Chapter 25: Who Exactly Gave Birth to Whom

She cast a cautious glance at Dou Hongyan’s impatient expression before turning to reprimand Shen Yishu, "Hongyan has managed this household for years and has served with great merit; no one is permitted to divorce her!"

"Since your Liu woman cannot be a concubine, then the Marquis’s residence shall simply have nothing to do with her. Go keep her outside! And have the children registered under Hongyan’s name!"

Kept outside.

That would make her nothing more than a shameful mistress living in the shadows!

Liu Xin’er found this especially unacceptable, and Shen Yishu felt his own face burning with humiliation. Yet, unable to defy the order, he accepted the concubine option with a look of tragic indignation.

To onlookers, he and Liu Xin’er appeared as star-crossed lovers, cruelly separated by Dou Hongyan, who played the role of the heartless Queen Mother of the West.

Dou Hongyan rolled her eyes and let out a yawn, showing utter disrespect within the ancestral hall. The clan elders chose to play deaf and dumb, acting as if they saw nothing.

As the names of the children were written stroke by stroke into the genealogy, Liu Xin’er watched in pale, trembling horror as the characters "Liu Clan" were about to be inscribed.

How could she be a concubine?

After enduring for over a decade and coaxing Shen Yishu for just as long, how could she possibly be reduced to a concubine!

She opened her mouth, pointing at Dou Hongyan in a panic, and blurted out, "I have something to say! This woman is not fit to be the legal wife; she has an affair—"

"Xin’er!"

Shen Yishu spoke sharply, slamming his hand down over hers. He glared at her with a flushed face, his expression filled with both warning and shame. He pulled her back forcefully, gripping her wrist tightly, his heart boiling with irritation.

Liu Xin’er bit her lip in resentment, but she understood that her chance was gone.

Given Shen Yishu’s obsession with saving face, he would never allow her to expose this scandal in front of the clan elders. He would never admit to wearing a green hat.

A soft, whimpering sob came from behind him.

Shen Yishu regained his composure, but having no time to comfort Liu Xin’er, he felt anxious and distraught. He turned his head away in a cowardly manner, pretending to study the genealogy.

It was a mistake to look.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed something amiss. He snatched the genealogy book and stared with wide eyes, his fingertip trembling as he pointed to the line beneath his own name. "Shen Hongyu... my brother? Since when did I have a brother!"

When did his mother give birth to a brother for him!

His vision went black. He stared blankly at the Old Madam, who suppressed the momentary flush of shame on her face and avoided her son’s questioning gaze.

She gave a light cough and forced a steady tone, "I encountered an orphan while visiting the temple. Moved by his youth and hardship, I decided to register him under my name and raise him as a foster son. From now on, he is your brother."

The Old Madam wore a forced, calm smile, adding uncomfortably, "The boy has had a hard life. Once he grows up, he will naturally repay us, his mother and brother, and treat you as his own kin."

...As his own kin, indeed.

Dou Hongyan watched the drama unfold with amusement.

"But you cannot register him under your name! How old are you?" Shen Yishu could not accept this; the words "scandalous and immoral" almost slipped from his tongue.

He pointed at Dou Hongyan through gritted teeth. "Register him under her name! It would be perfect, and he could even replace that stepson, Shen Yuheng."

Considering his mother’s age, it was absurd to register a boy of the same age as his own son, Shun-ge, under her name! It was simply improper!

"Adoption? What adoption?"

Someone who had failed to follow the drama finally grasped a detail they understood and asked in confusion, "Yishu, have you lost your mind? Heng-ge is the bloodline you left behind before you departed; he is Dou’s own son."

"What!"

Shen Yishu’s world went dark again. He felt lightheaded and, turning from the Old Madam, pointed a trembling finger at Dou Hongyan. "You... you gave birth to him?"

He had left before he even consummated the marriage with Dou Hongyan! Whose child was this, really?