If we follow this line of thought, everything becomes reasonable.
Yu Jiao got off the carriage and said to Liu Yaoyu, "I'm going to see the madam."
"Are you going to tell mother?" Liu Yaoyu followed her and walked quickly into the yard.
Yu Jiao nodded. She had told Liu Yu that Cui Mubai's pulse was weak and he would not live more than three months. Madam Liu might also know about this. She and Liu Yaoyu were still children after all, so any decision they made would be inappropriate. Instead of worrying about it, it would be better to tell Madam Liu, who would make plans for Liu Yaozhen.
Madam Liu lived in Xiangxueyuan. When Yu Jiao and Liu Yaoyu went there, the third aunt of the Liu family was also there. She was Wei Lichu's mother and was a very kind and amiable person.
Seeing the two people come in, Aunt Liu San smiled and said, "Didn't you say you went ice skating with your cousin? How come you're back so soon?"
Yu Jiao and Liu Yaoyu bowed to greet her. Liu Yaoyu looked at Yu Jiao, then cleverly approached Wei Liushi and coquettishly took her hand: "Aunt, there is something interesting in my yard. Would you like to come with me to take a look?"
Madam Wei Liu glanced at Yu Jiao and could see that Yao Yu was trying to get rid of her on purpose. She stood up with a smile and fulfilled Yao Yu's wish. She followed her out and asked, "What's the big deal?"
"Aunt, come with me and you'll know." Liu Yaoyu dragged Wei Liu out of the room and turned back to blink at Yu Jiao.
Yu Jiao pursed her lips and smiled softly, then she heard Madam Liu say, "Third girl, what do you want to see me about?"
Yu Jiao pulled the letter out of her sleeve and placed it on the tea table next to Madam Liu.
Mrs. Liu picked up the letter with some suspicion and read to the end. Her face darkened. She looked at Yu Jiao and praised her, "Good child, don't tell your elder sister about this first." Mrs. Liu knew that Yu Jiao brought the letter to her and obviously did not let Liu Yaozhen see it, otherwise Yaozhen would come to her crying with the letter.
Yu Jiao nodded and said, "The letter was sent by someone from the Shen family. It was written by Miss Cui Wu to my second sister."
Madam Liu's eyes flashed with helplessness, and she said with great distress, "Your elder brother-in-law's health...your father told me about it when we left Beijing. Your elder sister is deeply in love with your elder brother-in-law, so I didn't dare to tell her rashly. I originally planned to bring her to Pingliang Prefecture and let your father come forward to ask the Cui family for a divorce."
This is similar to what Yu Jiao guessed.
Madam Liu continued anxiously, "Just pretend that you didn't receive the letter. When we return to Beijing, your elder sister will know what she should know." Thinking of Yaoyu who came with them just now, Madam Liu said, "Go and tell Yaoyu not to let the secret slip."
Yu Jiao understood that Madam Liu was trying to delay the matter. If they stayed in Pingliang Prefecture for more than a month before returning to Beijing, Cui Mubai might have died. By then, no matter how sad Liu Yaozhen was, the dead could not be resurrected, and divorce was a foregone conclusion. It was better than knowing it now and causing trouble.
Madam Liu rubbed her eyebrows, and there was a hint of suppressed sadness in her usually cold eyes. Perhaps it was because Yu Jiao was not her daughter, so she did not need to pretend to be a strong mother in front of Yu Jiao.
"I thought I had found a good marriage for Yaozhen. They have been living happily together for the past few years. How come it has come to this? Cui Er is a rare son-in-law. I was so satisfied with him. He seemed to be healthy, how come he suddenly became unwell?"
Yu Jiao saw that Mrs. Liu's eyes were slightly wet, and she didn't know whether she was wet because Liu Yaozhen's marriage was broken, or because Cui Mubai was dying, or both.
Mrs. Liu wiped the corners of her eyes, and she felt very depressed. She thought of Tao Ge'er and felt that her children were all very miserable.
At this moment, a maid ran in hurriedly, looking anxious: "Madam, the eldest lady suddenly had a stomachache and fainted."
When Madam Liu heard this, she subconsciously looked at Yu Jiao, "Quick, Third girl, go see your elder sister."
Yu Jiao quickly followed the maid to the courtyard where Liu Yaozhen lived, almost jogging all the way.
Before I even entered the room, I heard Tao Ge'er crying loudly: "Big sister, big sister, what's wrong with you?"
Yu Jiao walked to the bedside, glanced at Liu Yaozhen's pale face, and said softly to Tao Ge'er, "I'll check your pulse. Tao Ge'er, be good and sit over there."
Tao Ge'er always listened to her. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and moved aside obediently.
While checking Liu Yaozhen's pulse, Yu Jiao asked the maid who was serving her, "What did you eat today, big sister?"
The personal maid hurriedly reported all the tea and meals that Liu Yaozhen had consumed from morning till now.
Mrs. Liu, whose legs were not as nimble as Yu Jiao's, also rushed over at this moment. Seeing Liu Yaozhen fainting on the bed with pale cheeks, furrowed eyebrows, and cold sweat on her forehead, she felt distressed and anxious: "What happened to Yaozhen?"
Yu Jiao's pupils tightened after feeling the pulse, and her eyebrows twitched. She moved her fingers slightly and put them on Liu Yaozhen's pulse again. After three breaths, she wrote a prescription and handed it to Liu Yaozhen's personal maid: "Go get the medicine, don't let anyone else get it."
The personal maid nodded vigorously, picked up the prescription and went out to get the medicine.
After Yu Jiao sent Tao Ge'er and the other servants out of the house, she said to Madam Liu, "Big sister is pregnant."
"What?" Madam Liu seemed not to have heard clearly, "What's your eldest sister's pulse?"
"Good pulse, elder sister is pregnant." Yu Jiao repeated.
Mrs. Liu looked dazed for a moment, and then her expression seemed mixed with joy and sorrow: "It's really fate... It's really fate!" She had hoped that Yaozhen could get pregnant, but unfortunately there was no movement in her belly, and the baby came at this time.
"Why does she have abdominal pain? But the child..." Mrs. Liu asked this with a hint of expectation in her heart.
Yu Jiao knew that Madam Liu was in a complicated mood at the moment, and she also saw the meaning behind Madam Liu's words. She shook her head and said softly, "It's cold in Liangzhou, and my elder sister usually uses some cold things. I think the attack today was caused by drinking cold tea. The fetus is fine, but you still have to take good care of it."
"What fetus?" Liu Yaozhen asked weakly on the bed. She had obviously just woken up and heard the second half of Yu Jiao's sentence.
This sound woke Mrs. Liu up. Yu Jiao raised her eyes and looked at her, but wisely said nothing, leaving it to Mrs. Liu to make the choice.
Mrs. Liu had several thoughts running through her mind. For a moment, she thought that she might as well be ruthless and keep the matter a secret, letting Yu Jiao secretly prescribe medicine to get rid of the child who shouldn't have come. But then she thought that it was a living child, how could she hide such a brutal and cruel thing from Yao Zhen!
"Mother, what fetus?" Liu Yaozhen had already half-pushed herself up weakly, trying to sit up from the bed, and couldn't help asking, "Am I... am I pregnant?"
She had been looking forward to it for too long, and she could not hide her eagerness when she asked this question. Her pupils were bright, and she subconsciously looked at her waist and abdomen.
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