At that moment, Qiu Ling’s envious and resentful gaze was fixed on her, “Heh! You really are lucky!” Xing Dai Rong was puzzled. She wanted to get out of bed and ask, but Qiu Kui immediately stood in front of her, nervously protecting her. “Miss, you are now pregnant. Don’t move around.”
“What?!”
“Hmph! Behave yourself in the future. Don’t think that having a child will give you any advantage!” Qiu Ling glared at her fiercely, turned around, followed Lu Lingyun’s steps, and left.
In her stunned state, Xing Dai Rong only gradually realized what had happened after everyone had left.
She, she was pregnant!
She… had Cheng Yunshuo’s child!
This meant she had a bargaining chip to stay here!
Realizing this, Xing Dai Rong, after her initial daze, burst into an uncontrollable laughter.
Her laughter reached the ears of those walking outside.
Hearing her grating laughter, Qiu Ling felt a gnawing jealousy. She clutched her handkerchief, “Young Madam, listen to that smug laughter of that little wretch! That vile vixen doesn’t deserve to carry our Young Master’s child!”
“Shut up.” Lu Lingyun rarely spoke with such a cold tone. She stopped and scanned Qiu Ling and everyone else, “Regardless of what Miss Xing has done in the past, she carries the first child of our Houfu. I want the child to be born safely. Anyone who dares to harm her behind my back, I will have them chopped into a thousand pieces!”
Lu Lingyun had never been this serious. Even when she publicly punished Cui Da, it was only with twenty lashes. But this time, she was talking about chopping someone into a thousand pieces. She meant it.
Lu Lingyun wanted the child, regardless of who gave birth to it. The Houfu’s child was her child. She would protect every child. This was also the fifth essential tenet of her role as the head wife.
She didn’t care about the bickering between the concubines. But if anyone dared to harm the children, no matter who they were, she would crush them directly.
In her eyes, whether the child was born of her own blood or not made no difference. In her previous life, she had no children of her own. The children of Li Er’s several concubines were raised in front of her from birth, just like her own.
Perhaps because of the lack of blood ties, those children were more willing to express their closeness and flattery to Lu Lingyun, hoping to gain her favor. After all, winning her favor meant a higher chance of inheriting the family.
Unlike her own biological children, who felt entitled to everything and whose mothers would have to grit their teeth and pave the way for them even if they were unfilial and rebellious.
Just like Cheng Yunshuo, the son of Lady Qin. If he wasn’t her biological son, he wouldn’t dare to act like this. He would have been finished long ago.
Lu Lingyun truly felt that blood ties meant nothing to her.
Moreover, in this era, giving birth was like walking through the gates of hell for women. It was a blessing from heaven to have a child without having to risk her own life. She would protect Xing Dai Rong’s child.
After warning everyone sternly, she returned to her own courtyard.
The first thing she did when she returned was not to inform Cheng Yunshuo, but to send a message to Lady Qin.
It was proper to inform the mistress of the house first.
She told Lady Qin about Xing Dai Rong’s pregnancy and her plan to raise her as a concubine.
She had been suppressing Xing Dai Rong’s escape, and the Luo family knew that it was a shame, so they had kept it quiet. Therefore, the news of her running away had only spread within a small circle.
Raising Xing Dai Rong as a concubine would not be done with great fanfare. It could be handled quietly within the mansion.
Later that night, Lady Qin replied. She showered Lu Lingyun with praise for her virtue and compassion, consoled her for any perceived grievances, and entrusted her with all matters related to Xing Dai Rong, focusing seven out of ten lines in her letter on praising her.
Lady Qin considered Lu Lingyun’s willingness to accept a child born to a concubine, without any hint of resentment, and her proactive efforts in arranging for the concubine and child, to be the epitome of a virtuous head wife. The Cheng family was truly blessed to have married such a remarkable woman!
Of course, besides the verbal praise, Lady Qin also bestowed numerous gifts upon Lu Lingyun.
She sent ten bolts of fine silk, two bolts of Shu brocade, a peacock fur cloak, a white fox fur scarf, five sets of ginseng, ten sets of antlers, a box of bird’s nest, a box of treasured jewelry from her dowry, and two large estates with an annual yield of five thousand taels as compensation for Lu Lingyun’s virtue and magnanimity.
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