Duke Jing's younger sister

Zi Yuan stood to one side and looked at her girl with a little surprise.

When did the girl eat the iced dumplings last night?

Although she had some guesses in her mind, as a servant, she couldn't spoil her master's act, so she kept silent and waited quietly.

Shen Zhiyan advised, "The court doctor is here, let him feel your pulse and treat you, and prescribe some medicine to regulate your spleen and stomach. Why are you so afraid of seeing a doctor?"

The Jiang family doctor also nodded, "Miss, whether your spleen and stomach are damaged, we can tell by taking your pulse."

He made a gesture of invitation, but Shen Li was hesitant and did not dare to put his hand on the pulse pillow.

When she was thinking about what to say, footsteps were heard in the courtyard. Shen's mother, Yang, followed by two maids, came to Qinghui Courtyard slowly and calmly.

Yang was wearing a royal blue satin gown, looking elegant and graceful. Her face looked calm and gentle, but her almond-shaped eyes concealed a sharp look.

Seeing Yang come in, everyone in the room bowed and saluted. Doctor Jiang also stood up from the round stool and bowed with his hands clasped.

Yang gave him a false hand, turned her gaze towards Shen Li, and said softly, "I just heard from the servants that you have hired a doctor in the courtyard, but you are not feeling well. What's wrong?"

Without waiting for Shen Li to reply, Yang turned around and asked the doctor in the Jiang Mansion, "Where is the third young lady feeling unwell?"

Shen Li suddenly felt something was wrong, her heart was pounding, and her fingertips unconsciously pinched the hem of her sleeves.

The Jiang family doctor replied respectfully, "Madam, I haven't taken your pulse yet, so I don't know the cause of your illness."

"Then let's examine him. Li'er, please sit down."

Shen Li's scalp tingled. She hesitated and sat down beside the couch, praying to the Buddha in her heart, hoping that it would not be what she thought!

She held her breath and carefully watched the changes in Jiang Fu Doctor's expression. When she saw his eyes turn and his expression become slightly panicked, her heart fell into the bottomless abyss.

It is true that what you fear will come true, and what you hope for will not happen.

"This……"

Doctor Jiang also hoped that he had made a wrong diagnosis. If the scandal of an unmarried woman being pregnant were to spread, even the reputation of the Duke would be damaged.

"What's the matter?" Yang asked.

Doctor Jiang calmed down and stood up to bow to Yang, "Madam, can you please have a word with me?"

Yang glanced doubtfully at Shen Li, who was sitting on the couch in a daze with a strange expression, nodded, and walked out with Doctor Jiang.

It is March, the spring is in full swing. On the slender branches of the magnolia tree in Qinghui Courtyard, tender green buds are gradually unfolding. When the sun is shining brightly at noon, the breeze blowing in through the window also adds a bit of warmth.

But Shen Li felt that today's wind was even colder than the frost in winter, causing her to break out in layers of cold sweat on her back uncontrollably.

A moment later, Yang walked in slowly alone.

Her face was still gentle and peaceful, but her voice was no longer as soft as before, but a little colder.

"Li'er was greedy for coolness and got an upset stomach," Yang said this to Shen Zhiyan and everyone else in the room.

Then, she turned her gaze to Shen Li, her almond eyes narrowed slightly, cold as a knife, "Doctor Jiang prescribed two doses of medicine, remember to take them on time, and don't act recklessly in the future, it will harm your body."

Shen Li understood the meaning of Yang's words and stood up to salute, "Yes, my daughter will remember it."

Yang nodded and didn't look at her again, "Yan'er, come with me, let your sister have more rest."

Shen Zhiyan nodded, turned around and told Shen Li to rest more, not to eat cold food, and to come see her again tomorrow.

Shen Li agreed, Shen Zhiyan held her mother's arm, and the group left Qinghui Courtyard.

Watching the figures leave, Shen Li staggered and almost couldn't stand. Zi Yuan hurried forward to support her, "Miss, go back to the house and rest?"

Shen Li shook her head, "Sorry, Ziyuan."

"Why does the girl say that?" Zi Yuan was puzzled.

"I'm afraid I'm going to implicate you and Xingping."

Ziyuan and Xingping were both Shen Li's personal maids. They had been serving her since she entered the Shen Mansion at the age of eight.

Zi Yuan is two years older than Shen Li, and is more stable in temperament.

Xingping is one year younger than Shen Li. She is carefree and heartless all day long. Today she went to the second room of the Shen family next door to borrow some embroidery patterns, and has not returned yet.

The eve of a storm is always exceptionally quiet. Today's sunset was the best. Shen Li looked through the window and watched the golden-red glow change from light to dark, and then to a suffocating dark red.

Nanny Qin, the head of Yang's courtyard, came to Qinghui Courtyard with several servants in a threatening manner.

While standing in the yard and talking, he stood straight and glanced at Shen Li sideways, acting like the host of the house.

"Third Miss, Madam asks you to go to the ancestral hall."

What is coming will always come, you can't avoid it.

Shen Li stood up and followed Nanny Qin out of the courtyard. Behind her, Ziyuan and Xingping were controlled by several servants with cloth balls stuffed into their mouths. Shen Li knew that they were going to be taken to the torture room to be punished.

She is now in a difficult situation and can only pin her hopes on others.

The carved wooden door of the Shen family ancestral hall was closed. Shen Li knelt on the cold bluestone floor, looking at the rows of black tablets in front of him, his back straight.

There were only her and Nanny Qin in the room, but she was kneeling while Nanny Qin was standing.

Nanny Qin swung the whip in her hand, and a bloody mark instantly appeared on her back.

"Third Miss, tell me the truth about who the adulterer is, maybe you can suffer less!"

Looking at Shen Li kneeling on the ground, Nanny Qin showed contempt. It was really shameless for a girl in the boudoir to get pregnant before marriage.

Shen Li's eyelashes trembled slightly, like the fluttering of butterfly wings. She kept her lips tightly pursed and said nothing.

Seeing her stubborn face, Nanny Qin snorted in her heart and her men couldn't help but increase their strength. As expected, this unknown person was despicable. She actually did such a shameful thing and ruined the reputation of the Shen family.

There was a burning pain on her back. Shen Li gritted her teeth, feeling as if her skin and flesh were being torn apart, and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

Just as I was about to fall into a daze, the door was kicked open from outside.

Nanny Qin paused in mid-air as she whipped the ball. In the dim red twilight, Shen Beiqi stood with his hands behind his back.

Countless rays of light spread out behind him, and his pair of gorgeous peach blossom eyes were solemn and deep, carrying the oppressive feeling unique to military generals.

"What are you doing?" He glanced at Nanny Qin indifferently.

Nanny Qin was stunned by Shen Beiqi's sharp gaze like a knife, and for a moment she even forgot that she was following orders.

Instead, his legs went limp and he knelt on the ground, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

"Reply, reply to the Duke, this old servant is following the orders of the Madam..."

What should she say next?

Following the madam's order, I am trying to tell you who is the bastard who is the father of the third girl's unborn child?

"Go on."

Shen Beiqi lowered his voice, and the inexplicable low pressure made Nanny Qin break out in a cold sweat.

Everyone in the mansion knew that the Duke had always doted on his adopted sister. When Shen Li first entered the mansion a few years ago, there were inevitably people who flattered the powerful and looked down on the weak and secretly put obstacles in her way.

Later, Shen Beiqi tied up all those who had secretly withheld her food and clothing and talked about her, and brought them to the yard and gave them fifty lashes of the cane.

Some people were even beaten to the point where their legs were broken and they would never be able to stand up again in their lives.

After this incident, no one in the mansion dared to neglect Shen Li anymore.

After all, Shen Beiqi is the only descendant of the Shen family's eldest branch, and he will inherit the title and become the master of the Duke's Mansion.

No one is brave enough to anger the future Duke.

Now, he caught her and whipped Shen Li. If she didn't explain the matter clearly, Nanny Qin was afraid that she would lose her old leg.

Thinking this, she told him everything.

"Pregnant?" Shen Beiqi's eyes were filled with anger, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Get out!"

Nanny Qin naturally knew that the Duke was talking about her, so she quickly stood up tremblingly, hunched over and retreated, not forgetting to close the door.

Shen Beiqi walked slowly in front of her, squatted down, the corner of his dark blue robe fell to the ground, and his eyes fell on her.

In the dim light, she lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong. From where he was, he could only see her forehead covered in cold sweat, with its outline blurred.

"Who is it?" He suppressed his anger and tried to make his voice as gentle as possible.

Shen Li closed her eyes, feeling a surge of bitterness in her heart.

"Look at me," he pinched her chin and forced her to look at him, "Tell me, who is it? Is it your own will, or was it forced by others?"