TRBDM -Chapter 195 Jealousy Makes Her Eyes Red

Shen Zhizhi’s face flushed instantly. “Mother, do you look down on the things I brought?”

Moral blackmail?

Ha. How could Wei Zhaorong not see through Shen Zhizhi’s little schemes?

“Madam Shen, don’t play that game with me. If you don’t want to speak, just leave. If you do, then say it quickly.”

Wei Zhaorong’s face turned cold, terrifyingly so. Shen Zhizhi felt a twinge of fear; she dared not delay any longer and trembled as she spoke:

“Mother…”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than tears began to fall.

She cried with heartbreak, her eyes wet like spring blossoms in rain. With her prominent pregnancy, she looked especially pitiful.

Wei Zhaorong, knowing she was putting on a show, felt nothing at the sight of her tears.

Xie Wanrou, though sympathetic to her appearance, also thought she had brought this upon herself.

Watching her cry continuously, Xie Wanrou’s heart softened a little, and she turned her head, lowering it to focus on her cold drink.

Shen Zhizhi cried for a while, but seeing no one respond, her tears grew increasingly awkward, and gradually she fell silent, leaving only soft sobs.

Just as Wei Zhaorong reached the limits of her patience, Shen Zhizhi finally spoke.

“Mother, I am now over six months pregnant. The doctor says the baby is healthy and can be delivered naturally at full term.”

She tried to use the child to move Xie Wanrou and Wei Zhaorong.

But after a while, neither of them responded.

This…

Exceeded Shen Zhizhi’s expectations.

She had thought that even if Wei Zhaorong remained indifferent, Xie Wanrou, with her soft heart, would at least offer a few comforting words.

Yet Xie Wanrou didn’t even lift her head, staring fixedly at the cold drink on the table.

No one spoke. The subtle tension made Shen Zhizhi’s body stiffen.

The tears she had just held back threatened to spill over again.

“Mother,” she choked out, “I only have a few months until my due date, but my husband—”

The words that followed repeatedly got stuck in her throat.

Finally, Wei Zhaorong broke the silence and asked,

“What about him?”

Shen Zhizhi took a deep breath:

“These past few days, after work, he always… always goes to… the Flower Alley.”

Flower Alley.

It had been a long time since she had heard that name.

In her previous life, Xie Chuan loved hanging around there.

That Liu Yi’er was the top courtesan of Flower Alley.

Xie Sheng had once scorned such places, yet now he went there himself.

“Mother, you know what kind of place Flower Alley is—people from all walks of life, hardly any good company. I’m afraid my husband will be corrupted by them.”

Shen Zhizhi really had no other choice; she had to muster the courage to turn to Wei Zhaorong.

When a man lingers in places like Flower Alley, trouble is bound to arise. Shen Zhizhi feared losing her position as Second Madam Xie.

Wasn’t that what happened with the main wife before? If Wei Zhaorong hadn’t intervened, Xie Chuan would have already taken Liu Yi’er as a concubine.

Shen Zhizhi worried every day that Xie Sheng might bring a woman home from outside, and she absolutely could not accept it.

So while the signs were still faint, she wanted to nip them in the bud.

Now, with a rift between her and Xie Sheng, the couple slept separately, speaking no more than ten words in a day.

She knew clearly that the child in her womb could no longer bind Xie Sheng.

Shen Zhizhi had tried countless methods, yet she still could not change him.

After enduring repeated torment for so long, she found herself at a dead end and could only appeal to Wei Zhaorong for help.

Shen Zhizhi cautiously lifted her head to look at Wei Zhaorong, hoping to see anger on her face.

Xie Sheng, as the most promising son of the Marquis Mansion, should have been a source of great expectations—not corrupted by the vices of a wayward young master.

Moreover, the women in the pleasure district were so filthy—if she caught some disease, it would bring shame to the Marquis’s residence.

A family disgrace.

If it came to that, how would she and her son face the world in the future?

Until now, Shen Zhizhi had been certain that the child in her womb was a boy.

“Mother, could you try to persuade my husband?”

Finally, Shen Zhizhi spoke the reason for her visit.

Wei Zhaorong snorted coldly in her heart. Now that the second house couple was estranged, she had remembered to ask for help. Back when the first house’s Xie Chuan and Dou Shuyao were at odds, she hadn’t hesitated to mock Dou Shuyao both openly and in private.

Wei Zhaorong’s voice carried no emotion:

“The second house has already separated; everything is their own responsibility. I’m old, and I no longer concern myself with the matters of the young.”

With a single sentence, Wei Zhaorong shattered Shen Zhizhi’s hope.

Shen Zhizhi hadn’t expected such a quick refusal and was momentarily dumbstruck, the words caught in her throat.

“But, Mother…”

Before she could finish, a strong, clear voice rang from afar: “Mother, Eldest Sister.”

Xie Chuan raised his arm in the distance. “Shuyao and I are here.”

He carefully supported Dou Shuyao as they walked toward the pavilion.

Hearing the voice, Shen Zhizhi instinctively looked up—and the scene before her made her eyes burn with jealousy.

Dou Shuyao’s belly had a slight swell—not very pronounced—but Xie Chuan was beside her, tense beyond measure, protecting her every step, reminding her of the stairs, holding her arm as they walked slowly.

This was the scene Shen Zhizhi had imagined: mutual respect and harmony, a life in tune.

Dou Shuyao’s happy smile, Xie Chuan’s gentle attentiveness—sharper than any blade—pierced directly through Shen Zhizhi’s heart.

Fortune had turned, and the second house couple should have been like the pair before her eyes.

Yet now, Shen Zhizhi could see none of Xie Sheng’s consideration, let alone his love.

She knew better than anyone that Xie Sheng no longer loved her.

She felt like a forsaken woman abandoned by the entire Marquis’s residence, reduced to a ridiculous joke.

“Mother, Eldest Sister, why didn’t you call Shuyao and me for the iced drinks?”

Xie Chuan’s loud laughter approached, and as the couple entered the pavilion, they noticed Shen Zhizhi, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Second sister-in-law, you’re here too,” Xie Chuan said.

Shen Zhizhi forced a smile. “Brother, long time no see.”

Xie Chuan thought for a moment. “Indeed, it’s been a long time.”

He then took Dou Shuyao’s hand. “Come, sit here, my lady.”

Xie Chuan seated Dou Shuyao to Wei Zhaorong’s right and sat next to her himself.

Once seated, he picked up a fan from the table and fanned her.

Dou Shuyao seemed to have long been accustomed to this, accepting everything Xie Chuan did with complete ease.

Shen Zhizhi was stunned—how could she be so at ease?

And Xie Chuan—he was supposed to be the reckless son of the first house who frequented pleasure districts and even tried to bring the top courtesan into the Marquis’s residence.

Yet now, everything seemed changed, transformed into a considerate and gentle good man.

It was as if the first house had stolen the fortune meant for the second house.

Which link had gone wrong? Why had it come to this?

Shen Zhizhi couldn’t figure it out; her head ached as if it would explode.

“Second sister-in-law, what’s wrong? You look pale,” Dou Shuyao asked.

Shen Zhizhi shot her a glance, eyes full of resentment.

Both were pregnant. Shen Zhizhi had been the first, meant to be treated like the center of attention.

But the protagonist had changed—it was now Dou Shuyao.

Look at her, plump and radiant, skin dazzlingly fair, wearing luxurious silk far superior to Shen Zhizhi’s.

In contrast, Shen Zhizhi looked like a poor, shabby relative who had come from the countryside.