The truth was as follows: Lady Yan, in order to secure her favored status, sought to have the illegitimate children she had brought in become the only children in the mansion. Thus, she put an infertility drug into the tea he drank in his everyday life, making him lose his capacity to procreate completely. Consequently, he wouldn’t have any children, regardless of how many concubines he had. In this life of his, there would only be these few ’wild children’ that were born to Lady Yan and Shen Juhua, who was borne by his lawful wife Lady Cui.
Lady Yan had perceived that her trick would go unnoticed forever. Having given birth to ’two sons’ for the old master, she reckoned she would be elevated to his official wife. Consequently, she failed to regard Lady Cui, the wife who held the status of the main wife, and humiliated her at will. He turned a blind eye to Lady Yan’s oppression of Lady Cui. In the end, the tables turned dramatically. The woman he trusted and adored had cheated and ruthlessly harmed him. The official wife he had long disliked had given birth to his only child in this life!
In recent days, the revelation had rattled him to the brink of insanity. His only daughter, Juhua, who stood by him and comforted him, was his beacon of hope amidst the black clouds. However, her presence coupled with her mother’s, brewed more guilt within him!
He had been married to Lady Cui for over a decade; however, their cordial relationship had lasted only a couple of months after their marriage when she was pregnant with Juhua. Subsuquently, he neglected her feelings and brought calamitous Lady Yan into the mansion. He unjustly undermined Lady Cui’s dignity and favored Lady Yan. The mistress of the mansion was made a laughing stock among the city’s high-ranking ladies. Further, he elevated Lady Yan to joint-wifely status, inadvertently likening her to his wife. Comparatively, his actions had rendered his wife pitiful and the subject of sympathy amongst the residents of Qing County.
Over the years, she must have been heartbroken. Although she appeared indifferent every time they met, her rapidly aging face and indifferent eyes spoke volumes about her despair. In contrast, he didn’t care about her feelings as he was besotted with that lowly woman and her bastard children. How could he have been so stupid to let himself be ensnared by such a wicked and despicable woman who had practiced her seduction techniques on countless men? On top of that, he had inadvertently shattered his wife’s heart out of naivety!
Currently, the situation had hit a dead end. His fear and detestation of women meant he no longer harbored any desire. For this reason, he categorically dismissed Prince Saknu’s gift, and planned to send away the handful of concubines in his mansion. From this point on, he wanted to lead a simple life with his wife and daughter, trying to make up to them, especially his wife who had been unjustly treated for more than a decade. He planned to rectify his mistakes to earn her forgiveness as soon as possible!
"Old Master, are you alright?"
Seeing the feeble state of Lord Shen County leaning against the desk, a chambermaid named Chun Lan hurried to lend him support, while subtly rubbing her soft body against him.
Lord Shen County was jarred by the coquettish voice and the soft sensation against his body, sending a chill down his spine. He opened his eyes wide to focus on the maiden trying to attract favor with her coquettish laughter. He couldn’t help but feel disgusted.
In the past, he would have been smitten by the coy demeanor of a woman. But now, why did such an appearance disgust him so deeply?
"Get out of the way!"
Lord Shen County shook his arm, hurling Chun Lan far away to the floor.
As just a chambermaid, Chun Lan held the lowest status among his concubines, hence she didn’t dare to fling a tantrum. Seeing the old master’s annoyance, she sheepishly got up and retreated to the rear of the mansion.