Volume 1, Chapter 3: The Backer Has Arrived

The Marchioness of Yongning’s face instantly turned ashen upon hearing the words. She abruptly turned her head to glare at Su Yunyan.

“Su Yunyan, it was you who pushed my son into the water.”

Su Yunyan’s complexion went deathly pale; her body wavered slightly, lips trembling as she made a final desperate plea.

“No, it’s not like that, Young Marquis. You must have mistaken it. How could I have pushed you? It was Jiang Jinshu. She’s the one who pushed you,” she said, raising a hand to point at Jiang Jinshu.

But the young marquis firmly lifted his hand to point at Su Yunyan instead, his voice weak but clear.

“Mother, it was her. I won’t forget. I accidentally bumped into her, and she accused me of trying to harm her. Then she pushed me into the water and ran off.”

The husband of the Marchioness of Yongning had died on the battlefield years ago. Since then, she had single-handedly held the entire Yongning Marquisate, naturally developing a fierce temperament.

Just now, her entire focus was on her son. Now that he was safe, she could turn her attention to dealing with the person who nearly cost her son his life.

She rose abruptly and strode over to Su Yunyan, then raised her hand and slapped her across the face.

“Su Yunyan, my son is just a child. How could he possibly harm you? A bump is nothing—just have the Yongning Marquisate apologize to you. Why would you be so cruel as to endanger a child’s life?”

Su Yunyan was struck repeatedly, and this time she truly broke down, tears streaming down her face.

A mere bump would normally be insignificant, but she was carrying a child in her womb, and the child had been struck directly in the abdomen.

In a panic, she had pushed back, not expecting the young marquis to be so clumsy he couldn’t even stand.

“Madam, please listen to my explanation. I didn’t mean to—”

The Marchioness cut her off coldly.

“Explanation? What more do you want to say? Do you think my son would falsely accuse you?”

Shen Nanxing looked at Su Yunyan’s fragile state with sympathy and hurried to speak.

“Marchioness of Yongning, regarding this matter…”

The Marchioness then cast a cold glare at Shen Nanxing. She clearly recalled that Shen Nanxing had insisted the one who pushed the young marquis into the water was Jiang Jinshu, letting his wife take the blame for her sister. No wonder Jiang Jinshu was so furious earlier.

“General Shen, Su Yunyan was adopted by your Shen family. The Yongning Marquisate will not let this matter slide. Your family should consider how to give the Marquisate a proper explanation.”

The Prime Minister’s wife, seeing the young marquis had awakened, breathed a sigh of relief.

“Marchioness of Yongning, fortunately, Lady Shen’s superb medical skills saved the young marquis. The culprit is now clear. How you wish to handle this matter—although the incident occurred at our Prime Minister’s residence, the young marquis is the victim. The resolution rests with you.”

The Marchioness glanced at Su Yunyan, still weeping.

“Then let us report this to the authoritiesI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.