Chapter 169
**Chapter 169: The Marquis Returns to the Capital**
Shen Wei was just about to rise to greet her guests when the cheerful voice of Mama Qian rang out from outside: “Your Highness, the Side Consort, please don’t get up! I come on the Empress’s orders to bring you some prenatal medicine.”
Before she arrived, her voice had already filled the room.
Mama Qian entered, followed by two beaming palace maids. In the courtyard, a eunuch carried in a heavy chest filled with the Empress’s generous gifts.
Most of the contents were precious medicines for maintaining pregnancy and health.
Mama Qian approached the bedside, her face alight with a smile as she said to Shen Wei, “Your Highness, you need only focus on nurturing the baby and ensuring a safe delivery. There’s no need to worry about anything else. The Empress has appointed two experienced elder physicians to come to the manor every five days to check your pulse and ensure your safety.”
“The Empress is concerned that you might be overwhelmed with the affairs of the manor, so she has sent two capable matrons to assist with the management until your child is safely born. Only then will they take their leave.”
Shen Wei felt a wave of gratitude for the Empress’s thoughtful arrangements. She nodded lightly, saying, “Please convey my thanks to the Empress, Mama Qian.”
Having delivered her gifts, Mama Qian didn’t linger long. Shen Wei sent Cai Lian to escort her out. Cai Lian was thorough in her duties, discreetly pulling out several thick pouches and handing one to each of the eunuchs and maids who had come to deliver the Empress’s gifts.
The Empress and the Prince of Yan placed great importance on Shen Wei’s pregnancy, sending a steady stream of nourishing supplements to the Liuli Pavilion, where the physicians provided meticulous care.
Shen Wei was able to rest and nurture her baby, ensuring the child was stable in her womb. The authority she held over the household had not been diminished.
In fact, she even found time to check on the profits from her dessert shop branch in Yan Jing. The several acres of fertile land in Nanshan, managed by her sister Shen Qiang, were showing signs of a bountiful harvest.
Time passed peacefully and smoothly.
...
As the hot summer faded, the leaves in the manor’s garden began to turn yellow. The leaves fell one by one in the daily winds, and the weather grew increasingly cold.
In the Kunyu Courtyard, the leaves had withered, covering the ground in a blanket of dry foliage. The maids picked up brooms to sweep away the fallen leaves when suddenly, the sound of shattering porcelain echoed from the Buddhist hall.
“Crash—”
The maids had grown accustomed to it, and their pace in sweeping the leaves did not falter.
Inside the hall, the Princess pushed Mama Liu aside, her face flushed with anger. “Tomorrow is Cheng Zhen’s birthday! As his mother, why can’t I see him?”
Mama Liu stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she patiently replied, “Your Highness, tomorrow, Young Master Cheng Zhen will come to Kunyu Courtyard to have lunch with you. You don’t need to go out; just wait for him to arrive.”
The Princess’s eyes turned red with fury. “Come to Kunyu Courtyard to visit me? What’s the difference between that and visiting a prisoner in a cell?”
Mama Liu fell silent.
The Empress had pinned her hopes on Shen Wei’s pregnancy. The several sons the Prince of Yan already had were either weak and useless or timid and frail, all raised to be ineffectual.
If Shen Wei could give birth to a boy, with her intelligence as a mother and the Empress’s care, that boy’s future would be limitless.
The Empress was also well aware of the Princess’s malice. To nip the crisis in the bud, she had replaced all the maids in Kunyu Courtyard with her own people.
Now, the Princess had only Mama Liu as her confidante. The maids outside were all the Empress’s eyes and ears, watching the Princess’s every move, leaving her no opportunity to cause trouble.
“Mother, how cruel you are. If you can’t stand me as your daughter-in-law, why not just get rid of me? Instead, you let me suffer day by day...” The Princess slumped onto the mat, tears streaming down her face.
Reflecting on the painful months, she felt like a prisoner in the manor. Day and night, she recited scriptures, yet the compassionate Bodhisattva watched her suffer without intervening.
The Princess had wanted Mama Liu to give Shen Wei a miscarriage-inducing medicine, but Mama Liu knelt and begged for mercy, too afraid to act.
The maids in the courtyard were all the Empress’s spies, monitoring the Princess’s every action. When the Princess sought help from her family, the mother and siblings who had once doted on her turned a cold shoulder.
Now, even her desire to see her own son was thwarted. Kneeling on the mat, tears fell as she gazed sorrowfully at the Bodhisattva, feeling utterly alone in her plight.
After a long while, the Princess, filled with resentment, fiddled with the prayer beads, her eyes fixed on the statue: “Bodhisattva, if you are truly divine, please help me... Let that Shen woman suffer a double fate, and may all who obstruct me meet a terrible end...”
Mama Liu lowered her gaze, pretending not to hear.
The Buddhist hall was quiet, only the fragrant smoke from the incense curling in the air. For some reason, the Princess suddenly recalled the words of Prince Heng.
He had once said, “If the Second Prince were to unexpectedly pass away, my two nephews would inherit their father’s estate.”
The Princess tightened her grip on the prayer beads, an uncontrollable thought surfacing in her mind: Shen Wei was now five months pregnant and had yet to give birth to a son. If Shen Wei were to lose the baby, and the Prince of Yan were to meet with an accident...
Even if the Empress tried to intervene, without the male heir, the Prince of Yan’s manor would still belong to the Princess’s two sons.
The Princess’s eyes darkened, filled with malice. In the autumn-decaying courtyard, a small maid sweeping the leaves suddenly looked up, casting a meaningful glance at the Princess in the Buddhist hall.
...
...
As early winter approached, the days grew colder.
Shen Wei’s child was now five months along, and under the careful watch of the physicians, the pregnancy was stable.
Pregnant women shouldn’t lie in bed all day; they needed to stay active. So today, Shen Wei donned soft, thick winter clothing, wrapped herself in a fluffy fox fur cloak, and held a warm hot water bottle in her hands. Accompanied by two maids and two guards, she took the manor’s carriage to the Zhen Nan Marquis’s residence.
The grand entrance of the Zhen Nan Marquis’s residence was adorned with festive red silk.
As Shen Wei helped Cai Lian down from the carriage, Sun Qingmei rushed over upon hearing the news. She stepped forward, warmly embracing Shen Wei. “Lady Shen, it’s so cold today! You shouldn’t have come personally to deliver flowers! Just send someone to let me know, and I would have gone to the manor to pick them up.”
Shen Wei smiled. “The physician advised me to walk every day. Visiting the Marquis’s residence is also a way to stretch my legs. What do you think of these marigolds? Do they look suitable?”
The maids brought out two pots of marigolds from the carriage. The flowers were vibrant, like the orange-red sun at dawn.
The old matriarch of the Marquis’s residence was celebrating her birthday tomorrow. She adored marigolds, but with early winter upon them, the flowers were wilting.
When Sun Qingmei learned that Shen Wei had two pots of marigolds flourishing in a warm greenhouse, she wrote a letter requesting them.
Shen Wei had come to deliver them personally.
“Take the flowers into the warm room; they should still bloom tomorrow. Have the maids keep a close watch; we can’t let the cold wind get in,” Shen Wei instructed Sun Qingmei.
Sun Qingmei was immensely grateful. “Lady Shen, please come inside for a bowl of red date and snow frog soup to warm you up.”
Sun Qingmei personally led Shen Wei into the Marquis’s residence. The courtyard was bustling with activity as the servants prepared for the old matriarch’s birthday banquet. Shen Wei glanced around and saw everyone diligently performing their tasks, all in perfect order, with no mistakes to be found.
The Marquis’s household was large. The late Marquis had three brothers, and the four branches of the family lived closely together, with wives, concubines, children, and servants all mingling, making it a complex web of relationships.
That Sun Qingmei could manage such a large household so efficiently showed her considerable ability.
Outside, the weather was cold, but the warm room was cozy. Sun Qingmei personally poured Shen Wei a bowl of steaming red date and snow frog soup.
The rich flavor of the soup was inviting, and just as Shen Wei was about to take a sip to ward off the chill, a sudden rustling sound came from outside. The steward of the Marquis’s residence hurried in, excitement lighting up his face as he announced to Sun Qingmei:
“Madam, good news! The Marquis has returned to the capital!”
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