Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

After receiving the message from Xie Jue, Jiang Sese stared out the window in a daze for a long time.

The begonia in full bloom was a dazzling red, just like Zhang Fumeng's vibrant appearance on a normal day.

How should I tell Fumeng this news?

Jiang Sese could almost picture her looking flustered.

Given Zhang Fumeng's personality, she would definitely be furious and scold Shen Ziyu for being ungrateful.

However, after Zhang Fumeng heard what she said, she did not have the intense reaction that Jiang Sese had expected.

Zhang Fumeng remained silent.

Jiang Sese panicked immediately: "Fu Meng, you...you don't need to be too sad. There are plenty of good men in this world. It's Shen Ziyu's loss that he doesn't recognize such a gem..."

"I know."

Zhang Fumeng suddenly spoke up.

Jiang Sese was taken aback: "What?"

Zhang Fumeng slowly raised her head, her eyes slightly red, but there were no tears, only an overwhelming sense of loss and understanding. She tried to force a smile, but it looked worse than crying.

"SeSe, I knew it all along," Zhang Fumeng said, her voice trembling with tears.

"I knew he wouldn't like me. How could someone like him... someone so upright and incorruptible, someone who can't tolerate any injustice, possibly like someone from the Zhang family?"

Although the Zhang family is powerful and influential, their reputation is not very good.

Anyone who cares about their reputation and cherishes their image will not get close to the Zhang family.

Zhang Fumeng had already expected this, so when she learned the result, she wasn't too disappointed. She just felt very sad, very sad.

Born into the Zhang family, she lived a life of luxury, pampered and protected by her father and brothers. She had never said that the Zhang family was a burden to her, but now, if she were to say that the Zhang family was a burden to her, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Zhang Fumeng's voice grew softer and softer, carrying a hint of cruel clarity, "I should have understood long ago. It's just... it's just that I still harbored a little bit of wishful thinking."

Jiang Sese reached out and gently grasped Zhang Fumeng's cold fingers: "Fumeng..."

Actually, Jiang Sese really wanted to spoil the plot for Zhang Fumeng!

She was actually going to marry someone else, a general, but Jiang Sese didn't know how Zhang Fumeng fared after marriage in the book... so she didn't dare to speak carelessly.

Jiang Sese could only comfort her, saying, "Who you like is your choice, and whether he's willing or not is his decision. It doesn't mean you're bad. You were born into the Zhang family, and that's not wrong. You like him, and that's not wrong either. The person who truly deserves you won't look down on you because of your family background, nor will he try to curry favor with you because your aunt was a concubine. You deserve someone like that."

"Sese..." Zhang Fumeng finally couldn't hold back and threw herself into Jiang Sese's arms and cried for a while, then left while sobbing.

After seeing Zhang Fumeng off, Xie Yujiao arrived right after.

Jiang Sese was still preoccupied with Zhang Fumeng's matter when Xie Yujiao came in crying.

Jiang Sese: ...

"Sese—!" Xie Yujiao cried out as soon as she saw Jiang Sese, her voice trembling with tears streaming down her face like broken beads, completely losing her usual arrogant and domineering demeanor.

Jiang Sese: ...

Jiang Sese's temples were throbbing, and she felt extremely overwhelmed.

"What's wrong? Sit down and tell me." Jiang Sese quickly handed her her handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

But Xie Yujiao couldn't sit still.

While tightly gripping Jiang Sese's arm as if grasping at a lifeline, Xie Yujiao cried uncontrollably as she recounted what had happened.

Chen Jingxuan's household always had several concubines and maids.

She hadn't taken those people seriously, but the other day one of her concubines was diagnosed with pregnancy.

Xie Yujiao was furious when she heard that!

She wasn't pregnant yet, but one of her concubines was already pregnant. If word got out, how would she save face?

Before the principal wife gives birth to a legitimate son, a concubine cannot become pregnant. This is an unwritten rule in high-ranking families and the royal family.

Xie Yujiao then angrily went to confront Chen Jingxuan. Knowing he was in the wrong, Chen Jingxuan let her rant and, unusually, whispered that he would give her an explanation.

Xie Yujiao was still not satisfied, so the next day she rushed to the concubine's courtyard and slapped her. The concubine tripped and fell to the ground, hitting her forehead on the corner of the table, and blood immediately appeared on her body.

At this point, Xie Yujiao's voice trembled so badly she could barely speak, and tears welled up again. She was filled with grievance and fear: "I lost the baby, but I didn't mean to. How could I have known that pregnant women are so vulnerable..."

Wang had put in a lot of effort for Xie Yujiao.

When Xie Yujiao got married, she prepared several trustworthy nannies and maids for her. However, Xie Yujiao was angry at the time and wouldn't listen to a word the nannies said. She just wanted to enjoy herself first.

Moreover, Xie Yujiao really didn't expect that just one slap would cause her child to be gone.

If Xie Yujiao had known she would lose the child, she wouldn't have dared to do it.

At the time, Xie Yujiao thought that it was just a slap, and Chen Jingxuan was in the wrong, so she could just hit him and he probably wouldn't say anything.

who knows……

Who knew it would turn out like this!

Xie Yujiao looked at Jiang Sese with teary eyes, sobbing, "Sese, what should I do?"

Xie Yujiao is someone who appears tough on the surface but is actually cowardly on the inside.

When Jiang Sese heard this, her heart skipped a beat. To harm the imperial heir, Xie Yujiao was incredibly audacious!

In the story, Xie Yujiao is already dead at this point, so naturally none of these things happened.

Jiang Sese: "...What did the Second Prince say?"

Xie Yujiao shook her head blankly, tears falling again: "I don't know. When I heard the servants say that the child couldn't be saved, I was so frightened that I immediately ran out of the mansion."

Jiang Sese was speechless for a moment, silently rubbing her throbbing temples, and thought for a moment before saying, "You must go back immediately and explain things to Chen Jingxuan properly."

Xie Yujiao cried out in fear, "I wouldn't dare! He'll definitely kill me!"

Jiang Sese: "...It can't be that bad, can it?"

Although Chen Jingxuan has a bad temper, neither in the book nor in the people she has met is he a violent person.

Otherwise, Xie Jue would never have married Xie Yujiao to him!

Xie Yujiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "Anyway, I'm just afraid of him. People outside say he... say he has a violent temper... I..."

Jiang Sese immediately understood that Chen Jingxuan did indeed have a reputation for tyranny, but half of that reputation was deliberately spread by Chen Jingyan.

Jiang Sese couldn't help but say, "If you're afraid of him, why did you marry him in the first place? He's your husband; you know better than anyone whether he's the kind of person who would kill indiscriminately. You just said that when you confronted him, he didn't get angry at you; instead, he let you yell at him and even said he would give you an explanation. Think about it carefully. If he were really the kind of tyrannical person people say about him, would he bow down to you?"

Xie Yujiao was taken aback, then lowered her head and remained silent.

Actually, after she married him, Chen Jingxuan treated her quite well.

But it was precisely because of this that she was even more afraid.

She knew she had done wrong, but she didn't know if Chen Jingxuan would forgive her or stop treating her well. She thought it would be better to just kill her.

After much persuasion, Jiang Sese finally managed to convince Xie Yujiao to go back.

However, Jiang Sese was also worried about what would happen to Xie Yujiao after she went back. She was the one who persuaded Xie Yujiao to go back. What if Chen Jingxuan really went crazy and killed Xie Yujiao?

Just as Jiang Sese was about to ask Fuyun to inquire about the news, Emperor Jingyuan suddenly sent someone to summon her to the palace.