Twilight descended upon them, and the third doctor exit.

“Although the pulse is not to clear, it’s about 80 or 90 percent happiness pulse [1],” he said.

Even if it was a happy thing, hearing it for the fourth time in half a day was tiring.

Lady Fang smiled at the doctor, then motioned at the servant girls to remunerate him.

After the doctor left, Old Lady Fang spoke again.

“Go find another doctor…” she began.

Lady Fang almost groaned in helplessness. The ever silent Shopkeeper Song smiled.

“Sister-in-law, it’s enough.” He clapped his hands. “It has been confirmed a thousand times over. You don’t need to ask again.”

Old Lady Fang was trembling slightly.

“How is this possible, how is this possible,” she muttered. “Go and find another doctor to see.”

As she said this, she was covering her sobbing face.

“How is this possible, my Chengyu, my Chengyu has a child.”

With this, the people in the room suddenly couldn’t help but break into smiles, though there was a complicated air about them.

“Old Lady is too happy,” said Medicine Woman Wan with a smile.

There was some solemnity in Head Shopkeeper Song’s happiness as he watched the derangement of mother- and daughter-in-law.

Head Shopkeeper Song had always been particular about the rules. Probably he didn’t like to see women lose themselves like this.

But he couldn’t say so much at this kind of time.

Old Lady Fang was crying. Lady Fang could not help but cry with her. All the servants with them naturally started to cry as well. For a time, the entire hall was filled with sobs.

The people outside, who didn’t know what was happening, nearly jumped in fright.

“Is Young Master finally done for?” they couldn’t help but ask.

……………………….

“Old Lady, Lady, this is a happy occasion.” Concubine Yuan rubbed away some tears. “We should announce the news to everyone.”

Lady Fang nodded while rubbing away her tears. Old Lady Fang also spoke with tears running down her face.

“This is our long-held desire. We must repay this favor by offering rice… a show…”

The ever silent Concubine Su frowned.

“Old Lady, we should wait three months before celebrating,” she reminded gently. “It’s still quite early; it’s not good to be like this.”

Lady Fang and Old Lady Fang finally calmed down from her logic.

“That’s right,” they said. “We cannot be too rash now.”

They looked at Concubine Su gratefully.

“You are very dependable.”

Concubine Su never said much, but when she did, what she said had meaning.

“Elder Sister is always very sensitive to these things,” Concubine Yuan said sourly. “It would be better to have Elder Sister help look after Miss Lingzhi.”

Old Lady Fang and Lady Fang nodded.

“Just so,” they said.

Head Shopkeeper Song, from where he sat on the side watching all the women start to discuss on how to take care of the pregnant servant girl, coughed lightly.

“Does Chengyu know of the news?” he asked, compassion on his face. “Is he better?”

This caused the atmosphere in the room to grow heavy.

After all, it was already fixed that Chengyu would not live for more than a few months.

Lady Fang started crying again.

“My son, if it were not for that medicine, he wouldn’t have…” she sobbed.

If it weren’t for the aphrodisiac, he wouldn’t have slept with the servant girl, and he wouldn’t have burned up his body.

“You can’t say things like that,” rebuked Old Lady Fang in a trembling voice. “I think Chengyu would also want this.”

Want to leave behind an heir, to confirm that you walked on this earth.

She immediately looked at Head Shopkeeper Song.

“His Second Grandfather, you must ask Imperial Physician Jiang for some medicine so Chengyu can hang out a little longer, so that at least he can see his own child,” she choked out.

Head Shopkeeper Song smiled.

“Fine, I will remember to do it,” he said.

Although he was still speaking amiably, Old Lady Fang could hear its perfunctoriness.

Or perhaps it was because of her internal suspiciousness that she was projecting.

Old Lady Fang lowered her head and used the cover of her tears to smirk.

“Young Master definitely must be happy.” Concubine Yuan spoke up suddenly. “But Young Lady definitely…”

The room fell silent.

She almost flipped over Heaven because he slept with the servant girl and almost took Chengyu’s life. Everyone saw it for themselves.

If she knew that this servant girl was with child, then who knows how that Miss Jun would react.

“I don’t believe that she would dare eliminate this child,” Lady Fang said coldly.

“She doesn’t have to get rid of it. Lingzhi couldn’t take so much stress in a short period of time,” Old Lady Fang reminded. “Chengyu couldn’t either.”

She muttered to herself for a moment.

“Send her away.”

Send her away?

The room fell silent again.

“Lingzhi definitely can’t be sent away. She needs to be at home so we can take care of her.” Old Lady Fang added.

That was for sure.

“But, will she want to?” Lady Fang asked.

“If she wants to, then we will obtain consent, and if she doesn’t want to, we will also obtain consent.” She slapped a hand on the table. “Let no one think they can threaten my great-grandson.”

The people in the room were not unfamiliar with this kind of Old Lady Fang. When the Master passed away, Lady had been carrying a baby of unknown gender. When Old Lady Fang’s husband’s family and her maiden family came to snatch away their estates and divide up the property, she had stood in front of the door, immovable as a rock, facing down even her own blood mother and father. Without mercy, she commanded the guards.

“Whoever steps forward to fight, don’t think that they can threaten my Fang Family’s assets.”

Later, she truly did what she said she would do. No one snatched even a fraction of a cent from her hands.

Now, the Fang Family was no doubt in a crisis. The servant Lingzhi was carrying the Fang Family’s hope. Old Lady would naturally hold steadfast.

With Old Lady Fang’s assurance, everyone in the room sighed.

After all, Jun Zhenzhen was Old Lady Fang’s blood maternal granddaughter.

“Second Uncle, is this okay?” Lady Fang asked.

Head Shopkeeper Song seemed to be lost in thought; when he heard his name, he snapped his head around.

“There’s no problem,” he said. “You must take care of that girl well.”

He did not spare even half a sentence for Fang Chengyu.

To him, Fang Chengyu, a person who was destined to die soon, was not important. The important one was the still unborn child.

Old Lady Fang lowered her gaze.

This person’s thoughts were so ruthless and obvious; how did she not discover them before?

It was her damaged eyes that prevented her from seeing a person clearly. She who lied to herself. She didn’t care about what they did or what they said; just believed what was easy for her.

It was both laughable and sad.

“Yes, Yunping, don’t worry. I will definitely take care of that servant girl and this child.” Her eyes burned with fire. “I will not let anything happen to them.”

Although there was no public declaration, the news of the servant girl Lingzhi bearing Young Master’s child after one night of intercourse disseminated through the household.

The Fang residence was in a stir.

“I didn’t think that Young Lady would have prepared for this so long, only to have it all taken away by a servant girl.”

“Evidently Old Heavenly Father has eyes; it’s better that that servant girl has the child.”

“Even if you say that, there’s no point. Young Lady is the legal wife; the child will call her mother. As for Lingzhi, well ‘mother leaves after the child is born’ isn’t just a phrase.”

These were the discussions going on in private, but this time no guards came to arrest and stop them. Obviously having a great-grandson, giving Young Master aphrodisiacs, sleeping with a servant girl, Young Lady raping Young Master, Young Master almost losing his life were no longer scandalous. Old Lady Fang and Lady Fang didn’t care.

Fang Jinxiu was twitchy as she pushed away the ledger and counting sticks in front of her.

“Someone come here,” she shouted.

A servant girl from outside hurried in.

“From now on, they aren’t allowed to say such things in my courtyard anymore,” said Fang Jinxiu in displeasure. “Anything about a child, Young Master, Young Lady…”

The servant girl hurried to agree. Another servant girl came bounding in from the outside.

“Third Miss, Third Miss,” she said excitedly. “Young Lady, she…”

The previous servant girl shushed her.

What was with Jun Zhenzhen?

Could it be she’s blaming the household for looking down on her? Where can she not go in the world, what is there she can’t do.

What’s the point in crying all day about who slept with who and who’s carrying a child?

Fang Jinxiu looked at the servant girl.

“What’s with her?” she asked.

The shushed servant girl gave the other one a look. The first servant girl made a helpless expression.

Young Miss really just said not to talk about this.

“Young Lady wants to move with Young Master to the countryside,” said the servant girl.

Fang Jinxiu was shocked.

[1] Happiness Pulse: the pregnancy pulse in traditional Chinese medicine