Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

Chu Sikong, however, paid no attention.

He hugged Jiang Yining tightly from behind, his soaked clothes drenching her back. The sensation of the wet, cold, and hot intertwined made Jiang Yining's scalp tingle.

His hands encircled her waist and naturally covered her slightly protruding belly.

The heat beneath his palm felt as if it could scald his soul.

"My brother deserves to die..."

Chu Sikong leaned close to her ear, his warm breath spraying against her earlobe, but his voice was as cold as a poisoned knife.

"He bullies you as soon as he gets back."

"He'd rather believe that foreign wild woman than you."

"He makes you kneel here in the cold wind, while he himself is enjoying himself in a gentle embrace."

With each word he spoke, he tightened his grip on Jiang Yining's arm.

The force that seemed to squeeze her into her very bones carried a suffocating possessiveness.

"Sister-in-law."

Chu Sikong suddenly laughed, a laugh that looked particularly eerie in the lightning.

He turned his head to the side, his cool lips pressed against Jiang Yining's carotid artery, and gently licked it with the tip of his tongue.

Jiang Yining froze, unable to move.

"Shall we kill him?"

He spoke the most terrifying words in the gentlest and most tender tone.

"Once he dies, this house will be ours again."

"No one will make you kneel in the ancestral hall anymore, and no one will dare to mistreat you."

"I can do better than him. I can be the head of the Chu family. I'll chop that woman into pieces and feed her to the dogs..."

"shut up!"

Jiang Yining suddenly turned around and covered his mouth with her hand.

Her heart was pounding, not only from fright, but also from the thrill of this damned, immoral thrill.

In this solemn and dignified ancestral hall.

Under the watchful eyes of their ancestral tablets, they plotted to murder her husband.

This is simply... insane.

Chu Sikong did not struggle.

He obediently let Jiang Yining cover his mouth, his glassy eyes curving into a sly smile.

He stuck out the tip of his tongue and gently licked Jiang Yining's palm.

Wet, with a hint of ingratiation, but more so with provocation.

"Well……"

Jiang Yining withdrew her hand as if she had been burned.

"Don't talk nonsense!" she scolded in a low voice. "That's your own brother!"

"So what if he's my own older brother?"

Chu Sikong nuzzled her cheek, like a wronged big cat.

"In my heart, only my sister-in-law is family."

"Sister-in-law, I'm cold..."

He started acting cute again, his sickly and innocent appearance making it impossible for anyone to resist.

Jiang Yining sighed, but in the end, she still couldn't push him away.

She pulled the brocade quilt over and wrapped the two of them tightly together.

In the confined space, body heat mingled.

Chu Sikong nestled contentedly in her arms, listening to the thunder and rain outside the window, a sickly smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

The heavy rain has just stopped.

The morning light pierced through the window, illuminating the dust particles floating in the air with exquisite detail.

The red candles inside the ancestral hall burned out, leaving only a pool of solidified candle wax.

Jiang Yining straightened her slightly wrinkled skirt and pushed open the heavy wooden door of the ancestral hall.

The door hinges turned, making a teeth-grinding "creak" sound.

Uncle Zhao, who had been waiting outside, immediately came forward, holding a thick fox fur cloak in his hands.

"Madam, you've suffered."

Jiang Yining remained calm, letting Uncle Zhao tie the cloak around her shoulders.

"Where is the second young master?"

Uncle Zhao lowered his voice and glanced around.

"They went back before dawn, saying they were going to pay their respects to the General."

Jiang Yining raised an eyebrow.

Greetings?

It would be good if that madman didn't drive Chu Jinglan to his death.

Inside the main hall.

Chu Jinglan sat upright in the main seat, his face ashen.

He didn't sleep all night.

The thunderstorm last night had disturbed his peace of mind.

My mind was filled with Jiang Yining's cold face and the shocking numbers on the ledger.

Liu Xueru sat to the side, diligently serving him food.

"General, have some porridge. Xue Ru cooked it for two hours."

Chu Jinglan didn't touch his chopsticks.

A slender figure walked in against the light.

Today, Chu Sikong changed into a moon-white brocade robe, which made his handsome face appear even more striking, despite his frail and sickly appearance.

"Big brother."

Chu Sikong walked into the hall and bowed respectfully.

But before he could bend down, he was interrupted by a violent cough.

"Cough cough cough..."

He clutched his chest, coughing so hard it felt like he was coughing up his internal organs.

That originally pale face was flushed with an eerie red from the violent movement.

Chu Jinglan frowned and pointed to the chair next to him: "Come and sit down."

"Thank you, brother."

Chu Sikong, holding onto the edge of the table, slowly sat down.

As he moved, something hanging from his waist swayed in mid-air.

It was a sachet.

The crimson brocade was embroidered with intricate patterns in gold thread.

The stitches are fine and dense, clearly indicating that it was made by a master craftsman.

Against this pristine white brocade robe, the crimson hue stood out starkly.

Chu Jinglan's gaze froze.

This needling technique...it's so familiar.

Jiang Yining is skilled in embroidery, especially her unique "double-sided embroidery".

Among his dowry was a robe she had sewn for him, with this pattern embroidered on the collar.

"This sachet..."

Chu Jinglan's fingertips trembled slightly as he pointed to the object that was dangling at Chu Sikong's waist.

"Where did it come from?"

Chu Sikong subconsciously reached out and covered the sachet, as if protecting some rare treasure.

"This is... cough cough..."

"It was...it was bought on the street."

"nonsense!"

Chu Jinglan slammed his hand on the table, causing the porridge in the bowl to spill out.

"Which shop on the street can embroider with this kind of stitch?!"

He strode forward and grabbed the sachet.

Chu Sikong shuddered, but did not let go.

As the two pulled and tugged, the pattern on the front of the sachet was completely exposed to the morning light.

It is not a cloud pattern.

It's not some kind of flower or bird.

Those were two waterfowl lying with their necks intertwined, frolicking in the blue waves.

With full plumage and an affectionate expression.

These are clearly... mandarin ducks.

Chu Jinglan felt a surge of heat rush to the top of his head.

Mandarin ducks play in the water.

This is a token of love that a woman gave to her lover!

"What is this?!"

Chu Jinglan's voice trembled, as if someone was choking him.

Chu Sikong lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes concealing the fleeting glint of light in them.

He let go, allowing Chu Jinglan to pull the sachet away.

"Since you've already seen it, why ask when you already know the answer?"

Chu Sikong stroked the sachet, a sickly yet sweet smile on his face: "It's a token of love from my sister-in-law... oh no, a reassurance."

He deliberately let slip the secret, then covered his mouth in a panic, "Brother, don't overthink it, sister-in-law was just trying to comfort me."

Chu Jinglan's mind was filled with doubt.

At this moment, Liu Xueru added fuel to the fire: "I've heard that there's a custom of 'double inheritance' in folk tradition, where the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, and sometimes also like... a wife."