Chapter 243 Pregnant
After visiting Madam Tan, Xu Jinnian and the others began to study behind closed doors.
With less than twenty days until the Lunar New Year, Sheng An felt that the mansion was too quiet and lacked any festive atmosphere, so he took the guards out every day to buy New Year's goods.
They bought pork, lamb, chicken, duck, and goose for free, and brought home boxes and boxes of delicacies whenever they saw them, spending money like water.
In addition to buying ingredients, Sheng An also bought dozens of large red lanterns and various scraps of fabric, which he personally cut into lifelike flowers for people to tie on branches to add to the festive atmosphere.
Looking at the transformed courtyard, now adorned with blooming flowers, Uncle Fu couldn't help but smile.
It's so good to be young!
While directing the guards, Sheng An looked around, checking for any omissions or deficiencies to achieve the best possible result.
Seeing Uncle Fu standing on the opposite porch looking at her, she quickly walked over and asked with a smile, "Uncle Fu, do you think this decoration is festive?"
Uncle Fu nodded repeatedly: "Celebrating, celebrating, this is very good, very good..."
The young master loves excitement; if he could see this, I wonder how happy he would be.
After several days of busy work, the entire courtyard was transformed, and the festive atmosphere was just as strong as that on the main street.
When Tan Qingrou came over and saw it, she was very impressed and kept praising Sheng An for his skillful hands.
Just after the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, Lord Tan returned to the capital with his family to report on his duties.
He worked diligently in Nanjing, and the amount of silver he turned over to the national treasury each year made other officials of the same rank envious. He eventually succeeded in staying in the capital to serve as a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, and took office after the New Year.
The position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was equivalent to that of Prefect, but one was a central government official who could attend court and meet the emperor, while the other was a local official far from the center of the court. The prestige of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was far greater than that of the Prefect.
The Tan family was overjoyed when the appointment letter arrived.
Lord Tan kept a low profile and did not hold a grand banquet. He only invited a few familiar officials to his home for a meal, and he also specially called Tan Zhenlin, who was studying diligently behind closed doors, back home.
Tan Zhenlin rushed back to continue his studies after finishing his meal, a dedication that Sheng An greatly admired.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Sheng An personally prepared a large table of delicious dishes and invited Uncle Fu and the others to sit down and eat together.
Uncle Fu and the others felt it was inappropriate and refused repeatedly, but they were won over by Sheng An's sincerity and sat down with tears in their eyes to eat the most lively and delicious meal they had had in more than ten years.
Today is the eve of the Lunar New Year, and Xu Jinnian is able to relax for once. Unlike usual, he doesn't stay up late studying and instead goes to bed early with Sheng An.
The couple chatted casually, enjoying the warm atmosphere and the moment.
Suddenly, Xu Jinnian remembered something and placed his warm hand on Sheng An's lower abdomen: "Has your period not come this month?"
Sheng An froze, her hand unconsciously resting on her stomach under the blanket: "It's...it didn't come."
The last time she had her period was before she set off. After that, she was tired from traveling for days and didn't think much of it because she was too tired to have her period.
These days she's been busy buying New Year's goods and decorating the yard, and she's completely forgotten that her period hasn't come yet.
Judging by the timeline, my period is quite late.
The thought of possibly carrying a little life inside her left Sheng An at a loss. She looked up at the equally bewildered and somewhat cautious man and asked, "You think I'm pregnant?"
Hearing his wife's silly words, Xu Jinnian, who was initially a little flustered, calmed down and kissed her lips to comfort her, saying, "Don't be afraid, we'll have a doctor come and take a look at you first thing tomorrow morning."
Sheng An nodded hurriedly, both hopeful and worried: "What if it's not true? Will others laugh at us?"
In her past life, she was a single woman who had never even held a man's hand.
In this life, the transmigration was immediately followed by the wedding night, skipping the courtship process, and she still couldn't conceive a child after three years.
She might be pregnant now; Sheng An, who has no experience with childbirth, is almost completely bewildered.
"It would be best if it were, but it doesn't matter if it isn't. Just say you caught a chill at night and that's why we asked the doctor to come to your house. No one will laugh at you."
Xu Jinnian gently soothed Sheng An's emotions, pulling her into his arms and stroking her back: "Don't worry, your husband is here for you."
Sheng An gradually relaxed, her eyes sparkling in the dim candlelight.
Hopefully, we'll hear good news tomorrow.
Outside, the wind howled, but inside, it was warm and quiet. Sheng An nestled in Xu Jinnian's arms and fell into a deep sleep, having an incredibly sweet dream.
When she woke up the next day, she was still reminiscing about the dream she had just had the night before, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
Seeing that she had a rosy complexion and looked radiant, Xu Jinnian knew that she had slept well last night, which put his mind at ease as he hadn't slept soundly all night.
The two did not rush to send someone to fetch a doctor. After washing up as usual, they went to the dining room to have breakfast.
After Fang Qingzhou and the other two finished eating, they prepared to return to the study to read, as usual.
Seeing that Xu Jinnian remained seated, his hand clasped under the table with Sheng An's, Tan Zhenlin raised an eyebrow and teased:
"What's wrong? Are you tired from reading lately? Planning to have your sister-in-law keep you company to relax?"
Xu Jinnian glanced at him indifferently and said nothing.
Tan Zhenlin suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and quickly turned to run away, saying, "Alright, alright, I won't disturb you and your sister-in-law's lovemaking."
Hmph, all they know is how to bully single people!
Once he gets married, he'll show off in front of Xu the Fox every day!
Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua smiled helplessly, shook their heads, said something to the couple, and returned to their respective courtyards.
With no one else in the dining room, Xu Jinnian called Li Tian over and asked him to inquire with Uncle Fu about inviting a highly skilled doctor over.
Li Tian glanced at the couple's faces and, seeing that they didn't seem sick, felt relieved and quickly left.
Not long after, Li Tian hurriedly returned with an elderly doctor.
The old doctor could tell from the couple's complexion that they were not sick.
He guessed the reason, took out a pulse pillow from his medical kit, and nodded gently to Sheng An: "Please sit down, madam, let me take your pulse."
Sheng An was helped by Xu Jinnian to the tea table, where she rolled up her sleeves and placed her wrist on the pulse pillow.
The old doctor extended three fingers to probe the pulse, and after a moment smiled and said to Sheng An, "It's a pregnancy pulse, it's been over a month."
Even though she knew she might be pregnant, upon hearing the definite answer, Sheng An's mind went blank and failed to react properly, her mind filled with the three words that kept echoing in her head—"It's a pregnancy test."
Seeing her stunned, the old doctor understood perfectly, put away the pulse pillow and looked at Xu Jinnian:
"This lady is in good health and doesn't need any prescriptions or medicine. Just be careful for the next two months, avoid overexertion and sexual intercourse."
Xu Jinnian took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Thank you, doctor."
As he spoke, he took out the silver he had prepared beforehand and handed it to the old doctor with both hands.
The old doctor glanced at the couple's clothes, then at the five-tael silver ingot, and took it without saying a word.
Li Tian smiled as he saw the old doctor off.
Sheng An, whose mind had gone blank, finally came to her senses and looked at Xu Jinnian, whose lips began to twitch: "Jinnian, we have a child."
She wanted to laugh, but tears started falling in large drops without warning.
This child is the one who died tragically with her in her past life, and it has come back to find her!
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