Chapter 38: The child is my bargaining chip...
Upon hearing Xu Feixuan's words, Jiang Shiyuan's heart skipped a beat, but she dared not show it on her face.
She lowered her eyelashes to hide the fleeting panic in her eyes, and when she looked up again, her expression was one of perfect flattery.
"How could that be? It's just that my wife suddenly gave me such a valuable gift, which left me a little unsure how to react."
Xu Feixuan was not easily convinced, and simply observed Jiang Shiyuan's expression quietly.
She couldn't understand her. Ever since Jiang Shiyuan begged her for a chance to escape three years ago, she felt that the girl in front of her was a mystery, unpredictable and unfathomable. Yet, this was the kind of person who had her son so infatuated that he seemed to have lost his mind.
She probably didn't agree to marry Huo Lan because she was after the Huo family's wealth; if that were the case, she really wouldn't have needed to run away from him three years ago.
As Huo Lan's mother, she understood him best. The son she raised was just like him; in order to get something or someone, he would relentlessly pursue them until the very end.
She had no power to fight against Huo Lan, so she could only obediently accept her fate.
Xu Feixuan lifted her eyelids and still glanced at Jiang Shiyuan with disdain, without pursuing the matter further. "I've already said what I needed to say, and you know it clearly in your heart."
She put down the spoon in her hand, picked up a napkin and elegantly wiped her mouth. "Don't hesitate, just accept it since it's offered to you. It'll save me the trouble of thinking about it."
Jiang Shiyuan had no reason to refuse, so she could only nod. At that moment, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the carved wooden door of Minghua Hall. Where the light from the corridor blended with the brilliance inside the hall, Huo Lan's figure suddenly appeared.
The servants in the hall bowed their heads and respectfully addressed Mr. Huo.
"Today is the first day of the banquet. With so many guests in the front hall, how come you still have the leisure to come to Minghua Hall for a meal?"
The lamplight under the corridor cast a shadowy light on his deep-set eyes, making his expression even more unfathomable. His slightly oppressive eyes looked at Jiang Shiyuan, quickly scanning her from head to toe. After confirming that she was alright, he turned his gaze to Xu Feixuan, who was seated in the main seat.
"Didn't I tell you before that Shi Yuan is very busy right now, and that you should try not to bother her?"
Xu Feixuan took in Huo Lan's accusatory tone and was immediately filled with anger. "Is this the tone you use when you talk to your mother?"
Huo Lan walked up behind Xu Feixuan, placed his hands on her shoulders, and slowly bent down to whisper in her ear with a smile: "Mother is right, so you should stay in your own courtyard, enjoy the flowers and raise the fish, and enjoy your own life."
"Are you upset that I didn't greet the guests in the front hall, or that I bullied your woman?" Her tone was as sarcastic as ever, but much gentler than before. "I just gave her what was rightfully hers. I didn't provoke her."
Only then did Huo Lan notice the bright and dazzling green in the exquisite wooden box on the dining table, and understand what had happened. He felt a little more at ease, so he straightened up and released his hold on Xu Feixuan.
"It seems I misunderstood my mother. She did a very good job."
Xu Feixuan snorted coldly, "This meal is really tasteless."
Huo Lan said, "Then it seems we should change the people in the kitchen."
"Yes, the entire Huo Garden is your people. They are really dedicated. I called her to Minghua Hall and she was gone in less than half an hour, and the news had already reached your ears, making you dare to abandon the banquet and come to me to confront me."
Huo Lan feigned flattery, "It was Mother who managed the garden so well before."
"My people have all become yours, what can I do?"
Xu Feixuan was unwilling to continue the pretense with Huo Lan, so she stood up and left Minghua Hall.
For a moment, only Huo Lan and Jiang Shiyuan, along with the set of jade jewelry that shimmered under the lights, remained in the dining room.
Jiang Shiyuan was still shaken by Xu Feixuan's words, "My people have all become your people." She feared that the bodyguards Huo Lianjing had trusted before had now become loyal to Huo Lan, and that would render her schemes futile.
Huo Lan had no idea what Jiang Shiyuan was thinking, but looking at the heirloom jewelry in the box, he suddenly said, "Want to try it on?"
After regaining his senses, Jiang Shiyuan quickly closed the wooden box, covering the emerald green that was almost dripping with oil, and said, "It's too precious, how can I wear it casually?"
Huo Lan placed his hand over Jiang Shiyuan's and led her to open the box again. "It's yours now. Wear it however you want."
After saying that, she took the heavy jade necklace out of the box and carefully put it on Jiang Shiyuan.
The necklace, made of dozens of imperial green jadeite beads, was not light; it weighed heavily on her collarbone, making it hard for her to breathe, but Huo Lan stared at it in fascination.
His fingertips traced the smooth surface of the jade cabochon, then gradually moved upwards, brushing against her delicate collarbone. Finally, his large hand cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing her face, his eyes overflowing with adoration.
Just as Jiang Shiyuan was about to say something, Huo Lan suddenly chuckled.
"From now on, you belong to me alone."
Jiang Shiyuan lowered her eyelashes and didn't look at him, hiding the annoyance in her heart.
"Let's go, I'll take you back to Bell House."
After Huo Lan finished speaking, he was about to take Jiang Shiyuan's hand when he saw her reach out to unfasten the clasp of her jade necklace.
He held her hand, stopping her from taking any further action. "You look great in it, especially with your cheongsam today. You don't need to take it off."
"It's too valuable; it wouldn't be good if it got scratched or damaged."
Huo Lan smiled indulgently and said, "It doesn't matter. This was originally yours, so no one will hold you accountable even if it gets damaged."
Jiang Shiyuan looked confused and asked, "Isn't it supposed to be passed on to the next generation?"
Huo Lan was even happier, "Are you already thinking about passing this down to your daughter-in-law?"
His eyes shifted downwards, looking at Jiang Shiyuan's lower abdomen. "Maybe she's already pregnant."
Jiang Shiyuan followed his smiling gaze and felt a chill run down her spine.
"How could this be? How could it be so fast..."
"I exercise regularly, am in good health, do not smoke or drink, and have a good lifestyle. My quality of life is very good."
His large hand naturally moved to her lower abdomen. "Besides," he said, "after all that fluid you drank that day, one of them is bound to run away very, very fast..."
Jiang Shiyuan blushed at his words and frowned as she looked at him. "Huo Lan! Shameless!"
Huo Lan laughed freely, took Jiang Shiyuan's hand, and led her out of the dining room.
The long corridor outside Minghua Hall was brightly lit, and the bushes were filled with the sounds of laughter. In the distance, faint music from a banquet could be heard drifting through the layers of pavilions, but here, it was peaceful and beautiful.
"Shiyuan, do you think our first child will be a boy or a girl?"
Jiang Shiyuan walked quietly beside Huo Lan, her mind in turmoil upon hearing the question.
She took the birth control pill well past the optimal time, and she wasn't sure if she was pregnant.
Jiang Shiyuan casually replied, "It's probably a girl."
"You like girls?"
She didn't pay attention to what she said, and just nodded randomly. Huo Lan was very happy, and he held her hand even tighter.
"It would be wonderful if it were a girl, as pretty and cute as you. What do you think we should prepare for the baby now?"
Suddenly remembering something, Huo Lan quickly changed his mind and said, "No, I should say that we should help you get better first, and when we're less busy in a few days, I'll have Shi Teng help me contact a reputable maternity team in China."
Jiang Shiyuan was even more at a loss after Huo Lan's words, not knowing how he had brought up this topic. "I...I'm not pregnant yet."
"Isn't this something that was bound to happen sooner or later? It's always good to be prepared."
"Huo Lan, are you really sure you want to be a father?"
Under the lamplight of the night, Huo Lan stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at Jiang Shiyuan with a serious expression.
"Before I got together with you, I never thought I needed a wife. Even if I had a wife, it would only be because of family interests, and our children would be products of interests rather than love."
"But now, I want you. I want you to stay with me forever."
Jiang Shiyuan grew increasingly agitated and said, "Is the child a bargaining chip to blackmail me?"
Huo Lan's eyes were cold. "You can say that."
“If you were willing to stay, perhaps I wouldn’t do this, but my desire is too restless, and I always need to strengthen the bond between you and me.”
Huo Lan turned around and led Jiang Shiyuan toward the direction of Lingdang Xiaozhu. "Don't think too much about it. I'll arrange everything. Didn't you want to change bodyguards? I'll call a few skilled ones over tomorrow so you can choose one."
Jiang Shiyuan nodded and obediently followed Huo Lan forward.
In a nearby waterside pavilion, amidst the fragrance of clothes and the swaying of hair, several women adorned with jewels gathered together and began discussing the future matriarch of the Huo family.
The discussion about Mrs. Huo's potential wife still revolves around Ms. Shen Chuqing from the Shen family and Ms. Fu Xinyuan from the Fu family in Hong Kong.
"It should be Fu Xinyuan. She arrived at Huo Garden yesterday. Also yesterday, a woman at the dance theater publicly challenged the authority of the future mistress of the house, daring to seduce Mr. Huo directly. To protect Miss Fu's feelings, Mr. Huo had the woman kicked out in public."
"But I heard that the person Mr. Huo was protecting in his arms at that time was not Fu Xinyuan; Fu Xinyuan was just standing to the side."
The glamorous woman in the fishtail dress frowned. "Could it be Miss Shen? I arrived late and missed the show."
The woman in the red dress nodded. "It should be Miss Shen. If you ask me, the most likely candidate is Shen Chuqing. She has known Mr. Huo since childhood and has been staying with his mother recently."
Upon hearing the woman in the red dress's words, those around her echoed, "Then it must be Miss Shen."
Shen Chuqing was talking to someone nearby, and she could hear their conversation, but she just took a sip of champagne and didn't say anything.
The woman in the fishtail skirt spotted her and quickly led her people over to greet her.
"Isn't this Miss Shen? What brings you to a banquet these days? Aren't these your busiest times?"
Shen Chuqing placed the champagne back on the waiter's tray and said with a faint smile, "I've been quite busy lately."
"Of course I'm busy. Mr. Huo attaches great importance to this engagement banquet, so Miss Shen must be taking time out of her busy schedule."
Shen Chuqing remained noncommittal, but politely replied, "Then I won't bother you any longer. I hope you all have a great time."
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