cold clothes

Wang Yiqing, a charming playboy who had been with countless women, could easily see through Qingchun's resentful thoughts. He immediately looked remorseful and said apologetically, "Qingchun, I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to. Yunqiu seduced me! At that time, you were disfigured and couldn't see me. I was inevitably lonely, so Yunqiu took advantage of my vulnerability. I couldn't control myself and... I regretted it after one night! But she became attached to me. I thought she was your sister, so I couldn't be heartless to refuse her, but—" Wang Yiqing quickly grasped Qingchun's hand, "But in my heart, there has only ever been you. There has never been anyone else."

Wang Yiqing's performance was so full of emotion, but Qingchun saw the cunning in his eyes. Once a woman awakens from love, her eyes become as sharp as a knife. Her heart sank deeper and deeper, and bitterness welled up from the depths of her soul.

She knew she shouldn't believe him anymore, but a sliver of hope lingered in her heart.

"Since you only have me in your heart, why were you bewitched by Yun Qiu? How many times have you slept with her? You even have a child with her..."

"How would I know why I had a child!" Wang Yiqing exclaimed.

"You didn't touch her?" Qingchun asked mockingly.

Wang Yiqing's tone softened instantly: "I did touch you, but aren't you courtesans forbidden from having children?"

Qingchun gave a tearful smile, her eyes blazing as she looked at Wang Yiqing: "We courtesans are women too, why can't we get pregnant... Even if we drink contraceptive soup after each sexual encounter, there's still a chance of getting pregnant, otherwise where would I come from?"

Qingchun was also a servant born into a brothel. Her mother died of depression a few years after giving birth to her, and no one knew who her father was.

“Since that’s how it is…” Wang Yiqing was so anxious that he scratched his head and cheeks, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes. He said to Qingchun, “Why don’t we just have Yunqiu abort the child! This child must not be born.”

Qingchun's heart grew even heavier. "This child is your own flesh and blood."

"He can't be my flesh and blood! The Duke's mansion can't have a child born from a prostitute's womb!" Wang Yiqing grabbed Qingchun's arms with both hands, his eyes wide as he pleaded, "Please, Qingchun, Yunqiu can't be pregnant with my child, it will make me lose face in the family!"

"The Taoist priest said he was a blessed man..."

"I don't care about this so-called 'Fu Zi'! That scoundrel is spouting nonsense! In short, the child in Yun Qiu's belly can't be mine!"

"What if I were pregnant with your child? Would you still make me abort it?" Qingchun wanted to question Wang Yiqing, but she swallowed the words. Clearly, the question was meaningless; she was, in his eyes, just a lowly prostitute.

She whispered, "I can't help it, it's not me who's carrying the child."

"No, you have a way," Wang Yiqing suddenly had an idea, her face lighting up with joy. "Nobody knows about my affair with Yunqiu. As long as you testify that I've always been with you and that Yunqiu framed me, everything will be resolved. Whether it's the child or my affair with the two courtesans... everything will be solved! You'll help me, right, Qingchun—"

Wang Yiqing was smug about his quick thinking. As long as he insisted that it was all Yun Qiu's fault, and that Yun Qiu had seduced him in the first place, that was the truth! What fault could he have made? Thinking this way was like seeing the sun after the clouds had parted. He really wanted to laugh out loud, but the laugh pulled at the swollen bump on his face, making him wince in pain. He couldn't help but think bitterly that he would make Yun Qiu pay sooner or later.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted Yun Qiu in the corner! Speak of the devil and he appears; Wang Yiqing wanted nothing more than to skin Yun Qiu alive.

"You bitch, don't go—"

Yun Qiu made eye contact with him and ran away. Wang Yiqing shouted and immediately chased after her, leaving Qing Chun behind in an instant.