âXia-momo*, Chief Manager An, I understood your idea. However, no matter what had happened previously, Iâm now someoneâs missus. Moreover, Iâm pregnant. I shouldnât go to the Imperial City to visit the relatives. Please send my regards to them.â Su Shuilian tenderly bowed. However, Lin Si Yao interrupted her bowing.
(-momo/叡叡- suffix used to address an elderly lady or wet nurse)
Who cares what they are, be it Chief Manager, Her Highness, or His Highness! Even if the Emperor comes here, he shouldnât take her bow. Youâre pregnant and you want to bow to someone. Donât you think itâs too much work?
âBut⌠Fourth Young LadyâŚâ Hearing her, Chief Manager An wanted to persuade her, but the old woman had signaled him not to.
âYes, Fourth Miss is right. We didnât think carefully. So, Chief Manager An and I will return to the Imperial City first. After several days, we will send some goods for the babies. When His Highness got your good news, heâll get better soon.â The old woman was the wet nurse from the Xia family by the elder Wangfeiâs (Princessâs) side. She fondly patted Su Shuilianâs hand, smiling.
âThank you for your understanding, maâam,â Su Shuilian nodded with a smile. Lucky for the twins in my belly. Or else, I have to go to the Imperial City this time, right? Today, she knew that the mother of this body had passed away and her memorial tablet had been recognized by the Princeâs mansion. She should live happily in this quiet but beautiful Fan Hua Town and enjoy the happy life of her little family with A Yao.
For the elder Wangye of Prince Jingâs mansion, her father by the name, seemed to be like her father in the previously. Except for the possible respect she has for them, there would be no emotion attached. Sorry, Su Shuilian didnât like a father with a bunch of wives and concubines and children. He wasnât worth her love, respect, or harmonious caring.
Looking at the two four-horse carriages rublingly moving far away, Su Shuilian closed her doors. Turning around, she wanted to reach the main house.
Lin Si Yao stood quietly behind her, his eyes so deep she couldnât see through.
âA Yao?â She smiled, walked over to pull his hand and caressed the callus on his palm, asking tenderly. âAre you okay?â Since lunch and the meeting with the two elders from Prince Jingâs mansion in the Imperial City, he had never pulled a happy face.
âShuilianâŚâ He stooped his head, his voice hoarse, âYou⌠Are you really the Fourth Young Lady of Prince Jingâs Mansion?â He held her small hand tight. Leaning over to shade her from the dazzling sunlight so as she could feel cooler, he slowly pulled her toward the living room. He let her sit on his legs as he tenderly asked her the matter that had wound around his heart for a long time.
âWhat if it is and what if itâs no? A Yao, Iâm your wife and this is my home. Unless you donât need me anymore⌠A Yao!â
Lin Si Yao didnât wait for her to finish. He used his lips to stop her little noisy mouth.
âYou shouldnât say âdonât needâ ever again!â He lingered on her lips for a while before giving her time to gasp for her breath. As their foreheads touched, he pitched his voice to warn her.
âYes,â Su Shuilian laid her hands on the sides of Lin Si Yaoâs face. She couldnât help but lean forward to brush the corner of his lips with hers. âYouâre mineâŚâ she muttered. He was Su Shuilianâs alone. No other women could share him with her.
âWe belong to each other,â Lin Si Yao followed her brush, increasing the intimacy between them when they let their tongues twisted together again. Both of his hands had slithered into her shirt, massaging her mounds, which had become bigger as she was pregnant. Then, he buried his head onto the nape of her neck.
âCan we?â He tried to press his passion, asking huskily.
âYeahâŚ.â she answered shyly.
After she got pregnant, although the doctor said that they could still make love with caution, he had just hugged her to sleep. He had tried not to touch her.
Receiving her consent, Lin Si Yao couldnât endure anymore. Immediately, he brought her to the bedroom, gently placed her on the big bed. He stripped her outer coat and the thin dress. He undressed himself and besides her, caressing her growing lower belly. Then, he extended his hand to explore her already damp crevice. Smiling, Lin Si Yao lifted his head to check her expression, he found she seemed to be more passionate ever since she had she gotten pregnant.
This change pleasantly surprised him. Sheâs trying to learn how to respond and satisfy me. She used to be a decorous, well-bred young lady, and now, because of me, she has lifted her shyness away. Having a wife like her, what else should I wish for?
âA YaoâŚâ She called his name tenderly. She arched her body so as they wouldnât put pressure on the babies. She clutched his head, embarrassedly inviting him.
He gave her a deep kiss before moving his body to enter her tight and wet slit. After several patient moves, he found no strange reaction besides some passionate groaning. Thus, he lifted his restraint, kneeled down and began to move, facing up.
She gritted her teeth to restrain her moaning and groaning. She supported herself with both hands, arching her body to coordinate with his rhythmical movement. His move was tender but it hid his endless vigor.
After a long time of restraint, a single spark can start a prairie fire. It had ignited the flame he had tried hard to hide. The burning heat was so hot she couldnât bear itâŚ
ââ
The carriages steadily moved eastward. Stopping by the biggest inn in the Fan Luo City, they rested one day to recover before starting their journey back home to the Imperial City.
âWhy did youâŚâ While having dinner, Liang An, who didnât get it, rolled his eyes at Xia-momo. However, he didnât know what he should say.
The Fourth Young Ladyâs pregnancy was beyond their estimation.
They had never thought that the calm Fourth Young Lady had married a stranger not even two years after she had left the mansion. Moreover, she was pregnant. How could they explain this to the elder Wangye, who was on his sickbed?
Thus, Liang An wanted to bring the Fourth Young Lady back home with them. At least, the elder Wangye would ease his mind and rest well after seeing her. And, if the Fourth Young Lady brought her big belly to explain to Wangye herself, it wouldnât be a bit involved with Xia-momo and himself. Because this sort of news was truly frightening.
âYouâre not a womanâŚâ Xia-momo glanced at Liang An, talking slowly.
âYou⌠What are you talking about! Of course, Iâm not a woman!â Liang An felt angry, blowing his long mustache.
âThatâs why you donât know how difficult it is to be a pregnant womanâŚâ Xia-momo wasnât hurried. She continued, âAs we found the Fourth Young Lady, our trip isnât gone in vain. And, whether she wants to return to the Princeâs mansion or notâŚâ Xia-momo squinted her eyes, looking at people moving back and forth on the main road, smiling. âDonât you think that when His Highness knows the Fourth Lady got married and pregnant, he would anxiously rush here to visit her?â
âYou meanâŚâ Liang An suddenly got it. He studied Xia-momo for a while then sighed. âIs the womanâs heart always that complicated?â
âPerhaps itâs me whoâs complicatedâŚâ Xia-momo answered, disagreeing with his thoughts.
âYong Chun, are you still blaming me?âŚâ Being the chief manager of the Princeâs mansion, could it be any matter he had never seen? However, to the woman in front of him, he had never had a solution.
âBlame you what? You and I are the two who have made one step to the grave. Do we still have anything to blame each other!â Xia-momo answered indifferently. Then, she continued her meal and drank tea, she made no effort to hide that she no longer wanted to talk with Liang An anymore.
Liang An sighed. He knew she hadnât let go of the past. Anyway, sheâs right. They are old now. Perhaps they would⌠soon. What else would they hold on to?
However, recalling the old stories, he couldnât help but ask himself: Was his decision wrong that year?
Yong Chun was Xia-momoâs maiden name.
She was a lonely refugee the Lady of the Xia family â Xia Zi Ying â rescued from a group of refugees during her trip to the pagoda.
To repay for her life-saving favor, Yong Chun changed to her surname to Xia and stayed in the Xiaâs mansion to serve the Lady. Although she looked like a maid that was close to her Lady, Xia Zi Ying of the Xia family had never considered her a maid but a sister. Without a labor contract or a slavery contract, whenever Yong Chun wanted, she could leave. Her Lady had prepared her money to leave, too.
However, Yong Chun didnât have a home to return anymore. She decided to stay and serve the Xia House to serve her Lady.
Eventually, she had become the dowry maid and came to Prince Jingâs mansion.
Time flew, and slowly, she developed an affection she couldnât tell with the servant named Liang An who served Prince Jing.
When the Wangfei found out, she wanted to match Yong Chun and Liang An. Unfortunately, Liang An was a permanent servant of the Liang family. Generations of his family had served the Liang family. When he knew that Yong Chun wasnât a permanent servant, and she actually wasnât the Xia familyâs servant, either. She was a free citizen. Liang An rejected Wangfeiâs good intention, which also meat he rejected the possible love he could have with Yong Chun.
He, Liang An thought about himself as the permanent servant of the Liang mansion, the Wangyeâs servant. He had become the chief manager of the Liang mansion, but he had stayed single and never considered any match afterward.
And Yong Chun, from that day afterward, she had never mentioned the subject of marrying. She put herself in the attic. Years after years, she had been promoted to the Princessâ momo from a dowry maid. She had helped Wangfei to deal with all internal matters of the Princeâs mansion. It was until the elder Wangye had retired from his position, she was finally lifted her important roles and began to enjoy her retirement with the elder Wangfei.
Every time he recalled this, Liang An would feel waves of hurt and regretful. Yong Chun, you shouldnât restrain yourself like that. You should marry a free man and become a normal wife out there. You shouldnât chain yourself to this mansion and stayed locked for the rest of your life.
âAlright, why are you sighing? You should go to your room and rest if you finish hereâŚâ It was a long journey and she felt her joints loosening. Xia-momo glanced at Liang An. This man must still be regretful because of his decision that year.
However, his matter wasnât the only reason she didnât want to get married. Perhaps, it was because she couldnât meet any man she liked after that. After thirty years old, her mind wasnât laid on that matter anymore. The internal matters of the mansion kept her too busy she didnât have a bit of free time for herself. Thus, she didnât want to have a family of her own anymore. Anyway, the elder Wangfei had promised her to take care of her when she was old. She would be able to live happily and leisurely at the end.
âYeah, this time when we come back, His Highness would ease his mindâŚâ Liang An put his worries aside, driving back to their topic.
âEase his mind? I donât think so. The Fourth Young Lady didnât want to come back to the Princeâs mansion. She got married on her own, and she got pregnant. How could he ease his mindâŚâ Xia-momo squinted as she chuckled.
âYong Chun! How could you talk behind His Highnessâ back like that!â Liang An bellowed and stopped her.
âAlright, continue with our mealâŚâ Yong Chun focused on her dish, didnât pay attention to the man anymore. She was always like that and he knew that, too. The elder Wangye and Wangfei didnât mind it, why would he be so anxious!