Chapter 51◇

◎Things Between Couples◎

Before they consummated their marriage, Lord Duan worried about when he would be able to hold his grandson. When the young couple said they would consummate their marriage tonight, his worries intensified.

Putting everything else aside, Duan Jingchuan has lived in Jinghua Courtyard for the past twenty years. He has sent all the books in Jinghua Courtyard through his own people, so he knows exactly what books he has read and what books he hasn't read.

Does he understand this? Probably not.

But as a father, and not having a very close relationship with his son, and most importantly, he didn't know if Duan Jingchuan would listen to him after he told him about it. If the Crown Princess displeased him that night, wouldn't his son suffer because of her brute strength?

In other words, even if his son is skilled in this art and can serve the Crown Princess well, who can guarantee that the Crown Princess won't punch his son's head in a fit of anger?

Lord Duan is now filled with worries.

Upon hearing this, Old Li also became worried, as Lord Duan's assumption was indeed based on some truth.

The two elderly people, whose combined age was over 100, looked at each other and sighed.

Old Li was already starting to consider whether he should keep two imperial physicians in the mansion, and preferably the kind who could keep their mouths shut, so that if something really went wrong in the boudoir, he would have someone to hold accountable.

Lord Duan thought about it a bit more, and after considering it several times, he instructed Old Li: "Prepare some medicinal food to invigorate your yang and replenish your qi, and send it to Jingchuan tonight. Make sure Jingchuan drinks it." Then, thinking of something, he added: "The medicinal food doesn't need to be too fragrant, otherwise the Crown Princess won't be interested."

Old Li had originally planned to send some fire-avoidance diagrams to the Crown Princess, but Marquis Duan dissuaded him, asking only, "Are you sure the Crown Princess can understand them?"

Both of them shook their heads, clearly unsure.

"Forget it, let's just send this fire-avoidance diagram to Jingchuan!" Old Marquis Duan's hair was almost white with worry.

Of course, these are all things that happened later, because before Lord Duan got caught up in these matters, Feng Ran did something big.

Duan Jingchuan usually wakes up quite early, and Feng Ran didn't linger in bed even after being woken up by him.

Duan Jingchuan was initially puzzled as to why Feng Ran had willingly gotten up. This wasn't like her usual self, but he had already gone for his morning exercise and didn't pay any attention to it.

Unexpectedly, he overlooked an important remark made by Feng Ran yesterday.

As a leader, how could she not keep her word? If she said she would pay her respects to her elders morning and evening, then she would definitely do so.

Feng Ran got up so early just to pay her respects to Lady Qin, the wife of the Marquis of Dingbei.

When Granny Feng saw that Feng Ran had arrived so early in full gear, she put on airs and said with a light smile, "Your Highness has arrived at just the right time. Madam has not yet gotten up. Please wait here for a moment."

Suppressing the mockery in her eyes, Granny Feng knew that how long it took was not something an old servant like her could decide. After being married into the family for so long, the Princess Consort should at least experience the joy of paying her respects.

Feng Ran looked unconcerned and said with a grin, "I know, I wouldn't have come if Mother woke up. Isn't it said that we should pay our respects to each other morning and evening? Don't worry, with me here, Mother will definitely wake up."

Then she stretched her neck and shouted loudly, "Mother, your daughter-in-law has come to pay her respects. Are you awake?"

Qin was already old and had a very light sleep. Feng Ran's shout woke her up, but she and Granny Feng had the same idea: to pretend to be still asleep and not make a sound in the room.

Seeing no response, Feng Ran's smile remained unchanged. She raised her voice and called out again.

This time, it wasn't just Qin's room that was shaken to its core; even the courtyards of the concubines in the side rooms were awakened.

Aunt Xu and Aunt Wang kept their eyes down, silently pulling up the quilt to cover their ears, pretending not to hear.

Qin, who was the one being called directly, had veins throbbing on her forehead. This wasn't her usual time to get up, but now that Feng Ran had called her like this, if she didn't wake up soon, her eyesight would be failing.

But Feng Ran didn't intend to wait for Qin Shi to speak first. Instead, she looked at Feng Mama with surprise and said, "Mama, I made such a loud noise but Mother didn't respond. Could it be that something happened to Mother?"

Seeing Feng Ran's nervous little face, Granny Feng was also puzzled. The lady had indeed been feeling unwell these past few days, and she couldn't tell whether the lady was making things difficult for Feng Ran or if something had really happened.

Taking advantage of Feng Mama's relaxed vigilance, Feng Ran seized an opportunity to knock on the door, "Mother, Mother, are you alright? Just let me know if you need anything."

Qin choked on her breath, as if defying Feng Ran, remaining silent like a gourd with its mouth sawed off.

Now Granny Feng was truly flustered. Ignoring Feng Ran, she pushed open the door and went in, asking, "Madam, are you alright?"

Feng Ran looked concerned and asked softly, "Did Mother faint just now?"

Qin cursed Feng Ran inwardly for daring to barge into her room, but she hadn't spoken up before and was in the wrong, so she couldn't say it out loud. She could only nod with a dark face.

Granny Feng had expected Feng Ran to shower Qin with concern and try to curry favor. To her utter surprise, Feng Ran's eyes lit up, and her face lit up with a smile. "Mother, it seems my morning and evening greetings have worked."

Qin didn't quite understand what he was saying and was slightly puzzled. She scolded him, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Feng Ran didn't care at all, and counted on her fingers, "The so-called 'chen' means morning, 'hun' means 'mother,' you just got married, and 'dingsheng' means 'sweeping day,' look, aren't you awake?"

Qin felt her blood rush to her head, her vision blurred, and she almost fainted from anger. Her finger trembled as she pointed at Feng Ran, "Get out of here!"

Feng Ran still smiled and said, "Mother, I can't roll over here. How about I kick it and see?"

"Get out! I don't want to see you again!" Madam Qin truly felt that she was asking for trouble. What was wrong with her to think of setting rules for Feng Ran? She was afraid that she would end up in the dead of anger before she could even set the rules.

Feng Ran stood motionless, her feet seemingly glued to the ground, her smile undiminished, and continued to press, "Mother, does that mean I no longer need to pay my respects morning and evening? What am I going to do? Won't that just make Jingchuan and me look unfilial again?"

Looking at Feng Ran's smiling face, Qin felt her heart pounding. She had a wild wolf-like intuition, as if she were to say that Feng Ran and Duan Jingchuan were unfilial and that this morning and evening greeting could continue for a lifetime. She said in a sharp voice, gritting her teeth, "No need to bring them, you are very filial."

Feng Ran was satisfied, but before leaving, she couldn't resist adding, "Mother, you should take good care of yourself. You look a little pale."

Only after leaving Qin's courtyard did Feng Ran's smile fade, and she scoffed, "Giving birth but not raising, how can you talk about filial piety? Don't disgust my husband."

Then a smile returned to her face, and she skipped and hopped back to Jinghua Courtyard.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Duan Jingchuan felt an unprecedented fatherly love. First, the steward, Old Li, carried a large box and mysteriously stuffed it into his study, instructing him to be sure to avoid people, especially not to let the Crown Princess see it, and to read a few more books before dinner that night.

Having been hinted at so clearly, Duan Jingchuan wasn't stupid. He naturally knew what good things might be inside, and accepted them with a stern face.

Then, in the evening, the head chef specially prepared an extra dish for them, which he specifically requested to eat: a bowl of dark soup with a strange smell.

It doesn't look appealing, and the smell makes it even less appetizing.

Feng Ran scoffed, but Old Li nodded with a smile and gave the order again, which was also something Old Master Duan had told him to eat.

Feng Ran looked at Duan Jingchuan with sympathy, "Husband, is this a rule of your Marquis's mansion? Drinking such strange things on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

After receiving that box of fire-avoidance diagrams that morning, Duan Jingchuan had a pretty good idea of ​​the effects of this bowl of dark stuff.

Looking at Feng Ran's innocent little face, he sighed softly and, with a death-defying resolve, simmered the bowl of medicinal food, which smelled fishy, ​​until it was completely gone.

Feng Ran was relieved, unaware of how much attention her unintentional remark to Xiu'er that morning had drawn to Duan Jingchuan.

During his morning exercise, visibility in the mansion was fine, but after a whole morning, everyone in the mansion was looking at Duan Jingchuan with strange and pitying eyes, making his scalp tingle.

After some subtle probing, Xiong Qi finally managed to get the question out of her, because Feng Ran had jokingly said that she would give birth to a baby that night.

Duan Jingchuan didn't take those words to heart at all. In his opinion, whether it was last night or this morning, his wife was clearly resistant to his intimacy. She kept putting it off until tonight with the same delaying tactics as always, and he figured she would change her approach again tonight.

However, the other people in the mansion didn't think so; this day was even more lively than New Year's Eve.

The servants at Jinghua Courtyard, young and old, all wore joyful expressions; it was unclear whether they thought they were about to get married.

Lord Duan couldn't contain his overwhelming fatherly love for him, fearing that he wouldn't understand the matters between husband and wife.

Duan Jingchuan carefully examined the box of fire-avoidance diagrams after much deliberation, but the aftereffects were quite obvious; the image of Feng Ran's delicate body from that morning kept flashing through his mind.

Unfortunately, Feng Ran wasn't shy at all. She would seize any opportunity to cling to him, making him often lose his mind and wish he could find a crack in the ground to hide in.

Seeing that Duan Jingchuan finished the full bowl of fatherly love without even frowning, Feng Ran said with great admiration, "Husband, even though I'm not a picky eater, I have no appetite for a bowl of dark, fishy-smelling stuff. No wonder you can become the heir apparent."

...

Seeing that he had completed his task, Old Li left with a smile, not wanting to disturb the young couple's meal. Before leaving, he gave the couple a meaningful look.

Duan Jingchuan gave Xiu'er and Xiong Qi a look, and the two of them retreated, leaving only Duan Jingchuan and Feng Ran.

Duan Jingchuan then spoke, “Madam, it’s actually like the stinky tofu you love to eat. It smells a bit strange and doesn’t look very appealing, but it has a long-lasting aftertaste. It’s a real shame that you can’t drink it.”

Ah! Feng Ran stared longingly at the empty bowl, not a drop left, and pursed her lips with regret. "Is there only one bowl? Could you ask Uncle Li to bring me another one?"

Duan Jingchuan's lips curled into a wide smile as he leaned closer to Feng Ran and said in a hoarse voice, "There's another way. Would you like to try it?"

A note from the author:

Feng Ran: You're still the most shameless one.

Duan Jingchuan: You are not as lethal as Madam. The entire Marquis's mansion is afraid of you.