Chapter 45 Serving Tea

The servant did not expect such a turn of events. Once he recovered his wits, he immediately bolted toward the main courtyard.

Lin Rou panicked, weeping, "How could this happen? Why is there blood? If the child is gone, how can I ever secure my footing in the Gu family?"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

***

Inside the main courtyard.

Most of the Jiang family members had arrived and were currently sipping tea in the spacious hall.

After taking a sip of his tea, Jiang Xunnian smiled and said, "Old Madam, we have treated Rou'er like our own biological daughter since she was a child. In the days to come, we sincerely hope Old Madam will take good care of her."

Old Madam Jiang had never anticipated that even though their Marquis Manor was merely taking Lin Rou in as a concubine—and their polite remark about treating her like a Jiang family member was just customary pleasantries—the entire Jiang family would actually show up en masse.

She felt a deep sense of contempt in her heart for their shameless behavior.

Setting her teacup down on the table, she said coolly, "Rest assured, Lord Earl, since Lady Lin is now carrying the flesh and blood of the Gu family, we will naturally not make things difficult for her."

Gu Xin gazed at Jiang Shuwan, who was seated right across from him. Taking in her fair, delicate skin, he could not help but swallow hard.

Disregarding the occasion, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile as he said, "Wan Sister, are you really going to marry my father? If you ever regret it, I can marry you as my primary wife. After all, I happen to be in need of a proper wife right now."

A flash of disgust crossed Jiang Shuwan's eyes. "Son, today is your wedding day. Originally, this congratulatory red packet was prepared for my cousin, but considering that I am about to become your stepmother—and you, in turn, will be my son—it wouldn't do for me, as your grandmother, not to give a red packet to my grandson. Let's just treat this red packet as my gift to my unborn grandson."

With a beaming smile, Jiang Shuwan handed a red packet over to Gu Xin.

Gu Xin's face turned ashen. Staring at the red packet in her hand, he gritted his teeth and spat out, "Fine, just you wait."

Jiang Shuwan simply slapped the red packet down onto the table.

Lin Rou walked in gracefully, wearing a pink bodice with a long outer robe draped over her shoulders, a delicate cluster of hair framing her forehead.

She walked straight up to Jiang Shuwan and offered the teacup she was holding.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jiang Shuwan asked coldly, making no move to accept the cup.

Lin Rou replied in a gentle tone, "I am deeply grateful that the Gu family has not forsaken me and allowed me to enter the manor as a concubine. However, after much thought, I feel I have truly wronged my cousin, and I have come specifically to offer my apologies to her."

"As long as Lady Lin has achieved her wish, there is no need to speak of wronging me."

Lin Rou turned a pleading look toward Old Madam Jiang. Recalling that Lin Rou was now merely a concubine with a low standing in the Marquis Manor, Old Madam Jiang deliberated for a moment before deciding to smooth things over. "Wan'er, now that your cousin has married into the manor, she only hopes to live in peace and harmony with you here. In the future, you will be her elder, so it is entirely fitting for her to serve you tea."

Jiang Xunnian also chimed in, "Shuwan, this is hardly a matter of any magnitude. Why must you be so aggressive and unforgiving?"

The corners of Jiang Shuwan's lips curved into a sneer. "Since everyone has put it this way, I shall play the part of an elder today. If she is truly sincere in serving this tea, shouldn't she kneel down and address me as mother to show genuine sincerity?"

Lin Rou's eyes reddened slightly. She lowered her head, her grip tightening around the teacup.

The Jiang family members opened their mouths, wanting to scold her for going too far, but before any words could escape, Lin Rou dropped to her knees and extended the teacup toward Jiang Shuwan, whispering, "Mother."

Seeing Lin Rou kneeling before her with such an aggrieved and humiliated expression, Jiang Shuwan felt a surge of genuine delight.

With a smile, she reached out her hand and said, "Good girl."

Before her fingers could even brush the teacup, Lin Rou collapsed onto the floor, crying out, "It hurts!"

"Rou'er!" Old Madam Jiang rushed forward in alarm.

Everyone crowded around.

Jiang Shuwan stared at Lin Rou, who continued to wail in agony, and her own expression turned grim.

"Ah! Why is there so much blood?" someone gasped in shock.

The rest of the crowd looked over and discovered a large pool of blood staining Lin Rou's skirt.

"Oh, my child!" Lin Rou wailed in excruciating pain. Her eyes red with tears, she glared at Jiang Shuwan and cried, "Cousin, even if you are consumed with jealousy because I am carrying Brother Xin's child, you cannot resort to such venomous cruelty! My poor child, who never even got to meet its parents, has now fallen victim to your dark plots."

Jiang Xunnian sprang to his feet, pointed an accusing finger at Jiang Shuwan, and shouted, "You vicious woman!"

With that, he delivered a fierce slap across Jiang Shuwan's face.

Caught completely off guard, Jiang Shuwan clutched her stinging cheek in pain.

Jiang Xunnian glared at her with a stern warning, "Stay away from Rou'er from now on. You are to go to the convent this very day to cultivate your mind in solitude, and you are never to set foot in the Marquis Manor again."

Looking at Jiang Xunnian, who was hopping mad in his frantic defense of Lin Rou, any lingering warmth she had ever felt toward him vanished into absolute nothingness.

With an icy expression, she retorted, "Since Father is so utterly devoid of reason that he intends to banish me to a convent simply to excessively favor my cousin... could it be that my cousin truly is Father's own child after all?"

Jiang Xunnian pointed a trembling, panicked finger at her. "What kind of utter nonsense are you spouting?!"

At that precise moment, Lin Rou let out another timely shriek, "Ah, my child!"

Hearing Lin Rou's cries of anguish, Jiang Xunnian hastily dropped to his knees to comfort her. Grasping her hand, he wore an expression of profound heartache as he cried, "Rou'er!"

Jiang Shuwan turned to Old Madam Jiang. "Old Madam, Lady Lin's womb is of the utmost importance; nothing else matters more than this. We had best summon a physician to examine her at once."

Old Madam Jiang surveyed the chaotic scene. She had never liked Lin Rou in the first place and had only agreed to let her cross the threshold because of her supposed pregnancy; she never imagined things would escalate into such a farce. Impatiently, she snapped, "Enough! Stop crying. Court Physician Zhang happened to be visiting the estate to check my pulse; go and fetch him here immediately."

Jiang Shuwan watched the wailing Lin Rou and caught the triumphant, gloating look flashing in her eyes. In an instant, everything clicked into place.

How truly ruthless—she was even willing to use her own fake child as a pawn in her schemes.

Court Physician Zhang arrived promptly. After taking Lin Rou's pulse, his expression turned deeply peculiar.

Given that Lin Rou had just entered the household and was currently residing within the Marquis Manor, the Dowager Madam Gu could not help but ask anxiously, "Court Physician Zhang, how is the child in Lady Lin's womb? Is there something wrong?"

The physician stood up, walked over to Dowager Madam Gu, and replied, "Old Madam, Lady Lin is not pregnant at all. She is merely suffering from stagnated vital energy and blood stasis, and her menstrual period has simply arrived—she is completely devoid of any pregnancy. As for her abdominal pain, I shall write a prescription, and after two days of taking the medicine, she will be fully recovered."

The expressions of everyone present shifted dramatically as they all turned simultaneous, fixed gazes upon Lin Rou.

Color drained entirely from Lin Rou's face. In absolute disbelief, she stammered, "How can I not be pregnant? Did you diagnose her wrongly?!"

Hearing her medical expertise questioned, Court Physician Zhang wore a similarly grim expression. "I personally attend to the imperial concubines within the palace walls. How could I possibly make such an erroneous diagnosis?"

Lin Rou shook her head frantically, muttering over and over under her breath, "Impossible... It's impossible..."

Standing at the very outer edge of the crowd, Jiang Shuwan watched Lin Rou's panicked state and couldn't help offering an inner, cold smile.

That specific medicinal formula was one she had stumbled upon while pouring over medical texts in her previous life when trying to find a cure for Gu Xin's lifelong ailment. Never had she imagined it would prove so effective, completely tricking even an imperial physician into mistaking it for signs of a miscarriage.

Shortly after her rebirth, she had prepared this exact prescription and secretly blended the medicinal powder into the incense burners. Lin Rou had been breathing in that fragrance day in and day out—a precaution she had deliberately set up precisely to guard against this exact scenario.