Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I stood guard at Fu Huai’s side while the physician dressed his wound.

The physician was one of the Duke’s Mansion’s own, so Fu Huai naturally trusted him.

Right there in front of the physician, I suddenly began retching over and over.

The physician’s expression turned subtle.

Fu Huai was a clever man. He froze for an instant, then realized what it might mean. His eyes immediately lit up. “My lady, are you…”

I was pregnant.

Or rather, falsely pregnant.

I had taken a false-pregnancy drug in advance. The physician was certain to diagnose a pregnancy pulse.

And this child would be the key to driving Fu Huai and Shen Ru apart for good.

In my previous life, my elder sister’s child had never been born. Shen Ru had framed her and caused her to miscarry. It had been a fully formed baby girl, the precious daughter my sister should have cherished like a jewel.

Shen Ru had accused my sister of having an affair with a guard. No matter how much Fu Huai had longed for that child, he could not tolerate the possibility of tainted blood.

A man like him would sooner betray the whole world than allow anyone to betray him.

The physician took my pulse, joy spreading across his face. “Congratulations, Lord Duke. Madam is with child!”

Fu Huai seized my hand. “My lady, this is wonderful!”

In Fu Huai’s branch of the family, he was the only male heir. He had long been hoping for a child.

Shen Ru was his favorite, but her health had been damaged years ago, and she had never been able to conceive.

Fu Huai was overjoyed. He threw Shen Ru to the back of his mind. How could he still remember to go coax her?

I showed delight as well, but with a touch of worry. “Husband, we have not been married for long, and now I am already pregnant. This child truly came at just the right time. But… I have heard that before the pregnancy reaches three months, it is unwise to announce it too widely. For our child’s safety, let us keep this news secret for now. It will not be too late to share the happy news once the child is three months along.”

At that moment, Fu Huai would have obeyed almost anything I said.

“My lady, you truly are my lucky star. I… I am going to be a father!”

That night, Fu Huai came to my room early and stayed by my side the entire time.

After several days in a row, Shen Ru could no longer sit still.

She began playing the flute again, or flying up to the roof to gaze at the stars. She would even dance with a sword after drinking… In short, she tried every trick she could think of.

But Fu Huai was no longer buying it.

Moreover, Fu Huai’s trusted subordinate had already tortured the assassin from that day and forced out the truth.

When he learned that Shen Ru had wanted me dead, Fu Huai destroyed the confession and instructed his confidant, “Clean this up. Do not let Madam find out.”

Heh…

What a fine dog, still clinging to old affections.

Even after all this, Fu Huai was still keeping Shen Ru around.

Was Shen Ru truly nothing more than the daughter of some low-ranking soldier from the borderlands?

Soon, the opportunity I had been waiting for to provoke Shen Ru arrived.

Cui Niang reported Shen Ru’s location to me. “Madam, just as you predicted, Concubine Shen is waiting on the road Lord Duke must take into the inner residence. But she does not know that Lord Duke has an appointment with the Second Prince today and will not be back for quite some time.”

I glanced at the incense burner and waited until the timing was just right. Only then did I deliberately choose a plum blossom hairpin and place it in my hair.

The love token between Fu Huai and Shen Ru was an identical hairpin.