Chapter 26: Better Off Dead

The ancestral hall was deathly silent.

The clan elders were baffled, unable to fathom why Shen Yishu was so volatile and irritable. They shook their heads one after another, concluding that a man with such an unstable temperament was unfit for a position of great responsibility. It would have been better had he never returned; then, the noble title could have been securely passed down to young Master Heng. Given Heng’s aptitude, it was entirely possible he could have led the Marquis’s estate to new heights of prosperity within a decade. Instead, it was now to be handed over to Shen Yishu, an impulsive good-for-nothing.

*Why couldn’t he have just died?* they lamented inwardly.

While the elders’ collective sigh stemmed from their own genuine grievances, Shen Yishu’s own indignation and humiliation were equally real. What had once been mere suspicion had now become a crushing reality. They were essentially confirming that Shen Yuheng was truly born of Dou Hongyan. She had actually been cuckolding him for over a decade—Shen Yuheng was only a year younger than his eldest son, Shun! No sooner had he left than she had taken a lover!

Shen Yishu felt a wave of dizziness from the rage. He wished he had never returned, that he were still in his small courtyard, cradling his doting wife, living a life free of care.

"Fine, very well... fine, fine, fine! Lady Dou..."

"You are truly something else!"

Gritting his teeth, he leaned toward Dou Hongyan and hissed, "A fine son you’ve birthed!"

"Thank you for the compliment, my husband."

Dou Hongyan rested her chin on one hand, offering Shen Yishu a faint, aloof smile with a sense of haughty restraint. "It is the noble blood of the Marquis’s estate that has allowed Heng’er to grow so well."

She admitted it without even a blush! Shen Yishu’s head throbbed with fury. Realizing he was in the ancestral hall with the clan elders watching, he stiffened, rose to his feet, and offered a forced explanation: "It was my own negligence. I have lacked in caring for the two of them over these years. I hope the elders will forgive me."

He could not allow the truth of Shen Yuheng’s parentage to be exposed. To do so would be to lose all face!

Shen Yishu bit the bullet and acknowledged this illegitimate son, even offering thanks for Dou Hongyan’s years of labor. Listening to the others shower praise upon the mother and son, he felt an indescribable sense of gloom.

The others were oblivious, but Liu Xin’er’s eyes brightened, a sudden clarity dawning upon her. If others were unsure, she, above all, knew: Dou Hongyan would never have conceived Shen Yishu’s child. To think that Shen Yuheng was truly the offspring of a paramour... This was a divine gift.

She ceased her weeping, wiped away her tears with a practiced air, and followed behind Shen Yishu as quiet as a mouse, concealing the dark glint in her eyes. With such leverage, she need not rush. Although Shen Yishu was too obsessed with face to deny this "legitimate" son, Dou Hongyan knew whose child it really was. She would find an opportunity to plot slowly and crush Dou Hongyan once and for all.

After the recognition ceremony concluded, the elders dispersed.

Shen Yishu’s expression was dark and unpredictable. He warned Dou Hongyan in a low voice, "Come with me. I have things to ask you."

The graceful figure did not pause, continuing toward the door. Dou Hongyan stifled a yawn, no longer deigning to grant Shen Yishu even a glance.

Ignored, Shen Yishu grew even more enraged. "I told you to come back here!"

He reached out, intending to drag her back with force. But before his hand could touch her, he was deftly intercepted by Liuyun. The maid blocked his hand with a single motion, her tone respectful yet cold: "Master, please, let us speak reasonably."

In that fleeting moment, Shen Yishu felt a sense of intimidation from this seemingly harmless young maid. He was even more incensed, yet he dared not force the issue.

He called out to her retreating back, his voice thick with dark threats: "Are you not afraid I will tell everyone?"

*How annoying.*

Dou Hongyan stopped in her tracks.

*Why on earth couldn't this man have just died out there?*