The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"I'm not talking nonsense, I..." The old woman bit her lower lip, "I was the maidservant who came with the late Madam. Later, when Madam got pregnant, she gave me to you as a concubine... Madam's family, the Ai Mansion... Old Master Ai passed away suddenly, and you and your family encountered an accident while carrying the coffin back to their hometown. Even Madam's subsequent death was..."

Her face was immediately filled with fear, and she shrank subconsciously, making her already skinny body look even more bony: "It's all Master's fault... I didn't know at first, but then one time when Master got drunk he mistook me for his current wife and accidentally said it out, so I..."

"I am just a woman, and I gave birth to you, so I would... I would pretend not to know. Until now, I... I was released by the eldest lady, and she already knows about those things. You should leave quickly, otherwise the wife of the Marquis of Anguo and the eldest lady will definitely not let you go!"

The muscles on Zeng Fu's face twitched uncontrollably. He had never imagined that when he had already embarked on the worst path and was struggling to survive, there would be such a deadly pit waiting for him.

Before traveling to this world, as the only son in the family who was doted on by his parents, the biggest setbacks he had ever experienced were failing the college entrance examination and being fired by his female colleague Huang Yao. He thought that by traveling to ancient times, such a good thing would happen to him, and he would be able to easily become successful like the hero in the Long Aotian novel he had read, but he didn't expect that he would still fail in everything he did, and there was another pit after this one.

So, he instinctively began to avoid her again, and waved away the tearful old woman with his hand: "What nonsense! Where did this crazy woman come from? How could she say such nonsense!"

When facing Mrs. Zeng, who was not his biological mother but naturally occupied the important position of mother, Zeng Fu was thinking about his biological mother in this body and fantasized that one day in the future he would be able to save his biological mother like a god; but when he himself had accomplished nothing and found that the image of his biological mother in this body did not match his fantasy at all, he could unilaterally abandon this woman without any nostalgia.

"Someone! Someone, take this crazy woman away!"

He shouted loudly and attracted the guards passing by. They easily grabbed the thin old woman and sent her away. Zeng Fu, who was relieved that he had gotten rid of a big trouble, did not see that the old woman's eyes were filled with deep sorrow and despair, without struggling or resisting, and without even uttering a word of begging.

The Zeng family searched for a whole day but could not find Zeng Suqiu's whereabouts. They did not have the courage to go to the Yongjia Marquis Mansion and the Jun family where she often went to ask, so they could only ask someone to secretly take money to spy on these two places to see if they could find any clues.

Doctor Zeng waited until the evening but Zeng Suqiu still did not show up. He could only comfort himself - "This rebellious girl should know the seriousness of the matter. It is extremely unfilial to sue her father. Without me and the Zeng family, she will not end up well~!"

"Master, you are right. Even if my sister is still alive, she would not want to see her only daughter ruining our family. The eldest lady is probably just waiting to see what bargaining chips we can offer." Madam Zeng gritted her teeth and said, "Master, if you can make the eldest lady calm down, I am willing to pay for my sister's life. I only hope that you will not forget me in the future and give me some incense during the Qingming Festival and Cold Food Festival..."

Upon hearing this, Doctor Zeng simply hugged her to comfort her and had no intention of stopping her.

Mrs. Zeng felt a chill in her heart and secretly clenched the white handkerchief in her hand.

This night.

Doctor Zeng suddenly vomited blood in his dream. His attendants hurriedly called a doctor, who found that he had been poisoned. Fortunately, he could still be saved. Doctor Zeng barely managed to save his life, but he had to stay in bed for several days and could not even speak clearly.

While Doctor Zeng was being treated, Madam Zeng quietly called Zeng Fu over and said, "My son, your father wants to kill me to pay for the late Madam's life. I will not hide it from you. It was your father who colluded with some big shot and used his status as a son-in-law to give Mr. Ai drugs several times, which led to his sudden death. Later, Mr. Ai's family suffered a disaster on the way back home. I'm afraid it wasn't God's will..."

She looked extremely worried. "After the late wife gave birth to your sister, although it was a difficult birth, she...she didn't actually die. She had an argument with the master, and she...her body had several bruises, and the back of her head was even dented!"

Zeng Fu on the opposite side was so shocked that he was speechless. He just felt that this terrible world seemed to have deliberately planned to make him unlucky and let him live in this quagmire-like home.

"......Most of your father's account books and letters were probably taken away by the eldest lady. But since the eldest lady didn't take out those things at the first time, she must not want to break up with her own family. Your father wants to use my life to fill the gap...But with the eldest lady's temper, I alone can't be enough. I'm afraid I'll have to sacrifice you, or even the master...Even if my life alone can calm her down, if I die and she remarries and has another son, what will you do, my son?" Although Mrs. Zeng was born in a small family, she was quite shrewd.

She patiently persuaded him, "The only solution now is to let the master atone for his sins before the young lady makes trouble... If her father dies, the young lady can no longer stay outside, and we will have a chance to turn things around... My son, think about it carefully, think about it carefully, you are my lifeblood, I can only rely on you for the rest of my life, I will never hurt you no matter what!"

While the Zeng family mansion was in chaos, the situation outside was also very chaotic.

On the second day after Doctor Zeng was poisoned, the results of the Spring Examination were announced.

The person who won the top spot in the imperial examination was no stranger to all the officials and people in the capital. He was the young talent who had been surrounded by many rumors in recent days - Lin Qiao.

Not long after the list was released, before anyone had time to celebrate or grieve, a group of people holding banners and slogans suddenly appeared in the streets, loudly accusing the Spring Examination of cheating, saying that Lin Qiao, the top winner, was not worthy of the title, and was committing the serious crime of deceiving the emperor!

The rumors that had been lingering in the capital for days seemed to be ignited at this moment. Countless people who looked like scholars appeared out of nowhere and blocked the outside of the Imperial Examination Hall, sitting in protest and demanding justice.