Boom!
Like a bolt from the blue, everyone in the Duke of Chu's Mansion was stunned.
Lady Liu couldn’t hold back and immediately turned her gaze toward Chu Ruoyin.
If what that old midwife said was true, then Ruoyin was…
Heavens!
Chu Huaishan suddenly bellowed, "Explain yourself clearly! What exactly is going on?"
Midwife Qiao kowtowed repeatedly. "It’s true! That child was full-term. To ensure I wasn’t mistaken, I even consulted Doctor Wu. He confirmed that based on the baby’s size and weight, it was undoubtedly full-term! I swear on my grandson’s life—not a single word of this is false!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the hall erupted in gasps of shock.
Chu Ruoyin turned deathly pale, swaying as if she might collapse.
Everyone knew that her mother had given birth to her less than eight months after marrying into the Duke of Chu's Mansion.
At the time, it had been explained away as a premature birth.
But if the child was full-term, didn’t that mean her mother had already been pregnant before entering the mansion?
"You’re lying!" Chu Ruolan glared. "If there was something amiss with my second sister, why didn’t you speak up back then? What’s your motive for exposing this now?!"
"Heaven bear witness, I did tell Lady Jiang the Younger’s attendant, Yuetao’s mother—yes, her!" Midwife Qiao pointed at Yuetao, who quickly lowered her head. "I told her mother, but she gave Doctor Wu and me each a red envelope stuffed with a hundred taels of silver and told us to keep quiet!"
"I felt uneasy at the time, but Doctor Wu said noble families all have their secrets and warned me not to bring trouble upon myself. So we took the money and left… If not for the Duchess now trying to silence us, I wouldn’t dare come forward even if beaten to death!"
Every word she spoke seemed flawless.
Chu Ruolan’s mouth hung open, unable to retort. The hall fell into a deathly silence until, after a long pause, a trembling voice broke through.
"Mother… is—is it true?"
All eyes turned to Chu Ruoyin, who was shaking uncontrollably, her face beyond pale.
Her fingers dug into the doorframe as if it were the only thing keeping her from collapsing…
Lady Jiang the Younger lifted her head but didn’t answer.
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Chu Huaishan. "My lord… my lord…"
She choked out the words twice before Chu Huaishan himself staggered back half a step.
"It’s true, isn’t it?"
His voice trembled. Lady Jiang the Younger burst into tears. "I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…"
She kowtowed between sobs. Chu Ruolan shrieked, "Second sister!!"
But Chu Ruoyin’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed straight backward.
A maid barely caught her in time, but she had already fainted from the shock…
Chu Huaishan clutched his chest, taking several deep breaths before managing to speak. "What exactly happened? Tell me everything!"
Lady Jiang the Younger covered her mouth in anguish, but Yuetao cried out, "My lord, don’t force her! I heard the truth from my mother back then—"
"Yuetao!" Lady Jiang the Younger tried to stop her, but Yuetao insisted, "My lady, what’s the point of hiding it now?"
She knelt before Chu Huaishan. "My lord, it’s true. The second young lady is not your flesh and blood… Before our lady married into the mansion, she was violated by a beast! But the wedding was imminent, and she loved you deeply, so she endured it without reporting it to the authorities!"
Chu Huaishan’s expression darkened violently. Yuetao continued, "She tried to forget it, to pretend nothing had happened. But after the wedding, she discovered she was pregnant… She wanted to abort the child, but by chance, the doctor treating the eldest young lady detected the pregnancy. She had no choice but to keep it and claim the child was yours!"
A suffocating silence followed.
Lady Liu covered her mouth with a handkerchief, suddenly understanding.
No wonder the Duchess had always resented the eldest young lady—this was the root of it!
Chu Huaishan’s voice was icy as he pressed, "Who was the beast?"
Lady Jiang the Younger shuddered. Yuetao hurriedly said, "My lord, she doesn’t know—truly! It was the night of the full moon. After praying at Guardian Temple, she was drugged and abducted on her way back. My mother said she was later found in a ruined temple, alone, with no clues to trace the culprit!"
Bang!
Chu Huaishan slammed his palm on the table.
The teacups rattled, and everyone’s hearts jumped with them.
"Foolish! You should have reported it then and hunted down that beast! Now, after all these years, how can we possibly investigate?!"
The room fell silent again. Lady Jiang the Younger looked up in disbelief. "My lord… you don’t blame me?"
Chu Huaishan gazed at her deeply. "I do. I blame you for hiding this, and for underestimating me, Chu Huaishan!" He flicked his sleeve and added sternly, "Yes, I married you because of your sister. But hearts are made of flesh. All these years, I’ve seen how you’ve managed this household, how you’ve devoted yourself to it. Apart from the matter with Yan’er, I’ve only ever felt gratitude and affection for you!"
He bent down and took her hands. "A-Wan, you should have trusted me."
Jiang Wan trembled violently at the sound of "A-Wan" and finally broke down into wracking sobs.
She threw herself into his arms, weeping as years of fear and guilt poured out.
Chu Huaishan sighed softly, stroking her back.
At the same time, he gave Chu Zhong a meaningful glance.
Understanding, Chu Zhong dragged Midwife Qiao outside.
Still dazed, the midwife muttered, "H-he really doesn’t mind? Impossible, right?"
Who wouldn’t be furious after raising another man’s child in ignorance?
And this man was a duke, a high-ranking official!
Chu Zhong had no patience for her. "If a single word of this gets out, you know what’ll happen."
Midwife Qiao, recalling Chu Huaishan’s terrifying aura, nodded frantically. "Y-yes! I’ll take this to my grave—no, I never even heard of the Chu family!"
Satisfied, Chu Zhong tossed her some silver before returning inside.
By then, Lady Jiang the Younger had been helped to her feet.
Chu Huaishan was about to guide her to a seat to discuss the past in detail when a shrill voice suddenly cut through the hall.
"Shameless whore! How dare such a wanton woman taint the Duke of Chu's Mansion! This is a curse upon our house!"
Everyone turned to see Old Madam Chu being supported by servants as she stormed in, her face twisted in fury. "You—you disgraceful harlot! You let a bastard of unknown origin sully our bloodline! Eldest, divorce her at once—no, sever ties completely! Do it now!!"
The Jiang siblings, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, paled.
Sever ties?
That would make the Chu and Jiang families sworn enemies!
Lady Jiang the Younger trembled like a leaf, wishing she could vanish into the ground.
Chu Huaishan frowned, stepping between his mother and his wife. "I will deal with A-Wan’s mistakes myself. There’s no need for you to intervene."
Old Madam Chu’s eyes bulged. "You still call her ‘A-Wan’?! This harlot will not remain under my roof a moment longer! And that little bastard she bore—throw them both out immediately!"
Chu Ruolan couldn’t help but retort, "Mother is not a shameless woman, and Second Sister is no bastard!"
"Hold your tongue!" Old Madam Chu, who had always doted on Chu Ruolan, now spoke with stern severity. "Eldest Son, think carefully—if this matter spreads, it won’t just be you who suffers disgrace, but our entire Duke of Chu's Mansion will be humiliated! If you insist on keeping that woman and her little bastard, aren’t you afraid of ruining your career? Aren’t you afraid of becoming the laughingstock of the realm?"
