Chapter 86: The Pregnant Aunt (Part 2)

  In the house on the other side of Lychee Flower Mountain, Fourth Aunt lay in bed, silently memorizing all the taboos for pregnant women that Yao Cunhui had told her: what not to eat, what not to touch, how to take care of herself, and how to protect the fetus. She had to remember every single one of them. Since Master was away, most of the time she could only rely on herself; after all, Second Miss couldn't be too close to her.

  More than a month of anxiety finally passed, and Mr. Yao and Second Master Yao arrived as scheduled.

  "Master and Second Master are back! Master has had a hard journey! Second Master has also had a hard time!" Mrs. Ma led her children, Fourth Aunt, and Mao Shi to welcome Old Master Yao and his brother, smiling kindly.

  "Ah, madam has been working hard too!" Mr. Yao was covered in dust and his skin had darkened from the sun, his face looked a bit pale and his spirit didn't seem to be doing well either.

  Everyone felt that the atmosphere was not quite right, and there was a sense of tension in their words and actions.

  The two brothers bid farewell, and then Mr. Yao led his wife and children away, while Old Master Yao was escorted back to the main hall by the crowd.

  As soon as he sat down, the maid brought warm water for Old Master Yao to wash his face and hands. Madam Ma couldn't wait to smile and say: "Congratulations, sir! Fourth Aunt is now a mother of twins!"

  Ma said this with a strong sense of resentment in her heart, and the smile on her face also showed a hint of awkwardness.

  Although she wished that Old Master Yao would never find out about this news, it would be even better if the news had never existed! However, this is an unchangeable fact, and Old Master Yao was unlikely to remain unaware of it.

  It's better to let her do this favor and say it herself, which makes me appear even more virtuous and magnanimous!

  "Really?" Old Master Yao was stunned for two or three seconds, then suddenly lifted his head, both surprised and delighted, with shining eyes.

  Mrs. Ma's heart was even more sour, but she had a smile all over her face and nodded repeatedly: "It's not true! How dare I deceive you about such a big thing, sir?"

  "Haha!" Old Master Yao laughed with his eyes narrowed into slits, his previous melancholy swept away. He chuckled repeatedly: "Good, good! Madam has worked hard! Xia'er, quickly sit down, be careful of your body!" Old Master Yao casually tossed the snow-white towel in his hand to the little maid and hurriedly walked over to Fourth Aunt, supporting her as if she were a treasure to help her sit down.

  "Thank you, sir!" Fourth Aunt smiled coyly and sat down.

  Yao Cunhui and Yao Cunmei also hurriedly said "Congratulations!" to their father.

  Mr. Yao laughed with great joy, everything was pleasing to his eyes, and he repeatedly said that he wanted to heavily reward the servants in the mansion.

  Yao Cunhui saw that there was nothing else to do, so he stood up and bid farewell with Yao Shizan. Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang also felt bored and bid farewell to leave.

  "How is Xia'er's body? Is there anything uncomfortable? Have you been eating and using well these days?" Mr. Yao only had Fourth Aunt in his heart at this moment, and he didn't care about Madam Ma by his side. He held Fourth Aunt's hand, without concealing the importance and concern in his heart. Suddenly remembering that Fourth Aunt was still standing on ceremony with Madam Ma when he left home, his face turned a bit unpleasant.

  "Old master, what are you talking about? Am I not treating the Fourth Mistress well enough? Since the doctor diagnosed her pregnancy, I have let her rest and take care of herself in the pomegranate flower house. I also instructed the kitchen to prepare whatever she wants to eat, and the medicine for a safe pregnancy is delivered to her every day. If you still say so, I..."

  Half true and half false, Ma's eyes were sour, and his voice was also filled with grievance and choking.

  "I know Madam has always been virtuous, but I just said it casually!" Mr. Yao suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, his face flushed with heat, and he smiled awkwardly: "Don't be offended, Madam, let me apologize to you!"

  Madam Ma let out a "heh" and said, "Oh my, how could I possibly live up to Master's expectations? This is all something I should be doing! Seeing Fourth Aunt calm and safe, I can finally put my mind at ease!"

  "Fourth Aunt is tired from overwork, let her go back and rest!" Madam Ma said.

  Mr. Yao nodded, personally helped the fourth aunt up, and smiled: "That's right, I'll take her back now!" He still had a lot of questions to ask her carefully, this was his old daughter, not to mention how precious she was!

  "Yes, I'll see you off, Master!" Madam Ma secretly seethed with anger, her smile barely holding on.

  Liuhua Mountain House became a place where everyone in the Yao Mansion fawned and feared, and later, Old Master Yao also ordered people to spend a lot of money to invite two experienced midwives to enter the mansion to serve the Fourth Young Mistress. He also opened a small kitchen for Liuhua Mountain House, providing things for the Fourth Young Mistress to use at any time.

  As for bird's nest, silver ear and other nourishing things, they were sent to the Pomegranate Flower House like flowing water. Various dried fruits and pastries were also readily available at all times. As for headwear, hair ornaments, new fabrics, and clothes, Master Yao didn't need to worry about them either. With a clear conscience, he bought many of these things for Fourth Aunt in one breath, finally fulfilling his long-held wish and making up for her in a big way. Master Yao was quite satisfied with himself.

  Yao Cunhui came to Yao Lao's study, reporting on Yao Shizan's life and studies over the past period of time. Yao Lao listened attentively, nodding his head and smiling from time to time.

  But as he listened on, leaning back in his chair, he unknowingly closed his eyes. Yao Cunhui felt something was off and looked up to see that his father had somehow fallen asleep!

  Yao Cunhui's heart skipped a beat: his father's cheeks were noticeably thinner, his cheekbones slightly protruding, and his face, which had been tanned to a dark brown, looked haggard. The temples of his hair were also somewhat gray and dull, completely different from the spirited, radiant, and sharp expression he usually wore.

  This trip to Shandong, Henan and Hebei must have encountered some difficulties. It can make my father so worried and haggard, it must not be a small matter.

  Yao Cunhui quietly got up and walked to her father's back, lifted her hand and plucked up the courage to gently press the acupoints on both sides of his forehead.

  Mr. Yao only felt that his tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and a very pleasant feeling of relaxation came quietly, he involuntarily relaxed his mind, enjoying this lightness and comfort.

  Suddenly a thought struck him, Old Yao suddenly sat up straight, turned his head back and stared at the person behind him with a sharp gaze.

  "Dad——" Yao Cunhui was startled and hastily withdrew his hands, somewhat flustered.

  "It's you." Mr. Yao let out a sigh of relief, and his gaze also softened again.

  Hui'er saw that her father looked a bit tired, so she gave him a massage to help relieve his fatigue. Unexpectedly, it startled him instead. Yao Cun Hui smiled awkwardly.

  For some reason, even though she knew her father was a cold-hearted person who only cared about profit, seeing him in this haggard and exhausted state still brought a twinge of pain to her heart.

  Perhaps it was his dedication and pursuit of his career that moved him?

  He is not a qualified father, but absolutely an excellent businessman.

  Yao Cunhui's heart suddenly became complicated and contradictory, it wasn't pleasant.

  "Hehe, I scared you!" Old Master Yao actually smiled warmly, causing Yao Cunhui to feel a moment of surprise and daze.

  "Who would have thought that Hui'er had such skills? Let's get Father to press it again." Old Master Yao smiled, still closing his eyes and leaning back.

  "Alright, Father!" Yao Cunhui was overjoyed and once again gently massaged Yao Lao's body. Neither of them spoke a word, the room fell silent for a moment.

  "Master! Master!" The study door was suddenly pushed open from outside, Old Hong's voice was urgent.

  "What's all the commotion about!" Old Master Yao raised his hand to push away Yao Cunhui's arm, sat up straight again, and glared at Old Hong with a scowl.

  Lao Hong was taken aback for a moment, then respectfully bowed his head and said: "The general manager from the headquarters has arrived, he wants to discuss some important matters with you, sir."

  A gust of wind blew in from the open door and scattered a dozen or so sheets of paper that had been piled up on one corner of the desk all over the floor.

  Old Yao's eyebrows furrowed even tighter.

  "It's a slave who deserves to die." Old Hong was stunned and hastily turned around to close the door first.

  Yao Cunhui had already picked up the papers on the ground, tidied them up in order, and respectfully placed them back on the table. She took a small green jade paperweight from the table and carefully pressed it down, then looked up at Old Master Yao and said: "Father, Hui'er is going to go back first. Father just returned home yesterday, you should take care of your body and rest more, don't overexert yourself!"

  "Alright, Xiaohui can go down first!" Old Master Yao nodded and waved his hand at her.

  Yao Cunhui smiled and nodded at Old Hong, then retreated respectfully. However, the unease in her heart grew deeper. In her impression, she had never seen Uncle Hong so flustered and out of sorts before, this was a first.

  After the discussion, Mr. Yao's face sank even more, sitting upright at his desk, with a straight back and deep eyes staring forward, his two pupils like two deep pools of water.

  He picked up the paper that Yao Cunhui had organized and flipped through it, unable to help but pause in shock, his hand frozen there, somewhat unbelievable.

  These are things he jotted down casually, very important, but only he can understand, the things are also scattered, but this order is surprisingly not different at all!

  Mr. Yao eagerly flipped through it from cover to cover, and found that every page was in order!

  Mr. Yao stood there in stunned silence, unable to utter a word for half a moment. This daughter, who had been raised in the inner chambers, wasn't it a pity? A thought stirred within him, growing more and more intense, causing his heart to surge with emotion, almost as if he couldn't wait any longer.

  He admitted that if his daughter were a man, he would have taken him in without hesitation. Since she is his own daughter, isn't it even more unnecessary to hesitate?

  "Someone's coming!" Old Master Yao shouted, to the little servant who came in with his hands hanging down and his eyes cast down, waiting for orders: "Tell the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes and send them to Luomei Courtyard. Tell someone to go and inform Second Miss that I'll be going over there tonight to have dinner with her."

  The young servant looked up in surprise and stood there, thinking he had misheard.

  "Hurry up and go!"

  "Yes, sir!" The little servant was startled and hastily replied, then quickly left.

  Yao Cunhui was also surprised when he heard the news. Thinking of everything that had happened in the study room that afternoon, he felt a hint of unease in his heart.

  Rong's mother and Hong Lian were overjoyed, immediately busy re-examining and rearranging the house. Laughing, she said that Master would have dinner in the young ladies' courtyard, this was something that had never happened before, it could be seen how much Master loved Second Miss!