Chapter 59

Cheng Baisheng saw Ning Zhen off. 

It wasn’t the same car. He insisted on having his adjutant follow behind Ning Zhen’s car to escort her back to the old residence. 

In front of the main gate, the streetlights cast dim shadows. The bare winter branches stretched out, like phantoms swaying in the wind. 

A heavy frost lay over everything. 

Ning Zhen got out of the car and said to Cheng Baisheng, “Thank you, Baisheng.” 

Cheng Baisheng smiled. “I need to ensure the safety of the Governor’s wife. Besides, there are a few things I wanted to ask you in private.” 

The adjutants stepped out of the cars and kept their distance. 

Ning Zhen and Cheng Baisheng stood apart, one by the car door and the other by the trunk, and began to talk. 

“What’s your opinion of Changyu as a person?” Cheng Baisheng asked. 

Ning Zhen replied, “It’s not my place to comment on the Governor.” 

“We’re friends, just talking openly. I think Changyu has a difficult personality—he doesn’t easily trust others,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

Ning Zhen didn’t join in on the critique. 

Cheng Baisheng was a close friend of the Governor. He could criticize the Governor, but he might not tolerate others doing the same. 

Take Jin Nuan, for example. Ning Zhen often found fault with her, but she wouldn’t accept anyone else criticizing her, not even her second brother. 

“However, he trusts you very much. Since you married him, he’s always believed in your loyalty,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

Ning Zhen responded, “I am indeed loyal.” 

Could she dare to betray him, with her neck under constant threat? 

In a different situation, Ning Zhen would trust her loyalty too. After all, what kind of waves could a fish on the chopping board make? 

Not just Ning Zhen—the entire Ning family was at his mercy. 

“Ning Zhen, I see you as a very good friend. Although we haven’t known each other long, I have a very favorable impression of you. You’re someone I can trust,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

These words were spoken with sincerity. 

Ning Zhen’s guard lowered slightly, and she nodded. “Baisheng, I also appreciate you speaking well of me in front of the Governor.” 

“It’s what friends do—support each other,” Cheng Baisheng said. “It’s because we’re friends that I want to talk more about Changyu.” 

Ning Zhen replied, “The Governor is lucky to have a friend like you.” 

“Indeed, he’s fortunate,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

The two couldn’t help but laugh. 

“I want to tell you a secret about Changyu. Actually, you could ask Master Ning; he’s somewhat aware of it too,” Cheng Baisheng added. 

Ning Zhen subtly moved closer, taking two steps forward. 

“Years ago, the old lady went three years without bearing a child. She arranged for two concubines for the Commander. When the third concubine became pregnant, perhaps it was a stroke of luck—soon after, the old lady also became pregnant,” Cheng Baisheng explained. 

Ning Zhen remained silent. 

She hadn’t expected him to start from the very beginning. 

But starting from the beginning would explain the root of the tension between the Sheng family’s mother and son. 

Ning Zhen listened attentively. 

“There was a nun, who was quite skilled, going around the homes of wealthy families in the city. She predicted that the old lady was carrying a daughter, while the third concubine was carrying a son,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

Ning Zhen was taken aback. 

Could it be…? 

“The old lady went into labor first. After two days, she fainted from exhaustion after giving birth. The third concubine went into labor a day later and gave birth much faster. 

The Commander waited outside the delivery room. The midwife brought Changyu out first, showing him to the Commander. There were other witnesses present. An hour later, they brought out Miss Zhang Rong. 

The Commander knew about this, and many others saw it with their own eyes. The old lady gave birth to Changyu, while the third concubine gave birth to Miss Zhang Rong. My father was one of the witnesses at the time,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

Ning Zhen felt her heart sink. 

She could guess what happened next. 

“The old lady had only prepared baby clothes for a girl, as she thought she’d be giving birth to a daughter. She didn’t expect to have a son.” 

“The third concubine, though, went into hysterics, crying and screaming, accusing the Commander of being heartless and swapping her son with the old lady’s daughter,” Cheng Baisheng continued. 

Ning Zhen’s heart sank. 

“Surely the old lady didn’t believe it too, did she?” Ning Zhen asked. 

Cheng Baisheng replied, “Having the eldest son was beneficial for the old lady, but she always looked after Miss Zhang Rong in subtle ways. She claimed not to believe it, but who knows what she really thought?” 

Ning Zhen was shocked. “That’s absurd! The Governor looks so much like her; just from appearances, you can tell they’re mother and son.” 

“Sometimes, once suspicion creeps in, people become paranoid and obsess over it. The third concubine went mad over this and died a few years later. 

Changyu, from a young age, understood that his mother didn’t love him. And yet the old lady kept pretending—she never trusted him on important matters, but insisted on treating him equally in trivial things like food and drink. 

She drove him to madness. When he was in his teens, he had a huge argument with the old lady, forcing her to admit: she did have doubts in her heart and didn’t truly see him as her son. He wanted everything to be clear, no more giving him hope only to destroy it bit by bit.” 

As Ning Zhen listened, an inexplicable sadness welled up in her chest. 

“Whenever you see Changyu with the old lady, he’s always on edge, easily angered. But what you don’t know is that the old lady deliberately provokes him, pushing him to the brink, only to blame him for being ungrateful and losing control,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

Ning Zhen nodded. “I understand—it’s like emotional abuse. Knowing his weak points, she keeps pressing them, driving him to a breakdown, and then criticizes him for being irrational and unfilial.” 

Cheng Baisheng sighed. “Ning Zhen, thank you for understanding.” 

“I’ve sat in on some psychology classes,” Ning Zhen said. 

Cheng Baisheng smiled with relief and assured her, “What I’ve told you is entirely true. You can ask Commander Ning (Ning Zhuotong); he knows a bit about it too.” 

“I believe you,” Ning Zhen replied. 

Cheng Baisheng continued, “Actually, Changyu is usually calm. It’s only when he’s questioned that he becomes especially agitated.” 

Ning Zhen nodded again. 

She then asked, “Did the Commander investigate that nun back then?” 

“He did. They investigated her before the third concubine passed away. The nun confessed that she said those things because she was bribed by the third concubine. 

The third concubine had some medical knowledge and could tell the gender of the baby through pulse diagnosis. She knew the old lady was carrying a son and that she was carrying a daughter. 

From the start, she planned to use trickery, but she didn’t expect the Commander to station people outside the delivery room that day, and her entire plan fell apart,” Cheng Baisheng explained. 

Ning Zhen sighed, “But she still won in the end. To this day, the old lady likely treats her daughter as her own, showering her with all sorts of benefits, while remaining indifferent to her actual son.” 

Cheng Baisheng gave a bitter smile. 

“Baisheng, if it were you, would you forgive her?” Ning Zhen asked. 

Cheng Baisheng replied, “I wouldn’t. But I’m not Changyu, and I don’t know if he’s willing to reconcile. He desperately wants his mother’s love.” 

After a pause, he added, “Ning Zhen, I’m telling you all of this tonight because I have a personal motive. My hope is that if you and he can become a true couple and have your own children, only then can he completely pull himself out of this emotional quagmire with his mother.” 

Ning Zhen smiled wryly. “That’s a heavy responsibility. The Governor told me himself tonight that he has no personal interest in me, but he’s quite satisfied with me as his wife in name.” 

Cheng Baisheng’s expression changed. “What kind of nonsense is that?” 

Ning Zhen thought to herself, It’s just the truth. 

After a moment, she said, “Su Qing’er has passed away, but I’ve heard about Miss Jiang. Baisheng, if he wants to take another wife, I wouldn’t mind.” 

Cheng Baisheng retorted, “Why are you talking nonsense too? Have you been infected by him?” 

Ning Zhen: