Chapter 113 The Yun Family's Concubine is Pregnant
The capital city, the residence of the Second Prince.
Physician Zhang had just left the palace to treat the Second Prince when a guard rushed in to report:
"Your Highness, we've found out. The day before Wu Chuang died, he found some excuse to whip the Xiao family and even humiliated the Third Prince, saying that he was a banished commoner and that Your Highness had no authority over him but was subject to his control."
The second prince continued his deduction, "So the third prince held a grudge and cut off his head, hanging it in my room? That damned third prince!"
When they were young, the princes played together. The third prince was timid and prone to crying, so his brothers would joke with him and scare him with snakes, which made him cry.
That very night, he ordered his men to kill the snake, stick it on a stick, and stand it above their bed to frighten them.
He was vengeful from a young age and used a gentle and unassuming demeanor to disguise and hide his ambition.
The strategist, holding a feather fan in one hand and stroking his beard with the other, stepped forward and bowed to the Second Prince, saying, "Your Highness, I believe it's more likely that it was the Xiao family. Wu Chuang treated them ruthlessly. The conditions of exile are harsh; those who were injured were almost half-dead, and the slightest mistake could have cost them their remaining life. The Xiao family killed Wu Chuang to avenge him. As for the Third Prince, he was only verbally humiliated. Offending you over such a trivial matter would do him no good."
The Second Prince continued, “Sir, have you forgotten that the exiled troops sent back news the other day that the Xiao family is so poor that they are eating wild vegetables? If they had powerful subordinates who could come and go freely in the Prince’s mansion, would they need to eat wild vegetables?”
The third prince, on the other hand, was very high-profile, traveling by carriage and sedan chair. He was probably the one who killed Wu Chuang, and then sent someone to hang a sign in my room, scaring me so much that I can't have a son, further reducing my chances of winning the crown prince election.
The strategist still felt that the Xiao family was more likely to be responsible. When he heard that the Second Prince was almost certain that the Third Prince was behind it, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.
He had followed the Second Prince for many years and knew that once the other had made up his mind, it was almost impossible to change it. In any case, it didn't matter who did it. The Second Prince, the Third Prince, and the Xiao family were all mortal enemies.
The Second Prince instructed, "Send someone to inform Lord Yang and Lord Xie that they should present a memorial to the Third Prince at the morning court tomorrow. He's being exiled, yet he's bringing guards and maids with him, and even riding in a carriage and sedan chair? Does he think he's going on a spring outing?"
"Yes! I'll take care of it right away."
"Your Highness, the current priority is the takeover of the Xiao family army."
The Second Prince clenched his fists, rested his elbows on his thighs, and looked on with an air of certainty: "Only I can take over the Xiao family army. What right does that good-for-nothing Crown Prince have to compete with me?"
He had been planning this for a long time; how could he let it benefit someone else?
...
The exile caravan continued its journey and rested at a dilapidated temple in the evening. Xiao Xiuning was half asleep and half awake throughout the afternoon and evening, with Yang Shi and Xiao Xuanwu supporting her on either side as they walked.
Xiao Xuance was in charge of pushing the cart.
We had to continue our journey early the next morning to make up for the thirty li we missed yesterday; today we had to travel one hundred and thirty li.
Xiao Xiuning's cold finally subsided in the morning, and she could walk on her own. If she hadn't recovered, Madam Yang would have collapsed again.
Xiao Xuanwu was covered in injuries and hadn't fully recovered. He could barely walk on his own and needed someone to help him. He didn't have the strength to help her.
Her injury healed, and the whole family breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Xiuning stayed close to Yang Shi all morning.
When Yang approached Yun Zhaoxue to speak, she then clung to her elder and second sisters-in-law, as if deliberately avoiding Yun Zhaoxue.
Yun Zhaoxue didn't want to pay any attention to her; it was better for her to stay away.
During the lunch break, the others followed Xiao Xuance's example and used the available materials to build a simple stove and cook.
I had just finished building the stove and excitedly put the pot on it when the stove collapsed and the pot overturned, "Bang! Bang!!"
They had to collect stones again to build a new stove. After finally managing to build the stove, cooking became another major problem, as they didn't know how to cook.
They used to be pampered and waited to be served, so they didn't know how to do the work of servants, and they didn't even know how to make something out of nothing.
The Xiao family worked together methodically, starting to cook and the aroma of rice filled the air.
They couldn't find anyone to cook, so they had to find someone who could cook whatever they could.
Those wives and legitimate sons and daughters certainly wouldn't know how to cook; they could only exploit the concubines and illegitimate daughters.
They used to be at the bottom of the family hierarchy. Some of them went from being maids to concubines, and would occasionally go into the kitchen to cook some delicious food to please the master, and would make a few soups.
Seeing that the concubine of the Duan family next door had already started cooking, Madam Wang pointed to Aunt Chen, who was nestled beside Yun Xiuwen, and said, "Aunt Chen, why aren't you cooking yet?"
Aunt Chen said, "Madam, that's true. She was born into a wealthy family, but she ended up in a brothel. She was redeemed by the master while still a virgin. She's only been in the kitchen a handful of times. How could I possibly know how to cook?"
Madam Wang glared at her angrily and retorted sharply, "If you don't do it, who will? Do you expect me to serve you? Are you stupid? If you don't know how, learn. Do I have to teach you something so simple?"
Aunt Chen wasn't stupid. She knew that if she cooked for them once, she would cook for them again. The Yun family had thirty or forty people in three branches. She would be exhausted if she cooked for so many people by herself, so she refused to be their maid.
"I can't learn it. I used to want to make soup for you, Master. All the cooks and maids in the manor gathered around to teach me, but I still couldn't learn it. You ate it and had diarrhea all afternoon. I still feel sorry for you now. Do you remember this, Master?"
As she spoke, she tugged at Yun Xiuwen's arm.
Yun Xiuwen nodded, "I remember, from then on I ordered that Rou'er was never allowed to enter the kitchen again. Don't make things difficult for Rou'er, find someone else to do it."
"Change to someone else? Who? No matter how low the status of the other concubines is, they are still daughters of respectable families. Concubine Chen has the lowest status, and she is still the master's most favored concubine. If she takes the lead and sets an example for the other concubines, then the others can learn from her."
Aunt Chen clung to Yun Xiu's arm again, pleading, "Master, I really can't learn how to cook. Making me cook is just a waste of food."
Yun Xiuwen felt sorry for his beloved concubine and was about to speak up in her defense.
Madam Wang preemptively threatened, "Does Master still wish to return to the capital with the help of the Wang and Qin families?"
The Yun family had long since fallen into decline, and now that they had been exiled, everyone avoided them like the plague. Their only hope lay in the connections of her maternal family.
Madam Yun's stomach was growling with hunger. She had finished all the meat buns and sesame cakes she had bought yesterday, but she was still hungry.
She scolded, "Stop arguing! Everyone else will be eating soon, and you're still arguing. Chen, why don't you hurry up and cook?"
The Yun family was all hoping that Wang would return to the capital, and Yun Xiuwen didn't dare to offend Wang, so he could only ask his concubine to do it. "Rou'er, go and cook."
As soon as Aunt Chen stood up, she swayed and collapsed into Yun Xiuwen's arms.
"Oh dear, I feel so dizzy, and my stomach... my stomach hurts a little. My lord, my stomach hurts! Please fetch a doctor..."
Just then, not far from the Yun family lived the Chen family. Yun Xiuwen carried the child over to them for treatment, saying, "Dr. Chen, please take a look at my son and see what's wrong."
Physician Chen diagnosed her pregnancy with just one pulse. "Lord Yun, this is a pregnancy pulse. The pregnancy has been threatened, so you need to rest well. If possible, it would be best to take medicine to prevent miscarriage for three consecutive days."
Upon hearing that she was pregnant, Yun Xiuwen was overjoyed, "Pregnant? I'm going to be a father again? Rou'er, we're having a baby! That's wonderful, hahaha..."
He already knew that his youngest son was not his biological son, and he also suspected that his eldest son and Yun Jiaoyue were not his biological sons either. He wanted to have a blood test to determine kinship, but he dared not break ties with Wang Shi in order to return to the capital. The child born to Wang Shi might not be his, but the child born to Aunt Chen would definitely be his.
The other concubines didn't know how to cook either, and the whole family was starving, so it was too late for them to learn on the spot. In order to prevent his beloved concubine from going hungry, Yun Xiuwen secretly approached Yun Jiaoyue, who was washing vegetables by the river with her maid, and asked her to bring a maid over to cook for them.
Yun Jiaoyue didn't want to be seen as someone who disregarded her family, so she made the decision on her own and agreed.
When the Duan and Shen families saw that the Yun family had maids, they also went to ask the Third Prince for some. The concubines from both families were clumsy cooks, and judging from their appearance, the food they made wouldn't taste very good.
The Third Prince's cooking progress slowed down because only Yun Jiaoyue and a maid were left to cook.
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