Dawn was just breaking, and the entire marquis residence was still between sleeping and waking when hurried footsteps echoed through the winding covered corridors.

“Imperial Physician Zuo, please walk faster.” Zhou Jingyuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned back to urge Imperial Physician Zuo, who had been called from bed early and still looked somewhat disheveled, to walk inward.

His urgency was understandable, for what had happened this morning was truly a momentous event. If anything went wrong, even if he worked himself to death for another decade or two in the residence, it wouldn’t be enough to make amends.

Crossing through the hanging flower gate, seeing the flying eaves of the main courtyard drawing closer, Zhou Jingyuan finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. Maids and servants constantly passed by, bowing to him in greeting, which inevitably reminded him of the scene from this morning: He had just gotten up and was about to arrange the day’s affairs when An’he, a young maid from the madam’s quarters, came running over in haste, saying: “Madam has had a poor appetite recently and often feels nauseous. She suspects she might be with child. The marquis happened not to be in the room this morning, so madam asked me to find Steward Zhou, saying she wanted Steward Zhou to find a physician to take a look.”

Zhou Jingyuan was immediately thrilled upon hearing this: The madam is with child! This was the great joyous event the entire marquis residence had been hoping for. He immediately wanted to go notify the old marquis and the princess, but An’he, seeing his intention, quickly added: “Steward, please don’t rush. Madam said she’s only guessing wildly and doesn’t know if it’s true, so she doesn’t want to make a big announcement for now, afraid that if it turns out to be false hope, it would disappoint the master and princess. Please help find a physician to examine her first.”

Zhou Jingyuan thought this made sense and was about to go out to find a physician when An’he added: “Oh, and madam also said she’d like to invite the same physician who attended the princess when she gave birth to the marquis, saying this would ensure accuracy. I wonder if Steward Zhou could help with this.”

Zhou Jingyuan hesitated briefly, then quickly agreed. After all, this was an extremely important matter for the madam. Since she had made the request, bringing Imperial Physician Zuo over wasn’t too difficult to arrange. So he hurriedly had the residence prepare a carriage and rushed to Imperial Physician Zuo’s residence, dragging him over without explanation.

When he came back to his senses, the two were already standing in the main courtyard. An’he had been waiting there and immediately brought them before Yuanxi. Upon hearing Yuanxi’s complete explanation, Imperial Physician Zuo was also somewhat excited and quickly took her pulse. However, the longer he felt her pulse, the more solemn his expression became. Seeing his expression, Zhou Jingyuan knew things weren’t good, but still held onto a thread of hope: “Imperial Physician Zuo, is madam…?”

Imperial Physician Zuo withdrew his hand, shook his head slightly, and sighed: “Based on this pulse, madam does not appear to be pregnant. However, madam need not worry. I’ll prescribe some medicine to regulate your body now, and you should conceive soon.”

Yuanxi’s face fell with disappointment, and Zhou Jingyuan, who had been busy all morning, couldn’t help but show a dejected expression. At this moment, Yuanxi turned to him and said: “Uncle Zhou, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault for thinking wildly. Who knew it would turn out to be a false alarm, making you work for nothing.” As she spoke, her eyes began to redden. Zhou Jingyuan knew the madam must be feeling bad inside, yet she was still apologizing to him. He quickly waved his hands: “Madam, what are you saying? These are my duties anyway.” He paused and comforted her: “Madam shouldn’t be too disappointed either. Whether early or late, this child will come eventually.”

Yuanxi forced a smile, but still couldn’t hide the dejection on her face. She looked up and said: “Since it was just false hope, I shouldn’t trouble Uncle Zhou further. Please go attend to your business first. Since Imperial Physician Zuo is here, I’d like to consult with him privately about some matters.” She emphasized the word “privately” heavily. Zhou Jingyuan assumed she wanted to ask about conception matters and understood it wasn’t convenient for him to be present, so he quickly took his leave.

Yuanxi had An’he escort Zhou Jingyuan out, then turned back to see Imperial Physician Zuo spreading out paper and ink, seriously writing her a prescription for tonic medicine. She walked over and said in a casual tone: “If I do become pregnant in the future, I’ll have to trouble Imperial Physician Zuo again. By the way, I wonder what medicines my mother-in-law took when she was stabilizing her pregnancy back then.”

Imperial Physician Zuo looked up and smiled at her, but his writing didn’t falter at all. As he wrote, he said: “The princess was a blessed person. Although her constitution was usually weak, her pregnancies were very stable, so she only took conventional medicines like salvia, poria with pine nuts, and angelica. Later, some middle-regulating and center-calming decoctions were added, and by the later stages, she stopped using tonic medicines altogether.”

Yuanxi carefully observed his expression from the side, seeing only clear eyes, articulate speech, and even his handwriting remained consistent throughout, showing no signs of panic. She couldn’t help but feel puzzled – could her previous speculation have been wrong?

So she pressed further: “Does Imperial Physician Zuo remember which month the princess gave birth to the marquis?”

Imperial Physician Zuo had just finished writing the prescription and was gently blowing on the paper before looking up: “I remember the princess’s pregnancy should have reached full term by the fifth month. Because there were never any problems, when the princess was about six months along, the old marquis had me attend to palace matters, saying this side didn’t need constant attention, and to call me only if something went wrong.”

“Which means he didn’t witness the princess giving birth,” Yuanxi thought silently. Meanwhile, Imperial Physician Zuo had already begun explaining how to take those medicines and what to pay attention to daily. Being elderly and having a physician’s heart, he even brazenly spoke about intimate matters and how to increase the chances of conception, making Yuanxi blush and lower her head, though she secretly remembered it all, as she truly hoped to conceive soon.

After Imperial Physician Zuo finally finished his instructions and left, Yuanxi sat in her room somewhat dazed. She went through all the clues again but still couldn’t figure out the key point. Had the princess actually been pregnant at that time? Imperial Physician Zuo’s expression earlier didn’t seem fake, indicating he had genuinely helped stabilize the princess’s pregnancy. But her due date was clearly in the fifth month, so why was Xiao Du born in the fourth month when the cherry blossoms had not yet faded? Yuanxi’s mind was in turmoil, and she could only sigh softly to herself: I still need to find more evidence before reaching a conclusion.

Regardless, this small storm passed quietly. Another day passed, and it was the Lantern Festival. The marquis residence was hung with various lanterns and decorated very festively. But unlike the lively atmosphere outside, Yuanxi sat in Xiao Zhixuan’s room looking somewhat melancholy.

Xiao Zhixuan had just finished the ornamental tassels in her hands and smilingly handed them to Yuanxi: “Sister-in-law, today is your birthday. I’m only good at handicrafts, so I can only give you these tassels as a birthday gift. You won’t think Xuan’er is being cheap, will you?”

Yuanxi looked at the exquisite red tassels in her hands with some surprise and said happily: “It’s rare that Xuan’er still remembers. These tassels are so beautiful, naturally I love them very much.” Then, as if remembering something, her eyes dimmed again.

Xiao Zhixuan tilted her head and watched her for a while, understanding why she couldn’t smile. She quickly grasped Yuanxi’s hands: “I don’t know what my brother has been busy with lately, not even staying home today. But don’t worry, he’ll definitely come back tonight. How could he forget such an important day?”

Seeing her indignant expression on her behalf, Yuanxi quickly said: “If he’s not home, he naturally has very important matters to handle. Besides, birthdays come every year, so it doesn’t matter if we miss this one.” Though she said this, her face still couldn’t brighten up.

Xiao Zhixuan looked at the sky outside the window and said: “How about this – let’s not wait for him. Come with me to see the lanterns. When he comes back and can’t find you, let him worry too.”

Yuanxi hesitated, but before she could speak, Xiao Zhixuan pulled her up and, supporting her arm while acting coquettish and pleading, said: “Sister-in-law, please come with me to see them. I’ve been waiting for the Lantern Festival lanterns for so long. Now that mother is gone too, only you can accompany me to see them.”

Hearing her mention Concubine Cai, Yuanxi felt some pity in her heart and could only nod: “Alright, I’ll go with you.”

The two thus went together to the market streets. Though it was already night, the streets were brilliantly lit with countless lanterns, bright as day. The streets were crowded with people viewing the lanterns and vendors selling various trinkets. Xiao Zhixuan was very interested, touching and looking at everything, while Yuanxi seemed rather listless and couldn’t muster any enthusiasm.

Just then, Xiao Zhixuan tugged at her arm: “Sister-in-law, look what that is – how interesting!”

Yuanxi looked up and saw a stall with a paper spread out, on which were many small fish made of iron pieces. Most remarkably, these small fish could actually move around on the paper following the stall owner’s hand movements, looking as if live fish were swimming and playing in water.

A large crowd had already gathered around the stall, all exclaiming in amazement at this magical sight. The stall owner said proudly: “I’m willing to wager five taels of silver that no one present can guess the secret behind this. If anyone can guess it, I’ll present the five taels with both hands. If they can’t guess, just leave some small reward money.”

Hearing this, the crowd immediately became excited, stepping forward one after another to guess, but not a single person could answer correctly. Yuanxi smiled and shook her head, pulling Xiao Zhixuan as she prepared to leave, but unexpectedly Xiao Zhixuan raised her arm high and called out loudly: “My sister-in-law can guess it!”

Yuanxi was immediately embarrassed. She could naturally see through this trick at a glance, but didn’t want to casually expose it and ruin someone’s livelihood. Who knew she’d now be put on the spot by Xiao Zhixuan? For a moment, she was awkwardly caught between advancing and retreating. At this point, the surrounding people began jeering: “What does an ignorant woman know? Go home and nurse your children…” Even the stall owner showed a disdainful expression. Yuanxi was provoked to anger and simply stood her ground: “If I must guess, I suspect it’s because you, stall owner, have placed a magnet under the table, while your other hand is hidden beneath the table controlling the magnet, so these fish made of iron pieces can move in the direction you control.” She put on a harmless smile: “I wonder if this ignorant woman guessed correctly.”

The stall owner, having his trick exposed, turned red then white, very reluctantly taking out five taels of silver. But Yuanxi waved her hand: “I was just guessing randomly. I won’t take the silver. Today is the Lantern Festival – go home early to celebrate.”

The stall owner seemed very grateful and took out a small package from behind him, handing it to Yuanxi: “This is something a young master asked me to give to you, saying that if you could break my trick, I should give this to you.”

Yuanxi was completely baffled, blankly accepting the package. Opening it, she found a small compass inside, which made her even more confused about what this meant. Looking more carefully, she noticed a piece of paper beside the compass with Xiao Du’s handwriting: “Birthday gift – solve it yourself. Isn’t this interesting?”