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This year, two young masters from the Marquis residence were taking the imperial examination for scholars, and the usually stern Marquis placed great importance on this. He even spent a fortune to invite a renowned expert to perform a blessing ceremony at the estate.
All the members of the household were allowed to participate and receive blessings.
This expert was well-known and not easily invited.
Upon hearing about it, Du Jinyun also wanted to attend to seek blessings for her unborn child.
Xu Qingyi felt displeased to see her there and worried it would bring bad luck to Lin.
Taking advantage of the fact that the blessing ceremony hadn’t started yet, she said to the Marquis, “Father, this ceremony is primarily for the candidates’ blessings. Second Brother’s concubine is pregnant, and having her join in would make it too chaotic; I’m afraid it might disrupt the candidates’ fortunes.”
The Marquis hadn’t initially noticed that Du Jinyun was there, but upon Xu Qingyi’s remark, he saw her and immediately darkened his expression. “Who allowed her to come to such an occasion?”
Those receiving blessings were all masters of the household.
Du Jinyun was currently just a concubine and not a master; she truly shouldn’t be present here.
Madam Qin now had the Princess as her daughter-in-law and placed less importance on Du Jinyun’s unborn grandchild. She immediately frowned and instructed those nearby, “Take her back; she has no place here.”
A stout old woman approached Du Jinyun. “Miss Jinyun, the masters are here to receive blessings from the expert; why did you come? Let’s go; I’ll take you back.”
This time, Du Jinyun had tried to stay inconspicuous and hadn’t leaned towards Xie Huaian.
Yet she was still being asked to leave, and she protested, “The child in my belly is also a young master of the Marquis family!”
The old woman looked at her coldly, unyielding. “If it is born, then certainly, but you haven’t given birth yet, have you?” Her tone was firm. “Please.”
Du Jinyun glared at the old woman in anger, knowing she had no choice but to leave.
Just then, she saw Xie Huaian approaching.
Her heart lifted, and she quickly adopted a pitiful expression. “Second Young Master.”
Xie Huaian held her hand and asked, “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?”
Du Jinyun glanced at the old woman and said, “I just wanted to stay and observe the ceremony. Can’t I stand a little farther away? Why must you be so harsh with me?”
“Who says she can’t?” Xie Huaian also glanced at the old woman, feeling that Du Jinyun staying wouldn’t harm anyone. “Jinyun is just standing on the side.”
The old woman was quite angry on behalf of Madam Qin, believing that the Second Young Master was being too indulgent towards this concubine.
What kind of behavior was that?
“Second Young Master, this is the Marquis orders; I’m just following instructions. Please don’t make it difficult for me,” the old woman refused to relent.
Hearing that it was the Marquis intention made Xie Huaian somewhat hesitant.
He had already angered his father too many times lately.
Yet he didn’t want Du Jinyun to feel sad.
“Jinyun, wait a moment; I’ll go ask my father.” Xie Huaian gathered his courage to approach the Marquis for the woman he loved.
His reasoning was solid: “Father, she is carrying my child, after all. You should…”
Buddha? The Marquis retorted, “What kind of Buddha are you? Is there such a reckless Buddha as you?”
Xie Huaian hung his head in reprimand, and then noticed Xu Qingyi fanning herself nearby. He suddenly spoke coldly, “It’s just a matter of observing. I believe Father isn’t that harsh. Could it be that Sister-in-Law can’t accept Jinyun and still harbors jealousy toward her?”
This time, the accusation was not misplaced.
Xu Qingyi truly couldn’t stand Du Jinyun interfering with Lin’s examination luck.
What if it disrupted his fortune?
Who would compensate her for her eldest son’s successful examination?
“It has nothing to do with your sister-in-law!” Before Xu Qingyi could speak, the Marquis shouted angrily, “A mere maid concubine should not be here at all. You need to properly discipline your people; if they cause any trouble again, I’ll let your mother handle it.”
Madam Qin was also irritated: “Why can’t she just be content? She has no sense of propriety at all. What if she really disrupts the candidates’ luck?”
Their parents were so opposed to Du Jinyun.
And they even spoke of disruption.
If anyone among them failed the examination, they would blame Du Jinyun.
Xie Huaian felt a tightening in his brow; not only did he dare not speak further, but he also needed to urge Du Jinyun to leave quickly.
“It was my oversight.”
Lin watched from the side, admiring how Xu Qingyi effortlessly made the Marquis take the lead in resolving the problem.
And Xu Qingyi was insistent on driving away Du Jinyun, all for his sake as a candidate, wasn’t she?
“Jinyun, you should go back now,” Xie Huaian said, standing beside Du Jinyun. “Today is for blessings for the candidates. If you participate, then if any of us fail, they will blame you. It’s not worth it.”
“…” Du Jinyun was frightened and her face turned pale.
But ultimately, it was simply because the Marquis family didn’t think she was worthy!
She forced a smile, “Second Young Master is always so thoughtful. I’ll go back then.”
Returning to the side courtyard, Du Jinyun immediately collapsed on the couch and sobbed.
She even used scissors to vent her frustration, “They’re being so unfair! It’s too much! Waaa!”
While she complained about injustice, she didn’t think about how she had betrayed her mistress and her mistress’s fiancé, and even gotten pregnant with their child. How outrageous that was.
Xi quickly snatched the scissors, “Madam Du, be careful not to hurt yourself! Even if you don’t care about yourself, think about the child in your belly!”
“They don’t care about this child at all.” Du Jinyun only understood this fact now; the entire household was waiting for the Princess to enter and give birth to a legitimate son.
At least the relationship between Second Young Master and the Princess was purely transactional.
She only needed to wait for the Princess to enter the household; then she would fight with Xu Qingyi until both were ruined.
*
As the autumn examinations drew nearer, Xu Qingyi paid more and more attention to Lin’s daily life, ensuring he had the best food, clothing, and bedding, and even carefully controlling the room temperature.
She also instructed the servants to make sure Lin didn’t kick off his covers at night.
In ancient times, a simple cold could take a long time to recover from, and severe cases could even be fatal.
Lin felt that Xu Qingyi was too nervous, making him uncomfortable.
He began to miss the days when no one bothered him; the freedom.
It was early August; a heavy downpour had just ended in the evening, lowering the sweltering temperature.
On their way back to the courtyard, Xu Qingyi gazed at her eldest son, noticing how much taller he had grown, and instructed, “Lin, the temperature has dropped; don’t get cold at night; cover yourself well.”
The servants would naturally close the windows and doors.
To prevent wind and rain in the middle of the night.
“Mm.” Lin responded.
Actually, Zhen had changed the most during this period. He diligently practiced martial arts every day without interruption and had lost about thirty jin (approximately 20 pounds).
His round face was gone, his features were sharper, and his body had grown taller.
He had become a tall and well-proportioned handsome young man.
But Zhen still had a childlike nature; he still liked to compare himself to his older brother and complained, “Mother, why don’t you care about me?”
Xu Qingyi shifted her gaze to him and smiled, “Zhen, remember to take a medicinal bath when you get back. The medicinal bath your master prepared is good for you; it promotes blood circulation and strengthens your body.”
“Got it.” Zhen grinned, then suddenly had a bright idea, “Mother, since medicinal baths promote blood circulation, why not let Father try one?”
Xu Qingyi was taken aback but thought the suggestion was good.
Eldest Young Master had been lying down for so long; perhaps a medicinal bath would be beneficial. She nodded, “You’re right; I’ll talk to Physician Chen tomorrow.”