Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Raised Under Your Name

Meng Yang suddenly raised her head at those words.

Qi Shu Xian’s face tightened as well. “Zhi Wan, must it really come to this?”

“Why, is it not acceptable?” Sheng Zhi Wan turned her gaze aside slightly. “It’s only a title. You needn’t see her again, and it gives her some security. What harm could there be?”

Meng Yang instinctively looked at Qi Shu Xian, her fingertips pale and trembling slightly as rain trickled over them.

Seeing this, Sheng Zhi Wan curled her lips into a faint smile.

In her previous life, she hadn’t known Meng Yang was pregnant. At Huan Zhu’s persuasion, she agreed to let Qi Shu Xian bring Meng Yang into the mansion. Back then, Qi Shu Xian had promised exactly as he had just now, that he’d never see Meng Yang again—[utter nonsense!]

And what had happened in the end?

Five months later, Meng Yang, near childbirth, gave birth prematurely to a stillborn. Qi Shu Xian had stormed into Sheng Zhi Wan’s courtyard, his eyes blazing red. She had been taking her afternoon rest when her own husband pointed accusingly at her face, calling her vicious. Only then had she learned that Meng Yang had been frightened into early labor after being pushed into the water by Huan Zhu.

Huan Zhu was Sheng Zhi Wan’s own maid and had loudly proclaimed that her actions were for the princess’s benefit. Thus, it was she, utterly unaware of these plans, who ended up bearing the reputation of a jealous, wicked woman.

Thinking of this, Sheng Zhi Wan found it ironically amusing.

Seeing Qi Shu Xian remain silent with an uneasy expression, she repeated her question, “Does the heir think it’s unacceptable? Or perhaps…”

She smiled slowly, her tone lightly mocking. “Perhaps Miss Meng has long been pregnant? Did you plan to hide this from me until it was too late, leaving me no choice but to accept?”

Qi Shu Xian’s expression faltered with surprise.

He hadn’t expected Sheng Zhi Wan to already know.

But since she had brought it up, he no longer saw reason to conceal it for her sake. He nodded, openly admitting, “Yes, Meng Yang has been pregnant for three months. No matter the price—even if it costs me my military honors—I will take responsibility for her!”

“So, your standing here is less an apology and more an effort to force my acceptance? Or did you think you could keep this hidden, leaving me no choice but to accept your child with another?” Sheng Zhi Wan stared at him directly.

Qi Shu Xian frowned. “I did it only to spare your feelings.”

After all, Qi Shu Xian knew exactly how much Sheng Zhi Wan loved and cherished him.

“Such blind servants! How could you leave the heir and Miss Meng standing in the rain without an umbrella?” A sharp voice cut through the drizzle.

A delicate-looking woman with an elegant demeanor hurried forward, several nannies and maids trailing behind her.

“Mother…” Qi Shu Xian turned at once to greet her.

Madam Cui of Duke Qi’s mansion glanced at him tenderly, gesturing immediately for her maid to place a cloak upon his shoulders. She then looked pityingly at the pale-faced Meng Yang. “You poor things—one wounded, one expecting, yet left here exposed to torment! Shu Xian, you are about to become a father—how can you not understand what’s most important?”

Qi Shu Xian pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

Only then did Madam Cui turn her gaze to Sheng Zhi Wan seated on the sedan, displeasure flickering in her eyes.

“Zhi Wan, it’s not that Mother favors others over you. Shu Xian indeed erred, but it wasn’t intentional. Besides, you’ve been married two years without conceiving. Miss Meng’s pregnancy is also to help expand our Duke’s line. Why behave so jealously as to make her kneel in the rain?”

After she spoke, Madam Cui’s nanny immediately helped Meng Yang to her feet, sheltering her with an umbrella.

Sheng Zhi Wan quietly watched the scene unfold.

“Has Mother forgotten? On our wedding night, the heir drank himself unconscious. He left for the battlefield the very next day. We’ve never consummated our marriage—how could I have conceived?”

Madam Cui froze momentarily, shocked by Sheng Zhi Wan’s bluntness about such private matters.

Recovering herself stiffly, she said, “Then this is good fortune for our Duke’s mansion!”

“Then according to Mother, not only must I allow Miss Meng into our home, I must also accept her bearing this child?” Sheng Zhi Wan asked plainly.

Madam Cui, annoyed by her deliberate questioning, replied coldly, “It’s a living child, after all. Ending the pregnancy would damage your reputation.”

Sheng Zhi Wan lowered her eyes. “Yet it’s a pity—the Duke’s first great-grandchild would be born from a concubine. Won’t gossip spread?”

Madam Cui cherished reputation above all.

Though merely from a side branch of Clear River Cui, she always acted the part of an aristocratic lady. When Sheng Zhi Wan had first married in, Madam Cui imposed strict etiquette training on her for three full months. Every detail—walking, sitting, even how wide she opened her mouth to eat—had been scrutinized. Daily, she emphasized distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate lineage and lectured on the duties of a noble lady to her royal daughter-in-law.

But now, suddenly, that no longer mattered.

Madam Cui nodded slowly. “It seems you did learn something from me these past two years. Still, no need to worry. Once this child is born, we shall raise it under your name. You’ll gain a child without the hardships of pregnancy—what better arrangement could there be?”

“Mother indeed thinks deeply for my sake.” Sheng Zhi Wan smiled faintly.

“As long as you understand my intentions,” Madam Cui said, pleased.

Sheng Zhi Wan nodded casually. “Mother’s right. Since everything is settled, the heir is wounded, and Miss Meng is with child. You should both rest quickly. Staying here any longer, one might think me narrow-minded and cruel. I feel rather tired myself. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first.”

With a gentle signal, she commanded her sedan to move.

Madam Cui watched Sheng Zhi Wan’s departing back, displeasure darkening her eyes.

[She truly can’t change the haughty ways of a royal princess.] Madam Cui resolved silently. [Today I’ll overlook this, but soon, I must teach her again the proper ways of being a daughter-in-law.]