Chapter 61: Pregnancy, you say, is it possible that Concubine Yi back then should...
For the first time, Xuanye felt guilty towards the women in the harem. He always thought that if he gave them honor and favor and what they wanted, he would be qualified as a husband.
As for Xiu Yu, he was willing to give everything he had to love and care for her. This was something that no other concubine in the harem had ever received. This love was special and incomparable.
However, compared with Xiu Yu's consideration for him, he seemed stingy, too stingy.
"Yu'er." Xuanye held Xiu Yu's hand, his eyes full of tenderness.
"If you don't know what to say, then there's no need to say it." Xiu Yu held Xuanye's hand. "Your Majesty, Third Brother, I've already said that I had everything clearly in mind before entering the palace. In fact, no matter how you treat me, or how others treat me, I have to leave this time. Then... you should be the person I care about the most. To be considerate of you is to protect me."
Her smile made Xuanye feel that the autumn weather was very warm.
"I will treat you well." Xuanye made another promise.
Xiu Yu joked, "Just giving away a telescope is enough? That's a bit too simple a way to treat someone well."
"Whatever you want, just tell me." Xuanye patted Xiu Yu's hand and said with a smile, "I will grant you everything."
"Have you forgotten something?" Xiu Yu stretched out his right hand in front of Xuanye's eyes. "When I auctioned my blueprints a few days ago, you made a bet with me, didn't you?"
Xuanye was stunned for a moment, then smiled after a while. "I've been so busy since returning to the palace that I actually forgot about the bet. Don't worry, if it's yours, it's definitely yours. I'll have Liang Jiugong bring it to you later."
Xiu Yu blinked and asked with a smile, "What exactly did you lose to Yu'er?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to open a shop in the capital?" Xuanye wasn't planning any more surprises. "What do you think of the shop next to Shichahai?"
"A two-story building, very nice." Xiu Yu's eyes lit up: "It's a good location, are you willing to give it up?"
"You're all mine. Giving you that two-story building is no different from keeping it in my hands." Xuanye said nonchalantly. "Besides, although your blueprints only bought me two cannons, that incident did cause quite a stir. Now merchants from Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong are all competing to contribute money to build warships for the court. It's quite a grand event."
Talking about this, Xiu Yu was actually a little embarrassed. She had underestimated the supremacy of imperial power in that era and overestimated the value of her drawings. "Honestly, I haven't drawn in a long time since that incident."
"Feeling embarrassed?" Xuanye seemed to see through Xiu Yu's thoughts. "That's fine. You're only embarrassing the Lei family. But the Lei family's boss genuinely thinks the design of those blueprints is excellent and doesn't want to tarnish the reputation of his family. That's why he produced the seal. If the drawings weren't good, given his arrogance, he wouldn't have put his name on them."
"That's true..."
"Alright." Xuanye personally handed the milk tea to Xiuyu: "If you keep talking, the food will get cold. I won't feel well when I eat later. Be careful that someone will come to trouble you."
Xiu Yu nodded, poured Xuanye some hot milk tea, and then had breakfast with him.
Halfway through, Xiu Yu suddenly put down his chopsticks and said, "Your Majesty, even if you give me that shop, I still can't leave the Forbidden City."
Xuanye, still scooping up milk tea with a spoon, said, "That's easy. Whenever I leave the palace, I'll take you with me. I'll let someone else take care of it on weekdays. Do you think that's okay?"
"Really?" Xiu Yu's eyes suddenly lit up: "You can't go back on your word."
"I have to go out, right?" Xuanye finally picked up a piece of steamed bun and ate it. "After all, your Xiao Tao and Liang Jiugong are sworn brothers. I think Liang Jiugong will tell Xiao Tao when I go out, and Xiao Tao will naturally tell you. If I forget to call you someday, you..."
"What about me?" Xiu Yu was curious.
Xuanye suppressed his laughter and said, "You will cry to me, make a scene, and even hang yourself!"
This time, Xiu Yu couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Do you think I look like the type of person who would cry, make a fuss, or even commit suicide? When I was outside the Great Wall, I rarely acted like a spoiled child in front of my father."
"Aren't you?" Xuanye disagreed. "I think you are a very scheming person. If you want to do something, you will do it no matter what or how much it costs."
"You..." Xiu Yu narrowed her eyes and said, "When did you become a worm in my stomach?" She had to admit that one of her principles in life was to accomplish what she wanted to do. Of course, those things were all under her control.
"I'm not a roundworm." Xuanye clasped his hands together and looked at Xiuyu with a smile: "It's just that I am this kind of person, and I think you must be the same kind of person, otherwise how could I be so obsessed with you."
Xiu Yu avoided Xuanye's gaze and said, "It's getting late. If you've finished eating, Yu'er will take you to the court."
"Okay." Xuanye decided to go all out and held Xiuyu's hand: "It's cold outside, put on your cloak before you send me off."
Xuanye was an emperor who kept his promises. He had promised Xiuyu that he would take her with him whenever he left the palace, and he never missed a single one. Just as Xiuyu had envisioned, the shop started selling some pavilion and tower patterns. However, Xiuyu hadn't mentioned the income, and Xuanye hadn't asked. He figured it wasn't very good. If it wasn't, given Xiuyu's personality, she would have hinted at it, even if she didn't say it directly.
Time passed quickly and it was November. The Forbidden City welcomed the first snow of the 16th year of the Kangxi reign. Although it was the first snow, it was very strong. When Xiao Tao got up in the morning, the snow had already covered the area with a thick layer.
Last night, the Emperor didn't come to Yikun Palace, so Xiao Tao felt relieved. Seeing the white snow this morning, he felt even more relaxed. After entering the warm room, Xiao Tao raised the curtains and said to Xiu Yu, "Master, it's snowing outside. After breakfast, will you and I go build a snowman together?"
Xiu Yu also liked snow, but she was obviously different today. Not only did she not have any interest, she also lay lazily in bed, with no intention of getting up. "Xiao Tao, I feel sick. If you want to build a snowman, ask someone else to come with you."
"Are you sick?" Xiao Tao squatted down, stroked Xiu Yu's forehead, and said, "You don't have a fever, but you caught a cold?"
Xiu Yu was about to shake his head, but suddenly he felt nauseous and he leaned forward and started dry heaving.
Xiao Tao was startled. He gently patted Xiu Yu's back and said, "Did you eat something bad? You didn't seem to eat anything yesterday."
Xiu Yu leaned against the headboard, raised her right hand, rubbed her temples with her thumb, closed her eyes and said, "I don't know what's been wrong with me these past two days. It's not a cold."
Xiao Tao went to pour Xiu Yu a glass of water and said hesitantly, "Master, are you going to be a mother?"
"Huh?" Xiu Yu didn't react for a moment.
Xiao Tao also said, "Logically, that shouldn't be the case. You already have the Fifth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the Eleventh Prince, and the Fourth Prince hasn't been born yet. The timing doesn't match."
Xiu Yu recalled the dream she had a few months ago and had a rather unreliable guess: "Do you think it's possible that Concubine Yi back then should have had another child?"
Xiao Tao didn't quite understand what Xiu Yu meant: "What do you mean?"
Xiao Tao was not a stranger, so Xiu Yu told her about the terrible dream.
"You mean..." Xiao Tao looked at Xiu Yu's belly covered by the quilt and said, "You might really be pregnant, but there's a chance you won't have the baby?"
Xiu Yu was amused by his disciple's nonsensical words and simply stood up and said, "I don't know. Didn't the emperor say he would leave the palace tomorrow? Let's find an excuse to find a doctor to see him."
Xiao Tao became a little cautious and was very careful when dressing Xiu Yu in her Manchu dress. "Actually, the imperial doctors in the palace are quite reliable. They are all top-notch doctors who only support the emperor."
"I know that, too." Xiu Yu sat down in front of the peep show, looking at the somewhat unwell self in the mirror. "But if the imperial physician knows, then everyone else will know too. It's better for no one to know than for everyone to know."
Xiao Tao immediately understood his master's intention: "Don't worry, if anyone dares to touch you and your children, I, Xiao Tao, will be the first to go up and fight them to the death!"
"It's not that serious." Xiu Yu smiled and said, "Things in dreams can't be counted. Besides, this is just my guess, so it doesn't count either."
"No." Xiao Tao suddenly remembered: "Hasn't your period lasted for more than two months? I remember that you were always punctual."
In her previous life, she didn't mind being late, but in this life, she doesn't mind being on time. Xiu Yu finally realized that she might not be wrong. She touched her lower abdomen with her right hand and whispered, "This can't be true..."
Another day passed in this state of confusion. The next day, when Xuanye took Xiuyu out, he could clearly see that she was in a bad mood. "What's wrong? Are you unhappy that I haven't been to your place for the past two days?"
"No." Xiu Yu rubbed the hand warmer and made up an excuse, saying, "I have to look at the account book again. It gives me a headache."
Xuanye laughed out loud: "It doesn't matter if I earn little. I don't rely on your shop for survival."
Xiu Yu forced a smile.
"But you really aren't in a good mood." Xuanye embraced Xiuyu and said, "Why can't you tell me what's on your mind?"
"Then..." Xiu Yu said stubbornly, "Just think that Yu'er is angry because she hasn't seen you for two days."
"No." Xuanye studied her expression carefully. "If you were angry about that, you wouldn't look like this. Are you looking like this because you don't know how to solve something? Are you frowning?"
"Can you please not ask for now?" Xiu Yu tilted her head to look Xuanye in the eye, looking like a pitiful little thing. "I'll tell you when I figure it out, okay?"
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