Tears can be both sad and joyful.
Yan Ning stared blankly as she watched Fukang'an squatting beside the tatami mat, washing her feet to ward off the cold. Tears streamed down her face. The pain was excruciating, yet it was being stitched up, thread by thread.
But Wuchun is not like Xiang'er. She can force herself to accept the child in Xiang'er's womb, but she simply cannot accept the child in Wuchun's womb. That would leave her standing between them, an obstacle she cannot shake off.
Fukang'an recovered quickly; his complexion regained its rosy hue shortly after entering the room. He held Yan Ning's jade-like feet, which were still chilly despite being soaked in hot water, in his hands. He looked up at Yan Ning's face, and the coldness between his brows softened somewhat.
Thick curtains blocked the howling wind from outside the window, and everything inside was peaceful and quiet. The maids went in and out with their heads bowed, their footsteps silent. All of this was different from what Yan Ning had imagined. Perhaps if Fukang'an had been more ruthless to her, or if the servants of Jiangongzhai had been more opportunistic, she could have been even more ruthless to him.
In this era of female subservience and male supremacy, he actually stooped down to do the things that servants do for her.
Yan Ning's hand touched Fukang'an's smooth forehead, slightly cool yet warm. His forehead was warm, while Yan Ning's hand was cool. "Let us drink wine and grow old together. With music and harmony, all is peaceful and serene." Her tone was both questioning and certain.
A cool sensation touched his forehead, followed by Yan Ning's murmured words. Fukang'an looked up and met Yan Ning's soft eyes. He smiled, and the wrinkles between his brows disappeared.
Inside the Jian Gong Zhai, Fu Kang'an strictly forbade anything related to Wu Chun. Out of sight, out of mind, Yan Ning also deceived herself into believing that it was all just her imagination.
But the winds in the mansion shifted in favor of Wuchun in an instant. Even Chef Wu from the kitchen personally delivered food boxes to her door. Fearing a repeat of what happened to Xiang'er, the old lady ordered servants to invite two midwives to be placed in Chunying Garden, and a doctor to check her pulse every three days.
Wu Chun's morning sickness was getting worse; she could barely eat anything each day, yet her vomiting was becoming more and more frequent. Every time Fukang'an sat down at the table in Jianguozhai, Diecui from Chunyingyuan would run over to Zhao Xing to report that Aunt An couldn't eat anything. Under the watchful eyes of Zhuxiang, Zhao Xing could only timidly tell Fukang'an about it.
It wasn't that Wuchun was too arrogant; Fukang'an personally ordered Zhao Xing to send people to watch over Wuchun's meals every day. Wuchun was already petite, and Fukang'an was worried that she was too weak to raise the child in her womb to be healthy.
A few days later, Fukang'an's footsteps became a habit; every day after court, he would go to Chunying Garden first, watching Wuchun eat, and then rest at Jiangongzhai at night. Although everything seemed normal, Yan Ning still harbored resentment, and the two spoke less and less. Fukang'an's arm around Yan Ning would always be subtly moved away by her, and a thick brocade quilt separated them. Seeing this, Fukang'an could only sigh helplessly.
Even Delin noticed the shift in the household's atmosphere. During the meal, looking at the empty chair at the head of the table, he raised his little face and asked Yan Ning, "Grandma, are you going to have a younger brother or sister-in-law for Delin?"
Yan Ning's chopsticks fell into the jade dish. After a while, she looked up and saw De Lin's little face covered in rice grains. So innocent and naive!
"Yes! From now on, Delin will have someone to keep him company!" She smiled, a hint of bitterness in her eyes.
The candles in the main room of Jian Gong Zhai went out earlier and earlier, and Yan Ning went to bed later and later. Many times, she heard Fu Kang An deliberately slow his footsteps, stopping at the bedside, followed by his deep sigh. After the footsteps faded away, Yan Ning would open her eyes, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Aside from visiting the Peony Hall to pay her respects and going to the Hibiscus Garden to see Xiang'er every day, Yan Ning rarely left the Jian Gong Zhai, and even rarely left the main room.
Spending too much time in the warm room made her even weaker, unable to withstand the slightest chill, and her cough worsened. Fukang'an ordered a doctor to come and see her several times, but Yan Ning only drank the herbal medicine intermittently, and her condition did not improve day by day.
When Fukang'an came, she would suppress her cough and always keep her face, which was bare of makeup, flushed red. Gradually, in order for Yan Ning to live more comfortably, Fukang'an rarely even set foot in Jian Gong Zhai anymore.
With the year-end approaching, all the affairs of the household were entrusted to Yan Ning. This was the first time she had managed such a large family affair, and she was so busy that she neglected one thing while focusing on another. Although Fukang'an had ordered Zhao Xinghou to be at Yan Ning's disposal at Jian Gong Zhai, Yan Ning looked at Zhao Xinghou, who was even more careless than herself, and really didn't know where to send him.
Busy with work, Yan Ning couldn't even think about grieving for Wu Chun's child. Fu Kang'an didn't want her to be unhappy, so he directly managed the affairs of Chun Ying Garden. Whatever was lacking or needed, Zhao Xing would personally deliver it. In the eyes of the servants in the manor, the child's status depended on its mother, and everyone gossiped privately that Fu Kang'an's attentiveness stemmed from his doting affection for Wu Chun.
When the news reached Zhu Xiang and Zhao Xing, it stopped there; no one dared to say anything in front of Yan Ning. Yan Ning was so busy every day that as soon as the candlelight went out, she would fall asleep immediately, never again hearing the soft footsteps and sighs of the night.
The household expenses were reported to the accounting office one by one, and the head of the accounting office then showed them to Yan Ning for review. It took Yan Ning a whole day just to decipher the ancient-style numerical writing before she could understand the account books.
In previous years, Xi Ying would always make new clothes for the servants in the mansion for the New Year. Yan Ning would ask the embroiderers from the mansion's embroidery workshop to take everyone's measurements first. Although the embroidery workshop had the servants' measurements from the previous year, most of the servants in the mansion were children in their teens, and some had grown taller, while others had gained weight. Every year, the embroidery workshop was in complete chaos. This year, due to the numerous major events that had recently occurred in the Fucha mansion and the tight schedule before the New Year, Yan Ning had no choice but to send someone to the outer city to invite embroiderers from a tailor shop to help with the embroidery workshop.
Chef Wu had already planned the menu for the New Year's Eve reunion banquet at the Fucha Mansion and handed it to Yan Ning. However, the Fucha Mansion was preparing too late, and many of the best vegetable gardens had already been bought by other officials.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
