Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

The man was his younger brother, and the woman was not Yuan Zhi, but Li Mama's daughter!

What about Yuan Zhi? Where did Yuan Zhi go?

Xiao Zong called out in a deep voice, "Cheng Qi!"

Xiao Shen seemed not to hear, burying his head in the woman's neck.

Seeing his flushed face, as if he had been drugged, Xiao Zong took out a specially made antidote pill from the Leopard Guard and put it in his mouth. When he handed the medicine to the woman, he noticed that her expression was clear, and her pupils immediately contracted.

Did you poison him?

The woman pushed Xiao Shen away, wrapped herself in a quilt, knelt on the bed, and cried, "Young Master, I had no choice! I am pregnant with the Second Young Master's child, but the Second Young Master will not even give me the title of concubine. I had no choice but to resort to this tactic."

Xiao Zong scrutinized her. "Are you sure the child is Cheng Qi's? If you're lying, you know how the Leopard Guards operate!"

The woman swore to the heavens, "If I have uttered even half a lie, may my whole family die a horrible death!"

Xiao Zong clenched his fists and turned his back.

"Get dressed. Your mother will be here soon, and I'll plead for you."

"Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!"

Qin arrived with the Xiao family members. As soon as she entered, she roared, "You little slut who has cheated on me, today I will definitely expel you from the Xiao mansion!"

Xiao Zong stood in front of the bed, "Mother, it's not A-Zhi inside."

Qin pointed at her son and scolded, "Even now, you're still protecting her! Did I make you ugly or stupid? You can't even keep a wife. Get out of the way!"

Qin Shi angrily ripped off the curtain, and the red gauze fell to the ground, revealing a man and a woman on the bed.

"Hui'er? It's you?"

Zhang Hui kowtowed and said timidly, "It was the second young master... he sent me here."

"Was this your first time serving him?"

Zhang Hui shook her head. "Two months ago, I came to the mansion to see my mother. The second young master kidnapped me and took my body."

Before Qin could catch her breath, she slapped her sleeping son.

Xiao Shen rubbed his eyes and woke up, thinking he was still at the dinner table. He drunkenly said, "I'm not drinking anymore, I'm not drinking anymore."

Qin slapped him again, jolting Xiao Shen awake.

"Mom, why did you hit me..." he accused, covering his face. Turning to see Zhang Hui beside him, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Zhang Hui wept, "Didn't the second young master send me?"

Xiao Shen kicked him, "When did I let you come!"

Zhang Hui lay down, clutching her stomach and groaning, "Even tigers don't eat their cubs. How cruel is the Second Young Master? Does he really want to kill our child with his own hands?"

Qin was taken aback for a moment, "You...you're pregnant with Shen'er's child?"

"Mmm," Zhang Hui replied, biting her lip.

Xiao Zong sent a servant to fetch a doctor, then walked to his mother's side and said, "Mother, if she is truly of Xiao family blood, she must not be allowed to live outside. Let my second brother take her as his wife."

Xiao Shen jumped off the bed barefoot. "Mother, if I were to take her as a concubine, I would be openly violating ancestral precepts and becoming an unfaithful and unfilial person! What would people in Shengjing think of me? And which noble lady would be willing to marry me?"

Xiao Yu touched his nose. How could he be slandered just for watching a show?

Madam Qin was furious at his lack of self-respect, "What's the use of regretting it now! If you had understood this earlier, would you have been able to get her pregnant?"

"You believe what a lowly servant girl says? She just wants to find a father for the bastard child in her belly. She's just trying to climb the social ladder because she sees the Xiao family's wealth!"

Granny Li arrived late and knelt down with a thud. "I failed to discipline my daughter properly, and she has done such a shameful thing. Madam and young master, please don't be troubled. I will buy an abortion pill and force it down her throat!"

Qin grabbed her, and Xiao Zong also sternly rebuked her: "With the master still alive, how dare you, a mere servant, make such a decision? Shut up!"

Xiao Zong helped Qin Shi sit down in a chair. "Mother, don't worry. Zhang Hui must have been seen by the servants when she came to the manor. After the doctor takes her pulse and checks the time, we'll know if the child is my second brother's. Let's wait and see."

Outside Furong Pavilion, a servant led a doctor rushing over.

Xiao Rong asked in surprise, "Why did you call a doctor? Did a fight break out inside and someone get injured?"

Madam Gu smiled but remained silent, and the three sisters of the third branch looked up at the crescent moon and also kept quiet.

After taking her pulse, the doctor said, "The young lady is almost two months pregnant, and the pregnancy is not stable. During this period, you must not have sexual intercourse."

Madam Qin had just asked Zhang Hui when she arrived at the manor, and upon hearing the doctor's words, she made a decision.

As soon as the doctor left, she said coldly, "Today's banquet is to celebrate the addition of a new member to the Xiao family. Hui'er, from now on, you are the second young master's concubine. I'll have someone prepare a room for you to stay tonight."

"Thank you ma'am!"

After everyone left Furong Pavilion, Xiao Rong did not see Yuan Zhi and was about to ask her mother when she suddenly heard a silvery laugh behind her.

Turning around, I saw two women walking along the water corridor in the distance, each carrying a crimson gauze lantern. They were beautiful and graceful, like fairies.

As they drew nearer, Xiao Rong's eyes widened.

Yuan Zhi?!

She was outside, so whose adulterer did her mother catch her cheating on?

Xiao Rong scanned the crowd and saw Li Mama's daughter, covering her mouth in surprise.

How could it be her?

Xiao Zong strode up to Yuan Zhi and asked, "Where have you been?"

"Luomei made this gift herself and hid it in the garden. I searched for it for ages." Yuanzhi waved the gauze lantern in her hand. "Is it pretty?"

Looking at her innocent appearance, Xiao Zong felt a wave of fear wash over him. He grabbed her wrist and held it firmly before he could calm down.

"nice."

Yuan Zhi orchestrated the grand spectacle at Furong Pavilion. To clear herself of suspicion, she pulled Luo Mei aside and hid on the outskirts, only revealing herself when everyone else came out.

Unexpectedly, not only did the show end perfectly, but there was also an unexpected bonus.

Xiao Zong, in the end, succumbed to worldly desires.

thump--

A loud splash echoed across the water, followed by ripples.

"Someone fell into the water!"

Two servants flew in from both sides like arrows, jumped into the water, and quickly pulled Zhang Hui out.

Zhang Hui was rescued in time and didn't choke on much water. She glared at Xiao Shen with terrified eyes, "Second Young Master, are you going to kill me?"

Qin's expression hardened; Zhang Hui had actually been pushed into the water by Shen'er!

"Guards, take the second young master back. Nail the windows shut, lock the doors, and don't let him leave without my order!"

The servants grabbed the second young master and dragged him out of the garden.

Xiao Shen shouted, "Mother, Mother, you can't do this to me! Zhang Hui is a lowly servant girl, and she's carrying a bastard child. How can the Xiao family have such a despicable descendant? Tell me to kill her! Tell me to kill her!"

Qin shouted angrily, "Gag him!"

The farce ended, and with no one in the mood to enjoy the scenery, everyone dispersed.

Xiao Zong and the others returned to Songfeng Courtyard. Luo Mei made up their beds and went back to sleep. The head maid, Gu Yu, stood guard outside the door, responsible for keeping watch at night.

Yuan Zhi propped her head up with her hand, staring intently at Xiao Zong undressing.

Her slender fingers seemed to be burned by his gaze. Xiao Zong fastened his belt again and walked over to cover her eyes.

"Be a little restrained."

Yuan Zhi pried his hand away. He had clearly been attracted to her at the waterside pavilion, and even if it wasn't love, but just being captivated by his beauty, she didn't care.

She's gone to such lengths, yet he still insists on remaining steadfast like Liu Xiahui. What is he thinking?

Could it be that he will remain chaste for Zheng Xiangxiang for the rest of his life, just like in his previous life?