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

Fu Hua Tang.

With a slight smile on her face, Qin Shi played the zither, and the melody grew increasingly cheerful, indicating that the player seemed to be in a good mood.

Madam Zhou watched Qin Shi anxiously, "Miss, why aren't you worried at all? The young marquis actually came all this way, and you didn't even try to get him to stay overnight? Why did you let him go? Judging from the direction he left, he definitely went to that lowly maid's courtyard again. Didn't you just let a great opportunity slip by?"

As she spoke, Madam Zhou became even more puzzled: "And today, Miss... how come you not only didn't pin the blame on Shen Qinghe and speak up for that wretched maid, but you even tried to clear her name? If the accusation hadn't been confirmed today, wouldn't that wretched maid have been kicked out of the Marquis's mansion? How could that wretched maid have had a chance to compete with you for someone else?"

"Miss!! The young marquis has already gone to someone else's courtyard, why are you still so happy??"

Qin Shi's hands continued plucking the strings of her zither, her voice filled with pleasure: "Mama Zhou, is this your first day with me? Is this your first day in the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion? If those little tricks could work here, then it wouldn't be worthy of being called a marquis's mansion!"

"Then you can't speak up for that lowly servant! Why don't you let the young marquis and the others investigate directly? Anyway, she's not a young lady, so even if you get involved, it won't affect you." Zhou Mama asked.

"Hmph. It's easy to investigate, but Grandmother and Madam Li haven't really had any major problems. Even if you investigate thoroughly, what if that person insists it was an accident? What are you going to do then? It'll just be a scolding and a few months' worth of money. What's the point of such a trivial matter?"

Qin explained, her movements as she gently and slowly plucked the strings of her zither: "With my husband's abilities, he guessed that Shen Qinghe wasn't responsible, it was just a matter of time. There was no way to insist it was Shen Qinghe. If we really pursued it, it would only make my husband dislike us. Since that's the case, and we can't achieve my original goal, let's choose another way. Look, I only said a few light words for Shen Qinghe, and my husband, for the first time ever, came to my courtyard on his own initiative!"

"Don't you understand which method is more effective and more beneficial to me?" Madam Qin said slowly. "As for which courtyard my husband goes to, have you ever seen a talented and promising young master from a prominent family who only has one wife? They all have three wives and four concubines. I am the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Qin's mansion. Do you think I don't have this much tolerance?"

"It doesn't matter who my husband favors, the key is who can be used by me. Since forcibly driving Shen Qinghe out of the mansion will easily arouse my husband's suspicion and disgust, it would be better to show her goodwill and bring her under my control. In that case, I will not only win my husband's favor, but also gain great benefits."

Listening to this, Zhou's mother seemed to understand a bit, but she still hesitated slightly: "Then... what if Shen Qinghe gets pregnant one day?"

"What are you afraid of? Even if I don't antagonize Shen Qinghe, there are plenty of people in this bamboo garden who want to target her. How difficult is it for her to get pregnant?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Qin became even more dismissive. "Even if we take a step back and assume that Shen Qinghe or any of them were truly fortunate enough to conceive a child, wouldn't they still have to call me 'Mother'? No matter how biologically related we are, we can only call her 'Little Mother'!"

-

"Cough cough."

Lu Jihan coughed, covering his mouth. "What are you saying?"

Qing'er and Shen Qinghe were so frightened that they turned around and pressed themselves against the edge of the round table, their big eyes staring at her in terror.

Qing'er reacted first: "This servant will go down first!"

After saying that, before Shen Qinghe could speak, Qing'er rushed downstairs and bumped into Lin Feng, who was guarding the door.

"Master... why did you come so quickly? Didn't we agree..." Shen Qinghe's sleeve suddenly fell down, barely covering her arm.

"What did we agree on?" Lu Jihan strode over and sat down on the daybed.

Shen Qinghe looked at him, subconsciously hiding her arms behind her back. She looked down at her toes and said, "Guard Linfeng said... said that Master arrived after half an incense stick's time."

Looking at her, Shen Qinghe seemed to be feeling guilty.

"My legs are long, and my steps are big." Lu Jihan propped his head up with one hand as he looked at her, the scrutiny in his eyes gone. "Unlike you, your legs are short."

Shen Qinghe: ! ? ?

No, it's not aggressive?

Besides, how tall is he, and how tall is she?

Yes, yes, yes, he has the longest legs!

Shen Qinghe couldn't help but complain in her heart, and looked up at him: "I'm afraid this servant won't be able to make food for you today, Master."

"Am I a reincarnated starving ghost? Did I come here just to eat?" Lu Jihan chuckled. "Let me see your hands."

"Huh?" Shen Qinghe looked up abruptly upon hearing this. She had just dragged Qing'er into a performance so that Lu Jihan would see it and ask that question.

She asked, but couldn't agree immediately.

Shen Qinghe shook her head, avoiding Lu Jihan's gaze: "My hands are fine, I'm alright. What does Your Highness want to see?"

Lu Jihan frowned: "You're not even listening to me anymore?"

Shen Qinghe looked up at him, somewhat embarrassed, and moved her hand away.

Before she could say anything, just as she made a move, Lu Jihan reached out and grabbed her wrist, unhesitatingly pulling up her sleeve.

On her snow-white, slender arms, several purplish bruises were extremely conspicuous, like ink spots on a flawless white porcelain.

It's glaring and makes people feel uncomfortable.

Lu Jihan's brows furrowed even more deeply, like a small mountain, and his voice was cold and hard: "Did Zhou's mother pinch you?"

"This servant dares not deceive you, young master. Perhaps Mama Zhou was not paying attention." Shen Qinghe flinched, but Lu Jihan gripped her wrist even tighter.

Lu Jihan remained silent for a moment, a cold glint in his eyes, before pressing, "Why did you apply lead powder?"

"Lead powder can cover up bruises, and I don't want you to see them, Master."

Shen Qinghe answered truthfully, but only told half of the story, without revealing the reason why she didn't want him to see it.

Sometimes, letting a man learn the truth through speculation is more believable than being told it by someone else.