Chapter 957: Schemes Stirring
“What are you doing?!” Sang Qien cried out in alarm. She quickly wrapped her blankets tightly around herself. Even though she was dressed in her nightwear, she couldn't help but feel as if she were wearing nothing.
Zu An chuckled and replied, “Didn’t you let me in?”
Sang Qien almost fainted from anger, exclaiming, “Was that really what I meant?!”
“I was just joking. Come on, don’t get so upset.” Zu An didn’t get any closer and instead sat down by the entrance. He didn’t close the door behind him to make her feel more at ease. He continued, “I only came to chat with you, or else there’ll always be some misunderstandings that won’t ever be cleared up.”
Seeing that he didn’t have any intentions of going further, Sang Qien gradually calmed down and asked, “Is it just your confusion over why I’m not asking you to take responsibility?”
“Yes.” That was what Zu An found the hardest to understand. Even though this world was much more open-minded than ancient China, the purity of a woman was still extremely important. For a distinguished daughter to experience something like that, the least of the consequences would be that her lifetime of happiness would be ruined; more importantly, the entire Sang clan would be looked down on. At that point, how could one pretend nothing happened?
Sang Qien’s chest quickly rose and fell. She was clearly struggling with something internally. In the end, she released a long sigh and said, “Alright, I’ll tell you the reason. It’s because my Sang clan needs to continue our bloodline.”
Zu An was speechless. What the heck are you saying? He didn’t react even after a long time.
Sang Qien had a faint blush on her face. However, since they were already at that point, she couldn't be too bothered anymore. She continued, “Since my big brother passed away too early, he didn’t leave behind any descendents. Our Sang clan is at risk of having no successors. My father decided that the best plan was to make sister-in-law pregnant, and then we would tell the world it was big brother’s child. But that way, there would be no blood relation to the Sang clan. As such, my father wanted me to take her place. The child I gave birth to would be declared my sister-in-law’s posthumous child.”
Zu An was really taken for a ride as he listened, his eyes wide. I actually ended up encountering one of those TV drama situations myself? The key was that he hadn’t even lost out on that much himself. Instead, he seemed to have taken advantage of the other party.
“That’s why you and your father…” Zu An began, but he was interrupted by an ashamed and angry Sang Qien before he could even finish.
“I had no idea about this matter before either! I only found out last night. I had my acupoints sealed, and yet a rascal like you couldn't even tell anyone apart and went in without thinking of anything!” Sang Qien’s eyes were red. She felt so hurt that tears began falling again.
Zu An walked over and gave her his handkerchief. Sang Qien was going to say ‘don’t touch me’, but when she sensed the pity in his eyes, she still silently took the handkerchief.
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” Zu An finally asked with a sigh.
Sang Qien was already slowly calming down. She said, “Even though I don’t mind deceiving others, I never expected that I would be deceiving others with my own body.”
There was another reason she hadn’t mentioned. She had always been someone resourceful. Many of the things her father could think of, she was aware of as well. She had known that with Zu An’s sharpness, he would realize everything soon. Rather than letting that happen, she might as well tell him everything from the start as a favor.
If her father talked about this matter himself, not only would it ruin the Sang clan’s image, all of it would also feel calculated. But she, as the victim, was different. By borrowing his current guilty conscience, he wouldn’t feel repulsed when he heard the explanation and she would instead receive his sympathy.
Sure enough, as a man, no one could reject the moving tears of a girl. Zu An sighed and said, “In this kind of situation… I don’t really know what to say either. You’ve really been wronged.” He wanted to say a lot of other things too, like ‘Why did you try to keep this to yourself?’ I’m more than willing to pay the price and help in any way… But he also knew that now wasn’t the time to talk about such things.
Sang Qien wiped away her tears and said, “Alright, since you already know what’s going on, you don’t have to feel bad anymore. You don’t have to keep asking me these things anymore either.” She stopped him when she saw that he wanted to say something else, adding “If you really feel any remorse, then promise me that you’ll keep this a secret. Don’t let sister-in-law or my father know that you already know. Please leave our Sang clan with our last bit of dignity.”
Zu An could imagine how she was feeling from her watery eyes and pleading expression. After all, this wasn’t anything glorious. If news leaked out, it would immediately cause a huge scandal.
“Okay, I promise you,” he promised seriously.
Sang Qien’s eyelashes trembled as she quietly replied, “Thank you.”
“Um, there’s one last question,” Zu An added hesitantly.
“What is it?” Sang Qien asked.
“How can you be sure that you’ll definitely get pregnant just from last night?” Zu An asked.
Sang Qien’s cheeks turned red. She bit her lip and said, “I’m not sure.” She was too embarrassed to say that her father had made her take a pregnancy-helping pill.
Zu An remained quiet for a bit, then suggested, “Should we try a few more times?”
“Get lost!” What met him in response was a flying pillow.
You have successfully trolled Sang Qien for +222 +222 +222…
Zu An left her room with a smile. He naturally didn’t really have such thoughts. However with how gloomy Sang Qien had been over the previous two days, he had been worried that she was feeling really horrible, so he had done that to help her vent a bit.
…
Zu An then went to Zheng Dan’s room. The maids were already asleep. With his cultivation, they wouldn’t be alerted either.
“Who is it?” Zheng Dan cried out in alarm when he went inside.
“It’s me.” Zu An sighed in relief when he heard Zheng Dan’s voice. He couldn't make the same mistake again. He made his way into the comfortable sheets.
Zheng Dan grabbed his mischievous arm, her beautiful black eyes sparkling as she looked at him. She asked, “Something happened between you and Little Qien, right?”
“Not at all.” Zu An had just promised not to say anything, so he couldn't just talk about it on the spot, could he?
“Really? Then why was her attitude towards you so strange today?” Zheng Dan asked in confusion.
“She’s always found me annoying. She might just be feeling a bit unhappy because of our relationship,” Zu An explained with a smile.
“Sigh, because of you, it’s going to be so awkward for me in the Sang clan.” Zheng Dan felt embarrassed.
“There’s no need for you to feel too bad either. They might actually have already tacitly approved of our relationship,” Zu An said in a meaningful and profound way.
“I felt as if something was strange between both father and daughter today. Normally speaking, the Sang clan doesn’t allow outside men to live here, but they’ve kept inviting you over recently.” Zheng Dan said in confusion.
“They probably want me to help you give birth to a child,” Zu An said in an ambiguous manner.
“Pah!” Zheng Dan harrumphed. She definitely wouldn’t believe that. However, it had been a long time since they had been together, so those words stirred something within her. Her cheeks blushed, and she warmly embraced the man next to her.
…
A few days passed. The court suddenly gave the order for the Vice Minister of Finance Sang Hong to serve as an imperial envoy. The crown prince’s Chamberlain Zu An would be in charge of ensuring the safety of the envoy. This envoy was headed out to Cloudcenter Commandery to appoint a new Cloudcenter Duke, and they were also in charge of investigating the case of the duke’s disappearance. The decree caused quite a commotion in the capital.
…
Meanwhile, inside King Qi Manor, Zhao Zhi was a bit unhappy. He asked, “Father, if a daughter from a concubine of the Pei clan wants to be affiliated with us, shouldn’t she come to the capital to see me? Why do I have to visit her personally?”
King Qi frowned, a bit of displeasure appearing in his eyes. He said, “Zhi’er, your reply has left me extremely disappointed. With how things stand, you’re actually still concerned with female charms?”
Zhao Zhi was alarmed. However, he wasn’t stupid and immediately reacted. “Don’t tell me it’s related to the imperial envoy this time?”
King Qi nodded. “Indeed. Your visit to Cloudcenter Commandery to propose marriage is merely a pretense to fool the others. In reality, you have another mission. When the time comes, this is what you should do…” Then, he moved over to Zhao Zhi’s ear and whispered some things.
Zhao Zhi was shocked when he heard King Qi’s words. “Father, something like that actually happened?”