Chapter 470 Dong Shi is Pregnant
On New Year's Eve, the family enjoyed a joyful and harmonious dinner together.
Gu Xiuming had been having New Year's Eve dinner with them for over ten years. This year, however, he was absent. Some people remembered him, but they wisely refrained from mentioning him on this occasion to avoid spoiling the mood.
According to the officials escorting Gu Xiuming and Li Wan'er, Gu Xiuming nearly died of illness on the way, but he survived and arrived in Yazhou alive with Li Wan'er.
However, even after arriving in Yazhou, the couple couldn't maintain their affectionate relationship. They argued countless times during the journey to Yazhou, and if it weren't for the officials, they probably would have fought. Their presence provided the officials escorting them with some amusement, making the journey less tedious.
Sometimes, no matter how much you like someone, they can become worthless in the face of self-interest, and all the vows you made will become meaningless. That's reality.
In Gu Xiuming's heart, Li Wan'er went from being his beloved to a thorn in his side. If nothing unexpected happens, they will torment each other for the rest of their lives and will never be able to reconcile.
After the family banquet, the younger generation stayed up with Madam Gu to celebrate the New Year.
Around midnight, everyone returned to their own courtyards to rest. Meng Jinyao, who had gotten used to going to bed early since becoming pregnant, was already yawning repeatedly.
Seeing that she could fall asleep even while standing, and looking at her belly, Gu Jingxi realized that he couldn't carry her back on his back or hold her in his arms, as it would put pressure on the baby. So he said, "Ayao, just hold on a little longer, and you'll be able to sleep soon."
Meng Jinyao nodded, then yawned and asked, "Now that I have an imperial title, do I have to go to the palace to pay my respects tomorrow morning? I saw that Mother went to the palace to pay her respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year last year."
Gu Jingxi replied, "No need this year. Her Majesty the Empress is not in the mood to entertain the ladies of the court. The Emperor has also issued an order that on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year, all civil and military officials and ladies of the court need not come to the palace to pay their respects."
Meng Jinyao nodded again: "That's right, it's been less than a month since His Highness the Crown Prince passed away."
Putting aside their status, the Emperor and Empress were just ordinary people, and the pain of losing a child was no less than that of any other parent.
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The Yongchang Earl's Mansion.
Mrs. Dong was in charge of the family banquet. The Meng family was small, so it was relatively easy for her, but she still felt tired and exhausted.
Seeing that she was yawning and looked listless, the maidservant suggested softly, "Madam, why don't you go and rest for a while? I'll keep an eye on things for you."
"fine."
Madam Dong shook her head slightly. She knew that her mother-in-law was difficult to get along with. There was a family banquet today, but she went to rest instead. If nothing went wrong, all would be well. But if something went wrong, her mother-in-law would definitely scold her tonight.
When she first entered the family, her mother-in-law's attitude was acceptable. However, when she learned that she wanted to increase income and reduce expenses, she became quite critical of her. Later, because she was unable to persuade the eldest daughter to help the Meng family, her mother-in-law disliked her even more and directly demanded that she pay her respects to her elders every morning and evening.
She had been someone else's daughter-in-law before, but compared to her ex-husband's family, the Meng family was far inferior in every way except for their social standing. Her ex-father-in-law and mother-in-law were both reasonable and felt sorry for her being a young widow. After she had observed three years of mourning, they persuaded her to return to her parents' home and remarry. When she got married, her ex-husband's family even sent someone to deliver a congratulatory gift.
Compared to this, her current life is no different from falling into a fire pit. Her mother-in-law is unkind, and although her husband loves her at the moment, she knows that her husband is not a good person, and she doesn't know how long this love will last.
The maidservant, still worried about her, advised her again: "Madam, you still have to stay up tonight to celebrate the New Year. If you don't rest now, how will you have the energy tonight?"
Mrs. Dong replied, "It's alright, I'll just find something to do to pass the time tonight."
After hearing this, the maid stopped trying to persuade her.
At a family dinner.
Meng Jinyao and Meng Jinyu are already married, so there are only five people at the Meng family dinner table, and the five of them are not on good terms and have a rift between them.
Meng Chengzhang felt resentful towards his father, grandmother, and younger brother.
Meng Chengxing felt resentful towards his elder brother, father, and stepmother. Originally, he had no estrangement from his father, but because his father now valued his elder brother and neglected her, as if he had become an abandoned child, he became dissatisfied.
Madam Meng was dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law, and Meng Dongyuan was dissatisfied with his disappointing youngest son.
As for Madam Dong, she was dissatisfied with all three of them except Meng Chengzhang.
Therefore, even when the five of them gathered together for New Year's Eve dinner, their hearts were not truly at peace, and it was difficult to achieve genuine harmony. The banquet was rather quiet.
In previous years, the New Year's Eve family banquet was always very lively, but this year it seemed rather quiet. Old Madam Meng's dissatisfaction with her daughter-in-law increased. What use is it to have read the Four Books and Five Classics and understand poetry and songs? As the head of the household, she doesn't even know how to liven up the atmosphere. In this respect, she is far inferior to Madam Sun.
Meng Dongyuan picked up a piece of fish and gave it to Dong Shi.
Dong originally didn't want to eat it, but she didn't want to offend her husband in public, so she picked it up and prepared to eat it. Before she could even put it in her mouth, she was nauseated by the fishy smell and immediately covered her mouth and gagged.
Madam Meng immediately frowned: "What's wrong with you? You can't even eat in peace. Even if the food today didn't suit your taste, you didn't have to make such a fuss."
Madam Dong hurriedly said, "Mother, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I feel like vomiting whenever I smell fish these past two days."
Upon hearing this, Madam Meng seemed to understand something and softened her tone: "Alright, after dinner, I'll have Physician Ling come and examine you."
Ms. Dong was somewhat flattered and nodded gently, "Okay."
After the meal, the Ling family physician came over with his medicine box to treat Madam Dong.
When the physician from the Ling family placed his fingers on Madam Dong's wrist, Old Madam Meng's eyes showed a hint of anticipation. After the physician finished taking her pulse, she asked, "How is it?"
The physician from the Ling family smiled and congratulated her, saying, "Congratulations, Madam! Congratulations, Lord! Congratulations, Madam! Madam is pregnant; you are more than a month along."
These words shocked everyone present.
Ms. Dong could not believe her ears. She had been married to her ex-husband for several years without any sign of pregnancy. Everyone said she was infertile, and she herself thought so too. She never expected that she would be pregnant now.
Madam Meng immediately beamed with joy, and even found Dong Shi much more pleasing to the eye. Their family hadn't had a child in a long time, and they had been prepared for Dong Shi to become pregnant, since she was infertile.
Meng Dongyuan was overjoyed. His wife's ex-husband couldn't get her pregnant, but he could, which proved that he was much better than that man. That man was not only useless, but also short-lived.
Meng Chengzhang was somewhat surprised, but also happy. With his stepmother pregnant, he would have a younger brother or sister. His stepmother was a kind and sensible woman who could raise the child well. If it was a sister, she would definitely be a lovely little girl. If it was a brother, he could share the burden of rebuilding the Meng family with him in the future. As for his third brother, he had no expectations. He would be happy if he didn't become a burden.
The only one who was unhappy was Meng Chengxing. He never wanted a stepmother in the first place. Now that his stepmother was pregnant and his father had another child, would his father still have a place for him in his heart?
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