Chapter 247 A Big Scoop from the Marquis of Annan's Mansion
The heavy snow continued until the third day of the Lunar New Year, and the snow on the ground was up to an adult's calves.
After the snow stopped, every household went out to clear the snow.
The guards, together with Uncle Fu and the others, spent the whole morning clearing the snow from the yard. Otherwise, once the snow melted and the yard became icy, it would be easy to slip and fall.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, there was still snow on the road. Xu Jinnian was worried about Sheng An going out, so he let her stay in the courtyard. He, Fang Qingzhou, and Ye Yunhua took gifts to the Tan family to pay New Year's greetings.
When they returned, the Tan siblings also arrived.
Tan Qingrou rushed to find Sheng An. Seeing that Sheng An looked healthy and had nothing wrong, Tan Qingrou's heart, which had been hanging in suspense for so long, finally settled down. She took Sheng An's hand and said:
“You didn’t come to my house this morning. Brother Jin Nian said you weren’t feeling well, and I was so worried. Luckily, you’re alright.”
Seeing that the little girl was frightened, Sheng An said apologetically, "I was going to tell you so you wouldn't worry about me today. But you didn't come before the New Year, so it wasn't convenient for me to go to your house."
After saying that, she told Tan Qingrou about her pregnancy.
Tan Qingrou stared in disbelief at Sheng An's belly, her eyes practically glued to her skin: "Sister An'an, are you... are you serious? You're really pregnant?"
Sheng An was amused by her appearance and gently pinched her cheek: "Would I lie to you about something like this?"
Tan Qingrou finally blinked and cautiously asked for her opinion: "Sister An'an, can I touch your belly?"
Sheng An grabbed her hand and placed it on his lower abdomen: "Touch it."
Tan Qingrou gently touched it all over, her expression changing from curiosity to surprise: "Sister An'an's belly is so flat, you can't tell there's a baby inside at all!"
This was the first time she had observed a pregnant woman up close. As an unmarried young woman, she knew nothing about the process of pregnancy and childbirth, as people would never discuss such matters in front of her.
Sheng An didn't think it was wrong to talk about it, and Tan Qingrou was already at the age of getting married and having children, so it was necessary to give her some information in advance.
So, based on the pregnancy and childbirth information he had seen online in his previous life, Sheng An carefully worded it and told Tan Qingrou little by little.
Tan Qingrou listened in a daze, her expression shifting from blushing to surprise to understanding, before finally exclaiming, "Being a mother is really not easy!"
This reminded her of her mother.
Although her mother favored her older brother and younger sister more, she also loved her dearly and never neglected her food or clothing. However, she was not as close to her as she was to her older brother and younger sister.
Just like how she prefers her brother to her sister.
Thinking about the hardships her mother endured during her birth, she seemed to have come to terms with her mother's favoritism towards her brother and sister.
Sheng An, unaware of Tan Qingrou's deep thoughts, pinched her cheek and said:
"You're still growing, so it's best to eat more and exercise more to get your body strong before you get married."
In fact, Sheng An wanted to advise her that if she got married in the next two years, it would be best not to get pregnant, but the contraceptive methods here were too harmful to the body, and everyone took pride in giving birth to offspring, so her advice was impossible to implement.
This is the only way to help young girls improve their physical condition so that they won't suffer too much during pregnancy and childbirth.
Tan Qingrou knew that she was doing this for her own good, and replied earnestly, "Sister An'an, I will."
No one but Sister An'an would say these things to her; Sister An'an genuinely cares about her.
I really hope that Brother Jinnian will pass the imperial examination and stay in the capital to take up a post, so that Sister An'an will also stay, and I can see Sister An'an often after she gets married.
Sheng An hadn't stepped out of the house for quite some time and knew nothing about the latest happenings in the capital, so he started gossiping with Tan Qingrou.
Tan Qingrou, true to her reputation as a gossip expert, immediately dropped a bombshell: "Do you remember the Annan Marquis's mansion, Sister An? The one I mentioned to you when we were in Qingzhou."
Sheng An immediately sat up straight.
The Marquis of An'nan's residence? Isn't that Ning Sihan's home?
Seeing her strong reaction, Tan Qingrou knew she still remembered. She glanced outside and lowered her voice, saying:
"Two years ago, Prince Ning returned to the capital after recovering from his illness, catching Lady Hou completely off guard. She even came up with a foolish idea to marry her niece to Prince Ning, but Prince Ning refused..."
Who would have thought that the Lady of the Marquis's niece would fall in love with Prince Ning at first sight, and would cry, make a scene, and even threaten to hang herself in order to marry him.
Ning Sihan remained unmoved, ignoring even the words of the Marquis of Annan. She went directly to the palace to ask the Emperor for a job, thus avoiding the persistent pestering of the Marquis's wife's niece.
When Lady Hou's first plan failed, she tried to place a beautiful woman next to Ning Sihan.
Ning Sihan did not refuse, and treated these beauties as servants, making them sweep the yard and wash clothes all day long.
In just six months, these beauties went from tender flower buds to withered little dried flowers, crying and begging Ning Sihan to let them leave.
Ning Sihan was very kind. Considering their hard work, she returned their indentures and gave each of them fifty taels of silver, allowing them to leave the mansion and go home to live a good life.
As soon as the news spread, the ladies and young women of various households all had a great fondness for Ning Sihan and wanted her to become their son-in-law (husband).
"The Lady of the Marquis could not possibly allow the Prince of Ning to marry a noblewoman, so she secretly sent people to spread rumors that the Prince of Ning had been poisoned in his early years and that it would be detrimental to his offspring. As a result, those ladies and young women backed out."
Prince Ning is shrewd and resourceful, and has risen through the ranks in the officialdom in the past two years, gaining the Emperor's favor. This has made Lady Hou increasingly anxious.
Before the New Year, Lady Hou came up with another foolish scheme: she poisoned Prince Ning's food, framing him and her own son, the Second Prince Ning's, concubine, in an attempt to ruin Prince Ning's reputation and remove him from his position as heir apparent.
Tan Qingrou expressed some sympathy for Ning Sihan at this point: "He's really had the worst luck to have a stepmother like that."
Sheng An pressed further, "And then what happened? Did Lady Hou's scheme fail?"
Tan Qingrou's eyes lit up, her tone full of admiration: "He didn't succeed. That day, the Marquis of Annan happened to be going to see the Prince of Ning, and the food was eaten by the Marquis of Annan. He then had an affair with the Second Prince of Ning's concubine."
At this point, she realized it was inappropriate, so she quickly covered her mouth, blinked her big eyes at Sheng An, and gave him a "I didn't say anything" look.
Sheng An was speechless, his eyes wide with disbelief: "How are we going to handle this?"
A hint of fear flashed across Tan Qingrou's face: "That concubine was beaten to death, and was also branded with the infamy of being lewd and unruly, seducing the Marquis. She was thrown into a mass grave to be fed to wild dogs, and even her family was implicated."
Sheng An frowned, feeling quite uncomfortable.
Despite being the victim, they ended up like this.
Tan Qingrou said with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that the culprit was not punished. When the Marquis of Annan found out the truth, he chose to protect his wife and stripped her of her power as a housekeeper on the grounds of lax household management."
However, the Lady Hou has lost face and has not dared to go out for some time.
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