Оld Маdаm Guо had alwауs bееn mоst worried abоut hеr late-bоrn son Chеng Сhi. Тhе thоught оf him becоming a traveling merchant fоr thе sakе of thе fаmilу wаs enоugh tо раin hеr so dеeply thаt shе cоuldn't speak fоr half a dаy, let аlоnе hаvе аnу mood tо еnjoу sсеnerу or еntеrtain the vаriоus relаtives in the housеhold.
Now things werе finаllу bettеr.
Not only hаd hеr sоn entеrеd оffiсiаldоm and mаrriеd the wifе he lоved, but he аlso hаd а sоn... and nоw аnоthеr child was on thе way.
Old Madаm Guo's eyеs crinkled intо slits with joу аs she rеpeatedly instructed Zhenzhu to open the storeroom: "The bird's nest supply must not be interrupted. We also need to prepare some ginseng, deer antler, and cordyceps. Sort out all the clothes Yun Ge'er wore as a baby, wash them again, and pack them in trunks. We must send someone to inform Chujin and the in-laws... and also to Madam Qiu's side to share the good news, and to Second Elder Master's household... Ask Shaojin what she likes to eat? These days, prepare meals according to her taste, and tell her not to come serve me. Send Yun Ge'er to my side as well—he rushes around without restraint and might accidentally bump into his mother..." With all this said, she felt overwhelmed with tasks.
Old Madam Guo couldn't help but press her forehead, saying to Nanny Lu, "Let me take charge of household affairs again! Let Shaojin rest peacefully during her pregnancy."
Nanny Lu responded with a beaming smile, "Yes," and flattered Old Madam Guo, "If Madam gives birth to another son this time, Your Ladyship's merits will be complete."
Old Madam Guo felt Nanny Lu's words were inappropriate and said displeasedly, "What do you mean by 'merits complete'? Our Cheng family simply has too few descendants. Naturally, the more children, the better!" She added, "As the saying goes, 'First flowers bloom, then fruits follow.' It would be wonderful if this child is a daughter. Then the next one can be a son... Having both sons and daughters—that is truly good."
Nanny Lu hurriedly laughed to remedy her words, "Your Ladyship's insight is truly profound. I've followed you all my life and learned from you all my life, yet I haven't even grasped one-third of your wisdom."
Old Madam Guo smiled but didn't take her words to heart. She changed her clothes and went to see Zhou Shaojin.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted happily together. Upon hearing the news, Madam Qiu arrived with her daughter-in-law Madam Xie, and everyone shared another round of joyful conversation. Madam Chang brought A Bao and A Ren over, along with some tonics. She hugged Yun Ge'er, who had followed closely behind a snowball running into the room, and said with a smile, "You're going to be an older brother now. Soon you'll have someone else to play with."
Yun Ge'er already spoke clearly and logically. He opened his big eyes wide and said to Madam Chang, "But I already have Yan Ge!"
Among all his cousins, only Yan Ge was younger than him—a younger brother. The others were either older brothers or nephews, and even the nephews were older than him.
Madam Chang laughed, "You'll have another younger brother. Aren't you happy?"
Every time Yun Ge'er visited his aunt's house, Yan Ge was either sleeping or nursing, which wasn't fun at all.
A younger brother like Yan Ge... he didn't really like that.
After thinking for a long while, he said to Old Madam Guo and Zhou Shaojin, "Then can he play with Yan Ge? I want to play with Eldest Cousin Guan, A Bao, A Ren, and Cousin Rui. I don't want to play with younger brothers."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Old Madam Guo smiled and said, "If it's a younger sister, I'm afraid everyone will be competing to play with her."
In her heart, Zhou Shaojin preferred a daughter but wished to give birth to a son—in this world, sons had it much easier than daughters.Madam Qiu smiled and said, "Anyway, whether it's a son or a daughter, it's all good. Our family's child is just a bit small."
Madam Chang nodded repeatedly.
Old Madam Guo was very pleased and invited them to stay for a meal.
Upon receiving the news, Cheng Chi returned home.
He appeared quite composed, as if he had known all along. After changing his clothes, he went to Tingxiang Courtyard to accompany his mother and Madam Qiu for a while before heading to the study in the outer courtyard to prepare for his next lesson with the Imperial Grandson.
Zhou Shaojin felt slightly disappointed.
In the evening, Cheng Chi sent a maid to tell her to sleep first, saying that as she was pregnant, it wasn’t good for her to stay up late, and he would return later.
Zhou Shaojin slept alone.
In the middle of the night, she was startled awake, sensing Cheng Chi’s presence and feeling something cool on her hand.
She quickly opened her eyes and discovered a bracelet had been slipped onto her wrist.
Ordinary bracelets were usually cylindrical, but this one was flat. At first glance, it resembled an armlet, made of Hetian jade and carved with an endless pattern of the swastika motif. It was typically pure white and flawless, like gleaming piled snow.
Zhou Shaojin liked it immensely at first sight.
She looked at Cheng Chi with confusion.
Cheng Chi smiled, kissed her cheek, and instead of answering, whispered, "Were you unhappy earlier?"
Zhou Shaojin’s face flushed red.
How could she be unhappy when her husband was attending to important matters?
Yet, she couldn’t deny that when Cheng Chi had gone to the study so indifferently... she had still hoped he would be more affectionate toward her.
Cheng Chi chuckled softly, pulled Zhou Shaojin into his arms, and pressed his cheek against hers, whispering, "Silly girl! Don’t overthink things. I had some matters to attend to."
Zhou Shaojin obediently nodded, and the slight displeasure in her heart vanished completely.
Cheng Chi sighed quietly to himself.
They had been married for so long, and she doted so intensely on their child. He had thought she would shift more of her attention to the child, but he hadn’t expected that he would still come first in her heart and eyes.
Cheng Chi felt as if he were soaking in a jar of honey.
He felt somewhat relieved that, on a whim on his way back from the yamen, he had stopped by a silver shop and bought a piece of jewelry for his little girl. Otherwise, she might have felt a bit sour inside.
Cheng Chi gently stroked her still-flat belly and whispered, "This afternoon, the Seventh Prince beat up the Fourth Prince in the Imperial Study."
"What?!" Zhou Shaojin stared at Cheng Chi in shock.
Cheng Chi smoothed her hair and said softly, "This afternoon, the Emperor summoned the Fourth Prince to discuss the recent tax issues in Jiangnan, intending to have the Fourth Prince and the Ministry of Revenue draft a proposal to reduce taxes in Jiangnan. But shortly after the Fourth Prince arrived at the Imperial Study, the Third Prince requested an audience. The Emperor initially didn’t want to see him, but a young eunuch attending him accidentally knocked over the Ten Records of Agriculture and Sericulture, which the Emperor had put away some days earlier. Seeing the book, the Emperor suddenly changed his mind and ordered the Third Prince to be admitted.
"After entering and paying his respects to the Emperor, the Third Prince, without a word, punched the Fourth Prince in the face.
"Everyone serving in the Imperial Study was instantly stunned.
"It wasn’t until the Third Prince had knocked the Fourth Prince to the ground, with the Fourth Prince repeatedly shouting, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ that they snapped out of it and pulled the Third Prince off the Fourth Prince.
"The Emperor was furious.""The Third Prince, however, paid no heed and kept shouting things like, 'I just want to hit him,' 'I only wanted to earn favor in Father's eyes and become a virtuous prince in the future. Yet he harbors ill intentions, thinking everyone is like him. He couldn't stand seeing me in the spotlight, so he schemed to hide the pregnant performer from my residence, only to bring her out later to shame me after she gave birth,' and 'If he were truly an upright gentleman, why didn't he hand her over to Father for judgment?'... The eunuchs serving in the study were so terrified they wished they could go deaf and blind on the spot...
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but tightly clutch Cheng Chi’s lapel. She asked, "Then... what about the Third Prince?"
"The Emperor was also furious," Cheng Chi said. "He wanted to have the Third Prince placed under house arrest. But the Imperial Grandson rushed over, pleaded with the Emperor for a long time, and spoke many good words on the Third Prince’s behalf. Only then did the Emperor change his mind. However, the Third Prince lost his princely title. Although he wasn’t demoted to a commoner, he was handed over to the Imperial Clan Court for discipline. As for what will happen in the future, no one can say for sure."
"What about the Fourth Prince?" Zhou Shaojin asked worriedly. "Will the Emperor think he was wronged and treat him with special favor?"
"No," Cheng Chi replied with a smile. "Don’t you find this whole affair quite interesting? The young eunuch from the Qianqing Palace, the Third Prince’s outburst, the Imperial Grandson’s plea for mercy..."
Zhou Shaojin’s heart skipped a beat. "Are you saying... this was all arranged in advance by the Third Prince and the Imperial Grandson?"
"I don’t know," Cheng Chi said with a laugh. "But if it were me, after being demoted by the Emperor to a commandery prince and losing the qualification to contend for the throne, rather than letting the one who harmed me live freely and happily—and possibly even ascend to the throne—I’d prefer to fight to the death and plant a seed of doubt in the Emperor’s heart, making life difficult for my enemy. As for himself, no matter what, he is still the Emperor’s own flesh and blood. Even if the Emperor is furious with him, at worst he’d be demoted to a commoner—would the Emperor actually kill him? A prince demoted to a commoner, as long as his rival doesn’t come to power, can still live comfortably in the future. What is there to fear?"
Zhou Shaojin sighed. "I’d better just stay at home and wash your clothes for you. The outside world is truly complicated."
Cheng Chi chuckled. "My Shaojin is also very clever; she just doesn’t like to think too hard."
Zhou Shaojin burst into laughter. "If this matter really is related to the Imperial Grandson, then he is truly brilliant. Could it be that the saying 'Deep affection does not last long, and extreme wisdom invites harm' really holds true? In his previous life, he fell ill and passed away very early..." Her tone was filled with regret. "If the Fourth Prince has no chance at the throne and the Imperial Grandson passes away, who will become emperor?"
Cheng Chi smiled. "If the King of Hell wants you dead by the third watch, who can keep you alive until the fifth? There’s nothing to be done about it. At least the Cheng family has been preserved."
That was true!
She had previously wondered whether the Imperial Grandson’s death was related to the Fourth Prince. Now that the Fourth Prince’s ambitions had been exposed early, and judging by Cheng Chi’s earlier words, the Imperial Grandson had already begun to suspect the Fourth Prince of plotting something. In such a situation, if the Imperial Grandson still didn’t know to guard against the Fourth Prince, even if he became emperor, he likely wouldn’t hold the throne for long or securely. But if he did start guarding against the Fourth Prince, and the Imperial Grandson still died—whether from illness or foul play—that would be fate. They couldn’t change someone’s destiny, could they?
Zhou Shaojin decided to let things take their natural course.She stopped thinking about the future situation and, smiling, stroked the bracelet on her wrist as she changed the subject, saying, "This... is this a gift for me?"
"Mm!" Cheng Chi smiled. "Knowing I'm going to be a father again, I was so happy that I wanted to buy something for you. Do you like it?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded with a bright smile.
Cheng Chi felt a surge of joy in his heart as well. He tucked the blanket around her and said with a smile, "Go to sleep now!"
Zhou Shaojin buried her head in his chest.
Cheng Chi chuckled softly, the resonance in his chest vibrating against her ear, filling her with an inexplicable sense of happiness.
Dear readers, today's update.
o(n_n)o~
Thank you all for the rewards. It seems I can only repay the debt when I start a new book...
※(To be continued...)
OpenNovel