Chapter Sixty: Accident

"Mother, you know as well as I do how much Yun'er has sacrificed for me. Now that she is pregnant and living in that cold, desolate courtyard, how pitiful she is," Su Yun said, letting out a slight sigh.

Madam Li nodded. "How could Mother not know that you dote on her? But you must understand, the only reason Luo Yun'er is willing to stay by your side is because she's counting on you to shield her from the elements. If you ruin yourself for her sake, what would become of us?"

These words struck a chord in Su Yun's heart.

He nodded. "Mother, I understand."

Seeing this, Madam Li was finally at ease.

An hour later.

Su Yun was in his study when Shi Jiu knocked and entered, carefully closing the door behind him before handing over a slip of paper.

"Master, this was sent by the cousin miss. I made sure no one else saw it."

Su Yun nodded, took the note, and unfolded it.

It was written in Luo Yun'er's familiar handwriting.

[Our child is tumbling around inside your concubine's belly. Won't my lord come and take a look?]

Just this single sentence completely undid all of Madam Li's admonitions to Su Yun.

Su Yun felt a jolt in his chest.

His own child!

He sprang to his feet, clenching his fists in a rush of eagerness. "Prepare the carriage! I am going to the secondary courtyard!"

Shi Jiu was dumbfounded. With no other choice, he went to make preparations, inwardly marveling at the cousin miss's formidable methods.

---

Luo Yun'er waited for a long time in the secondary courtyard until she finally spotted the Su family carriage.

When she saw Shi Jiu stepping down from it, her face bloomed into a relieved smile.

My lord has come!

Su Yun alighted from the carriage and immediately caught sight of her waiting at the entrance with her prominent belly. Filled with emotion, he hurried forward to greet her. "Why did Yun'er not wait for me inside the room?"

Luo Yun'er answered with coy shyness, "Naturally, I wanted to welcome my lord in person."

The two of them went inside.

---

Meanwhile.

Begonia Courtyard.

"That brother-in-law of ours is incorrigible! He was seduced away by the cousin miss just like that. Madam's warnings from earlier might as well have been spoken to the wall!"

Red Bean recounted the news of Su Yun heading to the secondary courtyard to Song Xirui, her face flushed red with anger.

Song Xirui chuckled softly and said, "You already know what kind of creature he is. Did you honestly expect him to listen?"

Red Bean naturally knew that her mistress no longer held any regard for Su Yun. Feeling a sense of injustice, she said, "This servant just feels it's too cheap for the two of them, and entirely unfair to you, Madam."

Song Xirui nodded, her voice gentle. "One is fickle and ungrateful, while the other is vicious to the core. I certainly won't let either of them off easily."

---

Upon arriving at Luo Yun'er's quarters, Su Yun felt nothing out of the ordinary at first.

---

It wasn't until it was time to leave that Taoxiang presented the sachet Luo Yun'er had prepared. "Brother-in-law, this was made by the cousin miss. The old madam's sachet has already been given to her, but this one was crafted stitch by stitch, especially for you."

"Yun'er, your health is already delicate. Why must you tire yourself out like this?"

Su Yun let Luo Yun'er tie the sachet around his waist, feeling a surge of delight.

Luo Yun'er's voice dripped with honeyed sweetness. "What is my husband saying? I have nothing but leisure here, and I am more than willing to do even the smallest thing for my husband."

After chatting for a while longer, Su Yun finally took his leave.

By now, the sky was gradually growing dark.

The sachet tied around Su Yun's waist was particularly striking.

With that, Su Yun calmly boarded the carriage.

The light grew dim as night began to fall.

Su Yun instructed Shi Jiu to drive quickly.

Yet, unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, the carriage suddenly came to a halt!

"What is the meaning of this?!" Su Yun broke out in a cold sweat of terror, but heard no sound from outside.

Panic-stricken, he felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

At that very moment, something seized him fiercely by the throat.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Su Yun cried out for help at the top of his lungs, but no one could hear him.

On the gloomy street, the carriage sat quietly.

The driver on the box, however, was fast asleep.

Inside the carriage—where Su Yun could neither see nor hear them—were crammed more than a dozen ghosts!

They were locked in a fierce scramble.

"This sachet is mine!"

"My foot it is! It's clearly mine!"

"Nonsense!"

The dozen-plus ghosts were brawling violently over the sachet.

Caught squarely in the middle of this chaos and utterly helpless was Su Yun.

As the ghosts tossed and shoved, Su Yun let out a sharp shriek, "Aah!"

A particularly aggressive ghost gave him a violent shove, sending Su Yun sprawling backward onto the carriage floor.

His mind was a complete blank of confusion and panic.

The only thing he knew for certain was that he was currently being beaten.

A full hour later, one of the ghosts finally snatched the sachet, letting out a hideous cackle, "Hehehehehe, it's mine!"

Then, with lightning speed, it bolted wildly out of the carriage.

As soon as it left, the other ghosts dissolved and vanished without a trace.

Only then did Shi Jiu up front slowly snap out of his daze. He called out into the carriage a few times, lifted the curtain, and nearly frightened his wits away!

---

The person sitting in the middle of the carriage, beaten black and blue until his face resembled a bloated pig's head, was actually their young master?

No way!

Terrified out of his mind, he gripped his whip tightly and galloped frantically all the way back to the Su residence.

...

When Song Xirui received the news from the outer courtyard and rushed over to see Su Yun, she almost burst out laughing.

"Husband, whatever person could have harmed you like this? Why have you ended up in such a state?"

Song Xirui asked in a gentle voice, looking terribly concerned.

Lumps covered Su Yun's head, and beneath his pig-like visage, he wailed continuously.

"I don't know, I don't know! It was like being cursed—they were all hitting me from every direction, but I couldn't see where any of them were!"

Even as he shrieked in terror, he was gripped by lingering dread in his heart.

Could his misfortune be the result of courting bad luck by going to see Luo Yun'er?

With that thought, he anxiously turned his gaze to Song Xirui by his side and pleaded, "Wife, my wife! I beg you to stay by my side. I will definitely listen to you from now on!"

Seeing him so docile, Song Xirui smiled faintly.

"What is my husband saying? You and I are husband and wife, joined as one; naturally, your concubine will take [good] care of you." A warm smile spread across Song Xirui's face.

Only then did Su Yun set his mind at ease. Closing his eyes, he promptly fell asleep.

Seeing this, Song Xirui feigned care by reaching out to tuck in his blanket.

Assured that he was not faking sleep, she took Red Bean and returned to the Begonia Courtyard, offering Madam Li the excuse that she needed to bathe before burning incense for Su Yun.

...

After bathing, Song Xirui firmly shut the bedroom door and instructed Red Bean.

"Remember, slip this powder into the young master's medicine. Be very careful."

Since she was going to deal with Su Yun, she had to handle things with meticulous care.

Red Bean accepted the packet of powder and answered sweetly, "Don't worry, Madam! Red Bean guarantees the task will be done!"

With that, Song Xirui headed toward Su Yun's quarters, while Red Bean went to the kitchens under the pretext of helping out.

She had a honeyed tongue and was quick-witted.

The maidservant responsible for brewing the medicine had an errand to run and let Red Bean take over for a moment.

Red Bean covertly emptied the packet of powder from her sleeve into the simmering medicinal broth.

Little did she know that a pair of eyes in the shadows had been closely watching her every move.

---

Half an hour later, taking advantage of a moment when Song Xirui had stepped out, someone crept secretly to Su Yun's bedside and whispered something that left Su Yun in utter disbelief.

"Master, Madam is trying to poison you."