In truth, given An Ran's status at this point, the Chen family would never dare to do anything to him. However, since Third Sister was biased towards An Ran and knew about Chen Qian's affair with Sixth Sister, she had no goodwill towards the Chen family whatsoever.
"I understand." An Ran already disliked the Chen family and was trying to keep her distance.
As the two were talking, An Ran hesitated for a moment before asking, "Third Sister, I just ran into a little maid in the corridor..."
The smile on Third Sister's face gradually faded, and a hint of melancholy appeared in her eyes. "There was nothing to hide from you anyway. That Li woman seems unwilling to give up, and she's asked someone to find the Grand Princess of Lin'an, saying she wants to see Dong-ge'er." Third Sister gave a cold laugh and said, "Is it really just a matter of seeing him once?"
Once you start, you'll start again. How can you get enough of looking at your child?
If Li Shi doesn't appear again, and Dong Ge'er follows Third Sister wholeheartedly, he might have a bright future. But if Li Shi keeps causing trouble, it will only remind Third Sister of the pain she caused her, and Dong Ge'er will also suffer between his aunt and his legal mother.
"What did the Prince, the Princess, and my brother-in-law say?" An Ran asked anxiously.
The attitudes of these three people are the most crucial.
At this point, Third Sister's expression relaxed slightly. "With Mother Consort keeping things in check, Father King can't do anything. Your brother-in-law, on the other hand, firmly rejected Li Shi, and he will no longer see her."
This is finally something that can make Third Sister feel a little better.
Even if what happened back then cannot be undone, it was only if Yun Shen softened his heart that San Niang was heartbroken and despairing.
"I'm just furious that the Grand Princess of Lin'an seems to have developed a habit of meddling in other people's family affairs." Sixth Sister's words also carried An Ran's connotation. She said with dissatisfaction, "Does she really think she's a proper elder of the Emperor?"
An Ran quickly comforted her, saying, "She can only talk the talk. The Emperor and Empress are cold towards her now, so she doesn't dare to do anything. Third Sister, you mustn't get angry over such a trivial matter; it's not worth it!"
Third Sister's expression softened, and she patted An Ran's hand, saying, "I can still tell what's important."
Before she could finish speaking, Jinzhi rushed in from outside and said, "Princess Consort, Ninth Aunt, someone outside says that Sixth Aunt has sent someone to see you!"
An Ran and Third Sister exchanged a glance, both looking puzzled. What was Sixth Sister doing here again?
******
Sixth Sister returned to her room, slammed the door shut, and refused to let anyone in to serve her. She needed to be alone for a while.
Her earlier guess was confirmed; her sadness and anger earlier had been overacted, and now Liu Niang genuinely felt very uncomfortable.
To her, the Chen family mansion was nothing short of a den of dragons and tigers. Chen Qian disliked her, and the two had been estranged from the day they got married; Ding Shi was indeed a woman who valued the legitimate wife, but her doting on her son was enough to destroy Liu Niang's advantage—after all, Ding Shi always put her son first.
She hasn't even left the capital yet, and she's already being bullied like this. That's just too much!
Sixth Sister was filled with mixed thoughts. She had exposed Chen Qian and Xu Hui's affair, but so what?
Although her actions were subtle and no one would suspect her for the time being, as time passed and the sun gradually set, Liu Niang's heart grew colder and colder.
Apart from Ding Shi stopping her briefly in the backyard earlier, neither Ding Shi nor Chen Qian have appeared yet!
She is the victim in this whole affair; she is the one who feels most wronged!
The Chen family is going too far.
There were three soft knocks on the door, the pre-arranged signal between her and Bizhu.
Sixth Sister responded, trying to appear indifferent. But then she realized that she had been sitting upright the whole time, instead of leaning against the large, fluffy cushion behind her.
“Madam, we’ve found out the truth,” Bizhu whispered. “That maid named Huiniang is almost two months pregnant.”
Sixth Sister's gaze suddenly turned deep and unfathomable.
No wonder no one came; it turns out the mother and child were gathered together trying to come up with a solution! It seems they wanted the child; otherwise, with the fetus so small and Xu Hui kneeling and so emotionally agitated, it would have been perfectly normal for them to lose the baby.
Liu Niang's hand, which was caressing the teacup, gradually tightened.
"I understand, you can go now." Before Liu Niang finished speaking, a commotion could be heard outside.
Biyun hurried over and said, "Grandma, Grandpa is here!"
Chapter 167
Upon hearing this, Liu Niang's eyes flickered with emotions several times before she finally smashed the teacup she was holding to the ground.
As Chen Qian entered the doorway, he saw a teacup shattered into pieces, with fragments of porcelain scattered everywhere. Bi Yun stood to the side, trembling with fear, holding her breath and keeping quiet, afraid of angering Liu Niang.
On the soft couch, Sixth Sister stared at Chen Qian with a face full of anger and icy coldness. Her lips were tightly pressed together, and the fire in her eyes seemed to want to burn Chen Qian.
Even though the two disliked each other before their marriage, they maintained a respectful facade afterward, as what had happened back then would be shameful for either of them if it were revealed. This was the first time that when Chen Qian entered, Liu Niang did not go out to greet him, but remained seated, unmoved.
She certainly has her reasons for doing so today.
"Sixth Sister." Even though Chen Qian had spoken confidently to Madam Ding, he had enjoyed a pleasant conversation with Master Fan at noon and thought he had found a new way out, so he no longer cared about Sixth Sister. Now that he was a little more sober, Chen Qian realized that this might not be the right time to break off relations, so he decided to try to appease Sixth Sister with some gentle words. After all, he was in the wrong in this matter. "It was my fault, please don't be angry."
Liu Niang looked at Chen Qian with some surprise.
Does he think that after such a major incident, he can cover it up with a simple apology?
Even though all of this was within Liu Niang's expectations, Chen Qian's cold attitude was still too hurtful.
She didn't even need to pretend; her anger surged uncontrollably. "Master, what kind of talk is this!" Sixth Sister was furious, but her good upbringing prevented her from displaying a hysterical outburst. Her voice grew louder and louder, "We've only been married a short time, and you've already caused such a scene!"
"I've been completely fooled, like a complete idiot!" Sixth Sister's anger was genuine; she disregarded her composure and slammed her hand on the small table beside her. "You've gone too far!"
The current situation seems to be that Chen Qian and his mother, Ding, have joined forces to keep Liu Niang in the dark. Moreover, Ding has hidden Chen Qian's concubine in her backyard, making it easy for Chen Qian and Xu Hui to get together. It would be strange if Liu Niang wasn't furious.
Chen Qian patiently and kindly persuaded Liu Niang a few more times.
However, Liu Niang refused to budge. She was married off as a daughter of a marquis, and what kind of behavior would it be to cover up such a thing in a muddled way?
"Then what do you want?" Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Chen Qian decided to resort to shamelessness. After all, the person was already there, and Xu Hui was pregnant with his child. "I've known Hui Niang for a long time. If it weren't for your reputation, Miss An Liu, why would I make Hui Niang hide away, unable to give her a proper status even though she's pregnant?"