Ji Zhuo gently wiped away the tears on Lin Xihe's cheeks with his fingertips, then carefully helped her up, and with a little force, lifted her up in his arms.
Lin Xihe instinctively reached out and hugged his neck, asking softly, "What are you doing?"
"The couch is too hard. Let's go lie down on the bed; it'll be more comfortable."
After Ji Zhuo carried Lin Xihe to the bed and put her down, he turned to the side, pointed to his own face, looked at Lin Xihe, and asked, "Can you tell?"
Lin Xihe instantly understood what he meant; he was asking if she could tell that she had just been crying.
Lin Xihe raised her hand and gently wiped away the trace of moisture remaining in Ji Zhuo's eyes, saying softly, "You can't tell now."
Ji Zhuo straightened his clothes, slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, and called out to the door, "Come in, everyone."
Upon hearing the sound, Ling Shuang and Ling Xue quickly entered the house. As soon as they entered, their eyes turned anxiously to Lin Xihe, their eyes filled with worry.
They were outside, far away, and hadn't heard a thing inside. Now, seeing Lin Xihe's red eyes, they felt a pang of heartache.
They secretly guessed that the girl must have no choice and would probably be forced to drink the medicine, after all, Ji Zhuo's temper was notoriously tough.
"Dr. Tao, please take my pulse."
Ji Zhuo glanced at Doctor Tao beside him, his expression regaining some of its coldness.
Dr. Tao nodded slightly and stepped forward as instructed. Just as he stood by the bedside, he heard Ji Zhuo speak again: "She has had severe morning sickness these past two days. Prescribe some medicine to relieve the symptoms."
Upon hearing this, Ling Shuang, Ling Xue, Lang Feng, and even Doctor Tao in the room seemed to freeze instantly. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with astonishment, and some even doubted whether they had misheard.
"Dr. Tao, Xi'er is three months pregnant. I would appreciate it if you could come and check on her every few days," Ji Zhuo said, glancing at Lin Xihe.
Lin Xihe also stared intently at Ji Zhuo, her heart churning like a stormy sea.
If it was March, that was before Ji Zhuo left the capital, meaning the child was his.
Her eyes instantly welled up with tears again. He was actually willing to go to such lengths for her?
Ji Zhuo's words shocked everyone present.
Especially Doctor Tao, who had followed Ji Zhuo for five years and considered himself to know him quite well, never expected that he had such a affectionate and tolerant side.
Doctor Tao snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Miss Lin's pregnancy is currently quite stable. I will take good care of her, so please rest assured, Lord Ji."
After writing out the prescription, they all tactfully prepared to leave.
Ji Zhuo stood up and instructed Lang Feng, "Lang Feng, escort Doctor Tao back to his residence. I will return by myself later."
Lang Feng opened his mouth, about to ask "How late?", but seeing Ji Zhuo's expression, he ultimately didn't dare to speak, silently agreed, and led Doctor Tao out.
The room fell silent again, leaving only the two of them. Ji Zhuo looked up, his gaze sweeping across the wall where the painting had just been hanging, and asked, "Where is my painting?"
Lin Xihe pointed her slender finger to the top of the bookshelf on the other side of the room and said, "The top shelf."
Ji Zhuo took a long stride, walked a few steps to the bookshelf, took down the painting, returned to the wall, and hung it up.
After hanging the painting, Ji Zhuo took a few steps back, stood in front of it, crossed his arms, and looked at it for a long time.
Suddenly turning his head to look at Lin Xihe, he said seriously, "If you take it down again, don't blame me for burning your house down."
"You weren't this assertive just now," Lin Xihe muttered softly.
Ji Zhuo raised an eyebrow slightly, as if unwilling to recall what had just happened, and strolled back to Lin Xihe's side, changing the subject and asking, "How far along are you in your pregnancy?"
Lin Xihe was taken aback at first, and after a brief pause, she said softly, "Three months."
"Who do you love?" Ji Zhuo stared intently at Lin Xihe, not missing a single expression on her face.
"Ah Zhuo." Lin Xihe looked up and met Ji Zhuo's gaze.
"Remember your words, you won't get a third chance."
Upon hearing this answer, Ji Zhuo's tense expression softened instantly. He stretched out his long arm and pulled Lin Xihe into his embrace once more, as if he wanted to integrate her into his very being.
That day, Ji Zhuo just stayed there and refused to leave.
At first, he tried to convince himself to accept the child, and every time he thought of it, his heart ached as if it were being torn apart. But as he stayed at the Lin residence for longer and longer, he gradually began to reach out and gently stroke Lin Xihe's flat stomach.
In the following days, thanks to Dr. Tao's excellent medical skills, Lin Xihe's morning sickness symptoms gradually lessened, and the pregnancy became more and more stable.
On this day, Lin Xihe received an invitation from the palace. His Majesty invited her to participate in the Spring Hunting Trial in ten days and instructed the eunuch to convey that she "cannot refuse."
Lin Xihe took the invitation, her heart sinking. After the eunuch left, she was filled with worry.
That evening, Ji Zhuo entered the Lin residence as usual, and stepped into Lin Xihe's room, where he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed with a worried expression.
"What's wrong? Why do you look like this?"
"His Majesty summoned me for the Imperial Examination, but I don't want to go." Lin Xihe raised her head and looked at Ji Zhuo, her eyes filled with helplessness.
Ji Zhuo frowned slightly, raised his hand and gently stroked Lin Xihe's lower abdomen, and said thoughtfully, "I did not expect His Majesty to send someone to invite you, but the emperor's order is hard to disobey. Since the imperial decree has been issued to invite you, I'm afraid you have no choice but to go."
As he spoke, his eyes were full of tenderness. "Look, you've gotten a little rounder here. I'd better hurry up and marry you as soon as possible."
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