Transmigrated into the Villain's Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife (Transmigrated into a Book) - Chapter 44

Lin Chu’s face was full of question marks. 

“When did I ever drink abortion medicine?”

All of a sudden, Lin Chu seemed to think of something. 

“Wait, the abortion medicine you’re talking about, could it be the medicine I asked Song Tuo to get from the military doctor?”

When Yan Mingge heard her bring this up, his expression became even sadder. To him, this was tacit admission.

“Tell me, whose child is it exactly…” Yan Mingge’s muscles tensed, and his hands had unconsciously clenched into fists. It seemed he had used up all his strength just to say this sentence.

“How would I know whose child it is?” Lin Chu only felt a massive headache. That medicine was originally Wei Rou’s. Wei Rou needed abortion medicine? That meant she was already pregnant!

Lin Chu had thought Wei Rou was still an innocent girl. She hadn’t thought in this direction before, but now that she pieced it together, she shivered. Calculating the timeline, Han Xiaobao was already five years old — which meant the baby in Wei Rou’s belly must be the female lead!

Oh my God. Wei Rou got poisoned and now needed abortion medicine — could it be that the root cause of the female lead’s poor health from birth was planted right at this moment?

Thinking of this, Lin Chu’s face changed dramatically. She pushed Yan Mingge aside and was about to run to find Wei Rou.

Hearing Lin Chu’s earlier “How would I know whose child it is?”, Yan Mingge felt his vision go black — were there more than one adulterers?

When Lin Chu pushed him, he staggered back two steps, almost unable to stand.

Lin Chu rushed out the door but suddenly turned back, grabbed Yan Mingge’s hand, and pulled him along angrily. 

“That medicine was for my senior sister, not me!”

Yan Mingge suddenly came back to life. Before he could even feel happy, his brow furrowed again. 

“Wei Rou’s…”

Without another word, he took the lead and dragged Lin Chu straight toward Wei Rou’s room.

His strides were so long and fast that Lin Chu had to jog to keep up. Finally, they reached Wei Rou’s door. Lin Chu raised her hand to knock, but Yan Mingge simply lifted a foot and kicked the entire door off its hinges.

Lin Chu: “…” Seriously, a big brute.

Inside, Wei Rou was sitting at a table, propping her head up with one hand, clearly lost in thought. Hearing the commotion, she glanced over.

She took one look at the shattered door and showed no sign of anger. She just lazily fixed her gaze on Yan Mingge. 

“You little brat looking for a beating again?”

Because of the noise upstairs, Song Tuo and the others thought Yan Mingge was losing his temper and rushed up to intervene.

Lin Chu knew this matter couldn’t be exposed, so she tried signaling Song Tuo and the others to leave, but unfortunately, they didn’t understand her signals.

It was Yan Mingge who spoke. 

“Song Tuo, all of you, go downstairs. No one is allowed upstairs.”

Earlier, when Song Tuo brought the herbal dregs to the military camp for a doctor to prescribe medicine, the doctor identified it as abortion medicine. He was so terrified he almost fainted, thinking it was for Lin Chu. He immediately wanted to report it to Yan Mingge, but at that time, Yan Mingge and the other generals were still in the main tent discussing rewards. Song Tuo didn’t dare barge in and waited until Yan Mingge came out before telling him. Yan Mingge had immediately galloped back at top speed.

Even though Song Tuo didn’t know how this whole matter ended up involving Wei Rou, he knew better than to ask unnecessary questions or listen to things he shouldn’t. He made a hand gesture and led everyone downstairs.

Wei Rou leaned lazily against her seat and shot a glance at Yan Mingge. 

“Making such a big fuss. You almost made me think I committed some unforgivable crime.”

Yan Mingge’s face was dark as iron. 

“What’s going on between you and Mu Xingfeng?”

Mu Xingfeng! Lin Chu’s heart gave a little jolt. In the original story, it was mentioned that the female lead was the daughter of an old friend of the Mu family head and had been fostered at the Mu household. Back when Lin Chu was reading, she had thought Mu Xingfeng had feelings for the female lead’s mother. But now, judging by all the signs, it seemed Mu Xingfeng was actually the female lead’s biological father!

A wave of confusion rose in Lin Chu’s heart. What could have made Mu Xingfeng unwilling to acknowledge his own daughter? And why had the female lead suffered so much under the Mu family matriarch?

In the original novel, the main villain Yan Mingge hated the female lead’s “foster father” Mu Xingfeng so much he gritted his teeth and attacked the Mu family multiple times, only to spare them each time because of the female lead. If it was because of Wei Rou’s connection, Lin Chu could now somewhat understand why Yan Mingge had also repeatedly shown mercy to Han Junye — Han Junye wasn’t just the son of Yan Mingge’s old friend; if something happened to Han Junye, the female lead’s entire life would have been ruined. What Yan Mingge truly cared about was the female lead.

“What could happen between me and your senior brother?” Wei Rou rolled her eyes indifferently.

Wei Rou’s nonchalant attitude only made Yan Mingge even angrier. 

He growled, “If he dared touch you, he should have been prepared to marry you with a grand wedding!”

Because of those words, a trace of sorrow flickered across Wei Rou’s face, though it wasn’t very obvious. She spoke with a faint smile, but there was a hint of mockery in her voice:

“Love between a man and a woman should always be a matter of mutual consent. If I started getting all sentimental about it, I wouldn’t be Wei Rou anymore.”

Yan Mingge was furious. After all, he and Wei Rou weren’t bl00d relatives, so he couldn’t say too much on the matter. He just left her with one sentence:

“I’ll find the best physician to help you nurse your health. If you’re willing to marry him, then even if I have to lead the Northwest cavalry across half of Dazhao’s lands, I’ll besiege the Marquis’ residence and force him to marry you properly with full rites. If you’re not willing, then I’ll chop off his head and avenge you.”

His words made Wei Rou laugh.
“Silly boy…”

Yan Mingge stormed out of the room in anger. Lin Chu was standing at the door; after hesitating for a while, she walked in and sat down in front of Wei Rou.
“Senior Sister.”

Wei Rou looked at Lin Chu calmly.

Lin Chu stared seriously into her lively eyes and said with utmost sincerity:

“Senior Sister, I hope you’ll really think it over. Don’t worry about who the child’s father is or what he’s like. Right now, the baby is still in your belly. She belongs to you alone. Whether you want her or not — it’s entirely your choice.”

Wei Rou was a little surprised, as if she hadn’t expected Lin Chu to say such a thing.

She stroked her lower abdomen, and a bitter smile slowly formed at the corner of her lips.
“Its very existence is a mistake.”

Lin Chu felt incredibly conflicted inside. In this world now, so many things had already changed.

If the story followed the original plot, she should be persuading Wei Rou to keep the child no matter what. But now, she realized that in this world, everyone was no longer just characters following a preset script — they had their own thoughts and the right to choose.

In the original, Wei Rou died from childbirth complications giving birth to the heroine. But now, if Wei Rou didn’t want this baby, could that mean she might not die so early?

Lin Chu didn’t want Wei Rou to die, but she couldn’t control whether the heroine would still be born. All she felt she could do was guide Wei Rou toward making her own choice.

“She hasn’t even had the chance to choose yet. How can we say her existence is a mistake?”

Lin Chu wanted to reason with Wei Rou, but some things were still confusing even to herself, and she couldn’t quite find the right words.

Wei Rou just gave a bitter smile after hearing this.

“You’re right. The mistake was mine.”

Lin Chu frowned. “Senior Sister, not everything can be judged simply by right or wrong. Just ask yourself: Do you regret it? If you could go back to before it all happened, would you still make the same choice?”

Wei Rou was startled by this.

Lin Chu continued, “If you regret it, then no amount of self-blame will help. We all have to look forward. Let the past stay in the past. If you don’t want the child, then don’t keep it. But if you feel like having a little one bound to you by bl00d might make your future days a little warmer, then keep her. It’s just another bowl and a pair of chopsticks at the table — we’ll manage. And if you don’t regret it, then there’s nothing more to say. If given another chance, you’d still make the same decision — then don’t overthink it. Do what you want to do, and live your life well.”

Wei Rou pondered her words carefully. At last, a genuine smile surfaced on her face. “I thought you were still young and inexperienced, Sister-in-law. I never expected you to see things even clearer than me.”

Seeing that Wei Rou had truly taken her words to heart, Lin Chu smiled back. 

“Born in chaotic times, life is unpredictable. If you can’t see through the hardships, you won’t know how to live.”

Wei Rou looked at Lin Chu for a long moment before sincerely saying,
“Sister-in-law, it’s truly Yanheng’s blessing to have married you.”

The two chatted about some private matters until a servant came to report that another room had been prepared for Wei Rou.

The door to this room had been smashed by Yan Mingge earlier, and with the winter night winds howling in, it was clearly uninhabitable.

Seeing that it was late, Wei Rou urged Lin Chu to return to her room and rest.

Lin Chu had slept through the entire day, so she wasn’t sleepy at all now. Still, she didn’t want to disturb Wei Rou’s rest, so she returned to her room.

As soon as she stepped inside, someone pulled her into a tight embrace.

Startled, her heart leapt to her throat — until she caught the familiar scent of soapwort, and her nerves eased a little.

Even so, she wasn’t quite used to Yan Mingge’s sudden intimacy. She pushed at him and grumbled,
“What are you doing?”

Yan Mingge had already bathed and changed into sleeping clothes.

Usually, he appeared quite lean, but now, dressed in loose white cotton nightwear, the powerful muscles underneath couldn’t be hidden. Lin Chu suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed by the sheer physical presence he exuded.

Like a wronged big dog, Yan Mingge nuzzled her shoulder, murmuring,
“Baby… Chu’er…”
Midway through the sentence, he caught himself and quickly corrected it.

Lin Chu didn’t catch the slip, but the affectionate “Chu’er” still gave her goosebumps. She shook her arms, glanced suspiciously at the big villain, and, once sure he hadn’t been swapped for someone else, said,

“Uh… if you have something to say, just say it.”

Yan Mingge’s hand was already sneaking around her waist.
“Let’s consummate our marriage.”

Even though he knew now that the earlier misunderstanding had been cleared up, the gut-wrenching fear he had felt when hearing the news from Song Tuo was something he never wanted to experience again.

Lin Chu was so scared by his words that her soul almost left her body.

“Hu-husband…”

Seeing her obvious refusal, Yan Mingge’s face darkened slightly. But a look of grim determination flashed through his eyes. He suddenly picked Lin Chu up and headed toward the bed.

Lin Chu struggled but couldn’t break free. In no time, she was almost stripped bare.

When Yan Mingge saw the cloth belt around her waist, he paused in confusion.
“What’s this?”

Lin Chu lay there limp as a salted fish, her face blank,
“A menstrual belt.”

Instantly, Yan Mingge looked even more defeated than she did. He silently helped her get dressed again, tucked her properly into bed, and obediently lay down next to her.

Still upset, Lin Chu, wrapped like a cocoon, kicked the “bandit” a few times.
“Go sleep on the floor!”

Yan Mingge: “……”

After the battle at Jintong Pass, Yan Mingge was credited with killing the Saman general Hu Yanlie and was directly promoted three ranks, becoming a Captain.

After the celebration banquet, Yan Mingge bid farewell to the commander of Jintong Pass and led Lin Chu and the others back to Yao City.

This time, it was the city’s main general An Dingyuan himself who came out to welcome them, and Lin Chu, peeking through the carriage curtains, even spotted the Sixth Prince among the welcoming party.

The streets were lined with cheering crowds, and the festive scene made Lin Chu feel a surge of joy.

Since they were traveling with the returning army, they couldn’t stop when passing by Madam Qin’s teahouse. But Lin Chu spotted Madam Qin standing outside the teahouse, holding Han Junye in her arms — and their eyes met immediately.

Madam Qin was so excited she kept waving at her, tears of joy welling up. Lin Chu also felt her own eyes grow misty.

Han Junye, however, wore a grumpy face, clearly still holding a grudge about being left behind before.

Lin Chu ordered Song Tuo to bring Han Junye back to the residence and invited Madam Qin over for a chat.

Back home, Lin Chu found that the courtyard had been cleaned up thoroughly, new red-lacquered furniture had been added, and there were even expensive jade and porcelain decorations — clearly all courtesy of the Yao City’s main general.

Thinking back to how Li Jianye had once barged in to confiscate her family’s property, Lin Chu couldn’t bring herself to feel much goodwill toward this new general.

Now that Yan Mingge had earned military merits and gotten promoted, he was treated nicely — but the families of ordinary soldiers who had been imprisoned as hostages? They had to swallow their grievances silently.

After settling Wei Rou and Jing He, Lin Chu thought about how Jing He’s legs were still weak. They would need to hire another maid — and not just any maid, but someone strong — maybe even a young manservant. Plus, with little Han Junye coming back, they needed more space…

Thinking through all this, Lin Chu realized their current two-entry courtyard was too small. She figured she should mention it to Yan Mingge.

When Yan Mingge returned from reporting to the Yao City general, it was already dark.

Seeing his gloomy face, Lin Chu thought maybe the general was trying to pressure him. She was about to ask when Yan Mingge stormed into the room and smashed a tea cup.

“That coward Mu Xingfeng!” he roared.

Startled, Lin Chu hurried to ask, “What happened?”

Rubbing his forehead, Yan Mingge sneered coldly,

“He wants Senior Sister to be his concubine? He’s dreaming!”