Ji Junye also noticed the change in Shen Qing's dietary preferences. There were many things she used to like, but now she showed little interest in them. On the contrary, she always wanted to eat things she used to avoid.
Ji Junye was puzzled and called Qin Ye over to ask.
Qin Ye immediately flew into a rage. "Do you know how hard I've been working on developing the antidote? My hair is falling out. You called me here just for such a trivial matter?!"
Ji Junye saw that Qin Ye's hair was indeed visibly thinning, with dark circles under his eyes. However, there was a strange fire in his eyes. Rarely, Ji Junye didn't retort but asked Li Quan to bring a small box.
Qin Ye took it impatiently. When he opened it, the fire in his eyes was immediately extinguished, and then a bright light shone.
Qin Ye coughed lightly and hid the thing behind his back. Then he began to explain, and his attitude was completely different from before.
"It's normal for pregnant women to have changes in their taste. You don't need to make a fuss. Some pregnant women even want to eat strange - tasting things. Just let her eat what she wants as long as it's not excessive."
Ji Junye pondered for a while. "I see."
"Then if there's nothing else, I'll leave first..."
He couldn't wait to take a good look at his long - awaited "treasure".
"Wait," Ji Junye said. "Regarding that matter, the matter of the abortifacient, has no one leaked it?"
"No. You know how tight - lipped I am." Qin Ye was eager to go and see his "treasure". Suddenly, he remembered something. "Does she know? Did you two fall out?"
Ji Junye's face immediately darkened. "No."
Li Quan twitched the corner of his mouth. Why did it sound like Young Master Qin was gloating?
Qin Ye also felt a chill. He quickly stuffed the thing into his pocket and ran away in a hurry. He was afraid that Ji Junye would remember and take the thing back if he was a bit slower.
...
When Xu Yanchi heard that Shen Qing had returned, he instinctively wanted to go and see her. But just as he was about to go out, he stopped at the last step.
He didn't know what to say to Shen Qing.
He had been having some strange dreams recently. In the dreams, Shen Qing didn't go with Ji Junye. Instead, she fell into the trap set by Shen Mian. She worked hard to manage the Marquis's Mansion and raise the children of him and Shen Mian...
Because of that incident, anyone in the Marquis's Mansion could blame her. They said that it was a disgrace to the Guangping Marquis's Mansion to have her as the mistress. They looked down on her while asking her to give endlessly. And where was he?
He was in Tonghua Alley, living in harmony with Shen Mian.
The once - warm days now seemed so glaring to him.
The sufferings of Shen Qing, which he had once scorned, now weighed on him like a mountain, making it hard for him to breathe.
Xu Yanchi couldn't help but think that if Shen Qing hadn't chosen Ji Junye back then but had chosen to bear everything on her own, would everything in his dream have come true?
Xu Yanchi suddenly had the intention to back off.
He didn't dare to go and see Shen Qing. He was afraid of being rejected by her, and even more afraid of seeing disappointment and disgust on her face again.
Finally, he turned around and went to Banyue Pavilion.
Tonight, both Qifeng Courtyard and Mingyue Pavilion would be sleepless nights.
As for Shen Qing, she was being held in someone's arms, looking at a romance novel cozily.
Since she had come on time tonight, Ji Junye finally stopped putting on a sour face and saying those inexplicable things, which greatly relieved Shen Qing's pressure.
But he seemed to be out of his mind today. He actually brought several romance novels and wanted to read them with her. They were the novels he had hidden in his imperial study!
Shen Qing thought that he probably felt that he had already lost all his face in front of her, so he just gave up completely.
Shen Qing couldn't resist him, so... she gave up with him.
Fortunately, he was relatively well - behaved today. He didn't play tricks on her or say things that made her wish she could disappear on the spot.
"There will be an autumn hunting next month. I'll take you to the hunting ground to relax."
Shen Qing's eyes lit up. "The hunting ground?"
Ji Junye slightly curled his lips. "Yes."
"I want to go."
She hadn't been to the hunting ground for many years. In her previous life, in the later days, she no longer participated in any activities and rarely went out. Now that she could go to the hunting ground, how could she not be happy?
Remembering the previous experience, Ji Junye said, "I've heard that your archery and horsemanship were taught by the old Duke who protected the country himself. I'll have to see it for myself then."
As soon as he said this, half of Shen Qing's enthusiasm faded.
Next month, she would be five months pregnant. Could she still go hunting?
Her eyes dimmed, but then quickly brightened up again. "Doctor Qin said that it's not suitable for me to do dangerous things. It's a pity. This year, I can only watch others show their skills in the hunting ground with Your Majesty."
Ji Junye stroked the top of her hair. "It doesn't matter. There will be plenty of time in the future. We'll have many opportunities."
"Plenty of time in the future" was really an appealing phrase.
It started to drizzle on a late - autumn night. Inside a small window, the lamp was like a bean, dispelling the chill brought by the autumn rain.
What Shen Qing didn't know was that after she fell asleep, the person beside her secretly put her into a deep sleep by pressing her acupoints. Then his big hand landed on her abdomen and gently stroked it through her nightgown, as if he was treating a rare treasure. She also didn't see the endless tenderness and the surging, lingering love in his eyes.
After the Double Ninth Festival, Liu Xuan sent someone to warn the Liu family with the evidence of their being rich but heartless. Then she took another piece of evidence to warn the Liu family. As a result, both families became much more well - behaved. The Liu family also realized that Liu Xuan really didn't want them as her natal family anymore, and they were completely heart - broken.
Liu Yu flew into a rage. "I'd like to see what kind of person she can find without the support of the Liu family. Even if she's beaten to death one day, I won't go and stand up for her!"
Liu Xuan didn't know and didn't care what happened to the Liu family. Her winery was in the preparatory stage. Shen Qing wanted to help her, but she refused. She only asked Shen Qing to rent a small shop for her in a bustling area to sell wine. Shen Yan would also come to help after school every day.
Yan Peiyu lived opposite them. He knew exactly what they were doing every day. He also inquired about Liu Xuan's story through his connections.
When he learned that Liu Xuan had been forced to the verge of suicide by her ex - husband's family, Yan Peiyu's heart was deeply hurt.
He was three years younger than Liu Xuan. At that time, he was still a classmate of Liu Yu. He had fallen in love with this gentle and virtuous elder sister. But he was still young, just a down - and - out student who came to the capital to study. He lived in the Liu family as a lodger, so he could only hide his feelings in his heart.
But before he could pass the imperial examination and confess his love, he received a bolt from the blue.
Liu Xuan got married!
The second son of a small - official family, whose family background was much better than his.
He was heart - broken. His first crush in his youth died before it even started. Coincidentally, there was a change in his hometown, so he left the capital and returned to his hometown. He didn't even have the chance to ask her in person how she was doing.
Now, he couldn't help but think that if he had been braver and gone to see if she was doing well, would things be different now?
Yan Peiyu wanted to ask Liu Xuan if she had really been happy all these years, but what right did he have to ask?
In her heart, he was just an unimportant person she knew in her youth.
But Yan Peiyu was not willing to give up. He had always refused to discuss marriage on the pretext of wanting to pass the imperial examination first. His family and neighbors in his hometown thought he was a proper and honest person, but only he knew that it was because of a person and a regret deep in his heart that he couldn't let go.
Yan Peiyu wanted to find Liu Xuan and make things clear, but he was afraid that approaching her rashly would damage her reputation. So he could only secretly stand in front of the Liu Mansion's gate early in the morning when no one had opened their doors yet. He knew that she got up early, so he deliberately chose this time to explain to her and ask if she would give him a chance to make up for this regret. But every time his hand was about to knock on the door, he would back off.
One day, he stood in front of the Liu Mansion's gate again. Just as he raised his hand, the door opened from the inside.
It was Liu Xuan who opened the door, and Yan Peiyu's hand still remained in the position of about to knock on the door.
"Does Young Master Yan have something to do?"