You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Seeing that expression on his face.

Chu Shunqing's fingernails dug into his palm, causing him excruciating pain.

But she had no time to pay attention. The paddle fell heavily on her head, and after the last blow, she felt a metallic taste in her throat and spat out a front tooth.

As soon as the eunuch holding her let go, she collapsed to the ground and fainted.

When I woke up again, I was already on a bumpy carriage.

She struggled to sit up, lifted the car curtain, and saw Lin Jingrui walking beside the car... He preferred to walk rather than ride in the same car as her.

They probably disliked the smell of urine on her.

"Lin Lang..." She reached out and pulled back the curtains, her voice hoarse, "Let me explain..."

Lin Jingrui didn't stop or look at her.

What else can be explained?

He felt a chill in his heart.

Sincerity? Medical skill?

It's all fake.

He traveled south, his aim being to secure the position of the principal wife.

The desire to enter the palace was also for power and wealth.

"Don't overthink it," he said calmly. "We'll talk about it when we get back."

The setting sun shone down, but his eyes looked even more empty, devoid of light.

As the palace gates receded into the distance, he suddenly turned back and looked towards the depths of the palace.

A sudden stab struck my heart.

Ever since he heard that she had been granted the title of Noble Lady and sent to the Hot Spring Palace, he knew that there was no way to salvage the situation. However, he did not give up. No matter how much the emperor favored her, it would not last. He waited for her to regret her decision and for her to turn back.

His gaze was deep and heavy, as if he were searching for someone through high walls. After a long while, he withdrew his gaze, concealing the resentment in his eyes.

"Lin Lang!" Chu Shunqing leaned against the car window, and when he saw that Lin Lang ignored him, his heart sank.

Just then, her hand inadvertently landed on her lower abdomen.

He's been unusually cold towards her lately... but that's okay.

She had another trump card... she was pregnant with his child.

A faint smile finally appeared on Chu Shunqing's pale face.

He'll be happy when he finds out.

Back at the manor, Chu Shunqing hid in his room, covering his face with a veil all day, and spent more than ten days recuperating from his injuries.

During this time, even when her aunt Lin Jingjue came to her door to make sarcastic remarks, she gritted her teeth and endured it, pretending not to hear.

Just as the wounds on her face had finally scabbed over and she was starting to recover a little, Lin Jingrui sent someone to tell her that Xie's old illness had relapsed and that she needed to come and take care of her.

Chu Shunqing was unwilling, but he had no choice but to change his clothes, hastily comb his hair, and head to Ci'an Hall.

Because it was cold downstairs, Xie had moved to the second floor, so she also went up the stairs by holding onto the handrail.

When the maids and servants guarding the door saw her arrive, they quickly lifted the thick cotton curtain.

A strong smell of medicine mixed with the stench of urine hit him, and Chu Shunqing instinctively covered his mouth and nose.

Inside the room, Madam Xie lay on the couch, her face ashen, groaning incessantly, no longer the dignified lady she once was.

Lin Jingjue stayed by the bedside, wiping away tears, while Lin Jingrui stood beside him, his handsome face somber and his brows furrowed with anxiety.

"Rui'er..." Xie Shi gasped for breath, her words broken, "My chest... feels so tight, and my whole body aches..."

Lin Jingjue rushed to the bedside: "Mother, weren't you feeling better a few days ago?"

The old nanny Song, who was serving nearby, wiped away her tears and said, "The wind-dispelling pills we found last time have already been finished."

Chu Shunqing felt a little guilty and said in a low voice, "I prescribed some medicine a while ago and it was getting a bit better."

These words were like a spark, instantly igniting Lin Jingjue.

She stamped her foot and shouted, "Sister-in-law! That's clearly the effect of the wind-dispelling pills, what does it have to do with the medicine you prescribed? I think you're not even as good as your social climber!"

Chu Shunqing hated it most when people compared her to her sister.

Her face flushed with anger: "Little sister, she's ungrateful and only cares about getting rich and powerful. How have I served Mother so diligently these past few days? How can you just dismiss it all with a single sentence!"

"Hmph," Lin Jingjue said with a face full of disdain, "She's opportunistic and treacherous, and you're useless too. The medicine you prescribed didn't work. Otherwise, why would you have been punished in the palace and lost your position? If you had said you couldn't cure her, we could have posted a notice to find someone more capable. Now you've made Mother suffer all this for nothing... You're not even as good as that little slut!"

The humiliation she suffered in the palace had not yet subsided, and now she was being humiliated and contradicted by her younger sister-in-law in this way.

Chu Shunqing trembled with anger, tears welling in her eyes, as she looked at Lin Jingrui: "Husband, listen to this! Whenever I wasn't on duty the other day, I was always by Mother's side. If it weren't for my meticulous care, how could Mother have recovered?"

She wiped away her tears, looking pitiful.

Unfortunately, her face was covered in scars, and this appearance not only failed to elicit pity, but also disgusted Lin Jingrui.

He turned his face away in annoyance, his expression indifferent.

Lin Jingjue immediately scoffed, "Making such an ugly spectacle is disgusting!"

"Lin Lang, look at your little aunt..."

"What a sophistry!" Lin Jingjue sneered. "Your mouth is far more powerful than your medical skills!"

Lin Jingrui frowned and remained silent.

Chu Shunqing was both angry and aggrieved. "It's cold this year, how can you blame it all on me for my old illness recurring? Besides, who knows if it was Chu Nianci who gave my mother the wrong medicine back then, which is why she's so weak. How can you blame everything on me?"

"Say less," Lin Jingrui said, his head throbbing from the noise. "You're the sister-in-law, can't you be more considerate of your younger sister? Mother's still sick, can't you just be quiet?"

Chu Shunqing's eyes were red: "What did I say? You are all family, and I am the only outsider."

"Enough!" Madam Xie clutched her chest, coughing violently. "You're my sister-in-law, and Jingjue is just worried about me suffering... cough cough, if you make another sound, you'll be kneeling in the woodshed!"

Chu Shunqing immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word.

Leaning against the headboard, Xie said weakly to Lin Jingrui, "Rui'er, the pain in my body is unbearable... and we're out of wind-dispelling pills. How about we do as Jingjue suggested and post a notice to call a doctor?"

"Post a notice?" Lin Jingrui looked troubled.

Chu Shunqing couldn't help but interject, "Husband, posting notices is indeed a method, but a generous reward will surely attract brave men. How much reward money should we offer?"

Lin Jingjue, clueless about managing a household, blurted out, "Is there even a question? The more the better! The recruitment notice I saw on the street the other day offered at least a thousand taels!"

"A thousand taels?" Chu Shunqing's voice changed. "Where did this much cash come from?"

Seeing her like this, Lin Jingjue pouted and said, "Sister-in-law, didn't you have a pair of jade bracelets, a set of gold-threaded headdress, and several bolts of fine Jiangnan brocade in your dowry? Take them out to pay for them first, just in case."

Chu Shunqing lowered his head and remained silent.

Last time, they used their own jade jewelry to pay off a debt, and they still haven't redeemed it. Now they want to take my dowry?

After struggling for a while, he finally whispered, "If you're going to use your own money as collateral, why not?"

"Mother, I only have a few pieces of jewelry. After Her Majesty the Empress chooses a husband for me in a few days, I'll pawn them," Lin Jingjue said, his chubby face full of grievance. "Her hoarding of things like this is just a pretense of filial piety!"

Madam Xie patted the edge of the bed, coughing several times: "Good, good... what a dutiful daughter-in-law! You actually forced your sister-in-law to be your dowry? Don't call me mother-in-law anymore, I can't accept your 'filial piety'!"

Chu Shunqing's tears rolled down his cheeks instantly.

How is she not filial?

She pawned her jewelry and served him day and night.

Now, if someone refuses to do this one thing, they are considered unfilial?

"Alright," Lin Jingrui said in a deep voice, exhausted from the commotion, "Let's mortgage the dowry for now. Mother's illness can't be delayed. Shunqing will repay you later."

He was extremely annoyed.

Nianci never bothered herself with such trivial matters.

Upon hearing this, Xie's anger subsided slightly.

Chu Shunqing was stunned, staring at Lin Jingrui in disbelief.

He had personally promised that he would never touch her dowry.

"No..." she murmured.

She didn't want to stay any longer and turned to leave.

Seeing her about to leave, Lin Jingjue hurried after her to the stairwell and grabbed her sleeve: "You haven't finished speaking, don't go..."

Chu Shunqing turned around and struggled violently.

Lin Jingjue staggered a few steps after being pushed, and became even more furious after regaining his balance. He pounced forward and started tearing at her again.

The two pushed and shoved each other at the bottom of the stairs.

With his back to the steep stairs, Chu Shunqing was so focused on struggling that he was completely unaware of the danger beneath his feet.

A glint of malice flashed in Lin Jingjue's eyes... If this woman died, wouldn't that dowry...?

In a flash, she pretended to lose her balance, cried out in surprise, and her body suddenly lurched forward...

Chu Shunqing felt a strong force strike him, his foot slipped, and he fell backward, tumbling down the stairs.

His lower back slammed against the hard wooden steps, and a sharp, intense pain exploded from his lower abdomen.

She curled up on the cold ground, her vision blurring from the pain.

"My child...my child, Lin Jingjue...how cruel..." she groaned.

Warm liquid gushed out from between her legs without warning, quickly soaking her skirt and spreading a glaring dark red stain beneath her.

She instinctively covered her lower abdomen, where a heavy weight of hope had just been placed.

At this moment, only waves of empty, agonizing pain remain.

A jumble of footsteps and screams came from upstairs, noisy and distant.

Chu Shunqing lay in the pool of blood, staring blankly at the blurred outline of the high floor.

Pain and despair finally overwhelmed her.

Her child... her child... is gone.

The last glimmer of light in my heart was extinguished.

Lin Jingjue... I will fight you to the death...