Chapter 57: Can I Touch It? Hong Ru's Pregnancy and Green Beans

  However, the expected birth did not happen as smoothly as the boat reaching the bridgehead in Yueshan Xue's words. Instead, the opposition from outside towards Zhao's family became increasingly severe, so much so that several months after the scheduled delivery date, they were successively cancelled by the other party. Shen Han watched all these changes with anxiety in her heart, but she had no way to do anything about it.

  The Xiao Shu Ke's case is about to happen, and something like this happens at home. Although he appears calm on the surface, it's clear that anyone would be affected by such a thing, let alone someone who can't stay out of it.

  "Why don't I just go to the Yuan's place instead"

  Li's words had just come out when she was pulled by Shen Han, shaking her head: "Mother, this matter cannot be compromised. If you do so, doesn't it mean that you are admitting your mistake? Wasn't it your fault that led to the death of Yuan's wife back then?"

  "But..."

  "Sister... don't worry about it."

  Shen Huan hadn't even had a chance to speak when Zhao Xiuzhuo's somewhat helpless voice rang out. Seeing Li's face momentarily stiffen, he knew his tone wasn't quite right, so he put down the book in his hand and advised with emphasis: "Do you really think the Yuan family can cover up the sky with one hand?"

  Her family is wealthy, even Governor Qin was...

  "Mother, in this world, there isn't only one Mr. Qin, as long as we get through these next few days, our names will be cleared, what are you still afraid of?"

  Li knew in her heart that Zhao was just trying to comfort her and didn't want her to worry, but she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't go to the Yuan family without their consent, and...she also didn't want to lower herself like that. The humiliation might be something she could endure, but what about her children's future? Her son was a promising young man, and his wife was clever and understanding; she couldn't let them fall into difficulties because of her own temporary suffering.

  Maybe... it's just like Qiao Er said, if we can hold on, everything will be fine.

  The days passed heavily, and time naturally walked particularly slowly. Finally, after several days of sunrise and sunset, Shen Huan helped Li Shi sort out the silk threads in her hands and listened carefully to what she said about the things to pay attention to during childbirth. The two women, one speaking and the other listening, formed a picture that was harmonious and warm.

  "Bang, bang, bang" a knock at the door, Shen Huan immediately put down what she was holding and went to open the door. The moment she opened it, she was taken aback for a second before coming back to her senses and calling out: "Big brother? Big sister..."

  The tone before and after was vastly different, Shen Yifeng couldn't help but reach out and tap Shen Han's forehead as he had done in the past, saying: "Look at you, little girl, are you surprised to see big brother like this?"

  "Go, go, go, little sister is already married now, you should change these little actions of yours."

  Hu Xiaoyan immediately brushed off Shen Yifeng's hand, her tone still somewhat overbearing, but at least with a hint of a smile. Shen Huan knew she was still not satisfied with herself, probably because they were currently at the Zhao residence, and her younger brother happened to be staying there too. Unlike when they were at home, where she could say whatever she wanted, Hu Xiaoyan was more concerned about how well Hu Youxuan was doing here, and how his studies with Zhao Dashou were going.

  She didn't waste any more words and directly pulled Shen Yifeng around Shen Han, entering the courtyard. Her eyes scanned back and forth, naturally searching for her brother.

  "Aunt is good."

  She quickly scanned the yard, not seeing Hu Youxuan's figure, so Hu Xiaoyan walked straight to Li Shi, sat on the stool where Shen Han had been sitting, and called out sweetly. Li Shi heard the commotion and raised her head, seeing only Hu Xiaoyan's expectant look, and didn't have much enthusiasm to get up and greet them, merely nodding in response: "Tired? Han'er, quickly pour some water for your brother and sister-in-law to quench their thirst."

  Shen Huan walked closer to the house at the sound, and Li Shi finally tied up the work in her hands, stood up and smiled at Hu Xiaoyan: "Come in and rest for a while."

  "There's nothing good at home, this is my own pickled dried fruit, try some."

  She packed the dried fruits into small trays, and Li invited Shen Yifeng and his wife over. Shen Han stood aside, watching with some puzzlement. Her elder brother had come, that was fine, but now her sister-in-law had arrived too - she reckoned there would be a good show to see. In just these few short days since they'd arrived from their hometown, she'd already seen the extent of this woman's ability to stir up trouble wherever she went.

  "Thank you, Auntie."

  What surprised Shen Huan was that Hu Xiao Yan seemed to be behaving herself today. Was it because she was in someone else's home and had restrained herself, or was it due to Hu You Xuan's influence? Shen Huan wasn't clear and didn't want to understand what she was thinking. What she was worried about now was still the Yuan family's unrelenting behavior. These days, no matter where she appeared, she could sense the presence of the Yuan family lurking behind her. It seemed like they were worried about something. Once, Shen Huan was followed and got a bit scared, and unfortunately walked into an alley, but fortunately, Mu Si Yao appeared in time, allowing her to secretly breathe a sigh of relief while also finding a vent for her emotions.

  Only when she returned home did she realize that in front of him, she seemed to be able to relax particularly well, and... why could he just let her scold and complain arbitrarily?

  She couldn't figure it out and stopped thinking about it, but what she didn't know was that the person following her wasn't actually from the Yuan family.

  "Big brother, how did you suddenly come? Are father and mother well?"

  "They're fine, little sister doesn't need to worry, but Zi'an keeps wanting to follow, yet the shop also needs his help..."

  At this point, Shen Yifeng stopped talking and looked at his wife, Shen Han. Seeing the situation, she didn't ask any more questions either. The couple occasionally exchanged eye contact, still showing obvious signs that something was up. It seemed like there was something going on, but since Hu Xiaoyan herself didn't speak up, they could only force Shen Yifeng to say something, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it...

  "Youxuan went with Xiao Shu to Lao Fuzi's place. In a few days, Xiao Shu will be taking his exams, so he is quite busy."

  Since she wanted to know, Shen Huan didn't need to hold back and said it out loud. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a hint of complacency on Hu Xiaoyan's face. Shen Huan let out a faint sigh in his heart. There were already enough troubles at home, and now another troublesome sister-in-law had appeared, truly misfortunes never come singly.

  "Uh... Auntie, I have something I'd like to ask you."

  Upon hearing this, although Li was somewhat curious in her heart, she still nodded: "Speak."

  "What should I pay attention to during early pregnancy?"

  "Are you pregnant?"

  "Are you pregnant, sister-in-law?"

  Li and Shen Han asked in unison, unexpectedly making Hu Xiaoyan's face turn red with embarrassment. She glanced at Shen Yifeng with a coy expression, pursed her lips and said: "Yes, the doctor has taken my pulse and confirmed that it is a joyful pulse."

  "That's great news, but early pregnancy is extremely unstable, what did you come all the way here for?"

  When Mrs. Li said this, she didn't think much of it, but just felt from the bottom of her heart that early pregnancy was a critical period. She said this because she was worried, but when Hu Xiaoyan heard it, it changed in quality. Her face turned black, but she didn't say anything, only saying polite words: "Yuxuan has been bothering you for so long, I'm also a bit worried. Yifeng said to come and see his little sister, so I came along to see her, afraid that Yuxuan wouldn't understand and make Auntie worry."

  Shen Han couldn't help but want to laugh, and could only use the action of eating dried fruit to turn her head away, but in her heart she thought: Women are indeed good at acting, they can say such polite words even when they're not happy inside. If it were someone else who didn't ask for help, and was in their own home, would they still be so elegant?

  "There's nothing to worry about, it's just a matter of having an extra pair of chopsticks."

  Li said it lightly, not because she was really unhappy, but because she had always been a bit indifferent. When talking to people she wasn't familiar with, she always had this attitude. Hu Xiaoyan felt somewhat dissatisfied in her heart. She clearly remembered that when accompanying Shen Han home last time, Li hadn't had this kind of attitude. This person was really a two-faced animal, speaking one way to humans and another way to ghosts.

  With a sense of discontent, she was secretly resentful, but unexpectedly, Hu Xiaoyan also brought herself into it.

  "Little sister, why haven't you spoken for so long?"

  Shen Huan's silence was met with Shen Yifeng's sensitivity, he knew the conflict between his sister and wife, but why they didn't get along, this big man really couldn't understand, he even more couldn't understand why women were so good at making a fuss, something that was small to the point of being negligible, became like war when it involved them.

  Now the little sister's silence, is it because he brought Hu Xiaoyan over? Shen Yifeng couldn't figure it out, but in his heart, he was already certain of more than half of it. He didn't know what Shen Han was thinking in her heart, she was thinking whether she could use Hu Xiaoyan's pregnancy to practice and familiarize herself with her heterochromia?

  At this moment, Shen Huan immediately corrected his expression upon hearing Shen Wing's words. He suddenly realized that he had been a bit too distracted and immediately smiled at Hu Xiao Yan's belly: "Sister-in-law, congratulations! Your parents have been looking forward to holding their grandson for a long time, now they can finally rest assured."

  It was a happy phrase, but when it reached Hu Xiaoyan's ears, who had been married to the Shen family for many years and only became pregnant now, her heart was already complicated. Adding the contradictions between them that didn't need to be said, Shen Han's blessing immediately became a kind of sarcasm.

  "This getting pregnant thing also depends on fate, it's not like you can get pregnant whenever you want."

  Shen Han immediately understood that she had misunderstood him again, and he didn't say anything else. He simply walked over to her side, squatted down, and scared Hu Xiaoyan: "What are you doing?"

  "Sister-in-law, can I touch it?"

  She raised her head, meeting Hu Xiaoyan's gaze. Shen Han had a hint of expectation, and at this moment, she really wanted to touch Hu Xiaoyan's belly, she really wanted to feel the little life inside her belly, and the happy smile on her face for them being able to get the crystal of life was also real. It was so real that Hu Xiaoyan felt a bit stunned, perhaps even moved. Even if she didn't get along with Shen Han anymore, she was still a woman, and the expectation and weakness in Shen Han's eyes at this moment made her feel some sympathy.

  She probably won't have the chance to have a child of her own in this lifetime...

  She nodded, Hu Xiao Yan didn't say a word, but stretched out her hand to hold Shen Han's, and under her slightly surprised gaze, slowly placed it on her own still flat, yet already nurturing a small life inside, belly...