"A pregnancy" – the words spoken, and the tense atmosphere in the room instantly dissipated.
Situ Yan stared blankly for a few seconds, then his large hand reached through the quilt to touch Lu Nianfu's belly. His face lit up with joy, "Really? This king is to be a father?"
The physician nodded, "Only a little over a month. You must take great care. Judging by the Princess Consort's pulse, she seems to be anemic."
Qing Ya was the first to exclaim, "How can my lady be anemic?"
"That's what the pulse indicates," the physician said innocently. "I'll prescribe a tonic for the pregnancy later. You should pay attention to giving the Princess Consort more blood-nourishing foods, such as ejiao and pig liver."
"Can't you prescribe some blood-replenishing medicine?"
"Dietary supplements are better than medicinal ones."
Situ Yan said, "Then we'll trouble the doctor. Qing Miao, take the doctor to write the prescription and give him a generous consultation fee."
Although he trusted Ji Jin more, since a doctor had already been summoned, he couldn't possibly say he had also invited an imperial physician. Qing Miao understood and gave the physician ten taels of silver as a consultation fee.
The physician left the prescription behind, his smile uncontainable as he departed.
Wealthy families were good in this regard; they paid truly well.
Ji Jin, after examining the pulse, also offered his congratulations first. However, he immediately frowned, "Was the Princess Consort injured recently? How could she have lost so much blood?"
"Isn't it anemia?"
"It's excessive blood loss."
Situ Yan was in the best position to answer, "Impossible. Fu'er is perfectly fine, without a single wound."
Ji Jin examined her meticulously again, but the conclusion remained the same. Situ Yan had no doubt about Ji Jin's medical skills, so he turned to Qing Ya. When he was away, this maidservant had been constantly by her side.
Qing Ya looked bewildered, "With me by her side, how could my lady possibly be injured?"
"Then where did her blood go?"
The group pondered for a long time without finding a reason. Ji Jin finally prescribed, "A tonic for pregnancy and blood replenishment. But one thing is absolutely crucial: no more inexplicable blood loss. A pregnancy of just over a month cannot withstand such a shock."
The first three months were all precarious.
Situ Yan naturally nodded, and then quietly assigned two more hidden guards to Lu Nianfu.
When Lu Nianfu woke up, she heard Qing Ya congratulating her. She touched her belly, quite surprised. She seemed to have just lamented about having a child, and now it had arrived?
It was almost unbelievable how smoothly it had happened.
The thought of a child, connected by blood to her, arriving in this world in eight months filled her heart with warmth.
A pregnancy of less than three months was usually kept secret from outsiders. Situ Yan therefore suppressed the idea of rewarding all the servants in the manor, only giving rewards to those attending to her in the inner courtyard.
Of course, their responsibilities had also become much weightier.
Qing Ya, holding a cleaning cloth, prepared to scrub every corner of the room. As she worked, she said, "My lady, you shouldn't go out for now. If there's anything, just let your maid run errands for you. As for the account books, let Wang Shoucheng review them first and extract the most important details, so you don't have to strain your eyes and mind."
Lu Nianfu glanced at her, "Are you willing to part with it?"
Her tone was too teasing, and Qing Ya's face couldn't help but blush. She stomped her foot and huffed, "What is there for me to be reluctant about? My lady is truly detestable."
"Oh, you've grown bold, daring to detest your lady. Be careful, or I'll withhold your marriage, and you'll come crying to me then."
"Never! I just want to follow you forever."
"Tsk, then Shoucheng will likely wear down the doorstep of this manor. Speaking of which, you're not young anymore. Shoucheng has approached me three or four times. If you have no objections, why not have this happy event before the New Year!"
Other maids were married off with just their dowries.
But for Qing Ya, she was determined to give her a grand wedding, complete with all the customary rites.
Qing Ya shook her head, "No, my lady is pregnant. How can she be without me? Marriage and such can wait until after the little prince is born."
"It's not necessarily a little prince."
"A little princess is the same. In any case, I will not get married while you are pregnant."
The intrigues of the inner courtyard were unpredictable. Although their manor was free of messy people for now, when the main consort was pregnant and couldn't provide close service, how could they not prepare someone to warm the master's bed? If that person had ill intentions, who knew what trouble they might stir up. Moreover, there were many women eyeing the position of the Prince of Rui's secondary consort. Who knew what desperate measures they might resort to.
In this courtyard, Qing Miao and Mian Er, though diligent and capable, one was so introverted she refused to leave the house, and the other was naive. If not for her, relying on her (from storybooks) rich experience, to deal with all sorts of troublesome characters.
Qing Ya's thoughtfulness touched Lu Nianfu, "Silly girl, even if you get married, you can still come to the manor to accompany me. However, I'd prefer you to be a manager at the shop rather than my maidservant all day. That way, you'll be a more fitting match for Shoucheng, won't you?"
"No wonder you had me help out at the shop as soon as we entered the capital."
So, she had been planning for her future.
Qing Ya was even more unwilling to marry now, boohoo, my lady is too good to me.
Lu Nianfu stayed at home for two days. Then, news spread from the Cheng family that Cheng Jiaojiao was suffering from a grave illness. She couldn't sit still any longer and ordered a carriage to be readied to leave the manor. She was strenuously stopped by her maids.
Qing Miao said, "My lady, you are carrying a child. Even if you don't think of yourself, you must think of the baby in your belly."
Mian Er quickly added, "Exactly. Even ordinary people stay far away from the sick. You insist on going near them. What if you get infected? This is not a laughing matter."
Pregnant women couldn't take many medicines. If she fell ill, what would she use to fight it?
Qing Ya understood her intentions best, "My lady, please rest assured. I will first go to the Grand Court to ask your husband for information. She only just got engaged and now falls ill with a grave illness. Perhaps there's a hidden reason behind it?"
Lu Nianfu finally calmed down.
That's right. A few days ago, Situ Yan had gone to see the Crown Prince about this matter. Perhaps this was the Crown Prince's trick.