Chapter 34 My stepsister will not marry the murderer who killed her.
Yunxi was quite surprised to hear that it was a fertility-enhancing medicine rather than a contraceptive soup. After all, in wealthy and powerful families, a concubine was not allowed to become pregnant before the principal wife had given birth to a legitimate son.
When Gu Nanxiao heard that the medicine in the bowl was for fertility, his face turned terribly gloomy. He immediately thought of what the Empress Dowager had said before; indeed, once his grandmother made a decision, it was very difficult to change her mind.
He couldn't openly disobey his grandmother's wishes at this moment, and he also knew that if Yunxi didn't drink the medicine, the news would soon reach his grandmother's ears.
So he didn't say anything to stop him, but just turned around and left with a gloomy face.
Yunxi guessed that Gu Nanxiao's anger stemmed from the feeling that she, a lowly concubine, had no right to bear his eldest son.
Although Yunxi was also secretly taking birth control pills, seeing Gu Nanxiao's disgusted attitude towards her having a child still made her feel a little sore.
Yunxi looked at the medicine offered to her, took it without a word, and drank it all in one gulp. The maid snorted coldly, took the empty medicine bowl, and went back to report.
As soon as Gu Nanxiao left the room, the royal physician was summoned from a side room. After hearing that it was indeed the princess's arrangement, he ordered the physician to replace the fertility-enhancing medicine with a contraceptive decoction.
The physician hesitated for a moment, thinking that Miss Zhao was already prone to coldness, and if she took the contraceptive soup for many years, she would probably have difficulty conceiving for the rest of her life.
But when he met the anger in Gu Nanxiao's eyes, he dared not say anything. She was just a lowly concubine; whether she could conceive in the future was perhaps not of much concern to the eldest son and the princess.
He's just a lowly physician trying to make a living. Why bother with all that trouble and saying things that invite a beating? He'll just do whatever the young master tells him to do.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Gu Nanxiao assumed he wanted to disobey his orders, so he threatened and warned him that he would send people to keep an eye on him at all times, and if he dared to disobey, he would not be spared.
Although the physician couldn't afford to offend either side, he had already made up his mind that if this person had been drinking the contraceptive soup, it would be absolutely impossible for her to get pregnant.
However, if he were to take fertility-enhancing drugs, he might not be able to conceive for several years. So he did as the eldest son instructed, and if the princess asked, he would say it was a problem with the concubine's body.
After the physician took his leave, Gu Nanxiao leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples as he pondered what he should do next to deter others from harming Yunxi.
There are two ways to protect Yunxi. One is to make people feel that you don't care about Yunxi. The advantage of doing this is that it can prevent your enemies from coming to your door and harming Yunxi.
However, the downside of doing so is that Yunxi's current status is only that of a concubine. If she does not gain the favor of her master, many people will dare to neglect or even bully her in private.
The second method is to publicly display extreme favoritism towards Yunxi. The advantage of this is that it will deter most people from harboring any ill intentions towards Yunxi. Furthermore, out of respect for him, others will also show Yunxi some deference.
The downside is that those he can control will back down, but those he can't do anything about, like the one on the dragon throne, will see Yunxi as his weakness and force him to submit at crucial moments.
The word "weakness" shocked even Gu Nanxiao himself. When did Yunxi become his weakness? He shook his head and chuckled, immediately erasing this absurd idea from his mind.
In the end, Gu Nanxiao decided to use the second method, since the more arrogant he was, the more it suited his personality. Moreover, Yunxi's previous refusal to be promoted in rank had inadvertently turned out to be a good thing.
In this way, no one can figure out whether they truly love Yunxi or simply treat her as a plaything. Otherwise, why would they keep her as a concubine without any title or status?
After sorting out his thoughts, Gu Nanxiao returned to the study, scooped up Yunxi from the soft couch, sat her on his lap, kissed her domineeringly for a while, and commanded, "Get dressed, I'll take you out for a stroll."
When Yunxi heard him bring it up a second time, she originally intended to refuse again. However, thinking of his angry expression just now, she felt that she couldn't fall out of favor too quickly, otherwise the game that had just begun would not be able to be completed smoothly.
So Yunxi nodded in agreement and called in a maid to help her with her makeup and dressing.
These past few days, Shi Qingchen has been making grand preparations for the wedding, and has been searching for top embroiderers in the city to embroider wedding clothes for Yunxi.
He even had furniture made at the most famous carpenter's shop in Kyoto and jewelry custom-made at the most famous jewelry shop. He seemed genuinely eager to marry Yunxi.
The fact that the young master of the Shi family wants to win the ancestral tablet and become the legal wife is currently the hottest topic in the capital. Therefore, when Yunxi and Gu Nanxiao strolled through the market, all they heard were Shi Qingchen's words about how infatuated he was with Yunxi.
Gu Nanxiao noticed Yunxi's distress and pointed to a jewelry shop ahead, suggesting they go in and browse. Yunxi rubbed her throbbing temples, nodded, and followed.
As soon as the two entered the store, Yunxi heard a voice that was both familiar and utterly repulsive.
Shi Qingchen was inspecting the jewelry he had made for Yunxi. As he touched a jade hairpin, he recounted to the shopkeeper the scene when he and Yunxi designed the hairpin together.
That look seemed to travel through time, returning to the most beautiful moment, making everyone in the store praise it as a sign of deep affection.
Yunxi saw clearly the jade hairpin in Shi Qingchen's hand. It was indeed the one she and Shi Qingchen had designed in their spare time. But seeing it now, she felt both angry and disgusted.
Especially when she saw Shi Qingchen repeatedly stroking the jade hairpin, it was as if she herself was being desecrated, not the jade hairpin.
Yunxi could no longer contain her anger. She rushed over, snatched the jade hairpin from his hand, and smashed it to the ground. The hairpin shattered into pieces the moment it hit the ground.
Her action caused a stir in the store. But Yunxi's anger did not seem to subside. She looked at the boxes of jewelry that had been packed on the counter, all of which were selected by Shi Qingchen.
She walked over and threw them one by one to the ground. Yunxi's eyes were bloodshot. She didn't understand why Shi Qingchen always came up with such disgusting methods to pester her.
Only after everything was smashed did the out-of-control Yunxi close her sore eyes and calm down, as she was pulled into the arms of a tall figure.
Her head was pressed against Gu Nanxiao's chest, and all she could hear was the steady, powerful beat of his heart. Her body, trembling with anger, was held tightly by Gu Nanxiao, and the chill around her seemed to be dispelled by the man's burning body temperature.
Gu Nanxiao patted Yunxi's back lightly, and his anger slowly dissipated.
Once she regained her senses, Yunxi looked up at the tall man and gestured with her eyes that he was alright. Only then did Gu Nanxiao slowly release her.
Yunxi looked at Shi Qingchen's shocked and hurt expression, then glanced at the jade jewelry she had smashed on the ground, and nonchalantly curled the corners of her lips, saying, "
"My sworn sister appeared to me in a dream last night, saying that she doesn't want to marry the murderer who caused her tragic death!"
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