Chapter 282: Unable to Have a Son

Chapter 282: Unable to Have a Son

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this. Lu Lingyun led Tong Nanyuan and the elderly Lady Lin to the lakeside in a hurry, where they heard desperate wails.

"Nan Xia! Nan Xia!"

"Nan Xia! My child!"

The household maids had already pulled Tong Nanxia out of the water. She lay there, eyes tightly shut, completely drenched.

"Stop your crocodile tears!" Tong Nanyuan pushed Zhao Yiniang aside and rushed to Tong Nanxia's side. "Nan Xia! Nan Xia! Wake up!"

"What in the world happened?" Lady Lin banged her cane heavily on the ground.

"Madam Lin, it's all my fault," Zhao Yiniang knelt down in front of Lady Lin with a thud, her eyes darting around. "I only wanted Nan Xia to accept the marriage proposal from Duke Zhao's household. I never expected her to jump into the lake."

"How dare you interfere in the young miss's affairs!"

"I was only considering the household's interests!" Zhao Yiniang spoke with righteous indignation. "Nan Xia is merely a concubine's daughter. How could we trouble the mistress with her? It's a stroke of luck that the Zhao family's eldest son has taken a fancy to her and wants her as a concubine. The second master's family is now holding official positions in the capital. If she becomes a concubine in Duke Zhao's household, she can assist the second master's family in the future!"

Tong Nanyuan was furious upon hearing this. She stood up and kicked Zhao Yiniang hard. "How can you claim to be a mother? That's being a concubine! Don't you feel any sorrow for your daughter?"

Zhao Yiniang burst into tears. "How can I not feel pain for her? She's my own flesh and blood! As her mother, how could I not desire her well-being? You have no idea how much I care for her!"

"You care? You care, my foot!" Tong Nanyuan continued to kick her, unsatisfied. "No matter what you say, it was you who pushed Nan Xia to jump into the lake! You deserve to die a thousand times over!"

Zhao Yiniang's heart sank upon hearing this.

At that moment, Tong Nanxia slowly regained consciousness. Seeing this, Zhao Yiniang crawled towards her, disregarding everything else. "Nan Xia, my child! You're finally awake! You scared me to death! How could you do such a thing? You're breaking your mother's heart!"

Tong Nanxia, who had just coughed up water, looked at the crying woman before her with numb eyes.

"Stop pretending! It was you who coerced her from the start. Now you're weeping about mother-daughter love? You really deserve to die!"

"Yes, I deserve to die, I deserve to die! Third Miss, no need to say more. I'll go and die right now!" Zhao Yiniang said, throwing a tantrum and trying to jump into the lake.

"Enough, enough!" Lady Lin looked at the scene with annoyance. "First, let's get Nan Xia back to her room!"

She looked at Zhao Yiniang, who was full of sorrow and had voluntarily confessed her guilt, and chose not to punish her further, taking Tong Nanxia back first.

After she left with Tong Nanxia, Tong Nanyuan was still fuming. "Don't think I don't know what you've been saying to Nan Xia! You always belittle her, humiliate her. You clearly want to drive her to death!"

"Third Miss, you're not me. How could you understand a mother's heart?" Zhao Yiniang sobbed, wiping her tears. "Don't I want her to live a good life? Don't I want her to be a high-ranking mistress? It's just that she's a concubine's daughter, a useless girl born from my womb! I'm just a lowly concubine. I just want her to see her own fate clearly! She's not like you!"

"Stop dreaming of things you shouldn't!"

"I'm suffering! I'm in pain! My child, you shouldn't have been born to such a useless mother!"

Tong Nanyuan felt like punching cotton when she saw Zhao Yiniang like this. She spoke so righteously, so sorrowfully, yet there was no sense of guilt.

She was even invulnerable, making it impossible for Tong Nanyuan to find a place to scold her. If she scolded her, it would seem like she was looking down on her, not understanding the deep love of a lowly mother.

At this moment, Lu Lingyun stepped forward. She glanced at Zhao Yiniang, who was throwing a tantrum and standing on the moral high ground. "Zhao Yiniang, you're not wrong."

"As a concubine, having given birth to three daughters in a row, you've recognized your position and done well enough."

Both Tong Nanyuan and Zhao Yiniang looked up at Lu Lingyun.

Tong Nanyuan even wondered if Lu Lingyun had gone mad to say such a thing.

At this moment, Zhao Yiniang's eyes, brimming with malice, gleamed, just like the recognition her mother had received after giving birth to a son.

In the next moment, Lu Lingyun gazed at her with indifference.

"But you have a significant flaw, and that is."

"You can't bear a son; you're truly inadequate."

At these words, Zhao Yiniang's eyes, which had just lit up, suddenly froze, her pupils contracting sharply.

Having spoken, Lu Lingyun turned on her heel and left with Tong Nanyuan.

As she turned, Zhao Yiniang unleashed a hysterical scream.

It was unlike the screams when her daughter defied or deserted her.

It was a scream that shattered her defenses, obliterating all her facades.

She had toiled her entire life, ingratiating herself and demeaning her own daughter for a shred of dignity, making everyone overlook the fact that she couldn't bear a son.

But Lu Lingyun had voiced it.

It was as if she had struck a nerve, hitting the most vulnerable and concealed part of her.

All her defenses, her supposed invincibility, crumbled in an instant.

"Aaaah~~~~"

As she listened to the wailing and sobbing behind her, Lu Lingyun's brows arched with cold indifference.

She had never been one to use fertility as a weapon against a woman.

But for someone like Zhao Yiniang, a malevolent servant who constantly tormented her own daughter, she believed such words were justified.

She truly is worthless for not being able to bear a son!

"Cousin!" Tong Nanyuan's voice rang out beside her.

Lu Lingyun turned her head, "What is it?"

Tong Nanyuan gazed at her with admiration, "You spoke so eloquently! It was incredibly satisfying!"

Lu Lingyun: "..."

Tong Nanyuan thought Lu Lingyun was exceptionally wise. Though she once disliked hearing such words, now she found them immensely satisfying.

Her cousin is truly brilliant!

"We should have berated her like this ages ago; why didn't I think of it! Cousin, you're so skilled at scolding; I'm nowhere near your level!"

Lu Lingyun: "..."

News of Tong Nanxia's suicide attempt by jumping into the lake quickly spread through the courtyards, and people in Ningxin Courtyard and Caitang Pavilion all knew about it.

Lady Qin specifically dispatched Nanny Wen to check on her and brought some medicinal broth.

In Caitang Pavilion, Qin Shaojing, upon hearing of Tong Nanxia's suicide attempt, felt a malicious glee and secretly rejoiced.

"Huh, jumped into the lake? For what reason?"

"It's said that her auntie forced her to become a concubine at Duke Zhao's household," Nanny Qin couldn't hide her glee.

She seemed to think it was absurd that such an auntie could exist.

"Being a concubine is already a step up for her. Her auntie is quite sharp—what else could she hope for!" Qin Shaojing said.

"Everyone says that! What can a lowly concubine's daughter possibly achieve! She can't hold a candle to our Miss," Nanny Qin remarked.

"Don't you dare compare me to her! She doesn't deserve it!" Qin Shaojing snapped, clearly displeased.