“Pregnant?” Qin Yunuan asked with a sweet smile, “Are you sure?”
Holding her head high proudly, Qin Yuwan started to flaunt, “Of course. The doctor had confirmed. Well, I did not mean to tell you now. You were…. But you know, you had a miscarriage, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
Clearly, these words were intended to make her uncomfortable. Qin Yunuan sneered in her heart, but she did not show the emotion on her face. “No, not at all. You are my sister. I’m very happy for you.”
“Okay,” Qin Yuwan pretended to be generous, “Then I will not blame you for sending me the jewelry used by Consort Cao on purpose.”
What a silly woman! Qin Yuwan actually mentioned Consort Cao before Princess Ning.
Not surprisingly, Princess Ning pretended to cough a few times to conceal her unhappiness. Qin Yunuan leaned forward slightly and then replied, “You must be joking.”
At this time, Tang came here together with Ruan Ruyi, who congratulated Qin Yuwan for her pregnancy. However, Tang’s glaring eyes at Ruan Ruyi had betrayed her feelings. How disappointing her own daughter-in-law was! After years of marriage, she still failed to conceive a child.
As the women were still talking, Leng Changxi left early for he had some official affairs to deal with. It was the day when the diplomatic corps of North Di was about to leave the Royal City. The Grand Prince Wanyan Ba had finally met Saichun during the last few days of their stay. Though she was not that withered and haggard, Saichun still looked weak. But she had tried to put his brother off and held back the secret.
Qin Yunuan knew that Saichun was in deep love with the Grand Prince Sima Ruo. Or else, why would a straightforward woman like Saichun stay there after she had been wronged like that? She would have come back to North Di with Wanyan Ba, not caring whether she was married or not.
It was getting late. Tang and Ruan Ruyi were the first to leave and then followed Qin Yuwan who excused herself for sickness. The servant girls helped her along carefully as if she became a treasure after pregnancy.
Then, there were only Princess Ning and Qin Yunuan in the room, in which the atmosphere became uncomfortable. With a kind smile, Princess Ning ordered Qingzhu, “Bring the gift that I had prepared for Yunuan. It’s in the inner room.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Qin Yunuan was being polite.
“Not at all. It’s just one of my dowries,” Princess Ning stared at Qin Yunuan kindly, as if she had really taken her as her real daughter. When she finished, Qingzhu had walked in and presented a black wooden box to Qin Yunuan agilely.
“Take a look.” Princess Ning changed her position slightly and took a sip of tea.
Knowing that Princess Ning would not be that silly to harm her by this box in public, Qin Yunuan opened it calmly but was then amazed by the thing lying inside.
It was a perfect jade pendant in the shape of a phoenix, which was exquisite in workmanship, smooth in touch, and gentle in gloss. The jade pendant was carved on a whole top-class limpid jade that could not be found in the world anymore. So, it was of great value and quality.
But why would Princess Ning give her such an expansive jade pendant all of a sudden?
“This was supposed to be a gift for my daughter-in-law,” Princess Ning looked at Qin Yunuan with a smile, “Take a look. Do you like it?”
Qin Yunuan appreciated her kindness, “Well, that’s too precious for me to accept.”
“I insist. You can accept it. It’s just like the second key of the counting-house that I had handed over to you,” Princess Ning said firmly, “Take it if you like it. We are a family. Don’t bother about the trivial formalities.”
As there was no reason to refuse it, Qin Yunuan did not make any excuse anymore. She asked Maner to pack the box up again naturally and then talked with Princess Ning for a while before leaving.
Maner could not hold back her curiosity on their way back, “Third Young Madam, I still think that we’d better not take credit for what we do not do. What did Princess Ning mean to hand you such a valuable jade pendant?”
Qin Yunuan stopped her steps. Then she walked to a pavilion beside the pond, looking at the leaves of the phoenix trees that were dancing with the cold wind and falling to the pond and the ground.
“One never goes to the temple for no reason. If she does not have something to ask of me, well then,” Qin Yunuan sneered suddenly, “she would use this to harm me.”
Now, she was very clear of Princess Ning’s intention and attitude towards her owing to Consort Cao’s warning.
Maner felt a twinge in her heart, “Be careful, Third Young Madam.”
“Don’t worry, Maner,” Qin Yunuan was very relaxed this time, “She was difficult to guard against because she was in the dark before. Now, as she becomes an open enemy, I will surely defend us.” Qin Yunuan still could not take Princess Ning as a real enemy. After all, it was she who took care of Leng Changxi in the last twenty years. It was not easy to bite the hand that had fed you.
At nightfall, Leng Changxi came back with a piece of new information: the escorting diplomatic corps of West Xia was on the mission to seek a marriage alliance for their Fourth Prince with Infanta Zhaojing, the daughter of Princess Jing. Princess Jing was also a beloved daughter of the dead emperor, second only to the Elder Princess. Able to wield both the pen and the sword, she had even gone into battle herself and crushed a rebellion with the dead emperor. Infanta Zhaojing was the apple of Princess Jing’s eyes, which might make the imperial matrimony even harder.
It seemed that the once-mighty West Xia had slipped after the fight for the imperial throne during the reign of Emperor Qianyuan. In former days, West Xia was much mightier than Qi, but now, it was seeking the imperial matrimony for peace with the latter.
Leng Changxi described the whole thing calmly as if the coming of the ambassadors from West Xia was just a simple diplomatic affair. But Qin Yunuan was disturbed by what Sima Qiu had told them last night and could not make light of it. She held Leng Changxi’s arm quietly and made no remarks.
“Why?” Leng Changxi found that his little hedgehog was becoming quieter these days, which was a big concern for him. Compared with her silence and keeping everything to herself, he would rather that she could play the woman or lose her temper or even act up.
“The ambassadors from West Xia are coming, and you…” Qin Yunuan paused there. If what Sima Qiu said was true, then the real motherland of Leng Changxi should be West Xia.
“Come as they like,” Leng Changxi smiled, “As long as you are not the one being chosen by them for the matrimony.”
Qin Yunuan tapped Leng Changxi enchantingly with her small fist, “Isn’t it Infanta Zhaojing who had been chosen?”
Leng Changxi caught her hand and pulled her into his arms, “That’s just the decision of the higher level. But Princess Jing was a resolute and strong-minded person. She might not let her daughter marry into a faraway place.”
It was night. The fragrance of perfume, together with that of the sweet Osmanthus, was wafted in the room. Romantic scenes were going on seductively in the room. After the passion, Qin Yunuan lay beside Leng Changxi, drawing circles repeatedly on his arms. Leng Changxi felt itching and caught her tempting hand suddenly. Qin Yunuan thought that he might be angry, but then, he took out a jade bracelet hidden under the pillow for a long time quickly.
The bracelet was of high quality and was exquisitely carved. Showing it before Qin Yunuan’s eyes, Leng Changxi put it on for Qin Yunuan with a satisfied smile. “Someone in the army told me that if a man sent a jade bracelet to a woman, it meant that he wanted to bind with her for a lifetime, and she would never get away from him anymore,” he said.
Qin Yunuan could not help but laugh, feeling amazed. She did not expect Leng Changxi to be so childish. But what she said was very pleasing, “I could not get away from you ages ago.”
Surprised by these words, Leng Changxi held Leng Changxi into his arms tightly and kissed her forehead. “Yes, you are mine.”
Qin Yunuan kissed back directly and answered in the same tone, “And you are mine, too.”
At this time, the call of Maner from outside broke their sweet talk.
“Third Young Madam, the phoenix tree sheds leaves.”
That was a secret signal between Qin Yunuan and Maner, which meant that they could draw the net that had been arranged before.
Qin Yunuan got up after putting on her clothes. Maner and Ting Xue had been waiting outside. When Qin Yunuan walked out, Maner came to her at once and said, “They were making a scene at the East Garden.”
Qin Yunuan nodded and then walked to the East Garden. If she was right, Qin Yuwan should have been making an uproar at present. Her loud voice inherited from Concubine Liu must have attracted a lot of people.
As expected, when Qin Yunuan arrived at the lotus pond in the East Garden, she saw Qin Yuwan crying and moaning on the ground with her hands covering her belly.
“Ah, my belly! Someone help me! I’m carrying the descendant of Prince Ning. Can you bear the responsibility if anything happens to me? Where’s the doctor? Why is the doctor not here?”
Qin Yuwan’s personal maid, Mujin, was comforting her anxiously, who got very agitated. However, the nannies and servant girls around them were gossipy, but not helpful. So they all came up to Qin Yunuan when she arrived as if she was a savior.
“Third Young Madam, please help Second Young Madam! She was so overwhelmed with the pain!”
But she had not shed any blood. How would she be so overwhelmed? Qin Yunuan thought to herself and then pretended to be caring, “But it was getting late. I can do nothing about it. Why don’t you come to mother?”
Qin Yunuan winked at Maner, who left directly after receiving the signal. Qin Yuwan heard the voice of Qin Yunuan and turned over to yelled at her, “Qin Yunuan, you’ve finally come! It was you who harmed me! We are sisters, but you are so jealous of my pregnancy that you pushed me down the stairs! How vicious you are!”
“What are you talking about, sis?” Qin Yunuan looked so surprised and innocent.
“You are still denying?” Qin Yuwan took out a jade pendant under her body and said to her, “That was grabbed from the person who pushed me before. It was the one that mother had given you this morning. And the jade pendant was unique that could not be copied. What do you say?”
