Chapter 70 Blame Him and Her Tang Qingduo had never been this disheveled in her life...

Qingduo sat on the bed, watching Zeng Zhengqing walk back and forth in front of her, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Qingqing, when will the doctor come?"

Zeng Zhengqing stopped and turned around to see Qingduo looking worried. Feeling sorry for her, he sat down beside her and said softly, "I have already sent someone to invite her. Just wait a little longer; she should be here soon."

"Oh..." Qingduo's heart was still pounding, and she couldn't help but ask again, "That Qingqing! If... if..."

She met Zeng Zhengqing's concerned gaze, and her words, which had been difficult to express, flowed smoothly: "Calling a doctor in the middle of the night, making a scene known throughout the household. If I weren't pregnant, how embarrassing would that be!"

Zeng Zhengqing interjected, "Don't worry, I've arranged everything. I was kneeling as punishment in the ancestral hall today, so I had them use my illness as an excuse to invite you. I also specifically instructed Fangqing and Granny Li that they wouldn't say anything out of turn."

Qingduo smiled and said, "So, kneeling as punishment has its advantages. Otherwise, we wouldn't have any excuses!"

Zeng Zhengqing smiled, but it was a forced smile, and his expression immediately returned to its previous solemnity. He cupped Qingduo's hands in his palms and silently watched their clasped hands. But when he looked up and met Qingduo's gaze, her eyes slipped away like an eel.

This was the first time Qingduo had seen Zeng Zhengqing looking so lost and dejected, but she had no time to ponder it; something else had completely occupied her mind.

Qingduo hesitated and said, "Qingqing..."

"Huh?" Zeng Zhengqing suddenly woke up and gripped Qingduo's hand tightly.

"I...I...could I be pregnant?" Qingduo stammered.

“Very likely,” Zeng Zhengqing said.

He whispered, "It's been about a month since that time on the ship... I just did the math, and during this time, haven't you... haven't you had your period?"

Qingduo blushed. This guy! How did he know, and how did he know the timing of this?!

Her voice was barely audible: "Then...that's it, right?"

"Hmm." His voice was soft, like a thin veil covering Qingduo, leaving her disoriented and bewildered.

She knew that women would eventually become mothers. But when it actually happened to her, it felt strangely unreal.

She slowly lowered her head, her gaze falling on her lower abdomen, and hesitantly reached out to cover it: Is there... already a life here?

Is it a unique baby that she and Qingqing share?

Qingduo suddenly thought of her mother. She wondered what her mother's feelings would have been when she found out she was pregnant with her.

Is it joy? Or, like myself, a sense of inexplicable bewilderment?

"Ah Zhao!" Zeng Zhengqing interrupted Qing Duo's reverie. She turned to look at him and was taken aback.

His gaze hardened again; he was once again the composed Zeng Zhengqing.

Qingduo heard him say, "Azhao, don't worry. I will arrange everything properly. I will take good care of you, protect you and the child, and keep you safe and sound. Leave everything to me."

Faced with his change, Qingduo didn't react for a moment. She vaguely replied, "Hmm..."

Zeng Zhengqing continued, "After we get back, I will invite several female doctors to the manor to take care of you at all times. I will also find several experienced midwives to prepare in advance, so that you can have a smooth delivery and get through this difficult hurdle of childbirth."

Wow, such a big fuss? Childbirth is so scary! Hearing this, Qingduo turned pale: "Ah..."

"I've heard that there's a kind of herbal decoction that can relieve the pain during childbirth. I'll send someone to inquire about it right away. With it, you'll suffer less."

"Besides that, if there are any safe ways to relieve the pain, we can try them. In any case, I'll be with you the whole time, and I'll take care of everything. Just relax and take good care of yourself."

"Relaxing is impossible." Zeng Zhengqing's rambling words successfully put Qingduo into a daze. Her mind went blank, and she could only subconsciously reply, "Oh..."

"Once the baby is born, there will be wet nurses and servants to take good care of the child, and I will also take good care of him. You just need to rest and recover. Once you've recovered, you can continue doing the things you've always loved, like painting or going out to play with Lu Nong and the others. It's all up to you."

“If you miss the child, just bring him over and cuddle him anytime.” Zeng Zhengqing lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand. “In short, with me here, the child won’t hold you back, and you will still be free.”

Qingduo had no way to answer him anymore. The fear in her heart had reached its peak, like a leg that had been squatting for too long regaining its movement from swelling. Her whole body ached, and this pain made her clearly realize:

She doesn't want to be a mother yet!

ah!

Back then, on the ship!

She shouldn't have been so attracted to Qingqing's beauty!

*

When the doctor entered, he saw a man who looked "full of ambition" and his wife, who had lost her soul and was now just a shell.

Doctor: This...

He sat down to take Qingduo's pulse, asking about her symptoms, which Qingduo answered one by one. After listening, the doctor frowned, examined her tongue, and placed his hand on her pulse without speaking. In just a short while, the lady looked like she was about to faint.

He couldn't help but suspect something was amiss, and squinted as he carefully examined the body.

After a long while, he let go of her hand and murmured, "That's right."

Zeng Zhengqing couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is wrong with my wife?"

"The pulse feels smooth but somewhat congested; the tongue is reddish with a whitish coating. These are symptoms of food stagnation," the doctor said.

It was just indigestion, but I don't know why these two people acted like they were facing a formidable enemy when I walked in. They scared me so much that I thought I had overlooked something, and I had to examine them again and again.

The couple fell silent. The doctor was puzzled. He looked around and saw them staring at each other, their eyes wide with astonishment.

The doctor was still puzzled, then heard Young Master Zeng ask again, "Are you sure you didn't find anything else?"

The doctor replied, "There is nothing else. It seems that the lady overate today, which is why she has these symptoms. It's nothing serious. You can take one or two Baohe pills and eat a light diet for a few days, and it will be relieved. You should not eat greasy, raw, cold, or spicy food for the next few days."

Young Master Zeng nodded, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face, quickly spreading across his entire expression. The doctor, bewildered, followed Young Master Zeng's gaze to his wife and was taken aback—

What a bright red face!

It looked like freshly dyed red cloth; if you wrung it out, it seemed as if crimson dye would still drip out.

What exactly happened?

The doctor was completely baffled. Then, Young Master Zeng asked, "We just returned to Luzhou a few days ago. Since then, my wife's period has been absent for some time. I wonder if there is something wrong with her health?"

Ah! I see! He realized what was going on and said tactfully, "It's nothing to worry about irregular periods. You just got back, so it might be due to the change in environment. I just took your pulse, so it's probably only been a couple of days. Don't worry about it."

After receiving the consultation fee, Young Master Zeng saw him out. He glanced at the expression on Young Master Zeng's face and couldn't help but mutter to himself: Wealthy families are usually eager to have children, and when they can't, they often sigh and feel very frustrated. But this Young Master Zeng has a big smile on his face, as if he has learned something that is more joyful than anything else. His eyebrows and eyes are relaxed. It's really strange!

*

As soon as they left, Qingduo rushed to the bed, grabbed the blanket, and buried herself in it.

Tang Qingduo had never been so disheveled in her life!

She doesn't want to see anyone!

Waaaaah—

Bodhisattva! You clearly knew the truth, so why didn't you give me a hint? Last time at Jiyue Nunnery, I prayed to you so devoutly. Even before that, I've never neglected you! How could you bear to let your believer lose face like this?

You too! You ate lion's head meatballs, roasted mutton, and goose and duck skewers, and then you drank black chicken soup! After drinking the black chicken soup, you ate shaved ice sugar dumplings; after eating the shaved ice sugar dumplings, you ate an apple when you got back!

Tang Qingduo! Do you think you're some big-bellied Maitreya Buddha? You're just a little-bellied little Qingduo!

She was pounding the bed in regret when she suddenly heard the door creak open. She guessed that Zeng Zhengqing had returned, and immediately froze, pretending to be asleep.

She listened to the footsteps as she approached the bedside, barely daring to breathe, watching the commotion outside. Sure enough, he tried to pull back her blanket, but Qingduo was prepared and held on tightly, refusing to let go, so he didn't force her.

Just as Qingduo breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Zeng Zhengqing say with a smile, "Don't lie down like that! You're pressing on your stomach, or you'll feel nauseous again!"

This sentence ignited Qingduo's anger. She threw off the covers and sat up, ignoring her disheveled hair, and angrily said, "I never said I was pregnant! You all said it!"

"You're all the ones who made me lose face! And now you're laughing at me!"

Yes, if he hadn't kept telling her he had morning sickness and made plans for how to take care of himself, she wouldn't have believed he was pregnant. And what happened? Just overeating!

It's not her fault, it's not the Bodhisattva's fault! It's all Zeng Zhengqing's fault!

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. She grinned, her eyes narrowed into slits, and it looked like thunder and rain were about to break out.

Zeng Zhengqing found it even more amusing to see her disheveled hair and angry face, like a cat with its fur standing on end. But this "cat" only "stirred" for a moment before it was about to howl. He quickly pulled her into his arms, thinking that young women are easily embarrassed and care a lot about their image; she seemed genuinely hurt. He said with heartache:

"Okay, okay, I was wrong. I shouldn't have joked with you so recklessly. I won't say anything more."

His words made Qingduo feel even more wronged, and tears streamed down her face: "I was originally, I was having a good time eating something delicious, and I was so happy. When I came back and found out you were being punished by kneeling, I even went to comfort you. But you, not only did you embarrass me, you're going on and on, making fun of me. You're bullying me, waah—"

Zeng Zhengqing felt guilty after hearing her words and rolled up his sleeve to wipe her tears. However, it was like a torrential downpour; he wiped one end but missed the other. After thinking it over, he decided that "mending the sky" was the most important thing.

As he wiped away her tears, he said, "Ah Zhao, I was just too happy and only thought of myself. I didn't consider your feelings, so..."

Upon hearing this, Qingduo's eyes widened in anger. She slapped Zeng Zhengqing's hand away and shouted, "You still dare to talk! You're so happy to see me make a fool of myself, aren't you? You just want to see me embarrass myself! You! You! You're so mean! I don't want to talk to you anymore!" With that, she stood up and was about to leave.

Oh no! Instead of patching up the sky, we've created an even bigger hole!

Zeng Zhengqing quickly held her tightly, refusing to let go no matter how much she struggled. He hurriedly exclaimed, "The reason I'm happy is because you're not pregnant!"

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Author's Note: Next chapter will be released at 7:00 AM on Sunday.

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