The physician rushed over with a small medicine box. Ever since Xie Qingyu was injured by Wei Li last time, Zhao Xiheng had suggested hiring a physician to stay in the mansion. After all, people are bound to get sick sometimes, so having one is better than nothing, and it would save the people in the mansion from having to keep running down the mountain.
Zhao Xiheng cherished her life and always put her health first. She felt that her delayed period was caused by eating too much ice, so she readily gave away the shaved ice and rewarded the maids below her.
The wrinkled, white-haired doctor placed a handkerchief on Zhao Xiheng's wrist, stroked a tuft of white beard on his chin, closed his eyes slightly, and calmly took her pulse.
The room was quiet. Zhao Xiheng had nothing in her mouth and felt a little lonely, so she casually picked up some nuts from the plate and put them in her mouth.
Cashews and pine nuts are stir-fried with five-spice powder and chili powder, making them oily, crispy, fragrant, and spicy.
The physician's white brows furrowed, and he gasped, as if he had encountered some difficulty. He then rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms, and became serious.
Zhao Xiheng paused, her hands rubbing the pine nuts, a little flustered. She wiped her hands on a damp cloth. Judging from the doctor's appearance, could she have contracted some kind of illness, or some kind of rare disease?
"Sir..." she began nervously. The doctor gestured for her to be quiet and then asked her to use her other hand. Zhao Xiheng became even more nervous, and could even hear her own heart pounding.
She stiffly placed her other wrist on the small pillow, and the doctor frowned and took her pulse again before slowly opening his eyes.
"Sir, have I contracted some incurable disease?" She was only sixteen, and she hoped to live a long and peaceful life. Wei Li wasn't dead yet; how could she die before him?
Upon hearing this, the doctor shook his head and reassured her in a relaxed tone, "That's not it, Madam. Don't worry, you're not sick. However, you should eat less raw and cold food and get some exercise, but avoid strenuous exercise."
Zhao Xiheng breathed a sigh of relief, leaned back against the soft pillow, picked up a roasted cashew and ate it. It was good that she wasn't sick.
"You may be pregnant, but it's too early in the pregnancy; your pulse is faint. I'll come back in half a month to examine you." Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural course of life, but of these four things, only "birth" brings joy. The lord and his wife have been together properly for a year, so pregnancy is perfectly normal.
These words struck Zhao Xiheng like a bolt from the blue. She was pregnant? The child was Wei Li's? How could she be pregnant?
"Sir, please don't be so sure. How confident are you?" Zhao Xiheng remained frozen in her previous position, not daring to move.
The doctor stroked his beard again, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm about 80% sure, the pregnancy is about half a month along."
It's almost certain that it will get eight points.
Zhao Xiheng's head buzzed, and she didn't even have time to control her expression. She had no idea what she looked like.
He placed his hand on the table, then took it down and put it on his lap, before putting it back on the table.
He took a cashew, then put it back. He kept doing this, like a groundhog.
He looked completely at a loss.
The maids surrounding her in the room congratulated her, chattering like a flock of happy sparrows.
"Please have the gentleman come back for a second diagnosis in half a month, and then we can tell the lord the good news."
Zhao Xiheng was in a state of confusion. She rubbed her temples and said, "Wait, you can all leave. I want to be alone and have some peace and quiet."
The maids exchanged glances, assuming she was just nervous about becoming a mother, so they quieted down and left with the doctor.
Once the room was quiet, Zhao Xiheng, who had been expressionless, suddenly clutched her head and sobbed, then scratched her hair, "I'm pregnant? I'm fucking pregnant?"
She's not even seventeen yet, a beautiful young woman, and she's pregnant, and with Wei Li's child?
She had never even thought about this before.
How do you raise a child? How do you give birth? How do you teach a child?
No one taught her, and she wouldn't know how.
What if I don't raise the child well?
Trouble came one after another, almost overwhelming her.
The problems piled up, and Zhao Xiheng suddenly burst into tears. What was she going to do? Wei Li was a complete bastard; he wasn't even there when she was pregnant. Counting the days, it was the night before he left, the night he drank too much.
Her tears flowed like pearls from a broken string, relentlessly. Zhao Xiheng didn't even bother to wipe them away; her eyes and nose were red from crying, and her body was convulsing.
She clutched the small blanket covering her knees, maintaining the same position until her knees were a little numb, but she dared not move. It had only been half a month, and the doctor said it was not even the size of a peanut. What if she moved and it fell out?
If only her mother were still alive, she would definitely tell her what to do.
While Zhao Xiheng was thinking about how to educate her child, she suddenly remembered something: what if Wei Li really lost the war this time and died outside? Would the child be born without a father?
Oh dear, Wei Li even said he would strangle her before he died. The mother and son are so pitiful.
She cried herself to sleep, then noticed a plate of fragrant and crispy roasted nuts on the small table. Sobbing, she picked them up and started eating.
Zhao Xiheng spent almost the entire afternoon worrying about the future. Finally, as dusk fell, the maids served her dinner. She wiped her eyes, picked up a small mirror, and looked at herself; her eyes appeared somewhat red and swollen.
We should try to make the child cry less in the future. What if the child picks up bad habits and is born a crybaby?
Not only was Zhao Xiheng so nervous that she was at a loss, but the maids, who were young and had never given birth, were also very nervous, fearing that something might go wrong if Zhao Xiheng took a single step. So they discussed with Zhao Xiheng about setting the food on a small table in the room.
"Madam, Madam, eat more fish. I've heard that children born from eating fish are smarter." They carefully removed the fish bones and coaxed Zhao Xiheng to eat more, just like they were coaxing a child.
The young women's faces revealed excitement and nervousness, which made Zhao Xiheng miss Xiao Tao for a moment.
Xie Qingyu said that Xiao Tao stayed in the Xie family and must be doing well. If she were by his side and found out he was pregnant, he wondered what her expression would be.
"The doctor said it's 80% certain, which means it's not certain yet. Don't spread this news. Just keep it to ourselves. We'll have another pulse check in half a month," Zhao Xiheng said, sounding slightly nervous.
Are they afraid that the pregnancy diagnosis is a misdiagnosis?
Or are you still worried that the pregnancy diagnosis might not be a misdiagnosis?
She couldn't quite explain why she was so nervous.
Less than half a month later, Wei Li returned. When Zhao Xiheng saw him come in looking travel-worn, her heart sank. Could it be that things were going badly? Had he come back to strangle her before it was too late?
No, no, Wei Li is always a paper tiger, he's just saying it for show, how could she take it seriously?
"Why has my lord returned?" she asked.
"I'll come back to get two sets of clothes and then leave."
But it's just two sets of clothes; he could just buy one and wear it, or have someone come back to get it. Why did he have to come back in person? It sounded like a perfectly valid excuse.
While Wei Li was saying he was getting his clothes, his eyes were fixed on Zhao Xiheng without moving an inch. He looked her up and down as if he wanted to etch her image into his mind.
He'd been missing her terribly these past few days; she was all he could see when he closed his eyes, wondering what she was doing at home at this hour, what she'd eaten, whether she was thinking of him, or whether she was thinking of her ex-lover.
This won't do; I'll have to come back and see him. So, under the pretext of getting some clothes, he decided to take one last look and then leave.
He went inside to get his clothes, and Zhao Xiheng followed him quietly with steady, slow steps.
I've gotten used to it these days, and I'm not as apprehensive as I was at the beginning. The doctor said that unless the mother's health is too poor, the child wouldn't be so fragile as to die after just a few steps.
Zhao Xiheng clung to the doorframe and asked him, "My lord, do you like children?"
Wei Li tossed the clothes into his bundle without looking up. "I don't like it." What's so great about liking a child who's crying and screaming?
"Oh," Zhao Xiheng asked again, "What about your own child?"
Wei Li paused, turned to look at her, and said, "You want to have a baby? Are you just bored at home, Zhao Xiheng? You might as well go farm some land instead."
She's so young, why would she have a child? If she's going to have one, she should wait at least two years.
Zhao Xiheng pouted, a little unhappy. It turned out Wei Li didn't like children, not even his own. If she really got pregnant, he probably wouldn't treat the child well after it was born.
Does he favor sons over daughters?
If he favors boys over girls, it's fine if it's a boy, he might still feel some affection. But if it's a girl, and he's the only one who cares for her, how miserable she would be.
He once said he would be very strict with his future daughter.
Wei Li came out carrying a bundle and saw her standing there looking sullen. He went up to her and tapped her on the head. "It's no use thinking about it now. Who has time to have a child with you? I'm leaving."
Zhao Xiheng suddenly grabbed his collar, "So, will you win this time? Will you come back alive?"
Her eyes blinked rapidly, her fingers clenched tightly, and she looked very nervous. Wei Li had a threatening thought and said wickedly and lightly, "Of course not, do you know how many people they brought?"
"Then what should we do?"
"Just wait to die, I've lived for twenty years, that's enough." He was completely indifferent, and then walked away.
Zhao Xiheng stared blankly at his retreating figure, unsure whether he was telling the truth or lying.
He seems to speak in this tone even when he's telling the truth.
But is it really possible for someone to die so peacefully? Really?
But that's not necessarily true; Wei Li is a madman, after all.
With a rustling of the beaded curtain, Wei Li suddenly turned back and hugged Zhao Xiheng tightly. "I'll hug you one last time before I die. Wait for me. If I can come back before I die, I'll definitely take you with me. If I can't come back and get hacked to death, then you can remarry."
He spoke in a nonchalant manner, but Zhao Xiheng couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
Even a tiger that has been eating vegetarian food for so long can't forget that it actually eats meat.
General Pingwei, who was shot dead over a mere disagreement; Zhao Mingxin, who was sent to marry a foreign ruler; the envoy who was skinned alive; the beauties whose heads were separated from their bodies; and the entire family of the Prince of Zhenbei…
He was possessive of himself. Could that possessiveness have led him to make a final, desperate attempt before his death, taking himself with him?
Two weeks later, the doctor took her pulse again.
The old man's beard bristled with laughter, and he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture of congratulations to her.
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