Chapter 325 – Apology

Chapter 325 - Apology

Lady Zheng could not believe that her adoptive mother, who had always doted on her, would say such things.

How was she supposed to leave now? Lady Zheng crouched beside Lady Zheng and cried, "Mother, even you are going to abandon me?" Lady Zheng remained silent with pursed lips.

Lady Zheng said, "I know I was wrong, truly. When Jingyu first returned, I felt very uneasy. She is your biological daughter, and no matter what, that fact cannot be changed. I was afraid that she would take everything away from me and bully me, so I boasted about how well you treated me. I wanted her to know that even if she returned, you would still treat me as your own daughter, so she wouldn't look down on me. I didn't realize it would hurt her. It's all my fault for being immature. Mother, I'm sorry."

Lady Zheng looked down at her, hesitating to speak.

She felt that Lady Zheng had a point. After calling someone 'Father' and 'Mother' for over a decade, suddenly finding out they weren't one's birth parents was quite sudden.

Even they were taken aback by the revelation and struggled to accept that their child wasn't biologically theirs.

But then she remembered Jingyu's words.

Regardless of the reason, the damage had been done.

Could an apology really make everything okay?

What was the point of having authorities then?

Lady Zheng withdrew her hand and clenched it tightly into a fist.

"Alright, go back. We'll talk about this later."

She still sent her away with a heavy heart.

Lady Zheng did not say anything more and returned to the Lu family with a face full of resentment.

She was furious today. Yesterday, Shen had angered her and did not return home in the evening. She didn't know where he stayed.

This morning, she came early to complain to Lady Zheng, hoping she would help her take revenge on Erya and scold Zheng Jingyu. Instead, she was lectured by Lady Zheng due to Lady Zheng's misunderstanding.

However, she wasn't worried that her adoptive mother would stop caring for her. She knew her well; after a few days of cooling off, she would return to normal once her anger subsided.

The real problem lay with Shen, that liar.

"Liar!" She angrily swept all the tea sets onto the floor.

The porcelain shattered everywhere, and the maids were terrified, fearing she might hurt herself. They hurriedly began cleaning up the shards.

Lady Zheng stared at the maids kneeling on the ground and said, "Stop, don't clean up."

"But..."

"Go find Shen and bring him back immediately."

She sat in a chair and dismissed everyone.

The maids split up; one went to find Lady Zheng's wet nurse, another to find Shen, and another to find Madam Lu.

Madam Zhou arrived quickly. Shen couldn't be found, and when Madam Lu heard that Lady Zheng was throwing a tantrum, crying, and smashing things, she rushed over in fear.

Seeing the mess on the ground, she was displeased but tried to remain calm.

"What happened this time? Didn't I tell you that the most important thing is to keep the child safe? Why are you endangering the baby again?"

Lady Zheng cried, "Can you blame me? He wants to find a woman, but why must it be Erya? Isn't this a deliberate attempt to humiliate me?"

"Oh dear, everyone can see how Shen treats you. He's infatuated with that country girl because she looks like you. Since you're pregnant and it's inconvenient, he doesn't want to touch you, so he found a substitute. Why don't you understand his intentions?"

"Hmph, a substitute? Everyone keeps saying that, but have you ever seen anyone get angry at the original person over a mere substitute? Mother, Shen got angry at me for Erya and scolded me."

"Ahh?" Madam Lu was taken aback. "That can't be true, can it?"

"Why not? If you don't believe me, ask him yourself. Bring him here and ask him directly whether he wants me or Erya. We need to settle this, or I won't give birth to this child."

She threatened to harm the child, which terrified Madam Lu.

"Don't be upset, listen to you, I will do as you say. I'll send someone to find him right away. If what you say is true, I'll make Shen apologize to you. Please, don't play with your own health."

Hearing this, Lady Zheng gradually calmed down.

Madam Lu was accommodating Lady Zheng not because of her personally, but because of her pregnancy.

Because Madam Lu was hiding a big secret about Shen.

Her only son, Shen, had been quite wild these past years, with countless women, but apart from the child born to the maid who used to serve her, only Lady Zheng had become pregnant.

However, the maid who served her was meant to be a concubine for her husband. The maid had served her husband, so it was uncertain whether the child was actually Shen's.

In other words, Shen had not fathered any children in recent years.

For this reason, Madam Lu had specially invited a doctor to examine Shen.

The doctor said that his body was weak and it would be difficult for him to have offspring.

This news was like a bolt from the blue for Madam Lu.

She was now insisting that the child raised outside was Shen's, fearing that if none of Shen's other women became pregnant, Shen's lineage would end.

Over the past two years, she had been trying to improve Shen's health through medication and tonics.

Unexpectedly, it worked. After just one encounter with Lady Zheng, she became pregnant.

Out of all the women, only Lady Zheng had become pregnant.

In later recollections, wasn’t Zheng Jinxiu said to be a lucky star for the Zheng family?

Lady Lu recalled how the Xie family had wanted to marry Zheng Jinxiu and wondered if she really was that lucky star.

Otherwise, why would Zheng Jì have been reinstated just after Zheng family had taken in the wrong child? Moreover, they had enjoyed smooth sailing all these years with her around.

Putting aside the notion of her being a lucky star, the child in her womb was her own flesh and blood grandchild—perhaps even her only one. Lady Lu naturally placed great importance on this.

She had already sent someone to look for Lu Shen and instructed the servants to clean up the mess. She sat beside Zheng Jinxiu herself to comfort her.

Those who served Lady Lu understood Lu Shen well. It didn't take long for them to bring him back.

Lu Shen had been in a foul mood these past few days since he hadn't been able to catch up with Erya.

Upon returning, he saw Zheng Jinxiu complaining about him to his mother, and his expression turned sour.

"How dare you drag Mother into our affairs?"

Zheng Jinxiu felt wronged. "Mother, look at him. He speaks to me like this as soon as he comes home. How am I supposed to bear this child? I won't give birth."

She knew how to handle people. Even without knowing the secret, she could tell from their interactions how much Lady Lu valued the child in her womb.

Every time, she used the child to control Lady Lu, and it always worked.

Seeing her about to harm the child again, Lady Lu was terrified. She turned to scold Lu Shen. "How do you talk to her? Jinxiu is pregnant! Apologize to her right now."

Lu Shen's mouth twitched. He thought, You want me, a grown man, to apologize to a woman? Are you alright?

"Mother, I'm your real son."

"I know, but you were in the wrong here."

"What? I should apologize to her?" Lu Shen glanced at Zheng Jinxiu.