Chapter 80: Pregnancy
Despite their strength, the two matrons struggled to restrain Song Miaohua in her frenzied state. Breaking free from their grasp, she pleaded desperately, "Master, I’ve managed the inner household for you, bore you Lan Er, and overexerted myself after childbirth, leaving me with lasting ailments! How can you be so heartless!"
Song Miaohua had suffered from chronic headaches since giving birth to Lan Er. During her episodes, Gu Dezhao had always been by her side, pitying her for enduring the hardships of a concubine despite her status as a legitimate daughter.
Gu Dezhao wavered. Wouldn’t it suffice to leave Song Miaohua at the Waterside Pavilion to fend for herself? Why force her to become a nun? She cherished her beauty—how could she bear to shave her head? At the Chrysanthemum Willow Pavilion, he had agonized over giving Ji Wu Shi an explanation, which led him here with his men. But now, witnessing Concubine Song’s desperate pleas, he felt a pang of reluctance...
Jinchao stepped forward and said with a smile, "Managing the inner household, you’ve certainly done a fine job! So fine that you colluded with the entire household and even conspired with the Affairs Office to harm my mother! You bore Lan Er, yet raised her to gossip behind others’ backs and drive a wedge between me and Rong Ge. As for your postpartum struggles—did you ever consider how my mother, while pregnant, had to arrange your marriage to Father and later fell gravely ill? Compared to her suffering, what are your ailments?"
Concubine Song had never known Gu Jinzhao to be so eloquent, leaving her speechless!
Jinchao beckoned Xiuqu over and asked Concubine Song with a smile, "Do you remember Xiuqu? Because she overheard you and Gu Lan speaking, you had her tied up and beaten in the side courtyard until she was covered in wounds. Fortunately, I found and saved her."
Song Miaohua glared coldly at Gu Jinzhao, her face deathly pale, but not a word escaped her lips.
To kick her while she was down! On any other day, such matters would be trivial. But now, with Gu Dezhao’s disdain, even the smallest misstep could ruin her completely!
Gu Dezhao, too, looked at Song Miaohua in shock. Though a maid’s life held little value, such cruelty hardly aligned with Song Miaohua’s gentle and virtuous image! He couldn’t help but ask Xiuqu, "Were you truly serving Concubine Song before? What exactly happened?"
Xiuqu rolled up her sleeve, revealing a deep whip scar on her wrist. Though long healed, the mark was still horrifying to behold.
Lowering her sleeve, Xiuqu replied softly, "Master, I was indeed a maid in Concubine Song’s service. I accidentally overheard her and Second Miss plotting against Eldest Miss, so she had me beaten half to death in the side courtyard. Were it not for Eldest Miss saving me, I wouldn’t be alive today!"
Gu Dezhao was stunned. Any trace of sympathy for Song Miaohua vanished.
He had always believed her to be gentle and virtuous—never imagining she was a venomous schemer beneath that facade!
Song Miaohua paled further. "You—you’re lying! You never heard me and Lan Er plotting against Gu Jinzhao! You and Gu Jinzhao are in cahoots, seeking revenge!" Though the maid had overheard their conversation, she hadn’t mentioned Gu Jinzhao at the time! These words must have been fed to her by Gu Jinzhao to frame her!
Gu Dezhao’s heart grew colder. "Revenge? So it’s true, then."Xiuqu bowed and said, "Master, please be discerning. This servant speaks nothing but the truth. If I hadn't overheard those words, why would Concubine Song have tried to harm me like this? I told the Eldest Miss, but she said to let it go and give Concubine Song a chance to reform... Who knew... who knew Concubine Song would go on to do those things afterward..."
Concubine Song was always quick to slander others. Never had she been slandered like this! Anger surged within her, and she lunged at Xiuqu, shouting, "You little wretch! Did Gu Jinzhao teach you to lie? You never heard anything about Gu Jinzhao—how dare you slander me!"
Seeing her charge forward, Ji Wu Shi gave a glance, and the maids behind her swiftly stepped forward to restrain Song Miaohua. The Ji family's sturdy maids had some martial training and immediately pinned Song Miaohua onto the kang, rendering her immobile! Mama Song promptly pulled a pair of scissors from her sleeve, smiling as she said, "Perhaps this servant should start by cutting off some of the concubine's hair. To prevent her from getting any other ideas."
When Concubine Song saw Mama Song's cheerful expression paired with the cold, gleaming scissors in her hand, she was both terrified and furious, struggling desperately!
Gu Dezhao glanced at Xiuqu but remained silent, his lips tightly sealed.
Jinchao was also somewhat surprised and turned to look at Xiuqu standing behind her.
Xiuqu clearly understood human nature. To speak such words so effortlessly... perhaps it was because she harbored such deep hatred for Concubine Song.
Still, such a change was for the better.
With a sharp snip, Mama Song's scissors severed a lock of Song Miaohua's hair. Song Miaohua watched, her face pale and lips trembling, as the strands fell to the ground. Dread grew in her heart—was she truly destined to spend the rest of her days withering away in a nunnery? She didn’t want that, not at all! Suddenly, a wave of intense nausea overwhelmed her. She bent over, retching violently, but having eaten nothing for days, nothing came up.
Mama Song paused, watching as Song Miaohua continued to gag, her face deathly pale, unable to stop.
The two maids nearby frowned after observing for a while. They exchanged glances with Ji Wu Shi, seeming to hesitate before one approached Gu Dezhao and said, "Master, this servant believes the concubine's condition is not ordinary nausea... It seems more like... the sickness of pregnancy."
Pregnant?
Jinchao's brow furrowed—what an unfortunate coincidence! She glanced at her grandmother, who was also frowning as she studied Concubine Song.
Gu Dezhao's eyes widened in shock. "At a time like this... how could...?"
Ji Wu Shi, already somewhat certain, sighed and said, "If it appears to be pregnancy, we should summon a physician for confirmation. Let’s pause today’s proceedings. Mama Song, go fetch Manager Duan." She explained to Gu Dezhao, "He’s the manager of my medicinal shop and quite knowledgeable in medicine."
Gu Dezhao's heart skipped a beat. Why had Ji Wu Shi brought a medicinal shop manager along? Could it be that she had suspected from the start that Madam Ji’s death was their doing?
The thought flashed through his mind, but he dared not voice it, merely nodding. "Thank you, Mother."Song Miaohua, having narrowly escaped disaster, took a long time to catch her breath before she could react. Unable to hold back, she began to sob quietly, glancing down at her belly. Her monthly cycle had been delayed by nearly half a month, but with everything that had happened, she hadn’t had the mind to pay attention to it... If she were truly pregnant, would she still have to go to the nunnery? And what about Gu Dezhao... Would he forgive her? Perhaps one day, she could still make a comeback!
Seeing that Gu Dezhao still refused to look at her, her heart suddenly turned cold.
The physician, Manager Duan, arrived quickly. After taking Song Miaohua’s pulse, he reported to Ji Wu Shi, “...She is with child, though it’s only been a little over half a month, so the pulse is faint. Recently, she must have suffered much shock and distress. The pregnancy is unstable and requires careful nurturing.”
Ji Wu Shi nodded and looked at Gu Dezhao.
This was his decision to make.
Gu Dezhao remained silent for a long time. He truly hadn’t expected Concubine Song to be pregnant at such a time. But even knowing she was with child, he felt no joy, despite having longed for a child for so long. The mere thought of Madam Ji’s death filled him with an indescribable, dull ache. Still, it was his child after all... No matter what, they would have to wait until Concubine Song gave birth before anything else.
Without even glancing at Concubine Song, Gu Dezhao addressed the two maidservants, “Since she is with child, the head-shaving will be postponed for now.” He then added, “I will send maids to care for you. Lan Er’s small kitchen will also be at your disposal.” However, he made no mention of Song Miaohua’s original maids and servants, clearly unwilling to relent on that matter.
Song Miaohua couldn’t help but feel disheartened, yet hope soon rose in her heart again. If she could bear a son, all of this could still be negotiated...
She exhaled softly.
Jinchao noticed this and thought coldly to herself, Song Miaohua was being too naive. Even if she gave birth to a son, what difference would it make? With her character, Father would never allow her to raise the child. Besides, once the child was born, it would no longer be hers!
She kept these thoughts to herself, following her father and grandmother out of the Waterside Pavilion. Upon arriving at Xiexiao Courtyard, her grandmother naturally brought up the matter of the child in a composed tone: “...I wonder who you intend to have raise the child. Song Miaohua may be spared from the nunnery, but she cannot be allowed to raise the child. With her morals, she might just raise another Gu Lan!”
Gu Dezhao answered swiftly this time: “...Of course, she won’t be raising it. I already deeply regret allowing Lan Er to be raised by her. With Xiangjun’s passing, I intend to observe mourning for a year and will not remarry.”
Ji Wu Shi was quite satisfied with this response and added, “Song Miaohua’s character is far too lacking to raise a child. I can see she hasn’t given up hope yet. You must consider the child’s future—it must be taken from her the moment it’s born...”
After a brief moment of thought, Gu Dezhao nodded. “Mother, rest assured. I won’t be soft-hearted about this again. If necessary, I will raise the child myself. I can’t let the child grow up under the care of concubines...” Raising a child was the duty of the primary wife. But after what happened with Madam Ji, he had no desire to remarry at all. The only problem was, without a primary wife, who would manage the household affairs?
Jinchao remained silent. She did not approve of Concubine Song’s child being raised by her father.Father was soft-hearted. Even if he spoke firmly now, he might relent once Concubine Song pleaded with him and end up giving the child to her. If it were a girl, it wouldn’t matter as much, but if it were another illegitimate son, Song Miaohua would surely become even more insufferable! Moreover, Father had personally raised Gu Jinrong—and look how he turned out. Although this child was born to Song Miaohua, she was merely a concubine. The child naturally belonged to the Gu family! If raised properly, the child might grow distant from Song Miaohua, which would surely pain her deeply!
It would be better to keep the child by her side. After all, she had no immediate plans to marry.
After some thought, Jinchao said to her father, “Once Concubine Song’s child is born, you could let me raise them first and help with their upbringing. Since Concubine Song can no longer manage household affairs, and the other concubines aren’t of high enough status, why not assign Mama Xu from Mother’s courtyard to oversee the inner household for now, under my name? We can discuss other matters later.”
Ji Wu Shi glanced at Jinchao approvingly. Raising Concubine Song’s child herself was indeed a good idea. After all, Chaojie was to marry Ji Yao in the future, and he wouldn’t mind such arrangements. If it became inconvenient later, the child could always grow up in the Ji family and return to the Gu family when older.
Gu Dezhao managed a rare smile. “If you... if you’re willing, then that would be best!”
Now that Chaojie was sensible and reasonable, having her help raise the child was ideal. Having Mama Xu oversee the inner household under her name was also a good arrangement. With him in mourning, this was the best solution.
Jinchao had her own plans. With her mother gone, Mama Xu was now her ally—this way, she could keep control of the inner household affairs. Let’s see if Gu Lan could stir up any trouble on her own then. As for those in the inner household who were loyal to Concubine Song—let them dare to challenge her now!
She had been too lenient before, but now, she was provoked.
P.S.
Second update, still not asking for anything~~ :-d
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