Dou Zhao pondered briefly and guessed that the Chen official from the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Department must be Chen Jia.
She recalled that when Chen Jia had come to see her, he was just a small flag bearer in the Jinyiwei. In a matter of days, he had become an official in the Zhenfu Department. It seemed Song Mo had indeed put in a good word for him with Shi Chuan.
However, she had no intention of continuing her association with Chen Jia. Regardless of his motives, Chen Jia had helped Su Xin, and that was a fact. Since he wasn’t involved with those who had robbed Su Xin, Song Mo’s intervention on his behalf had repaid Chen Jia’s favor.
Dou Zhao instructed her young maid, “Give that old woman one tael of silver. As for those pomegranates, let her take them back for her grandchildren to eat.”
The young maid acknowledged and left.
The second young mistress of the Lu family asked curiously, “How does my sister-in-law know someone from the Jinyiwei?”
The Jinyiwei had a notorious reputation, and even nobles and high officials spoke of them with trepidation.
Dou Zhao quickly replied, “It’s someone the Young Master knows. We’ll have to wait for him to return to find out why they sent us pomegranates.”
The second young mistress of the Lu family visibly relaxed and spoke to Dou Zhao in a somewhat patronizing tone, “The wife of the Yan’an Marquis’s heir, the eldest lady of the Duke Jing’s household, the fourth madam of the Yunyang Earl’s family, and the lady of the Dongping Earl’s household are all gentle and virtuous women. If you can attend Duke Jing’s wife’s birthday celebration, I’ll introduce you to them. It’ll help alleviate your boredom.”
Dou Zhao could hear the sincerity in her words and thanked her repeatedly. However, she couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation in her heart. The lady of the Dongping Earl’s household was the woman who, in her previous life, had become one of Song Mo’s concubines along with her daughter.
At this time, she should still be in her prime, having been married to the Dongping Earl for only a few years.
That evening, as Song Mo was reading by lamplight, Dou Zhao couldn’t help but study him.
In her previous life, just how dissolute had Song Mo been?
When he was with Madam Zhou and the other women, was he as carefree and unrestrained as he was with her?
Images of their intimate moments flashed through her mind, making her blush.
Dou Zhao felt as if she had drunk a jar of old vinegar, her mouth and heart turning sour and bitter.
She unconsciously clutched at her clothes.
In this life, would Song Mo still become involved with those women?
Her face turned pale without her realizing it.
Song Mo, who had noticed Dou Zhao’s gaze earlier and felt somewhat pleased by her seemingly infatuated look, was now startled by her sudden change in complexion.
“Shou Gu, Shou Gu!” Song Mo quickly embraced Dou Zhao, calling her by the pet name he only used in their most intimate moments. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
The warm embrace quickly calmed Dou Zhao’s emotions.
She took a deep breath, constantly reminding herself that that was in her previous life. She mustn’t confuse the events of her past life with this one. It would only lead to unnecessary troubles.
She wouldn’t let the events of her previous life happen again!
“It’s nothing,” Dou Zhao’s face was still a bit pale, but her expression had softened considerably. She made an excuse, “I saw you reading so intently, I was curious about what book it was…”
Song Mo didn’t respond immediately, instead looking at her with a solemn expression. “Shou Gu, do you trust me?”
Dou Zhao was taken aback.
Song Mo continued earnestly, “If you trust me, you must tell me when you encounter any difficulties.”
He lowered his gaze, a fleeting sadness in his eyes.
When he looked up again, there was only warmth in his smile.
“I’m reading ‘Illustrated Explanations of the Book of Changes’ by Chen Yan, the former Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet.” He sat up straight and showed Dou Zhao the book’s cover.
The warmth from his body became barely perceptible as the distance between them increased.
Dou Zhao felt a sharp pain in her heart.
Someone as intelligent as Song Mo, spending day and night together, sharing intimate moments – how could she possibly hide anything from him?
He was simply pretending not to notice, respecting her wishes.
She hated herself for thinking she was being considerate of him.
She couldn’t help but tightly hold onto his arm, trying to retain that warmth.
“Yan Tang, I… I might be…” Dou Zhao’s face turned bright red as she stared at the golden-painted camellia flowers on the kang table, mumbling.
“What?” Song Mo didn’t understand at first. “You might be what?”
Dou Zhao’s neck turned red as well.
In her two lifetimes, this was the first time she had felt so embarrassed.
In her previous life, the news of her pregnancy had been announced by the doctor.
But seeing Song Mo’s worried and eager expression, she had no choice but to mumble again, “I… my monthly cycle has been late for some time…”
It took Song Mo a moment to understand.
He was immediately struck by immense joy.
“Shou Gu,” he jumped up and crouched in front of Dou Zhao, “Is it true? Is it true?”
Song Mo held Dou Zhao’s hands, looking up at her with eyes sparkling like stars.
“It might be,” Dou Zhao didn’t want to be too certain. “We’ll have to wait for the doctor to check my pulse to be sure…”
Song Mo smiled somewhat foolishly, then suddenly exclaimed “Ah!” with a hint of nervousness. He asked in a low voice, “Did I… did I hurt you yesterday?” His expression showed a trace of self-reproach. “I should have thought of this earlier… I shouldn’t have treated you that way yesterday…”
Most men wouldn’t pay attention to such things.
Dou Zhao quickly said, “It’s not certain yet. I might be mistaken.”
“How could you be mistaken about something like this?” Song Mo thought Dou Zhao was trying to comfort him.
Dou Zhao had to explain, “Sometimes when you want to have a child, thinking about it too much can create false symptoms of pregnancy…”
Song Mo chuckled softly and asked, “So Shou Gu wants to have our child?”
Dou Zhao broke out in a cold sweat.
This speculation made Song Mo very happy.
He continued along this train of thought, “Even if it’s a mistake, it doesn’t matter. We’ll have a child soon enough. We can consider this practice.”
What was he talking about?
Dou Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Song Mo had already stood up excitedly, saying, “When can we invite a doctor to check your pulse? Should I sleep in the study tonight? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? When Dong Qi’s wife was pregnant, he asked people from the Alcohol and Vinegar Bureau to get him some plums. It’s winter now, I wonder if the bureau still has any plums left over from brewing… I should go to the Alcohol and Vinegar Bureau tomorrow…”
The leaps in his train of thought were too great.
Dou Zhao was a bit dumbfounded, but she felt a wonderful sense of joy bubbling up inside her.
“We’ll have to wait at least until after drinking the Laba porridge to know for sure,” she quickly interrupted Song Mo. “Don’t go around telling everyone yet. If it turns out not to be true, won’t people laugh at us?” She added, “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry. If I want to eat or drink anything, I’ll tell Gan Lu and the others.”
Song Mo nodded repeatedly, but couldn’t hide his excitement. He paced back and forth in the room several times, about to call for Gan Lu: “Tell her to bring two sets of bedding to the study.”
Wouldn’t that mean she’d be arranging a concubine for him?
Dou Zhao felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought.
She hesitated, “Why don’t you… just stay in the inner chamber…” As she spoke, Dou Zhao remembered Song Mo’s enthusiasm for bedroom activities after their marriage. She thought he might not be able to control himself, and suddenly felt a bit dejected. “Never mind, you should sleep in the study after all.”
Song Mo had already grown accustomed to Dou Zhao’s companionship. He was only following the household rule that “a husband should sleep separately when his wife is pregnant.” Seeing Dou Zhao ask him to stay, he was delighted and pretended not to hear the last sentence, smiling, “Alright then, I’ll stay in the inner chamber.”
His response made Dou Zhao worry again, and she hesitated, “You should still sleep in the study…”
Song Mo decided to be stubborn with Dou Zhao, saying, “Who says I have to sleep in the study?”
His words made sense.
Those from poor families who didn’t even have an extra set of bedding still slept in the same bed when the wife was pregnant, didn’t they?
Dou Zhao said, “Then you’re not allowed to be rowdy!”
Song Mo felt a little smug inside.
It seemed that rules were meant to be broken, and sometimes being a bit shameless was beneficial.
He was in high spirits and teased Dou Zhao, “As long as you don’t misbehave, how could I possibly misbehave?”
Dou Zhao remembered how she had thrown herself into his arms earlier and felt embarrassed and angry. She called out loudly, “Gan Lu!”
The joke had gone too far!
Song Mo quickly pulled Dou Zhao into his arms and said softly, “Alright, don’t be angry. I was just teasing you to make you happy.”
Gan Lu, who had just lifted the curtain to enter, saw this scene and quickly retreated.
Song Mo’s voice softened even more as he said, “I used to feel like a barber carrying a pole – passionate on one side…”
His words made Dou Zhao feel ashamed, her face burning as she said, “It’s not that… If I am pregnant, having extreme mood swings wouldn’t be good for the child… I need to maintain a calm state of mind…”
Song Mo’s heart stirred as he listened, and he said, “Does this mean that if I behave properly, we won’t have to sleep in separate rooms?”
Dou Zhao nodded.
Song Mo, however, felt uncertain and said, “You’re probably just repeating what you’ve heard, aren’t you?”
If they had a proper elder in the family, he wouldn’t have to be so indecisive.
His mind raced as he said, “Isn’t your aunt still in the capital? Why don’t we invite her over to take care of you for a few days? Then we’ll know the rules and customs for pregnancy.”
Dou Zhao, who had to figure everything out on her own in her previous life, was interested in this idea. Just as she was about to discuss with Song Mo when to invite her aunt, Gan Lu rushed in carrying a box, looking panicked: “Madam, something terrible has happened! The box of pomegranates that Official Chen sent… they’re carved from jade! At first glance, they look exactly like real pomegranates…”
As she spoke, she was on the verge of tears.
Dou Zhao handed her a handkerchief and said in a gentle voice, “Don’t be nervous. Tell me what happened.”
Gan Lu calmed down and explained, “Madam, didn’t you tell that old woman to take the pomegranates back? But she said it was just a few pomegranates, and if she took them back, Official Chen would know she couldn’t even handle such a small task and would surely dismiss her. So she wanted to give them to us sisters to taste.”
“Ruo Tong is young and doesn’t know better. Thinking it was just a few pomegranates, she accepted them.”
“After dinner, when we sisters returned to our rooms, Ruo Tong wanted to peel the pomegranates for everyone to taste. That’s when we discovered the pomegranates were fake, carved from jade…” As she spoke, she opened the box and placed it on the kang table.
The brownish-yellow skin, white pulp, and red seeds… placed in the box lined with purple silk, they looked lifelike. In the lamplight, it was hard to distinguish between real and fake.
DZ is pregnant!