Chapter 186 Pregnancy (Second Update)

Gu Jiao hadn't seen Yao Shi for several days. Although Yao Shi came over last night, Gu Jiao was out on an emergency call and missed her completely.

Gu Jiao calculated that Yao Shi's medicine should be finished by now. After breakfast, she carried her small basket on her back and went to the Marquis's residence.

Last night, Madam Yao was tricked by Aunt Ling, and was both shocked and angry. She didn't fall asleep until very late, and even missed her daily morning and evening greetings to Old Madam Gu.

Granny Fang sent someone to tell the lady that she had caught a slight cold and that she was afraid the illness might affect the old lady, so she would come to pay her respects again in a couple of days.

In the past, Madam Gu would have thought that Yao had once again disregarded her as her mother-in-law. However, Yao's behavior during this period successfully won over Madam Gu's trust.

Not only did Madam Gu believe it, but she also had her maid send a top-quality ginseng to Madam Yao.

It wasn't that she doted on Yao Shi so much, but rather that Yao Shi needed to recover quickly so that she could come to her side and establish proper etiquette sooner.

Gu Jiao arrived at the perfect time; Madam Yao had just woken up, washed up, and drunk some congee.

When Yao saw her daughter, her eyes involuntarily filled with a smile.

She walked over, took her daughter's hand, and led her into the warm room: "Why did you come today? Are you free at the clinic?"

"The clinic isn't busy," Gu Jiao said.

Madam Yao and her daughter sat down on the stools at the table. She disliked sitting in the official's hat chairs used for receiving guests, as there was always a tea table between the official's hat chairs, making people feel as if they were being artificially separated.

Gu Jiao placed the small basket on the table and said to Yao Shi, "You don't look well."

Madam Yao touched her cheek and smiled, "I slept in late."

"Why are you sleeping so late? Is something bothering you?" Gu Jiao was unaware of what had happened to Yao Shi yesterday.

After thinking for a moment, Yao was unsure how to explain it to her daughter.

Her daughter had already worked hard enough; she didn't want her to worry about her affairs anymore.

On the other hand, she found it difficult to talk about her relationship with Zhen Ping with her daughter.

But just because she didn't say anything doesn't mean that Granny Fang wouldn't say anything.

After returning to the manor last night, Granny Fang used a combination of coaxing and cajoling, along with guessing, to finally understand the whole story.

She felt there was nothing she couldn't tell the young lady.

"It's all because of Aunt Ling!" Granny Fang gritted her teeth and recounted how Aunt Ling had schemed against Madam Yao. "We originally thought she would tamper with the sacrificial offerings, the carriages and horses, or perhaps use the three young masters to humiliate Madam. Who would have thought that this heartless woman would secretly investigate Madam and even use one of Madam's past marriages as leverage! Since Madam married into the Marquis's mansion, she hasn't had any contact with the Zhen family. But some things are hard to explain! The Marquis must harbor resentment. Even if the Marquis isn't angry, how could the Old Madam not be? Madam has finally gained the Old Madam's trust these past few days. If she had been caught red-handed by the Marquis and the third young master yesterday, all her hard work over the past few days would have been for nothing!"

The more Granny Fang thought about it, the angrier she became. She just couldn't understand how that Ling guy could come up with so many crooked ideas.

"If it weren't for the timely appearance of the Crown Prince, things wouldn't have ended well yesterday! Alas, we are truly grateful to the Crown Prince!"

Actually, Yao didn't care that her own hard work had gone to waste; what worried her was that a vicious woman like Aunt Ling would use this incident to slander her two children.

At that time, rumors will circulate in the manor that Gu Jiao and Gu Yan are illegitimate children, not the biological offspring of Lord Gu.

Thinking that her two children had almost been implicated in such a scandal, Yao felt a wave of fear.

That's why, when Granny Fang's words were full of gratitude towards Gu Changqing, she didn't refute her.

Regardless of what happened in the past or what will happen in the future, at least in this matter, she should thank him.

Gu Jiao made a mental note of it.

Gu Jiao suddenly remembered that dream of returning to the Marquis's mansion.

The person who stirred up trouble between her and Gu Jinyu in her dream and led her step by step to oppose Gu Jinyu was Aunt Ling.

Gu Jinyu was actually quite nice to that timid girl at first.

In her dream, Yao and Gu Yan had passed away, and she was taken back to the Ding'an Marquis's residence in the capital by Lord Gu.

Lord Gu treated her well; after all, his wife and children had passed away, and she was the only remaining connection between Lord Gu and Madam Yao in the world, the proof and the fruit of their marriage.

Whenever Lord Gu saw her, he would be reminded of his wife who had died young, and he would repay all the longing he had for his wife by giving her his love.

She also relied heavily on Lord Gu.

For the first year or two, she had a very good relationship with her father and sister.

She couldn't compare to Gu Jinyu in anything, so Gu Jinyu wasn't jealous of her. On the contrary, Gu Jinyu tried very hard to teach her. But no matter how Gu Jinyu taught her, she just couldn't learn it.

Gu Jinyu is very patient and loving towards people who can never surpass her.

Aunt Ling, on the other hand, has always been a threat to Gu Jinyu.

After Yao's death, Aunt Ling worked hard to become the official wife. She had cultivated her influence in the household for over a decade, winning over Old Madam Gu and the Gu brothers. She was indeed just one step away from becoming the official wife.

Gu Jinyu, however, did not want to see her promoted to the official position.

The two fought back and forth, turning the world upside down, but in the end, the version of himself in the dream became cannon fodder for the two of them.

But now, because of the appearance of Yao and themselves, the two of them have a more troublesome enemy, and they no longer fight each other.

"Hmm," Gu Jiao hummed in response.

Madam Yao was worried that her daughter was bothering Aunt Ling, so she gave Granny Fang a resentful look and said to Gu Jiao, "You've learned your lesson. I won't fall for it again. I'll take care of her. Don't worry."

Aunt Ling had been operating in the capital for over a decade, with the powerful Ling family as her backing. It would be difficult for Madam Yao to bring her down in a short time on her own.

“Okay, I’m not worried,” Gu Jiao said. She took out two bottles of medicine from the medicine box, which had been unpacked and repackaged in porcelain bottles. “These are new medicines, and the usage is the same as before.”

These medicines looked a little different from the previous ones, but Gu Jiao had changed them once in the middle of the course, so Yao didn't suspect anything.

Gu Jiao paused, as if she had thought of something, and said to Yao Shi, "By the way, my aunt has something for me to pass on to you."

"What?" Yao asked.

Gu Jiao opened her purse and took out a packet of medicine powder: "My aunt said you can understand it."

As soon as Yao took the small medicine packet, her heart began to pound.

Is the old lady giving her advice again?

She hadn't even had a chance to ask the old lady for advice yesterday, yet the old lady had already noticed her predicament.

Yao's eyes flashed, she cleared her throat and said, "Ah, my yard has rats, I asked my aunt for some rat poison."

Gu Jiao: "Oh."

Gu Jiao got up to say goodbye.

As soon as Gu Jiao left, Madam Yao couldn't wait to deal with Concubine Ling.

Aunt Ling unleashed such a powerful attack on her, and she had been holding it in all night, which infuriated her.

The old lady was her anchor; with the old lady's advice, she was no longer afraid of anything!

"Where is Aunt Ling?" Madam Yao asked with great ambition.

The old woman was taken aback: "Madam, what are you going to do?"

Yao: "Drug her!"

Granny Fang hesitated: "This...isn't that inappropriate? You already drugged her once before, so drugging her again...it won't be that easy to succeed!"

That makes sense. Aunt Ling is very vigilant now, strictly controlling all the food she eats, and she will no longer be tricked out by Yao.

Yao said with great determination, "Since the old lady asked me to give her the medicine, it means that this method must be the most effective. I have to force her to drink it!"

Granny Fang: Are you sure that medicine was given by the old lady? I don't think the young lady's eyes look a little off.

After thinking carefully, a sudden inspiration struck Yao: "Bring me the cloak, I need to go and pay my respects to the old lady!"

Madam Yao went to Madam Gu's Songhe Courtyard, bringing with her some homemade pastries... actually leftovers from yesterday, but they hadn't spoiled because of the cold weather.

Madam Yao, carrying a food box, bowed to Old Madam Gu: "Mother, I'm late. Thank you for the ginseng. I feel much better after using it."

"Hmm." Madam Gu was pleased with Madam Yao's words and attitude. Madam Gu glanced at Madam Yao and said, "There's no need to rush over. If you're sick, rest for a couple more days, so that word gets out that I, as your mother-in-law, am being mean to my daughter-in-law."

Madam Yao smiled slightly: "What are you saying? It is my blessing to serve Mother. Mother's blessings will continue, and I can also share in the blessings by being by your side."

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Madam Gu glanced at the food box in her hand.

Madam Yao stepped forward with a smile: "The snacks your daughter-in-law made are your favorite flavors."

Madam Gu happened to be a little hungry.

Madam Yao opened the pastry box and took out several plates of exquisite and delicious pastries. She said to Old Madam Gu, "By the way, where is Aunt Ling?"

"What do you want with her?" asked Madam Gu.

Madam Yao said, "I forgot to return the key to the small storeroom to her, and there are a few things I don't quite understand about this month's account books. Aunt Ling used to do the accounting, so I wanted to ask her about them."

Madam Gu said calmly, "She'll be here soon. You can wait here."

Madam Yao bowed slightly and said, "Yes."

With Madam Gu's approval, Madam Yao sat down in Songhe Courtyard with a clear conscience.

Sure enough, Aunt Ling arrived shortly afterward.

She was taken aback when she saw Yao's face.

Madam Yao smiled and said to her, "It's only been a day, why are you looking at me like that, Aunt?"

Gu Chenglin came to Aunt Ling early in the morning to complain, saying that Yao was a bad person who had a secret rendezvous with another man and then let Yao slip away. Aunt Ling already knew that last night's plan had failed.

She marveled at how lucky Yao was; she hadn't been killed even by such force!

Aunt Ling said calmly, "Nothing much. I heard that Madam was ill. I didn't expect Madam to come and pay her respects to the Old Madam while she was sick."

We're not afraid of passing on the illness to the old lady!

Madam Yao deftly deflected the question: "Auntie does seem to care about things in my courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Ling's expression tightened. She hadn't come to Songhe Courtyard earlier, so she shouldn't have known about Madam Yao's illness. But by saying this so rashly, wasn't she implying that she had been monitoring the situation at Songhe Courtyard all along?

Aunt Ling can monitor Madam Yao, but she absolutely cannot monitor Old Madam Gu!

Madam Gu frowned.

Aunt Ling hurriedly said, "I heard it from the Marquis. He went to the yamen this morning and I ran into him."

Madam Yao looked astonished: "The Marquis didn't even return to the inner quarters last night."

It seems something has happened at the Ministry of Works recently. Lord Gu went to Biyue Hutong to pick her up and bring her back to his residence. He visited Gu Chenglin's courtyard and then went to the Ministry of Works.

Aunt Ling has only made things worse by trying to explain herself.

Madam Gu wasn't really stupid; how could she not see through Aunt Ling's self-justification?

Madam Gu's face grew even colder.

Aunt Ling was extremely embarrassed and cursed Yao Shi in her heart. What had gotten into Yao Shi? She was becoming more and more difficult to deal with!

Madam Yao smoothed things over, saying, "Never mind, perhaps one of the maids in my courtyard let it slip. Aunt didn't mean it. Mother, these snacks are too rich. I'll go make you some flower tea."

Not only did the Yao family make excellent pastries, but they also brewed exceptionally fragrant tea.

Madam Gu nodded.

Madam Yao went to the tea room and brewed a pot of flower tea: "Would Aunt Ling like a cup?"

Aunt Ling dared not drink Yao's tea.

Yao said, "These flower teas are made from dried flowers that my mother personally selected, and they are much more fragrant than the dried flowers I buy outside."

If Aunt Ling doesn't try the old lady's things, wouldn't that be disrespectful?

Besides, Aunt Ling thought again and realized that Yao Shi shouldn't be so bold as to poison her in front of the old lady.

Yao was young and fearless, and she didn't think as thoroughly as Aunt Ling, so she didn't have as many concerns as Aunt Ling.

She carefully put the medicine powder that Gu Jiao gave her into Aunt Ling's teacup.

One dares to give, and the other dares to take.

Aunt Ling was still very careful. After taking a sip, she waited carefully for a long time. Only when she saw no discomfort did she feel relieved enough to take a second and third sip.

It must be said that Yao's tea ceremony skills were truly exceptional. Even though she disliked Yao so much, she couldn't help but finish the whole cup.

No bad news came from Aunt Ling's side until night.

Yao was puzzled. Could it be that the old lady hadn't given her poison?

The anomaly occurred the next day.

Aunt Ling came over early in the morning to pay her respects to Old Madam Gu, but upon smelling the aroma of steamed buns, she suddenly vomited.

Madam Gu made her extremely uncomfortable, but she still had someone summon the family physician.

After taking her pulse, the physician immediately bowed to Madam Gu and said, "Congratulations, Madam, Concubine Ling is pregnant!"

Lord Gu: (⊙o⊙) You can get pregnant yourself? ???

(End of this chapter)