Chapter 115 Are you pregnant?

"It's all your fault!" Xia Qianqian blushed, and pushed Lu Zheng away, both embarrassed and annoyed. "You always talk nonsense! Now look what happened, Zhang San and the others heard it..."

Lu Zheng stumbled slightly from her push, but instead chuckled and reached out to pinch her cheek: "How about... I go out and 'explain' to them? Just say you were applying medicine to me, and didn't do anything else?"

"You still dare to talk!" Xia Qianqian knew he was doing it on purpose as soon as she heard it. The more he explained, the worse it got. She turned her back to him in anger, her ears turning so red they looked like they could bleed.

Lu Zheng then stopped joking and quickly moved closer, gently wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, his voice as soft as cotton: "Okay, okay, don't be angry anymore, okay? It was my fault, I shouldn't have teased you."

He gently patted the top of her head, like coaxing a child: "I'll roast some sweet potatoes for you later as an apology, the kind that's dripping with oil, okay?"

After much coaxing, Xia Qianqian finally forgave him.

Lu Zheng got up and walked to the door. He saw a rough porcelain bowl on the stone table, with steaming porridge inside. He brought it in and placed it on the low table, then found a clean spoon: "Hurry up and drink some porridge to warm your stomach. You've been so worried these past few days, you must not have eaten well."

Xia Qianqian nodded and said, "By the way! The chickens and ducks raised in Peach Blossom Spring are all plump, and the cured meat in the cellar and the pickled vegetables in the jar are all the freshest! When we leave, can you help me carry some back to the village so that Mom and the children can have a good nourishing meal!"

Lu Zheng nodded in agreement, but a hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes: "I'll listen to you. But Qianqian," he grasped her hand holding the spoon, his tone becoming a little heavier, "don't tell them about Peach Blossom Spring for now. The fewer people who know, the safer this place will be."

He paused, then added, "We also need to be wary of Zhang San and his group—you can't judge a book by its cover, so we can't gamble on people's hearts."

Lu Zheng just handed the spoon to Xia Qianqian and said, "Drink up, this porridge is really good."

Hearing that she had suffered some injustice at the command post these past few days, only eating a dry, hard vegetable pancake each day, Zhang San specially added two handfuls of millet and cooked it until it was sticky and mushy, hoping that it would help her recover.

Xia Qianqian was indeed very hungry; her stomach had been growling for a while. She took the bowl, blew on it to cool it down, and scooped up a spoonful to put in her mouth.

But as soon as she swallowed it, her brows furrowed sharply, and her face turned pale at a visible speed.

"What's wrong?" Lu Zheng had just asked when Xia Qianqian suddenly turned her head and vomited up the porridge she had just drunk, mixed with sour water, onto the ground, along with the leftover swill from that morning.

"Qianqian!" Lu Zheng's heart jumped into his throat. He grabbed her swaying body and patted her back haphazardly, his voice trembling, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the porridge? Or is your stomach upset?"

His eyes were red with anxiety, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind—had he been given something unclean at the command post? Or was it nausea caused by an infected wound?

He hurriedly touched her forehead: "Do you have any medicine? Where's your first-aid kit?!"

Xia Qianqian was still gagging, having vomited up all the bile, before she slowly straightened up, leaning against the wall. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and just as she was about to speak, a tickling sensation came over her throat, so she could only weakly wave her hand to indicate that she couldn't speak for the time being.

"How are you feeling now?" Lu Zheng squatted down in front of her, his voice filled with barely concealed panic.

Xia Qianqian took a while to recover before shaking her head in a hoarse voice: "I can't explain it... I just suddenly felt nauseous." She frowned, her fingertips unconsciously pressing on her lower abdomen. "I had this once this morning on the criticism platform. I thought it was because I was starving, but I didn't expect it to happen again now."

She gasped for breath and said, "Zhang San knows where I kept the medicine. Go find him..."

"Okay! You wait here, I'll be right back!" Lu Zheng replied hurriedly, turned around and rushed out, not even bothering to close the door.

In the vegetable patch, Zhang San was leading several of his men picking vegetables; emerald green cucumbers and glistening purple eggplants filled the bamboo baskets. Hearing footsteps, he straightened up, and seeing it was Lu Zheng, immediately grinned, "Brother Lu, finished your porridge? If Miss Xia isn't full, there are still sweet potatoes in the kitchen; I'll go roast some right now..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Zheng grabbed her arm. Lu Zheng asked urgently, "Zhang San! Where's Qianqian's medicine? She suddenly vomited badly after drinking the porridge, you need to take me to find it quickly!"

Zhang San's smile froze instantly: "Vomited? Impossible! The rice was freshly milled, we all tasted it..."

Seeing Lu Zheng's anxious yet composed demeanor, his doubts about the porridge suddenly vanished.

These people survived only because of Xia Qianqian's paradise. If something happened to her, they would be the first to suffer. They would never tamper with the porridge.

Zhang San led Lu Zheng to find the medicine. After taking only two steps, he seemed to suddenly remember something, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed in a frighteningly loud voice, "Brother Lu, could Miss Xia be pregnant?!"

"Pregnant?" Lu Zheng was stunned, as if struck by lightning. His mind went blank—pregnant? Qianqian is pregnant?

He remembered Xia Qianqian's hand pressing on his lower abdomen, her repeated nausea, and her pale face on the denunciation platform... His heart suddenly pounded wildly, feeling both sore and soft, surprised and delighted. He felt lightheaded, as if he were walking on clouds.

"Brother Lu? Brother Lu, what's wrong?" Zhang San saw him standing there dumbfounded and reached out to push him.

Lu Zheng snapped back to reality, not even bothering to grab the medicine, and turned to rush into the house, his steps so fast they seemed to fly—he had to ask Qianqian! He had to see her!

Inside the house, Xia Qianqian was sipping her porridge. After vomiting, her stomach felt empty and uneasy. Thinking that she couldn't waste Zhang San's kindness, she tentatively took a sip and found the millet porridge exceptionally sweet, and all the nausea disappeared.

She had just finished half a bowl of water when the door was slammed open, and Lu Zheng rushed in, panting, his eyes gleaming brightly as he stared intently at her stomach.

"You..." Xia Qianqian was puzzled by his gaze, and raised the bowl of porridge in her hand, "I'm much better, have you found the medicine?"

Lu Zheng didn't respond at all, his eyes shining brightly as he grabbed her wrist: "Qianqian! Have you gotten your period this month?"

Xia Qianqian was taken aback by the question, and casually replied, "It should have come last week..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng suddenly pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head: "Are you pregnant? Qianqian, are we having a child?"

His large hand trembled as he touched her lower abdomen.

"Ouch, be gentle!" Xia Qianqian was breathless from his choking, and tried to push him away, but her face flushed red. "It's not even close to happening yet! We'll only know after we go out and find a barefoot doctor to take my pulse..."