Chapter 82

What Cheng Ruyi did not know was that part of the truth discovered by the Marquis of Huaiyang had been provided by Rong Mo. Rong Ting and Great Master Huiyuan were not implicated in it; with Rong Mo’s subtle push behind the scenes, it was not difficult to uncover the fact that Auntie Sun was not a virgin before she climbed into the bed of the Marquis of Huaiyang.

Life was far from easy for Auntie Sun after she was driven back to the Sun family.

In these years of natural disasters, the Sun family had lost their great backer, the Huaiyang Marquis Mansion. The profit-driven Master of the Sun family hated Yan Zixuan, the instigator of it all, to the core—however much he had doted on her before was exactly how much he detested her now.

Before Yan Zixuan could even snap out of the trauma of her disfigurement, she was struck by a succession of heavy blows.

In reality, the disfigurement on Yan Zixuan’s face was not severe. If she used the scar-removing ointment secretly concocted by the Imperial Academy of Medicine, her looks could still be restored. However, since she had already been expelled from the Huaiyang Marquis Mansion, she could only use the generic scar-removing and beauty creams available outside, which yielded mediocre results.

She ran to the Huaiyang Marquis Mansion every day to cry and make a scene. But every single time, she was thrown out, unable to even pass through the main gates. She was even mocked and ridiculed by her sisters who, though also concubine-born daughters, were once beneath her contempt.

Faced with such a colossal fall from grace, Yan Zixuan nearly went insane.

Seeing how the people of the Huaiyang Marquis Mansion cheapened her daughter so heavily, Auntie Sun naturally realized that her daughter had truly been abandoned. Consequently, the hatred in her heart toward her son, Rong Ting, intensified by several degrees.

Luo Fei kept a constant eye on Yan Zixuan, the ‘culprit.’ Only when he saw how wretchedly she lived did his heart feel a bit better.

With Cheng Ruyi secretly treating her, Wang Ying’s body recovered very rapidly without leaving any lingering ailments. The doctor stated that after a period of proper conditioning, she could conceive once again. Only then did Luo Fei truly set his mind at ease.

As time progressed, the days became increasingly difficult for Auntie Sun and Yan Zixuan within the Sun family. Having been pampered with fine clothes and luxurious food since childhood, how could Yan Zixuan endure such hardship? Auntie Sun was even worse off; she had practically become the epitome of someone loathed by humans and dogs alike within the Sun residence.

Most notably, there was only enough water available for daily drinking; there was absolutely no water left for bathing. Throughout those dry, sweltering days, her entire body radiated a sour, foul stench. Auntie Sun was also on the verge of losing her mind.

It was at this time that Auntie Sun recalled Rong Ting—her son, who remained by Rong Mo’s side.

Since she could not return to her former life, why not scheme for her own future? No matter what, she was Rong Ting’s biological mother; Rong Ting would not dare refuse to acknowledge her. As long as she could move into the Changle Marquis Mansion…

The moment Auntie Sun imagined a future where she could once again live a life of wealth, splendor, and status, she could no longer sit still. She immediately sought out her father, the Master of the Sun family.

Though Auntie Sun resented her father’s ruthlessness in her heart, she had no choice but to turn to him for help.

When Master Sun heard his daughter state that Rong Ting, who lived in the Changle Marquis Mansion, was the son she had conceived in secret over twenty years ago, a sharp gleam flashed across his eyes, and a calculation formed in his mind.

To speak of it, Master Sun had seen Rong Ting once before. He had been shaken by how much the boy’s appearance resembled his deceased eldest son, but he had never thought deeply about it. There were so many people in the world who looked alike.

It appeared that heaven was truly generous to the Sun family. Although they had lost their great backer in the Huaiyang Marquis Mansion, they now had two even greater backers: the Changle Marquis Mansion and Prince Rong’s Mansion.

As for whether it was true or not, Sun Jin did not care. As long as his daughter insisted it was true, then it was true.

Naturally, the movements of the Sun family could not escape Rong Mo. Fortunately, Rong Mo did not want Rong Ting to be entangled by the Sun family and had already planned ahead. In this kind of world, only those who were utterly shameless could live a good life.

True enough, the people of the Sun family arrived at their doorstep to claim kinship without a shred of evidence.

As Master Sun brought Auntie Sun inside, the Changle Marquis’s family watched them with cold detachment. Cheng Ruyi did not even spare them a glance; she simply picked up a delicious, juicy peach and began eating.

Recently, the grapes in the mansion were close to ripening. The thought of having grapes to eat in a few days caused Cheng Ruyi to radiate a joyful aura.

Seeing his daughter eating so happily, the Changle Marquis felt immensely pleased. It was still his daughter who possessed foresight; she had planted fruit trees all over the mansion last year. After the peaches, the grapes were soon to be ripe. The thought of eating fresh fruits all year round filled the Changle Marquis’s heart with delight. He also picked up a peach to gnaw on, even pleasingly handing one over to Rong Susu.

“Susu, you eat too!”

Rong Susu cast a sidelong glance at the Changle Marquis, took the peach, and began eating. Cheng Yu and Rong Ting also refused to be left behind, devouring their own peaches. The air became thick with the rich, sweet aroma of peaches.

The corners of Rong Mo’s mouth twitched slightly. His father-in-law’s family was becoming increasingly casual, but indeed, there was no need to show any face to the people of the Sun family.

His little wife had developed a particular fondness for peaches recently. Upon hearing Imperial Physician Chen mention that the peaches grown in the mansion were highly suitable for pregnant women and extremely beneficial for the fetuses, Rong Mo, the Changle Marquis, and the others rarely sold the peaches out anymore. Even if they did sell them, they would only sell one basket per household. Who could blame them, given that the peaches from the Changle Marquis Mansion were famously delicious? Even the reigning Emperor had praised them highly.

Auntie Sun could not help but swallow her saliva. Staring at the large, red peaches, her eyes practically turned green. Recalling the half a month since she returned to the Sun family, aside from having a bit of food to eat every day, a luxury like fruit was something she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of, let alone eat. It was a world of difference from her treatment back at the Huaiyang Marquis Mansion.

She had only eaten the peaches from the Changle Marquis Mansion once, and that was because the Marquis of Huaiyang had sent a portion to her for their daughter’s sake. Now, watching Cheng Ruyi and the Changle Marquis’s family extravagantly devour one after another, her eyes burned with envy.

This Changle Marquis Mansion was simply too extravagant.

The thought that once she acknowledged Rong Ting, she would also be able to eat peaches every day made Auntie Sun even more impatient to claim kinship—even though her heart still harbored resentment toward Rong Ting.

“Sun Jin, you claim that Rong Ting is your grandson. Are you certain you aren’t telling a joke?” After finishing his peach, the Changle Marquis tossed the pit away and sneered. The gaze he directed at the Master of the Sun family, Sun Jin, carried a trace of mockery.

“Father, you’ve forgotten. Half a month ago, Rong Ting kicked Yan Zixuan in a fury, and at that time, Auntie Sun wished she could kill Rong Ting. Now she suddenly claims that Rong Ting is the son she gave birth to from an illicit affair back then. Who knows what kind of scheme they are plotting.”

“Besides, there are too many people in this world who look alike. You can’t just claim that because Rong Ting resembles someone, he must be that person’s son. Without a shred of evidence, this is simply too absurd.”

Cheng Ruyi similarly tossed her peach pit into a porcelain dish, looking at Auntie Sun with a faint, mocking smile. Without evidence, relying solely on a resemblance to claim kinship? Not a chance.

Auntie Sun’s face turned pale, and her entire body shrank back slightly. The gaze she directed at Cheng Ruyi carried a sliver of terror; the events of that day had left her with a psychological shadow regarding Cheng Ruyi. However, for the sake of a future filled with wealth and glory, Auntie Sun gritted her teeth and argued back.

“Rong Ting is indeed my son. Back then…”

Cheng Ruyi listened to her recount the events of the past with indifference, casually handing a peeled peach to Rong Ting, who had just finished his previous one. Rong Ting took the peach and devoured it rapidly.

As a boy who possessed the inner mind of a twelve-year-old, Rong Ting had not forgotten the gaze this woman had directed at him back then, wishing she could kill him. Now she suddenly claimed to be his mother—hmph, he didn’t believe her at all.

His elder brother had long told him that there were too many people in the world who looked alike, and he didn’t bear any distinctive birthmarks on his body, nor did he possess any so-called keepsakes left behind by his biological parents. This dictated that he could not casually acknowledge anyone as family. Who knew if the other party was truly his real kin?

Most importantly, he already had his elder brother, and he disliked the woman before him. He constantly felt that this woman harbored ill intentions toward him. Therefore, he could not possibly be her son. Rong Ting arrived at this conclusion while munching on his peach.

Auntie Sun continued to ramble on endlessly about her yearning for Rong Ting over the years and the ‘truth’ behind his abandonment back then. In short, she shifted all the blame onto Great Master Huiyuan, who had returned to secular life.

The Changle Marquis’s family, Rong Mo, and the others all maintained expressions of watching a good show.

“Are you finished speaking?”

Rong Mo, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, his voice indifferent and icy.

Auntie Sun’s heart thumped, and before she could even wipe away the tears on her face, a terrible premonition suddenly welled up within her.

“Since you are finished, you may leave!” Rong Mo coldly issued a guest-expulsion order.

Auntie Sun still wanted to pester them stubbornly, and Sun Jin was also unwilling to lose the opportunity to attach themselves to Prince Rong’s Mansion by forcing Rong Ting to acknowledge her as his biological mother. However, Rong Ting directly stated, “You are not my mother. My mother could not possibly harbor ill intentions toward me.”

The moment these words were spoken, a flash of panic crossed Auntie Sun’s eyes. She hadn’t expected this so-called son of hers to be so sensitive, to the point of detecting her concealed malice.

Following that, the father and daughter of the Sun family were blasted out of the Changle Marquis Mansion. Rong Mo casually had rumors released, completely cutting off Auntie Sun’s path of retreat.

Cheng Ruyi continued to eat peaches with her family. Peaches nourished by her superpower contained a trace of energy, making them even better to consume than meat. As her belly grew larger day by day, her appetite grew larger as well.

Imperial Physician Chen stated that she was carrying three little babies in her belly. Aside from her joy, Cheng Ruyi felt exceptionally proud. Giving birth to three at once meant that in a few years, she could give birth to an entire football team.

After resolving the matter regarding Rong Ting, Rong Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Following his return to secular life, Great Master Huiyuan had returned to the capital before the severe drought arrived, residing at No. 16 Nangu Lane. After a period of deep consideration, Rong Mo reached a decision.

Out of selfishness, Great Master Huiyuan had not yet seen Rong Ting, only knowing that Rong Ting was another adopted son of the Rong family. Rong Mo decided to bring Rong Ting to meet the secularized Great Master Huiyuan. As a former high monk, he ought to possess a method to verify bloodlines.

Cheng Ruyi felt quite interested in this and wanted to follow along to watch the excitement, but she was refused by Rong Mo. Her belly was astonishingly large, looking precariously heavy; even if his little wife claimed she was fine, he didn’t dare take the risk.

Two people left, but only Rong Mo returned.

It turned out that Rong Ting truly was the son of the great monk Huiyuan. Cheng Ruyi sighed with emotion.

“This great monk Huiyuan’s luck is simply too good. Ah Mo, will Rong Ting still return?” Even though he had returned to secular life, Cheng Ruyi was still accustomed to calling him the great monk—even though this great monk had already grown his hair out.

Rong Mo lightly caressed his little wife’s beautiful hair and nodded. “Yes, Rong Ting merely acknowledged Great Master Huiyuan as his adoptive father.”

Only then did Cheng Ruyi feel at ease; she didn’t want her younger brother to lose such a playmate. With Rong Ting’s matter resolved, Cheng Ruyi began to question Rong Mo in a huff.

“Ah Mo, are you hiding some things from me?”

Rong Mo smiled bitterly. “Ruyi, you already know?”

Cheng Ruyi rolled her eyes. “With such a massive matter, how long did you think you could keep it from me?”

Drawing his little wife into his embrace, Rong Mo murmured softly, “I simply didn’t want you to be affected.”

Rumors were circulating outside that without exception, every single infant born after March of this year had been born stillborn. The bizarre thing was that when the doctors conducted examinations, there were no issues found with the fetuses. Pregnant women who refused to believe in the curse gave birth one after another, only to end up with stillborn babies in the end.

Seeing that his little wife was about to give birth, everyone fixed their focused gazes upon her. Particularly those who knew she possessed immense merit wanted to see if she would give birth to a stillborn child as well. It was easy to imagine how much pressure his little wife would have to endure once she found out.

Cheng Ruyi snuggled into his embrace, pressing his large hand onto her highly protruding abdomen.

“Ah Mo, our babies are perfectly fine. I can feel the babies’ heartbeats. If you don’t believe me, feel it yourself; the babies are still moving around restlessly.”

No wonder Cheng Qingyao had shown such schadenfreude over her pregnancy; it turned out she was waiting for her here. This was yet another plot point that hadn’t existed in the original book.

It didn’t matter. She, Cheng Ruyi, possessed a mutated wood-attribute superpower, and her constitution was different from ordinary people; her babies were doing wonderfully.

She intentionally channeled the wood energy that the babies loved, and the three babies inside her belly became active, moving around restlessly within her womb. Cheng Ruyi smiled proudly. This was her secret weapon for interacting with her babies.

Rong Mo’s large hand felt the movements within his little wife’s belly, even getting thumped once, twice by a tiny foot. A tender smile bloomed across his handsome face. His children truly possessed great strength.

“I feel it, I feel it. This little foot truly has strength—as expected of my children.” Rong Mo was filled with joy, his large hand remaining draped over Cheng Ruyi’s abdomen.

Cheng Ruyi’s smile was exceptionally brilliant. How could her and Ah Mo’s babies possibly be stillborn?

A few days later, Cheng Ruyi was eating freshly ripened grapes when she suddenly felt a wave of labor pains, and a warm current flowed from her lower abdomen. Was she about to give birth?

She channeled her superpower to soothe the babies who were eager to be born. While continuing to eat her grapes, she calmly spoke to Moxiang.

“Moxiang, I’m about to give birth. Go call the midwives over.”

“Ah, Miss, what did you say…” Moxiang was greatly startled, but looking at her lady’s calm demeanor, it didn’t seem like it. She couldn’t help but confirm: “Miss, are you truly about to give birth?”

“Yes, I’ll go to the delivery room after I finish this plate of grapes.” Cheng Ruyi continued to eat her grapes, looking completely unlike someone who was on the verge of giving birth.

The corners of Moxiang’s mouth twitched. “…”

In the end, she gritted her teeth and ran out to call the midwives, simultaneously spreading the news of her lady’s impending delivery. The entire Changle Marquis Mansion fell into utter chaos.

Cheng Ruyi continued to eat her grapes unhurriedly. Having rushed over frantically upon receiving the news, Rong Mo’s forehead was covered in black lines when he saw his little wife still eating grapes.

“Ruyi, didn’t they say you were about to give birth?”

Not only was Rong Mo speechless, but even the arriving Prince Rong, the Changle Marquis, Luo Fei, Rong Susu, Wang Ying, and the others were thoroughly without words.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Cheng Ruyi ate the final grape with a bit of embarrassment, cradled her large belly, and walked into the adjacent delivery room.

The birth proceeded exceptionally smoothly. In less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense, several resonant cries echoed from within the delivery room. Before long, Moxiang and two midwives carried the children out.

Two boys and one girl. A single birth yielded both sons and a daughter. Prince Rong and the Changle Marquis were both overjoyed.

Those who had sent people to keep an eye out upon learning of Cheng Ruyi’s labor quickly received the news that Cheng Ruyi had safely given birth to two sons and a daughter. They were not stillborn; according to the imperial physician’s examination, the children were extremely healthy without any defects.

The crowd no longer harbored a single shred of doubt regarding the words spoken by the high monk. Cheng Ruyi was definitively the reincarnation of a great philanthropist. Within less than a day, Cheng Ruyi once again became the leading figure in the capital’s gossip circles.

Far away in Dahu County, Cheng Qingyao received a letter sent by Cheng Ruyi. She opened it to read, and it turned out her cousin had safely given birth to triplets. Living triplets.

Cheng Qingyao pursed her lips and smiled bitterly. She had schemed so much, yet in the end, her cousin Cheng Ruyi lived a blissful and complete life, just like in her previous lifetime. Meanwhile, she was merely a bit better off than in her past life. Having lived again, she had indeed altered her destiny, but she had also lost a great deal.

The current her merely wished to live out the remainder of her life peacefully. If she could have a companion who understood her warmth and coldness, it would be even better. Perhaps she would encounter such a person eventually.

Looking at the three babies she had given birth to, Cheng Ruyi discovered that the infants all possessed superpowers, making her exceptionally happy.

“Ruyi, it has been hard on you!” Rong Mo brushed away her slightly damp strands of hair, speaking with deep affection and heartache.

Leaning into his embrace, Cheng Ruyi curved the corners of her eyes and giggled. “It wasn’t hard at all. The babies were all very good; they didn’t torment me and came out all at once.”

Cradling her close, Rong Mo pecked kisses onto her lips, his arms tightening inch by inch as his heart filled completely with happiness.

“Mm, they are all good children!”

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