Zheng Yu and Lu Yu remained silent, watching the farce unfold from the sidelines. They exchanged a glance, finding it amusing. The real show hadn't even begun; if Chen Qi and Chen Yao joined, it would be a grand spectacle of the three families tearing each other apart.
"As for those two people, they were found by Changping, but it was absolutely not me who instructed them. Changping is Chen Yao's personal attendant; how could I possibly command her? Mayor Zheng, you mustn't be deceived!"
Seeing Zhao Ran finish speaking, Zheng Yu waved his hand, signaling the guards beside him to take her away. "Take Zhao Ran away and keep a close watch on her."
"Patriarch Shen, this matter falls under your family's affairs, and it's not convenient for me to interfere. You should take them back first. If there are any other matters that require Madam Shen's cooperation, I will send someone to notify you."
With Zhao Liu taken away, Zheng Yu lost interest in further entanglement with Shen Lin and the others. After they left, Zheng Yu picked up his brush, wrote a letter, and then summoned Wuji.
"Wuji, deliver this letter to the county magistrate personally. Remember, be quick."
"Yes." Wuji took the order and left swiftly.
"Someone, surround Chen Qi and Chen Yao's courtyard and guard it carefully," Zheng Yu commanded directly, showing no intention of waiting.
With Chen Qi's methods, there were bound to be her people within the county yamen. All conversations within the yamen just now should have already reached Chen Qi's ears. Since the cat was already out of the bag, there was no room for them to maneuver.
"All of you, get out!" As soon as Shen Mu entered the courtyard, she roared, driving out all the servants in the main hall.
Although she was furious, her reason remained intact. She knew that family shame should not be aired publicly, so she closed the door to personally interrogate and discipline them.
The moment the door was shut, Shen Jia, terrified, immediately knelt on the ground. "Mother, don't listen to her nonsense. I, I have been staying at home honestly these past few days. You can ask Father; Father has been with me the entire time."
"Yes, Jia'er has been these past few days—"
"You, shut up!" Shen Mu slapped Zhao Liu across the face, sending her to the ground.
Zhao Liu cried out in surprise, falling to the ground and covering her face with her hands, not daring to look up at Shen Lin. Shen Jia was also terrified and wanted to go to his father's side but dared not move.
"We'll deal with your matters later." Shen Lin shot a fierce glare at Zhao Liu, who had been slapped to the ground, and then turned his attention to Shen Jia, who was kneeling not far away.
"What exactly is going on? Are you and Chen Yao involved together!" The veins on Shen Lin's forehead throbbed slightly as he gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, as if it were about to erupt at any moment.
"No, no! Mother, believe me, I really haven't!" Shen Jia insisted that he was not familiar with Chen Yao, and Zhao Liu, kneeling beside him, dared not speak.
"Patriarch, Doctor Lu has arrived." Just as Shen Jia was trying to defend himself inside, a voice from outside made him collapse onto the ground.
"Go lie down on the bed over there and let Doctor Lu examine you." Seeing that Shen Jia did not move upon hearing this, Shen Lin's temples throbbed with anger. "If you want everyone to know that it's you being examined, then sit here!"
Only then did Shen Jia react. He shakily stood up from the ground and stumbled towards the bed inside.
Zhao Liu followed closely behind, drawing the curtains by the bed to conceal Shen Jia lying within. Before she could utter a few instructions, Shen Lin had already entered with Doctor Lu.
"Please, Doctor Lu, take a look."
Having been a doctor for so many years, Doctor Lu was accustomed to the affairs of large households and had long been used to not asking questions that were none of his business. He nodded to Shen Lin and sat by the bed, taking Shen Jia's wrist.
Shen Jia's heart pounded rapidly on the bed; he was terrified. However, he still held onto a sliver of hope. Shen Jia did not understand medicine and thought that even a doctor might not be able to detect such things through pulse diagnosis.
Shen Jia was mistaken. A man's body is different from a woman's. Whether he had been intimate with another person could be known simply by examining the pulse. Only a very small number of men understood medicine and could use drugs to cover it up; for the vast majority, it could be detected through their pulse.
Not to mention Shen Jia...
"This..." Doctor Lu hesitated, then carefully examined again.
The man on the bed's heartbeat was rapid, but not difficult to feel.
"Patriarch Shen, the young master on the bed has a pulse that is smooth and round like a pearl, flowing freely. This is a 'slippery pulse.' The young master is pregnant, and based on the pulse, it has been a month."
"No, it can't be! I can't be pregnant!" Hearing this, Shen Jia, in his panic, sat up abruptly from the bed. How could he be pregnant? He had clearly taken contraceptive pills! It couldn't be, how was it possible!
Doctor Lu looked up in the direction of the voice and happened to see Shen Jia, sitting up on the bed with a face full of panic, through a gap in the curtains. He quickly lowered his head. It was best to stay out of the affairs of such large households, the less one knew, the better.
Shen Lin, on the side, was so enraged that his cheeks twitched and his teeth chattered. He clenched his fists tightly, trying his best to suppress his emotions in front of outsiders.
"Zhao Liu, escort Doctor Lu out."
Zhao Liu, who had been stunned by the shock, also turned pale with fear. This was the first time Shen Lin had called him by his name in front of outsiders. Normally, to maintain his public image, Shen Lin would refer to him as "husband" in front of others.
"Doctor Lu, please come with me." Zhao Liu dared not disobey Shen Lin and escorted Doctor Lu out.
After seeing Doctor Lu off, Zhao Liu had just returned to the doorway. Before he could even enter the room, he heard a "crash" from inside. Zhao Liu knew something was wrong and quickly ran into the room.
What met his eyes was all the teacups on the table by the bed swept to the floor, the table and stool overturned, and the curtains by the bed torn to shreds, half still on the bed and half on the ground.
Shen Jia lay on the floor, trembling uncontrollably.
"Jia'er!" Zhao Liu was so stunned by the scene that he stood dumbfounded, rushing to Shen Jia's side to protect him.
"Jia'er, are you alright? Let Father see."
Zhao Liu helped the prostrate Shen Jia up. Father and son knelt on the ground. Shen Jia's lips were deathly pale, his face smeared with tears, and he sobbed uncontrollably from fear. Zhao Liu, heartbroken, continuously wiped away Shen Jia's tears.
Shen Jia had never experienced such a situation. Ever since he could remember, his father had protected him. When he made mistakes as a child, his mother would spare him out of consideration for his father.
As he grew older, although his mother's feelings for his father were not as they once were, and his father could not always protect him, Shen Jia had already begun to show his beauty. His mother always thought of using him to find a good son-in-law who would help her business. Therefore, she was not overly harsh on Shen Jia.
Seeing his mother act this way today, Shen Jia was truly terrified. Sobbing, he began to burrow into Zhao Liu's arms as he did when he was a child.
"You said he was with you the entire time!" Shen Lin fiercely grabbed Zhao Liu's neck, his knuckles tightening, choking Zhao Liu and making him unable to breathe. He desperately tried to pry open Shen Lin's increasingly constricting hand.