SGEIRS -Chapter 304 Kneeling in Repentance

When everyone saw the young man, they were momentarily stunned.

They were not very familiar with him, yet he was not entirely unfamiliar either. Anyone who had seen him before knew that he was someone close to the Marquis.

His name seemed to be… Yu Chuan?

The crowd looked at him in confusion, unable to understand why he had come here. Could it be that the Marquis was too busy to deal with this matter and had sent a subordinate instead?

This concerned his son, his wife, and his unborn grandchild—how could he possibly leave such an important matter to a mere servant?

When Meng Jinyao saw Yu Chuan, she nodded in satisfaction and thought to herself: Good. He arrived just in time.

Yu Chuan stepped forward and bowed to the heir and the ladies present. Then he handed a large embroidered pouch to Meng Jinyao and said respectfully, “Madam, this pouch should be useful to you.”

Meng Jinyao took it. After lightly squeezing it, she roughly knew what was inside. She nodded slightly.

“Mm. Thank you for your hard work, Yu Chuan.”

The others were utterly confused by their exchange. Still, it seemed that the Marquis was standing on Madam’s side?

Gu Xiuming looked at Yu Chuan. Although he had no idea what Yu Chuan had given Meng Jinyao or why he was here, an inexplicable sense of panic surged within him. His face visibly showed traces of unease before quickly returning to normal.

However, his change in expression did not escape Meng Jinyao’s eyes.

She stared at him coldly and asked in a low voice, “Xiuming, I’ll ask you once more. Was Concubine Li really made to miscarry by me?”

Gu Xiuming was slightly stunned. Seeing her stern face and the anger churning in her eyes, his heart skipped a beat. But at this point, he could only stubbornly insist.

“With Hongling as witness, she saw you quarrel with Wan’er and heard you slander and resent her. In anger, you pushed her hard. Wan’er miscarried because of you.”

Meng Jinyao curled her lips into a faint, mocking smile.

“That’s truly rare. I didn’t know a woman like me had the ability to make another woman become pregnant and miscarry in an instant.”

As soon as she said this, everyone froze.

Gu Xiuming was confused for a moment before realizing her meaning. His pupils shrank sharply, and his heart pounded wildly.

Madam Zhang and Madam Chen were also stunned at first, then quickly understood.

Was she implying that Concubine Li had never miscarried? Or that she had never been pregnant in the first place—so how could she miscarry?

Madam Chen hurriedly asked, “Third Sister-in-law, what do you mean by that?”

Meng Jinyao fixed her gaze on Gu Xiuming and mercilessly exposed his lie.

“Concubine Li was never pregnant. So even if she fell, she couldn’t miscarry—at most, she just hurt herself. Besides, she deliberately fell.”

Then she turned her eyes to the tightly bound doctor.

“So tell me, isn’t this quack? He couldn’t even tell whether a woman was pregnant, yet claimed it was a miscarriage. That’s pure nonsense—and intentional nonsense at that!”

The crowd erupted in shock.

After causing such a huge commotion, it turned out that Concubine Li wasn’t even pregnant?

What was really going on?

The doctor trembled and lowered his head in panic.

Gu Xiuming’s mind shook violently. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

How did Meng Jinyao find out that Wan’er wasn’t pregnant?

Only he, Wan’er, Hongling, and this pre-arranged doctor knew the truth.

When the incident happened, Hongling had even volunteered to fetch the doctor. Even if she hadn’t gone herself, she would have stopped others and gone in their place.

Wait—

Earlier, Hongling had said she went because Meng Jinyao told her to.

Could it be that everything had been under Meng Jinyao’s control from the start? That she deliberately gave Hongling the chance?

No. Impossible!

Gu Xiuming immediately rejected the thought and forced himself to calm down.

“Mother, the household doctor said Wan’er was pregnant back then. This doctor also said she lost the baby. Now you just say a few words and try to cover up your wrongdoing?”

Meng Jinyao replied calmly, “Xiuming, back then the household doctor never confirmed that Concubine Li was pregnant. She only showed symptoms similar to pregnancy and had missed her period. She and Hongling assumed she was pregnant, and the doctor probably followed that assumption. But after examining her, he said the pregnancy was too early to detect and that they should check again later. He never confirmed it.”

She gave a cold snort.

“He only warned her about precautions in case she really was pregnant. But Concubine Li firmly believed it herself and even spread the news. In the end, it turned out to be a false alarm. Her so-called morning sickness was just stomach trouble, and her missed period was due to stress.”

Madam Zhang and Madam Chen immediately recalled the earlier gossip—that Concubine Li had been too reckless, spreading the news before the fetus was stable, only for it to become a joke.

But how did Meng Jinyao know all this?

Gu Xiuming was completely unsettled now.

Everything she said was true.

It was the hidden truth.

So how had she learned it?

From Hongling? But Hongling was their person!

Meng Jinyao said angrily, “I thought Concubine Li would come clean herself. I never expected you to frame me instead. You really are something.”

Gu Xiuming seemed dazed by the revelations. After a long moment, he finally came back to his senses.

Thinking quickly, he shifted all responsibility onto Li Wan’er and her maid and blamed the doctor’s incompetence.

“Mother, please calm down. After hearing this, even I’m confused. I didn’t know Wan’er wasn’t pregnant, nor that this doctor misdiagnosed her. I only believed their words and thought you caused the miscarriage.”

With a thud, he knelt down.

“Your son was unfilial. I listened to slander and wronged you, making you heartbroken. Please punish me.”

The dramatic turn left the onlookers emotionally shaken.

Just moments ago, the heir had been aggressively accusing Madam. Now he was kneeling and begging for punishment.

Yet the biggest mystery remained—

How did Madam know that Concubine Li had never been pregnant?

Everyone was desperate to know, including Madam Zhang and Madam Chen.

Meng Jinyao looked deeply disappointed.

“Xiuming, even now, you refuse to repent and are still making excuses. When the household doctor went home for ancestral rites, you personally accompanied Concubine Li to see an outside doctor. You heard with your own ears that she wasn’t pregnant. And now you dare claim you were misled by her?”

She gave a cold laugh.

“Gu Xiuming, you truly are my good son—my most ‘filial’ son. Even after getting what you wanted, you still incited Concubine Li and Hongling to frame me together.”