Doted By The Regent King

Chapter 1551 - 1489: Feels Like Bad Luck Is Coming

When Wu Lihong met the gaze of Prince Jin, he somehow felt a chill down his spine, as if something ominous was about to happen to him.

This feeling was absolutely terrible and all too familiar; it was the feeling of impending misfortune!

Ever since his separation from Madam Zhou at the Yamen, and subsequently being disowned by that wretched girl in front of the Yamen, Wu Lihong felt he had lost all his luck.

Take that separation, for instance; although it was handled with decorum and without much fuss, it looked as though he had come out ahead, but privately, he had lost all face.

A dignified fifth-rank official, being publicly divorced by a peasant woman from a poor family—how disgraceful!

Outwardly, people said she did it for his good, to part amicably, but separation rather than dismissal meant she disdained him, didn’t want him.

Wu Lihong was rejected and abandoned by a woman, which was a complete loss of face. Those people openly said he was fortunate to have met such a reasonable woman, ending the lawsuit quietly without much loss!

Bah!

Fortunate? What rubbish luck!

Did they think he didn’t know they privately mocked him as pitiful and cowardly?

Besides Madam Zhou’s case, there was that accursed disobedient daughter who severed ties with him, clearly showing everyone she disowned him!

This mother and daughter came specifically to collect debts from him.

So for a month now, apart from attending court, he would return home right after work, avoiding wandering outside and the pointed gazes of others.

This was the first troubling matter.

Additionally, his household was in utter disarray.

The newly taken mistress, Maternal Aunt Xiang, became pregnant without even knowing it and miscarried without warning.

Upon receiving this news, he was understandably furious. During these ill-fated times, he desperately needed a piece of good news to turn his luck around, yet before he could even rejoice, the child was lost, leaving him with nothing but false hopes.

The miscarriage happened so easily that he suspected Madam Wang was behind it, and he erupted in a huge argument with that shrew. However, later he learned it had nothing to do with Madam Wang, and it was truly due to Maternal Aunt Xiang’s youth and naiveté.

After clearing up the misunderstanding, he and Madam Wang could not restore their former affection; even when he visited her room, she seemed too weary to respond, and directly appointed a maid to serve him, making him so angry he stopped going to the main courtyard altogether!

Yet none of this compared to Old Madam Wu’s illness. Ever since the incident with Madam Zhou, his mother had fallen ill suddenly, and despite seeing countless imperial physicians, her condition showed no improvement and even worsened daily. Particularly after hearing of Maternal Aunt Xiang’s miscarriage, she fainted immediately, almost departing this world.

Wu Lihong feared most that his mother would pass away; he would then need to observe mourning rites, and by the time he resumed his office, what position could he hope to obtain?

Thus, while entertaining the visiting delegation from Beiyan, he hoped to make some contributions.

Yet why did the Prince of Beiyan gaze at him with such a significant look, coupled with a vague hostility?

Wu Lihong shrank his neck down, lowered his head, and only when he felt the gaze withdrawn did he sneak a glance back at him.

As he looked, he began to feel something wasn’t quite right. This prince seemed somehow familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before!

He wondered where they had met, but his mind was too quick to catch on, and when an official next to him jostled him, Wu Lihong suddenly forgot all about it.

Indeed, how could he, an ordinary person, have met a prince from Beiyan? It must have been just an illusion!