CHAPTER 414: CHAPTER 382: SECOND UPDATE

Su Qing turned his face slightly, his gaze fixed on her exasperated expression. "So, you think all day about me divorcing you?"

Lin Xiaoyue was momentarily stunned and avoided his gaze, her eyes darting around. "Who wants to be divorced by you? I’m just giving a warning. Is warning not allowed?"

Su Qing: "To me, it sounds like a reminder."

"..." Lin Xiaoyue.

Before she could speak, he continued, "Last time your father came to the Capital wanting you to separate from me, you refused. Over two years have passed, and do you regret it?"

"Regret it? Regret it to death!" Not just teasing, who can’t do that? Lin Xiaoyue looked at him, "I’ve never seen a father or husband like you. Can’t you be a little more considerate?"

At this point, he wasn’t the least bit worried, as if he wasn’t the one who made those solemn promises.

Su Qing chuckled, "I haven’t even left yet, and you’re already complaining?"

"You know you’re being disliked?" Lin Xiaoyue retorted without hesitation, "What were you just about to tell me?"

"I forgot."

Su Qing leisurely refilled his tea, then slowly took a sip.

Lin Xiaoyue: "..."

Two days later, early in the morning, Lin Xiaoyue stood by the main gate with her daughter to bid him farewell.

Su Qing had already mounted his horse, looking down at Lin Xiaoyue and listening to her softly instruct, "Take care of yourself and come back safely. Ah Nuan and I are waiting for you at home."

Su Qing only smiled.

Lin Xiaoyue grew anxious, gritted her teeth in anger, "You can’t even promise me that? Are you still a man?"

Su Qing raised an eyebrow, "Not speaking doesn’t mean not daring to promise, it could also mean silent agreement."

"You’re just good with words!" Lin Xiaoyue said, exasperated, tugging her daughter’s hand and turning away, "Ah Nuan, let’s go, just pretend you never had such a heartless father."

The little girl, led by her mother’s hand, walked inside while not forgetting to turn around and wave her hand, her face adorned with a sweet smile.

Su Qing’s eyes brimming with affection, tightened the reins, and turned the horse around, disappearing quickly beyond the gate.

Listening to the fading sound of hoofbeats, Lin Xiaoyue abruptly turned her head, but the man was no longer there.

She stared at that spot for a long time, looking lost and forlorn.

"Mother, I’m hungry." Ah Nuan’s soft voice sounded by her ear.

Lin Xiaoyue came back to her senses, looked down at her daughter, whose features resembled Su Qing’s in some ways, her eyes becoming incredibly gentle, "Alright, let’s go back and eat."

The twenty-seven days of national mourning were over, and there was no need to avoid meat. Lin Xiaoyue had the cook make lean meat porridge in a clay pot, which was still steaming when it was served. She didn’t let the maid serve and sent everyone out, leaving just herself and her daughter in the room.

Afraid of it being too hot, Lin Xiaoyue blew on half a spoonful before feeding it to the little girl.

Perhaps due to hunger, Lin Xiaoyue fed a spoonful and she would eat it without the fuss of the recent days where she would stop after a few bites.

Once Ah Nuan was full, Lin Xiaoyue filled another bowl for herself.

Yet, just as the porridge was brought to her lips, before she even opened her mouth, the mere smell made Lin Xiaoyue’s stomach churn violently. She immediately put down the small bowl, grabbed the spittoon, and started retching uncontrollably.

Hearing the commotion, Jin Zhi hurried inside, only to see Lin Xiaoyue bent over, clutching her chest and vomiting.

Jin Zhi was terrified, quickly walked over to pat her back, speaking worriedly, "Could there be something wrong with the meat in the porridge, did Granny Qi eat something bad?"

Lin Xiaoyue hadn’t recovered yet, another wave of nausea hit, and she retched until her stomach was completely emptied.

Jin Zhi poured her a cup of tea.

Lin Xiaoyue took it, rinsing her mouth before weakly managing to speak, "It shouldn’t be the porridge. I didn’t even get to eat a bite before this happened."

As she spoke, she instinctively looked at her daughter.

If it were the porridge, Ah Nuan shouldn’t be fine.

The little girl, earlier scared by her mother’s fierce vomiting, now had wide, fearful eyes, huddling close by.

After throwing up, Lin Xiaoyue’s face was pale, yet she forced a smile to comfort her daughter, "Don’t be afraid, mother is just not feeling well."

The little girl pursed her mouth, appearing not to understand or perhaps still shocked.

"Grandma should go inside and rest," Jin Zhi suggested.

Lin Xiaoyue nodded, being helped inside by the maid.

After that, Jin Zhi quickly went to call the household doctor.

Ah Nuan just followed behind, waiting for Lin Xiaoyue to lie down, reaching out to feel her forehead.

Lin Xiaoyue was amused by her daughter’s actions, "Ah Nuan, do you know what this means?"

The little girl shook her head in confusion; she didn’t know. She only vaguely remembered that every time she felt unwell, her mother would always touch her forehead first.

She thought that by doing this, her mother would get better, but it seemed to have no effect.

Lin Xiaoyue roughly saw through her daughter’s thoughts and felt amused again. She held her small hand gently and whispered, "Mother is a bit tired and wants to rest for a while. How about you go out and play with the wet nurse for a bit?"

The little girl shook her head insistently, "No."

When she was unwell, her mother would always stay by her side. Now that her mother was unwell, she wanted to stay with her too.

Lin Xiaoyue couldn’t resist her daughter and didn’t insist on sending her away.

After a while, the household doctor came over with Jin Zhi. He didn’t rush into the inner room; he waited for Jin Zhi to draw the curtains tightly around Lin Xiaoyue before starting the examination.

During the process, he asked if Lin Xiaoyue had any obvious symptoms recently.

Lin Xiaoyue said, "Besides suddenly feeling unwell in the spleen and stomach this morning, I was fine in recent days, just easily sleepy. It might be because I just returned from Suzhou after two years and haven’t adapted to the climate of the Capital yet."

After examining her, the household doctor shook his head and said, "Granny Qi is pregnant."

"Ah?" From behind the tightly drawn hibiscus-colored curtain came Lin Xiaoyue’s incredulous exclamation, "I-I’m pregnant again?"

The household doctor nodded, "My diagnosis is not wrong, but the pulse is still weak, just over a month. If Granny Qi is not reassured, she can have someone else come to the mansion for a confirmation."

Lin Xiaoyue said nothing, recalling that it had been a long time since her period had come. She had thought it was disrupted after returning to the Capital and was planning to find time to visit a doctor to see if there could be a prescription for regulation.

Who knew she was actually pregnant?

Lin Xiaoyue withdrew her arm from the curtain and gently placed her palm on her abdomen.

Being just over a month, she couldn’t feel any sign of life there.

Su Qing had just left the Capital with the troops for the Northwest, and she found out she was pregnant.

Lin Xiaoyue felt like Heaven was playing a joke on her.

If it had been discovered a day earlier, or if Su Qing had left a day later, she could have shared this good news with him.

There was no sound from inside for a while, which made Jin Zhi nervous, "Granny Qi?"

Her thoughts were pulled back, and Lin Xiaoyue lightly responded.

Knowing that the household doctor hadn’t left, she added, "Thank you, Doctor Chen."

The household doctor advised her on a few matters to pay attention to in the early stages of pregnancy and wrote a prescription before getting up to leave.

Jin Zhi took the prescription and tucked it into her sleeve with a face full of joy, "That’s wonderful, Granny Qi, we might soon have a little master in our house."

As she spoke, she pulled the curtain aside and hung it on the hooks.

Lin Xiaoyue teased, "The baby hasn’t even been born yet; how do you know it will be a little master?"

"I’m guessing!" Jin Zhi said, "Mr. Qi and Granny Qi are blessed with both sons and daughters under their knees. Our first child is a girl, so naturally, the second will be a master."

Even if she was just spouting nonsense, Lin Xiaoyue was amused by her words, "Then let’s hope your good wishes come true, and the second one is a chubby boy for Mr. Qi."

Jin Zhi thought of something and asked Lin Xiaoyue, "Should we send a message to tell Mr. Qi this good news?"

Lin Xiaoyue thought about it and shook her head, "He’s gone to war, not to have fun. I can’t distract him. Let’s keep this matter secret for now and don’t tell any other servants in our house either."

Jin Zhi understood that Granny Qi was worried about people from the main house causing trouble while Mr. Qi was away, so she nodded vigorously, "Don’t worry, Granny Qi, I’ll keep my mouth shut!"

——

Returning to their home in Ningzhou with his son, Lu Xingzhou specially took time to find Father Wen.

The two met in a tavern in the county town.

Last year, during the earthquake, Lu Xingzhou and his wife frequently contacted Father Wen to provide disaster relief for the people, and thus became familiar with each other.

Now, sitting at the same table, they were no longer as distant as they were a few years ago.

Lu Xingzhou knew that Father Wen loved to drink Bamboo Leaf Green, so he specially ordered a pot and personally filled his cup.

Father Wen took it and asked before drinking, "What made you suddenly think of inviting me for a drink? Do you have some great news?"

Lu Xingzhou raised his cup, "Let me tell you after we finish this cup."

Father Wen smiled, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in his cup, then looked at Lu Xingzhou.

"I’m rather ashamed to say," Lu Xingzhou hesitated for a moment and continued, "A few years ago, my wife and I promised Second Brother Wen not to take back our daughter, but unexpectedly, during our recent return to the Capital after the Empress Dowager’s passing, something unexpected happened."