CHAPTER 156: CHAPTER 150: IF YOU WANT A CHILD, YOU CAN’T TREAT YOUR THROAT

After returning to the Capital, the Eldest Princess eagerly wanted to see her daughter and had to plead with the Prince Consort for a long time before Lu Xingzhou reluctantly agreed.

They heard that Wen Wan and Song Fang, the sisters-in-law, often buy vegetables on the street outside the alley. Earlier, they had learned from Father Wen that Wanwan liked eating wontons, so the couple disguised themselves as an old couple selling wontons on that street.

On this day, Wen Wan carried a basket and went out with her sister-in-law.

Song Fang, who had sharp eyes, noticed a newly opened wonton stall at the street corner and quickly ran back to inform Wen Wan.

Upon hearing this, Wen Wan’s stomach cooperated with a gurgling sound.

Knowing that she must like it, Song Fang wasn’t in a hurry to buy vegetables. Since their third brother wouldn’t be home for lunch, she pulled her little sister-in-law through the crowd and soon arrived at the stall.

Since it was newly opened, there weren’t any customers yet.

The two of them casually found an empty table to sit at; Song Fang shouted inside, "Boss, two bowls of wontons."

"Alright! Please wait a moment, you two."

The Prince Consort responded, discreetly shifted his gaze away from Wen Wan, and exchanged a glance with the Eldest Princess.

The Eldest Princess blinked her teary eyes and quickly cooked two bowls of wontons.

They were really not good at making this dish, so they had specifically hired someone to teach them. The reason for setting up such a stall was for convenience in the future.

Usually, they would let their subordinates manage the stall. Whenever they wanted to see their daughter, they could dress up like today and take a look at her.

Two steaming bowls of wontons were served; Wen Wan was tempted and picked up her chopsticks, eating little by little.

The taste of the wontons was better than any she had eaten before, but it made her feel uneasy.

This was because the stall’s lady kept sitting at the adjacent table, watching her.

Song Fang also noticed this and turned to the stall owner. "Madam, if you’re worried, we can pay first."

Only then did the Eldest Princess realize she had been staring at Wanwan and making her uncomfortable. She quickly smiled and said, "That’s not my intent. I just think the way you two young girls eat is very attractive, making it seem delicious."

Song Fang liked hearing this, "Really?"

"Of course," said the Eldest Princess. "I, an old lady, never lie."

Song Fang chuckled, "Your wontons are delicious. We will surely come often. Right, sister-in-law?"

Wen Wan listened, raised her head, and smiled at the Eldest Princess, her lips curved and eyes squinting, resembling the young Eldest Princess, but with a bit more infectious warmth.

The Eldest Princess’s heart melted because of her daughter’s smile, almost unable to contain her emotions.

When Wanwan was little, she loved smiling at everyone. Back when the Eldest Princess was in Ningzhou, she especially loved holding the little girl’s soft hand to go out and buy her treats or floral cloth for making clothes, dressing her like a delicate porcelain doll. Everyone in the village who saw her wanted to take her in their arms and kiss her little cheeks.

...

Seeing the Eldest Princess spacing out again, the Prince Consort timely coughed twice, asking the old lady to help inside as other customers arrived.

The Eldest Princess responded with an "Oh," and couldn’t help but wipe her eyes as she turned away.

This scene wasn’t noticed by Wen Wan; she just sensed something as she left and glanced back but didn’t notice anything unusual, so she followed her sister-in-law home.

——

Recognizing Song Wei’s identity, the plan to invite him to tutor Lu Yanqing fell through completely. Lu Xingzhou stopped insisting on Song Wei and instead invited another well-grounded 贡生.

Though not as good as Song Wei, for tutoring a student of Lu Yanqing’s level, it was more than sufficient.

Unable to openly arrange for a Medical Officer to examine Wen Wan, it didn’t stump her father, the Prince Consort. He simply invited Doctor Li to the Princess Mansion for a drink and coaxed Wen Wan’s symptoms out of him, along with the prescriptions and acupuncture points, sending them to the Dean at the Imperial Hospital for study.

Dean Wang, after reviewing, improved two medicines and adjusted the needle depth during acupuncture.

Lu Xingzhou gave the improved prescription to Doctor Li and implemented it through his hands.

Doctor Li didn’t understand why the Prince Consort was so attentive to the Song family’s young lady and several times nearly questioned it.

Lu Xingzhou saw his doubts and, to prevent random guessing, explained, "Yanqing previously offended Song Wei; the Princess Mansion ought to compensate his family. But I worry Song Wei wouldn’t accept it willingly, hence the indirect approach. Please keep this a secret and do not disclose it."

Doctor Li, understanding, assured, "Prince Consort, rest assured, I will keep silent."

——

The last time Emperor Guangxi sent Chu Feng to investigate Wen Wan’s background, he found nothing.

In the Imperial Study Room, Emperor Guangxi frowned deeply, "How could there be no findings?"

As far as he knew, Wen Wan’s father was from Pingjiang County, an honest farmer, and her biological mother died early. Her dowry was related to her birth mother.

Simply put, to understand Wen Wan’s background, one had to start investigating from her birth mother.

However, Chu Feng told him, even the Hidden Guards couldn’t find out?

Chu Feng asked, "Could it be that the Emperor is overthinking it?"

Emperor Guangxi found this matter quite peculiar. In theory, he wouldn’t make a mistake. The jewelry on Song Wei’s sister’s head, the craftsmanship came from the Imperial Household.

Unfortunately, there was no obvious identity marker, so even knowing the craftsmanship was extraordinary, one couldn’t deduce the identity of the owner behind it.

After all, the jewelry circulated from the Imperial Household to various palaces is plentiful. Once court ladies and daughters from noble families enter the palace, many receive gifts. With that in mind, the scope of investigation is quite broad.

"It might be some noble lady," Chu Feng said, "There are quite a few hidden matters in grand families, and households with many wives and concubines are not much different from the harem."

"Let’s hope so!" Emperor Guangxi nodded, and ordered Chu Feng to withdraw the men, deciding not to investigate further.

As for why Emperor Guangxi couldn’t find out?

Firstly, because the Eldest Princess had foresight. When she left back then, she took away the most important items, leaving Wen Wan only with safe jewelry that couldn’t be traced back to an identity.

Secondly, she wasn’t idle upon returning to the Capital. To deal with the Empress Dowager and Emperor Guangxi, she spent a lot of money cultivating a team of elite Hidden Guards, tasked with preventing this mother and son from harming her Wanwan. So whether it was the Empress Dowager or Emperor Guangxi, any thought of investigation or harm towards Wen Wan would be transmitted to the Eldest Princess immediately.

This time, when Emperor Guangxi wanted to investigate Wen Wan, the Eldest Princess knew about it too.

But she was not afraid of this mother and son investigating. Even if the Empress Dowager knew Wen Wan was her biological daughter, without evidence, any casual claim is mere slander and defamation.

Moreover, even a tiger does not eat its cubs. No matter how inhumane the Empress Dowager is, she wouldn’t completely eradicate her own flesh and blood.

After burning the secret report, the Eldest Princess rubbed her slightly sore shoulder.

Just then, Lu Xingzhou came in. Seeing this, he put down the nourishing soup and first massaged her for a while.

The Eldest Princess conveniently took the soup bowl, sipped it, and asked, "How has Yanqing been these days?"

Lu Xingzhou replied truthfully, "Not great, but compared to before, he’s more disciplined. There hasn’t been news from the Imperial College of him causing trouble lately."

"What about Wanwan?" the Eldest Princess asked again.

"According to Doctor Li’s response, the improved prescription by Dean Wang is indeed effective. He even asserts that with continued use, in at most half a year, Wanwan would more or less be able to speak."

"As long as she can recover, that’s good." The Eldest Princess sighed softly, "In my old age, I can’t bear to see my children suffer. Besides, I owe Wanwan fifteen years of maternal love. If she can’t recover, I won’t be able to forgive myself for the rest of my life."

Hearing this, Lu Xingzhou paused his shoulder massage, his long arm gently wrapped around her, "Sometimes you should rely on me a bit, you know? Don’t take everything on your own shoulders. Aren’t you tired?"

The Eldest Princess, hearing this, turned back and smiled at him, "I’m used to it."

"I’m not used to it." Lu Xingzhou’s voice was gentle, "For the previous ten-plus years, I had no choice. But now it’s different. You’ve chosen me, so you should trust me. The past is gone, let’s not mention it. But for now and the future, I want to take full responsibility for you, understand?"

"I don’t understand." She shook her head deliberately but was infected by his warm gaze, with her lips curling up involuntarily.

He looked at her for a moment and said, "When you smile, you look like you’re Wanwan’s age again."

——

Having a baby is Wen Wan’s top priority at the moment. Whenever it was those few days of the month, she paid extra attention to her body.

However, after more than half a year in the Capital, there was no sign from her belly. With the time for returning to Ningzhou drawing near, Wen Wan, thinking of her mother-in-law, felt more anxious than an ant on a hot pan.

In July, the hottest period had passed.

Wen Wan leaned on the wicker chair in the small courtyard, counting days with her fingers. It seemed she was two days late for her period.

She anxiously hoped for the third day. When it didn’t come, she hoped for the fourth day. The fourth day didn’t come either.

Wen Wan didn’t dare hope anymore, especially when she was still drinking three bowls of medicinal soup a day!

When Doctor Li came again, Wen Wan wrote on paper, letting him know not to hurry with the acupuncture but to check her pulse first.

For the throat issue, checking the pulse was originally of no use. Doctor Li assumed she was uncomfortable elsewhere, so he carefully examined her pulse at her request.

Upon checking, Doctor Li’s face changed.

Wen Wan held her breath, staring at him without blinking.

Song Fang, entering from outside, saw this scene and quickly asked, "Doctor Li, is something wrong with my sister-in-law?"

Doctor Li said, "Oh no! It’s a pregnant pulse, but still very weak, estimated just over a month."

Song Fang immediately laughed, "A pregnant pulse, isn’t that wonderful news? Why do you look so worried?"

Doctor Li’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. After a while, he said, "This child didn’t come at the right time. To keep the child, she can no longer take acupuncture or drink medicine, which means all previous efforts are wasted. Miss Song’s throat problem might never be cured."

Song Fang was taken aback, "You mean, if she keeps the child, her throat can’t be treated, and if she wants to treat her throat, this child has to be terminated?"

Doctor Li nodded, "Yes."