Chapter 13 Ruination: The Children Are Grown, an Abortion Is No Longer Possible

Chapter 13: Ruined. The children are grown, and abortion is no longer an option.

"What's going on here?" Zhou Congshen had evidently heard of the trouble at Xingyun Courtyard and rushed over.

As soon as he arrived, the tension inside eased a bit, and even Qi Hao's brow relaxed a little.

Seeing that Jiang Yueyi was about to leave, Zhou Congshen said with a smile, "My cousin's not great with words. Please don't blame him, sister-in-law. It's not worth making yourself upset."

Jiang Yueyi was now very wary of Zhou Congshen as well. He had been helping Qi Hao conceal the matter of the medicine, in cahoots with Qi Hao. As for what exactly was wrong with Qi Hao's health, even Feng Shi was probably kept in the dark—only these two knew the truth.

She smiled back at Zhou Congshen and said, "Cousin Zhou is here. You two chat; I'm off."

With that, without waiting for Zhou Congshen's reply, she walked off without another word.

Xing An was still kneeling there. Most of the people in Xingyun Courtyard had heard the argument inside. When they saw Jiang Yueyi come out, Xing An wept and slapped himself.

Jiang Yueyi walked up to him, and Xing An said, "Madam, please don't look further into this. Your servant truly knows nothing."

Jiang Yueyi sighed and lifted Xing An's face to look. It was already swollen from his own slaps. She said, "The Master is always lenient with servants. Now it's become my fault. Forget it. In a while, go to Qing Lan at my place and ask for a reward."

After returning, Jiang Yueyi naturally did not dare to let Cui Mei continue investigating. Qi Hao had already become angry. Although her own words had been harsh, talking is one thing, doing is another. She feared that if something went wrong, it might implicate her own people. Qi Hao could dispose of a few servants as easily as squashing a few ants.

After a short while, Qing Lan came in and said to Jiang Yueyi, "Xing An has taken his reward and left. Madam, please don't take it too much to heart. When it comes to matters on the Master's side, it's better to turn a blind eye and let things be. Don't be so hard on yourself and hurt yourself."

"It's not that. I just..." Jiang Yueyi shook her head and rubbed her temples.

She wasn't feeling sad or worried about Qi Hao; she was more concerned about herself. She was almost certain that Qi Hao had some involvement with that widow. As for what it was—unless she was being overly suspicious and thinking dirty—what else could it be?

Qi Hao's medicine was fake, and his illness was not entirely real either. So how much of his claim of impotence could be believed?

A lump stuck in Jiang Yueyi's chest, stifling her, unable to rise or fall.

If that were really the case, then Qi Hao had truly screwed her over.

Jiang Yueyi couldn't help but touch her slightly protruding belly, and she felt a shiver of dread.

***

The quarrel at Xingyun Courtyard did not reach Feng Shi's ears. Qi Hao had ordered the servants to keep quiet, and everyone assumed it was just an ordinary marital dispute.

After all, Qi Hao was always sickly, and no one knew how much longer he would live. Jiang Yueyi was pregnant, so how serious could the quarrel be?

In the following days, Jiang Yueyi thought about just letting it go. Perhaps this was her fate, just going with the flow, taking things as they come, and accepting it as her destiny.

Every time this thought arose, it cast a thick shadow over her heart.

She still wanted to find out what was really going on with Qi Hao.

Otherwise, staying in the dark would leave her unable to rest day or night.

So, during an outing, Jiang Yueyi deliberately "ran into" Zhou Congshen.

She stopped him and pulled him to a secluded spot. With red-rimmed eyes, she asked, "Cousin Zhou, please tell me, how serious is my husband's... illness?"

Zhou Congshen had probably already learned the gist from Qi Hao. He sighed and countered, "How did you find out about his medicine?"

"That day, my maid was playing around and accidentally mixed up my medicine with my husband's. Just then, my physician came, so I had him examine the medicine, and that's how I found out. I wasn't deliberately suspecting my husband," Jiang Yueyi said truthfully, but with a pitiful air. "I'm already in this state. I just want to know the truth before I die."

Zhou Congshen was silent for a long while before saying, "I can't say much. My cousin has been sickly since childhood, but he's very headstrong. I'm afraid he'll be angry with me too. All I can tell you is that his illness isn't that serious. That year, my master had already fixed his health. He's still weaker than ordinary people, but he won't have any major issues."

Jiang Yueyi nodded, looking somewhat relieved. "That's good, that's good. His health is the most important."

Zhou Congshen didn't bring up anything else, and Jiang Yueyi didn't ask. Whether Qi Hao could sleep with her was already an open secret; why humiliate herself further?

But then Jiang Yueyi changed the subject and lowered her voice. "Then what about that woman? What's going on between my husband and her?"

Zhou Congshen hadn't expected Jiang Yueyi to be so direct. He immediately responded, "Has he already admitted it to you?"

Of course, he hadn't.

But Jiang Yueyi said, "That day, I asked my husband, and he didn't hide it from me anymore. But he refused to say more, probably afraid that if I knew the details, I would make trouble for her. But how... how would I dare?"

Zhou Congshen hesitated this time, looking Jiang Yueyi up and down again.

"I really don't want to do anything. At first, I investigated because I was worried about my husband. Even if I hadn't found anything, I would still have come to ask you about the medicine. But then it involved someone else." Jiang Yueyi's eyes grew even redder.

Zhou Congshen had been following Lu Ruohui in practicing medicine and was actually very soft-hearted. He had seen too many helpless situations in this world. Jiang Yueyi was just a woman in the inner chambers, seemingly well-dressed and well-fed, but completely at the mercy of others. So he felt even more pity for her.

But Qi Hao was his cousin, whom he had grown up with, and Zhou Congshen couldn't betray him.

After thinking for a long time, Zhou Congshen sighed softly and whispered, "I can't tell you much. Since you only want to ask about that woman, I'll only talk about her. Don't ask about anything else. And after you know, keep it to yourself. Especially from my aunt—don't breathe a word. If you do, things will get ugly, and don't push him."

Jiang Yueyi's heart leaped with joy, but her face grew even more sorrowful. "I know how important it is to keep quiet."

Zhou Congshen said, "The widowed woman you found out about is named Su Hengniang. She is also, nominally, Qi Hao's cousin—the daughter of a concubine of his uncle-in-law. Since the two families had always kept in touch, they were not strangers. But as they grew older, my aunt eventually became aware of their relationship. My cousin wanted to marry Su Hengniang, but my aunt absolutely refused. Together with her mother-in-law, they discussed it and directly married Su Hengniang off to someone else."

"Once Su Hengniang was married off, my cousin had nothing more to say. Besides, he had long been betrothed to you, and my aunt liked you more. He had no choice but to marry you," Zhou Congshen paused, seeming somewhat hesitant. "He never touched you after the wedding because his heart only belonged to Su Hengniang."

Jiang Yueyi's fingertips dug sharply into her palm. "Please go on, cousin Zhou. I can bear it."

"Then, not long after you two were married, Su Hengniang's husband died unexpectedly. She had been married off hastily, and now life was even harder for her. My cousin found out and couldn't bear to see her in such a state. So he often sent Xing An to help her out, so she wouldn't suffer or be bullied."

"Then... has my husband... with her?" Jiang Yueyi bit her lower lip.

Zhou Congshen frowned and said seriously, "We shouldn't speculate about such things. It would tarnish the reputation of both of them."

Jiang Yueyi knew she couldn't pry any further. She understood the principle of stopping while she was ahead. She curtsied to Zhou Congshen and said, "Thank you, cousin Zhou. I won't breathe a word of what was said today. You can rest assured."

Zhou Congshen made a gesture to support her and sighed again. "Don't meddle in his affairs anymore. He won't treat you badly. There are still a few months left—focus on resting and carrying the child safely."

Jiang Yueyi agreed, but inwardly she pondered. Zhou Congshen knew so much about Qi Hao's affairs—he probably also knew the truth about her pregnancy. It was fortunate that she had thick skin; otherwise, she would have died of shame.

She wanted to blame Qi Hao, but she didn't know where to start.

For Su Hengniang, Qi Hao was devoted. Such a man was rare in this world.

But for her?

Qi Hao had married her because he couldn't defy his mother. But if he had truly insisted on calling off the engagement, that would have been a disaster for Jiang Yueyi at that time. Wang Shi had already wanted to ruin her marriage, and calling it off would have given her an excuse to arrange an even worse match for her.

Her circumstances back then might not have been better than marrying Qi Hao.

Except for the fact that Qi Hao's bottom line was Su Hengniang, Qi Hao was considered a decent person.

After Zhou Congshen left, Jiang Yueyi stood rooted to the spot for a long time until Qing Lan came looking for her. Seeing her silent, Qing Lan approached and said, "Madam, the wind is picking up. Should we go back?"

Jiang Yueyi took Qing Lan's offered hand but shook her head blankly. "I want to stand a little longer. I feel so stifled."

Qing Lan had been keeping watch nearby to prevent outsiders from coming close, so she had overheard part of the conversation between Jiang Yueyi and Zhou Congshen. After hesitating for a long time, she tested the waters by whispering, "Madam, should we tell the Old Lady about this?"

"No," Jiang Yueyi's grip on her hand tightened, her fingertips turning pale. "You are not to tell anyone about this."

"But the young master's illness..."

Jiang Yueyi pulled Qing Lan closer and lowered her voice, saying, "The young master's illness is his own business. Since he and Zhou Congshen have concealed it so tightly, it shows he knows the old madam would never agree. In that case, why should I expose it? Once exposed, as Zhou Congshen said, everyone would lose face, and it would force the young master and the old madam into a confrontation. If the young master insists, what choice would the old madam make then?"

This was what Jiang Yueyi feared most.

Qi Hao's heart belonged to someone else. For her sake, he fabricated all sorts of lies and even concealed something that most men would find hard to speak of—all for that woman named Su Hengniang. If Feng Shi ever relented, Qi Hao would bring Su Hengniang into the household, leaving both her and her child in a very awkward situation. Qi Hao might even have sufficient reason to divorce her, and Feng Shi might not say much.

For now, Qi Hao kept it tightly under wraps, only because he was certain that Feng Shi would not agree for the time being.

Qing Lan naturally understood the key point and couldn't help feeling anxious: "If that's really the case, then what should madam do?"

"What should I do?" Jiang Yueyi's eyes turned cold, and she said gloomily, "Qi Hao has ruined me. The child is already big, and I can't have an abortion. What else can I do? I'll just take things one step at a time."