Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Marrying Your Seventh Sister as a Concubine
“What?”
The gazes of the three individuals turned toward Jun Yuyan simultaneously.
Xiao Wen didn’t understand what reducing a fetus meant, but from the literal meaning, it seemed to refer to the removal of a fetus.
Murong Jiu, on the other hand, was full of astonishment.
She certainly knew that Jun Yuyan’s suggestion was out of concern for her, but what surprised her was that Jun Yuyan would actually propose this idea, and that he even knew about fetal reduction?
It was her master who had put forward the idea that fetal reduction was possible.
...
“Years ago, an Imperial Physician once asked me how one could turn twins into a single child, and I mentioned the method of fetal reduction, but it’s perilous and far from an easy matter. You must have heard the term from that Imperial Physician,” said the old master.
Jun Yuyan nodded, “It was Imperial Doctor Li; he retired and went back to his hometown ten years ago.”
The old master nodded, “Your intentions are good, but it’s not feasible, because it can harm the mother’s body, and if not careful, it might also injure the fetus.”
“Then is there any way for Ah Jiu to safely give birth to the child, or, to avoid risks, perhaps we could remove…”
“No! I won’t remove them!” Murong Jiu immediately interrupted him, “I exercise every day so that I can safely give birth to them in the future. Even if there’s a ten percent chance of danger, I won’t take their lives!”
Jun Yuyan frowned deeply, “But…”
“There are no ‘buts’, Prince. I know you mean no harm and are considering my well-being, but these are my children. I do not want to hear such talk again!”
Having said that, Murong Jiu turned and quickly walked back to her residence.
Chun Tao hurriedly followed, only to see her own mistress with red-rimmed eyes.
Murong Jiu knew she was too emotional at the moment. She didn’t want to lose her temper with Jun Yuyan; she knew he was concerned for her health.
But she couldn’t help it.
She was reminded of her two children who had died tragically in her previous life, and of her own stupidity and incompetence that had failed to protect them.
The two children had almost become her obsession; she wouldn’t allow anyone to harm them, even if it was just words, it caused her unbearable pain.
“Chun Tao, go out. Let me be alone for a while.”
Her voice was nasally, and without turning her head, she sat down on the bed, stretching her hand to touch her slightly raised belly, tears uncontrollably dripping down.
The door closed, yet footsteps approached.
“Ah Jiu, I’m sorry.”
Murong Jiu looked up, not expecting that it wasn’t Chun Tao who came in, but Jun Yuyan.
His figure appeared blurry through her tear-filled eyes, making her almost believe it was her imagination.
Jun Yuyan had actually come to apologize to her.
She hurriedly got up, “Prince, you don’t have to apologize, it’s my fault for not controlling my emotions. I know you mean well for me, it’s my own fault for not appreciating…”
Before she could finish, Jun Yuyan covered her lips, “Don’t say that. It’s my fault for not considering your feelings, for speaking hastily. Please don’t overthink it, okay?”
Murong Jiu looked at him blankly.
She had never met a man like Jun Yuyan, who not only shouldered responsibility but was also brave enough to admit his mistakes, as if all the fine qualities in the world were embodied in him.
Do men really apologize to women so proactively?
She remembered that, even if he made a mistake, Jun Haoze would never apologize; he would just ignore her, give her the cold shoulder, waiting for her to soften first.
Jun Yuyan, fearing he was being too forward, quickly withdrew his hand.
Then he took out a handkerchief from his chest and handed it to her.
Murong Jiu took it, wiping away the tears on her face, and smiled at him somewhat sheepishly.
“I… I won’t overthink it, it was just me not controlling my emotions well just now, I won’t behave like that towards the Prince again,” she said.
Jun Yuyan frowned and said, “In front of me, you don’t need to control yourself; just be the most authentic you.”
He realized this might sound ambiguous and, not wanting to make Ah Jiu uncomfortable, he explained, “What I mean is, if I say something wrong, I hope you won’t get angry and harm your health because of me.”
Murong Jiu nodded, “Thank you, Prince, just now I was angry with myself.”
She feared repeating the mistakes of her past life, afraid of safely giving birth, only to see her children end up in danger again.
But she had come to terms with it now; she was no longer the person from her previous life, and she wouldn’t let anyone harm her two children.
“Prince, I will train harder, to safely deliver the two children. Besides, with my master here, it may not necessarily be dangerous. If—the Prince also thinks twins are a bad omen, I can leave the Prince Mansion now and go elsewhere…”
“Ah Jiu,”
She had not finished speaking when Jun Yuyan interrupted her in a deep voice, “I have never thought twins to be a bad omen; that’s nothing but feudal dregs. If it were not for those old and inflexible rumors, I should have had two more siblings.”
Murong Jiu’s eyes widened, “Noble Consort Qi?”
Jun Yuyan nodded, “After she knew she was carrying twins, she got scared of the bad omen, scared of losing favor, and forcefully miscarried, resulting in her inability to get pregnant again afterwards.”
Murong Jiu’s eyebrows knitted tightly together; she couldn’t understand why Noble Consort Qi would be so cruel to get rid of her own children.
Jun Yuyan continued, “If she was just scared of the difficulty of childbirth and therefore aborted the children, I could understand her. But what she cared about more was the fear of losing favor, afraid of the concubines in the palace using this as leverage against her.”
Murong Jiu understood that his earlier suggestions about reducing the number of fetuses were for her physical well-being,
and not because he believed in those superstitions about twins being ominous.
Suddenly, she recalled what her master had said about twins being hereditary; perhaps, in the future, Jun Yuyan might also have twins.
She herself too, from the Marquis Mansion without a history of twins, might have inherited this from biological parents with twin lineage.
Unfortunately, she had not thought of this in her previous life. In hindsight, it seemed so foolish.
“Let’s go out for a walk, don’t stay cooped up in the room all the time, it’ll affect your mood,” he said.
“Alright, thank you, Prince,” she replied.
The two of them quickly walked out side by side.
Chun Tao covered her mouth behind them and giggled.
It was only after they had walked a good distance that Xiao Wen stealthily said to Divine Doctor Zhai, “Grandfather Divine Doctor, I’ve noticed the Prince is really good at cheering up the Princess Consort; I want to be like the Prince and be affectionate in the future!”
Divine Doctor Zhai looked at the figures of the two walking shoulder to shoulder and narrowed his eyes.
This Prince’s feelings for Xiao Jiu are surely not simple.
During their stay at the villa, they ended up staying for five days.
If the Emperor hadn’t summoned Jun Yuyan back to the capital for urgent matters, they might have continued to stay there.
During these days, they didn’t encounter any more assassins. The villa was guarded by Jun Yuyan’s Hidden Guards, sealed tight as a drum, nipping any hint of trouble in the bud, ensuring that Murong Jiu would not feel any danger at all.
Perhaps due to a more relaxed state of mind, or better sleep, Murong Jiu’s morning sickness had subsided a lot over the days. Apart from occasional nausea, she was now able to eat more than before.
Therefore, she intensified her physical training, practicing not only the body-cultivation techniques taught by her master but also regularly practicing archery.
For this, Jun Yuyan specially found her a light and handy bow, which could shoot a great distance without much effort, and she liked it very much.
Seeing her affection for it, Jun Yuyan secretly commissioned a sleeve arrow to be crafted, planning to give her a surprise.
However, as soon as they returned to the Prince Mansion, the Marquis Murong personally came calling.
Upon seeing Murong Jiu, he ordered bluntly,
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“Your Seventh Sister is pregnant with the Prince’s child; you should persuade the Prince to take her as a Concubine.”