The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 187 Folk Remedies
The original owner was naive and easily swayed by Zhong Chenghong's sweet words. If she had truly become pregnant with Zhong Chenghong's child, given her personality, she should have informed him of this during their few communications.

This world places great importance on offspring and bloodlines, and the original owner was eagerly hoping that Zhong Chenghong would marry her after passing the imperial examination. The child was a significant bargaining chip.

Driven by love and eager to marry, she didn't believe the original owner could resist telling Zhong Chenghong.

But Zhong Chenghong's reaction was not quite right.

Zhong Chenghong's behavior just now shows that he is jealous of Lu Chengjing and is proud of having cuckolded Lu Chengjing.

If he knew that the original owner had been pregnant with his child, he shouldn't have kept quiet about it. After all, no man can stand the thought that "the child in his wife's belly is the product of cuckoldry."

Zhong Chenghong had a great opportunity to provoke Lu Chengjing, so why didn't he take it?
Shang Wan had a gut feeling that something was amiss.

“Of course.” Zhong Chenghong’s eyes flickered slightly, and he pursed his lips gently.

Shang Wan snorted coldly, "If you're capable of engaging in premarital illicit relations, it seems your earlier defense of the Earl's daughter was also a lie."

Zhong Chenghong: "..."

Two people having an affair, and then dragging her into it all—is this woman out of her mind?

He glanced at Lu Chengjing's cold expression, then suddenly an idea came to him. He looked at Shang Wan with that affectionate gaze again, "That day you took the initiative to come to me, saying you couldn't control your feelings, so I..."

The pause in the sentence left the listener with endless room for imagination.

Shang Wan, her face cold, raised her hand and slapped him. "Try acting again!"

Is this disgusting never going to end?
Zhong Chenghong: "..."

He adjusted his expression, "I..."

"Snapped!"

"you……"

"Snapped!"

"..."

"Clap!"

Zhong Chenghong, whose nose was bleeding profusely from being slapped: "..."

Whether he speaks up or not, he'll get slapped; where can he go to seek justice?

Wasn't this woman always gentle and kind, even reluctant to step on an ant? How come she's suddenly become so ferocious in just a few months?

Shang Wan coldly stared at the pig-headed man in front of her. "Guess if I can make you drown in the river and then fake it as an accidental fall?"

Zhong Chenghong:! ! !

The young man broke out in a cold sweat, and despite the sweltering heat, he felt a chill run down his spine; even his hands and feet began to feel icy cold.

He suddenly realized that Shang Wan really wanted to kill him, and it wasn't just empty talk.

Shang Wan: "I'll ask you one last time, yes or no?"

“There is…” A chilling killing intent surged down his back, and Zhong Chenghong’s words faltered as he hurriedly said, “No!”

Shang Wan slapped him again, "Did you or didn't you?"

"No!" Zhong Chenghong cried out in despair, "Really, no!"

Shang Wan sized him up and asked tentatively, "Then why do I remember having marital relations with you and even having a child?"

"Huh?" Zhong Chenghong was dumbfounded. "What child?"

"What are you pretending for?" Shang Wan didn't miss the evasive look in his eyes. She raised her hand, and just as the slap was about to fall, Zhong Chenghong closed his eyes in fright. "Don't hit me! I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!" Shang Wan gently placed her hand on his head and patted him like a dog. "You're like a spinning top, you deserve a slap."

Zhong Chenghong: "..."

Waaaaah~ He makes a living off his looks, what kind of living devil is this!
The young man sobbed, "We have no marital relationship, and we have no children."

Shang Wan raised an eyebrow, listening to him continue.

Zhong Chenghong: "My mother consulted a fortune teller who said that I would become a high-ranking official in the future. You killed your parents and have no family property, so you are not good enough for me. She doesn't let me touch you, so as not to give her any leverage against me in the future."

"But you're the easiest to fool. I'm worried that you won't give me money anymore after you get married. My mother used to be a maid and has a folk remedy. After a woman drinks it, she can fake a pregnancy, and even an old doctor can't tell. It's used in the inner quarters to harm people."

"Before you got married, I invited you to my house for dinner. The tonic my mother coaxed you into drinking was that folk remedy. You know what happened after that. I put the drug in your wine, and I calculated the time to lie down with you and lied to you that we had consummated our marriage."

Shang Wan's lips twitched as she listened, thinking to herself, "This is the harm of not having sex education."

The original owner, being so naive and innocent, probably thought that taking off clothes meant they had slept together. On their wedding night, she also made a three-point agreement with Lu Chengjing, and since they didn't actually consummate their marriage, there was no way to compare the truth.

“That medicine needs to be taken for seven consecutive days to be effective, so my mother brews the medicine for you every day and brings it to you, watching you drink it all.”

Shang Wan's eyes darkened.

After her parents passed away, the original owner received very little care and longed for love from others.

The fact that the aunt was so "caring" of the original owner, even personally brewing tonics for her and delivering them herself, made the naive and love-starved girl completely trust her. This was probably one of the reasons why she readily gave money to the girl afterwards.

Fragments of related memories flashed through Shang Wan's mind. Looking at the face that looked exactly like hers, showing that silly and innocent smile to the person who had harmed her, Shang Wan found it hard to look directly at them.

She shook her head, trying to shake off those memories.

Silly girl, be more careful in your next life, and don't mistake poison for medicine again.

Now an important question is facing her: if it was a fake pregnancy, why did the original owner actually give birth to a child?
She remembered that Lu Chengjing had told her that the original owner's child died before two months old. Fearing that Madam Lu would find out and hold her accountable, and that her life would become increasingly difficult, Lu Chengjing picked up a child from the refugee camp and brought it back for the original owner to raise.

What kind of fantasy story is it where someone fakes a pregnancy and ends up giving birth to a real child?
She turned to look at Lu Chengjing, a forced smile on her face, "I think I need an explanation."

Lu Chengjing: "..."

Lying may feel good for a moment, but covering up a lie will lead to disaster.

He decisively said, "My wife, I was wrong."

Shang Wan: "..."

The fox is becoming increasingly adept at admitting its mistakes.

Zhong Chenghong glanced at Lu Chengjing and then at Shang Wan, silently hoping the two would start fighting.

Fighting... is impossible.

Lu Chengjing did not intentionally conceal Shang Wan's identity. In fact, he was still suspicious of Shang Wan's identity at the time and worried that she was sent by those people. He was in the testing phase, so his words were inevitably a mixture of truth and falsehood.

The truth is that the original owner miscarried after only two months of a fake pregnancy because of the drug. She was greatly traumatized and spent her days in tears, staying in her room and refusing to go out.

The third branch of the family received little attention in the mansion. After Lu Chengjing made arrangements, he quietly concealed the fact that the original owner had miscarried.

For some purpose, Lu Chengjing made the original owner continue to pretend to be pregnant, and then brought back a baby girl on the day the original owner was about to give birth, claiming that the baby was the original owner's.

Lu Chengjing told Shang Wan that having a child was a lie, that the child died at two months old was a lie, and that the only truth was that he had brought a child back from outside.

He and Shang Wan had always treated Yuanyuan like their own child, so Lu Chengjing had forgotten about this matter. If Shang Wan hadn't asked about it today, he wouldn't have known that there was a hidden problem here.

After hearing Lu Chengjing's explanation, Shang Wan was speechless.

—What a scoundrel! He's a master of lies!