Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Cui Cui returned with a large handful of dried longans wrapped in a handkerchief, happily offering them to Liu Lian. Liu Lian picked one, and Cui Cui put the rest away. After the two finished eating, Cui Cui cleared the dishes and hurried off to her training session, busy but happy.

Liu Lian guessed Fengxian should be awake by now, so he went to the main room. Several braziers were burning on the floor, and the smoky smell was almost suffocating! Xiangmei and Yumei were sitting by the braziers, doing needlework. Liu Lian scolded, "Are you trying to suffocate people by burning so many braziers? Just open the curtain and take them outside to heat the kang (heated brick bed) a bit!" Xiangmei and Yumei, as if granted a pardon, picked up the braziers and ran outside. Liu Lian quickly lifted the curtain, and cool, fresh air rushed in. Fengxian poked his head out from under the covers and let out a long breath.

"Are you crazy? Lighting so many braziers!"

"Hmph! Young mistress has caught a cold. What's the use of heating a kang in such a big house? Let's light a brazier to warm it up! Hmph!" Fengxian said with a cold laugh.

"So, you kept them both locked up inside?"

"What, is that not allowed? They both dote on their master so much, so naturally I, as their master, should also dote on them!" Fengxian's eyes reddened, and she said sadly, "Even if I die from charcoal smoke, people will only say that I was arrogant, taking advantage of being pregnant to keep five or six braziers burning in the room!"

I lingered there, speechless.

Ruihong lifted the curtain and came in, carrying two paper packages. He greeted Liulian and carefully observed his wife's expression, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Fengxian lowered his head and forced a smile.

"I don't think it's a big deal. Who carried you back? What did you have for lunch?"

"I was in a hurry and didn't have time to eat." She pointed to the things on the table: "This is a bag of raisins and a bag of dried melon. I'll bring you some pine nuts and hazelnuts next time. Have you finished your walnuts?"

Fengxian ignored him for a moment and called out to Xiangmei through the window. Xiangmei hurriedly ran in, first bowing and paying her respects to Ruihong and Yingying, then stood and listened to Fengxian's instructions.

"Go to the kitchen and tell them to make something for the young master, like noodle soup, with lots of ginger." Xiangmei quickly agreed and went out to deliver the message.

Not wanting to get in their way, Liulian made an excuse to go back to her room.

The meal was quickly served. A bowl of noodle soup, stir-fried shredded pork, a poached egg, a handful of pea shoots, and a layer of oil droplets floating on top—it smelled delicious and made one's mouth water. It came with a dish of braised pork and a dish of pickled vegetables. Fengxian leaned over, looking on expectantly, and asked Ruihong, "Can I have a taste? Just a sip of the soup!" Ruihong was both amused and annoyed. He handed her chopsticks, and Fengxian took a sip of the soup, picked up a piece of pickled vegetable, and nodded repeatedly, "Delicious! Delicious! My lord, Xiangmei is so capable. If this pregnancy doesn't work out, why don't you take her as your concubine?"

Ruihong slapped her, "What nonsense are you talking about! Xiangmei is still a girl!" He then grabbed his chopsticks and started eating. The food was light and simple; the braised pork was a perfect balance of lean and fatty meat, and the pickled vegetables were yellow cabbage hearts, sweet, sour, and tender—all delicious. It was clear that the food had been prepared with care, very much care!

Liang Jie'er fiddled with the teacup in front of her, with her trusted confidante, Wang Mama, beside her.

After thinking for a moment, Madam Wang said, "Miss, Madam and the eldest son's family are mortal enemies. Madam will definitely not let her give birth to this child. Let's do nothing and just sit back and watch the fight. Since the dried longan has already been sent over, go over and say a few words to smooth things over, so as not to ruin things. The eldest son's sister was specially sent over by Doctor Huo, so she probably knows that dried longan is not edible. We can't get involved in this mess. Just be friendly with the eldest son's sister and don't let her take a concubine for the eldest son."

"Okay, Mom, you go and rest first, I'll go upstairs right now." With that, she got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and put on her shoes.

Fengxian was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) in a daze when Liangjie burst in. She grabbed Fengxian's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, you can't eat those dried longans! I just heard from my mother-in-law Wang that pregnant women might not be able to eat dried longans! Did you eat any?"

Fengxian looked at her and said calmly, "I ate a few, but I didn't feel anything."

As she spoke, Liangjie picked up the teacup in front of Fengxian and drank it all in one gulp. "Your son is already struggling to have an heir. If things really go wrong with me, would you still let me live?"

"Has my elder brother not returned yet?" Liangjie asked, knowing the answer already.

"Go and pay your respects to your grandmother."

"Sister-in-law, my brother really treats you well... sigh, if only our deadbeat could be half as good as my brother, I would also..." She lowered her head and sniffed as she spoke.

Fengxian said sadly, "No one is perfect."

“Right now, that vixen’s bastard hasn’t even come out yet, and she already hates me when she sees me. Once that vixen really gives birth to a son, sister-in-law, I’ll have no chance of ever getting ahead. You don’t know, even if Second Master is a celibate, he won’t touch me. I…” Liang’er was overcome with grief and lowered her head, tears streaming down her face. Although she was speaking to Fengxian, she was also expressing her true feelings.

"Why am I bringing this up? I'm just making you uncomfortable. You rest first, I'm going back to check on Fu Hui, she should be waking up soon. Don't move, do you expect me to take her there?" With that, Liang Jie'er quickly left.

Fengxian was a little undecided, so he casually walked into Liuye'er's room. Liulian was patiently flipping through a book; there were too many traditional characters, and the article was obscure, which was really testing one's patience. After sitting for a while, Fengxian told Liulian about Liangjie's matter.

After lingering in thought for a while, she asked, "Elder sister, if you didn't have children, what benefit could she possibly gain from this?"

"Half of the Liu family, is that a good offer?"

"If she really didn't know the harmful effects of dried longan, that would be one thing, but I'm afraid she's just putting on an act. You see, my godfather is a famous and good doctor, and I might know the medicinal properties of dried longan. She's afraid of being exposed, so it's possible she's trying to cover it up. Besides, even a fool could guess that my godfather sent me here most likely to help you with your pregnancy. Therefore... after she married into the family, did you have a miscarriage?"

Her words, spoken like lightning, instantly illuminated Fengxian's heart. "She came into the family in March. During the hot summer months, when vegetables were scarce, she suggested purslane, saying it was delicious. She had the kitchen prepare some, and everyone said it was wonderful, so they dried a lot more. I was pregnant at the time, and later the baby became unstable and I miscarried. In winter, however, she refused to eat a single bite of purslane-filled buns… I…"

"Elder sister, a scheming person can be incredibly cunning, and you can't guard against them all. You and your mother-in-law are mortal enemies, so it seems she's planning to sit back and watch the two fight. If you win, she'll have one less troublesome mother-in-law; if your mother-in-law wins, she'll get half the family fortune. What a smiling tiger! I thought she was a carefree, simple-minded girl! Turns out we're the ones who're the simple-minded ones!"

Fengxian's face turned deathly pale, and after a long while, he forced a bitter laugh and said, "Little Seven, it turns out I really am a fool!"

Liu Lian, fearing that her anger would harm her health, quickly advised her, "Elder sister, now that you see their true colors, it's better than being completely oblivious, isn't it?"

"Good! Good! Of course it's good!"