Chapter 293 Falling Out of Favor

Upon hearing this, Li Wan'er's heart tightened. She had indeed wanted wealth and status, and a life that everyone envied, but she also truly loved Brother Xiuming. This elegant young man was the first man she had ever fallen for.

She shook her head hurriedly: "No, that's not it, Brother Xiuming. I really love you, but I also love our child. Don't you want to have a child of our own? Didn't you say before that you wanted to have a son and a daughter with me? A girl like me, and a boy like you."

Gu Xiuming was extremely annoyed and suddenly pushed her away.

Li Wan'er was pushed back a few steps and almost lost her balance and fell to the ground. She clutched her stomach, her face pale, and felt a wave of fear. If she had fallen, the baby in her womb would probably have been affected. This was a child she had finally conceived after taking so many fertility drugs, and she couldn't afford any mishaps.

Gu Xiuming frowned when he saw that she had regained her footing. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He admitted that when he saw that she might fall, he was overjoyed. If she lost the baby, it would solve this big problem for him. However, he did not expect that the result would not be what he wanted.

Li Wan'er was afraid that he was emotionally unstable, so she didn't dare to get any closer to him. She choked up and said, "Brother Xiuming, how did you become like this?"

Gu Xiuming, with a cold face, looked like he didn't want to hear any more of her words, and simply turned and left.

Seeing this, Li Wan'er chased after him to the door. When she saw him leave without looking back, she didn't care that any maids had seen her and burst into tears.

She couldn't understand why things had turned out this way between them. They were perfectly fine yesterday. Before leaving the house, Xiu Ming held her in his arms and coaxed her gently for a while, saying he would take her out to play and see the lantern festival during the Lantern Festival.

When the other maids saw Li Wan'er crying like this, they could vaguely guess why. Not long ago, she went to the young master in a accusatory manner, probably because she was jealous that the young master had taken Yuan'er as his concubine, and then she had a fight with the young master.

This Aunt Li is really naive. How can a man only stay with one woman? It's not like ordinary people can't afford to find other women. In wealthy families, there are always maids and concubines.

Aunt Li was just a concubine, yet she interfered in whether the young master would take in concubines. She was overstepping her bounds, no wonder she displeased the young master.

Let alone concubines, even the principal wife, when she is pregnant and unable to serve her husband, will take the initiative to arrange for a maidservant to serve him. She can't expect her husband to remain chaste just because she is pregnant, otherwise he will be tempted to go to brothels to have affairs. Those women in brothels are so dirty, and you might accidentally contract a sexually transmitted disease.

If Aunt Li had been smarter and hadn't argued with the young master, she wouldn't have upset him. It was just a concubine, and she wasn't pregnant. He even gave her a bowl of contraceptive soup this morning. Aunt Li, on the other hand, was pregnant. She was really too impatient.

Hongling was assigned to serve Li Wan'er. Seeing her crying like this, she quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "Auntie, don't cry. Crying too much will harm your health. You are carrying the eldest son of the young master and the eldest grandson of the marquis."

Upon hearing this, Li Wan'er slowly stopped crying and, with Hong Ling's help, returned to her room.

The newly appointed maid, Yuan'er, naturally saw Li Wan'er crying. She was secretly delighted, thinking that once she gained favor, she would trample Li Wan'er under her feet. The young master had promised her that after the new wife entered the household, he would make her a concubine, and she would be able to have children in the future.

An old woman flattered her, saying, "Miss Yuan'er, Aunt Li is probably going to fall out of favor this time. Your good days are yet to come."

Yuan'er glared at her: "Oh dear, don't talk nonsense. Concubine Li is the young master's darling. Have you forgotten what the young master did for Concubine Li before? How could she have fallen out of favor?"

The old woman replied, "Which man doesn't like a gentle and considerate woman? She's spoiled and arrogant, relying on her pregnancy. Last night she had a fight with the young master. Although we don't know what they argued about, she probably angered him so much that he left her room. That must be her fault. After last night's conflict, she still doesn't know how to restrain herself today. She really thinks she's something special. There are other women in this world who can give birth to more than just her."

Yuan'er smiled slightly, not replying, but agreeing with what the old woman said. Aunt Li was just a concubine, not the principal wife, yet she dared to cause trouble for the young master just because she was pregnant. The child hadn't even been born yet, what was she so arrogant about?

What an idiot! If she were smart, she should have apologized to the young master this morning. That way, she could at least win his heart. Making a scene again would only push him further away.

-

Shou'an Hall.

The matter at Qingyuxuan was no small matter; even the reclusive Old Madam Gu had heard about it.

However, Madam Gu was not happy. It was one thing to take a concubine before marrying a wife, but now she was going to have an illegitimate son or daughter. What kind of situation was this?

If it were a legitimate granddaughter-in-law who was pregnant, she would probably be so happy that she would eat two more bowls of rice. But if a concubine was pregnant, there was nothing to be happy about, unless the principal wife had already entered the family and had children. In that case, a concubine's pregnancy was just adding another child, a bonus.

Madam Gu sighed softly, "Xiu Ming has seemed quite well-behaved these past few months, but why is he so clueless about things when it comes to Aunt Li?"

Granny Feng seemed thoughtful and replied, "Madam, I think the young master will no longer favor Consort Li. He took in a maidservant today, and he argued with Consort Li last night and this morning. From now on, Consort Li will probably go from being a favored concubine to an ordinary concubine."

Madam Gu could not hide her disappointment: "Even so, with this illegitimate eldest son or daughter, Xiu Ming's marriage will be even more difficult in the future. He is narrowing his own path. Yao Ling is well-behaved and knows what he should and shouldn't do since he was a child. How come he can't learn even a bit from his father? He doesn't do what he should do, and he does what he shouldn't do."

Granny Feng dared not respond to this. No matter how wrong the young master was, it was not something a servant like her could criticize.

After a moment of silence, Madam Gu continued, "To be honest, the more I look at Xiuming, the less I understand him. You said he liked Concubine Li so much back then, and ran away from his wedding for her, so why didn't he even want to marry his legal wife? Now, less than a year later, he's taken in a maidservant after a little conflict. If he can accept another woman so easily, why did he run away from his wedding in the first place? What's wrong with Ayao? She's dignified and gentle, calm in the face of adversity, and insightful."

Granny Feng was stunned. This was indeed a question worth pondering. How could such a devoted young master, who wanted to be with Consort Li for life, suddenly accept another woman so easily? He could accept being with a lowly maid, but he couldn't accept marrying the legitimate daughter of an earl's family?

Madam Gu pondered for a long time, some guesses flashing through her mind, and finally turned into a sigh: "Forget it, just keep your eyes open and watch. Go to the storeroom and pick out a tonic, and have someone send it to Qingyuxuan."

Granny Feng asked, "Madam, is this for Concubine Li?"

Madam Gu nodded and said gently, "Send a portion according to the concubine's allowance. She's already been taken into the household. Even if I don't like her, I won't be stingy with a supplement."

Granny Feng then realized what was going on and said, "Oh dear, look at my memory. Whenever the main wife or a concubine in the manor is rumored to be pregnant, the elders will send her a tonic."

Madam Gu said, "It's no wonder you've forgotten. The last concubine who became pregnant as a junior was Xuanling's birth mother, Aunt Fang."

Granny Feng said respectfully, "Madam, this servant will go and prepare immediately."