Save my man, why does he always turn out to be the savior?

Chapter 347 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'

Why does this plot seem so familiar?

If Lord Shen and Song Zhihua are truly in love, then it's because the new emperor forcibly took her, a domineering CEO-style forced love.

If Lord Shen and Song Zhihua only had a friendship, then it would be a tragic love story between the new emperor and Song Zhihua.

Su Jinyue was all too familiar with this kind of plot; the novels she read all followed this formula, and she had even acted in quite a few of them when she was an actress.

In either case, it seems the female lead won't die easily. Instead, she fakes her death to escape, then gathers her strength and makes a powerful comeback. Even her child will be well cared for by kind people, and they will eventually recognize each other, leading to a happy ending.

Su Jinyue looked up at Shen Huaizhi. Thinking of how Lord Shen had treated Shen Huaizhi, her eyes flickered. Shen Huaizhi's experiences fit this description perfectly.

Shen Huaizhi was unaware that Su Jinyue had eight hundred different thoughts in her mind; he was still lost in his own thoughts.

"I searched for many people who witnessed that concubine coming to the Marquis's mansion back then, and finally learned from one of them that the concubine was wearing a veil at the time."

However, during a later argument with the servants of the Marquis's mansion, the veil was accidentally dropped. Although the time was short, the witness saw the general appearance of the outer chamber.

I had someone draw a portrait of me, and then compared it with Song Zhihua's portrait. The two do look somewhat alike.

But even if people are similar, it doesn't prove anything.

I can't understand it. Even if my father really liked Song Zhihua, Song Zhihua had already entered the palace at that time, and my father had no way to contact her. What connection did that mistress have with Song Zhihua?

Perhaps that mistress was a deeply hidden double for my father, and because of mishandling the situation, I came into being, and everything that followed followed.

Shen Huaizhi held Su Jinyue's hand tightly. No one could be happy knowing that their birth was a mistake.

Shen Huaizhi originally wanted to bury all of this in his heart and pretend that he knew nothing.

But what Lady Hou said today still affected him. Although he didn't show it on his face, Shen Huaizhi still felt that his background was very shameful.

Given his shameful background, would Su Jinyue, as his wife, also look down on him?

Su Jinyue looked at Shen Huaizhi with pity. Shen Huaizhi had not been exposed to the information bombardment of modern times, so all his thoughts were confined to the ancient father-son relationship.

Su Jinyue hesitated, but she didn't want Shen Huaizhi to torture himself like this, so she finally decided to tell Shen Huaizhi her guess.

After thinking for a moment, Su Jinyue still felt it was better to be tactful: "Husband, was the day you investigated the mistress who brought you to the Marquis's residence before or after Consort De in the palace committed suicide by fire?"

Shen Huaizhi was confused, not knowing why Su Jinyue asked this, but he still thought about it carefully and replied, "It was after Consort De set herself on fire."

After Shen Huaizhi finished speaking, Su Jinyue looked at him expectantly, hoping that he could gain some inspiration from this question.

But Shen Huaizhi looked at Su Jinyue's expectant eyes with complete bewilderment, having no idea what she was trying to express.

Disheartened, Su Jinyue had no choice but to be more explicit. She said in a low voice, "What if you weren't Lord Shen's biological son?"

Upon hearing Su Jinyue's guess, Shen Huaizhi initially found it absurd. How could this be? How could his father, a marquis, possibly accept a child of unknown origin out of nowhere?

However, when Shen Huaizhi thought of Su Jinyue's question and the mistress who resembled Song Zhihua but could not be found, his mind trembled, yet he couldn't help but continue thinking along this line of thought.

If that's the case, everything seems to make sense. Although it's absurd, it could very well be true!

Shen Huaizhi's voice trembled, and he said with some disbelief, "So, it is very likely that I am not the child of my father... Lord Shen. It is Consort De in the palace who faked her death and then took the prince she gave birth to out of the palace, making him a concubine's son for Lord Shen to raise."

And Lord Shen actually acted like a complete fool, taking in the child and raising him for so many years?

Su Jinyue nodded silently, feeling that this guess was very likely true.

Su Jinyue also discovered during this time that Shen Huaizhi was really special in the Marquis's mansion. Although he was a son of a concubine, there were other sons of concubines in the Marquis's mansion. Shen Huaizhi's treatment was really different from that of the other sons of concubines.

Although Shen Huaizhi nominally lived in the Marquis's mansion, he seemed to exist outside of it.

Lord Shen did not treat Shen Huaizhi as a son; he was polite and considerate, and provided for his basic needs, but he could never get close to him.

Shen Huaizhi must have sensed this, which is why he has never taken the initiative to get close to Lord Shen over the years.

If Shen Huaizhi is truly not Lord Shen's son, and is of noble status, then Lord Shen's attitude of being neither too lenient nor too harsh, neither too distant nor too close, is reasonable.

Su Jinyue looked at Shen Huaizhi and found that he seemed shocked by the guess and couldn't react for a moment. He seemed to be trying to accept the fact, or he seemed to be thinking about something.

Su Jinyue felt sorry for Shen Huaizhi. He had lived in the Marquis's mansion for 18 years, bearing the stigma of being an illegitimate son. He had no genuine love or care from his relatives, only the cold indifference of the mansion. Even the only person who knew the truth, Marquis Shen, could not openly show him any real affection.

Because of poisoning, Shen Huaizhi was physically weak and unable to make demands or resist. He could only spend the long years alone in the cold and desolate courtyard.

"Stop thinking about it. We're just guessing. Maybe it's not true?"

Shen Huaizhi snapped out of his daze, looked at Su Jinyue's worried gaze, shook his head slightly, took out a jade pendant from his neck, took it off, held it in his hand and touched it, and then handed it to Su Jinyue.

"I've had this jade pendant since I was a child. I heard from Lord Shen that it was left to me by my biological mother."

This jade pendant is of good quality and not cheap. I had always wondered how a mistress could possess something so valuable, but now I think it must belong to that woman.

Su Jinyue accepted the jade pendant. The jade was lustrous and smooth, indeed a fine piece. The pendant also had the character "Hua" carved on it—the "Hua" of Song Zhihua…

Su Jinyue was stunned and didn't know what to say to persuade Shen Huaizhi. Before, it was just a guess, but now it seemed that there was evidence to support that guess.

Su Jinyue looked up at Shen Huaizhi: "So what are your thoughts? What are your plans for the future?"

Shen Huaizhi smiled, his face full of sarcasm: "Heh, what plans could I possibly have? I'm just a sickly and insignificant illegitimate son of a marquis. If it weren't for the few words the Marquis's wife uttered today in a fit of anger, we wouldn't have been able to glimpse even a tiny fragment of the truth."

Judging from Lord Shen's attitude today, he won't tell the truth, so I'll have to continue being this illegitimate son.

Even if I went out and shouted that I was a prince, who would believe me? No one could vouch for me.