Furthermore, when the ladies of the Fourth Prince's mansion learned that the Fourth Prince and Lanqin were about to return to the mansion, they immediately began to dress themselves up, sweeping away the gloom that had been present when the Fourth Prince was not around.
Because the eldest prince was no longer alive, the princess felt lonely, so she asked Granny Li to bring a snow-white kitten to the main courtyard. When she had nothing to do, she would hold the kitten, groom its fur, and play with it for a while to pass the time.
"How is it? Any news from Yan Yu?" the Fujin asked while fiddling with the cat's ears.
"Reporting to Your Highness, there's nothing special about it. This old servant just thinks that Consort Yan Yu has lost some weight recently," said Granny Li.
"Oh, she seems fine to me, so why has she suddenly lost weight?" The Fujin looked up at Li Mama and said.
“Your Highness, I did see Consort Yan Yu feeling nauseous and vomiting once. Could it be that Consort Yan Yu is pregnant?” Chunliu suddenly interjected from the side.
Her words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, immediately creating ripples.
“Princess Yan Yu didn’t say that!” Granny Li said, glancing at the Fujin.
"Go check her menstrual cycle records," the Fujin said coldly. Every woman in the inner quarters had to report her menstrual cycle to the Fujin. Although the Fourth Prince was not yet the Emperor, his inner quarters still couldn't tolerate any scandalous affairs that might confuse the royal bloodline. The Fujin kept detailed records of the menstrual cycle times of every woman in the inner quarters, as well as where the Fourth Prince rested each day. This was because the timing of any woman's pregnancy couldn't be easily falsified. Although the ancients hadn't yet mastered the method of calculating ovulation to aid conception, they already knew the connection between menstruation and pregnancy, and could roughly estimate the timing.
After Li Mama brought Zhang Mama, who was in charge of recording menstrual cycles in each courtyard, to the Fujin (the wife's husband).
"This servant greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be well!" Zhang Mama said with a curtsy.
"No need for formalities, Granny Zhang. Yan Yu hasn't been feeling well lately, and she looks pale. I'm worried she might be dieting to stay thin. Take a look and see when her last period was," the Princess said slowly.
“Granny Li has already told me. I have checked that Princess Yan Yu’s last period was on August 27th. It has been more than fifty days since then,” Granny Zhang said. “Princess Yan Yu has not reported her period this time. I don’t know why. I really wanted to ask the Princess Consort.”
Granny Li and the Fujin exchanged a surprised glance. Although she had suspected something for a while, after hearing what the nanny who recorded menstruation said, she was almost certain that Yan Yu was pregnant!
Seeing the princess wave, Zhang Mama politely curtsied and left.
After Granny Li saw Granny Zhang off, the Fujin suddenly tightened her grip. The little white cat in her arms let out a cry of pain and jumped out of her hands, breaking free of her restraints and escaping into the gap under the furniture.
Because the cat suddenly struggled and jumped, it didn't have time to retract its claws, and thus scratched the lady's back.
"Damn beast! Can't you ever tame it?" the princess roared, and the room fell silent, except for the cat whimpering under the high-backed chair, its sudden pain causing it to cry out.
“Madam, we’re still not sure. Why don’t we have Doctor Zhou go and take a pulse for Princess Yan Yu?” Granny Li glanced cautiously at the Madam’s solemn expression.
"She definitely won't let Doctor Zhou take her pulse. My dear sister has always been cunning since she was little. This time, she deliberately concealed the fact that she's pregnant, so she probably has something else on her mind. I'd like to see what she's up to!" The Fujin angrily slammed the cups and saucers on the table, and the sound of the porcelain shattering on the floor was heard.
Meanwhile, another person who suspected Yan Yu was pregnant was also restless and was listening to Que'er's report.
"Well, did you get any information from that doctor?" Li's rosy, diamond-shaped lips trembled slightly.
"I found out! After Wang De pointed it out, I found the doctor who took Yan Yu's pulse. I bribed him with a large sum of money, and he finally revealed that Yan Yu was indeed pregnant," Que'er said triumphantly.
"Really!" Li's eyelids twitched, her heart suddenly pounded, and she blurted out in a hurry.
"Indeed, Madam. Yan Yu is pregnant now, and you shouldn't know that. Otherwise, the news would have spread long ago!" Que'er reminded her suspiciously.
"So, my dear sister hasn't even told her older sister yet. What's she planning?" Madam Li said, tapping the table lightly with her peacock blue tortoiseshell armor.
Que'er didn't dare to speak lightly, but the novel said, "So she wanted to tell the master herself and give him a surprise?"
Madam Li smiled faintly and said, "Fourth Master has always been very particular about rules. Her pregnancy without informing the Fujin is already a violation of the rules, and it may not bring any surprises."
Que'er continued, "This servant truly cannot fathom why Princess Yan Yu would do such a thing?"
Li stood up and paced back and forth, pondering Yan Yu's intentions.
"I know! She must be plotting something. Otherwise, why would she go to the clinic and then to Xinghui's place? She must have discussed something with her older brother!" Li exclaimed in surprise.
"If we just keep an eye on Xinghui, can we tell what Princess Yanyu is up to?" Que'er asked.
"You make it sound so easy. Who is Xinghui? Do you think he'd allow you to keep an eye on him? But what you're saying isn't entirely impossible. We'll need my cousin's help then." Li looked out the window at the layers of fluffy white clouds in the sky.
"Why don't we send someone to keep an eye on Yan Yu or the people around her, and see if we can find out anything?" Que'er suggested.
“It’s no use. She’s so tight-lipped, she definitely won’t tell anyone around her easily. I’m curious, though, what exactly is she planning to do?” Madam Li raised her hand and stroked the coral beaded hairpin on the side of her face.
“My lady, I have an idea. She doesn’t want anyone to know, so why don’t we take this opportunity to get rid of the child in her womb, and then pin it on Song or Geng? In any case, the child she gives birth to will definitely be related to you, my lady.” Que’er had been with Li Shi for a long time, and her ruthlessness was no less than that of her mistress.
“That’s the worst possible approach. I’d like to see what Yan Yu is really up to. Let’s figure out her intentions first,” said Madam Li, after considering Que’er’s words.
Night quietly fell, and darkness enveloped the surrounding area. Both the main courtyard and the east courtyard were plotting to uncover the truth behind Yan Yu's pregnancy and why she was concealing it.
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