What Old Madam Guo worried about most in her life was this son born to her in old age. To think he had become a wandering merchant for the family—just the thought could leave Old Madam Guo in pain, unable to speak for a long time, let alone have any mood to enjoy scenery or socialize with various relatives.
Now things were good.
Not only had her son entered officialdom and married the wife he loved, he had also fathered a son… and now they were adding another child to the family.
Old Madam Guo’s eyes narrowed into slits with laughter as she repeatedly instructed Zhenzhu to open the storeroom. “The bird’s nest supply cannot be interrupted. Ginseng, deer antler, and cordyceps must all be prepared as well. Bring out all of Yun Ge’er’s childhood clothes, wash them clean again, and put them in trunks. Send someone to inform Chujin’s place and the in-law grandfather’s place… Also to Qiu Shi’s side, send someone to share the happy news. And Second Great Uncle’s side… Ask what Shaojin likes to eat. These days, prepare food according to her tastes. She needn’t come to attend to me anymore. Send Yun Ge’er to my quarters too—he charges around recklessly without any sense of restraint, and it wouldn’t do if he bumped into his mother…” Saying all this, she was full of tasks to handle.
Old Madam Guo couldn’t help but press her forehead and said to Nanny Lü, “Let me handle household affairs! Let Shaojin focus peacefully on nurturing the pregnancy.”
Nanny Lü smiled and agreed, flattering Old Madam Guo by saying, “If Madam can give birth to another son with this pregnancy, your merit will be complete.”
Old Madam Guo felt Nanny Lü’s words were unpleasant and said with displeasure, “What do you mean ‘merit will be complete’? Our Cheng family simply has fewer descendants. Naturally, the more children born, the better!” She added, “As the saying goes, ‘First flowers bloom, then fruit follows.’ It would be wonderful if this child is a daughter. The next one can be a son… Having both children and daughters, that would be ideal.”
Nanny Lü quickly smiled and remedied her words. “Old Madam still understands things thoroughly. I’ve followed you my whole life and learned from you my whole life, yet I haven’t learned even a third of what you know.”
Old Madam Guo smiled slightly, not taking her words to heart. She changed clothes and went to see Zhou Shaojin.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law happily chatted. Upon receiving the news, Qiu Shi rushed over with her daughter-in-law Xie Shi, and everyone celebrated together again. Chang Shi arrived with Abao and Aren, also bringing some supplements. She grabbed Yun Ge’er, who had run in with Snowball following closely behind, and said with a beaming smile, “You’re going to be an older brother. Soon you’ll have someone else to play with.”
Yun Ge’er’s speech was already very clear and coherent. He looked at Chang Shi with wide eyes and said, “But I already have Yan Ge’er!”
Among all these cousins, only Yan Ge’er was younger than him—he was the younger brother. The others were either older brothers or nephews, and even the nephews were older than him.
Chang Shi smiled. “Now you’ll have another younger brother. Are you happy?”
Every time Yun Ge’er visited his aunt’s house, Yan Ge’er was either sleeping or nursing—not fun at all.
A younger brother like Yan Ge’er… he didn’t really like that.
He thought for a long while before saying to Old Madam Guo and Zhou Shaojin, “Then can he play with Yan Ge’er? I want to play with Elder Cousin Guan, Abao, Aren, and Cousin Rui. I don’t want to play with a younger brother.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Old Madam Guo smiled. “If it’s a younger sister, I’m afraid everyone will compete to play with her.”
Zhou Shaojin liked the idea of having a daughter in her heart, but wanted to give birth to a son—in this world, sons had it much easier than daughters.
Qiu Shi smiled. “In any case, whether it’s a son or daughter, both are good. Our family’s children are just a bit small.”
Chang Shi nodded repeatedly.
Old Madam Guo was very pleased and kept them for dinner at home.
Upon receiving the news, Cheng Chi returned home.
He appeared quite calm, as if he had known all along. He changed clothes, went to Tingxiang Courtyard to chat with his mother, Qiu Shi, and the others for a while, then went to the study in the outer courtyard to prepare content for the next lesson with the Crown Prince’s heir.
Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat disappointed.
In the evening, Cheng Chi sent a maid to tell her to sleep first, saying that since she was pregnant, she shouldn’t stay up late, and he would return later.
Zhou Shaojin slept alone.
She was startled awake in the middle of the night, smelling Cheng Chi’s scent and feeling something cool on her hand.
She quickly opened her eyes and discovered a bracelet had been placed on her wrist.
Ordinary bracelets were cylindrical, but this one was flat. At first glance, it looked like an arm band—white jade carved with an unending swastika pattern, pristine and white as piled snow.
Zhou Shaojin liked it very much at first sight.
She looked at Cheng Chi uncomprehendingly.
Cheng Chi smiled and kissed her cheek, but answered indirectly in a low voice, “Were you unhappy earlier?”
Zhou Shaojin’s face flushed red.
How could she be unhappy when her husband went to handle serious business?
But she couldn’t deny that when Cheng Chi went so coldly to the study… she had hoped he would be more affectionate toward her.
Cheng Chi laughed softly, held Zhou Shaojin in his arms, affectionately pressed against her face, and whispered, “Silly! Don’t overthink. I had some matters to attend to.”
Zhou Shaojin obediently nodded, and that bit of displeasure in her heart vanished into thin air.
Cheng Chi sighed softly in his heart.
They had been married for so long, and she doted on the child so intensely—he had thought she would put more attention on the child, but unexpectedly, he was still first in her heart and eyes.
Cheng Chi felt as if he were soaking in a honey jar.
He felt somewhat fortunate that on his way home from the office, he had impulsively visited a jewelry shop and bought a piece of jewelry for his little girl. Otherwise, his little girl’s heart would surely have felt sour.
Cheng Chi gently touched her still-flat belly and said in a low voice, “The Seventh Prince beat up the Fourth Prince in the study room this afternoon.”
“Ah?!” Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi in shock.
Cheng Chi stroked her hair and said softly, “This afternoon, the Emperor summoned the Fourth Prince to discuss the matter of tax revenues from Jiangnan these past days, wanting the Fourth Prince to work with the Ministry of Finance to come up with a plan to reduce Jiangnan’s tax burden. But not long after the Fourth Prince arrived at the study room, the Third Prince requested an audience. The Emperor originally didn’t want to see him, but a young eunuch attending him accidentally knocked to the ground a copy of ‘Ten Records of Agriculture and Sericulture’ that the Emperor had put away some days ago. Seeing that book, the Emperor suddenly changed his mind and had someone summon the Third Prince in.
“After the Third Prince entered and paid respects to the Emperor, without a word, he punched the Fourth Prince in the face.
“Everyone attending in the study room was immediately scared senseless.
“It wasn’t until the Third Prince had beaten the Fourth Prince to the ground, with the Fourth Prince repeatedly shouting ‘What’s wrong with you?’ that they came to their senses and pulled the Third Prince off the Fourth Prince.
“The Emperor was furious beyond words.
“But the Third Prince disregarded everything and shouted things like ‘I just wanted to hit him,’ ‘I merely wanted to curry favor before Father and become a virtuous prince in the future. But he harbored evil intentions and thought everyone was like him. Seeing me stand out, he couldn’t bear it and schemed to hide away the pregnant actor from my mansion. After the actor gave birth, he brought the person out to humiliate me,’ ‘If he were truly an upright gentleman, why didn’t he hand the person over to Father Emperor for judgment’… The attending eunuchs in the study room were so frightened they wished they could be deaf and blind…”
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but tightly grip Cheng Chi’s lapels. “Then, then the Third Prince…”
“The Emperor was also extremely angry,” Cheng Chi said. “He wanted to confine the Third Prince. But the Crown Prince’s heir rushed over and spent a long time persuading the Emperor, also speaking many good words on the Third Prince’s behalf. Only then did the Emperor change his mind. But the Third Prince also lost his princely title. Though he wasn’t demoted to commoner status, he was handed over to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs for discipline. As for what will happen in the future, no one can say.”
“What about the Fourth Prince?” Zhou Shaojin asked with some worry. “Will the Emperor think he was wrongly accused and regard him differently?”
“No,” Cheng Chi smiled. “Don’t you think this matter is very interesting? The young eunuch from Qianqing Palace, the Third Prince’s fury, the Crown Prince’s heir’s pleading…”
Zhou Shaojin’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re saying… this was all arranged in advance by the Third Prince and the Crown Prince’s heir?”
“I don’t know,” Cheng Chi smiled. “But if it were me, demoted by the Emperor to Prince of the Second Rank and losing the qualification to compete for the throne, rather than let the person who harmed me live freely and possibly still ascend to the throne, I’d rather go down in flames and plant a seed of doubt in the Emperor’s heart so your days aren’t comfortable either. As for myself, no matter what, I’m still the Emperor’s own flesh and blood. Even if the Emperor is angry with me, at most he’ll demote me to commoner status—he wouldn’t kill me, would he? A prince demoted to commoner, as long as it’s not my enemy who takes the throne, I can live comfortably in the future without worries. What’s there to fear?”
Zhou Shaojin sighed. “I should just stay home properly and wash and starch your clothes. Outside affairs are truly complicated.”
Cheng Chi laughed heartily. “My Shaojin is also very clever—you just don’t like to use your brain.”
Zhou Shaojin laughed with a “pfft.” “If this matter is truly related to the Crown Prince’s heir, then he’s too clever. Could it really be as the saying goes, ‘Deep emotions don’t last long, extreme wisdom brings harm’? In the previous life, he died of illness very early…” Her tone was full of regret. “If the Fourth Prince has no chance at the throne and the Crown Prince’s heir also passes away, then who will become Emperor?”
Cheng Chi smiled. “The King of Hell wants you dead at the third watch—who can keep you until the fifth? This too is unavoidable. At least the Cheng family is preserved.”
That was true!
Previously, she had suspected whether the Crown Prince’s heir’s death was somehow related to the Fourth Prince. Now that the Fourth Prince’s ambitions were exposed early, judging from what Cheng Chi had just said, the Crown Prince’s heir had begun to suspect the Fourth Prince of plotting wrongdoing. In this situation, if the Crown Prince’s heir still didn’t know to guard against the Fourth Prince, then even if he became Emperor, he probably wouldn’t sit on the throne long or securely. If he did begin guarding against the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince’s heir still died in the end, whether from illness or murder, this was fate. They couldn’t change someone’s destiny!
Zhou Shaojin decided to let nature take its course.
She no longer thought about the future situation. Smiling as she caressed the bracelet on her wrist, she changed the subject. “Is this, is this a gift for me?”
“Mm!” Cheng Chi smiled. “Knowing I’m going to be a father again, I was very happy and wanted to buy something for you. Do you like it?”
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded.
Cheng Chi’s heart also filled with joy. He tucked in the corners of her blanket and smiled. “Sleep quickly!”
Zhou Shaojin buried her head in his embrace.
Cheng Chi laughed softly, the echo in his chest vibrating against her ears, giving her an inexplicable feeling of happiness.