Chapter 957: Storms Arise

"What are you doing?" Sang Qian gasped, quickly pulling the quilt tightly around her. Although she was wearing pajamas, she still felt as if she were naked in front of him.

Zu'an smiled, "Didn't you tell me to come in?"

Sang Qian nearly fainted with anger. "Is that what I meant?"

"Just kidding, don't be so angry." Zu'an didn't approach; instead, he found a stool near the door and sat down. To reassure her, he deliberately left the door open. "I just came to talk to you. Otherwise, some doubts in my mind would never be resolved."

Seeing he had no intention of further offending her, Sang Qian gradually calmed down. "You're wondering why I'm not holding you accountable?"

"Exactly." This was what Zu'an couldn't comprehend the most. Although this world was more open than ancient times, female chastity was still highly valued. For a young woman of her status, such an incident could, at best, ruin her lifelong happiness, and at worst, bring shame upon the entire Sang family. So why was she acting as if nothing had happened?

Sang Qian's chest rose and fell rapidly, clearly engaged in an intense internal struggle.

After a long pause, she took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll tell you why. It's because our Sang family needs to continue its bloodline."

Zu'an was utterly bewildered.

What was she talking about? He couldn't process it for a moment.

A blush flashed across Sang Qian's face, but given the situation, she no longer cared. "Because my eldest brother died prematurely without leaving any heirs, our Sang family faces the risk of its lineage ending. My father thought the best outcome would be for my sister-in-law to become pregnant, allowing us to announce to the outside world that the child is my brother's posthumous son. However, in that scenario, the child born to my sister-in-law would not have the Sang family's bloodline. So, my father arranged for me to take her place, and the child born in the future would be declared my sister-in-law's posthumous son."

Zu'an was utterly confused, his eyes wide. "Am I actually encountering the 'seeking a son for a large sum of money' scams I used to see on utility poles in my past life?"

The crucial thing was, this didn't seem like a scam. He hadn't lost anything; in fact, he had gained a lot.

"So you and your uncle..." Zu'an was cut off by a mortified and angry Sang Qian before he could finish.

"I didn't know about this until after last night! I was acupointed and placed there last night. How was I to know you, you scoundrel, couldn't even tell people apart and just charged in without thinking?" Sang Qian's eyes were red, and as she spoke, tears welled up and fell sadly.

Zu'an walked over and handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears. Sang Qian initially wanted to say "don't touch me," but feeling the pity in his gaze, she silently accepted the handkerchief.

"Why did you tell me the truth?" Zu'an sighed.

Sang Qian had gradually composed herself. "While I don't mind deceiving people, I never intended to use my own body to deceive anyone."

There was another reason she didn't mention: she was always resourceful. How could she not have thought of what her father wanted?

She knew that with Zu'an's sharp mind, he would probably figure it out soon enough. Rather than letting that happen, it was better to be clear from the start and foster goodwill with him.

If her father had spoken about this personally, it would have damaged the Sang family's reputation and seemed overtly pragmatic and calculated.

But as the victim, it was different. By leveraging his current guilt, telling him wouldn't make him dislike her; instead, it would elicit his sympathy.

Sure enough, as a man, no one could refuse a woman's tearful plea. He sighed, "About this... I don't know what to say. You've truly been wronged."

Actually, he really wanted to say, "Why hide such a thing? If you had told me directly, I would have been more than willing to help."

But he also knew that the current situation was not appropriate for saying such things.

Sang Qian wiped away her tears. "Alright, now that you know the whole story, you don't need to feel guilty, and you don't need to keep pestering me with questions."

Seeing that he still wanted to say something, Sang Qian cut him off. "If you truly feel some remorse, then please promise me to keep this a secret. Don't let my sister-in-law or my father know that you're aware of this, so the Sang family can retain its last bit of dignity."

Seeing her tearful eyes, full of pleading, Zu'an could understand her feelings at that moment. After all, this was not a glorious affair; if it were to spread, it would be an enormous scandal.

"Okay, I promise," Zu'an solemnly vowed.

"Thank you," Sang Qian whispered, her eyelashes trembling as she lowered her head.

"Uh, one last question."

"What?"

"How do you ensure she'll definitely get pregnant from last night?"

Sang Qian's cheeks flushed, and she bit her lip. "I don't know."

She was still too embarrassed to mention that her father had given her a fertility pill; it was too humiliating.

Zu'an was silent for a moment before tentatively suggesting, "Should we try a few more times?"

"Get out!" was the reply, followed by a flying pillow.

Zu'an gained 222,222,222 rage points from Sang Qian.

Zu'an left her room with a smile. Of course, he didn't truly mean what he said; he had simply noticed Sang Qian's depressed mood these past two days and worried she might suppress her emotions, so he used this to help her vent completely.

He made his way to Zheng Dan's room. The servants and maids were already asleep, and with his current cultivation, he wouldn't disturb them.

"Who's there?" Zheng Dan's sharp voice came from inside the room after he entered.

"It's me." Hearing her voice, Zu'an breathed a sigh of relief, confident he wouldn't make a mistake this time.

Familiar with the routine, he slipped into the fragrant bedding. Zheng Dan pressed down on his mischievous hand, her beautiful eyes shining in the darkness. "Did something happen between you and Xiao Qian?"

"Nothing at all," Zu'an thought to himself. He had just promised her, so it wouldn't do to reveal it and harm her reputation.

"Really? Then why was her attitude towards you so strange today?" Zheng Dan asked, puzzled.

"She's never really liked me, so she probably just feels uncomfortable thinking about our relationship," Zu'an explained with a smile.