between Yan Xuetong and Su Xue'er, even if Su Xue'er had schemed to get the marriage engagement and deceived Marquis Chengping for twenty years, everyone would still side entirely with her.

When it came to matters of love between men and women, whether true or false, no one could pass judgment. Everything was the result of the choices the people involved had made at the time.

Even if Su Xue'er wanted to get out of the marriage now, Emperor Hongyao would help her obtain an amicable divorce without hesitation, safeguarding her interests as much as possible.

But if Marquis Chengping's only legitimate son was not of his blood, and it had been kept hidden for twenty years, there really was no way to take her side.

At that moment, everyone suddenly recalled the demands Su Xue'er had made earlier.

She wanted to take Yan Xuetong and Zhuo Lingqi with her, and she would accept either an amicable divorce or being repudiated.

Putting it all together, the more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

Marquis Chengping gradually came back to his senses. His gaze focused, but his pupils trembled.

He stared fixedly at Su Xue'er. Seeing her cold expression, he turned to Zhuo Lingqi.

Zhuo Lingqi closed his eyes, then moved over and kowtowed heavily toward Marquis Chengping.

His forehead struck the floor with a bang, nearly drawing blood.

The sound naturally caught the attention of Shen Anxin, who had been about to ask for the details of the melon.

Shen Anxin's eyes went round, and she was full of questions.

At that moment, the blood in Marquis Chengping's body seemed ready to freeze. It was as though he had only just noticed that his son did not look like him.

His son was not particularly gifted, but he was hardworking and ambitious. If the marquis properly paved the way for him, his accomplishments should surpass his own.

Moreover, his son was filial. When he was ill, unlike the sons born of concubines who came to pay their respects according to custom, Zhuo Lingqi personally attended to everything, staying by his sickbed and caring for him all the while. They truly had been a loving father and a filial son.

And now he was being told that his son was not his by blood.

Marquis Chengping swayed and looked at Su Xue'er again. Hatred spilled into his eyes, and fury clogged his throat, leaving him unable to utter a word.

The old madam beside him thought her son had been heartbroken by Su Xue'er. She said anxiously, "Son, we'll repudiate this woman when we get back! Don't be like this."

Su Xue'er took a deep breath and looked at Marquis Chengping. "I don't intend to keep it from you anymore. After all, if I don't tell you the truth, you won't let me take Lingqi away. Lingqi isn't your son. If you resent me, repudiate me. My dowry can serve as compensation, but I don't regret what I did."

Marquis Chengping spat out a mouthful of blood, startling the entire hall.

Zhuo Lingqi still hurried over to support Marquis Chengping, only to be shoved away. "Get away from me!"

Zhuo Lingqi's face turned deathly pale.

The old madam was dumbfounded, her lips trembling. "What? Who isn't? My precious grandson... Su Xue'er, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

The old madam still tried to reach for Zhuo Lingqi, but he felt even guiltier and did not dare look at them.

After all, his grandmother and father had treated him sincerely all these years, yet he had known the truth all along and never spoken up. He had failed them both.

"I'm not mad. Everything I said is true," Su Xue'er said.

The old madam fainted on the spot. Marquis Chengping had no attention to spare for her, so Zhuo Lingqi hurried to support her.

Emperor Hongyao waved his hand, and imperial physicians quickly entered and took her aside for treatment.

Emperor Hongyao had arranged for these physicians and prepared the best emergency medicines. After all, who knew when a melon might burst open at court and shock one of the people involved into fainting? It was best to be prepared.

As soon as the imperial physicians went to work, the old madam recovered her breath, though she was still in a daze, seemingly unwilling to wake up and face reality.

Yan Xuetong, meanwhile, had never expected things to develop this way and was completely stunned.

Shen Anxin was dumbstruck as she watched. [Their confrontation has already reached this point? Did I miss something? Or has Su Xue'er completely let herself loose? Forget it, it doesn't matter! Chacha, quiet, watch!]

The gossiping crowd: Eating melons on the scene, what a splendid moment!

Marquis Chengping suddenly lunged at Su Xue'er and seized her by the shoulders. "Su Xue'er, you're ruthless! How could you do this to me?! Haven't I treated you well all these years? And you still say you don't regret it, you..."

Zhuo Lingqi and Yan Xuetong came to their senses and hurried to pull them apart, keeping Su Xue'er from being hurt.

Su Xue'er, however, was unafraid. She said frankly, "Of course I don't regret it. I was taking revenge on you. Whenever I think of what you did back then, I don't feel the slightest guilt about these past twenty years!"

Su Xue'er's expression was resolute. She saw nothing wrong with what she had done.

She looked the furious Marquis Chengping straight in the eye. "You hooked up with my sister's student behind her back!

"Then you held that ungrateful wretch in your arms and said to my sister in front of everyone at Tiny Grass Hall, 'She's a pitiful girl. You like doing good deeds so much, I imagine you won't mind.'

"When the two families confronted each other, you told my sister that a woman shouldn't be jealous! Hahaha, jealous! How could a word like that be used to describe my wonderful sister?! I wanted nothing more than to tear your mouth apart then!"

Su Xue'er's genuine hatred instantly scattered Marquis Chengping's anger.

"What was wrong with that? Plenty of men under heaven do the same. It's not as if I intended to favor a concubine and neglect my wife."

Su Xue'er: "But those other men didn't make a promise!"

Marquis Chengping was instantly struck dumb.

Shen Anxin: [Beautiful! A gentleman's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold. If you can't keep it, don't make it, and once you've made it, you should keep it! You can't break an agreement and then use a woman's speech and virtue to force a woman to accept it. That's not how a gentleman acts!]

Everyone nodded: Exactly!

Su Xue'er: "Not to mention that afterward, that ungrateful wretch miscarried because her own health was poor. She refused to accept it and insisted someone had harmed her. And what about you? Without another word, you barged into Tiny Grass Hall and demanded an explanation from my sister!

"What do you think you are, daring to slander my sister like that?! What was that bitch worth? Did she deserve even a moment of my sister's attention? Did she think everyone was like her, unable to live without a man?!

"My grandfather once said that my sister had great talent. Had she been a man, she could surely have passed the imperial examinations and served as an official at court.

"She was so outstanding, yet you insulted her like that! I made up my mind then that I would make you repay her grievances a hundredfold!

"All of this is your retribution!"

Marquis Chengping stood rooted to the spot, overwhelmed. At that moment, faced with Su Xue'er's fully exposed self, he seemed finally to abandon his fantasies.

Su Xue'er truly had no affection for him whatsoever, only intense resentment and disdain.

Shen Anxin: [That happened too? Is your brain full of water? You believe whatever she says? If she cried and said shit was edible, would you eat shit too?!]

The gossiping crowd: Ahem, ahem, ahem. Crude words, but sound reasoning! Even if he had suspicions about such baseless slander, he should have produced evidence first! Questioning her like that was far too humiliating!

Marquis Chengping's face flushed red.

"I admit I wronged Lingyu back then, but you took revenge on me like this over those things... Whose child is he, anyway? Which adulterer did you have him with?!"

At the thought, fury surged through Marquis Chengping, and he felt he still had right on his side!

Zhuo Lingqi immediately grew anxious. "I'm not... Father, Mother didn't have an adulterer, and I'm not Mother's child either. She just brought me home. Father, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have deceived you, but I couldn't betray Mother either. She's the one who gave me a chance to live. I..."

Zhuo Lingqi truly had been caught in a dilemma. He had not known the truth as a child, and by the time he learned it, he was old enough to understand. Naturally, he could not betray his mother, so he could only try his best to be a filial son to make up for the guilt he felt toward Marquis Chengping.

"Brought him home?" Marquis Chengping's expression changed slightly. Though still furious, he was a little calmer than before. "Su Xue'er, you lied about being pregnant just to force me to choose you!"

Su Xue'er scoffed. "Back then, you clearly said you loved me, yet you still wavered between me and my sister. You even sounded me out, asking whether I wanted to enter your household together with her, so you could enjoy the blessings of having both.

"On the one hand, you needed a principal wife with a good reputation like my sister's to manage your household; on the other, all you wanted with me was romance. You certainly had it all worked out.

"So I had no choice but to arrange for it to be exposed, then lie about being pregnant.

"But at the time, I planned to have an accidental miscarriage after the engagement was changed, putting an end to the lie.

"After all, I never intended to bear you children. I thought that if you couldn't stand going without a legitimate son after we married, you could divorce me amicably and give me back my freedom, and I could go find my sister.

"Naturally, I never thought of finding you an adopted son either. You're to blame for how all this unfolded!"

"What did you say? Don't try to shirk responsibility!" Marquis Chengping immediately retorted.

Su Xue'er sneered. "Have you forgotten? After I married you, you still refused to give up and wanted my sister to enter your household.

"I had no choice but to produce a real son, then pretend I'd had a difficult labor. Afterward, I had the physician say it would be hard for me to conceive again, so you'd feel guilty and give up on my sister for good."

Marquis Chengping: "You... so it was all a scheme, all your deception! Su Xue'er, you were actually jealous of your sister all along and wanted to fight her for me! That's why you did everything you could to stop me from pursuing her!"

Su Xue'er's face nearly twisted at those words.

Shen Anxin: [That expression probably means she really wants to throw up.]

Everyone nodded. Indeed!

The irritating voices left Marquis Chengping furious with embarrassment. He wanted to retort, but Su Xue'er berated him instead.

"I took so many concubines for you and let you have so many sons and daughters by them! I used poor health as an excuse to refuse to share a bed with you for years! You think I have feelings for you?"

"Y-you..." Marquis Chengping said, "But you broke us apart without regard for your sister's wishes! She never thought of breaking off the engagement back then. She had feelings for me! If you hadn't interfered, she could at least have been my co-wife!"

Once those words were out, never mind Su Xue'er.

Even the rest of the gossiping crowd was stunned.

Shen Anxin: [Does he really not suffer from delusions?]

Chacha: [No, his confidence is just shining bright!]

Su Xue'er was practically driven mad with anger! "Why would you think that after you betrayed my sister again and again, she'd still be willing to become your co-wife? Do you really not think you're dreaming?!"

Marquis Chengping's face alternated between green and white under her questioning. "Why wouldn't she be willing? Although it would have been unfair to her, our engagement was bestowed by the late emperor. We were engaged for three whole years, and Su Lingyu was getting older. Who else could she marry but me? I was her best choice!"

Back then, Su Xue'er's pregnancy could not wait, so he had had to marry her first. He had already planned to make Su Lingyu his co-wife.

Although the reason for changing the bride was that their birth charts clashed in a way that would harm his mother, there would be no problem as long as she was not the principal wife.

His plan had seemed so smooth, but Su Lingyu had impulsively and blindly married far away in a fit of anger, leaving him no time to react.

Then Su Xue'er had deceived him again when she gave birth.

Because he had felt guilty toward Su Xue'er at the time, he could only accept that he and Su Lingyu were not fated to be together in this life.

Su Xue'er laughed when she heard this. "Why do you always think my sister had feelings for you?"

Shen Anxin: [Does she have to appear in his dreams and slap him twice to prove it?]

Chacha: [Maybe he'll think hitting is affection and scolding is love.]

The gossiping crowd stifled their laughter. Marquis Chengping probably couldn't face reality.

Faced with the questioning, Marquis Chengping frantically searched his mind for reasons to save face.

"She was jealous before. When I kept a mistress, she got angry! After that, she had to accept everything because she had feelings for me! Isn't that right?"

Su Xue'er: "She got angry because that girl clearly had talent and could have learned a trade and become a man's principal wife, yet she chose to be your mistress.

"And you broke your word and damaged both families' dignity. It wasn't jealousy at all.

"Afterward, she didn't mind because she didn't like you in the first place. Naturally, she didn't care about your romantic escapades."

"No, impossible. She left in heartbreak and married someone out of spite..."

"No. She wanted to escape your pursuit, and there was someone who shared her ideals and had heard about what happened in the capital. He came of his own accord to ask for her hand!" Su Xue'er raised her voice. "I'll tell you the truth. Before I set out to break the engagement, I'd already contacted my brother-in-law."

Marquis Chengping looked at Su Xue'er in disbelief.

The entire court was shocked as well. Had she picked out a new brother-in-law for herself in advance?

"My brother-in-law was my grandfather's student. He once had a secret love for my sister, and I found out. But you two were engaged then, so he couldn't do anything and could only stay away. For my sister's sake, he never married, and he even set up a Tiny Grass Hall in Huai City.

"Although I didn't want a brother-in-law, I knew that once the engagement was broken, my sister would inevitably be affected too. I knew very well that my sister was well known, and the Su family would surely use her marriage to seek benefits again. They might even have let your idea of making her a co-wife succeed.

"Rather than sit and wait for death, it was better to strike first!

"My brother-in-law was nothing like you. He respected and admired my sister. He offered Tiny Grass Hall as a betrothal gift and wrote into the marriage contract that if he ever took another woman, my sister could stay or leave as she pleased, and Tiny Grass Hall and the papermaking workshop would both belong to her. He even had the written pledge registered with the authorities!

"I trusted him, so I entrusted my sister to him! And he did indeed keep his word! Even though they only had Xuetong, he cared too much for my sister to let her try again for a son! My sister and he were a loving couple, and she was very happy!

"Compared to him, what reason would my sister have had to marry my brother-in-law out of spite over you? What are you worth?!"

Shen Anxin: [K.O., a finishing blow!]