Chapter 25 Chapter 25 The handkerchief in He Anting's hand looked familiar...
The sudden tenderness made He Anting stunned for a moment. Perhaps it was because he was accustomed to the intimacy of the previous times. He did not push her away at the first time, but secretly held her waist.
The pink and white contrasted with each other, like an ancient painting that complemented each other. However, to the other two people, it was dazzling.
Jing Yao was stunned. She first looked at Ye Yunzheng beside her, then at He Anting who was quite close to her. She stood up straight in a hurry as if her buttocks were burned.
Her face flushed red, and she bit her lower lip tightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't stand firmly and offended you, sir."
Ye Yunzheng reacted and his face turned pale. The scene of Yao'er and He Anting's bodies pressing against each other was too shocking for him, and it took him a long time to react.
Fortunately, Yao'er got up in time.
Xue Ningzhen was almost jealous watching this, what a pretentious thing to do, why was he blushing?
The maid behind her knelt on the ground and said, "Please forgive me, young lady. I accidentally touched this young lady."
Ye Yunzheng was furious but could not express it, but this maidservant was Miss Xue's person after all, so he could not lose his temper on the spot. Otherwise, he would have to give her a severe beating with a stick and ask the manager to take her indenture and sell her.
The nanny beside Xue Ningzhen said meaningfully: "Young Madam, you must stand firm next time."
As soon as these words were spoken, Ye Yunzheng and He Anting's faces turned cold at the same time.
Jing Yao felt that the nanny's words were a little uncomfortable, but perhaps it was a kind reminder.
Ye Yunzheng clenched his fists. How could he not hear that this nanny was deliberately making Yin Yang Yao'er stand unsteady? However, what made people more thought-provoking was He Anting's reaction.
There are rumors that he has mysophobia and there is no maid or concubine in his house. Imagine a man with mysophobia facing the embrace of a strange woman. His first reaction is to avoid her.
Even if you can't avoid it, you should subconsciously push it away or look unhappy.
But just now...
Ye Yunzheng didn't want to think too much, but he seemed to vaguely see He An raise his hand.
His face was grim, but he maintained his composure: "Brother, I'm sorry for offending you just now. Yao'er must be pregnant, so she's walking unsteadily."
He Anting said calmly: "It's okay."
Ye Yunzheng wanted to leave, but then he thought, it was just a misunderstanding after all. If he just left like that, wouldn’t it seem that he was petty and cared too much about this matter?
It was inevitable that He Anting would think that he really cared about this matter.
He took a deep breath and turned to Jing Yao, "Are you not scared? Sit down and calm down."
Jing Yao was indeed very frightened. She was already feeling guilty, and at that moment she felt her stomach twist twice.
Not to mention the burning sensation in her waist that she couldn't ignore.
She sat carefully beside Ye Yunzheng, being cautious and taciturn. He Anting felt a little moved when he saw her looking like a frightened bird.
"I have something else to do, so I won't accompany Miss Xue on the lake tour." He put down the teacup and said lightly.
After saying this, he ordered the boatman to dock the pleasure boat. Seeing that He Anting had left, Ye Yunzheng naturally had no reason to stay here, so he also said: "Then the two of us will not bother Miss Xue anymore."
Xue Ningzhen smiled and nodded, but she was a little unsure in her heart whether He Anting was angry about the other party's behavior just now.
The pleasure boat docked and the three of them stepped onto the shore at the same time. Jing Yao breathed a sigh of relief the moment she stood on the shore.
"Brother, I'll take Yao'er back home first." Ye Yunzheng bowed and left as if nothing had happened.
He Anting didn't say anything.
On the return carriage, Jing Yao looked at Ye Yunzheng cautiously, wondering if he was angry. Ye Yunzheng suddenly opened his eyes, and his burning gaze made Jing Yao extremely uncomfortable.
"Yao'er, come here." His eyes were dim, and his clear voice no longer had the usual gentleness.
Jing Yao's body trembled. He wouldn't be angry, would he?
She was very scared, but she didn't dare to disobey. She moved her butt slowly, but didn't dare to get too close. Ye Yunzheng grabbed her waist and suddenly moved closer.
Jing Yao was startled and subconsciously raised her hand to block.
Ye Yunzheng's kiss fell in vain, his eyes darkening: "Yao'er doesn't want to get close to me anymore."
Jing Yao timidly raised her head and blurted out, "Prince, I, my stomach doesn't feel well."
As expected, Ye Yunzheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately stepped back, his face full of apology: "I'm sorry, Yao'er, I... shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."
"Ming Yi, go to the clinic." He immediately ordered the carriage to turn to the clinic and asked her in a low and caring voice what was wrong with her.
When she arrived at the clinic, she asked the doctor to take her pulse. The doctor said it was nothing serious, but pregnant women should not have too many emotional fluctuations, and husbands should be more considerate of their wives in daily life.
Hearing the name "wife", Ye Yunzheng did not correct him, but Jing Yao was a little frightened.
Privately, she did not like this title, and she did not even want to be a concubine.
After leaving the clinic, Jing Yao looked a little depressed. Ye Yunzheng regretted bringing her out today and hurried back home.
As soon as he returned home, Mother Zheng came to call him, as if he couldn't stay in Lanxiang Pavilion for a moment longer.
Ever since Jing Yao became pregnant, He asked Ye Yunzheng not to stay overnight in Lanxiang Pavilion on the grounds of taking care of his body. She said that she was afraid that the fetus would be pressed down and both of them would not be able to rest well.
Jing Yao was very happy and wished that Ye Yunzheng would not come over every day.
After two days of rest, her complexion returned to its rosy state. Although Mrs. He was not a good mistress, she had never treated her harshly in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation after she became pregnant, and she had never lacked the best food and supplements.
Jing Yao was greedy and especially loved the steamed cheese made in the kitchen. Sometimes she would eat two or three bowls a day, forcing Yun Qiao to keep an eye on her all the time to control herself a little.
Yun Qiao reminded her as she fixed her hair, "Auntie, you must first go to Madam Gu to pay your respects. Then Ningxiang said that the county lady has recovered from her illness in the past two days. She was afraid that she would not go to the hospital for the past two days because of the illness. You must pay your respects to her during these two days."
Jing Yao nodded: "I can't go empty-handed, so I have to think about what to bring."
She struggled with the few valuable items, muttering, "This porcelain vase is from the Ru kiln, and it's the only one I have. The county lady will definitely not like it. I've already used this soft gold-thread pillow once, and the county lady will definitely not want it either."
Yun Qiao reminded: "The county lady has just recovered from a serious illness. Can you send some medicinal herbs as a token of your appreciation?"
Jing Yao looked at the ginseng and donkey-hide gelatin in the lacquer box and felt even more distressed: "...My mother has never eaten them."
She said a little embarrassedly: "The county lady needs nothing, why not bring an embroidered handkerchief? The marigold handkerchief I embroidered last time?"
Yun Qiao was helpless: "It's not that I can't, but I'm afraid the county lady will think it's shabby."
Jing Yao didn't take it to heart: "Anyway, I know what kind of person I am as a county lady. If I try to act rich, people might look down on me. Besides, the fabric of that handkerchief is very rare, and the embroidery thread is even fused with gold thread."
It was real gold, and she still felt a little pain.
Yun Qiao couldn't argue with her, so she found a lacquer box to make it look more beautiful and went out with Jing Yao.
It didn't take much time to pay her respects to Mrs. Gu, as she was busy arranging her second brother's marriage. The bride would be arriving soon, so after paying her respects, she went to the He Mansion.
The county lady seemed to be in good spirits, lazily leaning on the chaise longue and eating grapes. When she saw Jing Yao stand up, she asked a few questions.
Jing Yao answered all the questions one by one and presented her gift at the right time. The county lord put it aside without even looking at it.
"By the way, I heard that you were frightened a few days ago. Are you feeling unwell?"
Jing Yao quickly said, "I'm fine now. I might have been a little seasick."
"If you want to move around in the future, you don't have to leave the mansion. Just move around within the mansion." The county lady gave the order directly.
Jing Yao said "oh" dryly, feeling a little disappointed. This county lady watched her even more closely than Madam Gu did.
Then the county lady called the maid in and said, "Drink this."
The nanny brought a bowl of black stuff and placed it in front of Jing Yao, who almost felt nauseous when she smelled it.
Jing Yao's eyes showed fear. Why would she drink such a black thing when she was pregnant? "What is this?"
"It's to protect the fetus."
Jing Yao pinched her nose and didn't want to drink it, but the county lady's gaze was like a torch. She trembled and said, "It's a little hot, let it cool down first."
The county lady seemed a little tired: "Mammy, take her to the side room. I'm sleepy."
"Yes, my aunt, please come with me."
Jing Yao sat in the empty room, holding up her soft, white face, imagining whether there was any place in the room where she had secretly poured it out.
Unfortunately, no.
Suddenly, there was a greeting from outside, and Jing Yao caught the word "master" from the maid's voice.
Uncle? He Anting?
Jing Yao was not surprised. He probably came to see the county lady. She lay on the table, dawdling because she didn't want to drink.
The nanny waited for her for a while, then left with some urging and went on to do other things.
She was just lowering her head to think about whether she would be discovered if she poured it on the ground secretly, when the next moment, a shadow blocked her way.
He Anting looked at her calmly: "What are you doing?"
Jing Yao stood up from the table, and her snow-white ravines flashed by. She seemed to be more radiant after not seeing her for a few days, and her cheeks had more soft flesh. It seemed that she was living a good life.
"The county lady told me to drink it because it helps with pregnancy," Jing Yao said honestly.
He Anting stared at her, as if asking why she hadn't drunk yet. Jing Yao put her fingertips to her nose and said in a muffled voice, "It's bitter. I don't want to drink it."
He Anting frowned as he looked at the black medicine. He remembered that Doctor Han had treated her before and said that she was in good health and the medicine was nourishing, so there was no need for any other tonic.
"Then don't drink it." He Anting reached out and took the bowl of medicine, "Qingwu."
Qingwu had a bad feeling in his heart.
"I drank it."
Qing Wu: “…”
"Ah, this... Master, this is not good."
He Anting looked at him coldly. Qing Wu accepted his fate, took the medicine and drank it all in one gulp. He almost vomited it out after drinking it. What was this thing? Why did it smell fishy?
Jing Yao was very surprised, but her eyes were filled with joy: "Sir, you are so kind, thank you."
Her tone was soft, but He Anting inexplicably thought, "Good? Probably not as good as your prince."
Thinking of this, he felt a little unhappy and sneered.
"Sir, please leave quickly, don't let anyone discover you." Jing Yao looked nervous and kept looking around. This was the county lady's yard, and it would be easy for the two of them to be discovered if they stayed together.
He Anting thought, if he found out...
No, why should he hide? With his status and identity, he has to be afraid of a young boy. He Anting was instinctively unhappy and had completely forgotten that he had to keep a distance from her a few days ago and they owed each other nothing.
As long as he wanted, she could be of any identity, and naturally she could have nothing to do with Ye Yunzheng.
Thinking of this, his eyes became a little more dangerous.
"So what if I'm discovered?" He didn't care.
Discovered… Jing Yao’s eyes widened. “If I’m discovered, I’ll be thrown into a pig cage, cursed, and condemned by everyone. The consequences will be very serious.”
Of course, these consequences are most likely directed at her.
He Anting thought for a while, and said firmly: "I can solve it, follow me."
His eyes were deep, as if melted with black ink, wanting to suck people in and drown them. His eyes were extremely profound, and when he looked at Jing Yao, his expression was focused, without any falsehood.
Jing Yao was caught off guard and froze.
How come he still...
"Master He, stop joking. It's not possible. It's not possible." She shook her head in a hesitant tone.
She had never been chosen so firmly by anyone before, even though the other person might just be treating her as a temporary... beauty.
Although she was stupid, she knew that a man's words when he was angry could not be trusted. She was doing well now, and it would not be possible for her to be better off if she went to He Anting.
She pretended to be relaxed: "Lord He, are you going to marry me? Haha, stop joking." She laughed dryly and made a joke that she thought was very funny.
Sure enough, He Anting fell silent.
Jing Yao suddenly felt regretful. Why was she so bad at speaking? She realized later that what she said was not very funny. Now, maybe he was secretly laughing at her for being ignorant of the immensity of the world.
Shameful.
"I, I, I'm leaving." She couldn't stay any longer, and couldn't even force a smile, so she quickly left, picking up her skirt.
He Anting didn't try to persuade her to stay. He let out a heavy breath and turned to go to the county lady's room. Before he even entered, he ran into the county lady's nanny and maid chatting: "That concubine is really shabby. After all, she is from the Earl's Mansion, and she actually gave her a handkerchief with embroidered chrysanthemums on it."
The nanny sneered a few times and left with the box.
He Anting followed behind her like a ghost, and after the nanny threw the box away, he reached out and picked it up, sneering.
In the evening, Ye Yunzheng came to He Mansion.
"Brother, King Yin has been showing me goodwill recently, and his intention to win me over is obvious."
He Anting didn't even raise his head: "It's normal. You are working in the Ministry of Personnel now. You will definitely be promoted in the future. He just admires you."
Ye Yunzheng bowed his head modestly: "Thanks to my support over the years, big brother. I will never forget this kindness."
"It's your own hard work that got you to where you are today. Don't underestimate yourself. By the way, I called you here today to discuss your assignment. You don't have to wait a few months. The sooner the better." He Anting looked up and said,
Ye Yunzheng's heart skipped a beat, and he was a little confused: "Why are you so anxious all of a sudden?"
"Jiangnan urgently needs someone to take office." He Anting didn't explain much.
Ye Yunzheng was a little hesitant. Yao'er was still pregnant. He had originally thought of taking her out with him after she was pregnant, but now...
He was feeling a little annoyed and wanted to fight for it again, but his eyes accidentally fell on something next to He Anting's desk.
Next to him was a handkerchief delicately embroidered with marigolds; the pattern and colors looked familiar.
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