Chapter 290 I'm Pregnant
Late December, just before the Lunar New Year.
Although no one else had been added to the household, it seemed even more lively, and everyone was more energetic in their work. Perhaps it was because of the red envelopes that would be given by the master in a few days for the New Year, which were like free gifts.
Gu Xiuwen, who was at Lingshan Academy, had returned, and his three elder brothers were also on holiday. The brothers invited the sons of other officials and noble families in the capital to go to the plum garden to admire the plum blossoms.
Inside Qingyu Pavilion, Li Wan'er was secretly sulking about this. Her brother Xiuming had originally promised to go with her to admire the plum blossoms, but when he saw the other brothers going, he went with them instead, and then told her that he would accompany her next time.
The maid Hongling comforted her, "Madam, perhaps the other young masters invited the young master, and he couldn't refuse, so he went. It's noon now, and the young master probably won't be back for lunch. Why don't you have lunch first?"
Li Wan'er nodded: "Have someone prepare the meal."
Now, there are only the eldest master Gu Jingsheng and the eldest son Gu Xiuyuan in the mansion. The young master Gu Xiuming has a concubine. The second master Gu Jingsong originally also had a concubine, namely Aunt Fang, the birth mother of the second daughter Gu Xuanling. After Aunt Fang died, Gu Jingsong did not take any more concubines, and only had two maids who served him.
The concubines in the mansion all had the same status, but their treatment varied. The favored concubines would have better food, clothing, and daily necessities.
Li Wan'er was a favored concubine. Although her food was not as good as that of the main mistress, it was still more refined than that of the other unfavored concubines in the mansion. For example, this meal included steamed fish, stir-fried pork slices with fresh radish, and a soup.
The food was decent, but Li Wan'er had little appetite. She had just picked up a piece of fish, but before she could even put it in her mouth, the smell of fish made her feel nauseous and gag.
Seeing this, Hongling quickly asked, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
Li Wan'er shook her head: "It's nothing, I just feel a little nauseous. I'm hungry, but I don't have much of an appetite."
Upon hearing this, Hongling suddenly realized a possibility and asked, "Auntie, could it be that you're pregnant?"
"Pregnant?"
Li Wan'er was stunned. She had been hoping for a child for a long time but hadn't gotten one. She even made a nourishing soup for Xiu Ming, which finally allowed him to touch her again. However, this seemed to have hurt Xiu Ming's pride as a man. After learning that it was an aphrodisiac soup, he got angry with her and forbade her to make those soups again.
After that night, Brother Xiuming didn't drink the tonic soup, probably because he couldn't perform again. He didn't touch her anymore, and he didn't even sleep with her. But he was very good to her during the day. However, she was still sad. She longed for a child soon, but she didn't expect Brother Xiuming to be so uncooperative.
Is it because Xiu Ming was so vigorous that night that she got pregnant?
Hongling added, "Auntie, you haven't had your period this month, so I reckon you're really pregnant."
Upon hearing this, Li Wan'er belatedly realized that her period was supposed to start in the middle of the month, but it hadn't come yet. She reached out and touched her lower abdomen, but felt nothing. She hesitated and said, "Perhaps not?"
Hongling said, "Auntie, I've heard that morning sickness is a normal reaction for pregnant women. Plus, you haven't had your period yet, so there's a 90% chance you're pregnant."
Li Wan'er's heart pounded wildly, and a smile bloomed on her face. She was surprised, delighted, and somewhat incredulous. Was she really pregnant? The child in her belly, whether a boy or a girl, would be the first child of the third branch of the family. With this child, her status in the mansion would be elevated, and she would have a child to rely on in the future.
After a moment, she instructed, "Go and fetch the physician from the palace to check if the fetus is stable."
Hongling immediately went to fetch the family physician.
The other maids in the room looked at her with newfound seriousness. Aunt Li was pregnant with the Marquis's first grandson or granddaughter, so she had to be taken good care of. If anything went wrong, they would suffer as well.
Not long after, the imperial physician came to examine Li Wan'er's pulse. On the way to Qingyuxuan, he had already heard Hongling tell him about Li Wan'er's basic situation, which sounded like she was pregnant.
Seeing that the physician had been intently taking her pulse for a long time without speaking, Li Wan'er became anxious and hurriedly asked, "Doctor, how is it? Am I pregnant? How is the baby?"
The physician withdrew his hand, not quite sure himself. Meeting her eager gaze, he replied, "The pregnancy is still early, and we can't tell just by taking the pulse. We'll take your pulse again in a few days to see how it goes."
Li Wan'er wanted a definite answer, so she asked, "Am I pregnant?"
The physician replied, "Judging from your condition, nausea, dry heaving, loss of appetite, and missed period are all symptoms of pregnancy. To avoid any accidents, please take good care of yourself recently and avoid cold foods. Also, please abstain from sexual intercourse to prevent miscarriage if the fetus is not yet firmly established."
After hearing this, Li Wan'er felt relieved. If the physician gave such advice, she was most likely pregnant, but it was still early in the pregnancy.
After the physician left, Hongling said, "Auntie, you didn't eat anything just now. If the food didn't suit your taste, I'll go to the kitchen and make you something else. You're carrying the little master in your belly, you can't go hungry."
Li Wan'er was also worried that the baby in her belly would go hungry. However, it would take a while to prepare the new dishes, so she said, "Heat up the stir-fried pork with fresh radish, the soup, and the rice. I won't eat the fish, so I won't feel nauseous from the smell. You can heat it up and share it."
Hongling withdrew in response.
Within an afternoon, all the maids and servants at Qingyuxuan knew that the young master's beloved concubine, Aunt Li, was pregnant.
When Gu Xiuming arrived, he noticed that all the servants in the courtyard had smiles on their faces. Suspicious, he asked Hongling out of curiosity, "What's going on? What's making you all so happy?"
Hongling didn't say it directly, but only said, "This servant congratulates Your Highness, Your Highness."
Gu Xiuming was taken aback. He had been having a lot of bad luck lately, and none of the girls he liked had paid any attention to him. He was even considering whether to take a different approach when he suddenly heard this question. He asked, puzzled, "What's so great about that?"
Hongling smiled and said, "Young Master, let your aunt tell you about this. If I tell you first, your aunt might be unhappy."
These words piqued Gu Xiuming's curiosity even more, so he went inside to find Li Wan'er.
When Li Wan'er saw him return, she quickly got up to greet him and said in a clear voice, "Brother Xiuming, you're back." As she spoke, she considerately brushed the snow off his shoulders.
Gu Xiuming was very pleased with her gentleness and thoughtfulness. He smiled and nodded, pulled her to sit down, and asked the question that had been bothering him: "When I came back, I found that everyone was quite happy. What happened?"
Li Wan'er smiled and said, "Brother Xiuming, guess."
Seeing her radiant smile, Gu Xiuming thought for a moment, but after a while he couldn't think of anything that could make her so happy. He said gently, "Wan'er, how am I supposed to guess? Give me a hint."
Li Wan'er also gave a hint: "It's related to us."
Gu Xiuming guessed several answers, but all of them were wrong, so he lost interest and didn't want to guess anymore. He said, "I can't guess. Wan'er, can you just tell me?"
Li Wan'er nestled into his arms, smiling sweetly, her voice filled with laughter: "Brother Xiuming, I'm pregnant! We're finally going to be parents!"
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