Chapter 63: The Heir's Consort is Pregnant

"First Young Madam, I saw Young Master Zifeng enter that small courtyard," reported Chunlei.

"Oh? Did you see it clearly?" Yu Yuanzheng found it strange that a young master of the Prince's Estate would come to such a place.

She had no interest in the people of the second branch, so she hadn't bothered to learn much about them, and the Dowager of the Second Branch alone made her extremely averse.

"I am not mistaken," Chunlei said with certainty.

"Xiangyu, stay behind and quietly find out what's going on. We will wait for you at the mouth of the alley," Yu Yuanzheng decided immediately to get to the bottom of it.

Yue Yuying was now a good girl in her eyes, and the two had become friends. Of course, she had to care about matters concerning her.

Receiving the order, Xiangyu vanished from Yu Yuanzheng's sight in a single bound.

Chunlei drove the carriage to the mouth of the alley to wait.

After about two quarters of an hour, Xiangyu returned.

"What was he doing there?" Yu Yuanzheng asked impatiently.

"Replying to the First Young Madam, I think it is better for this subordinate to report this matter directly to the Prince," Xiangyu felt that it would be best for them not to meddle in this affair.

"What on earth is going on?" Hearing this, Yu Yuanzheng became even more determined to find out.

"Er," Xiangyu hesitated.

"You might as well tell us. We are now subordinates of the First Young Master and the First Young Madam," Chunlei reminded him.

Chunlei was extremely loyal to the First Young Madam now.

In fact, all ten guards were intensely loyal to Yu Yuanzheng, because in these short two months, her conduct had made them accept this mistress from the bottom of their hearts.

"Young Master Zifeng is keeping a mistress here," Xiangyu blushed slightly.

He had just sneaked into the small courtyard from the back. The courtyard was so small that the moment he stepped in, he heard the two of them in the middle of that act.

Honestly, they had just met and couldn't even wait.

To let a bachelor like him overhear such a scene was utterly embarrassing.

"What did you say?" Yu Yuanzheng raised her voice.

Xiangyu repeated it. He knew his mistress had heard him clearly; she was simply finding it hard to accept.

"Xiangyu, stay behind and find out clearly what is going on. Who is that woman? How long have they been together? Get every single detail, but do not tell anyone for now." Yu Yuanzheng hadn't expected there to be so many scumbags in ancient times.

That second uncle of theirs was a total scumbag, someone only a second aunt raised in ancient times could tolerate to the extent of even helping him raise concubines.

Truly, pine seeds grow under pine trees, and locust seeds grow under locust trees.

***

"Yes," Xiangyu acknowledged the order.

Chunlei drove the carriage back to the back door of the Ten Days Hall.

As soon as Zhuifeng saw the carriage return, he immediately stepped forward to lead the horse into the small courtyard.

"First Young Madam, Steward Li, the chief steward of the Prince's Estate, came half an hour ago to invite the divine doctor into the estate to diagnose and treat the First Young Master," Zhuifeng reported the moment he saw Yu Yuanzheng.

His face was wreathed in smiles.

Everything they had done was in anticipation of this very day.

"Oh? Did the Prince send him?"

Steward Li Zhongcheng always followed the Prince's instructions.

"Yes," Zhuifeng answered with certainty.

The only person who could prompt the chief steward to come in person was the Prince.

"Did Steward Li see you?"

"No. Uncle Lin received him and simply said the message would be passed on to the divine doctor."

"Good. Send word to the chief steward that we will enter the estate in three days," Yu Yuanzheng immediately made arrangements. "Chunlei, everything depends on you then. I hope you can fool the Prince's eyes."

Upon returning to the Prince's Estate and going to the main courtyard to report to the Princess Consort, she found that the main hall was once again gathered in full.

Everyone was smiling happily.

Especially the Dowager of the Second Branch and Secondary Consort Luo.

Yu Zhaoyang wore an expression of shyness and blushing, mixed with a hint of smugness.

"Greetings, Father, Mother," Yu Yuanzheng bowed properly.

"Running outside all day long, busier than the Prince himself. Princess Consort, you really need to discipline this daughter-in-law of yours. Stop letting her run around and show her face in public, making a laughingstock of our Prince's Estate.

"Look at Zhaoyang; she stays honestly in the estate every day, and just two months after entering the doors, she is already with child. You should properly praise Zhaoyang and send some fine treasures her way. She is your daughter-in-law as well."

The moment the Dowager of the Second Branch saw Yu Yuanzheng returning from outside, she felt compelled to throw out a few barbs.

"My apologies, Dowager of the Second Branch, it is Yuanzheng's fault. The First Young Master and I have no estate to inherit, so we have no choice but to manage our two dowry shops well so that we can support ourselves in the future.

"Unlike my second uncle's household, which owns several shops yet cannot support the family, requiring my second aunt to use her dowry to subsidize them. That just shows how crucial it is to manage shops properly; Second Uncle simply lacks management skills," Yu Yuanzheng said with a completely straight face.

This once again angered the Dowager of the Second Branch to the point where her face turned as cold as ice.

"You..."

***

"Very well. Yuanzheng goes out every time with my permission. Spare us the lectures about her," the Princess Consort stepped in to cut short the dispute.

"Elder Sister Princess Consort, Zhaoyang is truly blessed to conceive just two months after crossing our threshold. This is a great joyous event for our Prince's Estate. Shouldn't we add some more manpower to Shuxiang Courtyard? This younger sister is afraid those few servants might not care for her properly," Secondary Consort Luo smiled as she steered the conversation elsewhere.

"The people in her courtyard, plus those she brought from her maiden family, are already six more than what Zhaoyang's courtyard has. Is that still not enough?" The Princess Consort cast an indifferent glance at Secondary Consort Luo.

"Zishu's wet nurse has fallen ill and hasn't come to work for many days; her health is likely failing. Shouldn't we add another managing mammy? Along with two second-class maids to run errands, just in case the Heir Consort needs something and lacks hands."

Secondary Consort Luo was not flustered and continued to press her request in a reasonable tone.

"Yuanzheng, do you need any more people in your courtyard? Ever since Ziqi's two senior maids were married off by the Princess Consort, no replacements were added," the Princess Consort ignored Secondary Consort Luo and instead asked if Yu Yuanzheng had any needs.

"Mother, there is no need. The people in the courtyard are quite enough. The First Young Master is mainly served by pageboys, and since your daughter-in-law is not pregnant, too many people would just be noisy." Yu Yuanzheng certainly wouldn't agree to taking in new people at a time like this. What if one of them turned out to be someone's spy? She had quite a few secrets now, after all.

"If you have any needs, just tell Mother."

"Certainly."

"Very well, assign four rough-cleaning maids to Shuxiang Courtyard. As for a managing mammy, let's skip it; more people just mean more conflicts. Let Zhaoyang's wet nurse serve as the managing mammy; she watched Zhaoyang grow up from childhood and will surely handle matters with utmost dedication," the Princess Consort announced her decision.

Even when she herself was pregnant, she hadn't been this overly delicate.

With the Princess Consort granting four maids at once, both the Dowager of the Second Branch and Secondary Consort Luo were quite satisfied.

As for Yu Zhaoyang and the Heir, sitting in the lower seats, they paid no attention to what the elders were discussing. The two of them simply whispered to each other, exchanging glances, and the look of sheer happiness on their faces was dazzling to behold.

Yu Zhaoyang gently stroked her flat abdomen, which held no physical sensation as yet.

She was pregnant. This was something she had dreamed of; she never expected that in a new lease on life, happiness would arrive so quickly.

At this thought, she raised her head and glanced at Yu Yuanzheng, who had just sat down opposite her.

Her smile was provocative.

"Heir, Heir Consort, congratulations," Yu Yuanzheng offered a polite congratulation upon catching her gaze.

"Thank you, First Sister-in-law. You might want to consider adopting a child to raise by your side as well; otherwise, the days ahead will be terribly difficult to endure. Children are immensely important to a woman," Yu Zhaoyang remarked, offering advice born from her memories of her past life upon seeing Yu Yuanzheng's less-than-sincere congratulations.

If things followed the trajectory of her past life, the main branch would adopt a five-year-old child who would end up bringing endless headaches to them. In her past life, she had truly loathed that child from the bottom of her heart, resulting in a terrible relationship and ultimately leading the child to constantly run back to his birth parents.

Yu Yuanzheng was even a year younger than her; it was all the more impossible for her to get along with a child. She was looking forward to the show.

"Zhaoyang is right. Prince, the Clan Leader's wife came to chat with me the day before yesterday and brought up this very matter. Since Ziqi is already in that state, it would be best to make plans early. Don't wait until later when Ziqi suffers some mishap, his daughter-in-law cannot hold out and runs off with someone else, leaving Ziqi with no one to his name," the Dowager of the Second Branch chimed in.

Thinking of the benefits promised by the Clan Leader's wife, her heart was fluttering with eagerness.