Chapter 326: Forbidden to Share a Bed
Chapter 326: Chapter 326: Forbidden to Share a Bed
Outside the door, Nanny Fang saw her emerge and quickly hid the rattan cane behind her back.
"Give it to me!" Lady Wei said in a low, stern voice.
Nanny Fang: "..."
"Hurry!" Lady Wei urged.
Nanny Fang had no choice but to hand over the rattan cane, advising, "My lady, please go easy on him. Don’t actually injure the Princely Heir."
Lady Wei snorted coldly. "He deserves it!"
Watching her mistress enter the room brandishing the cane, looking furious, Nanny Fang swallowed hard.
Just a moment ago in Lan Courtyard, Lady Wei had suddenly ordered her to fetch the disciplinary cane. At the time, Nanny Fang hadn’t understood why. But after rushing here with her mistress, she overheard the conversation between the Princely Heir and the Heir’s wife.
So it was true—the Heir’s wife was really pregnant.
And from the sound of it, the Princely Heir had taken the Heir’s wife’s innocence before their grand wedding.
No wonder her mistress was so furious.
Her mistress had always treated the Heir’s wife like her own daughter. How could she not be angry, now that she knew the Princely Heir had taken advantage of her before the wedding?
Besides, the Princely Heir and the Heir’s wife had only been married for half a month. If news of a pregnancy diagnosed this early were to spread, the Heir’s wife’s reputation would be ruined.
At this thought, Nanny Fang’s heart went cold. She quickly scanned her surroundings.
Seeing no one else in the courtyard, she finally relaxed.
Even so, she found herself anxiously patrolling the courtyard.
’The fact that the Heir’s wife is pregnant after only half a month of marriage cannot be known by anyone else.’
Zhi Wan sat in the inner chamber, her ears pricked, listening for any sound from outside.
When she heard only silence, she breathed a sigh of relief.
’I must have been mistaken. Mother-in-law already hit Cousin, and she promised me. She wouldn’t hit him again.’
Zhi Wan comforted herself with this thought.
Before long, however, the dull thud of a rod striking flesh sounded from outside.
Zhi Wan jumped in fright and hurried out.
In the outer room, she saw her cousin kneeling on the floor. Her mother-in-law had the rattan cane raised high, bringing it down hard on his body.
With each strike, Zhi Wan’s heart ached terribly.
She cried out anxiously, "Mother, you’re breaking your promise! You said you wouldn’t hit Cousin."
Lady Wei’s movements paused. She turned to look at Zhi Wan with a benevolent expression. "I’m not hitting him. I’m just helping him scratch an itch. If you don’t believe me, ask Ah Zhan if it hurts."
The corner of Lu Zhan’s eye twitched. He stood up.
"Who told you to get up? Kneel!" Lady Wei ordered furiously, brandishing the rattan cane.
Lu Zhan: "..."
He lifted the hem of his robes and knelt again.
"Ah Zhan, tell Wan’er, does it hurt?" Lady Wei asked, her smile not reaching her eyes.
Lu Zhan glanced at his mother, then looked at Zhi Wan and said gently, "It’s nothing. I’m not in pain, really."
Zhi Wan was both angry and frantic.
’I’m not a three-year-old child anymore,’ she thought. ’Why do Mother-in-law and Cousin still treat me like one?’
She mentally reviewed the day’s events and began to vaguely understand why her cousin was being punished.
Seeing her cousin still forced to kneel by her mother-in-law, she twisted her handkerchief and said in a small voice, "Mother, that incident... it wasn’t Cousin’s fault. It was me..."
"Cousin, if I did something wrong, then I did something wrong. You shouldn’t make excuses to absolve me," Lu Zhan interrupted her in a deep voice.
Zhi Wan paused, and in the end, said no more.
’Even though Mother-in-law dotes on me,’ she thought, ’if I were to say that I was the one who pulled Cousin into bed the day before he left for the hunting ground, how would she look at me?’
"At least you have some sense of responsibility," Lady Wei said, shooting her son a sideways glance.
In her view, Wan’er was still young, just a little girl. If her son wanted to, he could have easily coaxed her into it with just a few words.
Therefore, their premarital transgression was naturally her son’s fault.
Seeing Wan’er there, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to strike her son again.
Still, she inwardly resented her son for his lack of self-control, for crossing the line before the wedding and getting Wan’er pregnant only half a month after they married.
She shot her son a resentful glare, put down the rattan cane, and helped Zhi Wan sit on the soft couch.
"Wan’er, this must be hard on you."
Zhi Wan shook her head. "Mother, you’re being too serious. I’m all right."
Lady Wei studied her slender shoulders, patted her head, and sighed. "From today on, you’ll need to eat more and build up your strength."
Zhi Wan paused. "Why?"
"Did you think giving birth is easy? You’re so young and your body is so frail. Labor will be very difficult for you. But don’t you worry. It’s still early, so we’ll just have to build up your health," Lady Wei said.
Hearing this, Zhi Wan nodded. "I’ll listen to whatever Mother says. But..." She bit her lip and said softly, "My monthly cycles have always been irregular. Perhaps Cousin’s diagnosis was wrong."
She said this to keep everyone from getting their hopes up, lest it all turn out to be a false alarm.
"Hmm, then we’ll wait another half a month and see," Lady Wei said.
Zhi Wan understood what she meant.
In another half a month, it would be a full month since she and her cousin had married.
If a pregnancy were diagnosed then, it wouldn’t matter if people found out.
"Okay." Zhi Wan nodded obediently. Seeing that her cousin was still kneeling on the floor, she hugged her mother-in-law’s arm and pleaded, "Mother, please let Cousin get up. It wouldn’t be good if someone saw him."
’Cousin is a high official of the Third Rank, after all,’ she thought. ’Being subjected to family discipline and forced to kneel... it’s truly unseemly.’
Besides, Cousin had truly done nothing wrong.
’Cousin has always been very respectful of me. If I hadn’t been the one to pull him that time, he never would have crossed that line.’
Hearing this, Lady Wei felt a surge of exasperation with her daughter-in-law.
She could protect Wan’er, but she couldn’t watch the young couple all day long. She worried that in the moments she couldn’t see, her son would take advantage of Wan’er and cause her to feel wronged.
After a moment of thought, she lowered her voice and advised, "Why does your heart ache for him? He’s a man; kneeling a little longer won’t break him. Besides, we’re inside, who’s going to see? He needs to be dealt with now, so that he’ll be completely devoted to you in the future."
At these words, Zhi Wan couldn’t help but glance at her cousin.
’Her cousin was one of heaven’s favored, always noble and dignified. Outside, he is always flattered and respected. Yet because of me, he’s been beaten by Mother-in-law twice and forced to kneel twice.’
’And those last few strikes from Mother-in-law... it looked like she didn’t hold back at all. I’m afraid she’s already injured him.’
With that thought, she couldn’t resist tugging on her mother-in-law’s sleeve again, pleading coaxingly, "Please, just let Cousin get up."
Lady Wei sighed, exasperated. "Fine, have it your way."
Zhi Wan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mother."
Lady Wei patted her head lovingly, but her expression turned stern when she looked at Lu Zhan. "Ah Zhan, for the sake of Wan’er pleading for you, I will let you off for now. I expect you to conduct yourself properly and not make this mistake again. Alright, get up."
"Thank you, Mother. Thank you, Cousin," Lu Zhan said as he stood up.
Zhi Wan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
As Lady Wei was leaving, she called Lu Zhan outside.
"...You know some medicine, so you should be aware that the first three months are the most unstable. You must abstain from marital relations, understand?"
Lu Zhan’s ears burned. "I know," he answered in a low voice.
Seeing his obedient demeanor, Lady Wei grew worried again.
Who would have thought that this son of hers, who had always prized rules and etiquette above all else, could be so improper in private?
Coveting her Wan’er was one thing, but to dare to cross the line before marriage and get her pregnant...
The more Lady Wei thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She gave a stern warning, "Starting tonight, you two are not to share a bed. You will sleep on the couch in the outer room."
Lu Zhan: "..."
"Did you hear me?" Lady Wei threatened, shaking the rattan cane in her hand.
The corner of Lu Zhan’s eye twitched. "I understand."