The fiery sparks from the molten iron exploded into the night sky, like tens of thousands of gleaming stars suddenly blossoming into brilliance.
The crowd erupted with waves of cheers.
Bao Shu sat atop Lu Yuan’s shoulders, bouncing with excitent.
Her tiny hands clutched Lu Yuan’s ears tightly, and her little feet thumped repeatedly against his chest as she let out ecstatic cries.
Her exuberant yells drew laughter even from the iron flower artisan, who added two extra performances just to amuse her.
It was Lu Yuan who ended up bearing the brunt of the ordeal—his ears were nearly tugged off by the little rascal, and his chest was probably bruised from the relentless kicks of those tiny feet.
Yet, the warmth in his palm and the faint fragrance at his nose seed to imbue this boisterous scene with an unusual tenderness.
ng Qianqian’s mood was different from the last ti she had watched the iron flower display.
She no longer felt so alone.
"I want! I want!"
Bao Shu called out in a milky voice.
The iron flower artisan chuckled and replied, "Child, the show is truly over now."
Bao Shu imdiately burst into tears.
Throwing tantrums and rolling on the ground—she had truly mastered the art of dramatic antics.
"How embarrassing."
Lu Yuan hurried to carry the little rascal away.
He didn’t let go of ng Qianqian’s hand the entire ti.
ng Qianqian was slightly taken aback.
Thinking it was rely because he was worried about losing her in the crowd, she allowed him to hold her hand.
"Tan’er, follow closely!"
She didn’t forget to call out to Tan’er, who was on the rooftops.
"Understood!"
Tan’er began darting from eaves to walls, expertly traversing the rooftops.
Initially, they had only intended to watch the iron flower display and then return to the carriage. However, Bao Shu adamantly refused to leave—she wanted to watch this and then explore that, buy this and then purchase that.
They ended up wandering the street three or four tis over; even the stray dogs along the road recognized the little troublemaker.
Tan’er stumbled awkwardly along, encumbered by a mountain of trinkets in her arms: "No more buying! I can’t carry anything else!"
ng Qianqian lightly shook the hand Lu Yuan was holding and said, "Why don’t we head back?"
Lu Yuan’s face remained expressionless as he replied, "What are you asking for? It’s not like I’m the one doing the shopping."
ng Qianqian pointed to the little one asleep in his arms: "Bao Shu has fallen asleep."
By this ti, the street was much quieter, but Lu Yuan didn’t let go of her hand until they boarded the carriage.
-
The news of Lu Yuan throwing Wei Mingxuan into the stable spread like wildfire, quickly reaching every corner of Capital City.
Thus, the grand wedding of General Lu Lingxiao marrying the Twelve Guards’ daughter was entirely overshadowed by the antics of Lu Yuan and his wife.
The court was filled with voices condemning Lu Yuan; the number of impeachnt mos against him piled up like a storm.
But to everyone’s surprise, the Imperial Censor Wang, who was supposed to be the first to call for Lu Yuan’s punishnt, shockingly took his side.
"To insult a man’s wife, death shall be expected! Wei Mingxuan’s disrespectful remarks against Lu Yuan’s wife were entirely self-inflicted; no one else can be blad!"
"Imperial Censor Wang!"
Yang, one of the Cabinet Ministers, reprimanded, "Why are you defending that scoundrel?"
Imperial Censor Wang straightened his spine and declared, "Because he did the right thing!"
Lord Sun interjected, "Even if Wei Mingxuan was at fault, Lu Yuan shouldn’t have resorted to extrajudicial punishnt!"
Imperial Censor Wang retorted, "Did he strap Wei Mingxuan to torture devices?"
Lord Sun replied, "..."
Imperial Censor Wang continued, "A great man should possess a asure of blood and valor, otherwise, how can our court not devolve into a house of cowards?"
With his lone voice against half the court, Imperial Censor Wang clashed in heated debates, a veritable battle of wits and rhetoric.
Those impeaching Lu Yuan were precisely the officials whose carriage wheels had been removed by him the previous day.
Yesterday, they endured Lu Yuan’s ire; today, they suffered Imperial Censor Wang’s scolding.
Who had they wronged to deserve this?
The verbal sparring escalated for a full ten days, during which Imperial Censor Wang didn’t lose a single argunt!
But for so of the ministers, the furious exchanges left them bedridden with illness.
As the weather grew warr, it was ti for the Governor Mansion to switch to sumr clothing.
By tradition, everyone received two sets of clothing per season, and today was the designated day for distributions.
ng Qianqian wasn’t at the mansion; she had gone to the Book Collection Pavilion.
She hadn’t forgotten about her task to organize the pavilion.
However, to her surprise, all the archives on the Chu Family stored in the fourth floor of the Book Collection Pavilion had been removed.
She inquired with Steward Cen, who explained that it had been by order of the Grand Commander.
Lu Yuan didn’t want her investigating the Chu Family’s case—why?
After organizing the books on the second floor, ng Qianqian returned to the mansion.
Tan’er ran over in her new clothes and exclaid, "Sister, my outfit is too small!"
ng Qianqian noted Tan’er’s slightly short sleeves and pants and smiled knowingly: "It really is too small, Tan’er, you’ve grown taller."
Since Tan’er hadn’t been growing much, they asured her size based on the previous season, and thus her outfit didn’t fit properly.
Tan’er continued, "Treasure Piggy’s outfit is small too!"
ng Qianqian chuckled and said, "Then let’s have them altered."
The two children were both growing quickly—it’s wonderful.
In the afternoon, Lin Xiaoru, Zhou Nanyan, and Wang Rou stopped by for a visit.
"Sister ng!"
Zhou Nanyan threw herself into ng Qianqian’s arms, hugging her tightly without letting go: "Why haven’t you visited for so long? I’ve missed you so much!"
ng Qianqian didn’t know how to respond.
Lin Xiaoru said sensibly, "Sister ng was worried about implicating you."
Lu Yuan hadn’t gone to court for several days, and the Jinyi Guard had returned to the Emperor’s control. Anyone could see that Lu Yuan had fallen out of favor; associating with the Governor Mansion at such a ti wasn’t a wise move.
Yet, despite this, the three of them still ca.
The lively and outgoing Zhou Nanyan ca, the introverted and hobound Lin Xiaoru ca, and even the shy Wang Rou, who had only t ng Qianqian briefly once, ca to visit her.
To say ng Qianqian wasn’t moved would be a lie.
The three didn’t only co to check on ng Qianqian but also brought good news with them: Lady Wang is expecting.
Wang Rou gently explained, "The physician only recently detected a slippery pulse; they said it might not necessarily an she’s expecting yet."
"’A slippery pulse can indicate phlegm stagnation, food retention, internal heat, or pregnancy. In won without illness, the presence of a slippery pulse generally indicates pregnancy.’"
ng Qianqian paused briefly before adding, "If it wouldn’t be too presumptuous, may I help check her pulse?"
Wang Rou nodded repeatedly.
Zhou Nanyan clung to ng Qianqian’s arm: "I want to go see Aunt Wang too!"
Lin Xiaoru chid in, "If you’re all going, I’ll go as well."
The four of them boarded a carriage and headed to the Wang household.
Upon hearing that the girls had invited ng Qianqian to confirm the joyous news through a pulse check, Lady Wang was montarily bashful: "You girls! Always stirring up trouble! The physician said I might simply be struggling with indigestion due to the heat. At my age, how could I possibly be pregnant?"
ng Qianqian replied, "Lady Wang, please allow to check your pulse. Even if it is indigestion, I can prescribe redies that aren’t bitter—I promise!"
Lady Wang, scared of bitter dicine, obediently extended her hand.
ng Qianqian indeed confird the slippery pulse. She then asked Lady Wang about the timing of her recent nstrual cycles and the dates of marital intercourse.
Blushing, Lady Wang provided the details.
ng Qianqian bead: "Lady Wang, you are indeed pregnant—three months along already."
"Oh, my heavens!"
Lady Wang flushed with embarrassnt and covered her face: "At my age, isn’t this... isn’t this just like the phrase ’an old clam producing a pearl’?"
ng Qianqian smiled gently and reassured her, "Lady Wang, you’re still in your pri. Who knows, you might have two children in three years."
Lady Wang was mortified: "Stop saying such things!"
She had never once dread that she could conceive again.
Everyone else had two or three children—Lady Xing had three sons, Lady Lin had a son and daughter, and Lady Zhou had two sons and one daughter. Only she and Wang Daniu had struggled for years, blessed with one precious daughter but no additional children despite their efforts.
Though her embarrassnt was genuine, so was her joy.
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