19 – Matters of the Child
Yin Zhen was once again irritated by Fu Qingzi’s expression of having him all figured out, his temper seeming increasingly uncontrollable.
That night, Fu Qingzi stayed in the front courtyard and was thoroughly exhausted by Yin Zhen once more.
They had been married for some time now, yet there was still no sign of movement in Fu Qingzi’s belly. Yin Zhen stared at her abdomen as if trying to will a child into existence.
Perhaps because Yin Zhen’s gaze was too intense, Fu Qingzi lifted her eyes and met his.
She then immediately closed them again. “My back hurts, I can’t serve you.”
Hearing this, Yin Zhen understood that this woman had clearly misinterpreted his intentions. He didn’t even recall her ever rising early to serve him before—such pretense.
Originally, he hadn’t intended to have her serve him today, but now he was determined to make her do just that.
Yin Zhen grasped her slender, delicate fingers and gave them a gentle squeeze, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible tenderness. “Get up and help Lord change.”
Fu Qingzi directly threw off the covers, her eyes fixed firmly on Yin Zhen, her voice soft and languid. “The prerequisite for serving you is that I must first dress myself.”
Her underlying meaning was to tell Yin Zhen that it would be both time-consuming and troublesome.
Yin Zhen looked at her completely exposed body, a flush rapidly spreading across his ears. He hurriedly covered her with the quilt again and gritted his teeth. “Fu Qingzi, have you no shame!”
Fu Qingzi felt utterly helpless. It wasn’t as if she was completely naked—was there really a need for him to react so strongly?
The two lingered on the bed a while longer before Yin Zhen finally released Fu Qingzi. Fu Qingzi felt she had never been so exasperated in her life.
Upon returning to the Main Courtyard, she heard that Consort Geng and Gege Song had gotten into a fight in the garden.
Fu Qingzi couldn’t help but massage her temples—nothing but trouble, one after another.
Fortunately, Fourth Master had not yet returned, otherwise this matter would be difficult to resolve.
Fu Qingzi lightly tapped her fingers, her voice carrying a chill. “Summon both of them to the Main Courtyard.”
Fu Qingzi lifted her phoenix eyes slightly, allowing the two to see the coldness in her gaze. Her seemingly ordinary words carried an obvious warning: “When you first arrived at the estate, I, the primary consort, told you that Fourth Master detests troublemakers the most. You must get along well.”
Consort Geng was clearly unconvinced, emboldened by the fact that she and Fu Qingzi were on the same side. “Primary Consort, it was Gege Song who started it by mocking this servant.”
Fu Qingzi half-closed her eyes, looking at the two with a faint, ambiguous smile, her tone indifferent. “I don’t care who started it. Both the one who spoke out and the one who took action will be punished.”
Gege Song glanced sideways at Consort Geng, her tone sarcastic and provocative. “This servant was merely speaking the truth. Who would have thought Consort Geng couldn’t even handle the truth!”
Fu Qingzi shifted her gaze to Gege Song’s face, feigning inquiry. “Is Gege Song dissatisfied?”
“If Gege Song is dissatisfied, shall we wait until Fourth Master returns to the estate to discuss this? According to Fourth Master’s usual way of handling matters, it won’t be so simple.” A light laugh escaped Fu Qingzi’s throat.
Since Yin Zhen wasn’t here anyway, she might as well make use of his authority.
Gege Song immediately fell silent. With Fu Qingzi’s words reaching this point, what more could she possibly say?
Consort Geng shot a provocative look back at Gege Song. See? And here I thought you were so capable.
Fu Qingzi leaned back fully, lazily picked up a teacup, and took a small sip. “Copy the estate rules fifty times and deliver them to the Main Courtyard. For the next half month, do not take half a step out of your courtyards. If there is a next time, you will not be leniently spared.”
The two of them spoke in unison, “We understand and will remember your instructions, Mistress.”
After the two had left, Fu Qingzi suddenly craved some braised delicacies and called for Qiao An, her voice unusually gentle, “An An.”
Qiao An immediately hissed inwardly; Fu Qingzi’s demeanor gave her a bad premonition.
Fu Qingzi smiled brightly and hinted, “Sister hasn’t tasted your braised delicacies in a long time.”
Qiao An: “…” Alright then, I understand.
It wasn’t until Yin Zhen returned from court that he learned about the fight between Gege Song and Consort Geng. His face instantly turned ashen. Just look at the kind of people Consort De had sent to his household.
He glanced at Fu Qingzi beside him, and she met his gaze, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised.
“Fourth Sister-in-law.”
Only then did Fu Qingzi notice the Thirteenth Prince emerging from behind Yin Zhen. There was a timid tone in the way he addressed her.
Fu Qingzi offered a faint smile in return. Despite being ten years old, the Thirteenth Prince still resembled a little sprout.
Yin Zhen explained, “Thirteenth Brother came to play with Qianjin.”
“Mhm.”
After the two entered the room, Fu Qingzi looked at Yin Zhen thoughtfully and said, “Was the punishment today perhaps too severe?”
Yin Zhen naturally picked up the teacup from the table, took a large sip, and replied without hesitation, “Wasn’t it handled perfectly? I even think it was too lenient.”
Yin Zhen suddenly recalled what his imperial father had said earlier. If Consort De hadn’t whispered in his ear, his father would certainly not have brought up the matter today.
Yin Zhen’s gaze fixed on Fu Qingzi, his thoughts momentarily unclear. This was something he had always wanted, so why was he hesitating today? Perhaps he was beginning to appreciate this simple yet warm life.
“Earlier, I asked Qiao An to prepare some braised delicacies. I believe you’ll enjoy them too.”
Yin Zhen looked at Fu Qingzi, his dark eyes shimmering with a gentle light, his brows arching gracefully as his tone carried a hint of disbelief, “Braised dishes? You like these?”
Feigning displeasure, Fu Qingzi retorted, “Just listen to your tone.”
Suddenly, Fu Qingzi felt a weight on her as Yin Zhen leaned in, his large hand pressing against her lower abdomen, his tone tinged with seriousness, “Fu Qingzi, is it that you can’t?”
Fu Qingzi didn’t hold back, firing back, “Why don’t you say you’re the one who can’t?”
“If you say I can’t, I’ll show you tonight whether I can or not. Don’t beg for mercy, and don’t make me look down on you.” Yin Zhen lifted Fu Qingzi’s chin with his fingertip, a fox-like cunning flashing in his eyes.
Fu Qingzi: “…” No matter how she thought about it, she was the one at a disadvantage.
Yin Zhen pulled Fu Qingzi into his embrace, and she could even feel the movement of his Adam’s apple as he spoke, “Tomorrow, I’ll have a physician examine you properly.”
Fu Qingzi’s heart skipped a beat. That wouldn’t do. If a physician were to examine her, the fact that she had been taking contraceptive medicine would be exposed.
Fu Qingzi melted into Yin Zhen’s embrace, her thick, curled lashes fluttering slightly as she spoke with a hint of grievance, “My Lord, I’ve been afraid of physicians since childhood. When I was young, I was frail and sickly, visited by imperial physicians often and pricked with many needles.”
Yin Zhen inhaled the faint, comforting fragrance from Fu Qingzi and immediately softened, “Fine then, if you don’t want to be examined, you don’t have to be. I’ll just have to put in more effort.”
Having received a definite answer, Fu Qingzi immediately reverted to her usual demeanor. Gently pushing Yin Zhen away, she straightened her clothes and hair accessories, showing no trace of the grievance from moments before.
Yin Zhen’s mouth twitched fiercely: “…” What did that mean.