The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Jiang Guo'er followed him all the way to the courtyard where Daoist Longchuan was temporarily staying in the Pei residence.

Jiang Guo'er hid behind a large osmanthus tree and slowed her breathing.

In the courtyard, Master Longchuan was fiddling with a pot of herbs using a small copper shovel.

Pei Yan strode over, skipping the usual formalities and getting straight to the point.

"Master, she is pregnant with three children." Pei Yan's voice was deep, filled with undisguised anxiety.

"I want to know, if that day really comes, what would be the worst possible outcome?"

Master Longchuan put down the copper shovel, patted the dirt off his hands, and looked up at him.

"You're well-read, don't you know that childbirth is a life-or-death ordeal for a woman? Why are you asking me?"

"I'm asking you the worst possible outcome!" Pei Yan suddenly raised his voice.

"Major bleeding, resulting in the deaths of four people, including the unborn child." Master Longchuan bluntly stated these words without any hesitation.

Pei Yan's tall body swayed violently, his five fingers forming claws as he gripped the fabric at his chest.

A sharp pain spread from the depths of his heart, so intense that he couldn't straighten up and his face turned as pale as paper.

Master Longchuan sighed softly, took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, poured out two brown pills, and handed them over.

"Eat quickly. I told you before, you must avoid excessive grief and sorrow, as this can damage your heart."

Pei Yan snatched the pill and swallowed it, then slumped against the edge of the bluestone table, panting heavily.

It took him about half a cup of tea for his complexion to recover slightly.

"Don't think too badly of things. Xue Lingyi's medical skills are quite good, and with me on the side, we have a good chance of saving her life."

"Try to look on the bright side of things, and don't panic." Seeing his state, Master Longchuan could only offer some kind words of advice.

Pei Yan gave a bitter laugh and tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Think positively?"

"Master, do you know that when my mother gave birth to my brother and me, we were twins?"

Standing behind the tree, Jiang Guo'er felt a sudden ringing in her ears.

elder brother?

Twins?!

Her fingers unconsciously gripped the bark, and she inhaled deeply.

The sounds in the courtyard continued, each word so deafening that Jiang Guo'er saw stars.

"People outside all think that the Pei family only has one eldest grandson."

Pei Yan leaned weakly against the bluestone table, slightly raising his long neck, his voice filled with deep sorrow.

"But my name isn't Pei Xiu... my name is A Ying, the Ying of shadow."

"I was hidden in the attic since I was a child, a substitute and shadow for my brother. They didn't even give me a proper name!"

"Because they were certain that I would end up like my uncle did before, dying silently while protecting my brother sometime in the future."

Jiang Guo'er gasped, a chill creeping up her body from the soles of her feet to her limbs.

How could this happen?

How could the Pei family be so cruel?

So the person she met at the Lantern Festival that year was not Pei Yan, who was standing before her.

Or was it his deceased twin brother?!

"I endured unimaginable suffering, living a life worse than death, a life devoid of sunlight, like an ant."

"These torturous and insidious methods must never be repeated on my own flesh and blood!"

Pei Yan braced his hands on the stone table, his knuckles cracking.

"What's more, three fetuses... could kill her!"

Pei Yan suddenly straightened up and grabbed Longchuan Daoist's robe.

His eyes were bloodshot, and tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes.

"Master, you've traveled the world and met countless people, do you have any ideas...?"

He stared at the old Taoist priest like a drowning man grasping at a straw.

"Is there any medicine that can terminate the pregnancy without harming the mother's body?"

Jiang Guo'er's heart felt as if it had been shattered by a heavy hammer.

Lose a child?!

Has he gone mad?!

Those are their own flesh and blood! He actually wanted to get rid of his own child?!

An overwhelming sense of panic engulfed Jiang Guo'er in an instant.

She covered her lips tightly, afraid of making even the slightest sound.

Fearing that Pei Yan might say something else she couldn't bear, Jiang Guo'er turned around in a panic and stumbled away.

We returned to Qingyi Garden.

As soon as she entered the inner room, she locked the door with her other hand.

My legs felt as if all the strength had been drained from them, and I sat down on the tatami mat, my back quickly soaked with cold sweat.

My mind was filled with the words I had just heard.

Reduce the number of children...

Twins, substitutes...

He is not the original Pei Yan, but A Ying!

Jiang Guo'er bit her lower lip tightly, her whole body trembling violently.

"He's insane." She clutched her trembling stomach, her eyes red-rimmed. "How could he even have such a thought!"

A mother's instinct told her that Pei Yan's thoughts were absolutely terrifying.

But after calming down, reason gradually returned.

Why does he want to cut one?

He was afraid because he had heard that massive bleeding could result in the death of four children.

He was afraid something would happen to her, afraid she might be in danger.

Jiang Guo'er closed her eyes and gasped for breath, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest.

"It's alright." She patted her chest to calm herself, took several deep breaths, and clutched the silk doll in her purse tightly in her hand. "It's alright..."

She recalled all that Pei Yan had done for her. Even if he was a substitute, even if he was A Ying, even if it wasn't him she met at the lantern festival back then, the person who had spent these past few months with her, helping her investigate the wrongful case of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, was none other than him.

He's just too good at hiding things. How many secrets does he still have that she doesn't know?

Jiang Guo'er loosened her collar, struggling to breathe.

Pregnancy already makes it easy to have unstable emotions and fluctuating moods, and to uncontrollably think the worst about things. At this time, it's even more like waves of panic.

"Don't panic." She walked to the copper basin, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it on her face.

Cold water droplets dripped down his chin.

"As long as he is sincere towards me... I am confident that I can dissuade him from that idea."

Didn't she also hide her identity and deceive him in the past?

Therefore, she should not jump to conclusions at this point; she should observe secretly first.

at the same time.

Master Longchuan's face darkened, and he slammed the teacup onto the stone table.

"Do you take me for a god descended to earth?" The old Taoist priest laughed angrily. "Cut off a fetus? Why don't you tell me to snatch the Book of Life and Death from the King of Hell's hands?"

"Is there really no other way?" Pei Yan clenched his fists tightly.

"No!" Master Longchuan flicked his sleeves without any politeness.

"Let alone this humble Taoist priest, even if the Three Pure Ones and the Six Emperors descended to earth, they could not possibly abort a child without harming the mother!"

"You'd better give up this ridiculous idea as soon as possible, lest you end up killing that girl!"

Pei Yan quietly closed his eyes.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down with difficulty.

After a while, his tightly clenched fists gradually loosened.

"I see."

The Taoist priest is right; we can't gamble with Guo'er's life.

"Three is fine, but in case, in case she has a difficult childbirth, you must save the mother!"

"I can give up the child, as long as she lives!"

Master Longchuan nodded at him, "Don't worry, I will do my best."

Pei Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Since reducing the number of babies is not an option, all he can do now is to ensure, as much as possible, that his unborn child is spared the suffering he once endured.

We must change that damned rule at its root!

Pei Yan suddenly turned around, strode out of the side courtyard, and headed straight for Songhe Garden with a murderous aura.