Chapter 85: Auntie is Pregnant

  "Auntie, what's wrong? What happened?" Yao Cunhui's mood involuntarily lifted.

  After such a long performance, although Ma still didn't like Si Niang, she had relaxed her vigilance and no longer took her seriously. As for Old Master Yao, he doted on her more and more with each passing day.

  This time, Old Master Yao went out for a long trip. Fourth Aunt still served by Madam Ma's side every day, and the days passed quietly without any waves. Madam Ma also did not make things difficult for her just because Old Master Yao was not at home.

  Logically speaking, she shouldn't have taken the risk of coming to find him in person at this time.

  Fourth Aunt's eyebrows were lightly furrowed with worry as she let out a sigh and said softly: "Second Miss, I'm pregnant!"

  In an instant, Yao Cunhui and Rong Ma stared at each other in shock, suddenly stunned.

  "Second Miss, no matter whether the child in my belly is a boy or a girl, I will always remember my place, and so will my child. Please, Second Miss, save me!" The fourth concubine knelt down on her knees.

  It just so happened that Old Master Yao was not around at this time, and she had become pregnant. Apart from asking for Yao Cun Hui's help, she had no other choice. Even if Madam Ma accepted her calmly, once she knew she was pregnant, she would still not let her off! For some reason, towards the flesh and blood in her belly, she had a feeling that was hard to cut off, she wanted to protect him, she must protect him!

  "Get up! How can you be like this with a child?" Yao Cunhui personally helped the fourth aunt get up and asked, "How many months are you?"

  Facing a pregnant woman, Yao Cunhui couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.

  Fourth Auntie thanked Yao Cunhui and muttered to herself in a low voice, "Last month, the servant girl didn't come..."

  That's two months? Yao Cunhui couldn't help but furrow her brow, her father had been away from home for half a month and still had more than a month before he could return! In other words, before her father returned, Fourth Aunt would definitely start showing signs of pregnancy, there was no way to hide it from Madam Ma.

  Moreover, the first three months of pregnancy are crucial for the fetus to stabilize, and it is the most important time for pregnant women to take care of themselves and maintain a stable pregnancy. However, nowadays, Fourth Aunt still has to stand on ceremony in front of Madam Ma every day, and if anything goes wrong, there will be trouble! If Madam Ma becomes jealous and resentful, who knows what might happen, it could even lead to death.

  "Second Miss, what's going on here?!" Mother Rong had obviously thought of this too.

  Fourth Aunt saw that both of them had this expression, and her face turned even paler. She naturally knew that this matter was difficult to handle, but in her heart she still hoped that Second Miss would be able to find a way to save herself!

  "Father is not at home, Aunt's baby can only be taken care of by mother." Yao Cunhui said slowly after taking a deep breath.

  "No!" Fourth Aunt was startled and hastily said: "Second Miss, the temperament of the madam is clearer to me than anyone else. If she finds out, I'll be dead for sure!"

  "That's not certain," Yao Cunhui smiled and gently pinched the wrist of Fourth Aunt, saying: "For these two days, you should be patient, relax your mind and don't think about annoying things. I remember that Mother sent out invitations a couple of days ago, inviting several ladies to come over in three days to play cards...

  Fourth Aunt's eyes lit up and she said with joy: "I thank Second Miss for her kindness!"

  "Hurry up!" Yao Cunhui quickly supported her and sighed softly: "We two have long been one, I help you is what should be."

  Thinking back, the fourth aunt is quite pitiful. In her youth, who wouldn't want to marry a young man from a good family? But because of her own circumstances, she became her father's concubine. Although this was an unavoidable choice for her, it ultimately had something to do with herself.

  Three days later, the fourth aunt suddenly fainted while serving several ladies playing cards, and it happened that there was a doctor in Cuimicro-residence who had just taken Yao Shizan's pulse.

  Mrs. Ma, in order to show her kindness, asked the doctor to come and take a look at Fourth Mistress, and in front of all the wives, she didn't want to get a bad reputation for mistreating her concubine.

  Then Yao Cunhui personally led the doctor over.

  Under one diagnosis, the doctor clasped his hands and laughed repeatedly, saying "Congratulations", making Mrs. Ma's face turn green with joy! The other wives looked at each other in dismay, you look at me, I look at you, with different expressions.

  The concubine is pregnant, and no mistress would be happy about it.

  "Congratulations, Mother! Our Yao family is going to have a new addition, Father will definitely be delighted when he returns!" Yao Cunhui was taken aback for a moment before being overjoyed, smiling as she knelt down and bowed to wish Madam Ma well.

  "It's not possible. Master will be delighted when he finds out." Madam Ma's face turned from pale to white, then red, as a torrent of anger surged up, her hands clenched tightly, stiffening her body to suppress the slight tremble.

  She's actually pregnant! This cheap woman is actually pregnant with a child!

  Since Old Master Yao took in the fourth concubine, Madam Ma also deeply felt a sense of crisis. She had been taking medicine to regulate her body during this time, all for the purpose of quickly becoming pregnant with a son. Unexpectedly, there was no movement on her side, but the other side was already pregnant!

  "However, this lady's fetal position is a bit unstable. These last one or two months especially need to be taken good care of!" The doctor said gently.

  Ma suppressed the surging anger in her heart and smiled warmly at Fourth Aunt: "The doctor is right, you should go back and rest well now, no need to come over to keep up appearances for a while! Take good care of your body!"

  The fourth aunt looked at Madam Ma with some trepidation, her lips moved slightly, and she forced a smile without saying anything.

  "With Mother packing the tickets, what is Auntie worried about? This is Father's eldest son after all! Mother is naturally as delighted and pleased as Father!" Yao Cun Hui said with a smile.

  Madam Ma's heart was so angry that she almost fainted, but she had to smile and nod in agreement. "Hui'er is right, and coincidentally the old master is not here, so I have to take care of things? Don't worry and rest, if you want to eat something just call someone to make it in the kitchen!"

  "Since that's the case, I'd rather obey than show respect. Thank you, madam, for your kindness!" The fourth aunt finally put her mind at ease, smiled slightly and bowed to Madam Ma.

  The faint smile on her face looked particularly irritating to Ma, who couldn't help but want to kick her in the head, and her silver teeth were almost biting through.

  "Get up! No need to be polite! Cai Xia, see Fourth Aunt off properly and tell the kitchen on your way, go quickly!"

  Cai Xia led the way, supporting Fourth Aunt out. Yao Cunhui also smiled and took her leave. The other ladies saw that Madam Ma was forcing a smile and knew better than to overstay their welcome; each made an excuse about having something to attend to at home and they all rose, smiling, to take their leave, without even playing another round of cards.

  The house suddenly became quiet and cold, the bright sunshine outside was in stark contrast to the dark and eerie atmosphere inside. Mrs. Ma slammed a blue-and-white porcelain bowl in anger, her body trembling uncontrollably, her chest heaving up and down, her face deathly pale.

  Qiao's mother stood by, not even daring to breathe loudly.

  His gaze fell on a somewhat thin and bony hand, and his mind involuntarily conjured up the smooth and lustrous skin of Fourth Aunt's hands, fair and slender, with well-proportioned fingers. His heart felt both sour and melancholic, and he couldn't help but feel a little moist at the corners of his eyes.

  "Madam, what if the fourth concubine becomes pregnant? Won't you still be called a mother? You are the legitimate mother! Once the child is born, who would dare say no to you holding it in your arms and raising it on your lap? Besides, we don't even know yet whether it's a boy or girl. Whether it will be born or not——"

  Qiao's mother was about to continue speaking when she was suddenly stopped by Madam Ma's sharp and piercing gaze.

  "Hmph!" Mrs. Ma snorted, wanting to say something but feeling it wasn't worth it and stopped herself. However, she had somewhat taken in what Old Mother Qiao said.

  It's just that it's hard to calm down!

  Could it be that she would never have children in this lifetime? Madam Ma couldn't help but shiver with a chill.

  Yao Cunmei burst in from outside and asked, "Mother, is it true that Fourth Aunt is pregnant? How can she be pregnant?"

  Ma smiled lightly: This news really spread quickly, it's only been a short while and everyone in the mansion already knows!

  How did she get pregnant? Ma glared at Yao Cunmei and coldly said: You'd better ask your father!

  "Is this what an unmarried girl like you should be saying or asking?" Ma raised her eyebrows and stared at Yao Cunmei.

  What? Even her own daughter has come to question herself? Does she think she's incompetent and useless? Is she qualified to question?

  Yao Cunmei was stunned, not daring to believe her mother's attitude. She furrowed her brow and said with a hint of resentment: "I'm just worried about you!"

  "Shut up!" This sentence hit Ma's sore spot, and Ma was so enraged that he almost jumped up, shouting loudly: "What nonsense are you spouting! Shut your mouth at once!"

  Worry about her? Worry?

  What's there to worry about!

  Just a concubine who has just become pregnant and doesn't even know if it's a boy or girl yet is already worried? What a joke!

  She is indeed the legitimate mistress of the Yao family!

  Yao Cunmei pouted and got up suddenly, saying: "I'll go take a look at her right now, humph!"

  "Stop right there!" Ma's chest was blocked again, and he almost couldn't breathe.

  What's wrong with her? She was supposed to be clever, but now she does things without thinking and is getting more and more impulsive! I suppose it's because she's been living a comfortable life for too long!

  If the fourth aunt's pregnancy wasn't made public, she could do whatever she wanted and blame it all on herself: if she didn't say anything, who would know she was pregnant? Even when the master returned, he couldn't do anything to her!

  Now it's like this, not only the people in the mansion but also those outside know about it. What else can she do except to stabilize her position? Would they dismiss her as soon as the previous doctor left? Wouldn't that be giving others a handle to criticize?

  It's not that I don't want to take action, it's just that I shouldn't act now. In any case, we'll have to wait until the master returns to the mansion before doing anything.

  Ma thought and thought again, feeling resentful and hateful. It was really an oversight! How could she not have thought of this? She had let that cheap woman take advantage of her for nothing!

  But anyway, isn't it still eight or nine months from now? This is almost a year's time, who knows what unexpected things might happen?

  "Go back to your Qinglin Garden and stop causing trouble for me!" Madam Ma glared coldly at Yao Cunmei.

  "But—"

  "What nonsense!" Madam Ma shouted, "The child in her belly is your father's flesh and blood, your half-sister! If anything happens to her, your father will not forgive you when he comes back!"

  When Mr. Ma mentioned Old Master Yao, Yao Cunmei's expression slightly paused, and then he felt deeply wronged in his heart. He stamped his foot and said, "Forget it, forget it! You're not anxious, why should I be? What do I have to worry about?" After finishing speaking, he turned around and ran away quickly.

  Madam Ma's heart had just calmed down when she suddenly heard the report: The second mistress has arrived!

  "Let her in!" Mrs. Ma gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing with anger. How could she have forgotten to take advantage of this perfect opportunity to trample on her?