Lu Wanqing was indeed feeling a little unwell, but thinking about what Xiao Rui had just said, she felt a sweet warmth in her heart and couldn't fall asleep at all, so she was sitting up against the headboard.
Upon seeing Lu Qingsheng arrive, Lu Wanqing hurriedly tried to get down and bow.
"Don't move. If you're not feeling well, lie down." Lu Qingsheng quickly stopped him and asked again, "The servants said you're not feeling well. Should we call a doctor?"
Lu Wanqing waved her hand and said, "No need, no need. Father, if you are busy, please go ahead and do your work. I don't have anything to do here."
As the only daughter in her family, Lu Wanqing was always very casual at home. She would only pretend to be a rich young lady when she went out, and of course, she could only do so for a limited time.
Lu Qingsheng feigned anger and said with a stern face, "What, you're already trying to kick your father out? They say daughters grow up and leave home, and you're not even engaged yet, and this is how you treat your own father?"
"Oh dear, Dad, why are you angry? I was just being considerate of you being busy. If you're not busy right now, I'll chat with you, okay?" Lu Wanqing immediately smiled apologetically and shook Lu Qingsheng's arm.
Lu Qingsheng pointed his index finger at her forehead and said, "You, I don't know who you took after, your personality is neither like mine nor like your mother's."
Mentioning his deceased wife, Lu Qingsheng's thoughts drifted away, and the melancholy in his heart surged up again.
When his wife suddenly passed away from a serious illness, he didn't even get to see her one last time, and he couldn't help but feel regret.
When Lu Wanqing heard him mention her deceased mother, she suddenly remembered Lu Yanzheng's face and asked, "Father, doesn't Mother have any relatives?"
"Why do you ask that?" Lu Qingsheng looked at her and shook his head. "Your mother was originally an orphan. If I hadn't insisted on marrying her back then, and if your grandfather hadn't objected, she probably would have..."
Lu Wanqing asked curiously, "Really, you don't have any relatives? Not a single one?"
“No,” Lu Qingsheng said with certainty, “there’s no one from her family, but…”
"But what?" Lu Wanqing blinked her big eyes and looked at him curiously.
Lu Qingsheng sighed before saying, "You originally had an older brother..."
"Brother?" Lu Wanqing gasped, quickly asking, "Where is he? I've never heard of him before?"
“He died, he died right after birth.” Lu Qingsheng’s eyes reddened as he spoke of it. “There was an urgent matter that required your mother to go out, but I was held up by other things and couldn’t go with her. She gave birth on the way…”
In the freezing cold, Madam Lu gave birth to a stillborn child, which was buried directly at the birthplace.
"Where did my mother give birth to my brother?" Lu Wanqing had a guess in her mind at this moment, but she found it too incredible and could only keep asking.
Lu Qingsheng was about to speak when he asked, "Your mother is..."
"Qing'er, what's wrong with your health? Why didn't you ask someone to call a doctor to take a look?"
A soft, gentle voice interrupted Lu Qingsheng's words.
Lu Wanqing looked towards the door and saw a woman wearing a gauze outer garment walking quickly in from outside. As soon as she saw Lu Wanqing lying on the bed, she burst into tears.
"I couldn't believe the servants said you weren't feeling well, but I never imagined you'd be bedridden, Qing'er..." Madam Jun wiped away her tears with her handkerchief, glancing at Lu Qingsheng with a hint of reproach, "Master, you really are something. Since you're here, why didn't you bring a doctor?"
Lu Qingsheng said with a wry smile, "Alright, wipe away your tears. Qing'er is fine. She's probably just tired from the journey. She'll be fine after a rest."
"Really?" Madam Jun wiped away her tears, looked Lu Wanqing over carefully again, and then patted her chest, saying, "I was so scared. If anything had happened to Qing'er, how would I live my life?"
"Mother, please don't be like this. Look at me, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?" Lu Wanqing looked at Madam Jun helplessly. She had no complaints about her stepmother.
Because she was the only child in the family, Jun Shi took great care of her after marrying into the family, and those who wanted to see the power struggles in the inner quarters of the Lu family had to give up their hopes.
As she grew older, Jun and Lu Qingsheng still had no children, and there were all sorts of rumors circulating.
However, Lu Qingsheng acted as if he hadn't heard anything and remained completely unmoved.
When Lu Wanqing asked her directly why she hadn't given birth to a younger brother or sister, Madam Jun lovingly took her hand and said, "Your father and I both want to give you the best. Human hearts are biased. Since we can't guarantee that we won't favor the younger one, then it's better not to have one. It's good enough to have only one."
“But if we do that, people outside will gossip about you,” Lu Wanqing said, biting her lip.
Madam Jun shook her head, patted her hand, and smiled gently, "Let them say what they want. We're the ones living our lives, not strangers. Unless you, Qing'er, are unwilling to take care of us in our old age, otherwise..."
"Of course I'm willing!" Lu Wanqing immediately interrupted her, saying hurriedly, "I want to take care of my parents and grandfather in their old age! I want you to live the life that all old men and women envy!"
"Isn't that right?" Madam Jun laughed. "Then what do we need other children for? Qing'er is enough!"
Because of those words, Lu Wanqing grew even closer to Madam Jun and from then on truly regarded her as her own mother.
Let's get back to the present.
Madam Jun put away the handkerchief, took Lu Wanqing's hand and looked her over carefully again, then scolded her, "I told you not to go out, but you wouldn't listen. Look how much weight you've lost!"
Lu Wanqing looked at her hands, then pinched her cheeks, and said incredulously, "No, Mother, I've only been away for less than ten days, and I've been with my cousin these past few days. I haven't been lacking in food at all, so how could I have lost weight?"
She even felt that her belly had grown bigger!
Jun kept nagging, "I don't care, you're not allowed to go out anymore recently, I need to give you some good nourishment..."
Lu Wanqing almost fainted when she heard the word "nourishment". This was the reason why she was relatively obedient at home. Madam Jun never beat or scolded her, but she would find ways to nourish her in various ways!
Interrupted by Jun Shi, Lu Wanqing forgot about asking about what happened back then, and completely forgot about Lu Yanzheng, only worrying about how to avoid this situation.
...
Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qinyu returned to Dingshui Village with Shufan and Pan'er, where the whole village was waiting at the entrance.
"Uncle Village Chief, Father, Mother, what are you all doing here..." Jiang Qinyu jumped off the carriage, feeling a warm glow in her heart as she looked at so many people.
Village Chief Li quickly wiped his eyes, looking at Jiang Qinyu and saying repeatedly, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..."
Chen grabbed Jiang Qinyu's hand excitedly, tears welling up in her eyes. "Was the journey smooth? Where's Azheng? Why didn't he come back with you?"
"Mom, Uncle Village Chief, and everyone else," Jiang Qinyu called out to the crowd, "It's so cold outside, shall we go back inside and talk about this?"
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