Chapter 19 Chapter 18 Who has been in the house?
Jing Yao uttered a cry, covered her mouth, and licked it: "Maybe I... ate too much spicy food for dinner."
Ye Yunzheng's face looked slightly ugly. As a man, he knew too well how lovable her appearance was. Being too beautiful was not a good sign, so Ye Yunzheng wanted to hide her.
Ye Yunzheng asked coldly, "Why are you here?"
"The young lady asked me to come." Jing Yao told the truth obediently.
"Has anyone been to the house tonight?" He suppressed his anger again and tried to remain calm.
He knew Yao'er. She was young, innocent, and naive about the world. She usually stayed at home. When he came back just now, the room was very dark. He thought of Jing Yao's dependence on him when he entered the room, and now Yao'er looked so disheveled and lewd.
Someone passed by the house before he came back and bullied Yao'er.
A surge of anger rose in Ye Yunzheng's heart, a surge of anger at being ignored.
Jing Yao's heart skipped a beat and she felt extremely anxious.
He almost blurted out a denial, but then stopped himself: "I, I don't know. I fell asleep when I arrived and saw that there was no one around. It's so dark here, and there's no one around. I had a nightmare. I did dream about a very fierce person."
Ye Yunzheng trusted Jing Yao deeply and was almost certain that a thief had accidentally noticed her beauty and sneaked into the house while he was away, intending to commit a crime. He calmly touched her belt and found it was tied properly. Ye Yunzheng breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he had returned at the perfect time.
It seems that this government office needs to conduct a thorough investigation. They are targeting him. If they catch him, he will be cut into pieces.
"Don't come here again."
Jing Yao sobbed and hummed softly.
Even though Jing Yao was fine, Ye Yunzheng still felt a lump in his heart, and his thumb rolled heavily over her lips.
"It hurts." Jing Yao cried again with tears in her eyes.
"Then, what about the young lady?" Jing Yao thought that the prince should understand what the young lady meant, and if she didn't come, there must be a reason.
Ye Yunzheng was silent. He rubbed his brows and sighed. His wife's meaning was obvious, but this method should be his mother-in-law's idea.
They were always like this, never asking for his opinion.
Even taking a concubine is something he cannot control.
After all, he is the eldest son of the Earl's Mansion. It was clearly He who married him, but because his parents died, it seems like he is marrying into the family instead.
He was like a tool, he didn't even know who needed to give birth to offspring. Ye Yunzheng's face was tense and gloomy.
Later, the county lady suggested that he take a concubine. It was not an order but an arrangement. Ye Yunzheng did not refuse. Since He Shi had pushed him out personally, he agreed to their wishes.
He felt guilty towards He. She had shouldered a lot for him over the years, but he had no choice.
"Prince? Are you feeling unwell?" Jing Yao asked timidly. Ye Yunzheng raised his head, his eyes surging with lust as they fell on her full, crimson lips. "It's okay. It's getting late. Rest now."
Jing Yao was very familiar with this kind of look. Her heart skipped a beat and her hands clenched unconsciously. Ye Yunzheng's breathing became heavier and he leaned over.
There was a sudden sound of heavy footsteps outside the door, followed by a loud voice: "Master Ye, there is a problem with the roster. It will be compiled tomorrow. Please go and take a look."
The desire that had just arisen suddenly disappeared.
Ye Yunzheng's face was gloomy. He exhaled deeply and said to Jing Yao reluctantly, "You take a rest first. I'll be back soon."
After saying that, he got up and left.
Jing Yao wrapped herself in a quilt and breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Ye Yunzheng leave.
She thought she couldn't escape tonight.
Then she rolled into bed wrapped in the quilt and fell asleep.
The next morning, Jing Yao woke up because of hunger. She was now very easily hungry and had to eat several meals a day. She still couldn't think of a way to take care of the baby in her belly, and she kept putting it off day by day.
Ye Yunzheng did not return home all night, probably because he was busy with official business. After all, it was a government office, so she couldn't stay there for long. She carefully put on her clothes and left.
The carriage from the Bo Mansion waited outside all night, waiting to pick her up the next day.
When Ye Yunzheng returned, Jing Yao had already left. He went out again and called the patrolling guards of the yamen: "Were there any officials in the yamen last night?"
The guard recalled carefully: "At the hour of You, Lord He came. This year's Jinshi scholars had not yet been assigned official positions, so he came and transferred the roster of the top three candidates."
When Ye Yunzheng heard the name, he immediately thought it was impossible: "What else?"
The guard shook his head: "No one has come here since."
Ye Yunzheng's face turned ugly and his eyes became sharp. How could he forget that this person was most likely the patrol guard of the yamen.
"Call the patrol officers of the Ministry of Personnel and find out the whereabouts of everyone last night."
The patrol chief didn't understand what he was going to do but agreed anyway.
…
It was a heavy frost in the morning. Jing Yao walked into the Bo's mansion covered with morning dew. As soon as she entered the mansion, she was summoned by Muyunzhai.
He looked at her while drinking tea, and her face couldn't help but look ugly when she saw her swollen lips.
Jing Yao didn't dare to breathe. He's voice sounded coldly, "Did you finish what happened last night?"
"Okay, okay, but the prince is busy with official business and didn't come back the next night. He told me not to go there in the future." Jing Yao lied with her head held high. She knew that if she didn't say that, she would probably be sent there again tonight.
He clenched her hands, then suddenly loosened them.
She suddenly felt bored and said tiredly, "Let's go back."
Jing Yao endured the guilt and turned to leave. She returned to Lanxiang Pavilion in a daze. Yun Qiao had been waiting anxiously for a long time. Seeing Jing Yao return, she quickly approached her: "Auntie, you..."
"I'm fine. I didn't make it. I'm hungry. Hurry up and bring me breakfast." Jing Yao covered her mouth and walked into the house. She sat in front of the bronze mirror and looked at herself.
Then she gasped.
The woman in the bronze mirror had slightly swollen eyes, with a faint cherry-red hue. The most eye-catching thing was her petal-like lips, which were bright red, slightly swollen, and gorgeous, as if they had been severely ravaged.
Jing Yao was angry, annoyed, and afraid at the same time.
I can still vividly remember what Qingwu said, about being beaten to death with sticks and having the body dismembered.
It was obvious that he entered the wrong room, and it was I who was scared here.
Jing Yao realized belatedly that something was wrong. Had he entered the wrong house? Then why was he so calm?
Shouldn't he have realized that he had recognized the wrong person, then become angry and ashamed, warned himself not to think too much, and then walked away?
But why was he so calm, as if... it was all premeditated?
Jing Yao was shocked by her own thoughts.
She pressed it again. What was the plan? What was she trying to achieve? And how did he even know she was there?
Jing Yao didn't think she could be looked at differently by a man like He Anting who was so arrogant.
But all the signs were too coincidental, leaving her puzzled.
Just as she was lost in thought, Yun Qiao entered the room and said, "Auntie, the county lady wants you to go to the mansion next door for questioning."
Since Ningxiang came to convey this specifically, the Gu family naturally knew about it.
She was already dissatisfied with He's frequent visits to her parents' home and ignoring her aunt, and now the county lady openly called her over, which really showed that she didn't take her seriously.
But she was too angry to speak out and could only complain to the old man behind his back.
Jing Yao didn't dare to delay and went to the county lord without even having breakfast.
Seeing her, the county lady asked the same question as He, and Jing Yao had no choice but to repeat what she had said.
Facing that gaze that seemed to be real, Jing Yao couldn't help but feel a little guilty, and her subsequent answers were a little halting.
After hearing that the prince did not want her to go, the county lady frowned slightly, with a look of half-smile on her face: "With your means, it shouldn't come to this."
Jing Yao felt very uncomfortable when she heard this, but she lowered her head and said nothing, pretending to be mute.
It's so boring for the county lady to punch cotton.
Coincidentally, the nanny came to report that Miss Xue had come to visit the mansion.
The county lady was impatient when she heard this and said, "Let her come in." Jing Yao was in a dilemma, not knowing whether to leave or stay.
Not long after, the nanny led Xue Ningzhen into the house.
"Greetings, County Lady." A voice as cold as a clear spring flowed into Jing Yao's ears.
"Yesterday, Ning Zhen was temporarily delayed by matters at the mansion. She had agreed to meet the county lady but ended up having to go back at the last minute. I hope the county lady can forgive me."
"It's okay as long as you're thoughtful." The county lady said indifferently, neither warm nor distant.
Jing Yao was left out and just acted as a decoration.
Xue Ningzhen looked at her secretly. She didn't expect to meet this woman by chance today.
She had a charming and beautiful face, a body that was unusually plump, a timid expression, and no trace of dignity or pride. He Anting was actually with such a woman...
Xue Ningzhen was upset, and the veins on her forehead were throbbing slightly.
"This is..." she said in feigned surprise.
"My surname is Jing. I'm a cousin of the He family and also a concubine of the Bo family." The county lady said lazily. She didn't want to deal with Xue Ningzhen herself, so she said, "Let's have lunch at home today. Jing Yao, you stay and talk to Miss Xue first. I'll go to the kitchen to check."
It was not the county lord's turn to take care of the kitchen matters in person. Xue Ningzhen knew that the county lord was just trying to please her, so she didn't get angry and nodded with a smile.
Jing Yao had no choice but to follow Xue Ningzhen and chat with her.
"You look so young, how come you became the prince's concubine?" Xue Ningzhen asked calmly.
Jing Yao was a little embarrassed to answer, hesitating and unable to explain clearly. Xue Ningzhen scoffed, thinking that she was too embarrassed to tell others about her high-ranking marriage. "I heard that Old Master He never took a concubine in his life. The county lady is a person who can't tolerate any sand in her eyes. The He family has a very upright family tradition and will not tolerate those with ulterior motives."
Jing Yao didn't know why she said that, so she could only agree: "I've heard that."
Xue Ningzhen smiled and said, "It seems that I will have to follow my mother-in-law's example in the future and continue the family tradition."
Jing Yao understood what she meant, which was that He Anting was not allowed to take a concubine in the future.
She only understood a little and then began to daydream. What did He Anting have to do with her whether he took a concubine or not? This was a bit too much, Jing Yao smiled perfunctorily.
Xue Ningzhen saw this expression, which made it seem as if she couldn't laugh, and it seemed to have touched upon her most secret thoughts.
Xue Ningzhen's face turned cold.
The maids came in one after another carrying fruits. Jing Yao's eyes fell on the hawthorn cake in front of her. The bright red cake was drizzled with a layer of syrup and sprinkled with osmanthus petals. It smelled very sweet and sour.
Jing Yao glanced at Xue Ningzhen and found that she was drinking tea, so she started eating the hawthorn cake.
She was so hungry that her stomach was sticking to her back. She hadn't eaten breakfast and it was still a long time before lunch, so she needed some pastries to fill her stomach.
The hawthorn cake was sweet and sour, stimulating her appetite. The more she ate, the hungrier she became. Suddenly, her stomach began to churn. She covered her mouth and dry heaved twice. Xue Ningzhen, who was sitting opposite her, was puzzled: "What's wrong with you?"
Before Jing Yao could say anything, he turned his head and vomited all the hawthorn cake.
Xue Ningzhen was also startled: "Are you okay? Someone, go call a doctor."
Jing Yao wanted to stop her, but she was so upset that she couldn't say a word. She was sweating profusely, just like the day she ate too many bayberries.
But she didn't want to be cool.
Soon, the county lady was also alarmed and arrived with the doctor. She entered the house and asked, "What's going on? What happened?"
Xue Ningzhen explained everything clearly. When she heard about vomiting and acid reflux, the county lady raised her eyebrows and said, "Doctor, go and take a look."
The doctor entered the inner room and felt the pulse of the frail Jing Yao. After a while, he said to the county lady, "Congratulations, county lady! Congratulations, county lady! This lady is already one month pregnant."
The Princess of Pingyang County was overjoyed: "Really?"
The doctor said, "It's absolutely true. This is the young lady's first pregnancy, so it's normal for her to not understand anything. You absolutely must not eat hawthorn cakes again. Eating too much can cause bleeding. Fortunately, the young lady didn't eat breakfast this time. Eating too much cake caused stomach discomfort and she vomited it all. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous."
The county lady nodded repeatedly and asked the nanny to get the reward money.
Xue Ningzhen, who was standing by, had a strange look on her face. She thought with a shudder of fear that this couldn't be such a coincidence.
"Quick, inform the Earl's Mansion of this news." The county lady quickly sent someone away.
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