Chapter 75: A Graceful Maiden (Part Two)

陶 Ming followed the sound and saw the woman who had glared at her earlier striding toward the carriage, tears streaming down her face as she cried, “Nanxing, I am carrying your child.”

Su Nanxing was utterly stunned!

He could never have predicted that this woman would pull such a stunt!

He quickly tried to distance himself from her, telling Tao Ming, “She’s talking nonsense! I don’t even know her!”

Tao Ming wasn’t sure whether to believe it or not. Sticking to her principle that there is only one truth, she decided to get to the bottom of it.

Yao Pianpian stepped in front of Su Nanxing, attempting to grab his sleeve, but he retreated several steps and denied her the chance. She could only stand there, continuing to sob, “Nanxing, I know you have your reasons, but I have your child inside me!”

Qin Youchuan was already furious, grabbing Tao Ming’s sleeve to leave, but Tao Ming stood firm. “Grandfather, we don’t know the truth yet. It’s better to clarify things.”

Qin Youchuan snorted coldly. “If it turns out to be true, what will you do?”

Tao Ming curled her lips. “If it’s true, then from now on, we go our separate ways and never meet again.”

Qin Youchuan nodded approvingly. “As expected of a descendant of the Qin family—decisive and resolute!”

Tao Ming placed Ruanruan in his arms. “Grandfather, please take Ruanruan upstairs. She shouldn’t hear about these matters.”

Qin Youchuan acknowledged and carried Ruanruan upstairs.

Su Yanfeng seized Su Nanxing and asked, “Is this true?”

Su Nanxing, hearing Tao Ming’s words, desperately wanted to explain to her, and with a mournful face, said to his father, “Dad, do I look like someone so desperate as to do such a thing?”

Su Yanfeng glanced at Yao Pianpian and released his grip.

Yao Ruifeng had guessed what Pianpian intended the moment she stood up. With her shouting like this in the street, regardless of the outcome, the Su family would be forced to take her in.

Thus, Yao Ruifeng silently followed behind, his expression pained and disappointed as he looked at Su Nanxing.

Freed, Su Nanxing clung to Tao Ming’s hand, continuing his explanation. “Wife, believe me, I truly don’t know her!”

Tao Ming patted his hand gently. “Leave it to me.”

Su Nanxing worried Tao Ming would be deceived. “Wife, let me handle it…”

Tao Ming glared at him. “Are you planning to silence her for good?”

Su Nanxing was aggrieved. “I’m afraid you’ll be tricked.”

Tao Ming reassured him. “I’ve watched over nine hundred episodes of Detective Conan—don’t worry.”

She turned to Yao Pianpian. “Miss, shall we find somewhere to talk, or do you prefer to speak right here?”

Yao Pianpian wished for the whole imperial city to know, replying, “I’m not going anywhere. If you harm me, it’ll be a double tragedy, and I’ll have nowhere to seek justice.”

Tao Ming thought to herself, ‘So shameless,’ but there was nothing more she could do.

She continued, “When did you find out you were pregnant? How long has it been?”

Yao Pianpian grew flustered. She was still a maiden, clueless about pregnancy, and blurted, “Just these past few days—about two months, I think.”

Su Yanfeng was relieved. For the past three months, Su Nanxing had been confined to the Star-Picking Court; he hadn’t left the compound, let alone impregnate anyone.

Su Yanfeng whispered to Tao Ming, “Seventeen has been locked up in the courtyard these last three months.” Then he went upstairs—he had a granddaughter now and couldn’t let Qin Youchuan steal her away; he had no interest in watching the spectacle.

Tao Ming had her answer and pressed Yao Pianpian, “How do you know the child inside you is definitely Su Nanxing’s?”

Yao Pianpian’s cheeks flushed red. “He’s the only one I’ve ever been intimate with. Who else could it be?”

Yao Ruifeng chimed in, “Nanxing, my sixth sister only met you a few times—I never expected you’d do such a thing.”

Su Nanxing was furious. ‘Bad choices in friends,’ he thought.

He was about to retort, but Tao Ming patted his hand again. “Don’t be hasty.”

Thinking for a moment, Tao Ming asked, “Miss, Su Nanxing has a birthmark on his collarbone. Do you know what it looks like?”

Yao Pianpian, watching Tao Ming’s expression, replied, “I think it’s a red circle…”

Seeing Tao Ming’s face change, she quickly added, “Yes, a red circle.”

Tao Ming sighed. “He doesn’t have any birthmark at all. I’m afraid the man who got you pregnant isn’t him.”

Yao Pianpian panicked, trying to cover herself. “He always comes to me late at night. I’m too shy to look closely—I must have remembered wrong.”

Tao Ming saw her stubbornness and played her trump card. “You say he visits you late at night for intimacy. What does he like to say when he’s lost in passion?”

At these words, everyone around drew a sharp breath.

Such a bold woman—she was a rarity!

Yao Pianpian’s face turned bright red. Stammering, she said, “I’ve never heard anything so…”

Tao Ming interrupted, “Then let me show you—no charge.”

Yao Pianpian opened and closed her mouth, unable to speak.

How could she answer? She was still an unmarried maiden; even if she truly had been intimate with Su Nanxing, such words would never leave her lips!

In the end, she could only say, “How could I possibly say such things?”

Tao Ming pulled Su Nanxing to her, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his lips. They kissed for a moment before parting.

The crowd was amazed—what a spectacle!

A woman raised in another world was truly formidable!

Tao Ming looked at Yao Pianpian. “Go ahead, do as I just did, and I’ll believe you’re carrying his child.”

Yao Pianpian’s face turned from red to white and then back to red, standing rigidly in place.

If she really had something with Su Nanxing, she might have gone up and done it. But Su Nanxing had no interest in her; approaching him would only be humiliating herself.

Tao Ming saw her silence and spoke, “I know what you’re up to. You just want to make a scene so everyone knows, and the Su family will have to take you in for the sake of their reputation. But have you considered, once you’ve made such a fuss, how will you stand in the Su family?”

Yao Pianpian stubbornly insisted, “I’m telling the truth.”

Tao Ming lost interest. “In that case, we’ll wait until the child is born and test the bloodline. If it’s really his, you’ll be admitted.”

The crowd didn’t want to wait that long and shouted in unison, “Swear, swear!”

Yao Pianpian bit her lip hard. She’d only heard that false oaths would bring divine punishment, but no one had ever seen it happen, so she clung to a shred of hope and said, “I’ll swear if you want.”

Yao Ruifeng tried to intervene, “Pianpian, don’t!”

He turned to Tao Ming, “Such aggressive questioning is shameful for a woman!”

Tao Ming laughed. “She claims to be carrying my husband’s child—of course I have to clarify. If she’s pregnant by someone else and insists on blaming my husband, wouldn’t we suffer a great loss?”

Yao Pianpian’s mind raced, but she steeled herself. “I, Yao Pianpian, swear: if I am not carrying Su Nanxing’s child, may heaven strike me with thunder and lightning, and may I die a miserable death.”

The words came out fast and urgent; Yao Ruifeng couldn’t stop her in time.

She finished in one breath, looked up at the sky, saw a bright moon and sparse stars, and no sign of thunder, so she relaxed.

The crowd took several steps back; Su Nanxing pulled Tao Ming even farther away.

Tao Ming was curious to see if the oath would be effective and said, “We can’t see from so far away—and who knows if it’ll work!”

Su Nanxing wrapped his arms around Tao Ming from behind, whispering hotly in her ear, “What do I like to say when I’m lost in passion?”

Tao Ming brushed his head aside. “Don’t distract me—I’m watching the show!”

No sooner had she spoken than a patch of dark cloud suddenly appeared above Yao Pianpian’s head, lightning flickering within. Yao Pianpian shrieked and ran in all directions, but the black cloud followed her overhead.

The crowd panicked, afraid they’d be caught up in it.

The lightning grew brighter and more frequent. With a deafening crash, a bolt of lightning struck Yao Pianpian.

A white glow flashed from her body—the protective array she wore had activated.

But the lightning intensified, quickly breaking through the shield, and struck Yao Pianpian herself. In an instant, she was reduced to a charred corpse lying on the ground.

Tao Ming was deeply shocked, her voice trembling, “I never imagined it would be real! I killed her!”

Su Nanxing covered Tao Ming’s eyes. “It’s not your fault. Heaven may forgive natural disasters, but self-inflicted misfortune cannot be escaped.”

Yao Ruifeng’s eyes were bloodshot as he lifted Yao Pianpian’s body, shouting toward Tao Ming, “I will never forgive you!”

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