SGEIRS -Chapter 384 The Child Is Gone

Mei Qingyun noticed her husband frowning and smiled even more: “It’s really nothing serious. I just didn’t see my husband all day today, and I missed him terribly, so I came by. Yet, my husband spoke to me like that—it truly upset me.”

At her words, Lord Wei’s heart skipped a beat. His instincts told him that this madwoman must have done something. Otherwise, given her nature, she wouldn’t have come to him voluntarily and said such things.

Lord Wei didn’t bother beating around the bush. He went straight to the point: “What exactly have you done?”

Mei Qingyun looked innocent: “Husband, you’re mistaken. What could a weak woman like me possibly do? I just missed you and wanted to see you.”

Lord Wei thought carefully about the household matters. Everything had been fine lately; there were no troubling issues. Yet, looking into her seemingly innocent expression, he felt as if she were hiding some big scheme. Experience had taught him caution.

“Don’t worry, husband. I really just came to see you,” Mei Qingyun said, pausing slightly. Seeing her husband’s disbelief, she softened her tone and added: “Also, I wanted to check on you. I thought, since you just lost another child, you must be very sad. So I came to comfort you and perhaps help you think more clearly.”

Her words were slow and gentle, without a hint of sorrow or regret. Instead, they carried malice and the amusement of watching a show unfold.

At these words, Lord Wei’s face changed drastically: “What did you say?!”

He had five children born before: four sons and one daughter. The first three sons had all died young, leaving only one son and one daughter. The son was born to Mei Qingyun’s personal maid but officially registered under Mei Qingyun’s name, raised by her from birth. The daughter was born to another concubine.

Those first three sons had died due to illness, accidents, or complications during childbirth, sometimes killing both mother and child.

But he knew it was all calculated by Mei Qingyun—the gentle and virtuous main wife. When other concubines were pregnant, she gave them excessive supplements, making the mothers too fat to give birth safely. At first, he hadn’t noticed; only during childbirth did he realize. This was a common tactic in the harem: maintain a good reputation while achieving one’s goals.

As for the unborn child, a concubine who was seven months pregnant had fallen into the water and died—a planned accident, and Mei Qingyun was the mastermind.

He knew this madwoman’s twisted mind: she could not bear children herself but refused to allow others to. The only exceptions were her personal maid-turned-concubine and Qin’er’s biological mother. Hence, after every incident, he had the concubines drink fertility-suppressing soup. If they didn’t get pregnant, there were no accidents, and the harem remained safe.

Now, only two children remained. If it wasn’t the son who was lost, then it must have been the daughter. The son was registered under Mei Qingyun’s name, so she wouldn’t harm him—meaning it must be the daughter?

The daughter was usually obedient, and her nanny was honest. How could they possibly bother this madwoman?

Mei Qingyun watched his expression change and softly asked, “Husband, you didn’t know? I thought someone would have told you already. But it’s normal that you don’t know; this happened not long ago.”

Lord Wei took two steps forward, grabbing her shoulders and gritting his teeth: “Qin’er has always been obedient and sensible. How could she have provoked you?”

Faced with his furious question, Mei Qingyun remained calm, answering gently: “Husband, who told you it was Qin’er? I actually like that child. Just today I called her over to teach her, and before coming to see you, I had her nanny put her to bed.”

Hearing this, Lord Wei’s heart tightened, and his voice trembled: “Then it’s Xu’er? Even if Xu’er wasn’t born by you, you’ve raised him from birth. How could you do this?”

As he spoke, a dull pain shot through his heart, a chill crawling from his feet upwards. Xu’er was his only remaining son—the sole heir of the Wei family. He couldn’t believe this madwoman would even harm the child she raised herself.

Mei Qingyun didn’t reply. She simply watched his sorrow, his despair, his rage, seeing him slowly release her shoulders and stagger back a step before regaining balance.

Finding his disoriented look amusing, she covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.

Lord Wei squinted with grief, then suddenly opened his eyes, reddened, and shouted: “Mei Qingyun, I truly underestimated you. You have no limits. Once the most beautiful woman in the capital, scholarly and wise, yet capable of such cruelty. My mother never treated you harshly. How could you allow someone so young to lose her only grandson?”

Mei Qingyun smiled indifferently, as if magnanimously easing his despair: “Husband, you misunderstand. It wasn’t Xu’er. Xu’er is alive and well. I was counting on him to support me in old age—how could I touch him?”

At her words, Lord Wei breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had survived a close call.

Seeing this, Mei Qingyun continued: “It was Concubine Wang. She had a miscarriage not long ago. To win your favor and be more cherished, and to have a child of her own, she secretly poured out the fertility-suppressing soup you gave her. She finally became pregnant, but after a fall, she lost the child. The doctor said the child was already two months old—what a pity.”

She sighed softly, as if mourning for Concubine Wang.

Lord Wei was shocked. He hadn’t expected Wang to dare to secretly pour out the soup, but even more shocking was that this madwoman knew—not only knew, but knew Wang was pregnant, something even he hadn’t known.

Frowning, he looked at her with a complex gaze and angrily demanded: “I always made them drink the fertility soup afterward. If you knew Wang did this, why didn’t you stop her?”

Mei Qingyun looked at his anger and scoldings, feigning innocence: “Husband, what do you mean? Didn’t you once say that I couldn’t have children, so I shouldn’t stop others? Now I realize you were right. And since you only have one son and one daughter, the lineage is slim. If Concubine Wang could bear a child for you, that’s good. So I didn’t stop her.”