You're the one who wants to marry a mistress, and I'm marrying someone else, yet you still

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sneer. He had once broken with the Xie family for Fu Rou, but now he had ended up in this situation.

But what could he do? Fu Rou was only doing it for the child, and his anger towards her was of no use.

"Don't worry, now that I've brought you into the Shen residence, I will do everything in my power to protect you."

Shen Nian'an spoke calmly. The Shen family was currently in a precarious situation and they didn't know how to get through the crisis. He knew that it would be useless to talk to Fu Rou about it, so he kept quiet.

Fu Rou felt somewhat relieved after hearing this.

She once thought that with her beauty and cunning, she could make Shen Nian'an fall for her and give everything for her. And Shen Nian'an did just that; whatever she said went.

But now it seems that a man's heart is ultimately unreliable. Once she entered the Shen family, she no longer listened to Shen Nian'an, and she had to follow Shen Nian'an's arrangements.

She must think more about herself and her children.

"This concubine thanks you, Second Master."

Fu Rou curtsied, her words carrying a hint of respect and distance.

Shen Nian'an's gaze swept around the room. This Plum Garden was the place where Xie Wanru had lived in the Shen residence for two years.

Shen Nian'an now appears to be reminiscing about someone upon seeing certain objects.

Fu Rou turned to leave, but then seemed to remember something. Shen Nian'an's thoughts seemed transparent to her. She stopped and said softly, "Second Master, if you miss Xie Wanru, why don't you... seek reconciliation with her? I don't want to see you unhappy..."

"Enough!" Shen Nian'an interrupted her, his face dark. "Xie Wanru and I are divorced. She has nothing to do with the Shen family anymore!"

He knew that Fu Rou's words were just an attempt to get him to beg Xie Wanru again to gain the Xie family's forgiveness and support. But Shen Nian'an was not one to bow down so easily.

Shen Nian'an didn't even consider why Fu Rou would suddenly bring up Xie Wanru.

He had never mentioned these things, yet Fu Rou knew everything. He was already a little drunk and didn't think much of it.

Seeing this, Fu Rou dared not say anything more and could only silently retreat.

Back in her own courtyard, gazing at the moonlight outside the window, she understood that Shen Nian'an's attitude towards her was no longer what it used to be. She had to be more cautious in order to gain a foothold in the Shen family mansion.

As night deepened, the Shen residence fell silent, save for the occasional beat of the night watchman's drum, a reminder of the passage of time.

Shen Nian'an went to Aunt Liu's place that night.

Aunt Liu was pregnant, so he went there simply to find some peace and quiet.

Since having a child, Aunt Liu rarely went out. She spent her days in the courtyard making children's clothes or chatting with the maids to pass the time.

Even though he and Fu Rou could be together whenever they wanted now, Shen Nian'an found it boring; the secretive way they used to be seemed more interesting.

Therefore, Shen Nian'an now prefers to stay in Aunt Liu's room rather than Fu Rou.

As Fu Rou came out of her courtyard, she saw Shen Nian'an, who was about to leave, helping Aunt Liu take a walk in the courtyard with a concerned look on his face.

So, without Xie Wanru lifting a finger, the Shen family indeed ran into problems on their own.

Fu Rou knew that if she didn't do something, her life in the Shen family would become increasingly difficult, and her child would never be able to get ahead.

She couldn't let Aunt Liu give birth to this child.

So she hid a few pearls in her hand and secretly placed a few along Aunt Liu's usual route.

No one would have imagined that someone would use such high-quality pearls to harm others.

Sure enough, when Aunt Liu was taking a walk in the afternoon, she stepped on a pearl, slipped, and almost fell. Although her maidservant caught her in time, she was still a little frightened, and her abdomen began to feel slightly uncomfortable.

“Aunt Liu, don’t blame me. If you have to blame someone, blame this grand mansion. It’s just how it is.”

Fu Rou stood in the shadows, her gaze coldly fixed on everything around her, her heart completely unmoved, as if it were just an ordinary event.

She had no idea that her actions could very well prevent an unborn child from ever seeing the world again.

She felt that in this deep mansion, everyone was just a piece on a chessboard, whether actively or passively struggling for their own destiny.

Aunt Liu was frightened and was helped back to her room by her maid. She thought she would be fine after resting for a while, but she felt even worse after her afternoon nap.

The only thing to do was to send a maid to fetch the family physician immediately.

Aunt Liu was quite far along in her pregnancy, and this sudden miscarriage would mean the baby would be premature and unlikely to survive. However, the family physician was unable to stabilize the fetus.

The commotion brought Old Madam Shen over, and Shen Nian'an was brought back from outside by the servants.

"Madam, I am incompetent. I'm afraid we must ask... we must ask the imperial physician or the divine physician Huo."

The physician's hands were trembling.

Shen Nian'an stared blankly at the pearls that the servants had picked up. They were several perfectly round pearls with a faint purple glow, clearly not ordinary objects.

This thing looks somewhat familiar.

"The imperial physician?"

As soon as Madam Shen heard this, she knew it was impossible. The Shen family had lost face in front of the emperor. Now, even if Shen Cong'an went to the palace, he might not be able to invite the imperial physician for Shen Nian'an's concubine.

Since they couldn't get the imperial physician, they had no choice but to ask Physician Huo for help.

"Second Master! Save me... Please save me, save our child..."

"My poor child, you haven't even had a chance to see this world, I don't even know what you look like, you can't... you can't leave your mother..."

"Second Master...Second Master..."

Inside, Aunt Liu was in excruciating pain, calling out Shen Nian'an's name over and over again. She knew she might lose the baby in her womb, and the people outside were trying to find a solution, but she couldn't just sit and wait to die.

Shen Nian'an, standing outside the door, was immediately flustered. Aunt Liu was a gift from someone else; she was obedient and well-behaved, and neither she nor the other concubine liked to cause trouble.

After all, in the two years since Xie Wanru married into the family, they had never had any disputes, because Aunt Liu was very good at being a concubine and knew what she could and could not do.

“Mother, although Father holds an official position, he is still the Marquis of Yong’an. Let’s use Father’s invitation to invite the imperial physician, Mother.”

Shen Nian'an said to the old lady, he understood that the decision at this moment was related to the life and death of Aunt Liu and the child. Regardless of whether the imperial physician could be invited, at least they had to try.

Madam Shen frowned deeply. Although she was extremely unwilling, she knew that if the Emperor found out that she had summoned the imperial physician for the sake of a concubine, he would surely scold the Shen family.

But seeing Shen Nian'an's unquestionable gaze and Aunt Liu's painful groans inside the room, he finally sighed and nodded.