Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Lin Qiao and I had a massive row.
To be precise, it was a one-sided tirade from him.
I watched him coldly, waiting for him to finish, before saying only one thing: “I’m pregnant.”
The entire household was shaken.
Once a physician was summoned and the pregnancy was confirmed, the Marquise’s smile was so wide she couldn’t close her mouth. She repeated the word “good” several times before scolding Lin Qiao. “Your wife is eating for two now. You absolutely must not provoke her or make her angry, do you understand?”
Lin Qiao looked listless.
Softening her tone, the Marquise continued, “You’re about to be a father; it’s time you learned some maturity. The two of you should live peacefully from now on. If you truly like that San Niang or some Si Niang, there’s no harm in taking them in as concubines. Your wife isn’t the jealous type.”
She glanced at me, and I offered a gentle smile.
Lin Qiao said nothing.
That night, he stayed in the study. The Marquise arranged for two maidservants to attend to his needs, but he turned them away.
I prepared some sweet soup and went to visit him, but he wasn’t in the study. The servants told me he had gone to the main courtyard.
I didn’t bring any attendants with me, slipping away quietly on my own.
I have always been this cautious.
Mother and son were arguing again.
The Marquise was fuming. “How can you be so stubborn? Why must you insist on marrying Qian San Niang as your primary wife? Why haven’t you given up yet? You are already married, you have a legal wife, and your wife is pregnant!”
Lin Qiao replied, “When a woman gives birth, she has one foot in the grave. It’s perfectly common for them to die.”
The Marquise stared at him in disbelief. “Are you mad?”
He looked at his mother. “Mother, when you truly love someone, you want to lay the best things in the world at her feet. I love San Niang; I won’t let her suffer even the slightest grievance.”
The Marquise was stunned, appearing as though she were remembering her own youth.
After a long silence, she said, “It doesn’t matter if I agree. Your father will never allow it.”
Lin Qiao fell silent.
How foolish. It seems I’ll have to be the one to give him an idea.