Chapter 12
Edward Quan ·
“For a while, neither side would give way.”
“Some spectator who wanted more excitement even sent for the governor of the capital.”
“Now they're investigating who Liu Wanning and the baby really belong to!”
I calmly trimmed the flowering branch in my hand.
“I thought the Du family would raise someone else's child for a few more years.”
“To think she'd be exposed so soon.”
The guests at the Du residence had never dreamed they would be treated to another scandal involving Du Cheng half a year later.
Really, the former third-place graduate had a talent for it.
Ever since passing the examinations, he had worked tirelessly to supply the capital with gossip.
Three years ago, countless young ladies had adored the handsome scholar.
He had turned around and married the woman known as the ugliest in the capital.
That might have been the end of it.
But he had not consummated the marriage in three years.
Then, to marry another woman, he had driven the Grand Tutor's daughter to divorce him.
Who could have guessed that the former wife who remarried would prove to be a peerless beauty?
Everyone thought that must be the limit.
Now it appeared the baby might not even be his.
As people looked at him, it was hard to say whether they felt sympathy or malicious delight.
This Vice Minister Du certainly led…
An eventful life.
“Zhang Biao, you claim Liu Wanning is your woman.”
“What evidence do you have?”
The governor questioned the man making the claim.
“Hmph!”
Zhang Biao looked at Du Cheng and Liu Wanning with open malice.
“There's a red, leaf-shaped birthmark on the inside of Liu Wanning's left thigh.”
“About the size of a thumbnail.”
The bitch. She had found herself a comfortable life and abandoned him.
All he wanted was to borrow a little money to pay off his gambling debts.
He had told her plainly: once he won back his losses, he would repay it.
Yet she had refused!
If she wanted to keep all the good food and fine clothes for herself and the child, she could hardly blame him for bringing everything down with him.
Du Cheng staggered back a step.
His last scrap of hope was mercilessly crushed.
Whispers reached him from every side. His vision darkened.
His eyes were bloodshot. He stared at Liu Wanning with such ferocity that he seemed ready to tear her apart.
Nothing more needed to be said.
His reaction told everyone that Zhang Biao had spoken the truth.
“Ahem…”
The governor cleared his throat.
He was trying to find something to say that would preserve a little of Du Cheng's dignity.
Before he could, Du Cheng lunged at Liu Wanning and seized her by the throat.
His eyes bulged with rage.
“You bitch!”
“Bitch!”
“How dare you!”
“Die!”
“Bitch!”
Her eyes widened in terror. She clawed desperately at his hands.
But he had lost all reason. His grip was too strong for her to loosen in the slightest.
Within a few breaths, her face began to turn purple.
The governor panicked.
“Quickly!”
“Pull Lord Du away!”
Chaos erupted.
After a struggle, they finally dragged him off her.
She was unconscious.
A ring of dark bruising stood out around her neck, hideous to see.
“Calm yourself, Lord Du.”
“If someone dies, this will become very difficult.”
The governor looked at him sympathetically.
Any man might find such a thing hard to bear, but he still had to enforce the law.
Du Cheng could not calm down.
If Zhang Biao knew exactly where Liu Wanning's birthmark was, then his claim about the child…
At the thought—