Like every usual day, after Zi You went to greet her mother-in-law, Old Lady Chen, she proceeded to the herb garden to tend and water her plants. She was in a daze as she looked at the field of green and purple plants.

Zi You has always wondered naively that if dabbled in medicine, could she have prevented her second uncle and grandfather from falling ill? If so, would they still be alive?

If they were alive, even if she was divorced by the duke, at least there will still be a home that she could return back to. It would definitely be better than her current predicament. Under the influence of her stepmother, her father called her shameless and accused her of seducing her father-in-law. He even resorted to threatening her, forbidding her from returning home, fearing that she would disgrace him.

When Zi You thought of her grandfather whom she had always been close to, her second uncle who was like a father figure in her life and her bedridden second aunt, she could not help but be enveloped in sadness. So much so that she started crying.

“Milady…Milady…” At this moment, a maidservant dressed in yellow panically ran towards her and said “Bad news. A moment ago, Mistress Lan Xuan was complaining of stomach pain, after the imperial doctor diagnosed her, he said that her anti-abortifacient medicinal soup was laced with a miscarriage inducing agent. Mistress Lan Xuan’s maidservant Qiao’er said that earlier on, Yan Hong(another maidservant) had gone to the place where the medicine was brewed and was caught red-handed by the duke. Yan Hong has already confessed. She said that it was under Milady’s order that she laced the medicine with the miscarriage inducing drug.”

Upon hearing this, Zi You let out a deep sigh. “Oh. It seems like they are not going to let me off the hook till I give up my position of the first lady.”

(TL: Zi You is the legal/first wife of the duke. Mistress Lan Xuan is the second wife)

What’s even more hateful is that Mistress Lan Xuan happens to be her best friend and relative. After Zi You married the duke for only half a year, her grandfather-Great Yan’s Old General Zheng Hao, Second Uncle-Great Yan’s Second General Mu Ying Yi, both died from an illness while fighting a rebellion in Nanjiang. She was devastated and on top of that, 3 months pregnant. It was a time when she needed someone there for her. This Yu Lan Xuan, under the arrangement of Zi You’s stepmother, Wang Yi Ping, entered the duke’s residence under the pretense of caring for her. In no time, this woman got involved with her husband.

As Zi You thought of her stepmother and “best friend”, she could not help but lament that she was too soft-hearted and naive.

Lan Xuan was not only her stepmother’s niece but also her “best friend”. This woman was extremely similar to her stepmother Yi Ping, a venomous snake. She treated such people as her precious kin and heeded their every advice.

When the Duke and Lan Xuan’s affair broke out, her stepmother and Lan Xuan knelt before her. They begged and asked for her agreement in order to make Lan Xuan the Duke’s second legal wife (have the same status as her). Unable to bear seeing her best friend cry, she actually agreed to it.

This was equivalent to inviting a wolf into your home! On the surface, Lan Xuan was very respectful to her. However, once her grandfather and second uncle passed on, Lan Xuan revealed her fangs. Not only did Lan Xuan backstabbed her, she was constantly badmouthing her in front of the duke. Her mother-in-law, Old Lady Chen was also finding every opportunity to make things difficult for her.

Especially after this bitch got pregnant, she was unhappy being the second legal wife. She exhausted all means to rob Zi You of the position of first legal wife.

What about Old Lady Chen? When Zi You’s grandfather was alive, she never dared to bully Zi You. However, once her grandfather had died she began revealing her true colors. There was a period of time Zi You took care of her father-in-law when he fell sick. She did that because he treated her well.

However under the influence of Lan Xuan, Old Lady Chen starting doubting that Zi You had seduced her husband. She might even be convinced that Zi You’s unborn child belongs to her father-in-law!

Such a venomous bitch! After listening to what Lan Xuan said, the mother-in-law who didn’t like Zi You from the start hated her even more. Old Lady Chen turned a blind eye to the actions of her son. Not only did she not try to rectify his wrongdoings, she even encouraged her son’s unacceptable behaviour.，

Zi You looked into the sky and let out a sigh. Before she could exit her garden, her husband, Hong Xiang barged in with a group of men. He shouted “uproot every single one of these poisonous plants! Do not leave any behind.”

These plants were the result of Zi You’s blood, sweat and tears. Without these plants accompanying her, her life was unbearable. Without thinking, she came before Zhao Hong Xiang and begged “please don’t…”

Before Zi You could finish her sentence, she was given a kick by Hong Xiang and fell into the fields. Thereafter, he proceeded to grab her by the hair and “bestowed” upon her numerous slaps to the face. He scolded “slut! How dare you harm Lan Xuan and our unborn son, even if i killed you, you deserved it.”

Hong Xiang dabbled in martial arts and a weak woman like Zi You was not his match. In no time, her face was full of black and blue bruises, even a few of her tooth were missing.

Zi You knew that Hong Xiang wanted her dead. She was already six months pregnant and he could still bear to hit her so viciously. From this, one could tell how cruel he was.

Zi You used all her strength and grabbed onto his thigh.

With tears streaming down her face, she cried “I’m innocent! I didn’t poison anyone. Hong Xiang I’m pregnant with your child are you really so cruel that you’ll harm your child? You ungrateful bastard! Have you forgotten that when you contracted an unknown disease and nobody wanted to be near you, I cared for you for eleven days straight before you recovered. You were only able to attain your position due me who begged my grandfather for one day and night, forcing him to mention you in front of His Majesty. Because of you, my grandfather ignored me for half a year and forbid me from going home. Without me and my grandfather, you would have already fallen from your position. What did you promise me? You said that if you ever let me down, you would face retribution! And now? You would rather believe what Lan Xuan tells you? I curse the both of you!”

After Zi You was done speaking, it triggered Hong Xiang’s evil nature.

Hong Xiang knew in his heart that the general looked down on him. Without the backing of the general and his household, he may not have inherited the position. Without the general he would definitely not get promoted. Without Zi You’s care, he may have died a month after their wedding due to the disease he contracted.

However, Hong Xiang thought that as his wife, it was Zi You’s duty to do everything for him. She had no right to act like his benefactor to demand anything. It was unforgivable that she was even bringing up the old times to mock and ridicule how useless and ungrateful he was.

Hong Xiang was infuriated. Without lifting a finger, he pointed to one of his servants and commanded “Drag this woman away and beat her to death!”

At this moment, the butler could no longer bear seeing what was happening. He said “Please spare milady! Master, milady is your first legal wife. If she died, the authorities will definitely look into this matter. Besides she is already six months pregnant are we going to dispose of little master together with her?”

Hearing what the butler said, Zi You mustered all her strength and said weakly “just divorce me…return my dowry…and I’ll give up my position as your first legal wife…”

Before Zi You could end her sentence, she fainted.

What a pity, even after she fainted, he had no intentions of letting her go. Hong Xiang got his men to drag her into the storage room while he ran to Lan Xuan to discuss their next move. “That woman wants you to divorce her but are you really going to watch her bring the unborn child away?” said Lan Xuan. “Why don’t I divorce her and return her dowry after the child is born?” replied Hong Xiang.

As soon as this sentence entered Lan Xuan’s ear, she leaned onto Hong Xiang with her chest and acted all coy, saying “Is duke getting soft hearted? When that child grows up and learns that you treated his mother so poorly, isn’t he going to hate you? Besides this child might not even belong to you. Moreover, that woman’s dowry is a massive sum of sixty thousand silver tales. That money will allow us to enjoy life for several years. Even if you divorced her, she could live freely with this money outside the manor and maybe even find some other guys for herself! She is definitely going to make you wear a green hat. Speaking of which, our son on the other hand definitely belongs to you.”

Malicious! Listening to Lan Xuan made Hong Xiang think of his father. While his father was alive, he had already suspected that Zi You of having an illicit affair with his father. With her ‘track record’, Hong Xiang couldn’t imagine what Zi You would do with her dowry after their divorce.

Zhao Hong Xiang’s eye emitted a green glint as he grinded his teeth “A great men has to be ruthless! Tell me how should we get rid of her?”

Lan Xuan thought about it and replied “Let’s just say she was caught cheating with a servant and was too ashamed thus she hanged herself.”

Lan Xuan had a twisted look on her face as she said this.

Lan Xuan thought to herself “Bitch don’t blame me for being cruel. Who told you to block my path? As the saying goes, heavens destroy those who don’t look out for themselves. For the happiness of me and my child, both you and your child must die!”

Since Lan Xuan had her back facing Hong Xiang, he did not have the chance to look at her twisted and evil face. However, even if he did manage to see it, he would still think that it looks beautiful.

Otherwise why would people say birds of the same feather flock together?

“What should we tell her father if he came asking for an explanation?”

Afterall, Zi You is the granddaughter of the Old General and this made Hong Xiang feel fear.

Lan Xuan laughed “Relax, my aunt will help us. Her family will never come knocking on our door. Even if they did, don’t forget that you now work for the emperor. We have nothing to fear. Besides, who would suspect that you would forsake your child?”

Hong Xiang was assured. He nodded his head proudly. His eyes were akin to a beast, fierce and cruel.

When night fell, a thunderstorm came. It was first the wind picking up speed followed by the lightning flashing across the sky. “Boom!” a deafening thunder sounded. That sound threatened to shatter the eardrums of all living beings, as if it was going to tear apart this ugly world.This was followed by a heavy rain.

Zi You was left dying on the ground of the storage room. She was awakened by the pain coming from her abdomen. Not having eaten for an entire day and subjected to the cold and wet environment in the storage room, she developed a fever.

Zi You felt her body burning, her throat and face hurt so much that she could not even open her mouth.