Chapter 146

Chapter 146 Dantao's face was full of question marks. "Master, did you give birth to the young master just to play with him?" Xie Run blinked her innocent eyes and simply refused to speak. After a moment, she glanced at the sleeping Taotao and smiled. "My son is so handsome!" Unable to resist, she planted a kiss on Taotao's forehead. In his sleep, Fifth Young Master couldn't help but furrow his brows, pouting his little mouth in apparent annoyance. That expression of a little old man, paired with his fair, plump steamed-bun face, melted everyone's hearts. Even Dantao couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Xie Run thought for a moment. "Since we have nothing to do lately, why not find two painters in the residence to paint portraits of Taotao and send them to the Prince?" Dantao: "Amitabha, Master, you've finally said something sensible." Xie Run pouted. "When have I ever been nonsensical?" Dantao simply looked at her mistress in silence. Xie Run suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. The daily routine of child-rearing at Spring Mountain Court was quite heartwarming. Over at Summer Pond Court, however, things were less optimistic. Third Young Master had been born prematurely. Although Fang Yuan'er had personally nursed him for a while and managed to keep him alive, his constitution was naturally weaker than most. With a child this frail, the most obvious manifestations were in eating and sleeping, which put the caretakers through tremendous hardship. They had barely survived the "two-month fussiness" period, and all the maids and matrons at Summer Pond Court had lost several pounds. Recently, he had also started spitting up milk. Thanks to Xie Run's warning, Fang Yuan'er had wanted to stay vigilant against Wan Linlang, but with her son demanding all her attention, she couldn't spare the focus for the time being. Because of Third Young Master's milk-spitting issue, she hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. At this moment, she was watching the wet nurse feed Third Young Master. Seeing the child eating eagerly, she let out a deep sigh of relief. "As long as he can eat... as long as he can eat, there's nothing to fear." Qiuxiang comforted her. "It's those days when he refused to eat, and even when we managed to get two mouthfuls in, he'd spit them right back out." Fang Yuan'er leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Isn't that so?" "This little ancestor is driving me to my grave." After a pause, she looked at Qiuxiang again. "Regarding Wan Linlang—have you all been keeping watch? Have you noticed anything unusual?" Qiuxiang: "Nothing unusual, but I did investigate. Concubine Wan seems genuinely sincere in helping Concubine Lian protect her pregnancy." "Sincere?" Fang Yuan'er let out a derisive laugh. "How could a woman like her have any sincerity?" "Even if she truly is helping Concubine Lian protect the pregnancy, she must have some ulterior motive." As she finished speaking, Fang Yuan'er suddenly sat up straight, as if struck by a revelation. "Ulterior motive?!" Qiuxiang dismissed the wet nurse and asked curiously, "Master, have you thought of something?" "I have a vague guess, but I'm not sure if it's accurate." "What?" Fang Yuan'er smiled. "Wan Linlang probably wants to raise the child in Concubine Lian's belly." Qiuxiang felt like she was hearing a joke. "How is that possible?!" "Even if Concubine Lian comes from a humble background, she's still a concubine formally taken into the household by the Prince." "Even if the Prince no longer favors her in the future and wants someone else to raise the child, it should be a Concubine Consort or Side Consort—how could it be given to a mere concubine to raise?" But all three Concubine Consorts already had children of their own, leaving only Consort Jiang without a son. Yet setting everything else aside, given Consort Jiang's condition, Prince Jing would have to be insane to give her a child to raise. It was simply impossible. But coming from her mistress's mouth, Qiuxiang inexplicably found herself half-believing it. "Why can't a concubine raise another concubine's child? Such things are hardly uncommon in Prince Wei's and Prince An's households." Fang Yuan'er's eyes turned deep and thoughtful. "If the child lost its mother at birth, who do you think it would be given to?" Qiuxiang said cautiously, "Isn't the Princess Consort above?" Fang Yuan'er considered the timing and shook her head. "The Princess Consort can't raise it." As for why she couldn't, Qiuxiang asked, but Fang Yuan'er didn't answer—she was simply certain. In such situations, Qiuxiang didn't dare press further. "If the Princess Consort can't raise it, then the child really might end up in Concubine Wan's hands." Although Qiuxiang found it absurd, if she carefully reasoned it through, the possibility was actually quite high. Fang Yuan'er's gaze was heavy. "But if that's the case, Concubine Lian is surely doomed." Qiuxiang's heart leaped. Thinking of how Concubine Lian currently regarded Concubine Wan as her most trusted person, unaware that she had long become prey on someone else's plate—and might even die at Concubine Wan's hands one day... Qiuxiang felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Fang Yuan'er guessed and then shook her head. "No, that's not right!" "Wan Linlang is deeply calculating. She wouldn't do something so simple." "If she wants the child in Concubine Lian's belly, she would plan everything thoroughly, leaving no room for accidents... She must be doing something else as well." But since Wan Linlang had shown no signs of her intentions, even Fang Yuan'er, holding the script, couldn't guess what Wan Linlang was scheming. The peace of the rear courtyard didn't last long. Just as Xie Run slipped one of her own drawings of Taotao in among the painters' portraits and sent it by swift horse to Prince Jing, a major incident occurred in the rear courtyard. A young maidservant came to report the news. "Master, Consort Jiang fed Concubine Lian an abortion drug. Right now, Concubine Wan is leading people to make a scene at Songya Court." The first time Xie Run heard it, she simply couldn't process the maid's words and thought she must have misheard. When the young maid repeated the news, she opened her mouth and first asked, "Has the Princess Consort gone to Songya Courtyard?" "The Princess Consort has already rushed over with her people." "How is Concubine Lian?" "Unknown for now. All we know is that Concubine Wan is personally administering acupuncture to Concubine Lian, doing her utmost to help preserve the child in her womb." Xie Run sighed and said to the maid beside her, "Help me change clothes. I'll go to Songya Courtyard." With such a major incident having occurred, everyone would likely rush over—except for Consort Li, who was awaiting childbirth. Xie Run found this news somewhat subversive to her understanding. Wan Linlang was genuinely trying to preserve Concubine Lian's pregnancy?! And Jiang Baobao was so brazen as to directly feed abortifacients to a pregnant concubine?! Whichever matter she considered, Xie Run found it utterly baffling. Yet both had happened, and at the same time, no less. Xie Run's quarters were close to Songya Courtyard, so when she arrived, only Concubine Lu from Qingfeng Courtyard and the Princess Consort were there; the others had not yet come. After paying her respects to the Princess Consort, Xie Run got straight to the point and asked, "I came in haste and don't know how Concubine Lian is faring." The Princess Consort tilted her chin toward the bedchamber behind her. "Concubine Wan is administering acupuncture to her. The child is safe for now." "The child is safe? That truly is good news." Unless Prince Jing denied that the child in Concubine Lian's womb was his, that child was Prince Jing's! If anything had truly gone wrong, Prince Jing would inevitably hold the Princess Consort and others accountable upon his return. Who would bear that responsibility then? Xie Run thought for a moment. "May I go in and see Concubine Lian?" The Princess Consort gave a slight nod. The moment Xie Run entered, she caught a whiff of blood and couldn't help but feel puzzled. There was bleeding? But Concubine Lian's pregnancy was likely only a month along at most. If there was bleeding, how could the child possibly be saved?