Chapter 257 Wan Wanning is Pregnant
The autumn hunting feast has ended.
After Shu Heng departed for his return journey, and everyone respectfully saw him off, Xu Langjun and his wife came forward to congratulate Lu Zhaoruo, their words filled with envy and curiosity.
Meng Xi was also in the crowd. His expression was as lazy as ever, but there was a different kind of meaning in his eyes. He cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Madam Lu."
Lu Zhaoruo returned the greeting politely, her expression calm, and said nothing more.
Meng Xi seemed about to say something, but Xiao Yeming stepped forward silently, placing himself between the two, and whispered to Lu Zhaoruo, "Zhaoruo, we need to go back and check on Gu Xian's condition as soon as possible."
Lu Zhaoruo understood and took the opportunity to bid farewell to everyone before leaving with Xiao Yeming.
Not far away, Lady Yunxiu was being supported by her maid. The pain in her arm made her face pale, but her beautiful eyes were fixed on Lu Zhaoruo's departing figure, her gaze so sinister it was almost dripping with water.
She will remember this humiliation!
The group returned to the villa where Gu Xian was recuperating, and Princess Yongfu was indeed guarding her bedside, her eyes slightly red.
Upon seeing them return, he hurriedly inquired about the autumn hunting feast.
She was genuinely happy for Lu Zhaoruo when she learned that he had won the championship, but when she looked at Gu Xian, her worry deepened.
Gu Xian was exhausted and managed to say a few words before falling into a deep sleep again.
The next day.
Before dawn, Lu Zhaoruo was already sitting upright in the back hall of Yunshang Pavilion.
The moment the honor of "handling procurement for the palace" was bestowed upon him, a myriad of practical tasks followed.
The first priority was to coordinate with the envoy sent by the Imperial Household Department.
The eunuch held a register and meticulously checked the types, quantities, patterns, specifications, and delivery deadlines of the satin to be used in the palace for the next four seasons.
Lu Zhaoruo listened attentively and responded to each request. She knew perfectly well that this offering was a matter of imperial dignity, and that no detail could be overlooked, from the warp and weft of the silk threads to the dyeing patterns.
The existing weaving workshops suddenly found themselves short of manpower.
She immediately posted a notice and personally interviewed the applicants who were skilled in weaving and embroidery. She not only carefully examined their needlework skills but also inquired about their family background. She required not only that they have excellent skills but also that they have a clean background and be reliable in their conduct.
Expanding workshops, adding machines, and stockpiling high-quality silk materials all require huge sums of money.
She and Manager Huang worked through the night using an abacus to check accounts and plan to use all their savings.
The imperial silks were of the finest quality.
She placed the samples sent by various silk merchants under the light and repeatedly compared their luster, twist, and evenness of dyeing, demanding almost obsessive attention to detail.
From then on, Lu Zhaoruo rose at dawn and rested late at night every day, shuttling between weaving workshops, shops and merchants and artisans. He became more and more decisive and organized in his actions.
The days slipped by quietly in this busyness.
January has arrived in the blink of an eye.
The cicadas outside the window have long since stopped chirping. The weather is turning cooler, and autumn is deepening. The leaves on the branches are tinged with varying shades of yellow and ochre, and when the wind blows, it carries a touch of desolation.
The expansion of Yunshang Pavilion is nearing completion, new looms have been installed, and the first batch of brocades woven according to palace designs has been delivered to the palace.
During this time, the Grand Princess's residence sent people several times to invite Lady Lu to her residence. Although the words were polite, they always carried a hint of something unusual.
Lu Zhaoruo knew perfectly well what was going on, and declined each offer humbly, citing her recent appointment by the emperor and her busy schedule.
Besides the jealousy of Lady Yunxiu, there were two other pairs of eyes watching her closely as she rose to prominence as a "royal merchant."
One of them is Li Nian'er, who is still struggling in the Imperial Uncle's mansion.
She tried to escape several times, but was caught each time and subjected to increasingly severe humiliation.
Although her aunt, Madam Jiang, felt sorry for her, she was powerless and helpless against the power of the Imperial Uncle's mansion.
In the endless darkness, Li Nian'er listened to the rumors circulating in the city about Lu Zhaoruo's boundless glory, and the resentment in her heart grew wildly like weeds.
The other person was Wan Ningniang.
She still lives in the villa that Qi Liang arranged for her, but the tenderness of the past has long since cooled.
Qi Liang visited less and less frequently, and his attitude became increasingly perfunctory.
Wan Ningniang keenly sensed that he had lost interest in her, so she made a bold decision and went to the renowned Yingxiang Pavilion in the city, where she spent a large sum of money to purchase two secret medicines.
First, "Spring Breeze Crossing" stirs the heart of men; second, "Jade Body Melting" makes women alluring.
That night, she used all her charms, taking advantage of the effects of the medicine, to have a tender moment with Qi Liang, and then softly brought up the matter of becoming his concubine again.
To everyone's surprise, Qi Liang didn't even bother to come up with an excuse and impatiently pushed her away, saying, "Don't mention this matter again!"
His tone was icy and chilling. After saying that, he got up, dressed, and left without looking back.
Watching his resolute back, Wan Ningniang curled up in the brocade quilt, her nails digging deep into her palms, trembling with hatred.
She finally saw clearly that Qi Liang had never been sincere towards her, and that she was nothing more than a plaything for him to play with for a moment, to be discarded like worn-out shoes when he got tired of her.
She regretted believing Qi Liang's sweet words and remorsefully asked why she had so easily given herself to someone!
And all this regret ultimately turned into a deep-seated curse on Lu Zhaoruo: "It's all Lu Zhaoruo's fault! If she hadn't cruelly kicked me out, how could I be homeless, how could I have been deceived by that hypocrite Qi Liang, and ended up like this! You ruined me!"
Looking at her mutilated right hand, the severed parts of her four fingers seemed to throb with pain again. The thought that Lu Zhaoruo had now become a glamorous imperial merchant filled her with panic and resentment.
no.
She couldn't just wait there nameless and without status in the other courtyard!
Just then, a violent wave of nausea surged up her throat, and she bent over and began to gag.
The maid Chun'er hurriedly summoned a doctor.
After taking her pulse, the old doctor stroked his beard and said, "Madam, this is a pregnancy pulse; it's been over a month."
Wan Ning's mother was taken aback at first, and then a twisted and triumphant smile slowly bloomed on her face.
"Qi Liang, don't you despise me and refuse to give me a proper status? Fine, very well."
She stroked her still-flat stomach, a fierce glint in her eyes. "If you won't let me into the manor, I'll personally take your child and knock on the Qi family's door!"
The next day.
After carefully dressing up, Wan Ningniang, accompanied by Chun'er, headed straight towards the Qi residence.
The Qi family residence.
Upon receiving the urgent report from the gatekeeper, Granny Qian hurriedly lifted the curtain and entered the inner room. She then quietly recounted to Madam Jiang, who was rubbing her temples with her eyes closed, the whole story of Wan Ningniang's pregnant belly coming to visit.
These days, Madam Jiang was exhausted by the matter of Li Nian'er being mired in the quagmire of the Imperial Uncle's mansion. Upon hearing this, her eyes suddenly opened, a sharp glint in them, and she slammed her hand on the table: "What a shameless wretch! How dare she be so ignorant and presumptuous as to come to the gates of my Qi family!"
Granny Qian lowered her head and asked, "Madam, please calm down. This kind of person who doesn't know his place, should I immediately tell the gatekeeper to beat him to death with sticks? Or... find a pretext to sell him off far away?"
Jiang's chest heaved as she suppressed her anger and sneered, "Kill her? Sell her off? You make it sound so easy! The child in her belly is Liang Ge'er's, the bloodline of my Qi family."
Granny Qian tentatively asked, "Then... does Madam mean to give her a title and take her in as a concubine?"
"She doesn't even deserve it?"
Jiang's tone was icy: "What right does a woman of unknown origin who offers herself to my Qi family have to enter our household? If we allow her to succeed so easily today, won't any Tom, Dick, or Harry dare to try and cling to us in the future?"
She hesitated for a moment, a calculating glint in her eyes, before regaining the composure of a matriarch: "Go, take her to the side hall. I want to see for myself what kind of person she is, daring to have such outrageous audacity!"
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