Chapter 65 Half a month passed in this deception, and Prime Minister He heard that his daughter had...
After calling for hot water twice, Pei Lang finally calmed down, wrapping his arm around Lin Zhi's arm from behind, just tight enough to make her unable to move.
Lin Zhi lay on her side, feeling the comforting warmth behind her. She was exhausted but didn't want to sleep. The two remained silent for a long time before Lin Zhi finally spoke slowly: "Does Madam know you've returned?"
After waiting for a while, Pei Lang lazily hummed in response: "I ran into her on the way back."
Lin Zhi swallowed the bitterness in her heart and struggled to turn over: "Now that I'm more pregnant, the doctor has told me... not to be too reckless, otherwise I won't be able to take care of my husband."
"You weren't there for the wedding ceremony, so why don't you go and rest in your wife's room tomorrow? Otherwise, if outsiders find out, they might say something else."
The candlelight had gone out. Pei Lang lifted his thin eyelids and looked at her: "Do you really think that way?"
"When have you ever served me? I'm always the one serving you..."
Lin Zhi, embarrassed and annoyed, raised her hand to stop him from finishing his sentence, but her long eyelashes also blocked his way: "Now that the wedding ceremony has been held and she's entered the mansion, things can't stay like this forever..."
Seeing her serious expression, Pei Lang also sat up straight, the silk quilt falling from his smooth chest: "Are you angry?"
Lin Zhi shook her head, leaving him with only her slender back: "You're tired, get some rest."
Feeling a gaze fixed on her back, Lin Zhi endured the unease of being stared at, but stubbornly refused to turn around.
The next morning, Lin Zhi, unusually, personally helped Pei Lang change his clothes. The two of them used to be casual with each other and never cared about such trivial matters, but unexpectedly, now that there was another person in the mansion, it seemed that the two of them had become estranged.
After pressing down her clothes, Lin Zhi was about to remove her hand when Pei Lang reached out and grabbed her, looking down at her: "I promised He Luochen last night that I would go see her tonight."
Lin Zhi's hand trembled almost imperceptibly. She quickly lowered her long eyelashes to hide the expression in her eyes, ignoring the scrutinizing look on Pei Lang's face.
"...Alright, it's time to make up for the wedding night..."
Seeing her obedient and compliant, Pei Lang was displeased. He let go of her hand and went out to court.
"Madam, aren't your words just now pushing the master further away? What if he takes them seriously?"
Lin Zhi sat down, propping himself up with his hands, his expression complicated: "What can I do if I don't say anything? Now that she's already in the manor, can I just leave her hanging forever?"
"Alright, come with me to the embroidery workshop."
Although Chun Tao frowned, she still carefully helped her young mistress over. These days, the young mistress always locked herself in the embroidery workshop, as if this would allow her to stay away from her troubles.
Lin Zhi finally put down her needlework after Chun Tao pleaded with her, her eyes stinging. "Is it time for dinner?"
"Did the kitchen make pear soup, Pei Lang's favorite, today? I heard him cough twice yesterday..."
But before she could finish speaking, Lin Zhi realized what she was saying and stopped talking.
Chun Tao was a little flustered, but then she saw Lin Zhi chuckle and say, "I forgot, he's not eating here tonight."
"Then there's no need."
Lin Zhi's calm demeanor made her somewhat worried, and she couldn't help but try to comfort her, but someone gently patted her hand: "Chun Tao, don't worry, I knew this day would come."
"I won't make things difficult for others or myself; I'll just live a peaceful life."
That's what they say, but Chun Tao noticed that Lin Zhi ate even less than usual tonight.
Pei Lang frowned as he stepped into the unfamiliar bedroom. He hesitated and wanted to turn around, but He Luochen, who was behind him, stared at him with a smile: "What's wrong, husband?"
Looking at her face, Pei Lang swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, "...It's nothing."
He Luochen took his arm and led him to the table to sit down. "Husband, have you forgotten that we haven't drunk the nuptial wine yet?"
"This is a fine wine that was specially saved for today..."
Pei Lang used the act of pouring wine to pull his arm out. After pouring the wine, he handed her the small wine glass, raised his own glass and gently clinked it against hers, then drank it all in one gulp.
"...Husband, this isn't how you drink the nuptial wine..."
He Luochen's reserved and perfect smile froze for a moment. She tried to get around Pei Lang's arm, but he had already put down his wine glass: "I'm very tired today. I'm going to take a bath first. I'll go after you drink."
Staring intently at Pei Lang, He Luochen had no choice but to drink it down on his own.
While Pei Lang was in the bathhouse, she fought off her sleepiness, changed into light clothes, and tiptoed to the door of the bathhouse. Just as she was about to push the door open, she was stopped by someone.
"Madam, the master does not like to be disturbed while bathing. Please return to your room and wait."
Seeing that Pei Lang needed someone to stand guard outside the door while he was taking a bath, as if they were keeping an eye on her, He Luochen's expression also turned sour. However, out of consideration for her pride, she couldn't say anything more. She glared at Jifeng, who was guarding the door, and then left.
Ziyu helped the woman back to her room and quickly comforted her, "Madam, there's no need to worry. You are the rightful wife. Now that the master is here, how could he possibly run away?"
"Once tonight is over, you can rest easy!"
He Luochen was delighted by her words, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly: "Alright then, you don't need to serve me in the room later, I'll just wait for my husband."
"yes."
However, when He Luochen sat down on the edge of the couch, unable to hide her excitement, she felt a little dizzy for some reason. She frowned and pinched her arm a couple of times, but the pain only lasted for a moment before sleepiness returned.
He opened and closed his eyes twice, but then his vision went black and he collapsed.
When Pei Lang cautiously pushed open the door, he saw Xingyun laying He Luochen flat on the couch. "Has she fainted?"
Xingyun straightened up and nodded: "Yes, this medicine is very potent. Even if you only drink a little bit mixed into wine, you can dream until tomorrow."
"As long as you wish, your wife can drink the dream of your wedding night and dream every day."
Pei Lang strode into the outer room and sat down in a chair, feeling a sense of warmth. After a long silence, he finally asked how Lin Zhi was doing today.
Xingyun hesitated for a moment and scratched his head: "I asked Miss Xia Ying today, but I was scolded and kicked out."
"Although Miss Chuntao didn't curse anyone, she didn't give anyone a friendly look either."
"But I heard that the concubine stayed in the embroidery workshop all day today and only came out at dinner time."
Hearing this, Pei Lang couldn't help but pinch his brow again. "I've already told you that this is bad for your eyes, why won't you listen?"
"Tomorrow, replace all the candles in the embroidery workshop, and no more embroidery is allowed after sunset."
After sitting in the outer room for a long time, Pei Lang couldn't resist climbing over the back wall and leaving for Lin Zhi's residence.
He waited until everyone inside was asleep before sneaking in to lie down.
They didn't leave until it was almost dawn.
When He Luochen was woken up by the maid, she still felt groggy and not fully awake. But as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw that Pei Lang had already changed his clothes and was sitting to the side drinking tea.
He Luochen's heart tightened, and she quickly got up, dressed, and went over: "Why did you get up so early, my husband? It was I who was being inconsiderate."
Pei Lang slowly put down his teacup. "Since you're tired, you should rest more. The doctor will come to check your pulse later, so you don't need to go out. Just wait."
He Luochen was still somewhat dazed. She didn't know if she had been drunk yesterday, but she seemed to have fallen asleep before Pei Lang even finished his bath.
But the aches and pains in her body and the vivid memories made her hesitate, wondering if she hadn't actually slept at all, and was just missing some memories.
However, Pei Lang's attitude has softened somewhat, which can be considered an improvement.
"Yes, I will do whatever my husband says."
After escorting Pei Lang to the courtyard gate to attend court, He Luochen grabbed Ziyu's hand and asked if there had been any disturbances in the room last night.
Ziyu still felt a little aggrieved: "Madam, didn't you tell me to go back to my room early and not to serve you? But I heard from the other servants that you ordered hot water once."
Although He Luochen wasn't entirely satisfied, he didn't say anything more.
"Now I am the rightful Mrs. Pei, and I'd like to see how Lin Zhi can still act so arrogantly towards me!"
Lin Zhi, who was doing her makeup in front of the mirror, suddenly felt her ears getting hot. She couldn't help but raise her hand to touch them, but Chun Tao saw her and exclaimed, "Miss, what happened to your ears? They're so red!"
Lin Zhi touched it but didn't find anything wrong. However, she grabbed Chun Tao's hand and hesitated before asking, "Did you see anyone last night?"
Chun Tao frowned, shaking her head with a blank expression: "What do you mean by that, Miss?"
Lin Zhi bit her lower lip and didn't speak again, but she still felt that someone else had come into the room yesterday.
But when she got up early in the morning, there was nothing unusual around her, as if it was just a dream.
But Lin Zhi refused to doubt her own feelings.
"It's nothing, maybe I'm overthinking it."
The doctor arrived at noon. At first, Xia Ying thought he was there to take the pulse of Lin Zhi and the child, so she wanted to lead him to her own lady's courtyard, but Zi Yu stopped her.
"You're being incredibly unreasonable! Didn't you hear the doctor say he wanted to see Madam Pei?"
"This is the doctor that the master invited to examine our lady's pulse!"
Xia Ying's face flushed with anger, but she remembered Lin Zhi's instructions and dared not speak rashly. "Pah! He's just a doctor, who cares!"
But when the doctor withdrew his hand with a solemn expression, He Luochen felt uneasy: "Doctor, is my body alright?"
The doctor gently shook his head: "Madam's body is severely weakened!"
"May I ask if you, Madam, usually have cold and damp hands and feet, and are easily agitated and irritable?"
He Luochen frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded hesitantly: "...It seems so."
"Then it will take some time to recover! If Madam wants to conceive, she will need to take the medicine for two months, otherwise even if... it will still be an imbalance of yin and yang, which will likely do more harm than good!"
Hearing this, He Luochen wanted to get angry, but then she remembered that Pei Lang had specially invited this person, so she forcibly suppressed her temper: "Doctor, do you really believe what you say? I used to be in good health, just suffering from qi and blood deficiency, which is common among women. How come you say that it's even difficult for me to get pregnant?"
The doctor waved his hand and said, "Since the lady does not trust me, it would be better to find someone more skilled."
"How have I been these past two months? Madam, you can ask other doctors if it will take at least six months to recover your health!"
Seeing that the doctor was about to leave, He Luochen had no choice but to suppress her displeasure: "Doctor, don't be in a hurry, I trust you."
"Please have the doctor give the prescription to the people around me so they can get the medicine."
Half a month later, He Xiang heard his daughter complaining to him that Pei Lang was too busy, and he became suspicious.
"But nothing major has happened in the court in the past half month, so Pei Lang has been quite idle, hasn't he?"
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Author's Note: Have any of you girlfriends participated in Ah Jin's recent summer heat relief campaign? Lots of perks, and daily check-ins even give you nutrient solutions! Please, my girlfriends, don't hesitate to give me a few bottles too! Thank you so much! [heart emoji] [please]
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