Chapter 101 Pregnancy

Zhao Yi coughed softly and said gently, "It's on our way, so I'll go with you."

Shen Qingtan didn't believe what he said. It was closer to Shi'an Hall from Lanxueyuan, but he took a long detour to come to the main hall to find her, and even insisted that it was on his way.

"I remember now. The imperial physician said that you were weak and that taking a walk every day would strengthen your bones and body, which would be very beneficial to your health." Shen Qingtan raised an eyebrow and said in a deliberately pretentious tone, "I thought the Second Master came to pick me up specially, but it turns out that he just happened to walk here and then go to the old lady with me on the way. I was just being too sentimental."

Zhao Yi was squeezed by her implicit words and said helplessly: "Speak properly."

"Hmm." Shen Qingtan calmed down.

Zhao Yi felt her reaction was too abnormal. He pursed his lips slightly and was about to say something when she said in a depressed tone, "I don't know how to speak properly, nor do I know how to do things properly. My third sister-in-law wanted to ruin my reputation, but I was only trying to play along. The play I wrote offended the royal family. If the princess hadn't given you a favor and didn't pursue the matter further, I'm afraid I would have been punished."

Zhao Yi wanted to say: This is not your fault, you don’t know the secrets of the royal family.

"I am now alone. Apart from you who are willing to help me, I have no one to rely on." Shen Qingtan smiled slightly: "Fortunately, I still have you."

Zhao Yi wanted to say that she still had biological parents, but more than ten years had passed and she didn't know whether her biological parents were kind and easy to get along with. If they were like the people in Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion who only cared about profit, she would just be jumping from one fire pit to another.

Although the Duke of Zhao's Mansion will support her, the Duke's Mansion will take the overall situation into consideration and will not stand behind her without scruples.

Similarly, she is a strong-willed person and probably would not ask the Duke's Mansion for help.

There was a rare look of worry in his eyes.

"Now even the only person I can rely on is a duplicity." Shen Qingtan sighed: "What should I do?"

Zhao Yi: “…”

She had gone through such a long journey, just to wait for him here?

Zhao Yi felt a little headache, but also found it a little funny, so she said jokingly: "I'm just teaching you that if you trust your husband too much, it's worse than having no husband at all."

Shen Qingtan: “…”

She remembered this sentence from "Mencius's Doctrine of the Mean, Part Two": If you believe everything in books, it is better to have no books.

It means that we should analyze what we read, and not blindly believe in books. We should look at problems dialectically.

When these words came out of Zhao Yi's mouth, they had a deeper meaning to Shen Qingtan's ears. It seemed to tell her: When facing anyone, you must think for yourself to judge, and not trust others based on appearances.

In her previous life, she trusted her so-called parents and so-called fiancé because of appearances, and never doubted her own life experience. That's why she ate a bowl of medicated noodles. Since then, she has been bedridden and imprisoned in the backyard.

All the people around her were replaced, and the lives of the old woman and her family who were guarding her were all in Zhao Jue's hands. They didn't dare to talk to her, for fear that they would fall into her trap and kill their loved ones.

When Shen Qingtan thought of this, a cold and gloomy look appeared between his brows.

All the servants in the mansion went to collect their reward money, and everything was quiet.

Apart from the couple, only their confidants were left.

After a long silence, Shen Qingtan whispered, "I heard a piece of news today at the Princess's Mansion. The troupe owner Your Highness has captured has some connection to me. Back then, the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en bribed him to kidnap me. The troupe owner abducted three or four children, and each of their parents reported the matter to the authorities. I imagine the authorities should have files on file. If we can find out which families lost their children, we can narrow down our search and be more precise."

Zhao Yi said gently, "I'll arrange it."

Shen Qingtan smiled at him and said, "Second Master, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness."

This sentence tore a hole in the dull atmosphere, and the atmosphere became more lively.

Zhao Yi smiled slightly, with indulgence in his eyes.

When the couple arrived at Shi'an Hall, they saw that all the masters of the mansion were present.

After the two of them greeted each other, they sat down.

Shen Qingtan saw that everyone in the second house had rosy faces, which actually proved the saying that people feel cheerful when they are happy.

Inadvertently, she met Shen Mingzhu's gaze.

Shen Mingzhu no longer showed a jealous expression, but instead touched her belly, revealing a hint of pride.

Shen Qingtan confirmed his guess from Shen Mingzhu's actions that the second house was indeed going to have a baby.

"I summoned you here today because I have something to announce." Old Madam Zhao spoke in a kind tone, a rare good look on her face towards the Second House. "In the past few months, our mansion has been plagued by one unpleasant thing after another, but there have also been many happy events. Yi'er and Jue'er got married a while ago, and almost two months later, Jue'er's wife is pregnant."

"Grandmother, the reason my granddaughter-in-law got pregnant so quickly was because you and mother-in-law ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures at Longhua Temple. You lit lotus lanterns and prayed for me. The Bodhisattva appeared and sent me a child. Otherwise, how could I have announced the happy news so soon?"

The joy between Shen Mingzhu's eyebrows almost flew out. She glanced at Shen Qingtan lightly and couldn't help but raise her voice: "Second sister-in-law, my mother-in-law also lit a lotus lantern to pray for you and second brother, wishing you two a long and happy life together and a son soon. It shouldn't be long before you can hear the movement of your belly."

She supported her waist with one hand and stroked her belly with the other, raising her lips and saying, "I also heard that when one family has a happy event, the other will also have a happy event. Don't worry, it will probably only be one or two months away."

The Second Wife also took advantage of Shen Mingzhu's pregnancy to give her an edge over the First Wife. She said with a beaming face, "Yes, my niece-in-law has to work harder. She needs to have a belly as big as our Zhu'er's and give birth to a few more big, fat boys while she's still young."

"There's no rush," the eldest lady said first. "Tan'er grew up surrounded by beautiful things. She's still a child, very spoiled, and afraid of pain. As her mother-in-law, I can't bear to see her go through the pain of childbirth at such a young age. Let's wait a few years."

The smile on Shen Mingzhu's face froze, although she knew in her heart that it was because Zhao Yi was not capable and Shen Qingtan could not have a child.

But compared to her own mother-in-law's advice to her to have more children while she was still young, the lady's thoughtful words still made her feel unhappy.

The eldest lady glanced at Shen Mingzhu, whose face was stiff, and said calmly, "Tan'er is the eldest grandson's wife. Now she has to follow me and the old lady to learn the skills of managing the household. If she gets pregnant at this time, it will be even more tiring for her and make her suffer a lot."

Shen Mingzhu was stung by these words, and her lower abdomen seemed to ache.