Chapter 22: Caught in the Act

Shen Qi exhaled a breath of frustration and looked up. “What are you thinking about? Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I was supposed to go check on the shops early, but since you hadn’t returned, I came to look for you,” Liang said, linking her arm with Shen Qi’s. However, she soon stiffened.

She withdrew her arm and leaned on him as they walked back. “You could have sent someone. The rain at night won’t stop, and you’re heavily pregnant. The roads are slippery; you shouldn’t go out.”

A touched smile appeared on Liang’s face. “Husband, you care for me, but I still need to manage the shops that Mother gave me.”

Shen Qi looked down at the path, nodding without saying anything.

“There are two shops on the main street. Mother seems to want to give them to my sister.”

“Is it alright with you?”

“My sister will manage the affairs of Second Young Master Xie in the future and also handle the finances. I’m worried she won’t have the energy for it.” Shen Qi felt a surge of anger; his own incompetence had allowed Shen Shurong to take over the family finances. What kind of man was he?

The bitterness in Shen Qi’s heart deepened. He had been blind to his wife’s intentions, failing to notice her underlying schemes.

“Your sister is family; don’t worry, Mother won’t treat her unfairly.”

“I know, but I can’t help but envy her. When we got married, my dowry was pitiful. It’s all my fault; my mother died early.”

She had said this more than once, and every time, it made him feel even more pity for her.

It suddenly dawned on him that every word she spoke had a purpose. He lost the desire to engage further. “You should go back first. I have some things to handle in my study. I’ll discuss the shops with Mother. If you like them, you can keep them.”

Liang’s face instantly brightened. “Thank you, Husband. Get some rest; I’ll head back now.”

Shen Qi waved her off and turned away, the pain in his heart surging uncontrollably. She had braved the rain just to talk about the shops and not a single thought for him!

The next day, Shen Qi went to the Grand Princess’s residence, and Liang also took a carriage out.

In a private room of a tea house, sounds of kisses echoed, like a long-awaited rain, sweet and lingering.

The man next door clenched his fists. Hadn’t he treated her well enough?

She didn’t deserve it; he had fought hard for her!

Shen Shurong pried her brother’s hand away, shaking her head. It wasn’t worth it.

Just as she was about to step out, she overheard a conversation next door. “You must be due in two months, right?”

“Yes, it should be a boy.”

“I’m so capable; it must be a boy. All the family business will eventually belong to us.”

“Lower your voice. Ah, be gentle, you rascal, hmm~”

Shen Shurong was stunned. Liang was pregnant…

Shen Qi slumped in his chair, shocked at how shameless people could be.

Shen Shurong never imagined that her nephew from her previous life… looked like Liang, and no one found it strange…

This was simply too much!

What had she and her brother done wrong to be treated this way by these people?

Looking at her devastated brother, she knew that after this hurdle, he would still be the proud heir of the Commandery Prince’s residence, the beloved grandson of the Grand Princess!

Unable to watch any longer, Shen Shurong quietly slipped out to give him space.

She signaled to Stewardess Wang and Stewardess Tian to come over. “Seal off the tea house; close for a day.”

“Understood.”

When Shen Qi married Liang, the Commandery Princess Consort had given Liang this tea house, and she would come every fifteenth day of the month. No guests were allowed in the surrounding private rooms.

But she never expected that her brother and Shen Shurong would be next door that day.

She and the man surnamed Duan had liked each other since childhood, but unfortunately, the Duan family had fallen on hard times, and his half-sister from his stepmother had come to take advantage, forcing them apart.

Now that the man surnamed Duan had gained some standing, he had grown bolder, especially with his lingering feelings for Liang.

The man kissed her passionately, Liang’s bodice already unfastened, his hand roaming across her chest.

Bang—

A kick echoed as the door was flung open, the man shoving Liang off his lap.

Liang, with her bulging belly, lost her balance and fell to the floor.

When they saw who it was, both were panicked.

Ignoring the pain in her belly, Liang’s eyes widened in fear. She pushed herself up with her hand, then scooted back, “It’s not what you think.”

The Young Commandery Prince, the Commandery Princess, why were they here?

The man had already knelt, his trousers stained. Shen Shurong pinched her nose.

She signaled to Fu Xi and Fu Shun to go in and tie him up.

Shen Qi had calmed down after a while, his gaze towards Liang devoid of any affection, only cold disdain. “Not what? Are you saying you weren’t having an affair?”

Liang nodded frantically.

“Do you want to see your bodice?”

Liang suddenly lowered her head, raising a hand to tighten her clothing. “Husband, I was forced. I was resting here, and he barged in…”

“No, she invited me here. She said you were useless and gave the finances to your sister Commandery Princess.” The man surnamed Duan, to his credit, knew to shift the blame.

Shen Qi didn’t waste words. He took the long whip from Stewardess Hua and lashed it mercilessly onto the man.

“What are your identities? How dare you question the decisions of the Commandery Prince’s residence?”

“Ah!” Liang screamed, covering her head in fear. She had never seen Shen Qi so ruthless.

The man surnamed Duan howled in pain, gritting his teeth.

Stewardess Tian told Shen Shurong to leave, but Shen Shurong instead asked for a chair and sat down to enjoy the show.

They would pay tenfold, a hundredfold for what they had done to her family!

Countless lashes struck the adulterer, who curled up on the floor, unconscious.

Liang had been holding back her abdominal pain due to her nervousness, but now it finally flared.

She clutched her stomach, then looked up, pleading and pitiful. “Husband, our child, for the sake of our child…”

“Shut up!” Shen Qi wanted to gut the bastard!

Liang was scared by his gaze. “Husband, my stomach doesn’t feel well.”

“Doesn’t feel well?” Shen Qi laughed, the first genuine laugh in two days. “Good, very good.”

“Bring someone! Madam’s stomach isn’t well. Take her back to the residence and call the Physician!”

Liang didn’t think he would know the child wasn’t his. As long as she had the child, she would be fine.

The man surnamed Duan’s clothes were ripped apart, his gray, understated robe now stained crimson. He was tossed like a dead dog at the Duan family’s doorstep.

Shen Shurong followed them back to the Commandery Prince’s Residence. Liang had begun to bleed from her legs, and Shen Qi’s eyes were cold. “Physician, save the mother!”

As Liang fainted, she was still thinking of using her son to regain her husband’s favor, unaware that the child would never see the light of day.

The Commandery Princess Consort had the area around Liang’s courtyard sealed off, only assigning two maids to watch over her. All the servants in the courtyard were taken away for interrogation, especially those who came with her as dowry.

Shen Qi didn’t want to see Liang again, so Shen Shurong took him to the manor, and their work distracted him.

Shen Qi didn’t understand why they had to go to the manor.

Shen Shurong’s thoughts drifted back to her previous life. Xie Yunzheng had brought this man back, who had created a powerful type of gunpowder that had defeated all the pirates.

But now, she had found him four years earlier. It might not have immediate results, but preventing him from falling into Xie Yunzheng’s hands was still a good thing.

Bai Sanzhu, his father, his two older brothers, his sister-in-law, and two nephews, a family of eight, had been brought to this secluded manor. No one knew what was going to happen.