Chapter 331 Aning is Pregnant
A gentle breeze is blowing and the sun is shining brightly.
Upon receiving Meng Jinyao's instructions, Chunliu, who had gone to the Shen family to deliver an invitation to Song Xinning, returned and informed her of the situation: "Madam, Young Madam Shen is pregnant, but the fetus is unstable and she needs to rest in bed, so she cannot enjoy the flowers with you."
Meng Jinyao was taken aback: "A-Ning is pregnant?"
Chunliu nodded and replied respectfully, "This servant also met with Young Madam Shen once. She told me that she is more than a month pregnant, and it was only a couple of days ago when she was feeling unwell that she was diagnosed."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was surprised and worried. She frowned and asked anxiously, "A-Ning is usually very healthy. Why is the fetus unstable? Has she been affected by something?"
Chunliu said, "Young Madam Shen is in charge of the household affairs and is very busy and tired. Now that the household affairs have been handed back to Madam Shen, she can focus on her pregnancy and should be fine."
Meng Jinyao nodded gently and said softly, "By the way, go to the Liang Prince's Mansion and tell the Princess that we won't be going to admire the flowers the day after tomorrow. Instead, we'll go directly to the Shen family."
"Yes, madam."
Chunliu responded with a curtsy, then withdrew to prepare for her journey to the Liang Prince's residence.
Ningdong, who was serving by the side, saw that her master had a smile on his lips and a hint of joy in his eyes. He clearly liked children very much. He was so happy to hear that his friend was pregnant. But although her master liked children, he could not have a child of his own.
Perhaps life is like this: you can't have your cake and eat it too; there are gains and losses. Having a husband as good as the Marquis also means losing some things. But then again, it's good that I don't have to give birth myself; at least I don't have to walk through the gates of hell.
On a whim, Meng Jinyao suddenly wanted to make a set of clothes for her friend's unborn child. Since she had nothing better to do, she immediately got to work.
When Gu Jingxi returned in the afternoon, he saw her sitting by the window doing needlework as soon as he entered the house. Upon closer inspection, he saw that she was making children's clothes and couldn't help but be surprised. Although the eldest son's family had a legitimate grandson, it was not necessary for A Yao, as his great-aunt, to make children's clothes. So he asked, "A Yao, why are you suddenly making children's clothes?"
Hearing the voice, Meng Jinyao realized he had returned. She stopped what she was doing, looked up at him, and said with a smile, "A-Ning is pregnant. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, so we're thinking of making two sets of clothes for her child, one for a boy and one for a girl."
Gu Jingxi was slightly taken aback. Wasn't A Ning Mo Bai's niece? They got married at the end of last year and already had a child?
A moment later, Gu Jingxi sat down beside her and saw that she seemed to be embroidering a small tiger pattern. Her embroidery skills were exquisite. He said, "Ayao's embroidery is quite good."
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao smiled even more: "Isn't it beautiful? I had Qingqiu draw the pattern for me, and I embroidered it myself."
Gu Jingxi nodded: "That looks good. Let's try harder next year and have a child."
Meng Jinyao didn't think much of it, assuming he wanted to find a child to adopt next year, and nodded in agreement: "Okay, we'll find a child with a pure and kind heart then."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi opened his lips slightly, but ultimately did not explain. It was better to be cautious about some things; otherwise, if something unexpected happened halfway through, he would be unable to fulfill his promise.
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The day after tomorrow will also be a sunny and pleasant day.
Meng Jinyao and Princess Jingning went to the Shen family to visit Song Xinning, who was bedridden during her pregnancy.
This was Princess Jingning's first visit to the Shen family, and Meng Jinyao was also visiting the Shen family for the first time after her friend's wedding. After passing through the moon gate, she saw a young woman dressed in a peach-colored dress. The young woman was already very beautiful, and with her fox-like eyes, she looked even more charming.
Upon seeing this person, they paused in their tracks and subconsciously glanced at her. Seeing that she was accompanied by a maid, they could roughly guess her identity. This person must be the concubine who had given birth to twin daughters for Lord Shen.
She was truly beautiful, even more so than Madam Shen, but she lacked Madam Shen's dignified and elegant demeanor. She was just a pretty vase, but that didn't stop men from liking her.
The young woman subconsciously sized them up when she saw them. Seeing their luxurious clothes, she knew they must be rich or noble, but she had never seen them before and didn't know how to address them.
It was the steward who led the guests who spoke first, reminding them: "Aunt Wang, this is Princess Jingning of the Liang Prince's Mansion, and also the Lady of Changxing Marquis. Quickly pay your respects to Princess Jingning and Lady Gu."
Upon hearing the other party's identity, the young woman was immediately startled and quickly curtsied, saying, "This humble woman is Wang, greetings to Princess Jingning and Madam Gu."
Princess Jingning gave a faint "hmm" and ignored her, pulling Meng Jinyao along as they continued walking.
As the noble lady departed, Aunt Wang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Previously, she could be proud of herself because of the master's affection for her and the two children in her womb. However, because she gave birth to two girls, she disappointed the master. People in the mansion said that her womb was not worthy of her, as neither of her two children was a boy. She no longer dared to be proud. Fortunately, she was young and beautiful, and the master would continue to dote on her.
However, the lady was very stingy with money. She hadn't had a good life since entering the mansion and could only rely on the master's meager salary to survive. But the master's salary wasn't all for her to spend. The young mistress was in charge of the household, and the master's salary could only be given to her according to the concubine's allowance. The rest was used for public expenses. The eldest son, the young mistress, and the lady all received a allowance, even though they didn't lack money.
In the end, the master received very little money and even had to ask her for money to spend. She didn't know what sins she had committed. In public, she was the beloved concubine of the Vice Minister of Works, which gave her some respectability, but in reality, she lived a worse life than a mistress who couldn't be seen in public. When she was a mistress, she lived a life of luxury.
Despite this, the master dared not resist or refuse to hand over his salary. Otherwise, if word got out that the master's salary was not used to support his family but only to support his concubine, the charge of favoring his concubine over his wife would be confirmed, and the censors would impeach him, which would end the master's career. He might even be demoted. She could only swallow her anger.
Meanwhile, Princess Jingning couldn't help but mutter to Meng Jinyao, "Ayao, judging from her attire, the treatment she receives as a favored concubine is probably worse than that of an unfavored concubine in other families."
Meng Jinyao recalled that Aunt Wang's attire was rather simple, with ordinary fabrics and jewelry. In comparison, even her head maid was dressed better than Aunt Wang.
At this moment, the butler suddenly said, "Master's salary isn't much; we can't use the mistress's dowry to support his concubines."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao and Princess Jingning immediately looked at the steward, never expecting that a steward would dare to say such a thing.
The butler was also taken aback. He only spoke up to answer the question because he saw that they were the young mistress's close friends. If it were anyone else, he would not have spoken up. He said, "I am the mistress's dowry attendant."
The two understood immediately. It turned out that she was a servant who came with Madam Shen as part of her dowry. She must also be one of Madam Shen's confidantes, which is why she became the steward. They had heard that most of the servants in the Shen family were Madam Shen's people, and even when Lord Shen returned home, he had to rely on Madam Shen to get by.
Who made Lord Shen poor?
Madam Shen had a large dowry, a promising eldest son, and a daughter-in-law from the Song family.
If it weren't for Aunt Wang, Lord Shen wouldn't be short of money. With the couple working together, the family would be happy and harmonious. They deserve what they have now.
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