These days, life at the Yongning Marquis Manor had been so comfortable he’d forgotten that this marquis—though outwardly kind and benevolent—was not someone to be trifled with.
Back when they were still neighbors, he had personally witnessed the marquis execute troublemakers who came to cause a scene.
Now that he had brought disgrace upon the marquis’s house, there was no way this would end well.
With terror setting in, he realized the only one who might be able to save him in the capital was Quan Rui.
Perhaps panicked beyond reason, he shamelessly pleaded with Quan Rui in front of everyone, trying to use their past intimacy to tie her to his sinking ship.
“Rui’er, save me! Didn’t you love me the most? Have you forgotten all our happy days together? You can’t just stand by and watch me die!”
Hearing this, Quan Rui’s expression turned to one of deep revulsion, and she stepped back a few paces. “Do I have anything to do with you at all? You hurt Qinghuan, and now you want to drag me into it too?”
These words shattered Jiang Suifeng’s world.
Seeing her like this, he knew—she was cutting all ties with him. How could he let that happen?
“No! Rui’er, how can you be so heartless, pretending there was never anything between us? You still have the love letters I wrote you, don’t you? Dare you take them out and show everyone?!”
Quan Rui nearly rolled her eyes to the heavens. She had truly been blind to ever fall for such trash.
Luckily, she had burned those letters long ago. No one would ever find them, or she would’ve been further disgusted by him.
“What love letters? I don’t have anything like that. But I do have something else I can show you.”
As she spoke, she pulled a jade pendant from her sleeve and flung it in front of Jiang Suifeng.
“Earlier, when the group stopped, I got out to stretch my legs and happened to find this pendant on the road. Your name is engraved on it, so I thought it must be yours and went looking for you. Who knew I’d stumble upon you and Qinghuan in your shameless act? You’ve truly soiled my eyes!”
At that moment, Jiang Suifeng picked up the jade pendant, stunned, and looked at Quan Rui in disbelief.
This was the pendant he had lost yesterday while getting intimate with Qinghuan in the palace.
He’d felt uneasy back then, thinking it wasn’t a good omen to lose it—and now, someone had actually found it!
No wonder that wretched woman Quan Rui had started giving him the cold shoulder last night. She must’ve already known what had happened between him and Qinghuan.
Everything today… could it have been her scheme? Just to get revenge?
If she spoke to the marquis and marchioness about this, how would he ever stay in the manor again?
Fury boiled inside him.
Since he had already reached the end of the road, he might as well drag this woman down with him.
Seizing a moment when Quan Rui wasn’t paying attention, he lunged at her—only to be kicked far away by Quan Minghao before he could even touch her.
“Shameless trash.”
Zhao Qingrong on the side could barely breathe. She looked at Jiang Suifeng’s face and felt only disgust.
Back when they took him in, they’d thought to earn some good karma. Who would’ve thought things would end like this?
“That’s enough. We won’t be burning incense today. Tie him up—we’re heading home.”
With Jiang Suifeng and Chen Qinghuan both dragged away, the crowd gradually dispersed.
It didn’t take half a day before the entire capital was talking about it. Every street and alley buzzed with the scandal.
On one hand, they scolded Chen Qinghuan for her lack of virtue. On the other, they condemned Jiang Suifeng as an ungrateful scoundrel.
He had no real connection to the marquis’s family, yet they’d still clothed and fed him. That was already generous.
And what did he do? Flaunted the family’s name to gain favor, and when things went south, tried to drag down their legitimate daughter? That was disgraceful beyond words.
Back in the Chen residence, Chen Qinghuan looked at her parents’ faces—twisted with bitter disappointment—and was filled with dread.
Without a word, Chen Xiongrui gave her another harsh slap, knocking her to the ground. Even that didn’t ease his anger; he raised his hand to strike her again.
Seeing this, her mother rushed forward and cradled her in her arms.
“Xiongrui! No matter what wrong Qinghuan has done, she’s still your daughter! Are you trying to beat her to death?!”
At those words, Chen Xiongrui laughed in fury. “I do want to beat her to death! It would’ve been bad enough if she disgraced only herself, but she’s brought shame to our entire family! Just wait until the Fifth Princess tells His Majesty—if I lose my position over this, you’ll be the one regretting it!”
Madam Huang, a sheltered noblewoman who spent her days quarreling with concubines, had no understanding of court politics. Upon hearing that her husband could lose his office, her face turned pale.
“How could it come to this?!”
Seeing her so clueless, Chen Xiongrui was nearly driven mad.
“I have many children, but she’s my only legitimate daughter. I paved the way for her, found her a suitable match—her future was full of wealth and glory. And what did she do? Went out to find a man on her own—that kind of man! With his background, he’s not even worthy of carrying your shoes!”
Chen Qinghuan shook her head in disbelief. “No… Brother Jiang said he was the blood nephew of the princess—how could that not be true?”
“Hah! A blood nephew? He wishes! The princess’s mother is a Grand Princess—claiming such a relation is like tying yourself to the royal family. Jiang Suifeng must be out of his mind!”
Taking a deep breath, Chen Xiongrui said angrily, “I’ve already looked into it. He’s nothing but a concubine’s son of some remote provincial governor. He happened to live next door to the marquis’s family and built a bit of rapport—that’s all. The marquis letting him stay until the exams was already doing him a great favor.”
Chen Qinghuan collapsed weakly to the ground, as if her soul had left her. She kept muttering, “Impossible… it’s not possible…”
Seeing his daughter like this, Chen Xiongrui couldn’t help but soften a little.
Though he had always prioritized his official career, removing anything or anyone in his way, he couldn’t really kill his own daughter over this.
“Qinghuan, just accept your fate. You can’t stay in the capital anymore. I’ve arranged a marriage for you out west. Tomorrow, pack your things—you’re getting married. The old Yong Wang and I go way back. Marrying into his family, you won’t suffer.”
Hearing this, Madam Huang finally panicked.
“Child’s father, what are you saying! That Yong Wang is nearly fifty years old, with a whole brood of children—if our daughter marries him, wouldn’t she become their stepmother? How can that be acceptable!”
Chen Qinghuan finally panicked too. She clung to her father’s leg and started wailing, “Father, I don’t want to marry an old man! I don’t want to!”
Seeing mother and daughter both crying uncontrollably, Chen Xiongrui grew irritated. He picked up a teacup and smashed it violently on the ground.
At the moment the shards scattered, the two finally fell silent.
“In any case, she can’t survive in the capital anymore! If she marries the old Wangye, there might still be a sliver of hope. Make your choice!”
Tears instantly welled up in Chen Qinghuan’s eyes and streamed down her cheeks. “Father, can’t you just let me marry Jiang-lang? His family background may be poor, but I don’t mind. You can just tell people our two families had a prior engagement.”
She sobbed, and it took her a long while to finish her sentence. “If… if there was already an engagement, then what happened today would just be a betrothed couple getting a little closer—it’s nothing improper.”
Madam Huang nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. “Yes, husband, that way at least these two children’s bond wouldn’t go to waste.”
Unexpectedly, Chen Xiongrui let out a cold laugh.
“Fulfill her bond? What wishful thinking! She was born a daughter of the Chen family. Her marriage is not for her to decide! With a family like the Jiangs, they’ll never be worthy of us—not in this lifetime! Even a slight association is bad luck!”
“If she marries that boy, then the pawn that is Qinghuan will be wasted. But if she marries the old Wangye, at least she can still be of use and bring some benefit to our family.”
Hearing her father refer to her as a “pawn,” Chen Qinghuan nearly broke down.
“Father, in your eyes, is your daughter’s life really less important than your own future?”
Without another word, Chen Xiongrui slapped her across the face with a sharp crack.
“Unfilial girl! How dare you speak to your father like that? If I didn’t still need your life to preserve the Chen family’s reputation, I would’ve beaten you to death already!”
At that moment, Chen Qinghuan clutched her face, heartbroken. “Fine! Father, then kill me! Beat me to death—one corpse, two lives! Wouldn’t that make you all happy?”
As soon as she said this, both Chen Xiongrui and Madam Huang were stunned.
Madam Huang seized Chen Qinghuan’s shoulders and shook her frantically. “Huan’er, do you even know what you’re saying? That’s not something you joke about!”
Chen Qinghuan laughed foolishly. “I already have Jiang-lang’s child. Just call a physician to check my pulse, and you’ll know. I don’t believe that old Wangye would willingly raise someone else’s child and be made a fool of!”
This time, no matter how hard Madam Huang tried to stop Chen Xiongrui, it was no use.
He fetched a handy wooden stick from the room and brought it down harshly on his daughter.
“Fine! I’ll beat you to death, you wretched girl! Beat you to death!”
No one knew how long he struck her. By the time Chen Qinghuan was barely clinging to life, the child in her womb was lost, and a pool of blood spread beneath her, only then did he finally stop.
“Huan’er, that b*stard’s gone now. Just stay home and recover. Once you’re better, I’ll send you to the Northwest. You’ll live there for the rest of your life—never come back.”
“The people of the Chen family have pride. Even if we die, we would never stoop so low as to marry someone like Jiang Suifeng—that filthy trash!”
Having said this, he no longer looked back and strode out of the courtyard without once turning around.
Chen Qinghuan let out a wretched laugh and collapsed into her mother’s arms. Unable to bear it any longer, her vision went black and she fainted.
***
Jiang Suifeng, once dragged back to the Marquis’ manor, was thrown into the woodshed.
Waiting was the hardest part. All afternoon, he heard no movement at all, which left him burning with anxiety.
It wasn’t until dusk that he finally heard voices outside.
“Did you hear? That daughter of the Minister of Personnel—Chen Qinghuan—was beaten so badly by her own father that she miscarried. They say once she recovers, she’s being sent off to the Northwest.”
Hearing this, Jiang Suifeng nearly went mad.
He had thought that since he coaxed Chen Qinghuan into bed early on and she now carried his child, even if the affair came to light, the Chen family wouldn’t press too hard—they’d simply marry her to him.
But he never expected the Chens to be so ruthless—willing to beat their own daughter into miscarriage rather than agree to their marriage!
Just then, the woodshed door opened.
Several servants came in, grabbed him roughly, and dragged him out.
“Apologies, Young Master Jiang. The Marquis wishes to see you.”
