Zhao Luoning's pregnancy was more painful than that of an average person.
The most tormenting part was morning sickness. She would vomit a great deal every morning. After that, she would be listless and have no energy for anything.
From then on, she became the top - priority care recipient in the nunnery.
On the table in her room, there were always all kinds of pastries.
Zhao Luochun now had his heart set on his little nephew or niece.
Even before Zhao Luoning's belly started to show, he was already making arrangements to have clothes and shoes made.
The embroiderers from the silk shop thought it was Zhao Luochun's wife, Yarong, who was pregnant, so they sent a whole pile of clothes.
Zhao Luoning wouldn't have to worry about having no clothes to wear for the next two years.
The clothes and shoes for the baby had already filled the closet in her room.
Seeing this situation, Zhao Luochun was considering whether to find a carpenter to make a bigger wardrobe.
Then he thought of things like cradles and wooden horses.
Zhao Luochun was enjoying himself so much that he wouldn't listen to Zhao Luoning's persuasion no matter what.
However, since Zhao Luochun was just a farmer, he couldn't afford such expenses.
If it weren't for Zhao Luoning secretly subsidizing him, his meager family fortune would probably have been squandered before the baby was even born.
Zhao Luochun wasn't the only one who was nervous.
Needless to say, Mrs. Zhao, a pampered lady, became a personal maid.
Since the day Ji Jianxue found out that Zhao Luoning was pregnant, she hadn't left Siyu Nunnery.
Given Zhao Luoning's current situation, it wasn't convenient to have too many serving maids, so Jianxue helped Mrs. Zhao take care of Zhao Luoning.
Zhao Luoning was worried that Ji Shisu might find out if she kept Jianxue by her side.
Ji Jianxue knew Zhao Luoning's concerns. She knelt in front of Zhao Luoning's door for a long time and cried, saying that her mother didn't want her and her father didn't like her, and all she wanted was to stay by Zhao Luoning's side to repay her kindness.
Maybe because she was pregnant, Zhao Luoning's heart softened a lot.
Unable to resist Ji Jianxue's pleading, she had to keep the girl by her side.
As her belly grew bigger, it became more and more inconvenient for Zhao Luoning to stay in Siyu Nunnery.
After Feixing finished helping Zhao Luoning, he didn't leave Huangcheng.
He continued to help Zhao Luoning look for a house.
On the other hand, the Ji family's mansion was blocked.
Chen Chuliu's mother brought the half - crazy Chen Chuliu to the door.
The old matriarch of the Ji family and others had heard about what happened to Chen Chuliu in Huangcheng, and naturally, they didn't want to take her back.
Mrs. Chen didn't care about her face anymore. With Chen Chuliu in this state, the Chen family was being criticized by others, and even Mrs. Chen, who wanted to keep her daughter, was being troubled by her family.
Mrs. Chen had no other choice.
So, even though Chen Chuliu had been divorced by Ji Shisu, she had to send her back.
Only by clinging to the Ji family could they have a chance of survival.
The old matriarch of the Ji family was in a difficult position.
Not to mention Chen Chuliu.
They didn't know what Ji Shisu was up to either.
Ji Shijian had died on the battlefield, and the family was already very sad. It seemed that Ji Shisu was also deliberately distancing himself from the Ji family.
These days, he had been handing over his work to Ji Shijun, and he was using the identity of Bai Shaoqing instead of Ji Shisu when going in and out.
Of course, Ji Shisu had also almost dispersed his concubines.
Without the Ji family's knowledge, Luqu, Chen Chuliu, and Nanshuang had all been divorced by Ji Shisu.
Master Ji had a feeling that he couldn't control Ji Shisu, who had become Bai Shaoqing.
When Ji Shisu heard the news that the Chen family was causing trouble at the door, he rushed back.
Contrary to everyone's expectation that he would drive the Chen mother and daughter out, he actually kept Chen Chuliu.
Mrs. Chen hadn't had much hope, but unexpectedly, Ji Shisu was willing to take in Chen Chuliu. Overjoyed, she quickly thanked him.
"Thank you, Second Master Ji. Thank you, Second Master Ji."
"Madam must have made a mistake. There's no longer the Second Master Ji in the Ji family."
Mrs. Chen was stunned.
The Ji family members were also stunned.
But Ji Shisu didn't want to explain further. He took Chen Chuliu back to his room.
He went back to Furong Courtyard.
This was the reason why he was still willing to return to the Ji Mansion for the time being.
Back in Furong Courtyard, Ji Shisu turned around and grabbed Chen Chuliu's hand.
"Chen Chuliu, what did you say to Zhao Luoning back then?"
Chen Chuliu avoided Ji Shisu's gaze and only kept shouting in pain.
"Oh, right. I forgot you're crazy." A cold sneer played on Ji Shisu's lips. "I have good ways to deal with crazy people."
Actually, Chen Chuliu wasn't crazy.
She was just pretending.
After such a scandal, if she didn't pretend to be crazy, she would have to face the gossip and accusations.
As a crazy person who knew nothing, she could openly turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to others' ridicule.
Ji Shisu's words "good ways" made Chen Chuliu think of Nanny Xu's end.
Back then, when she saw Nanny Xu in Nuanyu Studio, she didn't know that the woman was the personal maid of the Second Madam Zhao. She thought she was just a maid who served Ji Shisu's daily life.
Later, Nanny Xu died, and her death was very tragic. Only when others described the dead woman's appearance did Chen Chuliu realize that it was the maid from Nuanyu Studio.
This incident had always weighed on Chen Chuliu's mind.
Ji Shisu could be extremely fierce when angry.
She couldn't help shivering.
All of Chen Chuliu's reactions were seen by Ji Shisu.
Of course, he knew that Chen Chuliu wasn't crazy.
On the day Chen Chuliu had an accident, Jing Su had carried her into Tianxiang Tower in men's clothing. Jing Su, being a girl, naturally wouldn't do anything too excessive to Chen Chuliu.
Ji Shisu just wanted to give Chen Chuliu a small punishment to teach her a lesson and make her behave.
But even Ji Shisu himself didn't expect that the madam of Tianxiang Tower harbored resentment towards Chen Chuliu.
Back when Lianxiang was in the mansion, the Chen mother and daughter had been quite friendly with Lianxiang at first, using her as a weapon to hurt others.
When Lianxiang fell out of favor, the Chen mother and daughter abandoned her.
When Lianxiang was helpless, she had gone to look for Chen Chuliu, but of course, she was turned away.
Lianxiang was raised by the madam of Tianxiang Tower like her own daughter.
How could the madam tolerate Chen Chuliu and her mother's mistreatment of her daughter?
So that was why Chen Chuliu was stripped naked and thrown in front of Tianxiang Tower.
When Jing Su reported this to Ji Shisu, she was calm.
"I only do what my master asks me to do. Other things have nothing to do with me."
Jing Su didn't help because, on the one hand, the situation was beyond her expectation.
On the other hand, she thought that Chen Chuliu deserved to be tortured a thousand times.
Chen Chuliu was like a flea, always provoking the relationship between the madam and the master, which made people feel uncomfortable.
She had never had a good impression of such an unvirtuous woman.
Ji Shisu brought Chen Chuliu here, of course, not to apologize to her.
Since he divorced Chen Chuliu, this woman had been a stranger to him.
Chen Chuliu's only use at present was one thing.
"Chen Chuliu, what did you say to Luoning that day at Shiguan?"