WBSGVS Chapter 199 V1

The Next Day: The Return Visit

It was the day for the newlyweds to return to the bride’s family.

Cheng Ningyu, who had not consummated the marriage under the pretense of menstruation, returned home with her new husband.

Nervous and uncertain, her palms were slick with sweat before she even stepped out of the carriage. Yu Qi, unaware of the situation, assumed she was simply reluctant to leave home and still adjusting to her new identity. He comforted her in a gentle voice, “Don’t worry. Your parents will treat you just the same as always.”

Cheng Ningyu forced a smile and wiped her hands with a handkerchief before stepping down from the carriage.

She hadn’t even steadied herself when she instinctively looked toward the doorway, where her family was waiting.

The moment she saw them, her heart clenched.

The Prime Minister, his wife, and her brother all wore grim expressions—none of them even pretended to smile. That wasn’t normal.

Which meant… what Princess Leyi said had come true?!

In just these two short days, Cheng Ningyu had come to believe her husband was gentle and kind. Why would he do such a thing?

Just because she was the Prime Minister’s daughter, he refused to give up the marriage? So he hid the truth about his illegitimate son this whole time?

Yu Qi also sensed that something was off with the Cheng family’s expressions, but thought little of it. Obediently, he stepped forward to greet them.

Even if they were furious, the Cheng family wouldn’t raise a scene outside. Lady Cheng simply said with a cold face, “Come inside. We’ll talk then.”

Yu Qi felt a jolt of unease, but when his wife walked quickly ahead, he followed, putting on a friendly smile. “Brother-in-law!”

Cheng Ningyu’s older brother shot him a cold glare, then quickened his pace in silence.

If he looked at him a moment longer, he feared he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back from beating this conman half to death!

Once inside, the Prime Minister took his seat, staring directly at Yu Qi. His voice turned sharp: “Kneel!”

Yu Qi had no idea what was going on, but still knelt obediently.

Cheng Ningyu covered her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes, filled with pain, humiliation, and deep resentment.

Yu Qi, trembling under the intense stare, asked with clasped hands, “May I ask, Father-in-law, what I’ve done wrong?”

The Prime Minister’s face was pitch black with fury. He ground the words out between his teeth: “You still won’t confess?!”

A chill crept up Yu Qi’s spine, but he kept playing innocent.

Lady Cheng, unable to bear it any longer, stood and pointed at him, shouting, “What kind of heart do you have? You wanted to marry my daughter, and the marriage was arranged long ago—so what did you do? You couldn’t wait?! You brought out your illegitimate son before she even married in, and you kept it hidden so well! Was your plan to wait until my daughter was in your house, alone and helpless, and then bully her?!”

Boom—

Lady Cheng’s words exploded in Yu Qi’s mind like thunder. He stared wide-eyed in shock. How—how had they found out?!

The Prime Minister was filled with disappointment. After all, Yu Qi was a child he had watched grow up—and a maternal relative on his wife’s side. He’d even given him the benefit of the doubt the night before, thinking maybe it was all a misunderstanding by the Yu family’s matron.

But now, seeing Yu Qi’s reaction and thinking back to how calmly he had accepted everything, it was clear he had known all along. He was probably even informed the moment the child was born!

The Prime Minister’s heart turned cold.

“This marriage is over,” he said, voice low but firm. “You’re coming with me to the authorities to annul the engagement.”

Yu Qi’s face went pale. He had gone to such lengths to hide this because he couldn’t bear to give up the Cheng family’s power and wealth. In a panic, he crawled forward and clutched at the Prime Minister’s leg, crying, “Uncle, I was wrong! I didn’t know at first—it was my mother who couldn’t bear to give up the child! You know how thin our bloodline is. My brother’s in poor health—he might not have any children of his own. I was going to register the child under his name, and in the future… in the future he’d have nothing to do with me…”

“Ah!”

Before he could finish, the Prime Minister kicked him away with a roar. “Scoundrel! That’s how you take responsibility? You dare do it but can’t own up to it?! The marriage is off!”

Yu Qi shook his head desperately. “Uncle, I won’t go!”

The Prime Minister sneered, “Guards, bind him!”

Yu Qi turned deathly pale and looked pleadingly at Cheng Ningyu. “My lady, say something! We’re already husband and wife! Tell your father—”

Cheng Ningyu turned her face away in shame, inwardly full of gratitude toward Princess Leyi. If she hadn’t believed her and pushed her mother to investigate, the consequences could have been far worse.

And now this man still had the nerve to ask her for help?

Her brother stepped protectively in front of her and kicked Yu Qi hard. “You dare speak of my sister? If it weren’t for you, would she be in this position? If not for the sake of our grandmother, I’d have killed you already!”

“Ugh!” Yu Qi tumbled back and crashed into a chair, grimacing in pain.

Before he could recover, the Cheng family servants had come forward and dragged him up.

The Prime Minister gave a dark look. “Come with me.”

—

That very day, the Cheng family publicly denounced their new son-in-law. On the very day of the bride’s return visit, they dragged him to court for marriage fraud. Even though he begged, and the officials tried to mediate, the Cheng family refused to compromise.

When Cheng Ningyu’s grandmother heard what happened, she fell ill in anger and swore never again to arrange a marriage between the two sides of the family. She had been the one to push for this union, hoping to strengthen the family’s ties and help her maternal relatives.

Who knew they’d treat her beloved granddaughter this way?

The evidence was irrefutable. The people from Kangzhou had already located the woman and child Yu Qi had kept hidden. The Yu family had decided to raise them in secret rather than kill the unborn child at the time.

They had planned to wait until Cheng Ningyu got pregnant before revealing the truth—by then, she’d be stuck.