When Zhao Rou first experienced the pleasures of love, she was only concerned with her own enjoyment and did not know how to proceed step by step, nor did she care about the difficulties she faced, which caused her excruciating pain.
She kept her eyes wide open until dawn.
Fearing exposure, he jumped out of the window and escaped before dawn.
Before long, Liu Yun twisted her body to call her daughter to get up, but no one answered after she called several times.
She kicked open the door in frustration and started yelling, "You little hussy, don't you know what time it is?! Get up now—" Her yelling stopped abruptly.
"Oh dear, what terrible things have I done!"
Seeing Zhao Rou's disheveled clothes, bruises all over her body, and empty, lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, Liu Yun had already guessed most of what had happened.
She threw herself on her daughter and wept uncontrollably.
Annoyed by Liu Yun's crying, Zhao Rou kicked her to the ground.
Liu Yun lay half-prone on the ground, sobbing softly.
Zhao Rou dragged her tired body off the bed, grabbed Liu Yun's neck tightly, and said viciously, "You have no self-respect, and you even caused me to be violated by thieves! Why don't you just die? Why don't you just die!"
Liu Yun tried to pry Zhao Rou's hand away, saying, "Rou'er, your aunt is also a person with a tragic fate."
The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried for a while. Zhao Rou made up her mind and said to Liu Yun, "Aunt, since you are familiar with the monks of Qinglian Temple, there is something I need your help with."
Liu Yun didn't ask what was going on and nodded repeatedly.
Upon learning of Zhao Rou's ordeal, Zhang Wan remained silent for a moment before saying, "Those who lack self-respect only bring shame upon themselves. Let's not alert them for now and see what they're up to. Protect the eldest and second young ladies in the courtyard."
When Zhao Zhi woke up the next day, she saw a dark-colored medicine on the table. Upon closer inspection, she discovered it was a bowl of medicine to prevent miscarriage.
She hurriedly called to Asagao, "Asagao, go and invite Mother over."
"No need to invite me, I've already arrived." Zhang Wan had barely finished speaking when she entered the courtyard.
Ah Huang looked at her, let out a soft "ah," obediently lowered its head, and lay down to the side.
Asagao lowered her head and withdrew, remaining outside to stand guard.
"Mother, am I pregnant?" Zhao Zhi asked in a low voice.
Zhang Wan hummed in agreement and advised, "You're already a month pregnant, it's best not to think about abortion. That kind of thing is extremely harmful to a woman's health."
“Mother, I’m not even married yet, and I’ve already had one or two children. This, this…” Zhao Zhi couldn’t understand why this was inappropriate.
"It doesn't matter who the father of the child is. As long as you gave birth to him, he is the legitimate father."
Zhang Wan handed her the medicine, saying, "Drink it while it's hot, then we can talk about other things."
"What do you mean by orthodoxy or not? I've already broken off my engagement with Shen Hanshan, and I'm not going to be his queen!"
"I won't drink it. I can't have the baby!" Zhao Zhi said stubbornly.
"My dear child, I'm doing this all for your own good," Zhang Wan earnestly advised.
Zhao Zhi huffed and puffed, tilting her head back and gulping down the medicine in one go. She slammed the empty bowl down on the table and asked in bewilderment, "Mother, I've noticed that I understand less and less of what you're saying lately."
Zhang Wan popped a candied fruit into her mouth and said patiently, "You'll understand later. Right now, your priority isn't finding a father for the child, but giving birth to the child safely. As for the future, I have my own plans."
Zhao Zhi's mouth was stuffed full of candied fruit. She mumbled, "Mother, this belly isn't cotton. You can't just press it down or tie it up and it'll shrink a lot. There's flesh and blood inside. How am I going to hide it when I'm further along in my pregnancy?"
Zhang Wan held her hand and comforted her, telling her not to worry too much.
Given Zhao Zhi's figure, she probably won't show until around four months pregnant. Before that, Zhang Wan will take care of everything for her.
Zhang Wan had been talking for so long that she was thirsty, so she got up and poured herself a cup of tea.
She paused for a moment after tasting the tea, then casually asked, "Zhizhi, this tea doesn't taste like what we usually drink in our household. Where did you buy it?"
Zhao Zhi smiled and said, "Mother, ordinary people like us can't buy this. This is the tribute tea that my sworn brother, whom I told you about before, specially sent to the royal family. It's called 'Shefu' (Shefu)."
Upon hearing the news, Zhang Wan staggered and looked as if she was about to fall.
Startled, Zhao Zhi hurriedly got out of bed, not even having time to put on her shoes, and helped the swaying Zhang Wan.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
"Mother is fine. She suddenly felt a little unwell, so she went back first."
Zhang Wan waved her hand and walked out. Baozhu, who was waiting outside, quickly stepped forward to help her, and the two returned to the courtyard together.
Zhang Wan returned to her room in a daze, not even hearing Zhao Yun greet her.
After returning to her room, she dismissed the maids, took out a yin-yang jade pendant, and murmured, "A-Jiao, will he be your child?"
Zhang Wan sat there all night.
During evening classes, Zhao Zhi was clearly distracted.
"Is something on your mind, young lady?" the teacher asked.
Zhao Zhi nodded. "Master, could you tell me some secrets about the Yun Dynasty's royal family? These days, I've heard rumors that the current emperor of Yun Dynasty, Yun Shu, murdered his brother and seized the throne from his sister-in-law. I'm quite curious."
"This is a long story..."
As night deepened, Cui Shenghe sat alone in his study, gazing intently at the painting Zhao Zhi had created for him during the day, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
Suddenly, the sound of a copper bell came from the lake.
Someone entered the formation he had set up.
Cui Shenghe hurriedly blew out the candle and hid himself in the shadows.
Since his return to Lingyang, countless people have been sneaking into Zhan Garden at night.
But they almost always came and never returned.
The visitor's purpose was clear: he went straight to the study.
Cui Shenghe thought to himself that this person must have done his homework before coming, as he even knew the exact location of his study.
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