Chapter 1577: Chapter 1577: A Dog Can’t Change Its Ways

On New Year’s Eve, snowflakes fluttered.

As Song Zhiqing lay trapped under the car, the sharp and numbing pain in his waist made his mind go blank, and just as his consciousness began to fade, regret and remorse surged in.

If he hadn’t chosen to go out on New Year’s Eve, a day for family reunions, but stayed at home instead, would this misfortune have been avoided?

What had possessed him to leave the city?

As he was eating dumplings, Song Zhiqing received a message that Madam Lian Yue had an urgent matter to discuss, something concerning his future and progeny, which made him leave his family behind and head out of the city.

And what exactly was the matter to be discussed?

Song Zhiqing, in a daze, recalled the events after arriving at the Moon Gazing Villa where Lian Yue lived.

His acquaintance with Lian Yue occurred after the incident with Bai Shuilian. He realized there was a spy around him, a frail and delicate flower who secretly harbored sinister intentions. That made Song Zhiqing paranoid whenever he saw young women, thinking they might be spies.

To put it bluntly, he was like someone bit by a snake, afraid of ropes for ten years.

Later, when he encountered Lian Yue at the Spring and Autumn Painting Boat with his colleagues, she was already nearing forty, an alluring mature woman, understanding and empathetic, unlike the young girls, she was particularly sensible.

Initially, Song Zhiqing had no intentions toward Lian Yue, considering she was nearly ten years older, much like an older sister. However, as he frequented the Spring and Autumn Painting Boat, an indescribable bond formed between them, akin to lovers yet also like siblings who confide in each other. Everything he said, she understood and resonated with.

Eventually, he ended up in Lian Yue’s bed, savoring her tenderness, enjoying the affection akin to maternal love. She demanded neither status nor promises; she welcomed him warmly if he came, but if he didn’t, she merely played her zither at the boat.

What truly bothered him was one time when he saw a fat, wealthy merchant trying to coerce Lian Yue with money, which alerted him to her situation. As long as she was on the painting boat, she’d inevitably meet all kinds of unsavory men.

So he asked her to close the painting boat or to stop performing there, instead live peacefully at the villa, promising her money in return.

Thus, Lian Yue became his secret mistress, incredibly understanding, never seeking him out even if he didn’t visit for days, such that no one ever found out about his affairs.

Until now, when she finally approached him, and what was the result?

She was pregnant.

"No, at your age, you can still conceive?" Song Zhiqing was somewhat dumbfounded.

But Lian Yue was not angry; she merely gave a bitter smile and said, "Indeed, it’s as if fate is toying with me. Sang Lang, my life has been a turbulent journey, always alone. Meeting you was a predestined misfortune too. I know of your noble status, and how strict the Song Family’s rules are; I don’t want to trouble you. Let this child be a gift to me, allow me to give birth, and I will take it back to my hometown and raise it there, so I finally have some family."

She knelt before him.

Song Zhiqing hadn’t yet recovered from the surprise, finding everything rather surreal.

At her age, how could she still conceive?

Yet, he did not suspect Lian Yue, because the maid serving by her side was someone he had sent, ostensibly to serve but in actuality to monitor her; the maid reported all her actions to him.

Now, the maid behind Lian Yue nodded at him in confirmation, and indeed, the child was his.

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