Chapter 485.2: on purpose
“Lingdang, don’t be anxious; your dad has a way. The court is unstable, and His Majesty is too occupied by court affairs. In order to avoid falling into a disadvantageous position, His Majesty won’t send you out of the palace.” Imperial Physician Fang assuaged her as he patted her hand.
Imperial Physician Fang pondered for a moment, an idea already forming in his mind. However, he didn’t know that Pei Qianhao and Su Xi-er were rushing to Nanzhao in their horse carriage.”
~~~
The fierce rain that had engulfed Nanzhao’s capital hadn’t made it to where Pei Qianhao and Su Xi-er were located. That said, the wind was still frigid as it howled through the trees.
Afraid that Su Xi-er would get cold, he ignored her protests as he removed his outer robes and wrapped them around her. After arriving at a civilian’s house beside a village, they requested to stay for the night.
Wu Ling stopped the horse carriage and quickly entered the civilian house, taking out some pieces of silver from his purse. “Aunt, my young master and young lady are passing by. We would like to stay over for the night; you can keep these silvers.”
The auntie had never met a noble married couple. They must have come from an eminent family. Since her family had been in financial straits recently, she smilingly accepted the silvers. “I’ll go tidy up the room and leave the most clean and spacious one for you two.” The auntie then went inside the inner room.
Just as they entered, a thin and tall young man walked in from outside the house. Upon noticing Su Xi-er, his eyes widened. I have never seen such a good-looking woman before. However, the young man immediately retracted his gaze upon meeting Pei Qianhao’s cold stare.
Wu Ling took a step forward and announced, “My young master and young lady are borrowing the place for a night; we have already given some silvers to the old auntie.”
The young man softly replied with an affirmative, and his eyes lit up upon hearing the word ‘silvers’. He immediately walked in and loudly yelled, “Mum.”
Watching his back, Su Xi-er shook her head. “Prodigal son.”
Soon, the sound of the auntie reprimanding him could be heard. “Little brat, you can’t take these silvers. Otherwise, we won’t be able to get through winter! Your dad is working outside and needs to acquire more winter clothes before his body becomes unable to bear it anymore.”
“Mum, just give them to me. I gambled with the people in the neighbouring village and lost silvers. If I don’t pay them back, they will beat me to death.”
Hearing the commotion getting louder from inside the room, Su Xi-er furrowed her brow before pushing Pei Qianhao away and stating, “Return the silvers. We won’t stay here tonight.”
The auntie panicked. “Lady, please don’t. My son doesn’t live up to expectations.”
The young man immediately said, “Lady, please stay. It’s my fault for not being good enough!” He then slapped himself twice before walking out of the door.
Pei Qianhao signalled at Wu Ling with his eyes, prompting the latter to walk out and tail the young man.
The auntie sighed depressingly. “Why did I give birth to such a disappointing son? Lady, you must be hungry, right? There isn’t much in a farmer’s family; I’ll go and prepare some baked flatbread.” The auntie swung the quilt to clear the dust before heading for the kitchen.
Su Xi-er walked to Pei Qianhao’s side. “A-Jing, you can’t spoil a child too much, otherwise, it’ll be hard for them to learn to be good in the future.”
“Xi-er, we’ll just do whatever you say. If you give birth to a daughter, we’ll raise her like a treasure, but if you give birth to a son, we’ll be stricter.”
There was a saying among the people, ‘Raise a daughter generously; raise a son frugally’[1].
Su Xi-er cupped his face. “A-Jing, why is there still no sign from my stomach?” Could it be that there’s something wrong with my body?
“You want a child?” Pei Qianhao smiled as he embraced her.
“Don’t you want one?” Su Xi-er asked back.
Pei Qianhao whispered into her ear. “Before we got married, I went to the Imperial Physician Institute, and was informed that your body needs to be nourished. You shouldn’t make love three months before pregnancy.” He paused and deeply gazed at her. “Xi-er, once your body is well-adjusted, you can drink some pregnancy preparation soup. After that, you’ll be able to get pregnant with regular lovemaking, but it’s just that…”
Pei Qianhao’s gaze dimmed.
“Just that…?” Su Xi-er lifted her head to ask.
Pei Qianhao laughed. “You can’t make love for three months; how is this Prince going to endure it? We just got married not long ago.”
Su Xi-er widely grinned. “If that’s the case, I have to quickly nourish my body so that I can get pregnant and force you to yield.”
“Xi-er.” Pei Qianhao called her name before lightly pinching her nose. “Little bewitching fairy, trying to torture this Prince on purpose.”
1. Basically, there’s this notion of a parenting strategy that daughters should be brought up in a comfortable and abundant environment, while sons should be treated more strictly and subjected to harsher conditions.