Daily Life of a Powerful Official Supporting His Wife

Chapter 59

Chapter 58

During the first three months, the fetus is unstable and prone to miscarriage. Rest and recuperation are essential, so pregnant women rarely go out for the first three or four months, either staying in bed to protect the fetus or walking around the room. By the fifth or sixth month, when the fetus is stable, they can go out for a walk. Childbirth is a major event, requiring no sloppiness. The midwife also advises that walking around more after the fifth or sixth month is beneficial for delivery. You can drink nourishing chicken soup on a daily basis, but be sure to avoid excess fat, which could make childbirth difficult when the baby is older. This isn't the usual farmer's advice: the more the better, the better. One person should eat the equivalent of two.

It sounded like the midwife sent by Old Lady Su was very experienced and could explain things clearly. The old nanny felt relieved and only paid more attention to Lu Baoer's diet.

Lu Baoer had been cooped up at home for five months and was really bored. She suggested going to Baofo Temple to worship Buddha and relax.

Hofuji Temple is an imperial temple in Kyoto. Nestled in the back hills is the Main Hall, a sacred hall used for praying to the gods. Ordinary citizens are not allowed to enter. While the Main Hall is off-limits, worship is permitted in the front hall, making it a popular destination. The wives of Kyoto officials often visit Hofuji Temple to worship, enjoy vegetarian meals, and pray for the safety of their families.

Baofo Temple is not far away, and it only takes half an hour to get there by carriage. Seeing that Lu Baoer stayed in the house all day and was depressed, the old nanny naturally agreed.

Xie Junling, knowing this, was somewhat worried. He specifically asked the old nanny to put more cushions in the carriage and bring more maids with her to keep an eye on Lu Baoer. Once everything was properly arranged, he felt a little relieved and let Lu Baoer go.

The next morning, the old nanny dressed Lu Baoer in a green satin jacket with a lotus pattern and a pink, plain skirt with a cloud pattern. Since it was early autumn and not too cold, Lu Baoer didn't wear a cloak. She simply wore a simple jade hibiscus in her hair. Perhaps her pregnancy had changed her tastes, and she no longer liked flashy outfits.

The carriage set off and headed all the way to Baofo Temple.

Knowing that wives of officials were coming to pay their respects, Baofo Temple established a special road specifically for these wives, accompanied by their attendants. After all, it was a royal temple; they couldn't just clear the area for a high-ranking official's wife. What higher-ranking wives would be cleared? Were they even more honored than the emperor? This level of control was difficult to manage and prone to gossip. Everyone tacitly agreed to make the road the only way for them, and not to clear the area.

Although living in Kyoto was at the Emperor's feet and more prosperous than ordinary people, there were also many rules to abide by, and the slightest word could easily fall into the ears of the Emperor! In other words, life was both carefree and torturous.

As Lu Baoer was being helped up the bluestone steps by the old nanny and Liu Xiang, she happened to see Li Jiao not far away. She had just returned from worshipping Buddha and was accompanied by only a maid. Even though she was dressed in a rather luxurious manner, her face looked haggard, and there was a hint of gray under her eyes.

Lu Baoer thought that since she was an old acquaintance, she should say hello to her. While she was hesitating, Li Jiao had already seen Lu Baoer. Lu Baoer was guarded by a group of servants, and her belly was pointed, so she must be pregnant. Li Jiao originally thought that no matter how lucky Lu Baoer was, if she couldn't get pregnant, she would still be a laughing stock among the wives of officials. When she was old and her beauty faded, and Xie Junling took someone else into the mansion, she would definitely be miserable and helpless. Who knew that she was so lucky, her family was rich again, her husband hadn't taken in any new woman for three or four years, and they were deeply in love, and now she was pregnant again.

Li Jiao clenched her hands so tightly that her nails were engraved into her palms. Compared to Lu Baoer's good fortune, she was miserable. That Cui Yuan had some tricks, and she had Shen Yun locked up in the yard. She thought Cui Yuan had some tricks, but one day, Li Jiao made chicken soup and called Shen Yun to drink it, but he didn't come. She got angry and went to look for Shen Yun, only to see him rolling around with a little girl who was about ten years old! It turned out that Cui Yuan specifically looked for such a young and immature girl and brought her to the room for Shen Yun to enjoy. Li Jiao was struck by lightning. She always thought that no matter what Shen Yun was, he was an upright gentleman serving in the court. It was just that he was unlucky and could not rise to prominence. She also comforted herself that her grandfather was also promoted to the Minister of Revenue when he was older. Not everyone is as lucky as Xie Junling.

Yet, Shen Yun was actually cheating on her, with a little girl who hadn't even grown up yet! She suddenly felt disgusted, thinking Shen Yun was filthy. If he liked someone, wouldn't he have just brought them to her openly and given them a proper relationship? Why was he flirting with her in secret, making the relationship seem like neither master nor servant? If someone could be so shameless as to be this bad, it was clear that they were rotten to the core.

At that moment, Cui Yuan happened to see her and smiled, "Did you see it, sister?"

Li Jiao said nothing, staring at Cui Yuan with eyes full of anger.

Cui Yuan laughed sarcastically: "Let me tell you one more thing. I put something in the bird's nest porridge you drink every day. It won't hurt your life, but I'm afraid you won't be able to get pregnant." Cui Yuan has always resented Li Jiao for ruining her body, and she also wants Li Jiao to have a taste of the same feeling!
Li Jiao was sweating profusely. "What are you talking about? How could you possibly be capable of such a powerful thing?"

Cui Yuan raised her sleeve to cover her lips, a smile spreading across her face. "Sister, you're so confused. This courtyard belongs to the Cui family, and this house is also headed by the Cui family. My last name is Cui, so how can I not be more convenient than you?"

Li Jiao had never imagined that Cui Yuan's men were in her courtyard. Furious, she slapped Cui Yuan, drawing blood from the corner of her mouth. Shen Yun, hearing the commotion, ran out of the room in dishevel. Seeing him like that, Li Jiao felt sick to her stomach. How could she have ever hoped for such a person? Did Shen Yun even know what a sense of shame was?

Upon seeing Li Jiao, Shen Yun's previous desire for sex faded, and he broke out in a cold sweat. After his career failed, he couldn't even hold his head up in front of Li Jiao, and could only hide away in Cui Yuan's place for a while. Now that his dirty inner self had been exposed by Li Jiao, he could no longer hold his head up in front of this wealthy wife.

Shen Yun was indeed Cui's legitimate son, and he inherited his mother's aggressive nature. At this moment, he pushed Li Jiao and scolded: "Li Jiao, do you still have any manners?"

"Rules?" Li Jiao laughed. "As the wife of the first wife, is it wrong for me to teach an ignorant concubine a lesson?! Do you know? I have been unable to conceive, and it was actually this little bitch's fault! She drugged my bird's nest porridge!"

Hearing this, Shen Yun was stunned again. He was easily persuaded by Li Jiao and looked at Cui Yuan blankly.

Seeing that Li Jiao was really stupid, Cui Yuan said pitifully, "How could I possibly drug my sister? If you don't believe me, call a doctor and you'll know for sure!"

Cui Yuan was so bold that Li Jiao naturally knew that she was worried and confused, and had fallen into her trap! Li Jiao had been childless for many years, and it had always been a worry for her. When she heard Cui Yuan say this, she didn't distinguish between truth and falsehood and believed it completely.

Now she's saying Cui Yuan framed her. If the doctor later finds out she's fine, wouldn't that make her the liar?! She wanted to frame Li Jiao, but ended up losing more than she gained. Shen Yun will definitely never believe her again.

Li Jiao was a little flustered and at a loss.

Cui Yuan boldly pressed, "Master, please call a doctor to see Sister! If anything happens to Sister, won't I be blamed?! I consider myself humble and content to be by my husband's side. I never want to fight for anything, so how could I harm Sister? Besides, Sister is surrounded by our own servants. How could I possibly get close to them and attack them?! Sister, even if you did that to me, I never hated you. Why do you keep pushing me?"

Cui Yuan's words were so heartfelt that even Li Jiao admitted she acted so well, like a poor concubine cornered by her mistress. But Shen Yun loved the idea of sympathy and tenderness. He held Cui Yuan in his arms and shouted fiercely, "Come, call a doctor to take Madam's pulse!"

At this point, Li Jiao was completely helpless. Only after the doctor confirmed that she was in good health and hadn't been harmed by any medication did she look at Cui Yuan and sneer, "It seems I've misjudged you, sister. I'm really sorry for the slap you gave me today. I'll send you some medicine to heal your wound. After all, your face is what your husband loves most. If it gets hurt, it'll be terrible."

Shen Yun watched her acting and didn't want to say anything more. He just hated Li Jiao even more from then on and refused to even come to her yard. Cui Yuan achieved her goal and returned home satisfied.

The only one who suffered the most was Li Jiao. Shen Yun refused to get close to her, so naturally she couldn't get pregnant. Without a child, could she divorce Shen Yun or what?

Li Jiao was already disheartened, spending her days praying to Buddha and chanting sutras. She had thought she had long since given up on love, but when she saw Lu Baoer today, she was suddenly filled with jealousy. It turned out that she had never let go of her hatred.

She even thought that if she became Xie Junling's wife, then everything Lu Baoer had would be hers. It was Lu Baoer who took everything from her, and now she always showed off in front of her.

Lu Baoer had no idea that the kind smile she gave Li Jiao would be interpreted this way. The moment they passed each other, Li Jiao suddenly tripped the maid beside her. The maid lost her balance and fell directly towards Lu Baoer! These were bluestone steps on the mountain road. If Lu Baoer rolled down, the baby in her belly would definitely not be saved! Li Jiao pretended to be panicked, but she was laughing inside! She didn't do it on purpose, what could Lu Baoer do to her?!
It's a pity that the maid only knocked Liu Xiang, who was on Lu Baoer's side, down the mountain. Lu Baoer was well protected by the old nanny and was just frightened.

Lu Baoer hurriedly said, "Hurry up and get someone to check on Liu Xiang! Is she injured anywhere?!"

Li Jiao curled her lips and thought to herself, "To show such kindness to a maid is really hypocritical."

But before she could apologize, the old lady slapped her in the face.

Li Jiao naturally knew that this was the old nanny who had served the royal family, but she was just a servant after all. How dare he hit her?!

Li Jiao gnashed her teeth and said, "A dog slave dares to hit me?! My maid bumped into you by accident, it wasn't intentional."

The old lady sneered. Did she think she couldn't see the kick Li Jiao had secretly delivered? Why was she pretending now?!
She also said calmly, "This old servant only took the photo of Madam by accident. I hope Madam will not take it to heart. My wife is the wife of the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple. You dare to offend her in person without knowing the difference between the ranks? Have you forgotten the difference in rank?"

Xie Junling was now a fourth-rank official, and Li Jiao was indeed incomparable. She should have given way to Lu Baoer instead of confronting her directly. The old lady was making indirect accusations, saying that she didn't know the rules! Li Jiao's face burned, but she couldn't utter a word in rebuttal.

Wouldn't that slap the old lady have given her in vain? Li Jiao felt a little angry again. Should she complain to her own family or to the Gu family? Li Jiao suddenly thought that the Gu family would never offend Lu Baoer for her. Her own family was outside the capital. Although they were a century-old noble family, they had no ministers in the court. How could they stand up for her?

Thinking of this, Li Jiao broke out in a cold sweat again. She almost forgot that this was not the time for her to act recklessly. If she had accidentally knocked Lu Baoer down, she would have been in big trouble.

At this moment, Li Jiao's jealousy and resentment disappeared, and she just wanted to be a quail and go home early.

At night, after Xie Junling returned home, the old nanny went to talk to him for the first time: "Master, there is something I don't know if I should tell you."

Hearing this, Xie Junling raised his hand slightly, signaling him to be silent: "I already know. I know what to do with the Shen family." Since Xie Junling said so, the old nanny had nothing to say.

Zhu Sheng had already told Xie Junling about Lu Baoer's situation. After Lu Baoer became pregnant, Xie Junling was worried about her walking around alone, so he sent Zhu Sheng to protect her secretly. If Lu Baoer was hit by someone, Zhu Sheng's skills would have saved her. Apart from Lu Baoer, the lives of others had nothing to do with Zhu Sheng. Therefore, Zhu Sheng didn't take Liu Xiang's fall seriously.

Regardless of whether Li Jiao had the intention to murder Lu Baoer, this accident was no simple matter how you looked at it. He was past the age of sympathy, and he only knew that whoever dared to attack his people would have to pay the price.

During this period, the imperial examinations were underway, and candidates were eager to communicate with the court officials, seeking information about the chief examiner, information about the exam questions, or the examiner's grading style. Where there was a demand, there was a response. Various candidates were secretly testing the limits of the government, with some officials even pretending to reveal information in exchange for money in exchange for a fortune from wealthy families.

A few days ago, Xie Junling was out for a walk in his casual attire when he was pulled into an alley by a man on the street. He said that he saw in Xie Junling a scholar who would have a prosperous life in the future, but was just lacking a bit of luck, and asked if he wanted to buy some luck.

Xie Junling found this funny and asked, "What is this luck?"

Seeing that Xie Junling was not getting the message, the other party gestured a number, then took out a private seal in his hand and said, "This is my master's private seal. My master is an official in the court, so he must have a way to get the imperial examination questions. It all depends on whether you are willing to pay this money."

Xie Junling was very familiar with that seal, it was Shen Yun's nickname. Could it be that he was involved in such a business?

Originally, he didn't want to get involved, but when he thought about how the stupid wife of the Shen family had angered him, he could only let Shen Yun suffer.

(End of this chapter)