Chapter 197: Pregnant

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

She thought that Xiao Ruoshui would definitely glare at her again, but she did not expect her opponent to stare at her. Her gaze seemed to be glowing.

Shen Yijia thought, “What’s wrong with her? Is she a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t?”

Fan Mingyuan ran over and couldn’t care less about keeping an appropriate distance. He held Xiao Ruoshui’s hand and examined her carefully. He asked with concern, “Are you injured?”

Xiao Ruoshui shook her head to show that she was fine. She turned to look at Shen Yijia and said with a red face, “I lost. I admit defeat. I promise that I won’t fight with you for your… Brother Song in the future.”

With that, she pulled Fan Mingyuan and was about to leave when she suddenly turned around. “I’m leaving. I’ll come and play with you again tomorrow.”

Shen Yijia thought to herself, “I helped my husband deal with this person, but did she fall for me instead?”

Fan Mingyuan was also puzzled by Xiao Ruoshui’s sudden change. The two of them sat in the carriage.

Fan Mingyuan looked worriedly at Xiao Ruoshui, who seemed to be in a good mood, and did not know where to start.

Xiao Ruoshui picked up a piece of sugar cake and stuffed it into her mouth. As she ate, her shoulders suddenly slumped. She said hesitantly, “I know that Brother Chen doesn’t like me. I’ve always known.”

Fan Mingyuan’s heart ached. After a few moments of silence, he comforted her. “You’ll meet a man who truly likes you.”

“She’s very good.” Xiao Ruoshui interrupted him and took a deep breath. “I used to think that no woman in the world was worthy of Brother Chen. In order to prevent Brother Chen from being ruined by others, I thought that I had to marry him one day.”

Fan Mingyuan was speechless.

“Brother Chen is carrying too much on his back. If that woman isn’t capable, I definitely won’t give Brother Chen to her,” Xiao Ruoshui muttered to herself. It was unknown if she was convincing herself or explaining something to Fan Mingyuan.

“That’s good. I’m relieved.” Although she said it lightly, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

After all, she had liked Song Jingchen since she was young.

Fan Mingyuan’s heart ached. The Xiao Ruoshui he knew was unruly and stubborn. When had she ever been like this?

In the past, Xiao Ruoshui had gone to the Bulwark Duke’s residence to look for him. He knew that Xiao Ruoshui had gone there to see Song Jingchen.

Since she liked Song Jingchen, he let her have her way every time, even though the gifts that Xiao Ruoshui gave Song Jingchen were clearly rejected by Song Jingchen.

However, because he didn’t want Xiao Ruoshui to be sad, he always told her that Song Jingchen had accepted it. Actually, he had been keeping those gifts until now.

He regretted it now. If he hadn’t been so misguided back then, this girl would have long given up because of Song Jingchen’s cold reactions.

Fan Mingyuan couldn’t help but reach out and rub her head, silently comforting her.

Xiao Ruoshui glanced at him and dove into Fan Mingyuan’s arms. “Brother Yuan, I feel so upset.”

Back at the courtyard, Shen Yijia thought that Xiao Ruoshui was joking and did not take her words to heart.

Not long after the family had breakfast, Auntie Tian came to their house with a smile on her face and a basket in her hand.

Shen Yijia raised her eyebrows. She had heard from Madam Li that Auntie Tian had been frowning all day because of An Xiu’er’s marriage. Shen Yijia had seen her frowning a few times.

“Has your Xiu’er’s marriage been decided?” Madam Li clearly had the same thought as Shen Yijia.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, Auntie Tian’s smile froze. She sighed. “How could that be? She said she wanted to stay by our side and be filial for a few more years.”

Even if the man An Xiu’er mentioned really came to marry her, there was no way she could spread the news before the marriage happened. This was a matter that concerned the reputation of a woman.

“That’s because the child is filial. Don’t be anxious.” Madam Li smiled and comforted her. She glanced at the basket in her hand and asked, “What’s the joyous occasion today?”

Auntie Tian felt bitter, but she couldn’t say it out loud. It was only when Madam Li reminded her that she remembered why she was here that she smiled again. She placed the basket in her hand on the table and lifted the blue cloth. “Our Xinci is pregnant. She specially sent these eggs to your family.”

There were more than ten red eggs in the basket. This was a huge amount.

When Madam Li heard this, she was also happy for her. “This is a great thing. The two of them have only been married for two months, right? She’s already pregnant?”

“That’s right. She’s been feeling nauseous since dinner yesterday. I became suspicious after thinking about it, so I asked An Dong to call the doctor over to take a look.”

“My my, the heavens are blessing me. I was so happy that I couldn’t sleep all night. I came early in the morning with a gift to report the good news.”

Madam Li looked at the red egg with envy and her gaze involuntarily landed on Shen Yijia’s stomach.

The Great Xia Dynasty stipulated that if any elders in the family had pa.s.sed away, their unmarried children could not marry for three years. Married couples in the family could not have s.e.x for half a year.

Previously, aside from the mourning traditions, she was also worried that the couple did not have any feelings for each other. Moreover, Brother Chen’s legs… She was not in a hurry.

However, Brother Chen’s legs had recovered, and the two of them seemed to have a good relationship. Their mourning period was over. By this time, Sister Jia should have gotten pregnant.

Shen Yijia was puzzled by her gaze. She reached out and rubbed her stomach. She did not eat much this morning.

Song Jingchen coughed dryly. “Mother, Jiajia and I will watch Sister Huan and the others practice martial arts so that they won’t slack off.”

Currently, there were women in the village working in the workshop. Lin Shao had also handed over the common formulas to Madam Li, so the children spent most of their time practicing martial arts.

Shen Yijia still wanted to visit He Xinci. She had never seen a pregnant woman.

Although Shen Yijia’s impression of An Xiu’er had soured after knowing that An Xiu’er coveted her beautiful husband, Shen Yijia was not someone who would vent her anger on those who were unrelated to the matter.

An Xiu’er was An Xiu’er, and the An family was the An family. He Xinci was a good person.

However, Song Jingchen didn’t give her a chance to refuse. He pulled her out of the house and into the backyard.

Shen Yijia pursed her lips. “Alright, I’ll take a look next time. It’s next door anyway.” she thought.

Today, the kids were practicing archery with the small bows that Song Jingchen had specially made for them. Apart from Lin Miaomiao, the rest of them had become quite accurate after practicing for a few days.

In Madam Li’s words, Miaomiao was not suitable for martial arts. However, she followed along to strengthen her body.

Shen Yijia deeply agreed with this. Lin Miaomiao learnt everything else quickly, but she was simply bad at learning martial arts. Her punches looked like dance moves.

Sister Huan was the complete opposite of her. If not for the fact that she was a few years younger and didn’t have enough strength, she would’ve been stronger than Lin Shao and Bruiser.

Shen Yijia adjusted their bows according to Song Jingchen’s instructions, and Xiao Ruoshui arrived.

Seeing that they were practicing martial arts and that Song Jingchen and Shen Yijia were teaching them together, she was extremely envious.

When Shen Yijia saw her, her first reaction was to stand beside Song Jingchen and block her view of him.