Good Ending: She Swears She Will Not Let Him Die!

Chapter 217: Chapter 146: The Grand Performance (Monthly Ticket 450+)

The title number was marked wrong, I was stupid, it’s Chapter 216. The content is correct, please forgive me.

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Huo Ziming laughed in extreme anger; he finally understood the saying, ”To a wicked person, everyone seems scheming.” For the deceitful, everyone appears conniving.

He said coldly, ”Scheming against you? An Ran using the child to scheme against you? It’s utterly ridiculous!”

The Old Duke’s wife herself figured it out.

An Ran had distanced herself from her maiden family. It was best for her to have a child early to secure her position in her husband’s family. If this pregnancy was lost, due to the mourning period for her birth mother, which required a married woman to mourn for a year, An Ran’s pregnancy and childbirth would inevitably be delayed.

An Ran wouldn’t use the child as an article.

Unless...

Unless An Ran wasn’t pregnant at all, using this claim to cause the Duke Jing Mansion to lose face, later claiming the child was miscarried, thus avoiding the need to produce a child while delivering another blow to the Duke Jing Mansion.

But doing so would indeed cause quite a problem; if any whispers got out, the intended benefit could turn into a loss. Not to mention how Huo Ziming would react, even Uncle Enrong’s couple would jump up to handle An Ran.

The Old Duke’s wife grew angrier as she pondered; could it really be such a coincidence that An Ran was diagnosed with pregnancy at this critical moment?

The Old Duke’s wife looked toward the Old Master.

The Old Master cursed fiercely in his heart, this troublemaker wife, insisting on showing off; now it’s a real pickle. The doctor was invited by Duchess Rong; An Ran’s pregnancy was steady, but they could claim it’s not. If the Duke Jing Mansion had immediately called a doctor, there would have been no trouble.

Despite the curses in his heart, the Old Master outwardly showed a look of realization: ”I was just saying, An Ran’s health has always been excellent, she couldn’t bear kneeling for no reason, turns out she’s expecting! This is serious business, Ziming, once An Ran catches her breath, you should take her home first. With the household mourning, not knowing is one thing, but knowing means they must avoid incidents. Let An Ran properly nurse her pregnancy, as this is more important than anything.”

The Old Master’s softened attitude left Huo Ziming with little choice but to comply.

Despite the anger in his heart, he could only give it up for now.

If An Ran remained well, it would be easy to talk about; if anything happened to her, even though the Enrong Bo Mansion wasn’t as powerful as the Duke Jing Mansion, they weren’t pushovers either.

Huo Ziming retreated from the Flower Hall, while An Ran’s brother and Du Yunuo both breathed a sigh of relief.

Once An Ran had recovered, she leaned against Aunt Liao, not speaking for a while.

It was her first time being pregnant; she had no experience to speak of. If she had known there was a child, she would never have knelt in the mourning hall, she wouldn’t have even had to return to the Duke Mansion.

A pregnant woman should avoid mourning events; no matter where she went it wouldn’t be considered wrong. She only needed to stay home and pray for her birth mother, whether true or not, who could say?

Aunt Liao babbled about matters needing attention during pregnancy. Considering her status and the mourning period for the main wife, even when An Ran gave birth, Aunt Liao wouldn’t likely visit Enrong Bo Mansion to see her daughter.

As she spoke about important matters, Aunt Liao’s eyes became tearful, her heart aching deeply.

When Huo Ziming arrived, Princess An Ran finally came to her senses, clutching her belly as she looked at him.

With others present, Huo Ziming couldn’t ignore them entirely. He comforted An Ran briefly before planning to take her back to the mansion.

An Ran nodded in agreement.

Huo Ziming carefully assisted Princess An Ran in leaving, while Aunt Liao escorted them to the second gate. Only when the carriage’s shadow disappeared did she turn around, raising her head to give a cold sneer.

Du Yunuo was startled, looking up, Aunt Liao’s face was devoid of previous worry and sorrow, leaving only resentment in her eyes.

Liao Family noticed this too, speaking softly, ”Don’t do anything reckless.”

”I won’t act recklessly,” Aunt Liao’s voice was icy as a knife, ”It’s precisely by never acting recklessly that they’ve driven us to this day. Now this play is nearing its end; I’m missing only a small scene, after which, I won’t be the lead role on stage, and naturally, new players will step up to perform.”

Liao Family grasped Aunt Liao’s hand tightly.

Seeing no outsiders around, Aunt Liao spoke again: ”Don’t try to persuade me. How have they intimidated us for over a decade? Yes, it’s hard to become legitimate; families like us don’t often rise to legitimacy, but it does happen. In what way am I lacking compared to those who did?”

Liao Family felt bitter listening.

The Liao Family was also a reputable official family. Had Aunt Liao not entered the Duke Mansion back then, she would have married into an official family like Liao Family did.

To enter the Duke Jing Mansion as legitimate wife, Aunt Liao wasn’t suitable, but as a concubine, she was more than adequate.

She had a son and a daughter, cherished by the Old Master, and her daughter even earned a title; this was great honor, more dignified than the children born to the Young Master’s wife. Aunt Liao controlled the Duke Mansion’s inner quarters; aside from a formal title and protocol that couldn’t be violated, she was no different from the legitimate wife.

”I’m not inferior to anyone; they made me think I was not inferior to anyone, but ultimately, ha...” Aunt Liao laughed self-deprecatingly, ”An Ran nearly suffered a major loss this time. If I don’t add fuel to the fire, how can I face her! I didn’t see through their ruse, letting them raise An Ran in confusion and ignorance. Only after her fall from grace did she come to understand – the lesson was quite a stiff one, and as her mother, my heart aches for her.

Now, I simply await the entrance of a new wife. Isn’t she our wife’s own sister, praised for virtue and gentleness, seemingly charming? I’ll wait and see; once her belly swells, what days will remain for the two left by our wife?”

Du Yunuo listened in horror.

That is the way of old households, where one’s gain comes at another’s loss.

If Aunt Liao were elevated, she likely wouldn’t touch the children left by the original wife, with that wife’s maiden family scrutinizing, the risk was indeed great, though rewarding.

But the new wife was different.

Everyone has self-interest; once she has her own son, why would she give all advantages to a nephew?

As for the maiden family, between the dead and the living, a fool would know who to choose; if not, then the play gets even more interesting.

Once the Old Duke couple and the Young Master realize the ambitions of the newly wed...

This inner conflict, indeed as Aunt Liao mentioned, was a grand play.

All three returned to the mourning hall.

Aunt Liao supported herself and blanched, appearing listless, shaking off the Liao Family’s hand, kneeling before the deceased, while shedding tears and burning paper offerings.

Someone approached inquiring about An Ran’s condition.

Upon hearing An Ran was pregnant, those around reacted variously.

Most present were married women; recalling An Ran’s agony earlier, they guessed her health might not be well. Those with kind hearts murmured Buddhist chants.

Duchess Rong hadn’t yet left, shaking her head: ”This is also a good deed for the day.”

Aunt Liao saluted Duchess Rong: ”Thank you for inviting the doctor for An Ran, otherwise...”

Tears streamed down, Aunt Liao was dignified in appearance, gracefully composed, unlike the flamboyant concubines of common families. Managing the inner quarters, nearly all the wives present had interacted with her; truthfully, none detested her.

Seeing her act appropriately, and recalling rumors about the Duke Jing Mansion, they exchanged glances knowingly.