The Yu family quickly responded, and after Lady Chen and Madam Yu discussed, they set the wedding date for the fifth day of the tenth month.

Chen Xuanqing remained silent on this matter.

The news of Gu Jinchao’s pregnancy soon reached Daxing. Gu Lian heard about it from Madam Feng during her visit home.

“She got pregnant so quickly?” she asked in disbelief. “That means she conceived just over a month after getting married…”

Madam Feng nodded and said: “She has good fortune. Coincidentally, Minister Chen’s only legitimate son, Seventh Young Master Chen, is already an adult… The child will be cherished by the entire family.” Madam Feng didn’t want to discuss Gu Jinchao further and instead took Gu Lian’s hand to ask, “Is Wen Xiu treating you well?”

Gu Lian nodded, then after a moment’s thought, shook her head.

Madam Feng frowned: “Child, which is it—good or not good?”

Gu Lian had already styled her hair in a married woman’s bun, adorned with jeweled ornamentsand, and two golden gourd-shaped hairpins set with emerald beads the size of lotus seeds. She no longer smiled as much as before, which affected her complexion.

“He… is good in some ways. He cares for me and looks after me. He remembers to give me nice things. Like these black jade bracelets with white jade base—he asked his mother for them to give to me.” Gu Lian rolled up her sleeves to show Madam Feng the jade, which was of superior quality in both texture and pattern. She continued, “As for what’s not good… about half a month after our marriage, he had two chamber maids serve him in bed.”

Madam Feng frowned upon hearing this: “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” During the first month of marriage, the bridal chamber shouldn’t be empty.

Gu Lian murmured: “I… how could I bring myself to mention it!”

Madam Feng thought this was a serious matter and asked: “Could it be that his mother doesn’t even manage this situation?”

Gu Lian said: “How would she know? And it was in my quarters, in the side room. When he woke from his afternoon nap, he had the maid go in to serve him… it took only a quarter of an hour. It was Lanzhi who heard unusual sounds and went to check, then came back to tell me.”

So it wasn’t overnight… Madam Feng asked: “What did you do afterward?”

When Gu Lian spoke of this, she felt a tightness in her chest: “I wanted to burst in and scold him for such brazen behavior… but the matron held me back, saying we shouldn’t make a scene, and that I should wait until he came out to question him. So I waited patiently until evening. He said it was the one called Yilan who seduced him and then comforted me for a while. The next day, he punished Yilan by withholding two months of her allowance. I still felt uncomfortable and made things difficult for her for a few days…”

Madam Feng sighed with some relief, fortunate that the capable Matron Zhang had been sent with her. Otherwise, who knows how big an incident it might have become. She told Gu Lian: “You shouldn’t make a scene over such matters. You must learn to control the maids. Did you give that maid the medicine afterward?”

Gu Lian said: “I was so confused with anger, how could I remember about the medicine!”

Madam Feng was furious: “If she truly becomes pregnant, you’ll have even more to be angry about. Have you told your mother about this?”

Gu Lian gently shook her head. Madam Feng then had someone invite the Second Madam over. Second Madam called for Matron Zhang to question her.

Matron Zhang answered: “Grand Madam need not worry, I’ve been watching over the medicinal soup. It has never been missed.”

Second Madam was so angry her eyes turned red: “Yao Wen Xiu is too bold. Even if the maid truly seduced him, couldn’t he control himself?”

Madam Feng first asked Gu Lian to step out for tea, then said to Second Madam: “Tomorrow you should visit the Yao family and tell Madam Yao about this. Say that Gu Lian was too kind-hearted to speak of it and came to us with her troubles. Have Madam Yao give Yao Wen Xiu a warning. This young man’s character isn’t bad, he’s just too frivolous.”

Second Madam said: “If he weren’t frivolous, he wouldn’t have gotten involved with Gu Lan in such a manner…”

Madam Feng sighed: “Let it be, let it be. She’s already married into their family. Such matters are fine if you don’t dwell on them. What worries me is that Lady Lian’s heart may not be at peace.” Since Gu Lan had been mentioned, Madam Feng asked Matron Zhang, “…She hasn’t caused any trouble, has she?”

Matron Zhang smiled and shook her head: “She’s behaving well. She comes morning and evening to pay respects to the Third Madam, smiling even when spoken to coldly… If there’s anything not good, it’s that the son-in-law is also good to her. He tries to take care of her in daily matters, not lacking in food, clothing, or necessities. But he hasn’t shared a bed with her since she married in.”

Second Madam listened with furrowed brows. She was surprised at such restraint: “…If we had known back then, we should have gotten rid of her. I fear she might cause more trouble.”

Matron Zhang said: “Rest assured, her pillows and bedding have all been treated. She won’t bear children and won’t amount to much.”

Madam Feng said: “Let’s set aside Gu Lan for now. Those two chambermaids must be watched carefully. They should drink the medicinal soup daily, leaving nothing to chance.”

Matron Zhang acknowledged this and withdrew first.

Second Madam then said to Madam Feng: “…Now that Gu Jinchao is with child, should we send a matron to attend to her?”

Madam Feng laughed coldly: “The Chen family won’t lack for attendants. Besides, her wings have hardened now; she doesn’t need us to manage her affairs.” She continued, “The formalities can’t be neglected. Go tell Madam Xu to buy some nourishing medicinal herbs, black chickens, pigeons, and such to send over.”

Just as Second Madam nodded, Fuling lifted the curtain and entered, face pale, and said to Madam Feng: “Grand Madam… something has happened.”

…

Gu Jinchao had just received items sent from her grandmother. A dazzling array of various tonics, fifty-year-old ginseng in a brocade box, fine gastrodia, angelica, and other medicinal herbs, a chicken coop with a pair of plump hens, a large box of pigeon eggs, a basket of chicken eggs, and even several live four-gilled bass. These items filled an entire cart, and it took nearly half a day just to move everything.

Matron Sun checked the list and had people move everything to the back chamber, which was already so full it could barely hold more.

Chen Xi came to visit after practicing the zither, and Jinchao fed her some chestnut cakes.

Because of her zither practice, several of her fingers were so painful she could barely move them. When she played poorly, her teacher would strike her hands with a ruler, making her learn through tears. Jinchao remembered learning the zither in the same way, sometimes unable to use chopsticks and needing maids to feed her, so she understood her well.

She turned to speak to Third Master Chen: “Why not let Sister Xi rest for a few days? Her fingers are all swollen.”

Third Master Chen turned a page in his book and said lightly: “No.”

Gu Jinchao tugged at his sleeve: “Third Master… don’t be too harsh with the child. Girls should be delicately nurtured. Look how Sister Xi isn’t even close to you.”

Chen Third Master set down his book with some resignation, feeling that since her pregnancy, her temperament had become quite lively, even interrupting his reading. Yet he couldn’t bear to ignore her: “Learning the zither was her own choice, I didn’t force her. How the teacher instructs, I won’t interfere.”

With that, he returned to his book.

Gu Jinchao thought to herself that how the teacher instructed was still directed by him—Third Master Chen had always been strict with children.

She didn’t plead for Chen Xi further but sent some bruise-healing medicine to Chen Xi’s quarters.

After Third Master Chen finished reading, he came over to embrace her. He touched her belly and said: “It seems to have grown somewhat…”

Gu Jinchao said: “I just had a bowl of pork trotter soup, so it probably is a bit larger.” Not even three months along, how could she be showing?

Third Master Chen smiled without speaking. After a while, he asked: “Were you also delicately raised?”

Gu Jinchao said: “I wasn’t exactly delicately raised… I was rather mischievous. When I lived at my grandmother’s, I would climb trees with the maids and coax my cousin into taking me out to play. When eating pastries, I would surely make a mess all over the kang bed, taking the maids half a day to clean up. But my grandmother doted on me. She wouldn’t scold me.”

Third Master Chen thought of the cartload of items. Madam Ji certainly doted on Gu Jinchao.

“The last time I saw her was in Baodi. After you give birth, let’s visit her together.”

Gu Jinchao thought to herself that Third Master Chen’s last visit was when Chen Xuan married into the Ji family, and Ji Can would call him uncle. Many people surrounded him then. At that time, she never imagined she would marry him. Thinking about it made her a bit uncomfortable, and she tugged at his sleeve again: “…Third Master, Chen Xuan married my cousin Ji Can, so you’re a generation above my cousins. When we visit Grandmother, won’t the forms of address be confusing…”

Seeing her wide-eyed look, Third Master Chen pulled her into his embrace and said softly: “It doesn’t matter. I’ll concede a bit.” He continued to touch her belly, whispering in her ear, “Jinchao, if the child is born mischievous like you, what shall we do?”

Gu Jinchao thought for a moment and said: “It’s good for children to be a bit mischievous; they’ll grow up with strong constitutions.”

Third Master Chen smiled: “If he’s as mischievous as you, I’ll have to spank him.”

Gu Jinchao imagined the little one in her belly being spanked by Third Master Chen and crying loudly. Feeling uncomfortable, she appeased him: “…We’ll see when the time comes. Maybe this child will be quiet and obedient.”

Third Master Chen laughed heartily at this and called for Shuyan to come over. “…Tell Fourth Miss’s zither teacher to rest for one day.”

Gu Jinchao didn’t understand why he had suddenly compromised.

“Lest you think me unreasonable,” Third Master Chen said. “This child already lacks determination; I wanted to train her. But if her fingers are raw, she’ll likely need to rest for some time anyway.”

Gu Jinchao thought to herself that he just didn’t want to delay Sister Xi’s zither lessons, but the rest was still good. She beckoned Caifu and asked her to relay the message to Chen Xi.

Third Master Chen picked up his book and put it down again, smiling: “Don’t worry, I won’t spank him.” He paused, “At most, I’ll punish him by having him copy books. Copying the entire ‘Records of the Grand Historian’—copy it enough times and he’ll memorize it, which is beneficial.”

Gu Jinchao sighed and lowered her head, saying quietly: “You haven’t even been born yet, and someone’s already thinking of ways to torment you…”

Third Master Chen suddenly pulled her into his arms, covered her mouth, and also lowered his head to say: “…Your mother is deceiving you.” Yet he wouldn’t let her go, firmly holding her waist. Gu Jinchao remembered she still had account books to review and struggled in his embrace, “Third Master, I still have matters to attend to…”

“Mm, I know…” he said softly. She had been looking at that stack of account books for most of the day—they were her dowry, and he didn’t want to interfere by helping her review them.

Jinchao’s complexion was increasingly radiant, her skin glowing with a rosy hue, and the camellia fragrance on her body becoming more pronounced. Her struggles aroused his body, and the skin beneath his hands was as fair and soft as the finest silk… Before, when he practiced abstinence, he hadn’t felt much. But after marrying her, he often found himself unable to restrain his desires. Since discovering her pregnancy until now, they hadn’t been intimate; he didn’t even dare to sleep while holding her. After all, the child was the priority.

“Jinchao…” he went to take her earlobe between his lips, gently teasing it.

Gu Jinchao glanced at her stack of account books, thinking she wouldn’t finish them today… She felt his hand already reaching her waist and grabbed his arm to stop him: “Third Master, we can’t…”

“Mm, don’t worry, I have a way…” he turned over, pressing her beneath him, his entire body covering her, his breathing growing hotter.

The maids had already withdrawn and were standing guard at the door.

At this moment, Jiang Yan arrived and said to Qingpu: “Please announce me, miss. It’s urgent.”

Qingpu hesitated for a long time. The Third Master was with his wife… but since it was urgent, she feared delaying matters. She could only steel herself and announce through the curtain.

The sound of rustling clothes, resistance, confusion, soft reassurances, and finally silence.

The Third Master Chen’s cold voice came out: “…Tell him to wait in the study.”