Chapter 94: Xu Shi is Pregnant

Chapter 94 Xu Shi Is Pregnant

"If you already think that way, then there's even less reason to be angry, right?"

Jiang Wan looked with amusement at her younger sister's pouty, angry face.

"Do you remember what I taught you last time? 'If someone in this world slanders, deceives, humiliates, mocks, belittles, or looks down on me, how should I deal with it?'"

"Then endure them, avoid them, ignore them for a while, and when the chance comes, take them down!"

"See? Isn't that it?"

"But..."

Jiang Han licked her sheepish little lips, mumbling reluctantly.

"Liu Manyin just made fun of me a few times. It's not serious enough to finish her off, is it?"

The little girl's moral compass clearly pleased her mother and sister.

Jiang Wan smiled and gently tapped her forehead. Since Li Gouzi was out of the picture, she now found her second sister she liked more and more.

Who wouldn’t love a pretty and obedient kid?

"You see, you clearly understand the reasoning well. So what’s there to be angry about?"

"Hmph, can’t I just complain to you?"

"Of course, aren’t we trying to comfort you?"

The sisters bickered and joked, while their mother stayed out of it the whole time. The eldest daughter had a good head on her shoulders, so her parents didn’t need to worry.

Xu Shi pushed up her sleeve, picked up a brush, and dipped it in ink. Just as she was about to write a list of return gifts, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of ink wafting into her nose, making her throat heave.

"...Gag... gag..."

"Mom!"

"Mom, what’s wrong?"

Jiang Wan and her sister rushed to their mother’s side to support and asked what was wrong. Xu Shi waved her hand at them while retching continuously, indicating that she was fine.

Once the nausea in her chest passed, she drank several mouthfuls of hot tea to ease the discomfort in her throat.

After giving her mother the tea, Jiang Wan gave a curious look to the other’s slender waist. She’d never been pregnant but knew the signs—could her mother be...?

"Mom, are you... pregnant?"

Xu Shi paused for a moment, looked up at her two daughters, and after confirming that she saw no dissatisfaction in their eyes, she smiled and nodded slightly.

"I think so. Although I haven’t had my pulse read yet, these past few days I’ve been feeling extremely tired. The nausea and urge to vomit only started today."

She gently stroked her lower abdomen, her eyes still soft and loving.

"This feels similar to when I was pregnant with the second and third. I guess I’m probably pregnant again."

Talking about this in front of the children made Xu Shi blush deeply.

But she really felt like she was pregnant. After all, Jiang Daxiong had been so attentive recently—it would be strange if she didn’t conceive.

"Then what are we waiting for? I’ll go find someone to call a doctor to examine you. Jiang Han, you stay here and look after Mom!"

Jiang Wan turned around, hiked up her skirts, and ran off.

Jiang Han only snapped out of it after her sister left. She put her hands behind her back, lowered her little head, and fell silent. Until a pair of warm arms gently pulled her into an embrace.

"Hannie, if there’s anything you want to say, just say it. Mom is listening."

Her mother’s gentleness greatly encouraged the child.

Jiang Han raised her head, her eyes shining with hurt.

"Mom, are you going to have another brother?"

Xu Shi looked down at her little, beautiful girl.

"Are you unhappy?"

"Yeah."

The little girl never hid her true feelings from her mother, who loved her most.

"I don’t want another brother. Jiang Yaozu, who always used to bully people, was already annoying enough. Now that Big Sister finally put him in his place, I don’t want another Jiang Yaozong to come bully me! Why wasn’t I born a boy?

Like Big Sister said, this world clearly favors men, so why was I born a girl? If I were a brother too, then Grandpa and Grandma would spoil me as well! If I were a brother, I promise I wouldn’t bully my sisters!

I don’t want to be a sister who has to look out for her brother. I want to be Jiang Han..."

A child’s mind is simple. She didn’t fully understand what she was resentful about, so she could only ramble on, expressing the jumbled thoughts in her mind.

Xu Shi held her daughter, looking guilty.

She felt she wasn’t a good mother—she hadn’t protected her children well.

"It’s not like that. Listen to me.

Your grandparents do value the third child more, and it’s just because he’s a boy. But they aren’t intentionally holding back love from you and your sister. It’s just that this world doesn’t allow them to spend the family’s limited means on girls.

Without a son to carry on the family name, our lives would have been even harder. Your grandparents aren’t wrong—I'm to blame. I didn’t take good enough care of you."

"I know."

Jiang Han suddenly burst into tears.

"Mom, I don’t blame you. I know you’ve always loved me since I was little. But Mom, I really don’t want to be a sister who gets bullied."

"No one can bully you!"

Jiang Wan, who had returned, walked in and pulled her sister out of their mother’s embrace. She held her hand and gently dried her tears.

"Your big sister is still here, isn’t she? As long as I’m alive, no one can bully you. Stop crying now."

She pointed at their mother’s belly.

"Mom being pregnant with the fourth child is a happy event for our family—a new family member. We’re the oldest and second-oldest sisters. How can we not welcome the fourth child?"

"It’s not that I don’t welcome them. I just hope the fourth child is another sister. I’ll definitely be the best second sister ever and love her forever. But if it’s another brother, will he be like Jiang Yaozu and bully people just because he’s a boy?"

"Let’s see if he dares!"

Jiang Wan ruffled the overthinking little girl’s hair, her smile full of indulgence.

“If I could handle Third Brother when he was such a troublemaker, what’s to fear from a little sprout like Fourth? Even if it really is a brother, we’ll raise him well after he’s born—I guarantee he’ll grow up to be a ‘women’s ally’!”

“What does ‘women’s ally’ mean?”

“Ahem, ahem—just a slip of the tongue.”

Meeting her sister’s inquisitive gaze, Jiang Wan waved her hand somewhat awkwardly, dodging the question.

“The meaning isn’t important. What matters now is getting a doctor to check whether Mother is really pregnant.”

“Oh.”

The little girl was convinced by her tough sister. Though there were more words she didn’t understand, she knew her sister’s words always made sense.

Xu Shi watched her eldest daughter settle the younger one down and raised her right hand with an appreciative thumbs-up.

Their household often had these odd sayings and gestures now, all learned from Eldest Daughter. Some meanings weren’t entirely clear, but they always felt just right.

The doctor arrived quickly. After a respectful round of examining, listening, questioning, and checking pulses, the Jiang family, after nearly a decade, finally received joyful news again.

Old Jiang and the old lady were overjoyed when they heard the news.