This was a British newspaper distributed only to the British in the concession area, and it was entirely in English.
Shen Qing took it, unfolded it, and began to read it carefully.
The twins whimpered softly, as if they were hungry. The wet nurse went to the bedside and cleared a place for the babies to lie down next to Shen Qing, preparing for them to breastfeed later.
Seeing the newspaper Shen Qing was reading, she teased, "The words printed on this newspaper look like worms, can you even read them, Madam?"
Chunju, who was waiting to the side, said proudly, "Madam has been to England before and did business with the British, so reading English newspapers is naturally no problem for her."
The wet nurse looked at Shen Qing in shock.
I really didn't expect that she, a widow who looked so frail, could actually do business with foreigners.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that her eyes were red and her face was covered in tears.
How can someone who was perfectly fine just a moment ago suddenly start crying?
Qi Zhenheng also noticed, put the twins back in the cradle, and walked quickly toward Shen Qing.
He sat down beside her and looked at the newspaper in her hand: "What happened?"
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze, hastily wiped away her tears, put the newspaper away, and stuffed it under her pillow: "It's nothing."
Have the wet nurse bring all the children over.
The wet nurse brought her brother over first, and Shen Qing lay back on the bed, unbuttoning one side of her clothes.
The wet nurse held the baby close to her, and the baby closed her eyes and nursed.
Shen Qing rested her arm under her ear, looking at the child with red eyes.
He had just finished his postpartum confinement period, but his skin was already fair, tender, and clean, and the bridge of his nose was also higher than that of an average baby.
She looks just like Cheng Zhiwen...
The thought of Cheng Zhiwen overwhelmed Shen Qing, and she broke down in tears, hugging her son.
Qi Zhenheng sent the wet nurse and Chunju away, and then sat beside the cradle watching his daughter.
He didn't bother Shen Qing, but just quietly stayed with her. After his son finished feeding, he took over feeding his daughter.
Throughout the entire process, he did not ask Shen Qing why she had cried so much.
After the twins had eaten their fill and settled them in their cradles, he walked to the bedside, bent down, and hugged Shen Qing.
Shen Qing turned to the side, silently shedding tears.
"What's wrong?" he asked gently. "Tell me what happened."
Shen Qing covered her face and wept bitterly for a long time before finally sobbing, "Yesterday, the Qing government executed several revolutionaries at Caishikou in Beijing. I saw it..."
"What do you see?"
"I saw Cheng Zhiwen's name..."
Qi Zhenheng was shocked: "Zhiwen...didn't he have an accident on his way to Japan?"
Shen Qing shook his head, crying, "He shouldn't have been on that ship... Some time ago, the Qing government found out he was a revolutionary and sent people everywhere to arrest him... I also asked He Fei to send people to look for him..."
Disappointment flashed in Qi Zhenheng's eyes.
"And then? Did you find it?"
"No..." Shen Qing burst into tears, pounding her chest, "We searched for him, but he hid so well, he wouldn't let us find him! Why didn't he just stay hidden? Why did the Qing court find him! Waaah..."
Qi Zhenheng grabbed her wrist to prevent her from hurting herself.
He held her tightly, his warm lips pressed against her earlobe: "It's just media reporting right now, it's not credible. I'll go to Beijing tomorrow to verify this, so don't worry, okay?"
Shen Qing nodded, sobbing.
That evening, the mansion held a lively full-moon celebration for the twins.
Relatives from the Qi, Shen, and Gao families all came, as well as Qi Zhenheng's friends from officialdom.
Shen Qing did not show up; he stayed in the room with Chunju and the children.
During this time, Qi Zhenheng came in and took the twins out to show them to relatives and friends.
Chunju said to Shen Qing, "The master really treats these two children as his own. Didn't you see how happy he was when he came in to hold the children?"
Shen Qing was lost in her grief and had no time for conversation.
Seeing that she was silent and had a long face, Chunju, who didn't know what had happened, advised, "Please don't be like this. Be nicer to the adults, for the sake of how much he loves the children."
Shen Qing remained silent, lying on the bed looking at the moon outside the window, lost in thought.
The door opened, and Qi Zhenheng brought back a pair of twins: "They cried, probably because they want to nurse."
Chunju did some quick calculations: "It's been two hours since I finished my last meal, I must be hungry."
Hurry up and bring the child over to the bed.
Seeing that Shen Qing did not react, she reminded her, "Madam, it's time to feed the baby. He's crying from hunger."
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze: "Oh, okay."
Unbuttoning her clothes, the child pressed against her, sucking hard with her little mouth.
Shen Qing remained in a daze.
The child took a few sips and then burst into tears, crying even harder than before.
Chunju quickly went to call the wet nurse in.
The wet nurse pinched her and said, "Why is it so limp? It's because there's no milk left!"
Shen Qing then noticed the abnormality in her body.
If I don't breastfeed for an hour, my breasts become engorged and hard, and it's just right for one baby to nurse from one side.
Two hours have passed since I last fed my baby, and I still don't feel any engorgement.
She had no time to dwell on that; her mind was completely consumed by Cheng Zhiwen's situation, and it was making her feel suffocated and miserable.
The baby couldn't get milk and cried loudly from hunger, so the wet nurse took him to the next room to breastfeed.
Shen Qing buttoned up her clothes and waited quietly in the room for Qi Zhenheng to return.
Qi Zhenheng returned to his room very late. He had been drinking and was a little drunk. He sat on the bed, his face flushed, and said to Shen Qing, "Those officials, Lord Wang, Lord Li, Lord Zhang... they all envy me so much!"
Shen Qing helped him take off his coat and casually asked, "What do you envy about me?"
Are you envious that you married a widow?
"Everyone envies me for having such beautiful twins right after getting married!" Qi Zhenheng laughed. "Twins! What kind of luck does it take to have twins? Don't they all envy me?"
Shen Qing could tell he was genuinely happy.
A maid brought in hot water for Qi Zhenheng to wash his face and soak his feet. Shen Qing sat on the bed watching. After the maid left, she asked, "Are you sure you want to go to the capital tomorrow?"
Qi Zhenheng, who had just been all smiles, immediately became serious.
After frowning and thinking for a while, he said while wiping his feet, "Well, I'll go to the capital tomorrow, and I'll come back immediately after verifying Zhiwen's matter."
"If he's not dead, can you find a way to save him?"
Shen Qing choked up when she asked that question.
Qi Zhenheng turned to look at her, stared at her for a long time, and then pulled her into his arms: "If I save him, will you leave me to go find him?"
Shen Qing shook her head, tears streaming down her face: "I won't. Now that I've married you, I'll be your wife for life."
Qi Zhenheng felt relieved and kissed her forehead: "I know you're not that kind of person. Qing'er, I love you."
The kisses traveled from Shen Qing's forehead, down to the tip of his nose and the philtrum.
It was almost on her lips when she instinctively flinched away...
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