Chapter 1 Pregnancy

"Yuanzhu, I want to move our wedding date forward."

"in advance?"

Shen Yuanzhu asked in confusion, "But our wedding date was set for August, wasn't it? It's already mid-April, why the rush?"

Shen Yuanzhu had just reached the age of marriage, and her round face still retained a touch of childishness.

Today she was wearing a peach-colored embroidered gold jacket dress, which made her round little face look even more delicate and beautiful.

Hearing this, he merely gave a slightly shy smile.

The Xie and Chen families had been engaged for a long time. She and Xie Xuchuan had eaten together since they were three years old and left home together since they were five, so their relationship couldn't be deeper.

And having not seen each other for so long, she missed them dearly.

But before her smile could fade, she saw a fleeting look of embarrassment on Xie Xuchuan's face.

“Yuanzhu, Wansu is already two months pregnant, and her pregnancy will be showing in a few more months. I want to adopt the child in her womb under our names as the legitimate heir.”

“If the wedding is in August, she will definitely be pregnant. Wansu is still a young woman and has not yet been married. If people find out that she is pregnant before the wedding, it will be detrimental to her reputation.”

Xie Xuchuan felt as if a lump of coarse hemp was stuck in his throat, making it impossible for him to swallow or spit it out.

Upon learning that Jiang Wansu was pregnant, he rushed back from Huizhou, having prepared countless speeches in his mind along the way. However, when he arrived in front of Yuanzhu, he could only utter this most difficult sentence.

"Miss Jiang is pregnant. What is the wedding date for her and my young lady...?"

Before Ling'er could finish speaking, she was pulled out by her wet nurse, Madam Luo.

Only two people remained under the eaves of the Shen family's house.

After a long silence, Shen Yuanzhu finally asked softly, "Is the child in her womb yours?"

Xie Xuchuan gritted his teeth and remained silent for a long time.

They neither admitted nor denied it.

With a breath stuck in her throat, Shen Yuanzhu turned her head away from him.

She didn't look at her fiancé, whom she had been engaged to for over ten years and had grown up on his back since childhood.

After a long while, she picked up the pearl tassel on the white jade brooch and said in a slightly trembling voice, "You are afraid that Jiang Wansu will lose her reputation because she is pregnant out of wedlock, but you are not afraid that I will have a child less than eight months after I married into the Xie family and lose my reputation."

"And if you want me to acknowledge this child, what about Jiang Wansu? What are you going to do with Jiang Wansu? Do you intend to take her as a concubine?"

Xie Xuchuan raised his head, his eyes bloodshot: "Once the child is born, we'll say it was because you had a miscarriage and went into premature labor. Don't worry, I won't let anyone smear your innocence."

"Furthermore, we would never take Wansu as a concubine. There has never been a precedent of taking concubines in the Xie family for three generations, and Grandmother would not allow it..."

Xie Xuchuan lowered his voice: "I just want Wansu to stay at the Xie family during her maternity leave so that she can give birth to the child in peace."

"Just one year... Yuanzhu, just one year, she will leave once she has recovered."

"A year later, the two of us... are still the same as before."

Fearing that Shen Yuanzhu would disagree, Xie Xuchuan spoke in a low, pleading voice: "Yuanzhu, you two are quite familiar with each other. You know that Wansu is different from you. She is gentle and unassuming, and is disliked not only by Jiang's father, but also by Madam Jiang and her elder sister."

"It's not easy for her to survive in the Jiang family. If Master Jiang finds out that she is pregnant out of wedlock, she will surely die along with her unborn child."

Xie Xuchuan spoke lightly, but it made Shen Yuanzhu's heart ache.

"It's not easy for her to survive in the Jiang family. If she gives birth to a child and gives it to the Xie family as the legitimate heir, she can return to the Jiang family and survive more easily?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Xuchuan stammered, "The child will be registered under our names. As for Wansu... I will buy her an estate to support her when the time comes. Since she is not valued by the Jiang family, I will find an excuse, saying that she is going out to recuperate, and the Jiang family will agree."

Xie Xuchuan's voice grew softer and softer. Shen Yuanzhu watched his lips move, but her vision gradually blurred.

A faint, distant chanting sound reached my ears, and I could almost smell the ashes of burning yellow paper.

Yes, that was when her parents passed away one after another, and she fell seriously ill from excessive grief.

When her mother was being held for her funeral, her brother and sister-in-law wouldn't let her attend. It was Xie Xuchuan, who was still young, who found her barely alive through the window, carried her out of the room, and took her to her mother's funeral hall so she could see her mother one last time.

It was Xie Xuchuan who carried her to offer incense and bow to his mother.

Xie Xuchuan held her tightly on his back and said to her word by word, "It doesn't matter if Yuanzhu loses her father and mother. I will be there for you. As long as I live, I will be your support."

It is true that the two of them were betrothed since childhood, but Xie Xuchuan and Jiang Wansu were also childhood sweethearts who grew up together.

Looking at the handsome young man before her, whose eyes always held a myriad of emotions and whose every move was intimately familiar, Shen Yuanzhu finally closed her eyes slowly.

Youthful feelings fade overnight.

Shen Yuanzhu said, "If you insist on acknowledging this child, you can bring Jiang Wansu back to the Xie family or raise her outside the mansion. I don't care what status you want to give her, but the idea of ​​adopting her as the legitimate daughter is pure wishful thinking."

"Yuanzhu, I have absolutely no intention of taking a concubine or keeping a mistress."

A hint of pain flashed in Xie Xuchuan's eyes: "I know I've wronged you, but I've never had any ill intentions towards you. I'm the one who owes you this, and I will definitely make it up to you and the Shen family in the future."

“Yuanzhu, I promised Wansu that I would take this child as my legitimate son, and I cannot go back on my word.”

"You agree?"

For some reason, Shen Yuanzhu suddenly chuckled: "Xie Xuchuan, have you forgotten how the marriage agreement between the Xie and Shen families came about?"