CHAPTER 367: CHAPTER 0353: JOYOUS OCCASION (1)

When they came to the South Courtyard House, they did not bring Li Jing along; instead, they left him in the North Courtyard House to play with Prince Luling.

Since Li Jing had already become sensible, he understood jealousy and often envied how much more Guoguo received than he did.

But outsiders all preferred Guoguo and were more willing to give things to Guoguo, so Chai Eying could do nothing about it.

If the two children lived in jealousy, they would not be harmonious when they grew up.

Whenever Guoguo received gifts and Li Jing did not, Chai Eying would find ways to make up for it, satisfying the child’s vanity.

This time, Guoguo received quite a few gifts for his first birthday, and Chai Eying couldn’t make up for it all at once for Li Jing, so she simply didn’t let Li Jing see them.

Li Yuzhu, who was also looking at the gifts, said, "I guess this might be the reason why the County Magistrate’s Wife only favors Guoguo."

"What reason?" The Princess Consort Luling asked curiously.

"The County Magistrate’s Wife has only one son and must want a daughter too. I noticed that when she sees Guoguo, she is very happy, holds him in her arms, and is reluctant to let go. I’ve never seen her hold Jingjing like that, and also..." Li Yuzhu paused, sighed, "Lord County Magistrate is not in good health, he doesn’t really go to bed with the County Magistrate’s Wife, I’m afraid he can no longer have children."

"What?" The Princess Consort Luling and Chai Eying exclaimed simultaneously.

"How did you know?" The Princess Consort Luling looked at her in surprise, her face not looking good.

Chai Eying also had a strange expression on her face.

Only Guoguo looked up at this one and that one, then went back to playing with the fox fur hat from the gift box on his own.

He even tried putting the hat on his own head.

He shrugged off Chai Eying’s hand, climbed onto a chair, took down the small mirror on the dressing table, and looked at himself.

Li Yuzhu felt embarrassed under the stares of Chai Eying and the Princess Consort Luling.

She realized that women in feudal times couldn’t hear such things.

"Mother, sister-in-law, why are you looking at me like that? Would Lord County Magistrate tell me this kind of thing? No one else told me directly. It was that concubine and her maid chatting, and I heard it by accident," Li Yuzhu fabricated a lie.

She didn’t want to involve the Zhao family’s servants to avoid more trouble. Those two women were scared by her threats and probably wouldn’t dare to cause any more trouble.

Guoguo glanced at Li Yuzhu, then looked back at himself in the mirror, grinning at his reflection, playing joyfully.

The Princess Consort Luling, with a stern face, sneered, "Can one listen to the words of a concubine? They are the ones who bring bad things!"

The Princess Consort Luling disliked Prince Luling taking concubines, so she didn’t like concubines in other families either.

Chai Eying said, "Indeed, third sister, I think the County Magistrate’s Wife and Lord County Magistrate have a good relationship, how could there be such a thing? Could the concubine be deliberately stirring up trouble?"

Li Yuzhu said, "The concubine doesn’t seem to be lying, because the County Magistrate’s Wife is indeed troubled. Her smile was forced. I asked her maid, Chun’er, but Chun’er didn’t answer me and neither did she deny it. She mumbled, unwilling to speak. That’s why I think Lord County Magistrate’s illness worries the County Magistrate’s Wife. She looks more haggard than when I last saw her."

The Princess Consort Luling took a deep breath and sighed, "Lixing said his mother is only thirty years old, that’s still young. For the couple to not be able to have children, she indeed would be anxious."

Chai Eying said, "Third sister, can’t you cure Lord County Magistrate’s illness?"

The Princess Consort Luling looked at Chai Eying, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

Chai Eying realized she had misspoken, her face turned embarrassed, "I’m really confused, how could third sister treat a man’s illness like that?"

The Princess Consort Luling shook her head, "Lord County Magistrate is a local official. With such a status, he would find it difficult to ask for a doctor, let alone from your third sister. Even facing a male doctor, he would find it hard to speak."

Chai Eying said, "You could go to a foreign place, where people from remote places wouldn’t recognize our county’s Lord County Magistrate."

"That’s actually a good idea, but who can persuade Lord County Magistrate? According to that concubine, Lord County Magistrate does not admit to being ill." Li Yuzhu shrugged, "Otherwise, the County Magistrate’s Wife wouldn’t be distressed every day, envious of my sister-in-law for having both Guoguo and Jingjing."

The Princess Consort Luling frowned, "Ignoring illness and avoiding doctors is really not advisable."

Chai Eying blushed, "The County Magistrate’s Wife might be even more envious of me."

The Princess Consort Luling didn’t understand, "Envious of what?"

Chai Eying’s face turned even redder, and she lowered her head.

Li Yuzhu was the first to react, grabbed her hand, and laughed, "Is there going to be someone new to call you sister-in-law, mother?"

Chai Eying blushed and gently nodded, "I’m not sure yet."

At the County Magistrate’s Wife’s house, many of the dishes were meat dishes, especially fish, the smell of which made her want to vomit.

Since she was a guest, she held back.

After the bumpy ride on the mule, as soon as she got out of the vehicle, she couldn’t hold it any longer and ran to a corner to retch twice.

She remembered when her sister-in-law was pregnant; it was just like this.

She calculated the time; two months had passed since their wedding, so she should be expecting.

Moreover, ever since the marriage, her monthly cycle hadn’t come.

Princess Consort Luling came to her senses, patted Li Yuzhu’s shoulder, and exclaimed joyfully, "Yuzhu, quickly check for your sister-in-law."

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "I’ve checked, sister-in-law is pregnant!"

As Chai Eying spoke with a blush, she quickly took her pulse and activated the space equipment to perform a detailed examination on Chai Eying.

Indeed, Chai Eying was pregnant.

Both in good health, young, and with strong affections, it was easy for them to conceive.

Li Yuzhu then asked Chai Eying about the date of her last menstruation.

Chai Eying replied, "Ten days before the wedding."

On the day of the grand wedding, her period was completely over; her luck was truly good.

She had worried that her period might be delayed until the wedding day, which would have made the consummation impossible. Unexpectedly, it ended very thoroughly.

Li Yuzhu laughed, "So it seems, you’ve been pregnant for two months."

Chai Eying touched her belly, smiling gently, and nodded lightly.

"This is wonderful, our family is about to welcome a new member." Princess Consort Luling exclaimed joyfully and called Guoguo over, "Guoguo, come here, your mother is going to have a little baby to play with you."

Guoguo took off the fox fur hat she was wearing, smiled sweetly, and jumped into Chai Eying’s arms, stretching out her little hands to touch Chai Eying’s belly, "Baby, baby."

Chai Eying said with some apology, "The child came too soon; I’m worried it might make Guoguo feel left out."

She loved having many children, but seeing Guoguo so small, she began to worry.

Being a stepmother has this downside; having your own child can make people say you no longer care for stepchildren.

Princess Consort Luling laughed, "Now that Guoguo can walk, by the time you give birth, Guoguo will even be able to help look after the baby. What are you worrying about? Besides, there are so many of us in the family, how can we possibly let you and Guoguo feel wronged?"

Li Yuzhu also said, "I think from today onwards, Guoguo should stay with me and the other sisters. The girls in our family get along better living together." She then asked Guoguo, "Guoguo, would you like to stay in the same room with your aunts?"

Guoguo grinned, "Yes."

Li Yuzhu laughed, "See, Guoguo is willing."

The little sister-in-law was thoughtful, and Chai Eying felt very touched, but Guoguo was only one year old, what could she possibly know? Whoever asked her anything got a "yes."

"But..., she might be afraid of the dark and needs me to coax her to sleep every night." Chai Eying said with a frown.

"There are three of us sisters; can’t we manage to coax one little girl? Sister-in-law, you can rest assured a thousand times." Li Yuzhu laughed.

"Jingjing will stay with me; you need more rest since you’re pregnant." Princess Consort Luling also said.

Chai Eying said embarrassedly, "Is this okay? The two children are so young and will be away from their parents."

Princess Consort Luling laughed, "They’re only staying with us at night; during the day, aren’t they still with you?"

"Yes, sister-in-law, it’s not like they’re leaving home, just their room. Besides, children should sleep in separate rooms from their parents once they’re older." Li Yuzhu added.

The two took turns persuading her, and Chai Eying had no choice but to agree.

Li Xingmao finished arranging things and walked into the room.

Princess Consort Luling immediately said, "Eldest Brother, you came just in time; your wife is tired, quickly bring her some water to drink."

Li Xingmao frowned slightly, "Isn’t there water on the table?" He touched the pot, "It’s still warm."

Princess Consort Luling scolded, "That’s cold tea, harmful to the fetus; quickly brew a cup of mint tea, her stomach feels a bit uncomfortable, and mint tea can soothe it."

Li Xingmao didn’t understand and asked in surprise, "What?"

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is pregnant, big brother."

Li Xingmao immediately went to Chai Eying, "E Ying? Is it true?"

Chai Eying nodded with a blush, "When we were dining at the County Magistrate’s Wife’s house, I started feeling nauseous, and I calculated the days myself - it should be time. Just now, our third sister helped me check, and said I’m about two months pregnant."

Li Xingmao was overjoyed, "If I had known earlier, I could have told everyone in the county town."