After Madam Zou had finished agreeing to her mother-in-law’s requests, she walked out of Countess Jing’an’s courtyard with a tense, fearsome expression. The servants following behind were so afraid that they didn’t even dare to breathe.
Madam Zou suddenly paused in her steps and turned around to ask the senior servant behind her, “How is it? Is there any news from Songtao Court?”
This senior servant was well aware that her mistress wasn’t in the best of moods today, and it would be far too easy to make it even worse. So when her mistress asked her a question she could answer without fear, the senior servant breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Eldest Young Madam, please don’t worry. This old servant heard that Third Young Madam’s schedule ran as usual.”
After getting a definite answer, the knot in Madam Zou’s heart finally loosened.
How fortunate, how lucky that Chu Lian hadn’t gotten pregnant. If Chu Lian were to get pregnant and give birth to the eldest grandson of the house, how would she be able to keep her position as the wife of Heir Jing’an?
“That’s right, did Heir Jing’an say when he would be coming back today?”
One of the maidservants behind her answered, “Heir Jing’an said he would be going to Honglu Temple this morning. It seems like he’s meeting with some outsiders there. When he left, he mentioned that there’d be no need to wait for him for the midday meal.”
“Tell the kitchen to prepare his share anyway. How can the food of those restaurants outside possibly compare to the food of our estate?”
“Yes, Eldest Young Madam. This servant will send the orders now.”
Her senior servant walked forward to support Madam Zou’s arm. With some emotion in her voice, she said, “Eldest Young Madam is always so considerate. I believe Heir Jing’an will be able to feel Eldest Young Madam’s painstaking care when he comes back.”
Madam Zou’s expression was still a little dark upon hearing these words from her trusted servant.
Dalang did treat her very well. If her body wasn’t up for it, Dalang would only rest in his study, and he would never summon one of the maidservants to quell his urges. She probably wouldn’t be able to find more than a handful of men who could control themselves like this in the entire capital.
One of House Jing’an’s rules prohibited the men from taking concubines unless they were still without an heir upon turning thirty. For Dalang, that age was fast approaching, and she still had yet to give him any sons. Were the happy days of their peaceful, loving marriage about to end, just like that?
The more she thought about it, the more her worry showed in her eyes. He Changqi was meant to inherit the title of Count Jing’an. How could he not have any heirs of his own?!
Even if He Changqi didn’t mind it, the Count and Countess, as well as Matriarch He, couldn’t possibly not mind.
The grape wine that Chu Lian had been fermenting for the past few days was now ready to drink. Since Senior Servant Gui had taken the initiative to send off one of her gourds to He Changdi, Chu Lian was a little angry. She held onto her remaining wine gourd and kept eating long past her usual amount during the midday meal.
As a result, she ate too much and her stomach was a little bloated now. It wouldn’t be good for her body if she immediately went to nap, so she brought Wenqing and Jingyan along with her for a walk in the gardens to digest her meal.
Although it was close to mid-autumn, it was still a little hot outside. Chu Lian favoured walking along the more cool corridors, and somehow made it all the way to the entrance that connected the inner and outer courts.
There was a set of stone tables and chairs in the bamboo forest near the entrance, so Chu Lian stopped and sat for a short rest. She intended to head back for a nap afterwards.
Right as Chu Lian sat down, she heard the sounds of an ongoing conversation near the outer court exit. Who knew her original plan would be derailed just like that?
“Heir Jing’an, what should we do with this whole carriage of chillis? Your heart is too soft; you bought up his entire stock just because that outsider claimed he didn’t have enough money to go back!”
“Hand it over to the estate’s steward. If they’re really useless, just throw them away. That kid was so pitiful, I just wanted to give him some money to help him get home.”
It was the slightly coarse voice of Dalang that spoke.
