"It's newly made. Recently, the Empress and Consort Gao have sent a lot of gifts to the eldest young lady. Seeing that the eldest young lady has become a hot commodity again, the Madam doesn't dare to mistreat you. She made new clothes for you alone in the whole mansion. Even Xiao Taohong, who just gave birth to the eldest son of a concubine, didn't get any."
"..."
Jiang Yao's expression changed, and she raised her hand to take off her clothes.
The girls absolutely refused to allow it.
“Miss, why are you angry with the eldest young lady? We are all sisters, blood is thicker than water. Others would love to have such an accomplished sister, but you just don’t want to benefit from the eldest young lady’s success.”
“Other days are fine, but today is your birthday. Your husband is waiting for you, and it’s getting late. If we keep changing the date, he might have to wait a long time.”
Jiang Yao: "..."
The girls' words successfully made Jiang Yao pause.
"Yes, Yulang is still waiting for me... but I..."
Jiang Yao hesitated for a moment, and before she could figure it out, the maids exchanged glances and pushed her out together.
And so, half-heartedly, Jiang Yao was led by the maids toward Pei Lingyu's courtyard.
Before she even reached the door, a young maid rushed up, wiping her sweat, and said, "Miss, the young master has had to leave the yamen due to some urgent business."
"Is there something going on at the yamen?" Jiang Yao looked up. It was already dark. Was there something going on at the yamen?
"Yes, yes, it seems...it seems rather urgent..."
The little girl's stumbling voice aroused Jiang Yao's suspicion. She stared at the little girl with doubt, and listened carefully. Faint sounds of string and bamboo instruments came from Pei Lingyu's courtyard at the right end of the path.
With a cold look in her eyes, Jiang Yao pushed aside the maid and walked in without waiting for them to stop her. Inside the ornately decorated house, a group of singers dressed in brightly colored dresses were dancing gracefully to the accompaniment of string and bamboo instruments.
Their graceful figures, their slightly parted lips, and their melodious voices echoed like heavenly music, intertwining with the lingering melody.
My gaze shifted to the table, where fine wine and delicacies lay scattered about, indicating that they had been drinking for quite some time.
The only man in the room also looked completely absorbed, with two unfamiliar women on his left and right.
The flickering candlelight illuminated the bewildered faces of the crowd.
The house seemed to have become a phantom place of pleasure, filled with endless luxury and indulgence.
My heart grew cold little by little, until it finally fell into an ice cave.
Despite the biting cold, Jiang Yao clenched her fingers and asked, "Who are those two women? And where did these singers come from?"
"Yes, it was a gift from my son-in-law's colleague."
"..."
In that instant, a chill ran through Jiang Yao's entire body.
You can't refuse gifts from superiors, nor can you refuse gifts from colleagues.
Looking at the head maid beside her, Jiang Yao asked, "Did the longevity noodles really come from the son-in-law?"
Having come this far, the head maid dared not hide anything any longer. With a thud, she knelt down to beg for forgiveness. "Miss, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong, but I was only doing this for your own good. Ever since you and your husband returned from the Jiang residence, your husband has never come to your courtyard again. He doesn't even say a word when we meet. I'm so worried about him. I was only thinking of you!"
"Miss, you don't know yet, do you? The young master's two concubines have already taken on some!"
"Also, of the two women that my son-in-law, Shangguan, gave me, one of them is also pregnant..."
In that instant, Jiang Yao felt as if the sky had fallen.
The next instant, a strong wave of nausea and vomiting surged up, and she opened her mouth and vomited.
The maids quickly helped her back to her room, and after the physician examined her, everyone was shocked.
"Is the young lady pregnant?"
"And it's already been three months?"
"But Miss gets her period every month!"
The physician angrily said, "That's not menstruation, it's a sign of threatened miscarriage! How have you been taking care of the wet nurse all this time...?"
The entire Earl's mansion was thrown into chaos, and even the Earl's wife and Pei Lingyu were alarmed.
Pei Lingyu sat on the edge of the bed with delight and excitedly grasped Jiang Yao's hand, "That's wonderful, Yao'er, we're going to have a child too!"
Jiang Yao: "..."
Jiang Yao looked blank.
She stared at Pei Lingyu, and a wave of nausea washed over her again.
"vomit--"
This time, she vomited all over Pei Lingyu.
***********
Soon, Jiang Shuwan also learned that Jiang Yao was pregnant.
The entire Jiang family was alarmed. By the time of Jiang Shuwan's generation, Jiang Yao was the first member of the family to become pregnant.
Even though she was "water spilled out," she still received a lot of attention. Various relatives, aunts, and uncles all went to the Earl's Mansion to see her, and Jiang Shuwan also sent a lot of things over.
Especially since she was showing signs of miscarriage, which made Madam Song so worried that she couldn't sleep at night. Later, she even moved to the Earl's mansion to take care of Jiang Yao, which benefited Madam Song.
Lady Bo was already preoccupied with the eldest son born to Xiao Tao Hong, so she was already quite busy. With Song Shi around, Jiang Yao's side was no longer lacking in care.
However, she felt somewhat guilty, so she not only treated Song to good food and drink, but also made sure to spend all the money in Jiang Yao's room as she pleased.
"While the eldest son is certainly well-behaved, he wasn't born from the womb of the principal wife. If Jiang Yao were to give birth to a son, then the Earl's family would truly have an heir..."
When these words from Madam Bo reached Jiang Yao's room, Madam Song immediately beamed with joy.
Taking the bowl of medicine from the maid, Madam Song blew on it to cool it down as she spoke to Jiang Yao.
“When Xiao Taohong gave birth to the eldest son before you, I thought that the Madam was an unruly person and I looked down on her. I didn’t expect that she would still stand on our side in the end.”
"That's true. Your eldest sister is currently very popular, and even the Empress has to give her some respect. So naturally, the Lady of the House wouldn't dare to look down on you."
"That's what they call 'it's good to rest under a big tree,' don't you understand?"
Seeing Jiang Yao still sitting on the bed in a daze, Madam Song raised her hand to tap her, but then quickly withdrew her hand, remembering that the baby in her belly was not yet settled.
“Threatened miscarriage is so scary. You are the apple of your family’s eye. Your older sister said she’ll call the imperial physician to take a look at you tomorrow. See how good your older sister is to you?”
"By the way, when the imperial physician arrives, please have someone inform me so that he can also take my pulse."
"My old bones haven't even been examined by the imperial physician yet."
Sitting by the bed, Song Shi talked excitedly. After the medicine in her hand had cooled down enough, she fed it to Jiang Yao and then went to do other things.
Yesterday, she met Xiao Taohong at the manor. She was a seductive little vixen, clearly not one to stay still.
She was once a lowly concubine, but after giving birth to a son, she has now been promoted to a noble concubine.
Brothels have many tricks up their sleeves, and Jiang Yao is rather careless. She has to keep a close watch on Jiang Yao's room, otherwise, if there's even one more woman, she might lose the child.
The child was already unsteady on his feet.
Thinking of this, Madam Song quickly called the maids up and the first thing she did was to reassign them to different jobs. Those who had come from the Jiang family before continued to serve in the inner room.
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