“But he is of the Shi family bloodline. I can stake my life on that.”
Shi Yuanping reached out and lightly touched the bluish mark on Shi Huai’s face, which had already shrunk considerably. His voice was as soft as a feather drifting to the ground.
The Grand Madam drew a deep breath, as though trying to digest this information. “How can you guarantee it?”
“Because I was there that night.”
Shi Yuanping withdrew his hand and rose to his feet. With his back to everyone, he spoke in a calm voice, as though he were not revealing something earth-shattering.
“What happened between Eldest Brother and that village girl wasn’t an accident. I arranged it.”
The room fell utterly silent. It was so quiet that the sparrows calling from the old locust tree in the courtyard could be heard clearly.
Shi Huai felt as though his mind could no longer keep up.
This plot twist was more outrageous than any palace-intrigue drama he had ever watched in his previous life.
The Grand Madam’s hand clenched abruptly around Shi Huai’s swaddling clothes, and her voice trembled. “What did you say?”
Shi Yuanping turned around. His expression was as still as a stagnant pool.
“Mother, do you really think it was a coincidence that Eldest Brother happened to be rescued by that village girl while he was recovering from his injuries outside?”
“How was it a coincidence that he happened to stay in her home for three months two years ago? How was it a coincidence that she happened to give birth to this child?”
“I arranged all of it.”
Qinghe was so frightened that her legs went weak. She had to brace herself against the wall to keep from collapsing.
Shi Huai had known for some time that his origins were complicated, but hearing all this still sent a chill down his back.
This seemingly gentle and refined Second Uncle had begun laying his plans two years ago—or perhaps even earlier?
The Grand Madam’s voice had turned icy. “Why would you do such a thing?”
Shi Yuanping did not answer directly. Instead, he walked over to the window and pushed it open, allowing the outside breeze to enter.
The early-autumn wind carried a hint of chill, making the teacups on the table tremble faintly.
“Mother, you know what Eldest Brother is like. He is perfect in every way, except that he listens to his wife far too much.”
Shi Yuanping’s voice drifted in from the window, carrying an indescribable note of mockery.
“His wife has been married into the family for so many years, yet she has given birth to only two daughters and cannot produce a son. She also refuses to let Eldest Brother take a concubine. If Eldest Brother wanted a son to carry on the family line, he had no choice but to find a solution outside the estate.”
“I was helping him.”
The Grand Madam let out a cold laugh. “Helping him? You found a village girl to bear him a child, then abandoned that child in a side courtyard to await death. You call that helping him?”
Shi Yuanping turned around, his gaze falling on Shi Huai. “Mother misunderstands. My original plan was not like this.”
“Then what was your plan?”
“My original plan was to wait until the child was three or four years old, then have someone leave him at the entrance of the Marquis’s residence.”
Shi Yuanping’s voice remained calm. “By then, the child would already be old enough that Eldest Sister-in-law would have no way to investigate his origins. Eldest Brother would have a son, and Eldest Sister-in-law would not have to face the embarrassment of her husband keeping an outside woman. Everyone would be happy.”
“But Eldest Brother must have listened to someone’s instigation. He went to retrieve the child right after he was born, then threw him into the side courtyard and left him there. That disrupted all of my arrangements.”
The Grand Madam closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. “So now you want to take him away to make up for your failed plan?”
“No.”
Shi Yuanping shook his head. He walked back to the Grand Madam, crouched down, and looked earnestly into her eyes.
“Mother, I want to take him away because I owe him.”
“I arranged for him to be born, but I failed to arrange a future for him. The moment he came into this world, his own mother tried to strangle him, and his own father threw him into a woodshed to die.”
“I have to repay that debt.”
Shi Huai listened to these words with a jumble of emotions churning in his heart.
How much of what this Second Uncle said was true, and how much was a lie?
Was he truly remorseful, or was he merely performing another act?
The Grand Madam clearly did not fully believe him either. She stared into Shi Yuanping’s eyes for a long time before speaking slowly.
“I believe that this child is of the Shi family bloodline. I also believe that you arranged all of this. But you cannot take him away.”
“Why?” For the first time, Shi Yuanping’s voice betrayed a trace of emotion.
“Because I cannot trust you.”
The Grand Madam’s words struck Shi Yuanping like a knife, stabbing straight into the softest part of his heart.
“Shi Yuanping, from the time you were a child until now, every word you have spoken and everything you have done has been calculated with perfect precision. You are telling me all this today simply to make it clear that this child was the result of your own planning, and that you have the right to decide what happens to him.”
“But have you ever considered that he is not an object? He is a person.”
Shi Yuanping’s expression finally changed. A crack appeared in that gentle, refined mask, revealing something complicated and intense beneath it.
“Mother is right. I do calculate everything.”
Shi Yuanping rose to his feet, his voice trembling faintly.
“But not a single word I have spoken today is false…”
Just then, a hurried burst of footsteps came from outside the door. An anxious maid rushed in a moment later.
“Grand Madam, this is bad! Madam… Madam is on her way to Shou’an Hall with a group of people!”
The Grand Madam’s expression darkened. “What does she want?”
“This servant doesn’t know, but Madam brought several matrons with her. She looks furious, as if… as if she means to cause a scene.”
Qinghe’s face went pale with fright. She instinctively hurried to the Grand Madam’s side and fiercely shielded Shi Huai.
Shi Yuanping turned around. His expression had returned to normal, but a hint of amusement at the unfolding spectacle gleamed in his eyes.
“She certainly arrived quickly.”
The Grand Madam gave a cold laugh. “Let her in. I would like to see what kind of trouble she intends to cause today.”
The maid answered and withdrew. Before long, the courtyard outside filled with noisy footsteps and voices.
The door curtain was swept aside, and a woman in a rose-red jacket entered. Four burly matrons followed behind her, their imposing procession making it look as though they had come to raid the place.
This was the Marquis’s wife, the lady of the Marquis of Yongning’s household—Madam Liu.
Shi Huai secretly peered out from the Grand Madam’s arms. Madam Liu was rather attractive.
She appeared to be in her early thirties and had taken excellent care of herself, with fair skin and regular features.
It was only the sharpness in her eyes that made people uncomfortable.
“Your daughter-in-law pays her respects to Mother.”
Madam Liu performed a curtsey. Her tone was respectful enough, but there was little respect on her face.
The Grand Madam did not tell her to rise. She merely lifted her teacup and took a leisurely sip.
“At this early hour, you have brought so many people to my Shou’an Hall. What are you here for?”
Madam Liu straightened and glanced at Shi Huai in the Grand Madam’s arms. The disgust in her eyes was almost impossible to conceal. Then she looked toward Shi Yuanping, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
“Oh, Second Brother is here too? Perfect. There are some things that might as well be made clear in front of him.”
Shi Yuanping inclined his head slightly, his smile gentle.
“Please speak, Eldest Sister-in-law.”
