Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Spring arrived earlier in Luoyang than in the northern border region. By the end of February, the wind was already starting to feel warm, and a light rain began to fall softly in the middle of the night, pattering down and bringing a touch of dampness to the air inside the house.

Inside the four-poster bed, Tong Sui was first awakened by Xiao Zhen, and only then did she hear the sound of rain outside the window.

She dodged the fiery lips of Marquis Xiao Zhen and asked helplessly, "Can't you ever get enough?"

At thirty-one, he’s just as insatiable as he was at twenty-six.

Xiao Zhen said, "I won’t be home for the next few nights, and I’m worried you’ll miss me."

The second small examination was about to take place in the Eastern Camp, involving 150,000 people, with both written and martial tests lasting five days. Xiao Zhen would not return until it was over.

Tong Sui, annoyed, yanked at his hair.

Either because they stayed up late in the middle of the night or because the rain made her sleep more deeply, Tong Sui nearly overslept and was woken by A Fu this morning.

Xiao Zhen had already left, and it was said that he had specifically instructed the maids not to disturb her.

A Fu teased, "Madam hasn't slept this soundly in a long time. If not for the fear that Old Master Ma would scold, I wouldn't have had the heart to wake you."

Tong Sui cursed Xiao Zhen in her mind while giving a serious excuse, "It’s probably just spring fatigue."

A Fu helped her dress, while Ruyi and Jixiang entered carrying warm water. After setting it down, one went to make the bed, and the other picked up the clothes basket next to the bed.

Tong Sui quickly glanced at the clothes basket.

The clothes from the previous evening had been taken away by the maids, and now it contained the undergarments the couple had changed into that morning.

Among them was a towel specially used by Xiao Zhen.

Due to the Emperor's illness, after leaving the mourning period, Xiao Zhen had taken precautions again to avoid pregnancy during the unstable transition of power.

Xiao Zhen wasn’t in a hurry to become a father, and Tong Sui was even less so. For this reason, she had specially prepared a towel, but many times a single towel wasn’t enough, and Xiao Zhen had to make do with his undergarments at the last moment.

After washing her face, Tong Sui sat in front of the dressing table, where the skillful Jinxiu helped her comb her hair.

Ruyi, who was responsible for making the bed, checked the mattress carefully and, after thinking about it, still reminded, "Madam, your monthly flow is three days late this month. Should we invite Old Mr. Zhou to check your pulse?"

Tong Sui smiled, "No need. It's been late before; maybe it will come tomorrow morning."

Nothing happened, so there’s no way I could be pregnant.

Tong Sui quickly put the matter out of her mind and continued her lessons with Old Master Ma during the day, and when tired, she would go to the Duke's residence to play with Huai Zu. Not only did she go alone, but Tong Sui also invited Liu Chu, Yan Mingxiu, and Lin Ningfang. The five of them would gather, chatting and laughing, making for a lively time. Sometimes Madam He would also join in.

Xiao Yuchan: "In my opinion, Huai Zu is growing to resemble Third Brother more and more. Look at those phoenix eyes, exactly like Third Brother's."

Huai Zu looked at his aunt and repeated, "Third Brother."

Xiao Yuchan burst out laughing, pinching the little guy's cheek, "Don't call me that. You don't have a third brother. From now on, you'll be the big brother of our family."

Madam He sighed, "It's all those years of war that caused this. Otherwise, how could Huai Zu and Mianmian be more than ten years apart? The children would have come one after another."

Xiao Yuchan: "If not for those years of war, Mianmian wouldn’t have met such wonderful aunts."

Madam He caught on and said with a smile, "Exactly, this is turning a bad situation into a good one!"

As they were about to head back to the Marquis’s residence, Xiao Yuchan slipped a storybook into Tong Sui's hands, blinking as she said, "Second Sister-in-law, you read it first, then pass it to Fourth Sister-in-law."

Tong Sui had a feeling that this book probably wasn’t something proper.

That night, before bed, Tong Sui leaned against the headboard and flipped through the storybook, starting with the first page. It looked like one of those romantic stories about scholars and beauties, so she skipped right to the page Xiao Yuchan had folded over. Her face turned bright red when she read about a man putting a pillow under a woman’s waist to help her conceive. At that moment, Tong Sui finally understood her little sister-in-law’s well-meaning intentions.

The next day, Tong Sui gave the book to Yan Mingxiu.

Yan Mingxiu asked curiously, "What’s it about?"

Tong Sui shrugged. "Just some love story. I didn’t get past the first few pages."

Yan Mingxiu laughed. "You’re always so busy with your studies, you wouldn’t waste time on something like that!"

Tong Sui simply told her to go and read it.

In the evening, when Yan Mingxiu came over for dinner, she gave Tong Sui a glance that was both blushing and resentful.

Tong Sui suddenly understood why Xiao Ye always liked to tease his wife.

Before they knew it, it was the day before the end of the month. The next morning, Tong Sui checked the bedding before the maids arrived, and it was spotless.

When teased by the maids later, Tong Sui didn’t have the same confidence as before and said, "I... I’ll go to SiGong Ward later."

A Fu added, "You should take a carriage, not ride a horse."

Tong Sui nodded, feeling flustered.

After breakfast, Tong Sui asked Old Master Ma for a half-day leave. It was only a short distance of two miles, and she arrived quickly.

Both Aunt Jiang and Tong Sui’s cousin were at home, sitting in the courtyard with Tong Sui’s three-month-old niece, enjoying the sun.

Xiao Ye and Zhou Xian, these men married in the same year. Except for Xiao Ye, the others were already fathers.

Aunt Jiang teased, "Oh, Lady Anguo, you’re finally not studying today?"

Tong Sui’s face heated up as she moved closer to her aunt and extended her arm. "I’m not feeling well, please take a look, Aunt."

Aunt Jiang’s smile faded. "Why did you come here when you’re not feeling well? You should’ve sent for me. Don’t be so formal with me, or I’ll get upset."

Tong Sui was speechless.

After scolding her, Aunt Jiang realized her niece’s face was rosy and becoming even redder as she spoke—not from illness, but from shyness!

Being a female doctor, Aunt Jiang quickly realized what was going on. She held her niece’s wrist and asked, "How many days late are you?"

Tong Sui looked down and said, "Seven days."

Aunt Jiang’s face lit up with joy, and after feeling the pulse, she became even happier. "I can feel a slippery pulse—it’s still early, but it’s definitely there! Quick, go get your grandfather!" She immediately sent a servant to the North Market to fetch Zhou Jingchun.

The North Market was right next to SiGong Ward, so Zhou Jingchun arrived quickly. After feeling Tong Sui’s pulse, before he even removed his hand from his granddaughter’s wrist, he laughed, "It’s a joyful pulse, a joyful pulse!"

Tong Sui still found it hard to believe and pulled her aunt into the inner room to whisper, "With the Marquis... I can’t believe I’m pregnant!"

Jiang Shi, when she was in Wei County, used to help at their family medical clinic. She had seen women burning incense and praying desperately to get pregnant, and she had also seen those trying to avoid pregnancy. For instance, she had witnessed young and beautiful concubines—while their old and overweight husbands were away—secretly fooling around with dashing servants. Sometimes, this carelessness resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. They used the same method to try to prevent it.

"Once it's inside, it's impossible for nothing to remain. At most, it's just harder to conceive compared to when everything is left inside."

"You two silly kids, why are you avoiding this for no reason? You're young, but how old is the Marquis anyway?"

Tong Sui was too embarrassed to lift her head and had to coax her aunt, "You know about it, but please don't tell my mother."

There was no need to worry her family about the concerns she and Xiao Zhen had.

Jiang Shi said, "Alright, but you need to take good care of your pregnancy and stop messing around."

Tong Sui nodded eagerly.

After returning to the Marquis’s residence, Tong Sui told the maids not to say anything for now. Her own heart wasn't settled yet, and she didn't know how Xiao Zhen would react.

The next evening, after Xiao Zhen and his three brothers finished the small examination at the Eastern Camp, they returned to the residence.

After not seeing each other for five days, Xiao Zhen, upon entering the room, started kissing Tong Sui. He only let her go when she began hitting him, then laughed and showed her the list of selected officers from the examination.

Xiao Yan and his two brothers once again took the top three spots. As children, they didn’t like studying, but they had to learn anyway to avoid family punishment. Thus, their scores in both the literary and martial exams were far ahead of the others.

When she came across the list of centurions (commanders of 100 men), Tong Sui saw Zheng Teng's name.

Surprised, she looked at Xiao Zhen. "Last time during the small examination, he was only a commander of 50 men, and now he's been promoted to commander of 100 men?"

Xiao Zhen said, "Zheng Teng has always been good at martial skills, and he's persistent in learning characters and military strategies. If he keeps it up for another month, he could even become a commander of 1,000 men."

In Taohuagou, when Xiao Zhen taught gun techniques, he left wooden guns for the able-bodied men there and instructed Tong Gui to lead the training to guard against bandits. Zheng Teng had followed the training back then.

Almost 150,000 soldiers were selected from common families, and Zheng Teng had an advantage in physique and martial skills from the start.

Tong Sui said, "As long as you're enlisted, there's danger. If you can earn a rank through your skills, that's a good thing. At least you can earn extra military wages for a year or two."

Having witnessed thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers die at a single wall, a single pass, or a single mountain path, she understood how difficult life was for the troops in times of war.

The only comfort was the pay while they were alive and the compensation for their families after they died.

Xiao Zhen said, "Fortune favors the bold. If he chooses this path, we'll do our best to support him."

Tong Sui smiled.

Xiao Zhen went to bathe first, and by the time he finished, Tong Sui had also finished reading the full list of names.

Xiao Zhen, dressed only in his undergarments, moved to carry her to the inner chamber.

Tong Sui sat at the innermost part of the warm couch, watching as Xiao Zhen, who was about to grab her, knelt on the couch, bending over. His left hand was on the couch, and his right hand was just about to hold her ankle.

He looked up, his narrow phoenix eyes no longer filled with mischief or his usual calm seriousness, only shock.

Tong Sui could understand his surprise and said regretfully, "I didn't expect it either. I had my aunt check first, and then my grandfather, who is a doctor..."

Before she could finish, Xiao Zhen quickly moved in front of her, pulled her onto his lap, and kissed her from her cheek to her neck, then from her neck back to her cheek, as if she were the most precious thing in the world, like when she first earned a gold ingot.

Tong Sui was stunned. "Weren't you... not wanting to have a baby now?"

Xiao Zhen, holding her in one arm and cupping her face with his other hand, his eyes full of smiles, said, "I’m not in a rush, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want this."

Third Brother got married and became a father before him, and then Changshun, Chang'an, Tong Gui, Wen Gong, and Zhou Xian all became fathers in quick succession. And now, Fourth Son is pushing hard too. Xiao Zhen couldn’t help but feel envious.

Our child will be the best.

Feeling his joy bubbling over, Tong Sui’s worry melted away as her happiness grew, and she murmured softly, "I'm just afraid this child comes at the wrong time."

Xiao Zhen tightened his grip on her hand. "When have we ever had a moment of true peace? We’ve always faced whatever comes our way. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you both."

Tong Sui smiled, tilting her head to meet his gaze. "It’s not about you protecting us, we’re protecting this family together."

Protecting our little family, and the bigger family of loved ones and friends, and everyone who believed in us enough to join us, protecting everyone we can.