Chapter 420 Jingxi's Letter
Upon hearing this, Madam Dong immediately objected, saying, "Husband, our eldest daughter is pregnant now; how can she go out and about so casually?"
Meng Dongyuan said dismissively, "A peasant woman in the countryside can still farm when she's seven or eight months pregnant. Not to mention the countryside, even other women can go out to banquets after they get pregnant. She's only a little over a month pregnant and hasn't even shown yet. Why can't she go out? Even the empresses in the palace aren't this precious."
Madam Dong replied, “Husband, how can others be compared to our eldest daughter? The child in her belly is the grandson that our in-laws have been longing for for many years, and the child that our son-in-law has been longing for for many years. This child is hard-won, and the entire Gu family is taking good care of him. If he gets hurt or injured when he goes out, can our Meng family afford to compensate him?”
Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan instantly came to his senses. If the child were to fall and die, the Gu family would hate the Meng family, and they would no longer be in-laws, but enemies.
Seeing that he remained silent, and fearing that he would be unhappy, Madam Dong said, "Husband, I know you want to ease the tension with the eldest daughter, and it is for the sake of the Meng family, but these things cannot be rushed. The more anxious you are, the more counterproductive it will be."
Meng Dongyuan was anxious but helpless. There was a real vacancy available, and if his eldest daughter could put in a good word for him with his son-in-law and get him to help him make arrangements, the position would most likely fall to him.
Madam Dong comforted her, saying, "The timing isn't right this time. Your eldest son-in-law isn't even in the capital. It's no use talking to your eldest daughter. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Meng Dongyuan was extremely frustrated. He had finally gotten an opportunity, and his eldest daughter was pregnant again. His son-in-law was having a child late in life, so he would be more accommodating for the sake of the child. All he had to do was let his eldest daughter tell him. But since he wasn't in the capital, he couldn't just write a letter to tell him.
Madam Dong exchanged a glance with him, not wanting to continue the topic, and said instead, "Husband, let's have dinner first."
Meng Dongyuan was about to speak when Dong Shi's words silenced him. He felt a surge of anger, but he still liked the knowledgeable, gentle, and beautiful Dong Shi very much, so he didn't vent his anger on her.
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Two days later, news came from the Meng family that Meng Jinyu had become engaged to a wealthy Yangzhou merchant surnamed Deng, and that they would get married in October of this year. After the wedding, she would go to Yangzhou with her husband.
Meng Jinyao remained unmoved. To her, it was simply a matter of returning to her parents' home for a banquet and presenting a dowry gift.
Many people behind Meng Dongyuan's back said that he was selling his daughter because the Meng family had married a merchant. How could a noble family stoop so low as to marry a merchant who reeks of money? Wasn't it because they were after the merchant's money?
However, some argue that marrying a daughter with a less-than-stellar reputation to a wealthy merchant offers tangible benefits, which is better than marrying her to a scholar of lower social standing. Even if such a scholar becomes an official, he might not achieve high rank and could remain a minor, impoverished official for life. Not only would the daughter suffer, but she would also offer no support to her family, who might even have to rely on them. What good would that do? It's far better to marry a wealthy merchant and live a life of luxury.
Days passed by like this, and Meng Jinyao stayed at home to rest during her pregnancy, without going out.
More than half a month later, Chan'er and Qingqiu returned. Chan'er had lost a lot of weight due to her serious injuries. Although Qingqiu was not very hard to take care of Chan'er, she had also lost a lot of weight because she was too worried about her master.
Meng Jinyao felt sorry for them when she saw that they had both lost weight. After exchanging a few pleasantries and knowing that they had had a long and tiring journey, she told them to freshen up and get some rest.
As evening approached, Qingqiu woke up, dressed, and prepared to serve her mistress dinner. While speaking with Chunliu, she learned from Chunliu that her mistress was pregnant. She was both surprised and delighted: "Madam is pregnant?"
Chunliu said, "Yes, the day after the lady returned to the manor, she was diagnosed with a pregnancy."
Qingqiu put her hands together and said, "Amitabha, may Buddha protect us. Fortunately, the journey back was safe and sound, and there were no problems."
Chunliu was a little confused by her words and laughed, "Why are you being so mysterious? With the Marquis accompanying you, Madam will definitely arrive home safely."
Qingqiu smiled and said nothing, only saying, "Let's go, it's time to serve Madam dinner."
The spring willows responded.
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Meng Jinyao experienced few pregnancy symptoms after becoming pregnant, and her appetite was quite good. She stayed at home every day to rest and recuperate, and the servants took good care of her. She was living a good life, but she often missed the father of her child.
To keep herself occupied and pass the time, she made clothes for her child and the child's father. Since she didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, she made little clothes for the child in red fabric, which could be worn by both boys and girls and was also festive.
Seeing that she often did needlework, Ningdong said, "Madam, you've been doing embroidery these days. Be careful not to hurt your eyes. The weather is nice outside now. Why don't I accompany you for a walk in the back garden?"
After hearing this, Meng Jinyao put down her embroidery, stretched slowly, and then went for a walk in the back garden with Ningdong.
When they arrived at the back garden, they met Xiuyuan's wife, Jiang, who was playing with her child.
Gu Yunxin was born in March and is only a few months old now. She is fair-skinned, cute, well-behaved, and always smiling, making her especially lovable.
Meng Jinyao has always loved children, and now that she is about to become a mother, her love for children is even greater than before. Seeing the little one laughing and interacting with Jiang Shi, she subconsciously touched her belly.
Upon seeing her, Madam Jiang quickly curtsied and greeted her, "Third Aunt."
Meng Jinyao nodded with a smile, her gaze never leaving the little one in her arms. She walked over and patted the little one's head: "This child is getting cuter and cuter."
Jiang replied, "Third Aunt, Yunxin's uncle will be very cute in the future."
Yunxin's uncle?
Meng Jinyao didn't react for a moment, but after a while she realized what was going on and laughed, "Maybe it's not my uncle, but my aunt."
Jiang said with a sweet smile, "Even if she is my aunt, she is still a lovely little girl. Besides, my third uncle and aunt are good-looking, so whether it is a boy or a girl, they must be good-looking."
Meng Jinyao gave her a reproachful look: "You're so sweet-talking."
Jiang said, "Third Aunt, I'm telling the truth."
Meng Jinyao said gently, "Let me hold this child. It's been a long time since I've held him."
Jiang didn't dare to tire her out, and replied, "Third Aunt, Yunxin is quite heavy. You're pregnant and shouldn't overexert yourself. Besides, the baby's feet are restless; it wouldn't be good if he kicked Uncle or Aunt."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao had no choice but to give up and instead seek advice from Madam Jiang on raising children.
Jiang was a woman of few words, a gentle and virtuous wife. But whenever someone talked to her about a field she was familiar with, she would become very talkative and would tell Meng Jinyao everything she knew.
Meng Jinyao had a pleasant conversation with her, listened to a lot of her experience, and learned about some of the changes during pregnancy.
After parting ways with her, Meng Jinyao returned to Weirui Pavilion. As soon as she sat down inside, Qingqiu came in with a letter and said to her, "Madam, the Marquis has sent a letter home."
Meng Jinyao was taken aback. It would take more than half a month for the letter to travel from the capital to Hangzhou. Although the letter had arrived in Hangzhou, it wouldn't be delivered so quickly if she wanted to send it back.
She asked doubtfully, "Are you sure it was a letter sent back by the Marquis?"
Qingqiu smiled and asked in return, "How could this be fake? Why don't you take a look and you'll know? This letter was not only sent to you, but also to the old lady. It was a letter written by the Marquis on his way to Hangzhou Prefecture and then sent back."
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