Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Mother-in-law, how is Xue'er doing now?" Shen Jingheng suddenly shouted into the room.

After a long while, Madam Jiang finally emerged from inside. Although her eyes were somewhat red and swollen, she smiled and playfully scolded him.

"Keep your voice down, Xue'er is still asleep!" After saying that, he turned back to glance at the inner room before coming out and standing at the door to ask Shen Jingheng.

"Have you held the baby yet?"

"Not yet, I only glanced at her just now. My son-in-law was worried about Xue'er, so I went in to check on her. I can only put my mind at ease once I'm sure she's alright with my own eyes."

He spoke in a gentle voice, but his body forcefully pushed aside Madam Jiang, who was blocking the door.

Madam Jiang was taken aback by his actions and stumbled from his push. However, she had no time to reprimand him for his inappropriate behavior and quickly followed him inside.

Shen Jingheng lifted the bed curtains and immediately saw Jiang Xue sleeping on the bed. The maids who were serving by the bedside quickly took two steps back, knelt on the ground, and dared not move.

Although Jiang Xue's face was pale, her lips were still a beautiful pink. Shen Jingheng felt a little relieved; he had been overthinking things. After all, Jiang Xue was Madam Jiang's biological daughter, and he still felt pity for her, no matter what.

Shen Jingheng sat down by the bedside and reached out to touch her forehead. But he abruptly withdrew his hand as soon as it touched Jiang Xue's forehead, looking up at Madam Jiang in disbelief. He then placed his hand back under Jiang Xue's nose to check her breath. Only then did he discover that Jiang Xue was completely lifeless. Undeterred, Shen Jingheng placed his hand on her neck to check her pulse; there was no beat. The touch under his fingertips was icy cold.

Jiang Xue was really dead. Looking at his wife, who had seen him off that morning, now lying lifeless on the bed, Shen Jingheng's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

He abruptly stood up and sternly questioned Madam Jiang.

"Madam Jiang, didn't you just say that my wife was simply exhausted and fell asleep? What's the situation now?"

When Madam Jiang realized that the truth could no longer be concealed, she burst into tears.

"Xue'er, my poor daughter, you are the flesh of my body. It's so sad that you left us so young. What will happen to the children you left behind?" As soon as she cried, the maids serving inside and outside the room also burst into tears. For a moment, the room and the outside were filled with sad cries.

Shen Jingheng felt the veins on his forehead throbbing. His wife was dead, and he hadn't even cried yet. These people who had witnessed his wife's death and still tried to deceive him were the ones who cried as if their own mothers had died.

With a loud "bang," the crying in the room stopped abruptly. Everyone looked toward the source of the sound and saw that Shen Jingheng had kicked over the flower stand in front of the bed, and the potted plants on it had fallen to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"Guards!" Shen Jingheng shouted.

Green mountains and green trees outside immediately ran in, waiting for Shen Jingheng's instructions.

"Arrest all these maids!" Shen Jingheng said, his eyes red as he pointed at the maids kneeling on the ground. He recognized four of them; they were Jiang Xue's dowry maids, and the other two served Madam Jiang.

"Wait! Son-in-law, what do you mean by this?"

Madam Jiang wiped away her tears and shouted, trying to stop Aoyama and Aoki from their actions. Then she looked at Shen Jingheng and asked him a question.

Shen Jingheng looked at the maids kneeling and begging for mercy on the ground and said through gritted teeth.

“When my mother-in-law left, she made it clear that Xue’er was just extremely exhausted after giving birth. When I came in just now, there were only a few of them in the room. It’s obvious that these maids conspired to kill my wife, your daughter. Mother-in-law, shouldn’t I question them?”

"Your Excellency, spare us! Madam, save us! We are innocent!"

"We servants would never dare to harm Miss, please, Your Excellency, investigate thoroughly..."

"Ah...don't grab me! I didn't harm Miss! Madam, please save me..."

"..." Qingshan Qingmu only listened to Shen Jingheng's orders, ignoring what Madam Jiang said. He pulled out a bundle of hemp rope from somewhere and started tying up several people. He showed no pity for the girls' cries and pleas for mercy.

Seeing that Shen Jingheng was showing her no respect, Madam Jiang felt both grief and anger. However, she knew that if this matter got out, her family would lose face, so she patiently explained to Shen Jingheng.

"Son-in-law, please don't blame them. I kept it from you because I was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle the shock. Let them go, and if you have any questions, just come and ask me!"

"Alright, Mother-in-law, please tell me what happened to Xue'er!" Shen Jingheng asked, his eyes red-rimmed, after looking at the lifeless woman on the bed.

When her daughter was mentioned, tears streamed down Madam Jiang's face like a burst dam.

"Son-in-law, Xue'er was weak, and the baby was in an awkward position. She finally gave birth with great difficulty, and we all thought she had made it through. But who knew that she would suddenly suffer a postpartum hemorrhage less than half a cup of tea's time later? The imperial physician tried everything, but couldn't stop the bleeding. Before she passed away, she repeatedly told me that you must see the child first before she told me about her situation. My poor child, she loved you so deeply; even in her final moments, all she thought of was you, my dear son-in-law."

At this point, Madam Jiang couldn't help but burst into tears again, and it was clear that she was truly crying for Jiang Xue.

"Then why were all the servants of my Shen family driven out? How do you explain that?"

"Ah, I was just about to ask my son-in-law something. Why is Xue'er so wary of the servants in the courtyard? Even though the attack was premature, she didn't dare to make a sound and only dared to send a maid back to her parents' home to ask for help."

Hearing her turn around and say those things about him, Shen Jingheng almost laughed in anger. It seems the Jiang family really won't learn their lesson until they're faced with dire consequences.

“I’ve already arranged a wet nurse for the child. I’ll let her in to meet the Grand Madam,” Shen Jingheng suddenly said.

They were talking about Jiang Xue when he suddenly changed the subject to the wet nurse. Although Madam Jiang found it strange, she was naturally pleased that he didn't want to dwell on that topic any longer.

So he wiped the tears from his face and said

“My dear son-in-law is right. This is a serious matter. Let’s quickly call the wet nurse over so I can take a look.”