Chapter 502: Slander (1)
When He Changdi stepped into the brightly lit parlour, practically everyone’s eyes were focused on him.
His jet-black robes and perfectly straight posture, as well as the way he emerged from the darkness, made him look like an impartial and upright authority about to impose justice.
He Changdi’s handsome face was rather serious and grim. His gaze swept over everyone in the parlour as if he could see into everyone’s hearts. Finally, he stood in the middle of the parlour, as if he was awaiting an explanation from those gathered here.
Ever since He Sanlang had become a marquis, his position in House Jing’an had gone beyond what it had been before.
Those who were originally slightly afraid of Third Young Master were now completely silent from fear.
Even Matriarch He and Countess Jing’an weren’t able to bring themselves to speak for a moment when they looked at He Changdi.
This was especially so for Countess Jing’an, who felt a little guilty.
Madam Zou was watching from the side with as much patience as she could muster. The silence of the more senior members of the family at such a crucial time made her anxious and nervous. There was only one chance! If she missed it, who knew when the next one would come, if ever!
The parlour became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The wife of the heir, Madam Zou, pinched her palm to bring tears to her eyes before lowering her head to weep.
“Third Brother, you’re still young, so you won’t understand your eldest brother’s plight. It was my fault in the past for not being considerate enough to your brother. It took so much for your brother to finally have hopes for an heir and he would have had a son to hold in just a few more months, yet his hopes have been crushed so suddenly. It’s so painful, it’s unbearable! Although the child didn’t come from my womb, I would still have been Mother to him once born.”
With those words said, it seemed as if Madam Zou lost all control of her emotions as she began to sob uncontrollably with grief.
Those not in the know might actually think that the lost child was hers instead!
A cold glint that flashed through He Changdi’s eyes. His thin lips pressed into a grim smile and the words fell out of his mouth like ice, “What do you mean by that, Sister-in-Law?”
Madam Zou sent a signal to the physician standing beside He Changqi with her eyes.
She used a handkerchief to wipe away the tears on her cheeks and took a deep breath, as if she was doing her best to appear composed.
“Third Brother, you’re young and you haven’t been married for long. You’ve also been through a lot with your wife in the northern border, so I can understand you being protective of her. However, the evidence is undeniable, there’s no way that you can defend her now!”
Standing outside the parlour, Chu Lian could hear every single word her sister-in-law, Madam Zou, had said. She sneered inwardly. Madam Zou was already unable to hold back her scheming this early into the game, wasn’t she afraid of pushing herself into a corner?
The sight of her master’s pale face and Madam Zou’s slander pushed Xiyan to the brink of her temper. She bit her lips so hard that she almost drew blood.
“Let’s go in,” Chu Lian muttered weakly.
Xiyan held up her master with all her might, almost as if she were trying to take on her burden instead. She blinked repeatedly, holding in her tears with everything she had.
When they reached the parlour’s entrance, the two maidservants who guarded the entrance lifted the curtains on either side and Xiyan guided Chu Lian in.
The moment Chu Lian stepped into the parlour, the gazes of everyone inside fell upon her like a physical weight.
He Ying, who was seated beside the matriarch, sneered, “Well, well, it looks like the culprit is finally here. I thought she was going to hide for the whole night!”
He Changdi couldn’t help turning his head to look at Chu Lian as well. When he noticed how pale she looked, his pupils shrunk and his body turned subconsciously with the desire to stand by his wife’s side. However, recalling the promise they made in the carriage, he firmly restrained himself.
The hands held behind his back tightened into fists.