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In the dead of night, the Qin family was in turmoil.
Qin Yanshu, severely injured, was sent back to the Qin family residence. Madam Qin’s expression changed drastically as she urgently ordered someone to fetch a physician, “What happened? What’s wrong? Yanshu!”
Qin Yanshu was in a daze, too much in pain to speak.
He was carried all the way to his courtyard, and the guards carefully placed him on the bed before he managed to open his eyes with difficulty, “Mother, don’t worry, I…”
“What happened to Big Brother?” Qin Zhilan arrived with her nursemaid in a hurry, her face filled with anxiety, “What on earth happened?”
She rushed to the bedside and was stunned at the sight of Qin Yanshu’s horrific injuries, “How did he get hurt so badly?”
“It must be that wretched woman Shen Ning causing trouble!” Madam Qin also saw her son’s injuries and was both anxious and furious, her voice filled with resentment and a few hints of exasperation, “I told you that wretched woman was no good, I told you not to go, but you wouldn’t listen! And now? You’ve come back with a body full of injuries—”
“Mother.” Qin Yanshu trembled as he spoke, his teeth chattering involuntarily, “The Regent is of noble status, you… you shouldn’t say too much… Be careful of bringing disaster upon us…”
“You know about bringing disaster upon us?” Madam Qin was so angry she was almost out of control, shouting, “When you stopped the Regent’s wife’s carriage in the street, why didn’t you know about bringing disaster upon us? When you called the Regent’s wife by her name in the street, why didn’t you know about bringing disaster upon us?! Now you know about bringing disaster upon us? I see you’ve been completely bewitched by that little wretch, you don’t even know who you are anymore!”
Qin Yanshu felt a searing pain as if hot oil had been poured on his back, sweat dripping from his forehead, his clothes already soaked through with cold sweat.
Every word he spoke seemed to aggravate his injuries, causing excruciating pain, yet each word only fueled his mother’s anger even more.
He clutched the pillow, weakly closing his eyes, deciding not to say anything more.
Madam Qin was about to say something else when someone outside shouted, “Madam, the physician is here!”
“The… the Imperial Uncle has also returned!”
A middle-aged physician hurried over with his medicine box, urged by the servants to quicken his pace, almost stumbling and crawling into the room.
After examining Qin Yanshu’s injuries, the physician was shocked, “Young Master Qin is injured so severely?”
Madam Qin’s expression was grim, and she couldn’t help but want to lash out in anger again.
However, the words stopped at her lips as she remembered that the physician was an outsider after all. If her angry words about the Regent’s wife were spread, it could lead to even more serious consequences.
“What’s going on?” A tall, slightly plump middle-aged man walked in, dressed in a purple robe, quickly stepping over the threshold, his tone unable to hide his anger, “Why is Yanshu injured when he was perfectly fine? His wrist was broken a few days ago, and today he was beaten up again? Can the Qin family ever have peace?”
Madam Qin turned to look at him, her eyes reddening with anger, “What’s the point of you being an Imperial Uncle when your own son can be beaten and scolded at will, humiliated by anyone who pleases? You might as well resign from this position and take the whole family back to our hometown, rather than staying here and being bullied like this!”
The Imperial Uncle was scolded so harshly that his expression suddenly turned grim, and then looking at his son lying on the bed, he was both surprised and furious, “Who is so bold and reckless to dare lay such heavy hands on my son? I will make sure they don’t die a peaceful death!”
Madam Qin said coldly, “The bold and reckless person is the Regent. Do you dare to make him not die a peaceful death?”
“Of course, I—” The Imperial Uncle suddenly stopped, his expression gradually freezing, “What did you say?”
Madam Qin said coldly, “Yanshu went to the Regent’s residence tonight, and he came back like this.”
The Imperial Uncle frowned, “Why did he go to the Regent’s residence so late?”
Madam Qin gritted her teeth, “What else could it be?”
It was all for that wretched woman Shen Ning.
She didn’t know what kind of enchantment Shen Ning had cast on Yanshu, making him obsessed with her like he was possessed.
Madam Qin used to only dislike Shen Ning, but after tonight, she truly hated her with gritted teeth, wishing she could skin her alive and make her disappear from this world immediately.
She wouldn’t let this matter go just like that.
Tomorrow, she would definitely go to the palace to file a complaint, the Regent must give them an explanation.
They say that punishment should not be inflicted on high-ranking officials.
Qin Yanshu is, after all, the legitimate son of the Imperial Uncle’s residence, a relative of the imperial family. No matter how powerful the Regent may be, he cannot casually beat the legitimate son of a royal relative.
“Imperial Uncle, Imperial Uncle’s Consort.” The physician said after examining Qin Yanshu’s injuries, turning to the Qin couple with a look of difficulty, “Perhaps it would be better to invite an imperial physician to treat Young Master Qin. His injuries are too severe, and I dare not treat them lightly. Moreover, some of the precious medicinal herbs are only available in the palace—”
“You can start by cleaning his wounds.” The Imperial Uncle frowned, “I will send someone to the palace right away, but at this hour, the palace gates may already be locked, and it may not be possible to invite an imperial physician.”
The physician could only nod and began to treat Qin Yanshu’s injuries.
To treat the wounds and apply medicine, the clothes stuck to the injured areas had to be cut open, which for a severely injured patient was undoubtedly another round of painful torment.
Qin Yanshu was in so much pain that his body convulsed, his face pale, sweat pouring down his forehead like rain, his low moans sounding both painful and heart-wrenching.
Madam Qin watched from the side, sometimes cursing in anger, sometimes crying out of pain, constantly telling the physician to be gentler, and then gritting her teeth in hatred for her son’s disobedience.
What was so good about Shen Ning that he was so lost and confused?
If only… if only they hadn’t considered the marriage with Princess Pingyao first, they could have settled the marriage with the Duke’s residence.
Once Shen Ning had passed the threshold, wouldn’t they be able to manipulate her as they pleased, even demoting her from wife to concubine wouldn’t be a big deal.
Now, the situation was the opposite, Shen Ning, whose chastity was not guaranteed, had become the Regent’s wife, lofty and untouchable, while their Qin family had become a laughingstock.
Qin Yanshu, caught in the throes of painful convulsions, experienced waves of dizziness, and his vision seemed to be enveloped in a white mist, with scenes from the past flashing before his eyes.
Shen Ning at thirteen, discussing poetry with him, her youthful face tender under the sunlight, her gaze firm, as they acknowledged each other as lifelong partners, pledging undying loyalty.
Shen Ning at fourteen, beginning to show the bashfulness of a young girl, her cheeks blushing under his intense gaze, saying that it was not good for an engaged couple to meet too often, lest people gossip.
Shen Ning at fifteen, embroidering her own wedding dress, waiting for the day she would wear the dress she made with her own hands to marry the love of her life.
She said she was fortunate, the marriages of noble ladies from prestigious families were mostly arranged by their parents and matchmakers. She said that being able to marry the man of her dreams was a blessing from heaven, a testament to her parents’ enlightenment.
Every time Qin Yanshu looked at her back then, a sense of joy and happiness would well up in his heart.
He had envisioned their married life countless times, imagining they would have a son and then a daughter, the older brother protecting his younger sister, creating the warmest and happiest family…
But the scenes shifted, and he saw his mother telling him, “The Empress Dowager wants you to marry Princess Pingyao. The princess has a mysterious force at her command that can help the Emperor secure his throne.”
“But Mother, I love Shen Ning.”
“Shen Ning is just a weak girl who can’t even lift a chicken. What help can she offer? Marrying her would be completely useless!”
“If you really want to marry her, she can only be a concubine.”
“Mother, she is the legitimate daughter of the Duke’s residence. How could she possibly be a concubine? She…”
“You figure it out yourself.” Madam Qin said coldly, “If she truly loves you, wouldn’t she be willing to endure this bit of hardship?”
Qin Yanshu wanted to argue reasonably, but he felt as if he were struggling in an abyss of fire, the physical pain sweeping through the bitter despair in his heart, floating and sinking, making him endure endless torment…