Binding Spring Love

A cool autumn breeze occasionally blew open the carriage curtains, making Song Wan feel a bit chilly.

Seeing her stiff posture, Jiang Xingjian frowned slightly, then opened a hidden compartment in the carriage and took out a soft blanket.

"Thank you, my husband."

She casually draped the shawl over her shoulders, her expression once again indifferent.

Jiang Xingjian clenched his hands and turned his face away.

She's always like this, never getting angry or annoyed.

She could refuse her grandmother's dying wish, and she could casually call him husband. Many times, Jiang Xingjian simply couldn't see through what she was thinking.

Song Wan is different from Lin Jiayue. When Lin Jiayue is angry, she will call him by name, cry and make a fuss. When the two are affectionate, she will act coquettishly and tease him. But Song Wan never does that.

Jiang Xingjian even felt that even if he suddenly died in front of Song Wan one day, she would only look at him with such a cold and indifferent gaze, neither sad nor happy.

Feeling frustrated, he reached out to lift the car curtain to let in some fresh air, but then quickly remembered something and carefully pressed the curtain back down.

The two returned to the Marquis's residence, and Song Wan said, "Husband, please rest early," before turning and leaving.

She felt extremely tired after a day in the palace. When she returned to Lantingyuan, Hengzhi and Hengwu helped her remove her makeup and wash up. Song Wan was half-asleep and very sleepy. It wasn't until Hengzhi took a handkerchief and helped her wash her face that she regained some of her senses.

"Miss, there's been a problem at Xiuyan Pavilion today."

"What happened?"

Hengzhi said, "During the day, Aunt Lin suddenly ran out in a madcap manner, repeatedly saying that she heard the sound of drums. Judging from her appearance, she was really very ill."

"That's true." Hengwu frowned and said, "Miss, you didn't see how Aunt Lin looked. I heard she's like that every night, keeping Granny Li and Granny Liu up all night. They only managed to take a nap during the day before this happened."

"I heard from the maids in the courtyard that everyone in the Embroidery Pavilion has been driven to madness by Consort Lin. Even Granny Li said she heard strange noises while she was sleeping during the day."

Upon hearing this, Song Wan frowned slightly: "Did Granny Li hear that too?"

Hengzhi knelt down and whispered in Song Wan's ear, "Miss, do you think it could be Aunt Huaisu?"

"Won't."

Song Wan said, "Huaisu has served the Marquis since childhood and is extremely loyal. Although I don't know if she is jealous, she would never harm the Marquis's offspring without Jiang Xingjian's orders."

"Could it be the Marquis...?"

Song Wan shook her head blankly: "If Jiang Xingjian didn't want this baby, he could have just sent a bowl of abortifacient medicine. Why go through all this trouble?"

"It seems that Aunt Lin is suffering from hysteria."

As the three servants were talking, they heard another commotion coming from the Embroidery Pavilion. Seeing Hengwu's excited expression, Song Wan quickly told her to stay in the courtyard and not go looking for trouble.

The Lan Courtyard was quiet, with everyone from master to servant sleeping peacefully, but the Xiuyan Pavilion was in complete chaos.

Lin Jiayue clutched her lower abdomen, covered her ears, and cried in panic. She was already emotionally unstable during her pregnancy, and now, after being frightened one after another, her physical condition was getting worse.

When Jiang Xingjian entered, he saw that her eyes were empty and lifeless. Because she was too thin, only her bulging belly was visible, which looked quite frightening.

He lowered his gaze slightly, stepped forward, and carried the person back to bed.

"uncomfortable?"

"I'm afraid to travel light."

Jiang Xingjian said, "It's just your inner demons acting up. You can rest and focus on your pregnancy."

Gently stroking Lin Jiayue's lower abdomen, he spoke softly, "Your lack of sleep and proper diet every day, won't that affect the baby in your womb?"

"I don't know, I don't know."

"Stop asking. You ask me every day, how am I supposed to know?"

Lin Jiayue held her lower abdomen, extremely anxious: "I've been eating well and resting well, he'll be fine."

While crying, she gently touched her stomach, and after thinking for a moment, she struggled to get out of bed: "I'm going to get something to eat."

She called Qianbi to have the small kitchen prepare some tonics for her. Lin Jiayue took out silver needles and tested them one by one before eating them.

She had no appetite and only drank a few sips of soup before she could eat nothing more.

Seeing this, Jiang Xingjian said worriedly, "How can you eat so little? If you don't eat more, how can the baby in your womb be healthy? What if there are problems after the baby is born..."

"Stop talking!"

Lin Jiayue suddenly overturned the plate on the table, and the warm soup scalded her arm, making it slightly red.

As if jolted back to her senses by the scalding heat, she cried out, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm just so annoyed... Jiang Xingjian, you always say there's something wrong with the baby, it's so annoying to hear."

Jiang Xingjian stood to the side, his eyes lowered, and said, "I'm just worried about you, and also about our child."

"I know, I know, I know."

Lin Jiayue tugged at her hair, several strands of dark hair tangling around her fingers and falling out. Annoyed, she shook it off, sat back down at the table, grabbed a snack, and stuffed it into her mouth.

Jiang Xingjian simply watched quietly without saying a word.

He only stepped forward and gently patted her back when she couldn't hold it in any longer and started vomiting: "Eat slowly, don't torture yourself like this. If your health collapses, the baby won't get better either."

Lin Jiayue shuddered, overwhelmed by irritability, frustration, and the urge to go crazy, causing her vision to go black.

But when she looked up at her reflection in the bronze mirror, which was neither human nor ghost, and then at Jiang Xingjian beside her, who was still gentle and elegant, she swallowed back her frustration.

But the more suppressed one is, the more one is driven to the brink of madness. Lin Jiayue pushed Jiang Xingjian away, rinsed her mouth, and lay back down on the bed.

Jiang Xingjian sat silently beside her, waiting for her to fall asleep. After a long while with her back to him, Lin Jiayue whispered, "Go and rest, don't worry about me."

"I'll stay with you. The night air is cool. I'll leave once you're asleep."

Gently stroking her hair, Lin Jiayue slowly closed her eyes in frustration.

In the dead of night, Lin Jiayue was half asleep when she suddenly heard a faint drumbeat outside the window. She was frightened and panicked, but in her volatile emotions, she was forced to rush out of the house.

There was nothing in the darkness except the cold moonlight. Lin Jiayue couldn't hold back her tears any longer and cried out, "Jiang Jing? I'm so sorry, please let me go!"

When Granny Li and Granny Liu saw that she was making a scene again, they went forward and carried her back into the house.

Lin Jiayue drifted through the night in a daze, feeling as if she had been in a long dream. When she groggily woke up, Jiang Xingjian was by her bedside, looking at her with tender eyes: "I heard you went out again last night? Are you cold?"

Lin Jiayue shook her head with red eyes, and Jiang Xingjian helped her up: "I had the kitchen make you some meat soup. The physician said that eating more of it will help ensure a smooth delivery of the baby."

"Jiang Xingjian..."

Lin Jiayue's eyes reddened: "Am I in a very bad state right now? Do you think our child will have problems after birth?"

He kept asking how the child was doing, and Lin Jiayue felt immense pressure.

She knows more than anyone else in this era, so the child in her womb is probably not very healthy, either physically or mentally.

"Do you think there might be something wrong with him?"

Now that there are no prenatal checkups, and she doesn't believe in traditional Chinese medicine, she always feels uneasy when doctors just take her pulse and say they can cure her.

Touching her lower abdomen, Lin Jiayue cried and asked, "Say something!"

Jiang Xingjian lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the expression in his eyes: "Everyone says that a mother and child are of one heart. As the mother, you should know whether your child is well or not."

"What, do you think you can't protect him and ensure his healthy birth?"