"Him? How could a man drink contraceptive soup?"
Xie Zhaozhao denied it, saying, "He said I was still young and wanted to wait two years to have a baby. Medical books record that women should wait until they are over eighteen years old to have children so as not to damage their health."
Consort Xi was both angry and anxious: "Zhaozhao, how could you believe a man's words? Children are a woman's lifelong source of confidence. Without children, what future can you talk about?"
Consort Xi said that families like the Xie family have a deep foundation, and even if a woman doesn't rely on a man, her dowry will be enough to ensure she has enough to eat and wear for the rest of her life.
However, it is precisely because of the Xie family's strong foundation that many men with ulterior motives want to step on the Xie family to rise to power.
Even more despicable ones might try to seize your dowry.
If a man won't even give you his child, it only shows that he never truly cared for you; he just wanted to use you.
“Zhaozhao, men are all unreliable! Husbands, fathers, brothers... all unreliable. A woman can only rely on herself.”
Consort Xi was emotional, "Men in this world say they love you, then turn around and marry someone else; they pity you, yet fear you; they speak grandly of considering the bigger picture, yet sacrifice you without hesitation..."
Xie Zhaozhao fell silent as she thought about how she had lost one child after another and would eventually be unable to have any more.
Her aunt might be a bit extreme, but she didn't think her aunt was malicious.
She reached out and hugged her aunt's arm, saying, "Aunt, I've remembered everything. I'll go back and ask Grand Secretary Gu if he's been secretly drinking contraceptive soup."
"If he loved you, he wouldn't use the excuse of harming his body to refuse to give you even one child!"
Consort Xi's face darkened as she said, "Even eating can cause choking. Are we going to give up eating altogether because of a choking incident? If he drinks the contraceptive soup and refuses to let you get pregnant, I will kill him."
Xie Zhaozhao opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything in rebuttal; her aunt was doing it for her own good.
Consort Xi calmed down and her tone softened again: "You haven't been in contact with Dong Qin lately?"
"So much has happened lately, I haven't had time to think about it... What, did something happen to Dong Qin?" Xie Zhaozhao asked in surprise. "He's been doing quite well in Baiyue City."
Consort Xi smiled and said, "Ever since I gave him to you, he has never come to my place again."
"Is there anything you want to tell him, Aunt?" Xie Zhaozhao asked sincerely. "Aunt can write a letter, and I'll mail it for you."
"No need. If he comes to the capital, just tell him to come to the palace for a visit."
“Okay, I will tell him as soon as he comes to Qingpuyuan.”
Consort Xi smiled gently.
Suddenly he asked again what caused Xu's death.
Xie Zhaozhao said, "On the way to Huguo Temple to pray for my third sister, the horse got spooked and fell off a cliff. My third sister is pregnant. The Empress has met my mother once, so it seems that she values this pregnancy very much."
These words were a mix of truth and falsehood. Consort Xi looked at her with a deeper meaning, but saw that her face was normal and her expression was indifferent. Her manners were so good that Consort Xi couldn't find anything out about her even if she tried to probe her.
Consort Xi couldn't help but sneer, "Xu Yingrong schemed her whole life, but in the end she had nothing left, Xie Tingting..."
There were eyes and ears everywhere in the palace, and before she could finish her sentence, Xie Zhaozhao didn't respond.
The Xie family is a royalist faction. Xie Tingting becoming the Crown Prince's concubine and joining the Wei family's faction is tantamount to forcing the Xie family to side with the Wei family, making the Xie family appear disloyal and unjust. How could Xie Anfeng possibly lead the entire clan to support her?
Xie Zhaozhao did not stay in the palace for long before taking her leave.
As Liuli watched Xie Zhaozhao walk out of the palace step by step, she said softly, "The Grand Secretary's wife has changed."
Consort Xi sighed, "Yes, they've grown up..."
Back at the mansion, I saw Gu Shaoyu holding a shovel, searching the yard for small holes in the ground to dig for cicadas.
Xie Zhaozhao got off the carriage, and Gu Shaoyu stared at her with his deep, dark eyes, but unfortunately, he couldn't tell whether he was happy or angry.
Xie Zhaozhao walked up to her, squatted down, and watched him catch cicadas in the small hole.
The courtyards of the Xie and Bo mansions were originally paved with bricks and stones, and she had never actually caught a cicada by hand.
Now, most of this courtyard is a garden, and there are many cicadas in the soil under the trees.
How did you find the cicada?
“Come and see—” Gu Shaoyu pointed to a small hole in the ground. The hole was irregular, and only a thin layer of soil remained at the entrance.
Through the thin layer of soil, it seemed as if there were some living creatures inside the cave.
Xie Zhaozhao was a little scared and took a step back.
Gu Shaoyu gently lifted the small hole with his fingers, revealing a small hole about the size of a thumb. Sure enough, there was a light brown cicada (a cicada larva) inside.
He took a small twig, stuck it into the hole, and pulled it up. He saw a plump cicada, its two pincers tightly gripping the twig, being fished out.
Nanxing took a water jug, put the cicada in it, and then brought a basin of water, telling Gu Shaoyu to wash his hands.
The couple walked in the yard, talking as they looked at the scenery.
"What does the Imperial Concubine want with you?"
Xie Zhaozhao said with a wry smile, "It seems we have no choice but to have children."
"how?"
"Imperial Physician Wen took my pulse again and said that I am in good health and it is the perfect time for me to have a child."
"Did they induce labor?"
Xie Zhaozhao smiled. Actually, Consort Xi summoned her today not only to urge her to give birth, but more importantly, to find out what she and Dong Qin were doing.
Or rather, I want to know what she's doing.
Dong Qin may have stopped reporting Xie Zhaozhao's situation to Consort Xi, which aroused Consort Xi's suspicion.
“Jingchen, I’ll be eighteen next year, I can be a mother.” He didn’t mention that Consort Xi suspected him of drinking contraceptive soup, nor did he mention that she wanted to kill him.
"Want children?"
"Um."
"You're not even eighteen yet, your body isn't fully developed."
“But you’ve grown up completely,” Xie Zhaozhao said with a smile. “Aren’t you afraid that when you take the child out in the future, people will say to you: ‘Grand Secretary Gu, is this your grandson?’”
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com