In the end, the heroine exposed the other woman's lies and brought her biological child before the hero. She and the hero, who had remained faithful to her for sixteen years, got their happy ending.
The story had plenty of twists and turns. When a misunderstanding separated the two and the hero was forced to marry the other woman, Shen Lantang practically turned into a screaming chicken.
If the story had one flaw, it was that the heroine's child and the hero recognized each other through a blood-mixing test.
Science told them that whether two drops of blood mixed depended on whether their antigens and antibodies caused agglutination. If mixing blood could establish paternity, wouldn't anyone with type O blood be "father to the whole world"?
"Wouldn't looking at their faces be more reliable than mixing blood? Height, skin color, and eyes are all influenced by genes. There are even less obvious traits with a weaker genetic link, like left-handedness or crossed eyes. You already think the child looks so much like you that it's like seeing yourself again, and you're still over there doubting your wife..."
Shen Lantang grumbled on and on.
Still, she had thoroughly enjoyed the book. If this world had a social media platform, Shen Lantang would have given it four and a half stars and recommended it.
"Madam, you're here!"
Shen Lantang was now a regular at the bookshop, and the owner came forward to greet her like an old acquaintance.
"Madam, a customer came in today wanting to borrow Xu Shutong's Travelogue of Various Places. I told him a lady had borrowed it and asked him to wait. I didn't expect you to turn up just then."
"Oh? Who is he?"
"A young man."
Among the miscellaneous books, Shen Lantang favored travelogues as well