Chapter 648: Chapter 648: The older, the craftier
It is often said that a child is like a piece of flesh torn from a motherās body, thus there is a deep connection between a mother and her child. Therefore, who can understand the pain of losing a child better than the mother?
Though the Dukeās wife and Qi Zhen are heartbroken over the loss of a legitimate son, to say they truly feel the same pain is unlikely, especially for the Dukeās wife.
Why is that? Because she is a generation removed, and sheās not lacking grandsons; her grief passes quickly.
As for Qi Zhen, the child was unborn, lost due to stillbirth. While itās indeed heart-rending, itās not irreplaceable for him. He can seek comfort from another womanās child, like the one in front of him.
Hehe, since they are both parents, it makes no sense for only the mother to grieve. The father should deeply feel it too, share the bitter pain, after all, a couple is a unit.
So, what could be more piercing to the heart than seeing the child with oneās own eyes?
Song Ciās audacious action frightened everyone present; who dared to look at the child from the miscarriage? Just the thought of it was terrifying.
Only Madam Song seemed surprised: Could this be done?
The Dukeās wife frowned and asked, "Grand Madam, how can you let Zhenāer see this?"
"Why shouldnāt he see it? The child was stillborn, and cannot be buried in the ancestral grave. As a father, seeing it lets him know what he once had and lost. Only then will he learn the lesson, and do everything to protect his wife and children, rather than bringing chaos by pulling in anything and everything around him," Song Ci said, looking at Qi Zhen, and asked calmly, "So, are you afraid to look?"
Qi Zhen was startled and hesitant.
In this vast capital, countless women experience miscarriages. Who would look at the child?
Especially a man!
He never thought about it, and now Song Ci was asking him to look at the child.
"What is there to fear? When thereās injustice, thereās a perpetrator. It will seek out who wronged it," Song Ci said, somewhat alluding to trembling Su Qing, and continued, "Besides, this is your legitimate son! As a mother, Qiāer had this piece of flesh forcibly taken from her before it could grow. Sheās in more pain than you are, sheās been both physically and mentally tormented. As the father, are you even afraid to take a look? Qi Zhen, donāt let me, as the grandmother, look down on you."
Qi Zhen was shaken, and stepped forward.
"Third brother?" The Dukeās wife looked extremely displeased, and the young Madam Liao next to her looked at Song Ci with fear.
The older, the wiser.
This elder of the Song Family, so audacious, so arrogant, and so manipulative!
Qi Zhen said, "Mother, Grand Madam is right. Why should I, as the father, fear to see my own son?"
He slowly untied the white cloth wrapped around the box, expecting to see a horrifying baby corpse. To his surprise, the baby had been cleaned and arranged neatly, though its color didnāt look good. It was a palm-sized lump, yet it had limbs and features.
Qi Zhen felt a sharp pang in his heart, and his eyes ached as he closed the box, tears rolling from his eyes.
"Remember what you saw today, and also remember who caused this outcome," Song Ciās voice was calm. "You and Qiāer are still young, you will have more children."
Qi Zhen nodded dazedly, cast a deep look at Su Qing, and turned to leave.
Su Qingās heart sank, as if tied to a heavy stone, plummeting swiftly into an abyss with no bottom in sight.
She panicked.
"Third Master..." She crawled forward on her knees, trying to catch up.