Chapter 49 – A Baffling Pregnancy

QingFeng Tavern was located in a remote place and it would have been hard to locate without the servant girl, Lu Lian. Due to it being daytime, it was desolate with no other customers. So, when the shopkeeper saw the servant girl, he led them to a small private room.

Zhuang Zhong had seen Fang YingYing before and even though it was just a glance, he could clearly remember her distinct elegant beauty. However, now, her beauty had been replaced by haggardness, with no sight of her previous splendor. If one passed her by on the roadside, they would never have thought that she was the same spirited and proud lady.

Fang YingYing was dressed fully in a cloth gown. Despite that, Zhuang Zhong recognized the determination and resoluteness on her face which gave off a feeling of familiarity.

“Cough, cough–” When Fang YingYing saw Feng Huan trailing in with the others, she stood up in a hurry. However, she moved too fast and it resulted in a series of coughs.

Lu Lian hurried forward. “Young lady.”

“It is nothing.” Fang Yingying waved her hand and greeted respectfully, “Your Highness, I had not expected you to come as well. Please forgive me for being rude.”

When Feng Huan saw the state Fang YingYing was in, he could not help but frown. After all, she was once his fianceé and although he did not like her very much, he had to admit that Fang YingYing’s appearance and temperament were more exceptional than ordinary women. What had impressed him the most was her vitality. Compared to other noble women, she was more cheerful and dazzling. She also liked riding horses and archery, which made him feel that the marriage between them might not be so bad at that time.

However, the current Fang YingYing looked haggard and she had lost a lot of weight. Without any of her previous arrogance, she appeared dim.

“There is no need for such courtesy. Let us go straight to the point.”

“Your Highness, since you are not surprised to see me alive, you should have known that I had run away from home secretly.”

As Feng Huan did not give any response to that, Fang YingYing further explained, “I did not run away because I wanted to escape the marriage. It was because my family wanted me to die, so I had to run away.”

Saying that, Fang YingYing’s eyes were full of hidden bitterness and helplessness.

Feng Huan raised his eyebrows. “Was it the intention of Official Fang? Why will he want to kill you? Although Official Fang is a little old-fashioned, he is not a vicious person.”

“It was because there is no room for me in the world and my family. My existence will harm them.” Fang YingYing smiled bitterly, and her eyes instantly reddened.

Feng Huan and Zhuang Zhong looked at each other, but no one said a word, waiting for Fang YingYing to continue speaking.

It was a long time before Fang YingYing finally spoke, “At that time, I was pregnant.”

Hearing that, Zhuang Zhong subconsciously looked at Feng Huan but the latter only frowned slightly and had no other reaction.

As Fang YingYing did not continue speaking, Lu Lian became anxious. “Your Highness, my young lady is faithful to you! She does not have a… a lover.”

Fang YingYing clenched her fists and knelt in front of Zhuang Zhong. “Lord Zhuang, I heard that you are an expert at solving cases. Please give me justice! I know that getting pregnant before marriage is unforgivable, not to mention betraying His Highness. I also do not blame my parents for wanting to take my life as I know they do not have a choice. However, I feel indignant as I clearly did not… with anyone. I do not know who had harmed me and I want to find the truth so that I would have no regrets even if I die in the future.”

Zhuang Zhong was surprised. “You mean you do not know who violated you?”

“Yes, although I used to like to go out and play, I mostly went with my close friends and never left without my servant girls. Moreover, I was engaged to Your Highness at that time and was forbidden by my parents to leave so I was rarely able to go out. It was impossible for someone to take advantage of me and for me to remain unaware!”

Fang YingYing got extremely agitated. For a woman to say such words was not easy, but she felt indignant. She clearly abided by the virtues of a woman so why should she bear such a crime?!

Lu Lian also injected, “Even if the young lady was sleeping, there will be someone in the room so there is practically no time where she was left alone. In the end, none of us knew until later, when the young lady was feeling unwell. It was only after a check by the doctor that we found out that she was pregnant…”

After hearing that, things became clear. At that time, Fang YingYing was engaged to Feng Huan but she “cheated” on him before their marriage, creating a scandal. If such news were to spread out, notwithstanding Fang YingYing, the whole Fang family would have also committed a great crime. So, as the Fang family dared not marry such an unclean woman to Feng Huan in order to avoid his future fury, they planned to give up on Fang YingYing in return for the Fang family’s safety.

No matter how Fang YingYing argued that she did not have intimate relations with another, the Fang family had no intention of letting it go. After all, faced with such a situation, nothing could be done even if she was innocent. It was then fortunate that she had the help of her loyal servants, allowing her to escape and keep her life.

Even then, Fang YingYing was constantly unwilling to accept it. She originally had everything, but now she has been destroyed by some unknown person. Even if she could not return to before, she wanted to dig out those who had harmed her! Lu Lian once advised her to live in anonymity for the rest of her life and treat this as the past. After all, what could they do when they were just women? If she sought an investigation, information would be leaked. At that time, even if one obtained the truth, they would not be able to live well and drown in others’ scrutiny.

So, Fang YingYing endured for some time, but in the end she was unable to fully accept it. As she would rather lose her life to find the truth, she eventually told Lu Lian to find Zhuang Zhong. It was because besides Zhuang Zhong’s reputation in solving cases, he was also Feng Huan’s people. Even then, regarding Feng Huan, she did not have any fanciful thoughts as from the moment she learned that she was pregnant, she knew that she had no chance with Feng Huan in this life. She just thought that since she was still Feng Huan’s fiancée at that time, her being violated could be considered as going against Feng Huan. No matter what, Feng Huan has the right to know who had the courage to do so.

“If I was the only one affected, I might not have the courage to come knocking on the door of Your Highness. However, when I ordered someone to investigate, it was found that Xu Yuan hanged herself because she was found to be pregnant too.”

Xu Yuan was Feng Huan’s second fianceé.

For Fang YingYing to inexplicably fall pregnant was not a big deal but it was too coincidental for Xu Yuan to also fall pregnant and commit suicide. Fang YingYing had then felt that such a matter was specifically targeting Feng Huan.

Zhuang Zhong frowned and glanced at Feng Huan. “Is that what truly happened?”

Although Feng Huan did not respond, Zhuang Zhong could obtain his answer from Feng Huan’s expression. It was also no wonder that Feng Huan was so grumpy that day as no one would be happy when they were cheated on.

“If Xu Yuan’s situation is the same as yours, it is too coincidental and I am afraid there is more to it than meets the eye. However, who would use such an insidious scheme to prevent you from getting married? If they find you disagreeable to the eye, it will be wiser to kill you directly.” What Zhuang Zhong did not say was that an assassin might not be a faster and safer option. After all, a gunman also needed a few minutes and he would not necessarily be successful with just one hit.

Fang YingYing added, “I know Xu Yuan too. The Xu family follows the rules strictly so unless it is something inevitable, she will not even leave the household. Moreover, their doors are so strictly guarded that ordinary people cannot sneak in. Even if she had a lover, they would not be able to sneak around.”

Feng Huan’s eyebrows wrinkled even more. “There are countless people who hate me, and there are also many who want me to remain unmarried.”

The implication was that there would be no clue if they started investigating from him.

Zhuang Zhong added, “It is not urgent to determine its nature. On the one hand, we can start from Your Highness. On the other hand, we can treat it as a coincidence that has nothing to do with you. Young Lady Fang, when did you know you were pregnant and how many months along was it?”

Fang YingYing answered Zhuang Zhong’s questions one by one and he calculated the approximate date of conception. “Do you still remember the itinerary of those few days? Was there anything strange?”

“For those few days, I did not leave the house and was at home… Oh, at that time, I just came back from CiYun Nunnery. I had only been there since I was engaged.”

“CiYun Nunnery?” Although Zhuang Zhong had been in the capital for some time, he did not know there was such a place.

Feng Huan explained, “It is a Buddhist nunnery located in the suburbs of the capital. Prosperous with lots of joss sticks and candles burning, it is a popular location for noble ladies to visit.”

Fang YingYing gave Lu Lian a glance, causing the latter to explain further, “The madam in our family heard that the Bodhisattva there was efficacious so she would often go there to burn incense and pray. This also caused the madam to perceive the young lady’s marriage as a fulfillment of her wish due to her being pious. So, she then took the young lady with her to repay such blessings and even stayed there for three nights.”

After saying that, Lu Lian became dispirited. At that time, upon the announcement of the engagement, it was such a glorious sight and her young lady even evoked the jealousy of other young ladies. Who knew that it was not long after that she was driven into the dirt without a chance of redemption. Such an ideal husband was just right in front of her, but now everything has changed and she could not go back anymore.

“Those days are indeed very close to the day when young lady Fang conceived. There might be something strange with the nunnery.”

Although Buddhism was flourishing here, there are many temples hiding their filth. When Zhuang Zhong used to be a little monk, he would often go out with Yuan Jue, so he knew a lot of such matters. There were also quite a number of nunneries that were hidden prostitution houses and unclean temples.

Besides, the Fang’s residence was closely guarded. It would not be easy for the “flower picking” thieves to come and go without a trace.

Lu Lian quickly shook her head in response. “It is impossible. CiYun Nunnery is a famous temple, which has been handed down for hundreds of years, and even the current empress has been there before. Those who submit to Buddhist discipline while still keeping their hair are also high-ranking officials and nobles. Besides, they are also very strict. Men cannot even go up the mountain and they are stopped at the foot of it. It is impossible for men to appear there.”

Zhuang Zhong gave Feng Huan a glance and Feng Huan nodded, “It is true. There is only one way up the mountain as the rest are precipitous rock faces and sheer cliffs. I once went with my mother and was stopped at the foot of the mountain.”

Zhuang Zhong frowned slightly, thought for a while and said, “Young lady Fang, if I may be bold to ask, did you detect any abnormality in your body in those days? That is to say… do you find yourself bleeding?”

Fang Yingying flushed while Lu Lian angrily said, “You–you…”

Fang YingYing quickly stopped Lu Lian, “Lu Lian don’t be unreasonable. I have already lost face so why would I be scared about this?”

“Young lady Fang, please do not misunderstand. I just want to confirm.”

Fang YingYing shook her head. “There is nothing different.”

After thinking, Zhuang Zhong asked, “Young lady Fang, usually when is your monthly period?”

Fang YingYing’s eyes widened and asked, “You-you, why are you asking about this?”

Although Fang YingYing was puzzled, she still replied.

Zhuang Zhong made some calculations. At that time, it was Fang Yingying’s ovulation period.

Zhuang Zhong proceeded to carefully inquire about Fang YingYing’s situation in the Fang’s household over those days. As she was preparing to get married, her daily activities were similar so both her and Lu Lian remembered them very clearly. According to their descriptions, she was always accompanied by a group of people and there could be no blind spots. If she got pregnant at that time, it was only possible that someone intruded at night.

However, there were more than ten servants in Fang YingYing’s courtyard, and there were five on night duty. It was really too difficult for a person to do so without anyone being aware.

Meanwhile, as the CiYun Nunnery was a quiet place for Buddhism, Fang YingYing only took Lu Lian with her. During the day, she listened to the dhyana with Madam Fang and others while in the night, she slept in the same room with Lu Lian. At that time, it would have then been much easier for the perpetrator to strike!