Ye Jiayao cooked her medicine in the small kitchen. She drank it while Chunyu was still out because she didn’t want him worrying. She actually rinsed her mouth a couple of times to erase any scent or taste of it so he doesn’t find out.
It was quite warm today so Ye Jiayao had someone bring her some of the coconuts in the yard so she could make shredded coconut.
The servants in the courtyard found it interesting so they came over to help. Ye Jiayao eagerly taught them to husk the coconut. She had them open up a little hole on top of the coconut with a hammer. Since they don’t have a straw to use to drink the sweet coconut juice directly from the fruit, she had them pour the juice into a glass.
She wanted to test the juice because she wanted to know if the meat would be any good. If the coconut juice is sweet, the meat wouldn’t taste good. If the juice is bland, the meat would taste sweet.
Ye Jiayao took a sip and was pleased to find that the juice is bland because what she wanted was the coconut meat.
“What is this taste? It’s like water with a… smell,” Xiang Tao blurted out, obviously not liking it.
Ye Jiayao laughed. “The juice doesn’t taste good but it would make a superb soup mix. Ying To, get me a container to pour all the juice into.”
After draining all the juice, Ye Jiayao got Song Qi to split the coconut open and scrape the meat out using a small knife. She then put all of the flesh in a mortar and pestle so she could squeeze the milk out of it. Once the flesh is completely milked out, she’d dry them out to make shredded coconut flakes.
Xia Chunyu walked into their yard and saw Xue Yue clearing the pile of coconut husks.
“Where is the Second Young Mistress?” Xia Chunyu asked.
“Second Young Mistress is in the small kitchen. She said she is going to make something delicious,” Xue Ye replied.
Xia Chunyu changed out of his uniform before heading to the small kitchen to see his wife. There, he saw her bustling around the stove, a fragrant smell wafting through the room.
“What are you making?” Xia Chunyu asked as he sidled up next to her.
“You’ll find out in a while,” Ye Jiayao teased.
Once the Heir-Son Lord entered, the servants retreated tactfully, leaving only Xiang Tao who is lighting the fire. Xiang Tao did her best to remain invisible, putting all her concentration in lighting the fire.
Xia Chunyu’s hand reached out for her slender waist and hugged her lightly, careful not to put pressure on her abdomen. He placed his chin on her shoulder, asking gently, “Did you feel unwell today?”
When they woke up this morning, he tried to get her to the physician but she shut down the idea. He worried about her condition the whole day.
“No. I feel great!” Ye Jiayao assured him. She decided not to tell him about her visit because she didn’t want him to worry. The physician said that she could be nursed back to full health, so it wasn’t much of a big deal.
Xia Chunyu pulled her to face him, carefully observing her complexion. Her eyes were clearer and brighter than last night, and her cheeks are much rosier too. He heaved a sigh of relief.
“Good. You look better too. But I’d be more at ease if you let a physician look over you. Your hands and feet are always ice cold.”
Ye Jiayao’s heart suddenly sank. From what she had read before, having cold hands and feet are common among women, but neither she nor her host has had that condition before. She remembered that the host would always snuggle with Mother Su during the winter and the older woman would always comment on her high body heat. Her period also became torture for her. It’d be okay if it only hurt the first two days, but ever since she fell into the lake, she would suffer the entire duration of her menstruation.
“What’s wrong?” Xia Chunyu asked upon seeing the change in her expression.
“No… nothing.” She deflected, “I was just thinking that now that Liu Li got the headstart, our child would have to call her child ‘older cousin’. I don’t like it.”
Xia Chunyu smiled. They were meant for each other. That was exactly his first thought last night when he found out that Liu Li’s pregnant. He flicked the tip of her nose affectionately and said, “That doesn’t matter. They’d be going to the feudal land in a couple of years and we’d barely see them.”
“You’re right,” she said with a smile before pushing him away lightly. “Now, stop distracting me. I am making coconut chicken for the first time and I need to concentrate.”
He made a show of taking a deep breath. “You have nothing to worry about. It already smells fantastic, and knowing you, it’s definitely going to be delicious.”
Ye Jiayao served a pot of the coconut chicken to the main house during dinner.
Xia You found it delicious so she got someone to bring a bowl over to Liu Li.
From now on, Liu Li’s meals were going to be prepared by imperial chefs and she would not be eating with the rest of the family.
Not long after, a servant returned to say that she liked it.
You asked, “Did she throw up?”
The servant replied, “Third Young Mistress had fish for dinner and vomited again. She didn’t throw up from Second Young Mistress’ food, though.”
You turned to Jinxuan and said, “Second Daughter-in-law, make another pot for her tomorrow.”
Ye Jiayao obediently agreed but her mind was busy. Now that Liu Li’s pregnant, she’d be even more pampered than usual, and no one can call her out on it because of fear of affecting the baby. In the past, Liu Li would hint at wanting Ye Jiayao’s food but You would never order her to cook it. Now that Liu Li’s pregnant, Xia You would naturally be doing anything to make her comfortable, even if that included ordering Ye Jiayao to cook. She would bet all her money that this wouldn’t be the last ‘request’ Liu Li will make.
As expected, by the next day, Liu Li had a craving for ice cream. Since the physician said that it would do no harm, Ye Jiayao had no reason not to make it.
On the third day, Liu Li said she wanted Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, so Ye Jiayao cooked that for her.
On the fourth day, Ye Jiayao’s late period finally arrived. This time, from all the stress and exhaustion, it was exceptionally painful. She couldn’t even get out of bed so when Liu Li asked for a cake, she wasn’t able to make it.
Since she didn’t want to be stingy, Ye Jiayao had Song Qi bring some cakes for Liu Li from the pastry shop.
After that, rumors began to spread that she’s gotten annoyed at Liu Li’s requests even though it’s only been a couple of days. Some people were saying that she must be envious of Liu Li’s pregnancy.
These rumors might not have reached Ye Jiayao, but Chunyu was made aware of it and it angered him greatly. His Yaoyao was already ill. Do they expect her to crawl out of bed just to serve Liu Li?
However, he kept this news to himself because he didn’t want to stress her wife any more than she already is.
When Elder Princess Yu De came over to visit Liu Li, she also found out that Jinxuan was ill so she stopped by to take a look at her.
“Poor child! How did you become so sick?” Yu De got extremely worried upon seeing Jinxuan’s complexion. This was definitely not normal! “Why haven’t you seen a doctor if it hurts this bad?”
Ye Jiayao laughed weakly. “The physician said that my blood’s not circulating well and I just need to rest.”
“Which doctor did you go to? Is he capable? Doesn’t Liu Li have an imperial physician here with her? Why don’t you have an expert take a look at you?”
“The imperial doctor was sent by the Empress Dowager for Liu Li. It’s not appropriate for me to horn in!”
Yu De shook her head. “Don’t be silly. I’ll be right back and I will get the imperial physician over here.”
She left and then immediately went to see Xia You. She reprimanded her for not taking better care of her daughter-in-law who’s been suffering greatly.
You knew that Jinxuan has been unwell, and she was aware that she’d get painful menstruation, but she didn’t know it was this severe. Seeing how upset and concerned Yu De was made You fell ashamed of her negligence. She immediately got Mother Sun to get the Imperial Physician Li to look over Jinxuan.
When Liu Li heard about that, she got upset. “What? Why does my doctor need to take care of Jinxuan?”
“I heard that the Second Young Mistress experiences extreme pain during her period. She has been in bed for two days,” Little Ya relayed.
Liu Li snorted. “Come on! She’s not that delicate. I think she’s just jealous because I’m pregnant.”
“Then… should we allow Imperial Physician Li to go over?” Little Ya asked.
“Of course. How can we refuse after Mother and Auntie requested it? At least, if she’s faking it, we can expose her,” Liu Li said diabolically.
Ye Jiayao felt a little uneasy as Imperial Physician Li took her pulse. She heard that Imperial Physician Li is the only female imperial physician and is highly skilled, especially in the field of gynecology.
After a long questioning and other check-ups, the imperial physician left.
Ye Jiayao heard muted voices outside so she asked Qiao Xi to go listen in.
After only a few minutes, Qiao Xi returned to tell her that everyone went to the main house to talk. The only thing she was able to hear from the imperial physician was that her condition’s a little troublesome.
Ye Jiayao tensed up. Troublesome? How troublesome? The doctor she previously saw said she just needed to rest up and replenish some of her nutrients!
Why weren’t they discussing her condition here? Normally, they only hide the patient’s condition from the patient when it’s an incurable disease.
She was starting to freak out. Her heart was pounding against her chest and her cramps were intensifying.
After what felt like hours, Elder Princess Yu De returned.
“Elder Princess, is something wrong with me?” Ye Jiayao asked, propping herself up.
Yu De smiled gently. “Silly child, of course, there is a problem if there is so much pain. However, it is not a big issue. You just need to rest a lot and you’ll be better.”
Ye Jiayao couldn’t tell if Yu De was telling the truth. If everything’s alright, why did they have to talk at the main house?
“Rest and don’t stress about anything. As women, we should cherish our bodies. I will be visiting you again in the next few days,” Yu De told her.
