You Stole My Husband, So I Seduced Your Son - Chapter 21

“Forget about the help from your two uncles! Even Uncle Zhou, who just left, has extended a helping hand countless times. Yet you repay kindness with ingratitude, unable to utter a single word of thanks. Have you stuffed the Sages’ teachings into a dog’s belly?”

Min Rongxue, renowned for her refined elegance and scholarly brilliance, had never before spoken so harshly to her son. Ji Moyang’s behavior today had left her utterly humiliated.

Stunned by the sudden barrage of scolding, Ji Moyang finally moved. He dropped to his knees with a thud, his eyes hollow as he said, “Mother, strike me dead. I don’t deserve to live. I’ve betrayed the kindness of those who have helped me all these years.”

“You! You!”

Min Rongxue pointed at Ji Moyang, unable to form a coherent sentence. Was this the same son she had raised to be courteous, virtuous, and measured in his actions?

Or was he still sulking over the few extra words she had spoken that day?

Children grow up and slip through their mother’s fingers, she thought. If she couldn’t discipline Ji Moyang today, he would only grow more defiant as he rose through the ranks of officialdom, eventually disregarding her completely.

“Feng Shi, fetch the rattan cane.”

At this moment, a middle-aged couple rushed forward. One urged Ji Moyang to soften his tone, while the other pleaded with Min Rongxue not to hold her son’s behavior against him.

The Flower Hall erupted into chaos. Ji Liyue, terrified, stood trembling outside, too afraid to enter and plead for her brother.

Seeing Feng Shi and his wife desperately trying to stop her, Min Rongxue felt her authority challenged, and anger surged within her. Even though Feng Shi was the son of her wet nurse and her only remaining servant, he had no right to disobey her commands.

“Insolent child! If I don’t discipline him properly today, he’ll surely commit even greater transgressions in the future, betraying his teachers and ancestors!”

Feng Shi, frantic, pleaded with Ji Moyang through tears, “Young Master, quickly apologize to Madam! She’s just angry in the moment. A few soft words will smooth things over.”

But Ji Moyang not only ignored the advice but calmly removed his upper garment and said, “Mother, strike me.”

He had committed a grave error, and the guilt had tormented him for days. If someone punished him, perhaps his conscience would feel less burdened.

When Feng Shi realized he couldn’t persuade Ji Moyang, he turned to Min Rongxue. “Madam, the Young Master is grown now. You must preserve his dignity.”

“That’s right,” Madam Ma, Feng Shi’s wife, added. “The exams are just over a month away. If you injure the Young Master, all our years of effort will be wasted!”

Song Xuwan remained blissfully unaware of this dramatic scene. She sat in her carriage, plotting how to make life miserable for the Min family.

Beside her, Zhou Minghai, noticing her silence, grew increasingly anxious. He feared she might realize she’d been manipulated and demand retribution.

He asked cautiously, “Madam, you’re not angry that I’ve taken in Madam Min and her family, are you?”

Angry? She thought. What’s the point of asking now that you’ve already done it?

The most important thing now was to keep Min Rongxue’s family close, under her watchful eye, so they couldn’t cause any trouble later.

She smiled, opened her eyes, and said softly, “Husband, what are you saying? A teacher is like a father for life. Grand Academician Min is your Honored Teacher, so Madam Min is like your younger sister—my own dear sister. We’re her family now. How could I possibly object to you letting her stay?”

“This is simply a testament to your gratitude and kindness, Husband. I admire you all the more for it.”

Her words straightened Zhou Minghai’s back even further, as if he truly had taken in the woman he had once admired in his youth solely out of virtuous character.

Now completely reassured, he saw that Song Xuwan harbored no suspicions whatsoever.

He chuckled. “Madam, you are truly virtuous. With a wife like you, what more could a man desire?”

Hmph, Song Xuwan sneered inwardly. Isn’t Min Rongxue exactly what you desire? Why pretend otherwise?

Yet she spoke gently, “I’m not complaining, Husband. You should have told me sooner so I could have prepared properly. I would have made some decent clothes for Madam Min and the children.”

“Look at what Sister Min is wearing—she looks like a peasant woman from the countryside. How can the daughter of Grand Academician Min be so poorly dressed?”

Zhou Minghai’s eyes reddened at these words. He remembered when Min Rongxue had lived in luxury, adorned in silk and brocade. Fate had played a cruel trick on her.

He gazed at his wife, her head glittering with pearls and jade, her noble aura overwhelming. A twisted thought surfaced: If only Min Rongxue were my wife.

“Madam Min is a woman of talent,” he retorted. “She doesn’t care about such superficial things, unlike you, who won’t step out unless you’re sparkling.”

Song Xuwan bristled at the rebuke, but she quickly suppressed her retort. The priority now was to keep the Min Family close and find opportunities to visit them.

Maintaining a good impression was crucial. Otherwise, Zhou Minghai would suspect her motives for frequenting the Annex.

She smiled. “You’re right, Husband. I’ll be more mindful of my attire from now on. I wouldn’t want Madam Min to feel ashamed of her own.”

Seeing Song Xuwan’s docile demeanor, Zhou Minghai couldn’t help but add, “As a man, I’m often ill-suited for certain tasks. From now on, you must oversee all affairs at the Annex and ensure Madam Min is treated with utmost respect.”

“Yes, yes, of course. By the way, Husband, where did you and Sister Min go today?”

“The Honored Teacher’s tomb lies in the Min Family’s ancestral lands. For years, Madam Min has resided in the late Prince Guangyang’s ancestral home without ever paying respects to her Honored Teacher. I purchased a plot of land and erected a cenotaph for him. We visited it together today to pay our respects.”

After days of agonizing thought, he had finally devised a way to deepen his connection with Min Rongxue: using the old clothes Grand Academician Min had once gifted him to create a cenotaph in the Grand Academician’s honor.

At the tomb, Min Rongxue wept bitterly, tears streaming down her face like rain-soaked pear blossoms. She was so distraught that she didn’t even object when he personally wiped away her tears.

Their relationship had been progressing rapidly, only for Song Xuwan to catch them red-handed upon their return.

This Song Xuwan truly was his nemesis.

The married couple returned home, naturally retreating to their separate chambers without a hint of awkwardness.

Though everyone lay in bed, none could find sleep. Yet it was Ji Moyang who suffered the most torment.

He hadn’t fully come to terms with sleeping with a married woman when he discovered she was the wife of his benefactor. This revelation shattered all his previous beliefs.

Am I even human anymore?

I’m nothing but a beast!

Even dying a hundred or a thousand times wouldn’t be enough to atone for this.

Consumed by self-reproach and remorse, the pain from the rattan cane lashes on his back faded into insignificance. They would only leave scars anyway. As a man, a few wounds were nothing to worry about—unlike a woman…

Suddenly, he remembered that day in the private room. Song Xuwan’s skin had been tender, fair, and smooth, but after their passionate encounter, her body was covered in bruises, unmistakable marks of their lovemaking.

What if Zhou Minghai finds out when Song Xuwan returns home?

If I get whipped by my mother for a mistake, what kind of punishment will Song Xuwan face?

Could she be suffering the same way I am now—dazed and tormented?

He had ruined Song Xuwan, yet he couldn’t offer her any compensation or protection.

Ji Moyang’s sanity teetered on the brink of collapse…