Chapter 91: A Man Is His Daughter

Chapter 91 A Man Is His Daughter

"One month old..." Wei Xun murmured.

He had always thought A Man was Zhou Yan's daughter and never considered the possibility that she might be his own.

Now, looking back, he realized there were clues everywhere.

A Man was not even two years old. Even if A Yuan had been with Zhou Yan as soon as she arrived in Suzhou, the child wouldn’t have been born so quickly.

And then there was their fake marriage—there was no sign of Zhou Yan ever living in Osmanthus Lane. He could have dismissed it as Zhou Yan being too busy, but what about A Yuan’s hesitation?

When they reunited, her hesitation in bed was like that of a virgin, nothing like a woman who had given birth before.

Blinded by bitter jealousy, he had only wanted to force A Yuan to stay by his side, never considering that she might not have betrayed him at all.

And A Man... *was actually his daughter.*

Wei Xun stood rigid, his heart pounding wildly in his chest from the revelation.

As soon as the doctor finished speaking, Qiu Wen knew everything had been exposed.

Wei Xun ordered Chang Yuan to take the doctor away and turned back to Qiu Wen.

"Was it you who helped A Yuan escape by staging her drowning?"

Though phrased as a question, his gaze was already certain. Qiu Wen clenched her teeth and refused to answer, but Lord Wei Xun had run out of patience.

"You don’t have to speak, but if I find out there were other accomplices, do you think they'd survive the charge of aiding a marquis’s runaway concubine?"

Qiu Wen’s legs weakened. She couldn’t implicate Zhang Feng. "Young Master... I’ll tell you. I was the one who helped A Yuan escape."

"Did she say why she ran?"

Lord Wei Xun couldn’t understand. He had already promised to give her status after their marriage, to be faithful only to her. Yet she had chosen to fake her death at the very moment she was pregnant.

Qiu Wen gave a bitter laugh, her lips curling in mockery. "If she hadn’t run, she’d have died."

"What do you mean?" Lord Wei Xun’s voice was low and urgent.

Perhaps because the truth was already out, Qiu Wen saw no reason to hide anything anymore. She might as well tell the whole truth.

Besides, A Yuan had suffered so unfairly because of him—why should Lord Wei Xun still act so high and mighty?

She couldn’t stand it for A Yuan’s sake.

"Young Master, you must know the rules of the marquis’s household. Before you married, if A Yuan had been found pregnant, the child wouldn’t have been allowed to live. Her health was poor—this child was a miracle. If she had lost it, she might never have gotten pregnant again. If you were her, wouldn’t you have run?"

Qiu Wen’s voice was calm, but each word hammered at his heart.

Lord Wei Xun pressed his lips together and spoke with difficulty, "I had already promised to bring her back to the household after marriage. My mother isn’t unreasonable—for the sake of the marquis’s lineage, she would have made an exception. And once your proper wife entered the household, I would have given A Yuan status. Her pregnancy wouldn’t have broken any rules."

"Hah, your proper wife... Do you even know how your so-called proper wife bullied A Yuan?"

Qiu Wen let out a scornful laugh. When A Yuan had come to her that day, her knees were still swollen. Though she hadn’t witnessed the punishment herself, just imagining A Yuan kneeling in the snow for three hours made her feel chilled to the bone.

"She pretended to be gracious and kind on the surface, but behind the scenes, she egged Wei Jin on to punish A Yuan by making her kneel in the snow. Poor A Yuan, completely alone, almost died."

"Impossible! That was Wei Jin who—" Lord Wei Xun instantly defended.

Qiu Wen now looked at him with pity rather than hatred in her eyes.

"Surely you know your sister’s nature? Did she ever torment A Yuan before Shen Qiuyu? Yet the first time Shen Qiuyu met A Yuan, she burned her hand and then forced her to rush-embroider a screen, injury and all. A Yuan was an embroiderer—her hands were her most precious tools. But what servant dares refuse her mistress? It’s pitiful that you, Deputy Governor of the Capital Prefecture, can’t even discern the truth within your own household.”

Resentment burned in Qiu Wen’s chest, and propriety slipped from her mind as she continued.

"My Lord, we may be lowborn, but we’re still people who bleed and hurt. That poor fool A Yuan swallowed every injustice without a word. She wouldn’t have run unless driven to desperation. If she came to me again, I would still aid her without hesitation!”

"If you won’t protect her, I damn well will!"

She spoke at length, and Wei Xun’s face turned from flushed to deathly pale, his steps unsteady by the end.

"So... this is the truth?"

He’d hated A Yuan for daring to flee and had been hellbent on dragging her back, no matter the cost. Yet he had forgotten that she was the one who had suffered all along.

"My Lord!"

Chang Yuan, seeing Wei Xun hunched over with blood seeping from his lips, rushed to support him in alarm.

Wei Xun waved him away, forcing himself to swallow the blood in his throat.

A little blood was nothing next to A Yuan’s torment.

All his pride vanished as he stared at Qiu Wen.

"Thank you for saving A Yuan."

If A Yuan hadn’t left, the consequences might indeed have been as Qiu Wen said—she would have been worn to death under Shen Qiuyu’s cruelty.

With her gentle and obedient nature, she wouldn’t have dared to complain even if wronged. And even if she had, he’d have scolded her to ‘bear it for decorum’s sake.’

Wei Xun laughed bitterly, never before feeling such self-loathing. He had claimed to cherish A Yuan, yet he had never truly protected her.

No wonder A Yuan would rather have her daughter acknowledge Zhou Yan as her father than reveal the truth to him.

The man laughed and wept like a madman, making Qiu Wen’s skin crawl. She feared she had pushed him too far and might invite trouble.

"My Lord, there’s no need to thank me. The best gratitude would be for you to stay away from A Yuan."

"Stay away from her?"

But how could he bear it? A Yuan was half his life. Without her, he’d be nothing but a walking corpse.

A Yuan was alive—and she had borne him a daughter. Wei Xun lowered his gaze.

He would no longer force her. For the rest of his life, he would atone for his sins until she forgave him.

......

When Wei Xun returned to the estate, Wei Jin was also there.

Because of her, Li Huai had lost his official position, and his parents harbored deep resentment toward her. They brazenly shoved two concubines at Li Huai, turning the house into a warzone. Wei Jin, fed up with the chaos, refused to take it anymore.

Marquis Wei had achieved a great victory at the border, greatly pleasing the Emperor, who not only ennobled him as a first-rank duke but also bestowed many lavish rewards.

As his biological daughter, Wei Jin’s own standing shot up too. Unwilling to suffer the Li family’s mistreatment any longer, she took her child and returned to her parents’ home.

"Third Brother."

After Wei Xun’s last scolding, Wei Jin tread carefully around him now.

Marquis Wei and Madam Wei were seated at the head of the room. Seeing Wei Xun enter in a daze, the Marquis slammed his teacup onto the table with a loud *smack*.

"You disgraceful brat! How much trouble have you caused in all these years I’ve been away? Get on your knees!"

Marquis Wei had always been hot-tempered, and once his fury was roused, no one could stop him.

"Dear, San Lang is still young. Intercede softly..."

Madam Wei pleaded, unaware she had just stirred the hornet’s nest.

"Young? At his age, I’d already fought on the battlefield for ten years! It’s clear that spare the rod, spoil the child—you’ve coddled him into worthlessness! How else could he dare to indulge a concubine while neglecting his wife, or bolt from his own wedding day? Wei Xun, kneel down this instant!"