sbdcsierra Chapter 186 To Acknowledge or Not?
Chapter 186 To Acknowledge or Not?
Sheng Yunzhu's expression suddenly changed drastically, her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.
She subconsciously looked at Duke Sheng, but at this moment, Duke Sheng's brows were furrowed, as if they could trap a fly.
Her eyes were filled with tears, and her lips trembled slightly.
His hands gripped his sleeves tightly, his body trembling slightly.
Yan Yue stepped forward and said to Sheng Yunzhu, "Third Miss Sheng, is this true? You must tell the truth. His Highness the Crown Prince instructed that all those who purchased the Qinglian Temple Nourishing Heart Pills must truthfully disclose their source, and the information will be submitted to His Majesty afterward."
Sheng Yunzhu's face drained of color, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Seeing this, the clan chief shouted in a deep voice, "You'd better tell the truth!"
Sheng Yunzhu never expected that something like this would happen at this critical juncture.
She lowered her eyes, concealing the resentment in them.
At this moment, she finally understood why Lu Yangyang insisted on asking her last night where the Heart-Nourishing Pills from Qinglian Temple came from.
His Highness the Crown Prince is now handling the case with great fanfare; it's unlikely that the news only leaked out today.
Lu Yangyang must have known last night.
So Lu Yangyang did it on purpose, deliberately asking her where the Qinglian Temple's heart-nourishing pills came from, deliberately setting a trap for her.
Now she only has two paths before her.
Admitting that the Third Prince helped would surely make the Sheng family more cautious, and there would still be a glimmer of hope regarding the family genealogy. However, this would implicate the Third Prince. Such a major case had reached His Majesty's ears, and even if the Third Prince was unaware of it, he would inevitably be implicated.
If it weren't for the Third Prince's help, she would have been completely out of options today, and the Sheng family would definitely have removed her from the family register.
Everything she painstakingly planned back then, the identity she stole from Lu Yangyang, will vanish into nothingness today.
From this day forward, no matter how she pretends on the surface, no matter how much the Duke of Sheng emphasizes, she is no longer the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Sheng's mansion, but a helpless orphan.
She didn't want to lose this identity, but she had no choice.
The reason why Duke Sheng would protect her even though he knew about her background was because he hoped that she could get close to the Third Prince and completely bind their interests together. If she said something wrong today and offended the Third Prince, she would become a useless pawn, and it would be meaningless whether Duke Sheng kept her in the Sheng family or not.
Her greatest support was gone.
Therefore, she had no choice but to exclude the Third Prince.
Sheng Yunzhu closed her eyes unwillingly, her voice trembling as she spoke, "No, it wasn't the Third Prince who helped me. I lied to you to show off. The Heart-Nourishing Pill from Qinglian Temple was something I asked Shangshan Fairy to do for me. She owes me a favor. Once, when I was out, I happened to save her brother. I used that favor to ask her for help. I... I don't know anything. I didn't have any other intentions. I was just thinking about my mother's health. I heard about that Heart-Nourishing Pill..."
She didn't say anything more, looking pained and helpless.
Lu Yangyang's questioning manner appeared particularly aggressive.
Lu Yangyang was too lazy to watch her act and clicked her tongue lightly: "Is that so? Then you shouldn't use the Third Prince's name to talk nonsense everywhere in the future. It's a good thing the Sixth Princess left early, otherwise, wouldn't the Duke of Sheng's mansion have lost face?"
"But this has nothing to do with me. I was just passing by and asked casually. You guys continue, I won't bother you."
Having achieved her goal, Lu Yangyang left without a second thought, turning around and walking away.
Before leaving, she winked at Yan Yue.
Yan Yue understood and said to Duke Sheng, "Since Miss Sheng has explained the source clearly, I will not pursue it any further. I would appreciate your cooperation, Duke Sheng. If you have not yet taken the Heart Nourishing Pill, please hand it over so I can take it back and report."
At this point, Duke Sheng was already extremely fortunate that Lady Lan had not used this medicine. Otherwise, not to mention whether Lady Lan herself could accept it, he would not know how to deal with the trouble behind it.
He hurriedly replied, "I'll send someone to fetch it right away, please wait a moment."
Then she hurriedly looked at Madam Lan, who was also still shaken and somewhat dazed. The other women also looked unwell. How could they have heard such a cruel story? Even Madam Li, who had previously been jealous and angry that Sheng Yunzhu had such a good thing but hadn't thought of her, her grandmother, was now extremely grateful that the heart-nourishing pill hadn't fallen into her hands. Otherwise, wouldn't she have nightmares every night?
孽 孽!
Seeing that Lan Shi did not react, Cui Shi, the clan chief's wife, hurriedly grabbed her arm and whispered, "Sister-in-law? Where is the medicine?"
Lan suddenly came to her senses: "I'll go get it right away."
After saying that, he disregarded his weakness and hurriedly went out the door.
Seeing that she could barely walk, Madam Cui quickly followed her, supported her, and asked softly, "Is there a problem?"
Lan shook her head, but her eyes were anxiously looking at the courtyard. She knew that Lu Yangyang must still be there, but she didn't dare to shout loudly at the moment.
She was so anxious that beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Fortunately, Lu Yangyang, who was hiding in the corner, noticed her and pulled Sheng Yunjiao over.
Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She held Lu Yangyang's hand tightly, but because Cui was standing by, she didn't dare to speak and looked at her with questioning eyes.
"Don't worry, Madam. I've already spoken to Young Master Yan. I gave one of them to His Highness the Crown Prince. You can just send the rest over," Lu Yangyang said quickly, noticing her worry.
Only then was Lan completely relieved, and no longer caring that Cui was standing beside her. With red eyes, she said, "Thanks to you, otherwise I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to survive."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyang was stunned. However, Madam Cui understood her thoughts, sighed, and gently patted her hand.
Lan glanced at Cui: "Granny Hui is waiting outside the courtyard. I'll ask her to go back and get it."
Cui nodded, and Lan hurriedly went out.
Madam Cui looked Lu Yangyang up and down, took off a gold bracelet from her wrist, and put it in her hand: "Good child, your elder brother told me about your matter. I didn't agree with his arrangement at first, but he said he only hopes that you will be happy in the future and asked me to look after you. If you need anything in the future, just come to my house. I can say a few words about the Sheng family's affairs. Don't wrong yourself."
Lu Yangyang was taken aback. She wanted to refuse the bracelet, but when she heard Cui mention her elder brother, she understood that it was his arrangement. If she refused, she would seem pretentious. So she accepted the bracelet generously and said to Cui, "Thank you, Madam. I have no other skills, but I know a little about medicine and can treat some common minor ailments. If you don't mind, please send someone to find me if you ever need my help."
Cui looked at the little girl in front of her in surprise, then smiled and nodded: "Alright, then I won't be polite."
Lu Yangyang nodded earnestly: "Please don't be so polite with me."
Lan instructed Hui Mama to fetch the things. When she turned back, she saw Cui Shi chatting happily with Lu Yangyang. She felt a pang of sadness in her heart. In the end, she had missed this child.
Granny Hui quickly retrieved the items and handed them to Yan Yue. After checking them, Yan Yue left with his entourage.
As soon as Yan Yue left, the clan leader spoke expressionlessly.
"Please refer to the family genealogy and remove Sheng Yunzhu, the third daughter of the Sheng family, from the Sheng family genealogy."