Chapter 10 Breaking Point
My hand paused on my belly.
What he wanted wasn’t your inheritance.
That night we argued. When the Eldest Young Master asked if I couldn’t bear to lose the Second Young Master’s wealth and status, I was already caught between three people, exhausted and suffering from pregnancy discomforts. His words lit my temper.
I snapped back along his line. “Yes, I can’t bear to lose the wealth and honor. What can a rootless bastard son like you give me?”
He gritted his teeth. “Then I’ll make sure he has nothing.”
We parted on bad terms. I thought I caught a flash of moisture in his eyes.
Listening to the Second Young Master now, I felt a chill. Could the Eldest Young Master really intend to leave him with nothing?
I suddenly noticed the servants no longer called the Eldest Young Master “sickly twig” or “unwanted.”
Instead they said, “The Eldest Young Master was praised by Master again—he’s bound for great things.”
Meanwhile the Second Young Master grew less and less favored.
Even I, the supposedly favored Concubine, became someone people avoided.
These days whenever I met the Eldest Young Master in the residence, he stayed far away and refused to look at me.
But today I twisted my ankle, and no one else was around.
Watching his tall, straight back, I bit down hard and refused to make a sound.
The child in my belly seemed to sense my pain and kicked fiercely.
Sweat rolled down my face in strings. Finally I couldn’t hold back a small cry.
“Xu Ah Yao, another one of your tricks?”
Seeing who it was, my vision blurred from the pain.
Even though it hurt terribly, I forced a smile. “Yes, look—you took the bait.”
The Eldest Young Master clenched his fists in anger. “Xu Ah Yao, what makes you think that if you turn back, I’ll come running?”
Pain made me dig my nails into my palms, but I widened my smile, hoping to drive him away. “So did you come running?”
He had his bright future ahead.
I was only a little maid fighting to survive.
The best ending was for each of us to return to our proper place.
Hearing that, his bent posture snapped upright. His brows knitted tight.
Sweat soaked my entire back.
I only hoped the man in front of me would leave quickly.
A shadow suddenly fell over me.
He pulled me tightly into his arms.
“Is the Second Young Master a pig? With your belly this big, he still lets you wander alone?!”