If I were born again, I would marry a strong but short-lived husband.

Duke Lu was so frightened by the woman whose skirt was stained with blood that his face changed.

"Who is she and why is she in the family temple?" an angry voice rang out.

The ancestral temple is such a sacred place, where all the ancestors of the Lu family are worshipped. How could a woman desecrate it?

Mrs. Lu staggered, and the uneasiness in her heart became more and more obvious.

She's always been very well-planned, but lately she's been feeling like things are getting out of control.

"I...the baby in my belly is Lu Heng's, and is the blood of the Lu family." Song Xiuzhi felt waves of pain in her stomach.

A warm current surged from the body.

She is afraid...

Afraid of losing these two children.

In the dream, the reason why she was able to defeat Shen Sui'an and become a winner in life was all because of the support of her two children.

Her children are geniuses.

The Duke's Mansion should be inherited by her children in the future.

"Who is she? How come she is pregnant with Lu Heng's child?"

"Could it be that she is a concubine who is afraid of being discovered by the princess, so she hides here secretly?"

"This can no longer be concealed..."

Many members of the Lu family came to worship today. The fire just now attracted everyone here. Even if Duke Lu wanted to conceal the existence of this woman, he could not stop people from talking about it.

"She seems to be the bartender. What's her name?" Someone in the crowd recognized Song Xiuzhi.

"Now that you mention it, it reminds me that I went to her wine shop to buy wine before. It was indeed her."

"Isn't she dead?"

"So it was secretly hidden by the Duke's Mansion."

"..."

Mrs. Lu's expression was so ugly that it was beyond description. She even wanted to kill Song Xiuzhi at this moment.

But now she couldn't vent her anger.

"Duke, the child is important." Mrs. Lu said in a low voice.

Duke Lu had a dark face and said, "My third daughter-in-law, I leave this to you. The family temple is a sacred place and cannot be polluted. Send this girl somewhere else to give birth."

When Shen Suian heard this, he looked at Song Xiuzhi indifferently.

She's already bleeding. If there's any further delay, will the twins in her belly be able to be born safely?

Duke Lu turned to look at Mr. Lu and his wife, "Come with me."

"My Lord, we haven't offered sacrifices yet." The clan member reminded,

Today is the day for ancestor worship. The sudden fire is already unlucky, and if we don’t worship our ancestors properly, who knows what else will happen.

Duke Lu could only suppress his anger, complete the worship ceremony, and send away all the curious clansmen.

Mrs. Lu knelt in front of the door, her back straight and her eyes cold.

"A little maid who was imprisoned in the backyard wanted to escape. She deliberately lit a fire to burn the door, but accidentally started the fire. Now she has died in the fire." Mr. Lu San reported to Duke Lu.

Lu Ya wanted to escape today when no one was watching, so she almost burned down the family temple.

She didn't escape, but she forced Song Xiuzhi out.

"What did that maid do wrong? Why was she locked up?" asked Duke Lu.

Mr. Lu San: "She was a maid who was sent to the family temple not long ago. As for why she was locked up, you can only ask my sister-in-law to find out."

Mrs. Lu, who was kneeling outside the door, looked dejected.

She was not afraid of how the Duke would blame her now. She was worried that if the palace knew about the existence of Song Xiuzhi, Concubine Yao would be furious.

Princess Guangning was unable to have any more children, but Lu Yuan's concubine gave birth to a child.

It doesn’t matter whether Song Xiuzhi can survive or not, it’s better if she dies.

She was afraid that Concubine Yao would vent her anger on Lu Heng, and that the real job that Lu Heng had worked so hard to obtain would be taken back.

"Let the eldest son's wife come in." Duke Lu's eyes were full of disgust.

I used to think that Bai was the most knowledgeable and well-mannered person. Such a dignified and noble person could be so cruel and ruthless in doing things, bringing shame to the Duke's Mansion.

"What's going on with the Song family?" Duke Lu asked coldly.

Mrs. Lu said calmly, "The Song family girl plotted against Heng'er. She seduced Heng'er to have a night with her. After she became pregnant, she faked her death and escaped. Heng'er didn't know she was still alive."

"She was afraid that Princess Guangning would kill her, so she asked me for help. I saw that she was pregnant with Heng'er's children, and they were twins, so I kept her in the family temple."

"If I place her anywhere else, she will be easily discovered by the princess. If it weren't for the child, I would not keep her."

Upon hearing that Song Xiuzhi was pregnant with twins, Duke Lu felt a sense of anticipation in his heart.

The Duke's family does not have many descendants, and he would be happy if the younger generation could have more children.

What's more, Lu Heng is now a royal consort, so it is not easy for him to take a concubine.

"What about the maid who set the fire?" asked Duke Lu.

Mrs. Lu said, "She offended me when she first arrived. I just asked her to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors, but I didn't expect her to be so stubborn."

"Do you know that she almost caused trouble today?" Duke Lu shouted angrily.

It's not that it's almost there, it's that it's already been delayed.

Mrs. Lu looked numb, "It's my daughter-in-law's fault, please punish me, old man."

"Eldest brother's wife, you should reflect on your mistakes in the ancestral temple instead of continuing to cause trouble." Lu Guogong said.

"Yes, daughter-in-law, remember this," said Mrs. Lu.

Duke Lu glared at Mr. Lu fiercely, saying that he had to discipline his wife himself.

Mr. Lu also blamed Mrs. Lu for not doing things carefully. How could she want to return to the Duke's Mansion like this?

"Someone, send the first wife back." Uncle Lu said irritably.

Mrs. Lu looked at him deeply.

At this time, Ruan came in from outside, holding up her skirt, "Grandpa, Madam, we found a family in a nearby village that we can temporarily borrow for Song to give birth to, but she has a miscarriage and the period is not yet due, so we are afraid that things will not go smoothly."

Duke Lu frowned, "It's enough that the child is born safely."

As for Song Xiuzhi, it might be more comfortable for her if she could die here.

Shen Sui'an, who was standing by, had already expected this answer.

The people of the Lu family are naturally cold and indifferent, and it is indeed a passed down tradition.

Shen Sui'an lowered her head and walked out. She came to visit Mrs. Lu.

Mrs. Lu sneered when she saw her, "Everything that happened today was arranged by you and Lu Yuan, right?"

The fact that Lu Ya sent her to the ancestral temple was a trap set for her. She never expected that Lu Ya's next move would be to set fire to lure out Song Xiuzhi.

It can only explain one thing.

Shen Sui'an had known that Song Xiuzhi was hiding here for a long time.

She remembered what Song Xiuzhi had said, that Shen Sui'an could not predict the future, so she did not marry Lu Heng.

"Shen Sui'an, you are a monster." Madam Lu scolded, "You schemed against your mother-in-law, you will not die a good death."

"When you drugged Lu Yuan, didn't you ever think that one day the retribution would come upon you?" Shen Suian said calmly.

Mrs. Lu looked at Shen Sui'an with a cold gaze, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Shen Sui'an came forward and said, "Do you think Song Xiuzhi can give birth to the baby safely? If she can't give birth, do you think Lu Heng still has a chance?"

"..." Mrs. Lu's pupils shrank slightly, "What is Lu Yuan going to do to Lu Heng?"

"No matter what I do, it's not vicious enough for you." Shen Sui'an said.

Mrs. Lu was panicked and worried about Lu Heng who was far away in Huainan.

Just as she was about to report Shen Sui'an, Mo Ju came over in a hurry with a pale face, "Madam, Song gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, but... the young master died at birth..."