Since Imperial Doctor Li was there too when Ye Jinxuan went to say goodnight to Xia You, the Old Madame had the doctor look her over. You has been so worried and concerned about Jinxuan’s condition these past weeks.
After checking Jinxuan over, Imperial Doctor Li changed her prescription and said, “You’ve gotten better.”
Xia You’s face brightened up when she heard that. When Zhou came by earlier this afternoon, she hinted at her to give Chunyu a concubine. You has actually already thought about it ever since she found out that there’s very little chance for Jinxuan to bear them an heir. She didn’t want to get in between Chunyu and Jinxuan, but she also has to think about the mansion’s future.
After a long time, she decided to give Jinxuan another year. Besides, she knew that her son would not accept a concubine at this moment. And if she’s being honest, she doesn’t want Jinxuan to hate her.
Jiayao dutifully agreed to follow the doctor’s instructions. She always made sure to take her medicine on time. She was determined to fast-track her healing.
Even though people around her were careful with how they gossip, she could still see the pity in their eyes every time she passes by.
She also had a feeling that Zhou’s been spreading lies again and the best way to refute that is to get pregnant. A lot is riding on her future pregnancy that’s why she wanted to get better as soon as possible.
Back at the courtyard, Jiayao was just about to give Qiao Xi Imperial Physician Li’s prescription so she could make the medicine when something niggled at the back of her mind. At the last minute, she gave her servant the prescription from her original doctor instead.
There was nothing wrong with Imperial Physician Li’s prescription, but she didn’t see much improvement even after a month of taking it. She wanted to try her original doctor’s medicine this time.
In Liu Li’s room.
Little Ya helped Liu Li slowly walk around the room since she was adviced that pregnant women should move around.
“Does Jinxuan have the prescription yet?” Liu Li asked.
“Yes.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Of course. There was nothing wrong with the prescription. The Cordyceps is the key.”
Liu Li nodded and smiled. “That’s good.”
She needed a way to give Jinxuan the Cordyceps. It causes problems that could not be detected by anyone.
“Princess, Lady Qiao is coming,” the servant outside reported.
Liu Li turned to her doctor and said, “You may retire now.”
Qiao walked in and took a seat, looking at Liu Li’s belly with great envy. She heard that the possibility that Liu Li’s baby would be a boy was relatively large. It was incredibly lucky for the young woman to get pregnant this fast and with a male baby no less.
Qiao didn’t have such luck since her firstborn was a girl and it’s taking a long time for her to get pregnant again. Fortunately, her mother-in-law had sent her husband’s mistress somewhere else. Chunli had mentioned his desire for concubinage but her mother-in-law immediately shut that down. So now, there were no more distractions for her and her husband. They were trying very hard and she was hoping that it’d prove productive soon.
The two caught up for a while before Liu Li said, “You should also consider having a baby, Sister.”
Qiao blushed with embarrassment. “Niuniu is still a baby. I want to wait until she’s a little older.”
That was a bad excuse, but Liu Li didn’t call her out on it. Instead, she sighed and said sadly, “You’re fertile but you want to wait, meanwhile, Sister Jinxuan desperately wants a baby she can’t have.”
Qiao has heard rumors about this floating around the mansion and she never dared to clear it up with Jinxuan. Since she knew that it was the imperial physician looking over Jinxuan, her curiosity got the best of her and she couldn’t help but ask, “Is it true that she cannot conceive a child?”
Liu Li shook her head, pity written across her face. “It’s hard, but it’s not entirely hopeless.”
Qiao sighed, but there was not much sympathy from her. On the contrary, she was very happy. This takes off pressure from her since Jinxuan couldn’t get pregnant either.
“Well, I feel bad for her and I hope she gets better soon,” Liu Li said.
Qiao was a little surprised. She heard that there’s tension between Liu Li and Jinxuan. She did not expect Liu Li to care for Jinxuan like that. Have they already buried the hatchet?
“Me too. Jinxuan’s a nice person,” Qiao echoed.
“A few days ago, the Empress Dowager gave me some good Cordyceps. Go have some, it’s good for your health.”
“No, no. The Empress Dowager sent those for you. I don’t feel right taking any of it.”
Liu Li said with a smile, “Of course you can take some. I have too many tonics here, I can’t even finish it.”
She asked Little Ya to get the Cordyceps. Just as Little Ya was about to go, she added, “Take two servings. I want to give some to Second Sister-in-law too.”
After a short while, Little Ya came back with two packs of Cordyceps.
“Sister, the big one is for you and the little one is for Jinxuan. Can you do me a favor and hand it to her? Tell her that it was from you,” Liu Li said.
Qiao was puzzled. “Why?”
With a sigh, Liu Li said, “You know that Jinxuan and I have had… misunderstandings in the past. Now that we’re family, however, I have long forgotten about that. It doesn’t seem like she feels the same way, though. I’m afraid that if she finds out that it came from me, she would think that it’s poisonous or something. I just want to help her.”
Qiao nodded understandingly. “Of course. I’ll give it to her for you.”
The next day, when Jiayao came back from Heavenly Residence, Xiang Tao told her that First Young Mistress has come and gave her some Cordyceps.
Jiayao knew that Cordyceps is good and very expensive so she was surprised that Qiao’s being generous. However, she didn’t like to take tonics like that, preferring medicine. Also, Princess Yu De has sent over a lot of tonics for her so she didn’t need it.
She was about to have it stored but Xiang Tao told her that First Young Mistress said that it’s the most nourishing at this time. Ye Jiayao then decided to just use it in a chicken stew for Chunyu.
The Imperial College was starting soon so as scheduled, Fang Munrui and Zhongyuan came to Jin Ling. However, Ye Jiayao wasn’t expecting Jinyao to come too.
On the same day, Xia Chunyu took Zhongyuan and Fang Minrui to the Imperial College to complete the admission procedure.
Originally, Ye Jiayao planned to arrange for the two to live in the small courtyard where she had lived before. It was quiet and it was a good place to study. They would be spending most of their time staying in the Imperial college anyway and they’d only be going home for three days every month.
However, when Xia You found out about them, she took over. She arranged for the two to live in the mansion. Besides the fact that Zhongyuan and Fang Minrui were good academics, she thought that they could make a good companion for Chunguo.
Xia Chunyu was more than happy to have the two guys stay at the outer court of the mansion. Of course, he was also thinking that if Zhongyuan lives with them, he’d have less contact with Ye Jinrong. He did not want Zhongyuan to be tainted by that vicious woman.
Since Chunyu and You both agreed on this, Jiayao couldn’t object. However, she insisted on being responsible for all of Zhongyuan and Minrui’s expenses.
Her only problem now was Jinyao. Jinyao came because she said that the house was a bit boring since her mother and sister left. She also didn’t want to stay with her Second Sister because her mother would be there and living with her mother would make her father unhappy.
Ye Jiayao couldn’t very well turn her sister away, could she? She had no other choice but to let Jinyao live in her yard.
Jinyao was very happy about her current living situation. When her mother left, she knew that it was only a matter of time before her status plummets down. No one back home was even trying to arrange a good marriage match for her!
Fortunately, her sister and her brother-in-law came to visit. Jinyao was immediately struck at how handsome her brother-in-law is. Even when they left, she couldn’t get his face out of her mind.
So she decided to come here with her brother.
She was not like Jinrong who would steal someone else’s husband. All she wanted was to be near Xia Chunyu so she could see and hear him every day. If possible, she wouldn’t even mind co-serving him with her eldest sister.
Xia Chunyu was a sweet handsome man and Jinyao was definitely smitten. Of course, she knew that he and her sister are deeply in love so there was nothing that she could do about that.
No one knew that she was thinking this. After all, she was only fourteen years old. The people were sympathetic to her because they knew of her family situation and those who didn’t find her likable because of her beauty.
When the emissaries sent by the South Vietnamese king arrived in Jin Ling, Xia Zhuoqin also came to greet them as a representative of the Ministry of Rites.
Xia Chunyu was a little surprised. He had already hinted at Prime Minister Su that his uncle was not suitable for this position. It wasn’t until later that he found out that he got the position because of Liu Li.
