pregnant with a girl
"Wife, what are we doing here?" Qin Xiuqi asked, puzzled.
"To let you see the truth."
Zhou Miaosi grew up with Qin Xiuqi and knew his character well—open-minded, upright, and that was what initially attracted her. Knowing he didn't want to believe his mother would do such a thing to his wife, Zhou Miaosi simply brought him to Fu Zhiqiao. Fu Zhiqiao was the most intelligent woman she had ever met, and Zhou Miaosi believed she could help her solve her current predicament.
Zhou Miaosi, holding her belly with one hand, was carefully helped down from the carriage by Qin Xiuqi.
Inside the main hall of the Fu family home.
Fu Zhiqiao and Zhou Miaosi sat on one side, while Qin Xiuqi sat alone opposite them. The two sides were clearly divided, looking like two factions.
"Greetings, Lord Qin." Qin Xiuqi served as a councilor in the Office of Transmission. In private, Fu Zhiqiao could call Qin Xiuqi by his full name, but in public, she still had to address him as "Lord Qin."
This was the first time Fu Zhiqiao had met Qin Xiuqi. He was quite good-looking, and his demeanor suggested he was an upright person.
Qin Xiuqi was visibly taken aback when he saw Fu Zhiqiao's appearance, then lowered his head and cupped his hands, saying, "Miss Fu." He didn't know Fu Zhiqiao's identity, but seeing her close relationship with Zhou Miaosi, he assumed she was also a young lady from some wealthy family.
That's considered greeting them.
After the servants finished serving the tea, they left, and for a moment no one spoke, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
Seeing that Zhou Miaosi and Qin Xiuqi both looked rather unhappy, Fu Zhiqiao guessed that the two must have had a fight, but she didn't know exactly what had happened, so she could only try to remain polite.
“Miss Fu, please help me persuade my wife, she…” Qin Xiuqi broke the silence first, looking at Zhou Miaosi sitting opposite him who didn’t even want to look at him.
Suddenly, Fu Zhiqiao had a flash of inspiration. Zhou Miaosi brought Qin Xiuqi directly to her without even having time to present a formal invitation. Fu Zhiqiao knew that Zhou Miaosi must have something urgent to attend to.
Right now, the thing that worries Zhou Miaosi the most is the baby in her belly.
“Lord Qin!” Fu Zhi Qiao interrupted him, “Has Lord Qin investigated the reason? Sister Miao Si’s actions were all to protect herself and her child. As her husband, Lord Qin should stand on her side.”
Fu Zhiqiao didn't believe that Qin Xiuqi was too clever to guess the reason behind the matter; he just didn't want to believe that his mother would harm his wife.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Miaosi tightened her grip on her hand and looked at her with a hint of gratitude.
Fu Zhiqiao received the signal and continued, "If Lord Qin has any doubts about what Sister Miaosi said, he can find out by checking the dregs of the pregnancy-preserving medicine when he gets home. I know that it is not appropriate for an outsider like me to interfere in your family affairs, but childbirth is like walking through the gates of hell for a woman. Sister Miaosi is pregnant now, and Lord Qin really shouldn't make her angry."
Qin Xiuqi was stunned by Fu Zhiqiao's barrage of words, and then said with shame, "Miss Fu is right."
Qin Xiuqi had always regarded Fu Zhi Qiao, a woman with such striking looks, as nothing more than a pretty face. He never expected that this seemingly gentle and easy-going woman would lecture him so sternly, and every word she said made sense, leaving him speechless.
Zhou Miaosi didn't miss the astonishment on Qin Xiuqi's face. Seeing that he had lost out to Fu Zhiqiao, Zhou Miaosi's expression softened a bit. She couldn't help but add, "The old women around my mother-in-law said that my belly is like a cauldron, perfectly round, and that I'm carrying a girl."
These words, seemingly addressed to Fu Zhiqiao, were actually meant for Qin Xiuqi.
Both of them understood what she meant.
Qin Xiuqi sighed softly to himself. At first, he couldn't understand his mother's motives for doing this to Miaosi, but now, after Fu Zhiqiao's reminder, he understood completely. His mother desperately wanted a grandson, and when she heard from her trusted maid that Miaosi was carrying a girl, she began to have designs on her.
Qin Xiuqi remained silent, turning his gaze elsewhere as if to conceal his true feelings.
"Nonsense! Who can guarantee they haven't made a mistake?" Fu Zhi Qiao retorted, "You're only four or five months pregnant. The fetus is only the size of a palm at this stage. How can you tell the gender? It's said that pregnancy lasts ten months, and the fetus needs to stay in the mother's womb for ten months to grow. Isn't it a bit hasty to try to determine the gender at this point?"
After speaking, she turned her head to look at Qin Xiuqi: "Lord Qin, am I right?"
A cold gaze pierced him like a sharp sword. Fu Zhiqiao tilted his head slightly, smiled, and narrowed his eyes. His meaningful gaze made him feel a chill.
Qin Xiuqi: "..."
What else could he do but nod?
Fu Zhi Qiao tapped the armrest of the chair with her finger and said calmly, "Besides, a baby in the womb is either a boy or a girl. Anyone who looks at it has a 50% chance of being right!"
Fu Zhiqiao felt that there was a 50% chance that most of these people were just guessing.
She didn't really believe in determining the sex of a fetus with the naked eye. Fetuses can change positions all over the world in the womb, and even modern technology requires careful examination to find out.
Experienced doctors and midwives can indeed determine whether a pregnant woman is carrying a boy or a girl, but very few can guess correctly every time. No matter how experienced they are, they cannot see more clearly than modern technology.
Once you understand the key to something, you can figure out the reasons behind it.
Qin Xiuqi himself didn't care at all about having a boy or a girl, but he knew about his mother's wish for a grandson. He looked distressed and said, "Why didn't you tell me any of this?"
"Would you believe me if I told you? You were just saying I was being unreasonable!" Zhou Miaosi became agitated.
Seeing that she was getting more and more excited as she spoke, and that her eyes were starting to redden, Fu Zhi Qiao quickly grabbed her hand and held it tightly, trying to transfer her strength to her.
Seeing Zhou Miaosi like this, Qin Xiuqi felt a pang of pain in his heart. Miaosi was carrying his child, and he naturally loved her dearly. However, the person opposite him was his mother, who had given him life and raised him...
Another silence followed.
Fu Zhi Qiao's lips twitched. She really didn't want to get involved in the couple's argument, but she couldn't stand idly by while Zhou Miao Si was given a potion to change her sex.
"Lord Qin is a man of great learning and should know that such a thing as a 'reversal of birth' medicine is utter nonsense. Madam Qin must have been deceived."
Fu Zhiqiao's statement that Madam Qin was deceived was a way of giving Qin Xiuqi some face.
Qin Xiuqi's face turned red and white, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
This Miss Fu has an overwhelming presence; her eyes, as they dart around, carry a condescending scrutiny that suppresses him throughout.
The sex of a fetus is determined from the very beginning; genes cannot be changed.
But the ancients didn't know these things.
Fu Zhiqiao explained it to them in the simplest terms: "Take catching a cold as an example. Some people can get better after taking just one dose of medicine, while others need to take three or four doses. Who can guarantee that the efficacy of the transgender medicine will be the same for everyone?"
Fu Zhi Qiao ignored their unpleasant expressions and continued with the drastic measure: "Suppose, I mean suppose, if Sister Miao Si is carrying a girl, and this gender-changing medicine turns her into a boy. But what if it doesn't work? Or what if it only works halfway?"
Then the child in her womb will become neither male nor female.
Qin Xiuqi and Zhou Miaosi both understood her implication, and their faces turned pale instantly.
Zhou Miaosi was extremely flustered. Her lips trembled, her eyes were filled with disbelief, and even the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
Sitting opposite him, Qin Xiuqi's face was terribly gloomy, and his eyes were covered with a layer of frost. From the blue veins on the back of his hand, it was clear that he was putting on a brave face.
Fu Zhi Qiao didn't say anything more; it was enough for them to realize the dangers of the gender-changing drug.
*
"Lord Qin, please move to the side hall. I have some private matters to discuss with Sister Miaosi."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiuqi lowered his head, stood up, and walked towards the door.
Just as he reached the door, he heard Zhou Miaosi's voice: "Zhi Qiao..."
Qin Xiuqi's foot, which was about to step across the threshold, immediately stopped. The surname was Fu, and the given name was Zhi Qiao. The more Qin Xiuqi thought about it, the more familiar the name seemed.
Wait, he remembered! When his father returned from disaster relief in Qingzhou, he praised a woman named Fu Zhiqiao highly. Could that woman be the one in front of him?
Because of his father, Qin Xiuqi also knew about Fu Zhiqiao's deeds and admired Fu Zhiqiao's actions in Qingzhou.
Seeing is believing; she truly deserves to be called a remarkable woman by her father.
Recalling what Fu Zhi Qiao had just said to him, Qin Xiu Qi, as a councilor of the Ministry of Justice, considered himself to be a man of great eloquence. However, he found himself completely powerless against Fu Zhi Qiao today.
Fu Zhiqiao noticed Qin Xiuqi standing at the door and asked, "Is there anything else, Lord Qin?"
"No, no." Qin Xiuqi suppressed his shock and was led by the servants of the Fu family to a side hall.
After Qin Xiuqi left, Fu Zhiqiao and Zhou Miaosi stayed in the main hall to have a private conversation.
"Gender-changing drugs," as the name suggests, are drugs that can turn a girl into a boy if the baby is pregnant.
Madam Qin's attitude was already very clear. What were Zhou Miaosi's thoughts? Fu Zhiqiao asked directly, "Sister Miaosi, do you also want to have a boy?"
Zhou Miaosi gritted her teeth and nodded.
Fu Zhiqiao narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression becoming increasingly complicated.
In today's social context, male offspring are indeed more valuable than female offspring. Even Yu Roulan once lamented to her that her female identity limited her development, and that with such talent, she would surely have achieved great things if she had been born as a boy.
Although Fu Zhi Qiao did not agree with her point of view, she did not refute it. It was not that she did not want to refute it, but that she did not know how to refute it.
Boys are the pillars of the family, boys can take the imperial examinations, and only boys can inherit the family business... Take herself as an example, if she were a boy, she wouldn't have been so easily kicked out of the Fu family by Fu Mingjie.
The people of the Great Wei have been instilled with this patriarchal ideology since childhood, and this is the prevailing social norm throughout the Great Wei. She can't possibly apply modern societal values to these people!
She could understand Zhou Miao's desire for a son.
Seeing the fleeting disappointment in Fu Zhi Qiao's eyes, Zhou Miao Si immediately explained, "Zhi Qiao, don't misunderstand, I'm not that kind of person."
She lovingly stroked her belly, "He is flesh of my flesh, whether he is a boy or a girl, I will love him. It's just that my mother-in-law wants a grandson so much. If I give birth to a girl, I don't think I will receive her favor..."
“Since he was born into my belly, I naturally hope he is a boy.” Zhou Miaosi paused, her eyes lowered, her expression carrying a kind of indescribable sadness: “If it were a boy in my belly, his life would be much easier.”
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