The Marquis's line has ended? The pregnant maid is pregnant again!

"I! I didn't!! Perhaps you've misunderstood me. I really didn't intend to harm Sister Shen... Besides, you saw it for yourself, Master!"

At this point, a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in Wu Xiaoniang's terrified eyes. She turned to look at Chu Xingge beside her, pointing at him and saying, "It was clearly him! He and Shen Qinghe had an affair, they almost got married, and on such a beautiful day, they took the opportunity to meet secretly! You saw it yourself, sir!"

Lu Jihan's gaze was icy: "Save those words for later."

Soon, the Zhuang family doctor and Wu Xiaoniang were bound together with a thick hemp rope, from their feet to their shoulders. The rope was tied so tightly that they had no chance to struggle.

After tying them both up, Lu Jihan's gaze fell on Wu Xiaoniang, who was standing to the side, but he did not order anyone to tie her up.

Firstly, Wu Xiaoniang's identity is what it is; secondly, if Wu Xiaoniang is tied up, it will clearly tell everyone that he and Shen Qinghe are suspected of having an affair.

Soon, someone from the old lady came to report, "Sir, the birthday banquet has ended, and the old lady sent me to inquire about Qinghe's condition."

"Perfect timing! Since the birthday banquet is over, let's invite Grandmother and Madam Qin over. I'll finish what she didn't do!"

With that, Lu Jihan waved his hand and looked at Wu Xiaoniang, suppressing the disdain in his eyes: "Just tell the truth later."

"Thank you for trusting me, Your Excellency." Wu Xiaoniang bowed and finally regained her gentle and refined demeanor.

"I don't believe you, I believe her." Lu Jihan didn't look at him again, his tone sharp and merciless: "You are not as good-looking as me, not as talented as me, and although we hold the same official rank, your family background is not as good as mine."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xiaoniang helplessly pursed her lips. Lu Jihan was clearly saying that she had no reason to be interested in him.

The implication was that he was far inferior to Lu Jihan, and Shen Qinghe looked down on him.

Basic manners and dignity must still be maintained, so Wu Xiaoniang said against her will, "Then thank you, Lord Marquis, for clearing my name."

After today's events, Lu Jihan's attitude towards Wu Xiaoniang became noticeably more hostile and cold. "I only care about her innocence."

Chu Xingge: ...If we don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much.

Soon, the old lady and Madam Qin arrived, along with Cao Xiaoniang.

When the old lady entered and saw the scene in the main room, she frowned for a moment, but quickly came to her senses.

Qin helped the old lady to Lu Jihan's side, and the old lady hurriedly asked, "How is Qinghe? Is she pregnant?"

The old lady and Madam Qin were busy handling various affairs in the mansion and preparing for the birthday banquet, so they didn't come over in time or call Lin Wanwan over to inquire.

If this matter doesn't escalate, it's still a matter within her household. But if it gets out in front of guests, it will become the talk of the town in Chang'an.

Lu Jihan replied, "Dr. Lin has already come and confirmed that she is more than a month pregnant, and the baby is safe."

"I'm really pregnant!! I'm really going to have a great-grandchild!! The second branch of the family will finally have an heir!" The old lady was overjoyed, her deeply lined face breaking into tears of happiness as she repeatedly exclaimed, "Good! Good!"

"Okay, okay, Qinghe is good, she's a good child. I'll go see her, I'll go see her!!"

As the old lady spoke, she immediately went inside to see Shen Qinghe, completely unaware of the momentary stiffness in Qin Shi's expression beside her.

Qin was both surprised and puzzled. Wasn't the plan to frame Shen Qinghe and Wu Xiaoniang for having an affair? Or to catch them in the act of meeting secretly?

How did they manage to expose Shen Qinghe's pregnancy?

Madam Qin tilted her head, her scrutinizing and questioning gaze falling on Wu Xiaoniang beside her. Could this fool possibly handle anything? She'd made such a huge mess; did she really expect the Marquis to neglect Shen Qinghe?!

Not only was Wu Xiaoniang bound on the ground, but also the Zhuang family doctor. This incident had blown up Qin Shi's reputation.

Just as the old lady was about to go in, Lu Jihan stopped her.

Lu Jihan pursed his lips: "Grandmother, Shen Qinghe is still not awake. The doctor said that her body is weak right now. Why don't you wait until she wakes up before going to see her? There are more important things to investigate right now."

The old lady could tell from Lu Jihan's expression that this was no small matter, especially since her grandson had never looked like this before.

The old lady immediately composed herself, sat down on the throne, and turned her gaze to Chu Xingge beside her: "Who is Lord Chu?"

Lu Jihan patted the old lady's hand, but instead of answering directly, he removed the cloth from Wu Xiaoniang's mouth and made her tell the old lady everything she had seen.

The old lady's brows furrowed deeper and her face grew increasingly grim as she listened. Looking at Wu Xiaoniang before her, she asked, "So you're saying Qinghe and Lord Chu were having a secret rendezvous in the kitchen??"

"Yes, Madam! Not only did I see it, but the Marquis also saw it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears. Lord Chu was talking to Shen Qinghe about marriage and other things!!" Wu Xiaoniang now regarded the old lady as her only hope.

"If you don't believe me, ask the servants who were there at the time!!"

"Do you know that having an affair is a serious crime? If it's true, Shen Qinghe will be drowned in a pig cage!" The old lady's tone was serious and sharp. She had just had a great-grandson and naturally did not want this to be true.

"Whether it's true or false, we'll only know after we investigate." Lu Jihan glanced at Chu Xingge beside him, signaling that he could speak.

Chu Xingge stepped forward: "Madam, please forgive my bluntness, but if I really wanted to meet with Miss Shen in the manor in secret, why did I choose today? There are so many people in the manor today, guests and maids everywhere. Do you think I did this just so you would find out?"

Furthermore, the reason I went to the kitchen was because I was accidentally bumped into by a maid on the way, and my clothes got wet. One of the maids in the manor offered to iron my wet clothes, so she brought me to the kitchen. If things go wrong, you can always send someone to investigate. My eyes have a photographic memory; even a month later, I will still remember what those two maids looked like.”

As soon as Chu Xingge finished speaking, before anyone else had a chance to speak, Lu Jihan glanced at Lin Feng and said, "Bring him up."

Soon, Lin Feng came up with three maids: "Lord Chu, please point out the two you mentioned from among these three maids."

Chu Xingge immediately recognized Fangfei in the middle and the little maid next to her: "It's them."

"Fangfei??" Cao Xiaoniang rarely covered her mouth and spoke out, feigning ignorance, but was extremely surprised: "Fangfei... Sister Wu, why would you frame Sister Shen like this!?"

Upon seeing this, Wu Xiaoniang was immediately horrified: "It wasn't me...it wasn't...Lord Chu is Shen Qinghe's lover..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was kicked hard. Lin Feng, looking fierce, yelled, "Speak properly!"

"If you don't admit it, I have a way." Lu Jihan's expression remained unchanged as he calmly raised his hand.

Lin Feng immediately understood that the little maid next to Fang Fei had already been dragged into the courtyard and given fifty lashes.

Before even reaching fifty, he could only withstand thirty attacks before he couldn't take all the moves.

Seeing this, Wu Xiaoniang completely lost the strength to struggle.

"Outrageous! I will not be able to quell my anger until you are punished today!" The old lady was furious. If Wu Xiaoniang's scheme succeeded, wouldn't she have killed her great-grandson and Qinghe, whom she had worked so hard to raise?

Just as the old lady was about to use torture, Lu Jihan stopped her again.

"Grandmother, this is only the first matter; there is a second one." Lu Jihan said, his gaze suddenly turning to the Zhuang family physician lying on the ground:

"And this heartless wretch! You saved my father back then, which is why the Marquis's mansion invited you to be their physician, treating you with great favor and trust. But you actually conspired to hide Ahe's pregnancy!"

"What?!" Upon hearing this, the old lady slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly. "How dare you do such a thing?! How can you betray the trust my Marquis's mansion placed in you?!"

"Fangfei has already confessed to framing Chu Xingge, so it should be easy for her to confess to something else as well."

"I...I..." The Zhuang family physician trembled with fear. He subconsciously looked behind him and saw Cao Xiaoniang sitting in that direction, and Wu Xiaoniang struggling and rolling to her feet.

Cao Xiaoniang raised an eyebrow, her expression unchanged, and continued to wave the round fan in her hand, as if this matter had nothing to do with her.

Wu Xiaoniang's eyes widened in terror.

With just that one glance back, the Zhuang family physician already knew the answer. His voice trembled as he replied, "It's Madam Wu. Madam Wu gave me a lot of money. I'm getting old, and I just want to earn some money for my retirement..."

"Bang!" The old lady, enraged beyond measure, slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Guards, drag him away and give him a hundred heavy lashes, beat him hard, preferably to death! If he survives, throw him out of the Marquis's mansion and never let him set foot in Chang'an again!"

Then, the old lady looked at Wu Xiaoniang beside her: "And you, you vicious thing! So ruthless, your schemes are so cruel, one vicious plot after another. Did you really think my Marquis's mansion had no one left? How dare you run rampant in the mansion! Drag her out and give her a hundred lashes, pull out her tongue and hair, and sell her to a slave trader!"

It turns out that the pregnancy was a lie from the very beginning. The old lady didn't even dare to think about what would have happened if something went wrong, or if Jihan had really touched Qinghe. Wouldn't the great-grandson she had been longing for be ruined again?

How could the old lady not be angry? How could she not hate her?

At the old lady's command, Granny Kang led her men to drag the Zhuang family physician and Wu Xiaoniang away.

Meanwhile, Qin Shi, who was standing to the side, became increasingly wary of Shen Qinghe. Seeing the fate of Wu Xiaoniang and the Zhuang family doctor, she felt a chill run down her spine.

Fortunately, no matter what, her hands were clean, and no matter how they searched, they couldn't find anything on her.

Cao Xiaoniang, standing to the side, grew increasingly cold in her gaze, yet her smile deepened. Despite having used Shen Qinghe to eliminate Wu Xiaoniang, Cao Xiaoniang felt no joy whatsoever.

On the contrary, she became increasingly wary of Shen Qinghe.

Originally, she had set up the scheme to eliminate one of them; as for who would stay and who would go, it would depend on who was more capable.

But Shen Qinghe is far too capable!

She had only fallen, yet the Marquis was so distressed that he disregarded everything else, even the suspicion of her having a secret rendezvous with a man, and personally stepped in to fight for her!

Cao Xiaoniang had considered that her opponent would be Shen Qinghe, but if her opponent became Lu Jihan, how could she possibly win?

Ironically, Shen Qinghe seemed to possess this ability.

Just then, Qing'er's voice rang out, filled with both surprise and worry: "Sister, sister, you're awake!"

Shen Qinghe is awake!!

Lu Jihan immediately stood up, and the old lady quickly led her entourage inside.