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After having that particular conjecture, Ruan Xi proceeded to tell Wen Ting Zhou about her own plans with much excitement.
Whether Ruan san niang believed or not, it would all depend on Heaven’s will.
After Wen Ting Zhou heard it, he arched an eyebrow slightly and promptly agreed to it, regardless of whether Ruan Xi’s plan would succeed.
He purely wished to put Ruan Xi in a slightly happier mood.
Once Ruan Xi received Wen Ting Zhou’s support, she became extremely happy.
It was well-known that the emotions of pregnant women were fickle and ever-changing. In spite of how Ruan Xi had always been in a good state of mind ever since the start of her pregnancy, she was still somewhat affected.
For instance, she was particularly sensitive after becoming pregnant, and she wanted to accumulate blessings for her unborn child, so she privately used one-third of her braised duck store’s profits to buy a huge quantity of foodstuffs and clothing and donated it to the soldiers who were protecting the country’s borders.
When Wen Ting Zhou saw Ruan Ruan’s delighted and cheerful appearance, his lip corners raised slightly.
Along with the autumn air growing thicker, and the weather gradually cooling down, Ruan Xi’s body became heavier and heavier.
“Shao Furen, yõu have already walked one round, perhaps some rest is due?” Su Yu supported Ruan Xi with the utmost caution as they walked back and forth in the courtyard.
“It’s fine, I’m still doing well right now.” Ruan Xi chuckled and shook her head, energetically propping up her six-months-old pregnant belly as she continued to walk back and forth.
With Mama Yang and Mama Lin — of whom Wen lao-furen had sent over again — working together to control her diet while balancing the nutrition, Ruan Xi’s whole body did not appear fat even though she was pregnant. Only her stomach had grown bigger by the day, and her face slightly rounder and fuller; her legs were still slender and long, which made her look more moving and beautiful, and her suggestive appeal was more than ample.
Ruan Xi sighed dimly. It was no wonder why most women who married into prominent families still maintained their usual appearance with any detractions after their pregnancy unless there were issues with their physique or they had fallen for a scheme, this was the benefit of having Mamas with ample experience by their side.
“Su Zhu, inform Mama Yang that I want to eat corn soup later.”
Ruan Xi instructed as she continued walking.
The high-yielding crops — namely maize, yam, and potato — had a bumper harvest in the latter half of the year. Wen Ting Zhou had left a portion for eating whilst converting the rest into seed stock.
The high-yielding crops had already been reported to the morning court. Emperor Shengde’s dragon heart was greatly pleased, and he stated that these three new types of high yielding crops would be fully promoted starting from next year.
Ruan liked the corn soup that Mama Yang made. It was nutritious, delicious, and particularly tasty.
“Yes, Shao Furen.” Su Zhu compiled before going to the small kitchen happily.
Ruan Xi walked another two rounds before she felt her stomach grumbling, so she went back to her room to eat her snack.
Since she had been busy nurturing her foetus recently, she had already tossed Ruan san niang to the back of her mind, but owing to Wen Ting Zhou’s schemes, Ruan san niang was currently waging a war with Heaven as one man.
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Because of Ruan Xi, Ruan san niang’s mood became increasingly jittery and sullen as she was confined in Gentle Fortune Palace, which meant that she was even less willing to copy scriptures. On this day, she was relieving her boredom by strolling in Gentle Fortune Palace’s small garden alone.
At this moment, she heard two palace maids whispering to each other.
“Hey, I’ll tell you about something strange, there’s a large landowner in my hometown who had no son at his knees, and he didn’t even have a single child. In the past dozen years, he admitted more than twenty small concubines whose countenances were as beautiful as flowers, but nothing came out of it at all. It was unknown who would get the expansive family business for cheap, but that large landowner was given instructions by a very abled person. After he spared the tenants of his farmsteads from having to pay land rent for three years, his legitimate Furen became pregnant more than a month later.” Palace Maid A said excitedly.
“What’s so strange about that? It’s highly likely that large landowner’s ancestors didn’t accumulate merit, nor did he commit acts of kindness on the regular to accumulate merit, and he probably committed quite a few evil deeds. Now that he has spared his impoverished tenants from having to pay three years’ worth of land rent, it changed the fates of many, thereby offsetting his wrongdoings, which is why his Furen received a chance to bear a child, or else he would be met with a fate where no one will smash basins for him after he dies.” Palace Maid B curled her lips.
摔盆 (pinyin: shuai pen) – the act of ‘smashing basins’ is actually associated to the proverb of ‘岁岁平安’ (sui sui ping an), which means ‘may you have peace year after year’. After the basins are smashed, they will become smithereens, or 碎片 (sui pian) in Chinese, which rhymes with ‘岁岁’ (sui sui).  Therefore, the more you smash, the more peace you will have… But the translator strongly advises that you do not smash your good porcelain pieces.
Palace Maid A nodded her head in agreement.
“That makes sense.”
“I heard that our Gentle Fortune Palace’s Ruan fei niangniang has been preparing for pregnancy, but she hasn’t managed to conceive yet, while her younger sister Wen shao-furen became pregnant shortly after her marriage…” Palace Maid A’s pupils shifted as she changed the subject to Ruan san niang.
“Hush, do you not want your life anymore, [you] actually dare to discuss Ruan fei niangniang in private?” Palace Maid B jumped in fright.
“You’re so timid, I was just mentioning her offhandedly. In any case, it is already widespread knowledge in the private quarters of the palace. Who knows how many people are watching Ruan fei niangniang’s spectacle in the dark. There was a senior monk who stated that Ruan fei niangniang brought along her sins when she reincarnated. For being the turtledove occupying the magpie’s nest and suing her own birth mother, the Heavens cannot tolerate this; not only will she be without descendants in this lifetime, she will not live past the age of thirty, unless she has a huge contribution to depend on to dispel this calamity. Who created this rumour exactly, how did they manage to spin such a ridiculous lie?”
“That actually happened?”
Palace Maid B was shocked.
“It’s just a rumour, someone is probably trying to slander Ruan fei niangniang.” Palace Maid A comforted her.
Being the turtledove occupying the magpie’s nest… unable to live past thirty…
The eavesdropping Ruan san niang felt her head explode with a loud bang. In her previous lifetime, it was true that she did not live past the age of thirty before she was forced to be an accompaniment in burial. Terror spread across Ruan san niang’s visage, and her entire body went cold.
After the dread passed, Ruan san niang’s complexion became exceedingly ugly. In the previous lifetime, she hated Emperor Shengde and the thought of having children did not not even cross her mind once. In this lifetime, she wanted a child, but she had yet to conceive even though it was going to be half a year soon.
Of course, the issue of children was no longer important.
More importantly, there was a senior monk who knew her origins, and he could accurately predict her future.
The reborn Ruan san niang did not doubt the senior monk’s words in the slightest.
What terrified Ruan san niang was: what if she could not live past thirty, what was she going to do then?
She did not want to die. She had a premonition a long time ago that this was going to be her last rebirth.
Did she really have to make contributions and offer the cement?
Ruan san niang bit her lips, the darkness and light on her pretty face fluctuating as her entire person descended into a war that was waged between Heaven and Man.
But why was she met with the tragic ending of being buried alive with the dead in her last lifetime even though she brought out the cement and glass formula?
Ruan san niang suddenly thought about her own rebirth, which caused an uncontrollable and absurd thought to emerge. Could it be possible that the achievements and virtue she accumulated in her previous lifetime had been used on her rebirth?
Once that thought appeared, it grew madly like weeds, spreading far and wide.
Ruan san niang quietly left, frightened out of her mind.
魂不守舍 (pinyin: hun bu shou she) – to be preoccupied.
Palace Maid A, who had been covertly paying attention to Ruan san niang the entire time, curled her lips slightly.
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A few days later, Ruan san niang asked Emperor Shengde for an audience. Emperor Shengde stayed in Gentle Fortune Palace for a full double-hour before he left, and then he dissolved Ruan san niang’s confinement in the wake of his departure.
When Wen Ting Zhou received the information his secret watchers passed on, he smiled slightly.
Sure enough, Ruan san niang had fallen for the trick.
That night, he proceeded to tell Ruan Xi about the good news.
That raised Ruan Xi’s spirit.
Was cement and glass going to appear soon?
Wen Ting Zhou held Ruan Xi gently, and Ruan Xi leaned her head on his chest in a natural manner.
“Ruan Ruan, after your san jie’s confinement was dissolved, she asked the Emperor to let her go to the Imperial Family’s shrine to practice Buddhism for a month.” Wen Ting Zhou told Ruan Xi about the other good news in a light and relaxed tone.
Ruan Xi was gobsmacked.
“Practice Buddhism? That doesn’t seem to be in her nature.”
If you had to know, Ruan san niang hated such things the most, could it be that there was some kind of inside story?
And as if he sensed Ruan Xi’s bewilderment, Wen Ting Zhou chuckled softly before he gave a line of explanation, sounding rather pleased.  “She has been plagued with constant nightmares recently.”
A thought suddenly occurred to Ruan Xi. “You did something?”
Wen Ting Zhou neither confirmed nor denied it. Using his large hand to caress Ruan Xi’s swelling lower abdomen, he said indifferently:
“Merely gave her a small lesson, that’s all.”
In response, Ruan Xi’s entire heart was enveloped in warmth, and her lips tugged up slightly.