Chapter 155: Much Too Soon To Tell
Nevertheless, she had to continue the act. She clutched her chest and furrowed her brows while acting nauseated. A rare scene then unfolded. The old madame actually reprimanded her son. âStop mentioning these things to her now. Go get something to ease her throat.â
A maidservant then served a cup of tea to Bai Xiangxiu. She seemed to be feeling better after a mouthful of tea. Long Heng knew his mother well. Ever since his father had passed away, the mother and son only had each other to rely on. Because of that, she rarely ever used harsh words when speaking to her son. And yet she had taken Bai Xiangxiuâs side to reprimand him just now.
He believed that there must be a reason behind it. Suddenly, he recalled about the time when Bai Xiangxiu was poisoned and had symptoms of dizziness and vomiting. A mama had mistakenly thought that it was a sign of pregnancy. However, nothing had happened between them yet, so it was obviously just a misunderstanding. Yet, she was showing the same symptoms again and theyâd had tangible relations this time. Could it be that she really is expecting? The thought of this fired him up to no end. He immediately asked for a doctor and even complained that the doctor was taking too long. âWeâve been waiting for almost half a day. Why isnât he here yet?â
The way Long Heng was acting confirmed the old madameâs suspicions that there was a possibility of a child. She was so eager while waiting for the doctor that she had even stopped coughing. Bai Xiangxiu was rendered speechless. She had misled the old madame on purpose because the old madame didnât know when Long Heng had tumbled in the sheets with her.
But Mr. Male Lead. why are you getting all excited about? Donât you know that it has only been a little more than ten days since that day? It would take two months for a real reaction at the very least!
Unfortunately, she had overestimated the male leadâs knowledge of biology. He had been born in a military household, and had left the house when he was around ten years old. The old madame had shielded him from all the fighting within the residence and hadnât allowed anything untowards to enter his ears. These factors had contributed as to why he wasnât too knowledgeable about females, and was also why he had very little knowledge about the female body. Or at least he wasnât knowledgeable enough to know that ten days wasnât enough time to know if a woman was expecting. He was very agitated. Even though the news had come a little unexpectedly, the thought of having a child of his own flesh and blood excited him to no end.
Despite his young age, he was actually looking forward to having his own children because of the old madameâs influence. If he had a child, his mother and Bai Xiangxiu would have some emotional support when he went to war in the future
The doctor arrived moments later out of breath. He was someone whom Bai Xiangxiu and Long Shuting had arranged for early on. The doctor was willing to help them because their goal was to save the old madame instead of trying to execute a sinister plan. The results from a willing participant were much better than if forced. The doctorâs acting was much better than usual. He was squeezing and pressing on Bai Xiangxiuâs hand. When he was done with the right hand, he moved on to the left hand. His forehead was creased the entire time.
The old madame was getting anxious. She had even set her grief aside for the moment and was only focused on urging the doctor onwards. When he decided that enough time has passed, he finally revealed the diagnosis. âIn response to the old madame, the signs of expectancy are definitely there, but because it is still too early, I am unable to confirm.â
The doctor had managed to find some leeway for both him and Bai Xiangxiu with just one sentence. When the time came, they could just find an excuse to say that Bai Xiangxiu had only vomited because she was simply too anxious or that she had eaten something bad, and that he had also considered these possibilities, but hadnât been able to confirm his suspicions at that time.
The old madame was delighted when she heard the diagnosis. A possible sign of expectancy was a good thing! After all, it was normal to have to wait for two to three months to confirm a pregnancy. Some women would even take as long as four months! Bai Xiangxiu pretended to look surprised. She then took careful a peek at the old madame and lowered her head. She seemed shy. The doctor was very impressed by Bai Xiangxiuâs acting prowess. He didnât expect that her acting would so realistic!
The old madame took her shyness at face value and e grabbed the hand of a mama who was beside her. âThe day Iâve been waiting for has finally arrived!â She wasnât too bothered by the fact that it might not be good if a concubine were to have a child before the official wife was wedded into the family. If this had happened in the past, she mightâve shown a little respect to the Lin familyâs daughter. But after seeing all the misdeeds that Miss Lin had gotten herself into, she no longer expected a child from her, even if she did manage to wed into the family. All hopes for a child had been placed on nĂše Bai, the only one who had entered her sonâs line of sight. She didnât expect that good news would arrive so soon. Even though Bai Xiangxiu was timid and fearful, she made up for it with her beautiful appearance and her kindness and generosity. She had a very good personality so her children probably wouldnât stray too far from the tree.
Bai Xiangxiu took another glance at her âbossâ, also her husband. She noticed that his chiseled face was actually suppressing an emotion that looked like he might explode any time soon. Did he notice that something was off? Does he plan to punish us? Right when she was just about to take off running, Long Heng squeezed out a sentence to say, âIs there anything we need to take note of?â
The doctor had nearly wet his pants as well. He immediately moved his mouth to list out the cautionary advice he would normally give out to expecting women. âThird Madame should consume less food that are yin in nature, rest in bed as much as possible, and should not participate in bedroom activities for at least three monthsâŠâ
Do you have to be so direct? Bai Xiangxiuâs face immediately turned as red as a ripe tomato. Even Long Heng, who was usually very thick-skinned, coughed out of embarrassment.
But how would the old madame take the coupleâs bashfulness to heart? She had something else to inquire instead. âSheâd will require some miscarriage preventing medicine right? Get someone to prepare some for her now.â
âOld Madame. All medicines are actually one-third poison. I do not recommend giving any medicine to Third Madame before her pregnancy is confirmed.â A person should never casually take any medicine if they were perfectly healthy. It was the basic code of ethics that he followed. Thus, he spared Bai Xiangxiu from the pain of having to take any unneeded medicine.
The old madame was still agitated and couldnât help but want to do something for Bai Xiangxiu. So she asked, âAre you still feeling unwell? Do you want to take your leave so that you can rest?â
Bai Xiangxiu gently placed her hand on her abdomen and creased her forehead slightly. The old madame and Long Heng reacted strongly to her gesture. Long Heng even rose to his feet. If people werenât around, he probably wouldâve ran to her side to check on her already. A tinge of happiness settled in Bai Xiangxiuâs heart. She replied, âI donât feel nauseated anymore. Instead, my stomach feels really empty. It seems⊠Iâm a little hungry.â
The fact that she was hungry came as no surprise. After all, dinner time had long passed. However, the main issue now was that the old madame had yet to have her dinner! While people werenât looking, she turned to Long Heng and gave him a look. Long Heng immediately caught her drift. It was just an act to make the old madame eat some food.
In order to not let her act of filial piety go to waste, he immediately said, âServe dinner now. Quickly.â After that, he turned to the old madame and asked, âMother. Why donât you join us for dinner as well? Food will taste better when there are more people around the table.â
âFine, fine. I will join for dinner since all of you have come to keep me company. Mama, assist me to wash my face. Iâm going to have dinner.â
After all that weeping, it was no surprise that her face had become a little swollen. Better stop thinking about sorrowful things since today is such an auspicious day. Itâs better to have dinner with the family for now and take care of my health so that I will be healthy enough to smother my grandchild.
Long Heng breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed how the old madameâs mood had taken a turn for the better. He was very glad that Bai Xiangxiuâs good news had come at such an opportune timing. But then he thought about his thoughts over the past couple of days. Heâd wanted to spend some intimate time with her after leaving the palace. It seemed quite impossible now due to what the doctor had said. Upon further thought, he concluded that the night ahead was going to be long and full of agony.