Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 124 - To Uphold Justice
When He Qingchi heard the ding-ling of the phone ringing, she jolted awake. Opening her eyes, she realized she was leaning sideways against the armrest of the sofa, her curled lashes gently closed. It seemed she had dozed off unconsciously and had been startled awake by the sudden ring.
She frowned slightly, thinking it was her mobile phone. After searching around, she discovered it was actually the landline in front of her.
If the Wen family wanted to contact her, aside from showing up in person, the only way was through the landline—they had no way of getting her private number.
So when the landline rang, stopped, and then rang again, He Qingchi had already guessed it was the Wen family. She remained seated on the sofa without moving, only answering when the ringing was about to stop again.
The person on the other end exclaimed, “Thank heavens,” and a voice came through: “Qingchi, please come to the hospital.”
The opening was abrupt and without context, so He Qingchi said nothing at first.
Thinking the caller might not be her, the other party quickly explained the reason for the call.
When He Qingchi heard that Fei Ying had fallen down the stairs and had been repeatedly calling for her ever since, she finally spoke: “Auntie, I’m not close to Fei Ying.”
“Qingchi!” The aunt paused when she realized it was indeed her, then continued, “This time it’s not that I’m trying to put you in a difficult position. Fei Ying panics whenever she sees any of us, like she’s seen a ghost. She insists that she can only calm down if you and Shuchen are there.”
He Qingchi didn’t know what the Wen family had done to Fei Ying to make her react this way. But since it had escalated to a hospital visit, it was unlikely to be anything minor.
The aunt was involved for two reasons: first, Wen Shuchen had previously tipped her off about Fei Ying’s pregnancy; second, because of the pregnancy itself. This was Wen Jingchun’s grandchild—though the child’s status would likely be lower than Wen Jianci’s, it was still Wen blood.
She wanted He Qingchi to go to the hospital to soothe Fei Ying’s emotions. After talking for a long time, He Qingchi still did not give a clear answer.
After hanging up.
He Qingchi went upstairs to get her phone and called Wen Shuchen. She didn’t use the landline—any call from her private number, Wen Shuchen would answer, no matter where he was.
She told him honestly about the aunt’s request and Fei Ying’s situation.
After all, that morning before leaving, he had specifically told her not to see any visitors. So when Wen Shuchen said she could go to the hospital, He Qingchi was surprised for a second or two.
Wen Shuchen’s tone was extremely indifferent, sounding perfectly calm: “Fei Ying was handed over to Wen Yue by me. If something happened to her, of course, she’d want us, as husband and wife, to uphold justice for her.”
The Wen family always favored their own. The aunt, in particular, treated Wen Yue like half a son. He Qingchi knew this well—Fei Ying would never gain the upper hand against those people.
Since Wen Shuchen had told her to go take a look, He Qingchi followed his decision.
Forty minutes later, He Qingchi arrived—not at a hospital, but at the Wen family’s old house—accompanied by several bodyguards in black.
The aunt had already arranged for a family doctor and brought Fei Ying back to the old house. In the spacious living room, several elders were present as well. Seeing those faces that felt both familiar and unfamiliar, He Qingchi greeted them first.
Even though she didn’t socialize much, He Qingchi never lacked proper manners or the poise of a society lady.
Outsiders might not know, but within the Wen family—openly and privately—it was well understood that He Qingchi was the one closest to Wen Shuchen’s heart. She had even borne him a son. Her status in the Wen family was unquestionable now, so the elders didn’t put on airs before her and treated her kindly.
He Qingchi sat down and had a cup of tea. One elder spoke earnestly: “If Wen Yue keeps going like this, he’ll only destroy himself. Look at how many outrageous things he’s done since Wen Jingchun and Qiu Jin passed away.”
In the past, out of regard for Wen Jingchun and his wife, they couldn’t completely ignore Wen Yue. But the feud between the two brothers ran too deep—no matter how much the elders wanted to intervene, they could only offer a few words from the sidelines.
Over the past half year, Wen Yue had done many things that deeply disappointed the Wen family, all of which Wen Shuchen laid bare.
Some elders even sighed publicly: “Back then, even though Shuchen and Wen Jingchun were father and son in name but not in heart, things never escalated this far with Wen Yue. Ever since Qiu Jin died, the children have all developed their own ideas.”
In the end, only the aunt continued to defend Wen Yue: “Qiu Jin’s death hit this child very hard.”
He Qingchi sat quietly on the sofa, drinking tea, her lashes lowered as she watched the tea leaves floating on the surface.
The remark was almost laughable. What Wen Yue was experiencing now was nothing more than what Wen Shuchen had endured years ago.
His mother’s death, a kidnapping that nearly ended in execution over ransom, a complete fallout with his father, years of relying on medication and psychologists to survive, and even an almost-fatal poisoning by his stepmother—any one of these was far worse than what Wen Yue had gone through.
It was only because of Wen Shuchen’s identity and the halo surrounding him since childhood that the Wen family naturally assumed he was fine.
Eventually, the discussion turned to how Fei Ying’s situation should be handled.
As everyone voiced differing opinions, He Qingchi suddenly understood why Wen Shuchen had been willing to let her come. Rather than watching a show, her presence itself silently served as support for Fei Ying. Even without saying a word, it gave Fei Ying upstairs the confidence to stand against Wen Yue’s faction.
However, just as He Qingchi wondered why—given the child in Fei Ying’s womb—the aunt wouldn’t at least protect her, the aunt suddenly made a decision that shocked everyone present: “The child in her womb cannot be kept.”
The fall down the stairs had nearly caused Fei Ying to miscarry. Fortunately, the child survived.
That was also why Fei Ying felt instinctive fear toward the Wen family. After a conversation between the aunt and Wen Yue, even the aunt—who had always wanted to preserve the Wen bloodline—had made a compromise.
The others present were unaware of the details. The aunt fixed her gaze on He Qingchi, as if prompting her to say something.
He Qingchi immediately thought of Wen Yue talking to himself in the mirror. The aunt’s sudden decision to abandon the child likely stemmed from that matter as well.
The aunt provided a respectable-sounding excuse: Fei Ying’s status was improper, and Wen Yue would never marry her.
If the child were born, it would be an illegitimate child.
And how difficult it would be for an illegitimate child to survive in the Wen family—no one understood that better than Wen Yue himself.
He Qingchi chose to remain silent. This child did not belong to anyone, and no one had the right to decide its fate.
Yet the aunt had clearly called her over to persuade Fei Ying: “Qingchi, this child cannot be kept! Besides, Jianci doesn’t need some little cousin as a playmate. If it’s born, it’ll probably have to be raised in the Wen family for the rest of its life, hidden away from outsiders.”
He Qingchi did not voice her true thoughts. She only said, “None of us are the child’s parents. You should let Wen Yue handle this.”
The aunt’s expression turned complicated, and she could not bring herself to say the truth—that Wen Yue had pushed Fei Ying with his own hands.
One or two of the elders present, unaware of Wen Yue’s mental condition, voiced their objections.
“A small child—does the Wen family really not have the means to raise one?”
The aunt’s attempts at persuasion were interrupted by her phone ringing.
“I’ll step out for a moment.”
She did not answer the call on the spot, as if it were inconvenient.
He Qingchi guessed it was probably Wen Yue calling. The discussion in the living room paused temporarily. Having sat for a while, she set down her teacup and went upstairs to walk around.
Finding which room Fei Ying was in was easy—there were doctors and nurses standing in the corridor.
When He Qingchi entered, the stuffy air inside was unpleasant. All the windows were tightly shut, the curtains blocking out the light. Fei Ying lay on the bed like a corpse, unmoving for a long time.
Only when she heard the faint sound of high heels did her eyes shift slightly.
When she saw He Qingchi, it was as if she had grabbed hold of a lifeline. Her breathing quickened. “Mrs. Wen… please save me.”
Fei Ying’s face had grown so thin it seemed almost fleshless, completely devoid of color—likely because she had nearly miscarried. Even her voice trembled as she spoke, as though everyone she saw might be her attacker, her stiff fingers clutching the blanket tightly.
Downstairs, several elders were still discussing whether the child in her womb should live or not, while Fei Ying could only lie on the bed, hoping that Wen Shuchen and his wife would help her.
After two seconds of silence, He Qingchi asked, “If the child were born deformed, would you still want to give birth to it?”
Fei Ying froze for a moment and instinctively shielded her belly. “Impossible!”
As a mother herself, He Qingchi could understand her feelings. Still, some things needed to be said in advance—perhaps Wen Shuchen already knew this and had deliberately thrown the problem back to Wen Yue early on.
Fei Ying could not accept such a possibility. Her eyes reddened as she said, “The doctor didn’t tell me that. The doctor said that if I aborted the baby, it would be very hard for me to get pregnant again. Mrs. Wen, I’m the victim!”
He Qingchi stopped there and did not try to persuade her further.
When she fell silent, Fei Ying became uneasy. “Did President Wen… say anything?”
After thinking for a moment, He Qingchi replied, “If you want compensation, he’ll give you a sum of money in his capacity as the head of the Wen family.”
Fei Ying’s tears nearly fell. “President Wen is a good man.”
“…”
He Qingchi didn’t know whether to call her naïve or simply overly simplistic in her thinking.
Any smart girl who knew how to read the situation would understand that taking a sum of money from the Wen family and disappearing from public view was the best choice. Why get dragged into the Wen family’s struggles and become a sacrificial pawn? Yet before getting pregnant, Fei Ying had wanted the man who assaulted her to be punished. After becoming pregnant, she began to want status within the Wen family.
A girl who had never tasted wealth and privilege rejected money without hesitation, firmly believing that status outweighed everything.
He Qingchi respected her choice. After staying in the room for a few minutes, she left.
Over the past four years, his actions had gradually disappointed the elders of the Wen family.
With her present, Fei Ying’s haggard complexion seemed to improve somewhat.
At least she knew in her heart that there were still people in the Wen family who were reasonable. Before long, the aunt brought up a bowl of soup from the kitchen and instructed the maid to take it upstairs.
He Qingchi had already returned to the living room and sat down. Seeing that the tea had gone cold, she asked the maid to make her another cup.
After waiting a few minutes, the elders of the Wen family reached a decision to keep the child. They then made up their minds and said, “It might be better to send them abroad. Wen Yue is no longer suitable to stay in the Wen family.”
Over the past four years, his actions had gradually disappointed the elders of the Wen Family.
Compared to Wen Yue, Wen Shuchen appeared to be the ideal successor—upright and properly raised.
From being single to marrying and having a child, he had never been involved in any scandal that brought shame to the family.
Those final words were, in fact, deliberately spoken for He Qingchi to hear.
They were also an indirect declaration of their stance.
Having heard what she wanted to hear, He Qingchi finished half a cup of tea and then stood up to take her leave.
Escorted by bodyguards, she left and got into the car. Before the driver even reached home, they received a call from the Wen residence.
He Qingchi felt puzzled, and then heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. “It was a medical abortion!”
This time it wasn’t the aunt, but another elder: “Something’s wrong—Fei Ying miscarried!”
She did not speak, faintly hearing commotion from the other side, along with Fei Ying’s hysterical, grief-stricken crying…
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