Chapter 22

Unfortunately, such a gaze had no deterrent effect on Feng Yaoguang. He glanced disdainfully at Ying Rong and quickly left, ignoring the other’s livid face. Bringing a group of people, he delivered Mingzhu to the Grand Princess’s residence. Seeing Xie Yunjian leisurely patrolling outside the gate, Feng Yaoguang did not enter the mansion but ordered someone to help Mingzhu down from the carriage and handed him over to Xie Yunjian.

“This is a poor soul Her Highness just rescued from the Chu family’s hellhole. His body is weak, and he has been tortured for many years. Send for two skilled doctors to examine him and arrange a quiet place for him to stay.”

Xie Yunjian was surprised and was about to ask about this person when he saw Feng Yaoguang swiftly mount his horse: “I’ve handed him over to you. I need to visit the Duke’s Mansion.”

With that, he flicked the reins and sped away. The Yaoguang Army behind him followed like the wind.

Xie Yunjian withdrew his gaze and looked at the frail young man in front of him. He was indeed frail, and Xie Yunjian suspected he could push him over with one finger, and the other might not be able to get up.

Xie Yunjian couldn’t understand why Her Highness brought such a person back, but he didn’t worry about it. Instead, he thought Feng Yaoguang should have some sense of crisis. After all, it was well known that the stronger a person was, the more likely they were to pity the weak and helpless. What if…
…

Old Madam Sheng and Sheng Jing’an had been locked in the Huang Residence for most of the day. No one brought food or delivered messages; they knew nothing about what was happening outside.

Old Madam Sheng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Since Yan Donghuang left in the morning, she hadn’t returned, leaving them locked up here, waiting in extreme fear and anxiety.

But as the day passed, the mansion was as quiet as death, with countless elite soldiers guarding outside the Eastern Mansion, not allowing anyone to leave or responding to any of their questions.

Old Madam Sheng had made a fuss, shouted, threatened, and begged, but it was all to no avail. The helpless sobs of the two young ladies of the Duke’s Mansion were clearly audible, but the soldiers outside seemed to have hearts of stone, unmoved by their cries.

Sheng Jing’an, who had been whipped last night, was covered in wounds, his forehead bloodstained, looking particularly miserable. After being carefully tended to by two concubines for a while, he barely managed to stand up and lean against a soft couch. But his complexion was haggard and ugly, his heart shrouded in gloom, making his face look lifeless and devoid of any vitality.

And Shen Yun, who had been full of ambition yesterday, thinking she could rely on the child in her womb to gain favor in the Sheng family and use the antidote to make Yan Donghuang obey her, felt like she had suddenly fallen from heaven to hell, shattered to pieces. The child in her womb was gone, her face was ruined, and no doctor came to treat her. There was no medicine for her injuries, and the severe abdominal pain left her pale and exhausted, filled only with despair and pain.

“Brother Jing.” She curled up on the bed, pressing a pillow against her abdomen, her voice trembling and desperate, “What should we do? My face is ruined, the child is gone, Yan Donghuang will never let us go, she will never let us go…”

“You wretch, how dare you wail here!” The Old Madam hit her with a cane in anger, “If you hadn’t been so foolish, flaunting your pregnancy in front of her, how could Yan Donghuang have gone mad? You are a jinx, dragging the Sheng family down with you!”

Shen Yun screamed in pain, “It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!”

“If not you, then who?” The Old Madam, still furious, hit her again, “Unmarried and pregnant, shameless, you deserve this fate!”

Unable to bear the beating, Shen Yun felt her despair and resentment magnify. Driven to the brink, she suddenly found the courage: “Yes, I am unmarried and pregnant, shameless. But what about your Sheng Jing’an? If he hadn’t deceived me, could I have gotten pregnant on my own? I am a wretch, a shameless, immoral woman, but your Sheng Jing’an is so great, great enough to poison his wife on their wedding night, great enough to favor a concubine over his wife, only to be beaten by his wife. Your Duke’s Mansion is on the verge of collapse, and you still act like an empress dowager!”

The Old Madam trembled with rage: “You… you wretched woman, shut your mouth!”

“Sister-in-law.” Second Madam hurriedly stepped forward to stop her, “Shen Yun just had a miscarriage and is injured. Don’t scold her like this, she didn’t mean to—”

Shen Yun retorted sharply: “I am a wretched woman, and your son is a wretched man. You, the Old Madam who raised a wretched man, are an old wretch. No one should look down on anyone!”

The Old Madam was so angry that she blacked out and fainted.

“Mother! Mother!” Sheng Chuyue panicked, quickly helping her to sit down, and angrily shouted at Shen Yun, “Can you say less? Isn’t it chaotic enough?”

Shen Yun coldly replied: “If your mother hadn’t blamed me, would I have said that? You should control your mother.”

Seeing the chaos, Second Madam deeply regretted coming over early in the morning. She wished she had feigned illness and stayed away. The Third madam felt the same. Although she kept convincing herself that this matter had nothing to do with her, that the first and second branches had already separated, and that the glory of the Duke’s Mansion had nothing to do with them, they didn’t want to bear the blame either.

However, Sheng Jing’an’s crimes were not only favoring a concubine over his wife but also plotting against the Grand Princess. Even if he claimed to be acting on orders, the Grand Princess had 200,000 elite soldiers. If she really lost her mind and immediately mobilized troops to attack the palace, the emperor and empress dowager would be powerless. They would push the Duke’s Mansion to take the blame, never admitting they intended to harm the Grand Princess.

Plotting against the Grand Princess meant the extermination of the nine clans. Could the second and third branches escape?

“I have married Yan Donghuang. She is now my wife, the mistress of the Duke’s Mansion.” Sheng Jing’an weakly leaned on the couch, closing his eyes, “She sent the dowry to the Grand Princess’s residence just to teach us a lesson. Mother, don’t worry. She won’t mobilize troops to rebel.”

The Old Madam slowly opened her eyes, still dizzy.

“But the Duke’s Mansion is surrounded by the Grand Princess’s people, and I heard she sent 10,000 elite soldiers into the city early in the morning.” Second Madam said uneasily, “The Grand Princess seems serious this time.”

“No, she won’t.” Sheng Jing’an insisted, “She was poisoned with the Seven-Day Heartbreak Powder. The poison should have taken effect overnight. She urgently mobilized troops to threaten the emperor, trying to get the antidote quickly. As long as the emperor holds out for seven days, Yan Donghuang will bleed from her seven orifices and die. The 10,000 soldiers entering the city for rebellion should be shot dead.”

“The Duke is very confident,” a sarcastic voice said, and a man in red pushed the door open and strode in. “Are you still dreaming?”

The large room fell silent.

The Old Madam quickly got up from the couch, looking at the man in red with hope: “Who… who are you? Are you here to release us by imperial decree? Damn Yan Donghuang, she is the Grand Princess and also the daughter-in-law of our Duke’s Mansion. She is cruel and narrow-minded, not only unable to tolerate concubines but also whipping her own husband. Is she even a woman? She is a ruthless demon!”

Feng Yaoguang, hearing these words, narrowed his eyes slightly, a dangerous and fierce light flashing in his eyes.