Gender-changing drugs

Zhou Miaosi looked much more haggard after only two days apart, and Fu Zhiqiao only found out why after asking her.

After meeting with her last time, Zhou Miaosi listened to what she said. She had always been healthy and had no problems during her pregnancy, so there was no need for her to take pregnancy-preserving medicine every day.

Zhou Miaosi was unwilling to continue taking the pregnancy-preserving medicine and planned to tell her mother-in-law when she went to pay her respects that her body was fine and she no longer needed to take the medicine.

She went to pay her respects as usual, and Madam Qin said with a gentle smile, "You're pregnant, so you don't need to bother with these formalities."

Zhou Miaosi smiled shyly, assuming that her mother-in-law was just being kind to her, "This is what a daughter-in-law should do."

Madam Qin looked lovingly at Zhou Miaosi's belly, her voice gentle: "Have you continued taking the medicine to prevent miscarriage? Has your taste changed lately? Do you want something light or something sour like apricots?"

Zhou Miaosi noticed a gilded dish with intertwined floral patterns on the round table, containing some sour candied fruit. Knowing that her mother-in-law had specially prepared it for her, she smiled shyly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Mother."

After they were seated, Madam Qin inquired about Zhou Miaosi's three meals a day. The saying goes, "Sour for boys, spicy for girls," and upon hearing from the maid that Zhou Miaosi had recently developed a liking for spicy food, Madam Qin's expression immediately darkened, and she gave a somewhat perfunctory smile.

Seeing that Madam Qin's complexion was not good, Zhou Miaosi asked with concern, "Mother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Madam Qin snapped out of her daze and rubbed her forehead with her hand. "It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered something. You should go back now!"

Zhou Miaosi got up to take her leave, but stopped abruptly when she was almost at the courtyard gate. Worried that Madam Qin was unwell, she instructed Huang Li: "Go to the storeroom and bring the gold-lacquered wooden box from the nanmu cabinet."

The box contained a century-old ginseng, part of her dowry. Thinking of how good her mother-in-law had been to her, not only brewing medicine to help her have a healthy pregnancy but also caring about her food preferences, Zhou Miaosi felt incredibly fortunate to have met such a mother-in-law. So she decided to present the ginseng to her as a token of her respect.

"Young Madam, how about I take you back first?" Huang Li hesitated, feeling uneasy leaving Zhou Miaosi, who was pregnant, here.

"It's alright, hurry back." Zhou Miaosi told Huang Li to go back to her own courtyard to get the ginseng, while she herself returned to Madam Qin's courtyard.

She walked very carefully, clutching her belly, afraid of tripping and falling. The sound of her embroidered shoes was very soft, and the people talking inside did not notice that someone had come in from outside.

After dismissing all the servants, Madam Qin spoke with her trusted nanny in the room. Madam Qin asked, "Do you think that abortion-changing medicine is ineffective? Why does Miaosi still crave spicy food even after taking the medicine?"

The trusted nanny comforted her, "Madam, don't worry. The young mistress has only been taking that medicine for a few days, so it's normal that it hasn't worked yet."

Zhou Miaosi, who was outside, felt something was strange. Why was the house so tightly closed in broad daylight? Just as she was about to knock on the door, she heard the two talking. She was shocked and instinctively covered her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound. It turned out that what she had taken was not a pregnancy-preserving drug, but a pregnancy-changing drug.

Reincarnation? Reincarnation!

Zhou Miaosi's mind was filled with the words "rebirth".

Those two words were like a knife stabbing deep into her heart, causing excruciating pain that made it hard to breathe. She had thought her mother-in-law was being kind by asking about her food and preferences out of concern, but it turned out that wasn't the case at all; her mother-in-law was only concerned about whether she was carrying a boy or a girl!

Zhou Miaosi didn't dare to breathe and left quietly.

Holding her belly in one hand, she quickened her pace to the courtyard gate, where two maids from Madam Qin's room approached her. The two young maids greeted her, saying, "Greetings, Young Madam!"

Zhou Miaosi steadied herself and forced a smile to hide her panic. "I'm pregnant and walk slowly, so please don't tell Mother I'm still in the yard, or she'll worry about me again."

Everyone in the manor knew that the madam valued the young mistress highly, and the two maids smiled and agreed.

Just then, Huang Li came over carrying a box. Zhou Miaosi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her and pretended to be angry, saying, "Why are you taking so long to get me some snacks? What will happen to my baby if it gets hungry?"

The two maids had only taken two steps when they heard Zhou Miaosi's complaint and smiled knowingly. It turned out that the young mistress's maids had gone to get some things; no wonder she was alone in the courtyard.

Huang Li didn't know why her daughter was suddenly angry, so she didn't dare to argue and carefully stepped forward to support her hand.

Zhou Miaosi leaned against Huang Li, and with that support, she felt less panicked: "Hurry up, don't look back!"

Back at Yijingxuan, Zhou Miaosi realized that her back was soaked with cold sweat.

The medicine my mother-in-law gave me wasn't for preventing miscarriage, but for changing the sex of my baby!

The name "gender-changing medicine" sounded incredibly sinister, and Zhou Miaosi's mind was in a complete mess. Should she tell her husband about this? No, she couldn't tell him. The medicine for preventing miscarriage was brewed in her mother-in-law's yard and then delivered to her. Without the dregs, she wouldn't have any evidence.

What should I do? What should I do? Zhou Miaosi was so anxious that she kept biting her fingers in her room.

She wanted to ask Qin Xiyu for help, but Qin Xiyu was not only her good sister, but also a member of the Qin family and the daughter of Madam Qin. Compared to her mother-in-law, she was not sure if Qin Xiyu would stand on her side.

Seeing that she seemed uneasy after leaving Madam Qin's courtyard, Huang Li asked, "Young Madam, what's wrong?"

With a single glance from Zhou Miaosi, Huang Li understood what she meant. She immediately went to close the doors and windows and opened the door to instruct the servants outside: "The young mistress needs to rest. You all go and keep watch elsewhere. Don't make any noise at the door."

The servants all left.

Huang Li returned to Zhou Miaosi's side and said, "Young Madam, everyone else has been sent away by me."

Zhou Miaosi's stiff body relaxed, and she gently stroked her belly: "The medicine that Madam brewed for me was not a medicine to prevent miscarriage, but a medicine to change the sex of the fetus."

Huang Li's eyes widened in disbelief as she asked, "Huh? Does the son-in-law know about this?"

Zhou Miaosi shook her head: "They probably don't know."

"I heard about the potion for changing one's gender when I was a child..." Huang Li hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What do you mean?"

Huang Li lowered her head, not daring to meet Zhou Miaosi's gaze: "This servant has heard that giving pregnant women medicine to change their sex drive can help regulate their constitution and make it easier to have a boy..."

The words "giving birth to a boy" struck Zhou Miaosi hard. Then she realized that sour foods meant boys and spicy foods meant girls. No wonder her mother-in-law's face changed when she heard that she liked spicy food.

Because of her pregnancy, Zhou Miaosi was treated like a precious jewel in the Qin family.

To judge whether a family is prosperous, one must first look at whether its members are numerous. Zhou Miaosi has been able to help the Qin family prosper since she married into the family. How could this not make the Qin family happy, and how could it not make Madam Qin feel gratified?

As Zhou Miaosi's belly grew bigger, Madam Qin had more on her mind.

Madam Qin had openly and subtly expressed her hope several times that this pregnancy would be a grandson. Zhou Miaosi, being a new bride, would blush with embarrassment every time she heard her mother-in-law say that she was carrying her eldest grandson.

At first, she thought it was just her elders' expectation, but after hearing it so many times, she felt uncomfortable.

What if I'm not carrying a boy? What if I disappoint the Qin family?

Pregnant women are often sentimental. Last time, she almost couldn't help but pour out her troubles to Fu Zhi Qiao, but she held back because she believed in the principle of not airing family dirty laundry in public.

This time she could no longer deceive herself; her mother-in-law's act of giving her the pregnancy-preserving medicine was ill-intentioned!

Zhou Miaosi was puzzled as to why Madam Qin would treat her this way. She was not only her mother-in-law, but also her maternal aunt!

The thought of taking random medication for several days made Zhou Miaosi furious.

Seeing Zhou Miaosi's gloomy face, Huang Li offered a suggestion: "Young Madam, why don't you go and discuss it with Miss Fu? Miss Fu is so smart, she'll definitely have a solution!"

Mentioning Fu Zhi Qiao, Zhou Miao Si's dim eyes suddenly lit up. Her tightly furrowed brows relaxed. Thanks to Fu Zhi Qiao's reminder, she had become alert; otherwise, she didn't know how long she would have continued drinking fake pregnancy-preserving medicine.

"Go and invite her now. Tell her I want to ask her for advice on skincare. Go quickly, don't delay for a moment."

Asking Fu Zhi Qiao for skincare advice was just an excuse; she was pregnant and couldn't go out, so she had to ask Fu Zhi Qiao to come over. Fu Zhi Qiao had just visited a couple of days ago, and she needed a reason to invite her over again so as not to attract attention.

After Huang Li left, she hitched up the carriage and headed towards Qintai Street where Fu Zhi Qiao lived.

"Miss Fu! Is Miss Fu at home? My young mistress requests your presence." As she spoke, she handed the gatekeeper the Qin family's waist token.

Seeing Huang Li's anxious expression, the gatekeeper of the Fu family immediately went to report to Fu Zhi Qiao: "Miss, there is a girl named Huang Li at the gate who wants to see you."

Fu Zhiqiao stood up and quickly walked to the door.

Huang Li saw her as if she had seen a lifeline. "Miss Fu, it's great to finally meet you! My young mistress knows you have a unique skincare method, so she specially sent me to invite you to our mansion for a gathering!"

Huang Li's words had a hidden meaning, and Fu Zhi Qiao immediately understood. She turned to Yin Xing and said, "Go and get my makeup case."

Yinxing obeyed the order and soon ran over with her makeup case. The group quickly arrived at the Qin residence.

Inside Yijingxuan.

Zhou Miaosi had been waiting for a long time. When she saw Fu Zhiqiao, she quickly walked to the door to greet her.

Fu Zhiqiao rushed forward to support her, stepped over the threshold, and helped Zhou Miaosi inside, muttering, "You're pregnant, you should be careful when you walk."

Huang Li instructed the other servants in Yijingxuan to prepare tea and snacks.

After taking their seats, Fu Zhiqiao asked, "Sister Miaosi, why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"

Zhou Miaosi's eyes were red, and she finally had a place to vent her pent-up grievances. She recounted the whole story in fits and starts.

Fu Zhiqiao frowned after listening and asked, "Are you saying that Madam Qin, under the guise of protecting your pregnancy, fed you a drug to change your sex drive so that you would have a boy?"

Zhou Miaosi nodded tearfully, "I only found out today. After you told me that all medicine has some toxicity, I thought I was quite healthy, so I wanted to ask my mother-in-law if I could stop taking the medicine, but who knew..."

At this point, Zhou Miaosi could no longer hold back and burst into tears, burying her face in her shoulder.

A hint of displeasure flashed in Fu Zhiqiao's eyes. Why was Madam Qin being so outrageous? Seeing Zhou Miaosi crying so sadly, she quickly patted her back and gently comforted her.

Zhou Miaosi's emotions, which she had been holding back for several days, could not be stopped so easily. Seeing that she could not stop crying, Fu Zhiqiao had no choice but to threaten her: "Stop crying. If you keep crying, you will be in danger of your baby. Excessive sadness can lead to miscarriage."

Zhou Miaosi was stunned, looked up at her blankly, and asked, "Really?"

Her tears hung half-on, about to fall, making her look both pitiful and ridiculous.

Fu Zhi Qiao took a handkerchief and wiped away her tears, asking, "Have you gotten any evidence?"