At dinnertime, Yun Xuan Zhi, who just got home from a busy day, saw Su Yuan coming over on a horse. The two of them had had some disagreements before, but today, when Su Yuan saw Yun Xuan Zhi, his face was filled with a smile. His respectfulness towards Yun Xuan Zhi was fully expressed in his words and actions.
Yun Xuan Zhi saw that he had something to say and thus led him to the study and told everyone to leave them alone. Then he opened his mouth and asked, “Why did you come here today?”
Su Yuan held his tea cup and drank some tea but he did not even taste it before immediately saying smilingly, “Many thanks to Yun xiang for speaking in front of the Emperor yesterday.”
Yun Xuan Zhi immediately knew what he was talking about, but he only coldly snorted then said unhappily, “You don"t need to be happy about it. What I did was not solely for you.”
Yesterday, if he had let Emperor Yu Qian get Chen w.a.n.g"s quefu, the next step might have been Chen w.a.n.g"s head, and the time in between the two incidents would not be long.
Su Yuan had already sided with Chen w.a.n.g before. If Chen w.a.n.g was dead, then Su Yuan would surely be in trouble. At that time, Su Qing, his sister, would naturally also be implicated in the case and it was also possible that the entire Yun xiangfu would be dragged into the trouble and be unable to recover.
Thus, rather than speaking for Chen w.a.n.g, Yun Xuan Zhi spoke for himself so that he could have a way out.
Su Yuan had naturally thought of that, but if it was not for of Yun Xuan Zhi"s help yesterday, he was afraid that all people of Su Family would already be in the Ministry of Justice"s jail.
As the the minister, how could he not be clear about all the methods of punis.h.i.+ng people used there? The method he had used on Qu Zhang Qing was not even the harshest.
That was why after surviving the incident, Su Yuan already knew that even if he was attached to Chen w.a.n.g, he still should not offend Yun Xuan Zhi.
When he had heard that Yun Xuan Zhi had left the palace to return to xiangfu, he immediately rode a horse and rushed over, hoping that they could recover their relations.h.i.+p.
Now, hearing Yun Xuan Zhi tell of his true ideas to him, Su Yuan felt happy and immediately understood the meaning in his words. He asked at once, “How"s sister"s condition lately? Our whole family is hoping for her to give birth to a boy for xiangye.”
At the change of subject, the expression of Yun Xuan Zhi finally relaxed. He remembered that it had been a while since he last entered Feng He Yuan and Su Qing also had not left Feng He Yuan in a long time. It was commonly known that pregnant woman should be in a good mood when pregnant so that she could give birth to an intelligent baby. Today, Su Yuan happened to be here so it would be nice for them to go and visit Su Qing together and lighten up her mood.
After thinking this, Yun Xuan Zhi felt that it was a really great idea, and thus said, “It"s also been a while since Brother Su has seen Qing"er. Today, everyone happens to be here, so why don"t we go and see her together?”
Su Yuan originally already had that in mind. After all, if Su Qing was still favored, Yun Xuan Zhi would naturally protect Su Family and give them some protection.
So after hearing what Yun Xuan Zhi had suggested, Su Yuan immediately stood up and smiled, “I also had the same idea. Xiangye, please lead the way.”
Yun Xuan Zhi nodded. The two of them took the opportunity to head towards Feng He Yuan without even letting the servant go first and announce their arrival.
“Xiaojie! Su daren followed laoye into the xiangfu and they"re now going to Su yiniang"s Feng He Yuan.” Mi mama had seen a yatou outside waving at her and went out of the room while Yun Qian Meng was eating. She came back to the room and reported it to Yun Qian Meng.
Yun Qian Meng held a ceramic bowl in one hand and slowly mixed the sweet soup in the bowl with a silver spoon. Her lips had a light smile and she slowly said, “Don"t panic. He"s depending on father now and would naturally not dare to let Su Qing begin chaos in the fu to harm me. The most he would want to do is just to let Su Qing recover and become the head of all the other yiniang in the fu so that the Su Family would have protection forever.”
After hearing her words, Mi mama"s worry slowly disappeared. It was just now that they had finally pressed down Su Qing and she was behaving, but if Su Qing regained xiangye"s favor and moreover, if she gave birth to a son, at that time, the whole xiangfu will be in the hands of Su Qing.
“Son? So what? Recently, she hasn"t even dared to go out of her room just to protect the baby in her womb. But even if she"d already given birth, do you think the other yiniang will let her get away with it? She surely cannot lock the child in Feng He Yuan forever.” Yun Qian Meng softly said while gracefully drinking her sweet soup. “Xia mama is recovering quite well. Go and see how Ying Qiu is doing with the antidote in one or two days. That is the most important thing for us now. There are still at least three to four months before Su Qing gives birth. It"s not yet the time for us to worry about her. Besides, we need not watch her ourselves. Do you really think xiangfu is as calm and peaceful as it looks?”
Recently, a lot of things happen one after another. Particularly, the matter regarding Fu Guo Gong Fu drained more than half of Yun Qian Meng"s energy. Since in that time, Liu Han Yu had been able to suppress Su Qing, she did not need to be overly troubled. In any case, there were other people who were more worried than her. Those people would surely try to start something so there was no need for her to make the first move.
“Of course!” seeing that Yun Qian Meng was almost finished with her soup, Mi mama quickly made to ladle out some more, but was stopped by Yun Qian Meng. She then wiped her lips, stood up, and walked out of the room.
In Feng He Yuan, ever since the time Su Qing had been banned from going out, it had been a long while since she last went out of her courtyard. Now that her stomach was slowly growing bigger, and because the weather was hot, she became more lazy and unwilling to move. For the whole day, she just ate and slept in the bed, wanting to keep her baby from any harm. Only during evenings, when the weather is slightly cooler, did she walk around in the garden with the help of w.a.n.g mama. This was her only exercise to prevent difficulties in giving birth in the future.
Today, Su Qing had eaten an extra bowl of bird"s nest congee and thus started eating dinner a bit later. When she was eating, she saw that the yatou and pozi outside kneeling down. Su Qing suddenly became worried, and the hand holding the chopsticks tightened. Even though she had not gone a single step from Feng He Yuan today, but even so, that b.i.t.c.h still wanted to make something up?
She put down her bowl and chopsticks heavily. Just when she wanted to call w.a.n.g mama to look at what was happening outside, she saw Yun Xuan Zhi and her brother walk in.
Su Qing immediately became happy and had w.a.n.g mama help her up. When she was about to bow, Yun Xuan Zhi had personally straightened her up. She heard the soft and concerned voice of Yun Xuan Zhi, which she had not heard for a long time, “You are pregnant, you don"t need to perform these mere formalities to prevent hurting the child in your womb.”
Hearing Yun Xuan Zhi"s words, Su Qing was now more aware that the child in her womb was currently her best advantage. Even if Yun Xuan Zhi grew bored with her and favored other yiniang, as long as the child was still here, Yun Xuan Zhi surely would not treat her badly.
Therefore, Su Qing held her bulging stomach even more carefully and stood up slowly, “Why did xiangye and brother come over together today? Have both of you eaten dinner? If you have not, then please eat some simple dishes here in nubi"s place.”
While speaking, Su Qing, seemingly unintentionally, used her neatly trimmed nails to slightly play across the palm of Yun Xuan Zhi, causing Yun Xuan Zhi to immediately lower his head and look at her with an expression that only she understood.
Su Yuan had already heard from Pan Lan that Yun Xuan Zhi banned Su Qing from going out. He was already dissatisfied of Yun Xuan Zhi at the thought of him favoring the new yiniang instead of his old one, preferring the other women as his sister grew old. This had made Su Yuan"s idea of attaching himself to Chen w.a.n.g even stronger.
Now, seeing the happiness his sister expressed when she saw Yun Xuan Zhi made Su Yuan more certain of his choice. He was also worried that Liu Han Yu, who was managing the household, would treat his sister badly, even with regards to her food. He immediately looked at the dining table, but saw all kinds of meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruits. There were even delicacies like shark"s fin and bird"s nest. The millet gruel Su Qing was eating right now even came from Southern Xun, which offered the tribute of the best rice to Western Chu.
Seeing the food, Su Yuan"s worry lightened. The smile on his face also became more real as he praised Yun Xuan Zhi, “Xiangye is really careful. There was no need for me to worry about my sister in xiangfu.”
Seeing that her brother was intentionally currying with Yun Xuan Zhi, Su Qing also smiled and said, “There are still other things that brother does not know. Xiangye was worried that I might not be used to the food cooked in the main kitchen and specially picked a few good cooks to take care of me in Feng He Yuan. From time to time, all sorts of precious tonics are also sent to me. Xiangye treats nubi really well. Nubi will risk death just to give birth to a boy for xiangye to fulfill his wish to have a boy to hold.”
Knowing that Su Qing understood his intentions, Su Yuan immediately spoke again, “Naturally! Seeing that you are so favored, brother also feels happy at home.”
The siblings were intentionally trying to win his favor, but Yun Xuan Zhi did not expose them. He smiled and also invited them to sit while he himself took the silver chopsticks w.a.n.g mama just put on the table and tasted some eggplant then nodded, rea.s.sured.
The three of them ate dinner together. Su Qing tried to urge Yun Xuan Zhi to stay, but today he was already in a sorry plight, weighed down by numerous troublesome problems of the dead. He was really tired so he told Su Yuan to continue talking with Su Qing while he left Feng He Yuan first.
“You can"t even urge a person to stay!” right after Yun Xuan Zhi left, the smile in Su Yuan"s face disappeared. He scolded Su Qing with a cold and angry face.
Su Qing herself also felt wronged. But at hearing even her brother speak to her like that, her expression also changed and she angrily said, “Why does brother need to scold me? You can also see my appearance now. Even if he stayed, we can only talk for a while. If those yiniang sent someone to invite him over, he would still go. If that happened, I will feel even worse.”
Su Yuan glanced at Su Qing"s stomach. Although he still did not want to, he could only accept the truth.
After all, if it was him, he also would not want a pregnant woman to attend to him.
“When will you give birth? Are all the things needed ready?” scared that something bad might happen during the delivery, Su Yuan asked with concern.
Su Qing frowned. Even now, thinking of Yun Qian Meng"s expression as she had banned her in Feng He Yuan, Su Qing still had lingering fears. She did not know why she was afraid to look into Yun Qian Meng"s clear eyes.
After thinking for a while, she said, “I don"t trust all the midwives that others hire. If brother is not busy, please help me find a reliable midwife. Now that all of xiangye"s attention is with those young and beautiful yiniang, even though he is very concerned about the baby in my womb, if those b.i.t.c.hes played dirty tricks and this protection is gone, then Xiangye would not care so much about me, you, and the Su Family anymore.”
Su Yuan carefully listened to Su Qing"s instructions then prudently nodded and said, “A few days before you give birth, brother"s wife will come over to be with you so that you can be more relaxed.”
Hearing that, Su Qing asked, “She still needs to help manage the household. If she came here, who will be the one to manage Su fu?”
Surprisingly, after Su Yuan heard what she said, his face suddenly became gloomy and he irritatedly said, “Don"t mention her in front of me! Look at what kind of daughter she had brought up in all these years. She made me a fool at Fu Guo Gong Fu"s laotaijun"s birthday celebration. If it wasn"t because of our son Cheng Yan, I"d have already sent her back to her parents. Moreover, that Pan Lan you sent over is really a virtuous and able woman. She understands anything with just a hint. She also manages her courtyard really well. It is really sister who knows how to train a person. Now, no one in Su fu disobeys her.”
Seeing that her brother was so satisfied with Pan Lan that he even praised her so much, she also felt very proud. She smiled and said, “She definitely has good karma to be able to serve brother. Otherwise, how could a child from a poor family like her be able to know someone like brother, that"s why she is rather careful in dealing with things. Since brother says so then please have brother"s wife come over to take care of me for a few days.”
At Su Qing"s agreement, Su Yuan was naturally very happy. After all, for Su Yuan, he could not only increase his image in the eyes of his sister, but could now also refrain from seeing his old and unpretty wife at home. The person who would be travelling back and forth was not him anyway, so there was no reason for not being happy.
“But you need to be careful with the da xiaojie. The incident with Yue"er was most probably secretly planned by Yun Qian Meng. That lady has deep thoughts and vicious strategies. If you have the chance, you surely need to get rid of her or else it will cause endless troubles in the future.” Every time he thought about the events that had happened with Su Qian Yue and Qu Zhang Qing, Su Yuan burned with rage.
Everything had suddenly failed because of last minute problems. The day after Chu xiang saved Qu Zhang Qing, he immediately confronted the Emperor in the court with even more advantageous human testimony and material evidences, they debated until he did not have anything else to say. If it was not because of Chen w.a.n.g speaking for him, Su Yuan was afraid that his position in the Ministry of Justice would already be held by another person.
All these things had some direct or indirect connections with Yun Qian Meng. Moreover, Su Qing and Yun Qian Meng had already been enemies for a long time. Su Yuan naturally saw her as his biggest enemy.
“Don"t worry. She has only three or four months left to remain arrogant. After I give birth to the eldest son of xiangfu, xiangye will surely follow everything I say. At that time, I will surely not let that b.i.t.c.h die easily.” Su Qing suddenly got so angry that she even tightly pulled the clothes on her stomach, causing w.a.n.g mama to almost jump in fear. w.a.n.g mama immediately went over and helped her breath more smoothly, “There"s no need to be angry, furen. We"ve already been through so many months. We definitely cannot let anything bad happen in this critical moment; otherwise, all our efforts will be wasted.”
w.a.n.g mama could not help but blame Su Yuan for this. He knew that Su Qing was pregnant now, but he still spoke of the things she hated and did not have any scruples in doing so.
Su Yuan, on the other hand, naturally understood the meaning of w.a.n.g mama"s words. He was very unhappy about her att.i.tude and thought to himself, "That old thing! How dare she climb all over him and even pull a long face on him? In those days, she used to work for the Su Family. Now that she"s entered the doors of xiangfu, does she think that she has a higher standing?"
After talking for a while, Su Qing was somewhat tired. Noticing this, Su Yuan immediately stood up, but Su Qing called him over to whisper to him. Then Su Yuan went out of the room with a gloomy expression.
At midnight, a quick silhouette entered Qi Luo Yuan.
Hearing Mi mama"s report, Yun Qian Meng put down the medical book on her hand and went out of the inner room. She saw a yatou of around twelve years old standing respectfully in the outer room. Seeing her come in, the yatou immediately kneeled down and said, “Nubi greets da xiaojie.”
“Rise.” Yun Qian Meng signaled Mu Chun to help the skinny little yatou get up and said kindly, “It"s so late now. You should be serving in Feng He Yuan, why did you sneak out?”
Yun Qian Meng was rather kind, so the yatou immediately felt less nervous. It was her first time observing Yun Qian Meng at such a close distance. She felt that Yun Qian Meng was really extremely beautiful and was a lot more n.o.ble and beautiful than er xiaojie. She could not help but feel a sense of admiration towards Yun Qian Meng. The yatou shyly said, “Nubi received a lot of help from Mi mama regularly. Nubi will surely help da xiaojie look after the things happening in Feng He Yuan.”
Yun Qian Meng and Mi Mama looked at each other and smiled, then Yun Qian Meng gently said, “You are indeed a grateful child. But remember not to do anything overly dangerous. Today, I already know why you came here. It"s most probably about the conversation between Su yiniang and her brother, right?”
Hearing that, the yatou"s eyes suddenly brightened. She looked at Yun Qian Meng as if she"s was a G.o.d. She felt that da xiaojie was not only composed and beautiful, but also rather clever. She had not even spoken yet, but da xiaojie had already guessed her intentions.
But, words of caution that da xiaojie told her made the yatou feel very concerned. Staying for so long at Feng He Yuan, Su yiniang was extremely strict towards all the other yatou and pozi except for w.a.n.g mama. Not to mention er xiaojie, who threw her anger at her yatou every time she encountered unfavorable things.
Now, seeing that da xiaojie was so amiable and approachable, the yatou felt envious of the jiejies staying in Qi Luo Yuan.
She minutely nodded, then immediately said with a low voice, “Da Xiaojie is right. It seems like Su yiniang wants to let her brother hire a midwife for her. Nubi outside and thus did not hear very clearly, but they seem to have mentioned of letting her sister-in-law accompany her when she"s giving birth.”
Yun Qian Meng remained smiling while listening to her report and even gave the yatou an encouraging smile in the end. Seeing that it was already very late, she said to Mi mama, “Mama, please bring her back personally. Come back only after you see her enter Feng He Yuan.”
Seeing that Yun Qian Meng treated her so well, the yatou was very thankful. She knelt down and kowtowed thrice then left the room.
“Xiaojie, her words are not necessarily trustworthy.” Yuan Dong and Ying Xia said together. Now, the two had already been promoted into first-cla.s.s yatou and could accompany Yun Qian Meng all the time.
“Right, xiaojie! Mi mama possibly helped her with some little things, but it"s still unlikely for her to risk so much danger and betray her master. We should be more careful to avoid getting caught in Su yiniang"s trap.” Staying with Yun Qian Meng for so long, Mu Chun had also learned to be more careful, unlike before, when she thought that the bad people were actually not as bad at heart.
Yun Qian Meng only smiled but did not say anything. After Mi mama entered, she pretended to be angry and said to the three yatous, “What do you know about it! If it wasn"t because of da xiaojie"s order, why would an old woman mind a yatou of Feng He Yuan? That yatou is just a yatou who lifted the curtains in Feng He Yuan. Even if she was punished to death by Su yiniang, n.o.body would speak for her.”
This matter stemmed from the day Su Qing caused Hua yiniang"s miscarriage. That day, although Hua yiniang was not able to blame Su Qing for the incident, Su Qing still felt angry deep inside. At that time, there was no one else in the room other than w.a.n.g mama. Thus, Su Qing called the yatou lifting the curtains outside to come in and harshly tormented the yatou. Su yiniang herself was able to vent her anger, but she almost caused the yatou to lose her life.
At midnight, when there had been no one else, the yatou had secretly hid and cried, but was noticed by Mi mama, who was going back to Qi Luo Yuan. Mi mama had reported the matter to Yun Qian Meng and then hired a doctor to examine the yatou"s wounds.
Maybe this kind of thing was just a slight effort for them, but for a yatou whose life was thinner than paper, it was really a life-saving kindness.
Although this yatou was just a third-cla.s.s yatou lifting the curtains, but there was actually a lot more to it. The people Su Qing met, where she met them, and even what they said—these things could all be heard by the yatou more or less. This was better than inserting a first-cla.s.s yatou beside Su Qing and worrying every day whether or not the yatou"s ident.i.ty was discovered.
Listening to Mi mama"s words, the three of them suddenly realized the truth. They all felt embarra.s.sed because they made a fool of themselves in trying to convince their xiaojie a while ago.
“Mama, I need to trouble you tomorrow to send a message to Pan Lan. Since Su ruren is currently not favored by Su Yuan already, tell her to take this opportunity and take control of everything in Su fu to prevent from others from taking control of her forever.” Yun Qian Meng did not say anything more. Based on Pan Lan"s disposition, Yun Qian Meng believed that she would surely understand what to do.
Mi mama nodded then escorted Yun Qian Meng into the room and left only after she had laid down.
After ten days, Ying Xia, who went to make medicine with Ying Qiu every day, ran into the room in a flurry with a panic-stricken face. Seeing that Yun Qian Meng was practicing calligraphy, she immediately knelt down in front of her.
“What has happened? Why are you so rash and careless?” seeing that Ying Xia had rushed into the room and almost caused Yun Qian Meng"s paper to fly up, Mi mama frowned and scolded her.
“Xiaojie, there"s an accident!” Ying Xia did not mind Mi mama"s words and immediately said with a sad expression.
“What happened? Stand up first before talking.” Yun Qian Meng had put down her calligraphy brush and calmly said. At the same time, she signalled Yuan Dong to help Ying Xia up.
But Ying Xia did not want to stand up and continued to kowtow while saying, “Today, nubi went to Xia mama"s place, only to see that the courtyard was in a mess. All the precious herbs and medicines were all ruined. Ying Qiu was hurt by a dagger and the precious hu ge was thrown into the stove.”
“What?” Mi mama and Yuan Dong were both shocked. They looked at each other, then turned and looked at Yun Qian Meng.
Yun Qian Meng"s expression suddenly darkened. The air surrounding her suddenly turned cold. She coldly but calmly asked, “Is anyone"s life in danger? What about Xia mama?”