She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Zhao Yi coughed softly and said gently, "Since it's on my way, I'll go with you."

Shen Qingtan didn't believe him at all. It was closer to Shian Hall from Lanxue Garden, but he deliberately took a long detour to come to the main hall to find her, and still insisted that it was on the way.

“I remember now, the imperial physician said that your body is weak and that taking a walk every day can strengthen your bones and is very beneficial to your health.” Shen Qingtan raised an eyebrow and said in a deliberately affected tone, “I thought that Second Master had come to pick me up, but it turns out that he just happened to be taking a walk here and then went to the old lady’s place with me on the way. I was just being presumptuous.”

Zhao Yi, feeling somewhat helpless after being subtly provoked by her words, said, "Speak properly."

"Hmm." Shen Qingtan quieted down.

Zhao Yi found her reaction too abnormal. He pursed his thin lips slightly, about to say something, when he saw her say in a low voice, "I don't know how to speak properly, nor do I know how to do things properly. My third sister-in-law wanted to ruin my reputation, and I was only concerned with playing along. The script I wrote offended the imperial family. If it weren't for the fact that the eldest princess didn't pursue the matter further because of your kindness, I'm afraid I would have been punished."

Zhao Yi wanted to say: This is not your fault; you don't know the secrets of the royal family.

"I am now all alone. Apart from you being willing to help me, I have no one else to rely on." Shen Qingtan smiled slightly: "Fortunately, I still have you."

Zhao Yi wanted to say that she still had biological parents, but more than ten years had passed, and she didn't know if her biological parents were kind and easy to get along with. If they were like the people in the Chengen Marquis's mansion who only cared about their own interests, then she would just be jumping from one fire pit to another.

Although the Duke of Zhao's mansion would support her, it would consider the bigger picture and not stand behind her without any scruples.

Similarly, she is also a strong-willed person and probably wouldn't ask the Duke's mansion for help.

A rare look of worry appeared in his eyes.

"Now even the only person I can rely on is a hypocrite," Shen Qingtan sighed. "What should I do?"

Zhao Yi: "..."

She went through all that trouble, only to wait for him here?

Zhao Yi felt a bit of a headache, but also found it somewhat amusing, and teased, "I'm just teaching you that blindly trusting your husband is worse than having no husband at all."

Shen Qingtan: "..."

She remembered that this quote came from Mencius, Book 7, Part 2: "To believe everything in books is worse than having no books at all."

This means that reading should be analyzed, and one should not blindly believe in books, but rather look at issues dialectically.

These words, spoken by Zhao Yi, carried a deeper meaning in Shen Qingtan's ears, as if telling her: one must use one's own thinking to discern anyone, and not blindly trust others based on appearances.

In her past life, she was misled by appearances and blindly trusted her so-called parents and fiancé. She never doubted her own origins and ended up eating a bowl of noodles laced with medicine. After that, she was bedridden and imprisoned in the backyard.

All the people around her were replaced, and the lives of the old woman and her family who were guarding her were all in Zhao Jue's hands. They dared not speak to her, for fear of falling into her trap and causing the death of their loved ones.

As Shen Qingtan thought of this, a cold and gloomy aura settled between her brows and eyes.

All the servants in the mansion went to collect their reward money, and the surroundings were quiet.

Besides the couple, only their trusted confidants remained.

After a long silence, Shen Qingtan said in a low voice, "I heard some news at the Princess's residence today. The troupe leader that His Highness arrested has some connection with me. Years ago, the Lady of Chengen Marquis bribed him to abduct me. At that time, the troupe leader abducted three or four children in total, and the parents of each family reported it to the authorities. I guess the government should have records. If they find out which families lost their children, our search area will be narrowed down and made more precise."

Zhao Yi said gently, "I'll make the arrangements."

Shen Qingtan smiled at him: "Second Master, I am deeply grateful."

The somber atmosphere was broken by this sentence, and the atmosphere became a little more lively.

Zhao Yi smiled gently, her eyes filled with indulgence.

When the couple arrived at Shian Hall, they found that all the masters of the mansion had arrived.

After exchanging greetings, the two men took their seats.

Shen Qingtan noticed that everyone in the second branch of the family was radiant with health, which proved the saying that people are in high spirits when they have a happy occasion.

Unwittingly, she met Shen Mingzhu's gaze.

Shen Mingzhu no longer showed any jealousy or resentment. Instead, she touched her belly, revealing a hint of smugness.

Shen Qingtan's suspicions were confirmed by Shen Mingzhu's actions; the second wife was indeed expecting a child.

"I summoned you here today because I have something to announce." Old Madam Zhao spoke kindly, showing a rare good face towards the second branch of the family: "In the past few months, one unpleasant thing after another has happened in our household, but there have also been many happy events. Yi'er and Jue'er got married a while ago, and almost two months later, Jue'er's wife is pregnant."

“Grandmother, the reason why your granddaughter-in-law was able to get pregnant so quickly is all because you and your mother-in-law ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist prayers at Longhua Temple, and lit lotus lamps to pray for me. The Bodhisattva appeared and gave me a child. Otherwise, how could I have such good news so quickly?”

The joy in Shen Mingzhu's eyes was almost overflowing. She glanced lightly at Shen Qingtan and couldn't help but raise her voice: "Second sister-in-law, my mother-in-law also lit a lotus lantern for you and second brother to pray for your happiness, wishing you two a long and happy life together and that you will have a baby soon. It shouldn't be long before you hear the sounds of your belly moving."

With one hand supporting her waist and the other stroking her belly, she said with a smile, "I've also heard that if one person in the household has good news, another person will follow suit. Don't worry, it should be within the next month or two."

Because Shen Mingzhu was pregnant, the second wife, with a happy face, said, "Yes, niece-in-law, you must work harder and make sure your belly is as strong as our Zhu'er's, so that you can give birth to a few big, fat boys while you are still young."

“There’s no rush,” the First Madam said first. “Tan’er grew up in luxury and is still a child herself. She’s very delicate and afraid of pain. As her mother-in-law, I can’t bear to see her suffer the pain of childbirth at such a young age. Let’s wait a few years.”

Shen Mingzhu's smile froze, even though she knew in her heart that it was because Zhao Yi was impotent and couldn't let Shen Qingtan have a child.

However, these kind words from the First Madam, compared to her own mother-in-law's advice to have more children while she was still young, still made her very unhappy.

The First Madam glanced at Shen Mingzhu, whose face was stiff, and said indifferently, "Tan'er is the eldest grandson's wife. Now she has to follow me and the old lady to learn how to manage the household. If she is pregnant at this time, it will be even more tiring for her and make her suffer a lot."

Shen Mingzhu was stung by those words, and her lower abdomen seemed to cramp.