Chapter 499 Promoted to Concubine
Speaking of this, Qin Xin shook her head: "And the young master, he's been focusing all his attention on Miss Liu lately, how could he have any interest in Huayi?"
"Not only did he not care whether Huayi lived or died, he also complained that she was in the way because of her big belly. He even sent her to live in the servants' quarters, saying that Huayi was just a maid and was not worthy of bearing his child. Only a noble person like Miss Liu was worthy of bearing his child."
"Mo Ji secretly told me that the young master originally wanted to abort Hua Yi's child, so that Miss Liu wouldn't be jealous and angry when she saw her with a big belly after she entered the family."
After hearing this, Shen Wantang lost her appetite for the bird's nest.
Xiao Qingyuan is utterly inhuman. He was the one who indulged in pleasure and got Huayi pregnant, but after falling for Liu Nanshi, he complained that Huayi was in his way.
There's nothing to sympathize with about Hua Yi, but Xiao Qingyuan—he deserved to die.
The night passed quickly.
The next day, Shen Wantang went to Shaoguang Courtyard again with her maid.
Although she didn't have to take care of her mother-in-law, she couldn't ignore her illness.
Although Xiao Qingyuan is dead, she still has to live well in the Ning Prince's Mansion and follow the proper rules.
But to her surprise, as soon as she entered the room, she saw that Princess Ning, who had been lying motionless the night before, was actually able to sit up!
Not only that, she was also giving orders and directing her subordinates to serve Huayi.
Shen Wantang glanced at Huayi, who was sitting next to the princess, and then lowered her eyelashes: "Mother, you look more energetic than yesterday, that's wonderful."
Princess Ning did not ask her to sit down as usual. Her face was sallow and her voice was hoarse: "Thanks to the dozen or so imperial physicians who took turns treating me, they managed to snatch my old life back from the jaws of death."
She only spoke of the imperial physician's merits, without mentioning a word about Shen Wantang's treatment of her the previous night, and her attitude towards Shen Wantang was completely different from before.
Shen Wantang knew that even though she had tried her best to avoid having anything to do with Xiao Qingyuan's death, her mother-in-law was still blaming her.
However, Shen Wantang was mentally prepared, after all, Xiao Qingyuan had also committed suicide in his previous life, but Princess Ning still hated Shen Mingxuan to the extreme, feeling that she was the one who killed her son.
In this life, Xiao Qingyuan still commits suicide for love, but Princess Ning's mindset remains unchanged; she will still hate her daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, Shen Wantang accepted her mother-in-law's hatred without complaint or resentment, because Xiao Qingyuan's death was indeed orchestrated by her.
She didn't kill Xiao Qingyuan, but she gradually forced him into a situation exactly like her previous life.
Shen Wantang spoke calmly and steadily, showing no displeasure at her mother-in-law's praise of the imperial physicians instead of her: "The imperial physicians have indeed done their best in treating my mother. I will have someone send them generous gifts to express my gratitude."
Princess Ning gave a faint "hmm," then turned and took Huayi's hand: "Huayi has been pregnant for some time now. As the head of the household, how come you haven't taken good care of her? Look how thin she is, like a bamboo pole. How can she take good care of the baby in her belly like this?"
Shen Wantang sighed slightly: "Mother, you don't know this, but when my daughter-in-law first learned that Huayi was pregnant, she sent someone to make pigeon soup for her and also sent her some medicine to help with the pregnancy. But she didn't drink any of it and threw it all away. The kitchen also sent her a lot of nutritious food, but she didn't eat any of it. As time went on, no one sent her any more food."
Princess Ning looked at the painting: "Is this true?"
Hua Yi's expression was gentle, her tone respectful yet tinged with trepidation: "Your Highness, please don't blame the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess treats me very, very well. It's just that when I was first pregnant, I couldn't stand the smell of meat, and my tastes changed a lot, which is why I couldn't eat anything. It's my fault for being so unlucky and unable to enjoy the good things the Crown Princess gives me!"
Princess Ning looked at her frightened appearance with some displeasure: "What discouraging words are you talking about? What do you mean you're unlucky? You're carrying Yuan'er's child now, you're the luckiest person! Those who aren't carrying Yuan'er's child are the ones who are truly unlucky!"
Hua Yi glanced at Shen Wantang without making a sound, and a barely perceptible smug smile appeared on her lips.
Then, she said softly, "Yes, Your Highness is right. I misspoke."
Princess Ning was still displeased: "How can you still call me 'servant' even now? If you can give birth to Yuan'er, you will be the greatest contributor to our Ning Prince's Mansion. You can't always be so humble. People will laugh at you!"
Hua Yi stammered, "But I'm still a maidservant. If I don't call myself a maidservant, what else can I call myself?"
Princess Ning then looked at Shen Wantang, raising her voice: "Tang'er, this is where you're wrong. Huayi is pregnant with Yuan'er's child, how can she still be a maid? What will people think if word gets out? Is this how you manage the household? You can't even handle such a small matter in the inner quarters?"
Shen Wantang knew that her mother-in-law disliked her now, so she started to find fault with her. The person who used to dislike Huayi and not want her to be Xiao Qingyuan's concubine was not her mother-in-law herself.
If my mother-in-law is so good at shirking responsibility, why can't she?
Shen Wantang spoke calmly: "Daughter-in-law did mention to the young master that Huayi should be made a concubine. We were almost ready to have a cup of tea for the concubine, but neither the young master nor Huayi wanted to, so the matter was delayed. Later, the young master became close friends with Miss Liu and sent Huayi to the servants' quarters. Since the young master was unwilling to make her a concubine, daughter-in-law could not force him to."
Princess Ning felt a lump in her throat, unable to expel it, which made her extremely uncomfortable.
For a moment, she thought of when her son was alive. If her son were still alive, would she have cared so much about a maid's pregnancy?
Overwhelmed with grief, she burst into tears: "My son, you're already dead, and yet you're being dragged out to take the blame. How could you be so foolish? If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have raised you to be so pure and kind!"
She cried her heart out, her grief was unbearable. She covered her head, her expression pained, and she almost cried herself unconscious.
But Shen Wantang did not come forward to comfort her as carefully as before, nor did she come forward to take her pulse and treat her headache.
Huayi replaced her previous role. She sat next to Princess Ning, patting her back to soothe her and saying a lot of nice things to comfort her.
After a while, they finally managed to coax Princess Ning to stop crying.
After she stopped crying, the first thing she said was, "Huayi is carrying Yuan'er's only child, she has done a great service! From this day forward, she is no longer a maid, she is the concubine of the heir of our Prince Ning's mansion!"
Hua Yi was overjoyed and immediately knelt down: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness! I have no way to repay you, I will serve you like a cow or a horse for the rest of my life!"
Princess Ning grabbed her hand and said, "You're pregnant, so don't kneel. Sit up properly and don't hurt the baby."
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