Confined in the palace
Last night, Gu Qingyi received the news and followed Zhixu to run three or four laps around the city.
"What did she do?"
"My lady went to several herbal medicine shops. To avoid alerting them, I didn't go near them. However, I got the prescription from behind. The shopkeeper said that some of the herbs looked like the kind of medicine my pregnant lady would take to prevent miscarriage."
"Pregnancy-preserving medicine?" Gu Qingyi's eyes sharpened instantly. "Are you sure?"
"Your subordinate... dares not speak presumptuously. The opera singer visited many clinics, but each time she only got one or two kinds of medicine, and some of them even had other medicinal herbs mixed in."
"What about the others?"
"My lady also went to the pastry shop opposite Yunlai Tower and bought a walnut pastry." The subordinate called out to his wife again when Gu Qingyi did not reply.
Chuntao waved for him to leave.
"My lady, what's wrong?"
Gu Qingyi shook her head. "She's clearly doing it for me."
"This... Chun Tao doesn't understand, how did you determine that this opera singer is the eldest wife?"
“I knew it when Ye Taoyao died. With her personality, it would be strange if she didn’t cause trouble as soon as she entered Chang’an. Compared to killing Ye Taoyao first, scheming against Yuzhen was her best choice. Look, she’s openly roaming around right under our noses.” Gu Qingyi took a sip of tea and said leisurely.
"I'll go around him three times, it's just to tease him."
Chuntao: "It does sound like Madam's personality."
"Yes. She's actually pregnant. How could Fan Lingzhang let her get pregnant at a time like this? Aren't they afraid something bad might happen to her?"
Seeing Gu Qingyi's worry, Chuntao quickly said, "With you here, how could anything happen to Madam?"
"Let me see her first."
Knowing he was alright, he pretended to be asleep until Xu Zhen fell asleep.
It was really difficult to connect with the baby's age; it was exhausting for her.
The white mermaid pearl landed on the maiden's smooth neck. Gu Qingyi's gaze lingered on it for a while before she looked away.
In the early morning, the first thing Sui Zhixu saw when he opened his eyes was Gu Qingyi.
"How are you? Do you have a headache?"
As Xu sat up with her help, she shook her head.
"Eat something and take your medicine. You're pregnant and you're still running around drinking. Don't you want this child?" Gu Qingyi took Chun Tao's bowl, stirred the porridge, and fed it to her.
"I don't know..."
"Stop pretending. You had a good time teasing him yesterday, didn't you?"
Sui Zhixu blinked and calmly replied, "Oh, it's alright."
"Who told you to send such a weakling to follow me?"
"Eat your food." Gu Qingyi stuffed a mouthful of porridge into her mouth.
“I’ll eat by myself. I’m not a child anymore.”
"Just because someone is pregnant doesn't mean they're not a child anymore? A teacher for a day is a mother for life; when did such a saying come to be?" Gu Qingyi waved for Chun Tao to go and get the medicine.
"Is this child yours and Fan Zirong's?"
Sui Zhixu: "Who else could it be but him?"
“I heard from your uncle that you were pregnant two years ago.”
"I don't know, I don't remember. Who told him?"
"The ninth day."
"Don't listen to him, he's always talking nonsense."
Gu Qingyi nodded and handed her the medicine.
The bitter medicine smelled bitter, so Sui Zhixu turned her head away and said, "I'll drink it later."
"You won't be the one drinking it later; who knows which flower will drink it first. Drink it now!"
Gu Qingyi held the bottle to Sui Zhixu's lips, and she had no choice but to drink it. With a tragic expression, she closed her eyes and gulped it down.
Bitter, bitter, bitter.
It was so bitter that I felt I had no will to live.
Sui Zhixu rolled over inside, burying her head in the blanket, avoiding looking at Gu Qingyi and shutting out all the grape scents from the outside world.
"Want some candied fruit?"
Her voice was muffled, "I won't eat."
"Chuntao, you can go down now."
With a creak, only the two of them remained in the room.
There was no incense in the room, and a faint smell of bitter medicine and a faint scent of grapes lingered in the air. Gu Qingyi remained silent for a long time, just watching her quietly.
For a long time, everyone thought she was gone.
"If you don't want this child, then lie down."
Sui Zhixu quickly turned over and placed her hand on her stomach.
"You have no sense of proportion! I thought you were all grown up."
"How was I supposed to know he'd come after I only missed drinking the contraceptive soup once?" Sui Zhixu found a comfortable position and lay back on the bed.
"Contraceptive soup?"
"Oh, he drank it."
Gu Qingyi: "..."
Sui Zhixu raised his hand, peered at the ceiling through his fingers, and said slowly, "I've come to find you."
"What do you want to do? Don't tell me you just want to drink with An Niang."
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
Sui Zhixu sighed, "Where is He Miao? I can't find him."
She stood up, and Gu Qingyi casually cushioned her back. After doing so, both of them were stunned for a moment and turned their heads away.
"Thank you for returning the mermaid pearl," she whispered.
"I've heard that the Moon Mountain Mermaid Pearl has the effect of stabilizing the soul, you..."
Sui Zhixu: "I'm fine now."
She turned her head and met Gu Qingyi's gaze. The complex emotions and tangled thoughts were something that Xu Zhixu usually couldn't distinguish, but this time she was able to understand them.
Tenderness and gentleness, and the madness hidden beneath.
If nothing's wrong now, then something must have happened before.
"You never told me..." She stopped mid-sentence, lowering her eyes.
"You always say I'm disobedient, that I never tell you anything, but aren't you the same?" Sui Zhixu stroked the mermaid pearl earring by her ear. There was a faint scar on her ear, left from when she and Miao forcibly took the mermaid pearl from her.
"He repeatedly tried to steal my mermaid pearl. If I hadn't been fortunate enough to be rescued, how could I be sitting here before you today? He wanted to kill me, they wanted to kill me!"
"You're the same way, saying you don't know. Why should I come looking for you?"
Gu Qingyi suddenly lifted her eyelids to look at her, but the woman made a move to get up from the bed and leave. Gu Qingyi grabbed her wrist, "Where are you going?"
"It's none of your business."
"Within the imperial palace, if they know your identity and that you are pregnant, how can you possibly leave?"
"You're going to tell them my identity, tell my uncle, and have them kill me? I thought you were different from them. You said you wanted me to go home, but that was all a lie."
"Ah Ling." Gu Qingyi grabbed Sui Zhixu's arm and pulled her into her arms, the rich aroma of grapes enveloping her.
"No, the teacher is here. No one can hurt you or your child."
Sui Zhixu nestled in Gu Qingyi's arms and sobbed softly, "You lied to me."
"I didn't lie to you. Come, sit back down."
Gu Qingyi took her hand and led her to the bedside. Sui Zhixu bit her lip and looked at her expectantly.
"You still say you're not a child? Look at how wronged you look."
A mist clouded her eyes, making them resemble peach blossoms soaked in water. The upturned corners of her eyes were red, and tears clung to her long eyelashes. Her usually cool and aloof black eyes were filled with accusation and dissatisfaction, as if she had truly suffered a great injustice.
How could you not feel sorry for a child you raised with your own hands?
Gu Qingyi bent down and stroked her face, "Take good care of yourself here during your pregnancy."
"I don't want to."
"Then why are you looking for me? Don't you want He Miao's life? He's not the same as Ye Taoyao. His martial arts skills are not low. You're pregnant and can't fight him. I'll kill him for you. You can stay here and recover."
Sui Zhixu sat on the edge of the bed, the light from the window shining on Gu Qingyi's back, making Gu Qingyi appear to be backlit from her perspective.
She seemed to ponder for a moment, then tugged at Gu Qingyi's sleeve. "The disappearance of the children in Chang'an is related to He Miao and Xi Yushao. Xi Yushao is not normal; he took on the case to clear up the mess."
"You know so much just from meeting him once? That's impressive. I'll look into it for you."
"Don't try to fool me with the same old tricks you used when I was a kid; they don't work anymore."
Sui Zhixu lightly slapped her hand away, "You should tell me when you had a son."
"His age is the same as how many years ago he was born to Prince Wei," Gu Qingyi said casually, picking up some candied fruit from the table to coax her.
"You never told me that. You lied to me. You lied to me and said I was your only child." Sui Zhixu refused to eat her candied fruit, so Gu Qingyi pinched her mouth and threw it in.
"I forgot."
Sui Zhixu had no choice but to finish the candied fruit that was in her mouth, saying, "How could I forget something like this?"
"You've already forgotten me, your teacher, now that you have your own biological mother. Why bother caring what I said before?"
"Then I'll go."
Gu Qingyi sighed, "Come back."
Sui Zhixu lay down on the bed neatly, covered herself with the blanket, and looked like she was listening to a story.
"You came to Chang'an just to hear me tell stories?" Gu Qingyi's forehead twitched, and she said irritably.
Sui Zhixu was not to be outdone, saying, "I'm bored if you make me stay."
After saying that, she added, "It's not that I'm begging you."
She raised her chin confidently.
"I really should have made you copy books," Gu Qingyi muttered to herself.
Seeing Xu's slightly widened eyes, he smiled and said, "Copying is not bad either. You can cultivate your child's talents from a young age."
"No, he's smaller than a walnut now, he can't understand. I want to hear your story. I need to rest, I'm so tired. Pretending to be Yuzhen is exhausting, my neck hurts so much from bending over."
"How about I tell you a little bit every day, so you won't get bored?" Gu Qingyi tucked her in, noticing she had just woken up and was about to go back to sleep.
She has loved sleeping since she was a child, and taking a nap is a regular occurrence for her. Besides, she is pregnant now.
"Sister! Sister!"
Sima An burst through the door, but stopped in his tracks immediately upon meeting Gu Qingyi's cool gaze.
He bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, teacher; greetings, sister."
"Why are you running around to your mother's place?"
"It's almost noon, I should have been back long ago."
Gu Qingyi was unaware of the time. When she saw Xu Ze turn to look at her with a smile in his eyes, he reached out and beckoned her over, "An'an is here."
"Yes, yes. I'm back." Sima An placed his hands on the edge of Sui Zhixu's bed. "Did you take your pregnancy-preserving medicine, sister? The imperial physician said you need to take it every day."
Sui Zhixu, feeling utterly hopeless, said, "I feel perfectly healthy."
“It’s different. You rely on your high martial arts skills and don’t take care of yourself, going out in all kinds of weather. The imperial physician said you have an imbalance. I shouldn’t have drunk with you…”
Sima An glanced at Gu Qingyi furtively and mentioned it briefly.
The teacher was right outside last night; how could they have gotten drunk so quickly? The mess was all fake. She gets flushed when she drinks, and she gulped down several mouthfuls. As for her sister spilling alcohol on herself and the floor, both of them were faking it.
"I know better now, and I'll never mess around with my sister again. Please don't be angry, teacher."
Gu Qingyi patted her head. "I'm not angry. A-Ling is inexperienced, and you don't have any experienced nannies to teach you. It's just a small mistake. You must not drink excessively in the future, it's bad for your health."
Sima An was just pretending to be obedient and didn't listen to what Gu Qingyi said afterward. He gently placed his hand on Sui Zhixu's stomach.
"Are you feeling unwell today, sister? I've heard that pregnancy is very uncomfortable."
Sui Zhixu shook her head, "Besides being sleepy, I don't have any other reaction right now."
“My sister is going to be ten months pregnant, but since she’s back and there’s a child, Father won’t have to nag me anymore. He’s always wanted to pass the throne to my sister. If she wants to live a carefree life with Fan and her husband, then after the child is born, Father can raise it and give the throne to that child in the future.”
Sui Zhixu: "What?"
Sima An had already envisioned his wonderful life, finally free from writing policy essays every day.
"My sister is incredibly intelligent; her child will surely be just as clever, and Father will definitely be pleased!"
Gu Qingyi stopped Sima An's wild thoughts, "Alright, A-Ling isn't showing yet. Besides, I'm still here. Go, memorize today's book, and copy it five more times."
Sima An: "!"
"Why were there two more times? Wasn't it supposed to be three times?"
"You seem very energetic today; you could learn more."
"I actually..."
Gu Qingyi smiled and said, "Go ahead."
Sima An looked at Sui Zhixu with a reassuring gaze, and she said, "Go."
Sima An finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, I'm leaving now. I'll come back to see my sister after I finish writing."
After everyone left, Gu Qingyi noticed that her complexion was off. "A-Ling, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine." Sui Zhixu shook her head, covered her hand, and yawned. "I'm a little sleepy."
"Take a nap first, I'll call you for lunch at noon." Gu Qingyi tucked the stray hairs behind her ear.
"Should we remove the mermaid pearl?"
"Need not."
She obediently closed her eyes, and only slowly opened them after Gu Qingyi left.
Ye Taoyao was indeed easier to kill than He Miao. Her brain couldn't even conceive of her impersonating Xi Yuzhen, and she ultimately didn't believe that "Xi Yuzhen" had killed her.
After her father, Prime Minister Ye, died, no one restrained her, and she became increasingly unruly, even bullying the sister of a court official at will.
It was a good thing for her; otherwise, Sui Zhixu would have needed to find another reason to enter the Prince's mansion, even though the main reason Ye Taoyao bullied Xi Yuzhen was because of her.
It is known that Xu Xiangye Taoyao should know about her background, perhaps from Prime Minister Ye, or perhaps from overhearing... In any case, that's why he has disliked her for so many years.
But Gu Qingyi seemed unaware of this.
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