Shenzhi had panicked when he saw her condition. He wanted to kill Madam Zheng and her daughter then without regard to the consequences.
However, Lihua came to just in time to stop Shenzhi.
She only asked Shenzhi one question—if he had ever touched Madam Zheng.
At the time, Shenzhi had hesitated for a moment too long and failed to answer her. Since then, Lihua had refused to give him another chance.
To her, Shenzhi’s silence said it all.
Later, Shenzhi explained that he had only made a mistake because he was drunk. However, how could a person who is as uncompromising in her principles as Lihua accept such an explanation?
Recalling what had happened then, combined with her a.n.a.lysis with Weiwei, she could not help but feel doubt creeping into her heart.
“Why did you suddenly get drunk and go to Madam Zheng’s room, giving her an opportunity?” In her opinion, although her son was indeed at fault, Madam Zheng was no decent woman either. She had definitely taken advantage of Shenzhi’s drunkenness and seduced him, or else Shenzhi would never have taken a fancy to her, considering his character.
Lu Hetian was slightly uncomfortable but still tried to recall what had happened.
After Lihua had given birth to Tingchen, she was still youthful and beautiful. Moreover, her exceptional medical skills and easygoing personality added to her eminence in the martial world. Countless people flocked to her for medical treatment.
Among these people, there was no shortage of young and handsome swordsmen who came to befriend Lihua under the guise of seeking treatment.
Lihua was a carefree and broad-minded person, and she cared not of any notion of forbidden interaction or contact between men and women. She could drink and chat merrily with someone so long as they can match her temperament.
Once, he had run into her drinking with a young and handsome swordsman. He flew into a fit of jealousy and had treated her insolently. As a result, she ignored him for days on end and refused to let him into the house.
His poor mood led him to drink more than usual, but he would not have taken Madam Zheng as Lihua even in his drunken stupor.
However, he had indeed woken up in Madam Zheng’s bed the following day, and there were bloodstains on the bedding too.
Sh.e.l.lshocked, he immediately sent Madam Zheng away.
Actually, at the time, he had intended to kill Madam Zheng.
This was because he had made a mistake and cheated on Lihua, and he did not want this incident to create a rift between them.
Since Lihua had accepted and treated the helpless Madam Zheng like a true younger sister out of sympathy, he had to discard the notion.
He had already made one mistake. If he committed another one, it would be even more difficult to get Lihua to forgive him. As such, he could only send Madam Zheng away.
He never expected that Madam Zheng would come back ten months later, cradling a baby in her arms.
However, he had no memory of what had transpired that night. He could only vaguely recall stumbling across Madam Zheng on the way to Fragrant Blooms Court, but what happened after was a mystery to him.
“I don’t remember either,” he said dejectedly in response to his mother’s accusatorial question.
The Dowager d.u.c.h.ess frowned. “Nothing at all?”
“Nothing.” Lu Hetian paused. “But when I woke up that morning, I was indeed in Madam Zheng’s room, and there were bloodstains on the bedding…”
The Dowager d.u.c.h.ess ma.s.saged the spot between her brows. “A virgin’s blood could be faked, but Madam Zheng had also taken your underwear. Lihua had sewn that underwear for you herself; how could you let it fall into the hands of another woman? Even if there were nothing between you and her, no explanation could clear your name. That was why when Madam Zheng took your underwear that was stained with her virgin blood out in front of Lihua, Lihua had coughed out blood and pa.s.sed out. That was also why she could believe and rely on the few words of Madam Zheng, and bear a bitter grudge against you.” She sighed heavily upon finis.h.i.+ng her sentence.
This matter did indeed give rise to a mult.i.tude of questions. Perhaps Madam Zheng had taken advantage of Shenzhi’s drunkenness and seduced him by pretending to be Lihua, or perhaps nothing had happened at all. After all, Shenzhi had no memory of it.
However, that underwear was the last straw that broke Lihua’s back.