Chapter 694 Infertility

"Lan'er, I think your sister-in-law would definitely be willing to manage the household!"

Madam Meng said with certainty, "There are many benefits to being a steward. If she were even slightly smart, she would know that for a woman to gain a foothold in the inner quarters, she needs to have the authority to manage the household. Otherwise, no one would take her seriously. Go back and have a good talk with her. Perhaps she was just not showing it today!"

Meng Yunlan shook his head: "I can't tell whether my sister-in-law wants to manage the household or not, but I can tell that my mother-in-law doesn't want her to manage the household at all. So, it's no use talking to my sister-in-law, because even if she wants to manage the household, she can't get past her mother-in-law."

Madam Meng finally let out a long sigh: "Alas, your mother-in-law is actually biased towards you, which is why she doesn't want your sister-in-law to have any say in managing the household, so as to avoid disputes between you two. If I had a mother-in-law who protected me like that back then, my life wouldn't have been so miserable."

Meng Yunlan nodded: "Yes, my mother-in-law is indeed very good to me, my father-in-law is also open-minded, and my husband is one in a million. He protects me and indulges me in everything, but I..."

As she spoke, she began to cry softly.

"Oh dear, why are you crying again? Stop crying, or your eyes will be swollen, how will you go back to the Duke's mansion? Don't let people laugh at you, stop crying!"

Meng Yunlan cried uncontrollably: "Mother, it's been five years. I've been married to Qianling for five years, but I still haven't been able to conceive. The better they treat me, the more guilty I feel!"

Madam Meng hugged her with red eyes: "Don't worry, it's only been five years. You're still young, you'll definitely have one!"

"Mother, it feels like a huge rock is pressing on my heart, making it hard for me to breathe!"

"I know, I know! But the more you act like this, the harder it will be for you to conceive. You need to relax!"

"How could I possibly relax? I don't want any power over the household at all. Let whoever wants that power have it. All I want is a child! Other women who got married later than me are already mothers. You don't know, when they talk to me while holding their babies, their tone is full of pride. Their eyes are always glancing at my belly, and behind my back they say I'm a... a barren hen!"

Madam Meng was heartbroken: "Don't listen to those gossipy people. They can't stand to see you doing well! Their homes are a complete mess, a real chaotic mess! Your husband is so much better than theirs. They're just jealous of you! But the more they think like that, the more you need to relax and not get stuck on it!"

If these words had been spoken in the first two years of their marriage, Meng Yunlan might have been able to heed them.

But now that she and Gu Qianling have been married for five years, these words can no longer soothe her. The anxiety and urgency in her heart cannot be relieved by any words.

Madam Meng was also extremely anxious. Her daughter was marrying the heir of the Duke's mansion, and the Duke's title needed to be inherited. If her daughter could not have children, then it was very likely that Gu Qianhan's child would inherit the title in the future!

Therefore, not only must a daughter give birth to a child, but she must also give birth to a son!

"Lan'er, don't cry. Perhaps it's not your problem. Perhaps it's Qian Ling... Have you had a doctor examine him as well?"

Meng Yunlan cried even harder: "Mother, do you think Qianling isn't worried about not having a child after all these years? He's just afraid of putting too much pressure on me, so he never mentions it in front of me. He's already seen a doctor himself, and he's fine. It's me, it's me who can't get pregnant! Didn't the doctor you hired for me say that I have a cold constitution and it's difficult for me to conceive!"

Madam Meng quickly wiped away her daughter's tears: "Alright, alright, don't cry. I've found you another doctor. I heard he's very good at treating infertility. Let him take a look at you. Maybe one dose of medicine will cure you!"

“It’s no use. In the past five years, I’ve seen countless doctors and taken countless medications, but none of them have worked.”

Meng Yunlan raised her head and gritted her teeth, saying, "Instead of seeing useless doctors and taking useless medicine, why don't we get Qianling a concubine? When she has children, we can raise them in front of me."

Madam Meng immediately shook her head: "No! You're so foolish! Can you really raise someone else's child properly? Only your own children can be truly relied upon!"

"Who told me I couldn't give birth?"

Meng Yunlan's face was ashen: "It's better to be unable to raise someone than to have no one to raise at all. I can't very well call Qian Ling an heir!"

"No, you have to listen to me on this! Do you think children born to concubines are so easy to raise? Once Qian Lingzhen has a concubine, you'll be crying!"

Having suffered enough as a concubine and the child born to a concubine, Madam Meng was unwilling to let her daughter suffer the same fate. Moreover, she still held onto a sliver of hope that her daughter's cold constitution could be cured and that she could conceive.

She asked the nanny to call the doctor in so that he could carefully examine Meng Yunlan's pulse.

A quarter of an hour later, the doctor said, "Your Excellency must have been exposed to cold in your childhood, right? This coldness has been in your body for too long, causing your meridians to be blocked, making it difficult to conceive. Moreover, Your Excellency's pulse is weak and your mind is troubled. You are probably overworked and have excessive liver fire. If this continues, even if you don't have symptoms of coldness in your body, I'm afraid you will still have difficulty conceiving!"

The doctors that Madam Meng had previously consulted for her daughter all said the same thing; otherwise, she wouldn't have asked her daughter to relinquish some of her household management authority.

She quickly asked, "In your opinion, how should I take care of myself?"

"While medication can treat cold constitution, it cannot cure anxiety and overwork. You need to rest for a while. After resting, you can go out and play for a while to relieve your mental blockage. If you continue to overwork, your body will become more and more depleted, making it even more difficult to conceive. This is something that no tonic can make up for."

"This...this might be difficult. My daughter is managing a large family now. How can we just abandon the family responsibilities?"

The doctor fell silent. He had already given the patient the treatment plan, but the patient refused to follow it. Even if he were Hua Tuo reborn, he could not cure the nobleman's infertility.

He picked up his pen, wrote down a prescription for treating cold constitution, took the consultation fee, and left.

Madam Meng glanced at the prescription and saw that it was very similar to the prescriptions given by the previous doctors, so she knew that she had wasted her time reading it again.

She hesitated for a moment and said, "Lan'er, why don't I go to the Duke's mansion with you?"

“You’re too shy to talk to your mother-in-law about these things, so I’ll talk to her. Having offspring is the most important thing, and everything else should give way to it!”

“I’ll talk to your mother-in-law. From now on, the Duke’s mansion will be temporarily managed by your sister-in-law. Once you have a child, you can take back the management rights.”