Chapter 73: A False Alarm

  Su Ying sat motionlessly in the chair, and San Tai Tai saw her soft and weak appearance, which made her choke with anger, unable to speak out.

  Fu Yiyang rushed to the capital, and the person who went to investigate first came back to report that there seemed to be a "female" on the boat. The words were also spoken vaguely, and everyone's brain was filled with the idea that Fu Yiyang had brought back a concubine from his three-month trip outside the mansion.

  Benlai mei Su Ying was still pregnant, and she thought that originally they should have arrived in the capital ten days ago. Now that they've finally arrived, it's definitely because of consideration for the 'female' companion who followed them. Jiangnan is known for producing beautiful women, and yet before even entering the door, things are already like this - she must be a troublemaker at home.

  Madam Chen and the three ladies immediately looked at Su Ying, with a mixture of sympathy and schadenfreude, but unexpectedly, Su Ying's face didn't change color, her complexion was still rosy, looking like a well-behaved person.

  Those present were stunned, no one believed that Su Ying really didn't care, and the aloe vera and mint following behind her had a hint of worry in their eyes, it seemed everyone had thought of the same thing.

  Madam Chen has been completely focused on having a son since she became pregnant, and her relationship with Madam Fu has deteriorated to the point where they barely speak to each other. She only glanced at Su Ying once before turning back to her own affairs, pretending to be a wooden puppet.

  The task of "good advice" fell on the third lady who had been displeased with Su Ying since the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet. She had been thinking of finding an opportunity to get back at her, and now that it had arrived, she took the initiative to speak up without anyone stopping her.

  "How could the people below not be diligent, and they didn't even get the identity right? Don't think about it elsewhere, sister. You also said earlier that big brother is busy with official duties and has no time for romantic entanglements. You should relax, or I'll send someone to investigate again to avoid a false alarm."

  Third Aunt thought she had spoken very cleverly, and repeated the exact words she had said at the family banquet. But she didn't think that she wasn't even a proper sister-in-law, and her eyes had already strayed to the affairs of Eldest Uncle's household. She was so shameless.

  Su Ying now looks down on San Tai Tai with disdain, thinking she's not even as lovely as Chen Furen. At least Chen Furen has one good point - she launches indiscriminate attacks, unlike San Tai Tai who sticks to her like glue, refusing to let go.

  Su Ying didn't have any doubts at first, but after thinking about it for a moment, she felt that it was impossible. To put it bluntly, Fu Yeyang had some obsessive-compulsive tendencies and paid great attention to his image. It's possible for others to bring back a servant when they go out on business trips, but for Fu Yeyang, the idea of having a servant was simply too small-minded, not to mention delaying their journey for one.

  Su Yingli 'analyzed' the situation. Of course, she still didn't get Fu Yiyang's hint about the cucumber being unclean, and with her usual composure, her face remained calm and serene, making those who wanted to see her make a fool of herself feel greatly disappointed.

  After listening to San Taitai's words, Su Ying calmed down. She swept her gaze around the room and saw that Fu Mu was sitting upright at the head of the table, which seemed to indicate that she had accepted San Taitai's aggressive behavior, perhaps even thinking about adding fuel to the fire, just like everyone else was doing.

  The more so at this time, the calmer Su Ying was. She curled up the corner of her mouth and smiled at Third Madam: "Let's do as my little sister said."

  The term "little brother and sister" was once disliked by Fu Yiyang. It's strange to say, but San Tai Tai still calls Fu Yiyang "Big Brother-in-law", Su Ying really wants to call out "Little Sister-in-law" in response.

  Third Madame's upbringing was still not up to par, and being called out by Su Ying made a look of disgust appear on her face. She pinched the handkerchief and took a glance at Fu Mu sitting at the top, as if she hadn't even considered Chen Furen sitting in front of her.

  Su Ying didn't say much, but Madam Chen was already annoyed. Let alone the sisterly affection that wasn't deep to begin with, it had long been worn away by time. Madam Chen thought to herself, calling you "little sister" is still giving you face, could it be that you're still feeling wronged?!

  Even Yu Guang didn't give San Tai Tai, Zhang Kou said: "I see that Da Sao is not anxious, younger sister, what are you worried about?" It's really boring to eat radish and worry, idle and anxious.

  Third Aunt opened her mouth, still with a hint of grievance: "I was just thinking that Big Sister might be depressed about this matter, and Big Sister is pregnant with six months and can't keep depression in her heart. I'm just thinking for Big Sister's sake, sister can't misunderstand my good intentions."

  Just talking about it, she was still holding her waist, now entering October, calculating that she is also nearly seven months pregnant, the whole person has become thinner, only showing a belly, and must have someone supporting her from behind to stand firm.

  Mrs. Chen snorted and raised an eyebrow, her eyes revealing a hint of disdain, but she said: "It was my mistake, I'm not as good at understanding people's intentions as your sister."

  If it weren't for Fu Mu glaring at her, who knows what Madame Chen would say next, this was one of the things Su Ying liked about her, this explosive temper, anyone could set it off.

  Third Madame was massaging her chest, and the maid beside her quickly brought over some tea. After taking a sip, Third Madame finally calmed down. Her belly looked truly frightening, and her complexion was also unwell. Su Ying completely ignored it, not even making an effort to smooth things over.

  Fu's mother spoke up at this time: "It's better to make it clear, so that when the time comes, it won't be inconvenient to arrange for someone to come into the mansion." This sentence basically implied that Fu Yiyang would bring a servant from outside.

  He also said, "The old master is a man of discernment, and as long as the old lady is a prudent person, I have nothing to worry about."

  Su Ying's eyes reflected the triumphant face of San Tai Tai, as well as Chen Furen's subtle pursed lips and slightly lowered eyelids, covering up the ridicule that was about to emerge from the bottom of her eyes.

  Everyone really thought Fu Yiyang would bring a concubine back, what kind of moral character is this?

  Liu Yiniang also received the news, and her heart was truly filled with mixed emotions. When she saw Su Ying, she didn't dare to reveal even a hint of it, seeing Su Ying still looking calm and composed, she unknowingly suppressed her feelings. After all, if the news were true, the one who should be most worried should be Madam.

  The servant who went to gather information should have returned early, but it was said that Fu Yeyang's carriage had arrived. The servant who gathered the news hadn't even had time to report back to the backyard when Su Ying narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment before realizing who was behind it all. She couldn't help but roll her eyes in her heart, thinking that this was too childish an attempt to provoke her.

  I recall the last time I came out to welcome Fu Yiyang, Wei Niang was still around. She even took a fancy fan and fanned herself with it, exchanging flirtatious glances with Fu Yiyang at the banquet. Now, Wei Niang is still under house arrest in the South Wing. She went to great lengths to send a message out, wanting to see Fu Yiyang, her demeanor couldn't be more humble.

  As for Liu Yiniang, she also put away that "cleverness" that couldn't be shown on her face and became even more obedient to Su Ying. No matter how much water was in this obedience, if Su Ying's thoughts were still active, there would be ways to suppress her, just like suppressing Wei Yiniang.

  Ling Yue seemed to be intimidated by Liu Niang's strictness, but Liu Niang wouldn't really treat Ling Yue harshly after all, she was still Su Ying's person. However, the servants below were used to following the wind and taking advantage of the situation, making Ling Yue appear even more timid and fearful than before, with a cautious attitude that made Liu Niang look down on her even more.

  Everything is different now, as the time of Fu Yiyang's return to the mansion approaches. Su Ying becomes less calm and doesn't know what kind of mood she should use to face it.

  It has to be said that the couple's mood had shifted to one place, and when Fu Yeyang arrived home in a flurry of dust, he still had some "homesickness" feelings. His footsteps paused for a moment, and when he took another step forward, he didn't stop again.

  Liu Yiniang first saw that Fu Yeyang had no slender figure following behind him, and she let out a sigh of relief. However, when Fu Yeyang quickly walked over without even giving her a glance, her heart sank again.

  Before Su Ying made a move, Fu Ye Yang took the lead and flashed her a smile: "Why not wait inside?" As he said that, he grasped Su Ying's hand and pointed to the aloe vera: "Why didn't you prepare a cloak for your master?" Looking at the orange-red colored silk padded jacket she was wearing, Fu Ye Yang also felt warmth, and when he saw her belly, he started to worry, "Your body is heavy, don't come out to wait, hurry and go inside."

  Everyone else suddenly became a backdrop, and Liu Yiniang unwillingly bit her lip, slowing down half a step but still following.

  Su Ying looked over and saw that Fu Ye was holding his hand, with a smile on his face: "It's time to set up the banquet to welcome you back, Wen'er is also waiting for you in the main courtyard."

  Fu Yiyang furrowed his brow, gave Su Ying some support and thought for a moment before saying: "This banquet doesn't need to be rushed, why bother 'exerting' yourself with these trivial matters when you're pregnant?"

  The neatly trimmed fingernails of Aunt Liu suddenly pinched into the "flesh", not even giving a chance for the final performance, feeling extremely disappointed.

  Su Ying didn't force the issue, and nodded slightly. She said, "Master has traveled such a long distance, I'm sure he's tired. In that case, you all can go back to your courtyard." Then she turned to Fu Ye Yang and spoke softly, "The old lady is also waiting for you, take a break first before going over."

  Fu Yiyang's eyebrows didn't even furrow, he responded with a sound, and then asked: "When I'm not around, these two little rascals must be causing trouble?" How does it sound like "They're definitely causing trouble, it's up to me as their father to teach them a lesson"?

  "They say both of them are considerate, except for that one time when they were a bit too much, but after that, they didn't bother me again." Su Ying's words had some exaggeration, but as her own child, a mother would naturally be biased towards thinking her kids are filial.

  However, this is not false. Su Ying, who was pregnant with twins, had a rapidly expanding belly and became clumsy. She never had leg cramps before, but now she often had to support her waist with her hands. Her originally slender waist was no longer visible. Seeing Fu Yeyang eagerly looking at her belly, Su Ying steered the conversation in that direction, "Perhaps because they know their father is coming back, these two days have been more active than usual."

  Fu Yiyang hooked the corner of his mouth when he heard her say that, helped Su Ying sit up straight, and put his hand on hers: "How did they know I was coming back? Is it...?" 'Is it because of what the child's mother has been muttering about all day?' This sentence wasn't spoken out loud, but everyone understood the second half of the sentence without him having to spell it out.

  I don't know if it's really telepathy, but as soon as Fu Yeyang's hand touched it, he felt a slight movement under his hand, as if the little foot had kicked his belly. Fu Yeyang couldn't help but smile, "Looks like you're really thinking of me."

  When Su Ying communicated with Fu Yeyang, although there were some trivial things, Fu Yeyang, who was busy with official duties outside, didn't mind and gradually savored the taste.

  Fu Yiyang is not in the capital, and he roughly knows about the things in the capital. However, some trivial matters cannot be guessed. Looking at Su Ying's letter, she wrote some small things that she and other imperial concubines gossiped about when they were idle, and there are also some useful words in her language.

  Fu Yiyang didn't think that Su Ying had written it for him to see at first, but after thinking about it later, he somewhat understood and felt comforted. However, there were still few of those kinds of messages, mostly just trivial things like how the family was doing, and the two little ones kicking in her belly, etc. Because of this, Fu Yiyang had been looking forward to personally experiencing the feeling of the two little ones kicking since he returned from his trip.

  If nothing unexpected happened in between, he would have returned ten days earlier.

  Fu Yiyang said this while glancing at Su Ying with a hint of teasing, Su Ying's face turned red as she kicked him lightly and handed him a cup of water: "Drink some water first."

  Fu Yiyang coughed and cleared his throat, took over the tea cup handed by Su Ying and took a sip.

  Su Ying didn't ask Fu Yiyang what that so-called "female" relative was all about. When Fu Yiyang went upstairs to pay respects to Madam Fu, he had someone call Yongping over.

  Yongping didn't understand why Su Qing called him over and asked what it was, without hiding anything, he first explained the identity of the 'female' relative.

  It's not what everyone thought, a servant brought from Jiangnan. It turns out that she has some relationship with the Fu family and is the daughter of the younger brother of Fu Yiyang's grandmother's natal family, who was born after marrying in Suzhou. By rights, she should call Fu Yiyang "older male cousin".

  Also coming along was Pan's second brother, otherwise it would be a big deal for Pan and the outsider to ride in the same boat. The two siblings came to Beijing to visit their maternal grandparents' home, which is also the maiden family of Fu Yiyang's grandmother. At the same time, this Mr. Pan Er is going to study in the capital, and Miss Pan intends to participate in next year's election. When they parted ways at the dock, the siblings went to their grandparents' house.

  It was indeed a false alarm.

  Su Ying smiled lightly: "It was because I came with them that I delayed my original journey, and I should have sent a message back early to let you know, so you wouldn't worry."

  Yongping swallowed his saliva and lowered his head: "It was originally met with Shao Ye and Shao Gu Niang on the way. It was originally a relative of our own family, and Lao Ye couldn't refuse, and Shao Gu Niang was weak and delayed for several days on the road."

  They were supposed to be relatives, but in reality, they didn't have much of a relationship. Fu Yeyang tolerated them only because they were relatives from his grandmother's side of the family. As for why he hadn't mentioned it, he was probably thinking that once they arrived in the capital, they would go their separate ways, and he had only sent word to the Qi Manor on his grandmother's side.

  There's really nothing to be misunderstood about this.

  Third Aunt was originally still waiting to see Su Ying make a fool of herself, but instead she received news that it was the daughter of a relative's family, and her heart felt extremely depressed. Why did Eldest Aunt have such good luck? She was so angry that she smashed her cup.

  Fu Yiyang didn't know that there was another scene in the mansion before he returned, and he didn't stay long in the upper house. He still missed Su Ying in his heart, and the two of them had just talked about some private matters for a while, but it was like scratching an itch with a boot, which couldn't be satisfied at all. His feet didn't stop moving as he headed towards the main courtyard.

  Su Ying changed into a light purple casual dress, and the hairpin on her head was also removed. She simply wrapped a gold thread chain around her hair, with a light purple flower pin. Just looking at it makes me feel calm and elegant, with a rosy complexion, and the whole person exudes good spirits from inside out.

  Fu Yiyang also felt refreshed and comfortable, lying down beside Su Ying's belly, "This belly looks scary." As soon as he said that, his heart started to worry too. These twins are not ordinary, some things really need to be prepared carefully.

  Su Ying glanced at him: "You're not the only one who has said that, usually when people see me they say something like that. Usually it's the girls holding me up for a few steps, and later on I'll have to be helped by others to hold my belly while walking." She felt that she was now quite bloated, but hadn't reduced her food intake in order to maintain her figure, fearing that after giving birth she wouldn't be able to lose weight. After all, it's twins, and nutrition is keeping up, looking more plump than before pregnancy isn't just a little bit.

  Not to mention comparing with Mrs. Three who was also seven months pregnant, Mrs. Three's whole body only showed a big belly.

  Originally, she was worried that Fu Yiyang would not be able to withstand the loneliness for two or three months, and to be honest, she had no idea what was going on in her heart. But when Fu Yiyang really endured three months without eating "meat", Su Ying couldn't describe the taste in her heart.

  When he came back, he didn't even glance at Mrs. Liu, and the two of them hadn't seen each other for two or three months, yet they didn't feel distant from each other at all. She had things to talk to him about, mostly about the child, and indeed after having a child, it was different from before.

  Fu Yiyang murmured, "Mmm," and leaned in closer: "In the future, I'll also have to make an effort." As he did so, he hesitated again. He had been thinking about his wife for three months while he was away, but now that he saw her belly, it really was too big. It seemed like they couldn't do those things anymore, or she would feel tired and think he was being a burden, and then he would have to go find someone else. Just as Fu Yiyang thought this, his impression of Liu Niang also faded away, and suddenly he felt that Chen Xiangshan was not so great after all. Even when they did those things after Su Ying's pregnancy stabilized, it wasn't as enjoyable as before. This thought flashed through his mind and then was discarded.

  Su Ying was half a beat slower to react and only then realized what he meant, her ears turned bright red, and she couldn't help but scold him: "Not serious."

  Fu Yiyang smiled and leaned in to touch her face with his hand: "You're wronging me by saying that." Knowing that Su Ying's body was much heavier than usual, he didn't let her move, and instead found a comfortable position for himself. Su Ying knew he had been holding back for a long time, and when she saw him leaning in, she closed her eyes slightly and tilted her face up to meet his. He hadn't even finished speaking when their lips stuck together.

  It's not entirely fitting to say that they're like newlyweds, but that's the general idea. Su Ying felt a familiar masculine scent wash over her, and suddenly she found herself missing this person. She blinked, and her trembling eyelashes lightly brushed against his face, as if scratching an itch in his heart. He wrapped his arms around hers, adjusting their position so she could lean in more comfortably. Not satisfied with just rubbing her pale earlobe, he went ahead and gave it a fierce kiss.

  Later, Su Yinghong still pushed him away with a red face, "Wen'er is still waiting to see her father." Speaking in a stuttering manner, Fu Yeyang made a great effort to get up, and if this continued, he really couldn't hold back anymore.

  "It's inevitable." He reached out and pinched her plump body, then cleared his throat with a cough. "I brought some things back from outside, did someone send them over?"

  He suddenly became serious again, Su Ying's face still had a faint blush, as if she had applied a thin layer of rouge, and her eyes still had a hint of moisture. When she looked up at him, Fu Ye's throat tightened, the heat in his eyes flared up again, and he subconsciously grasped her hand and stroked it.

  Su Ying nodded and said, "The ones for Shang Fang and Wen Er have already been sent out, but I haven't had a chance to examine the rest yet." Fu Ye Yang was not someone who didn't understand human emotions, otherwise he wouldn't have achieved so much at such a young age. However, he rarely paid attention to the inner courtyard, perhaps because in the past he would give gifts to his concubines and only go through the motions when giving gifts to his main wife, just for the sake of appearances.

  Fu Yiyang didn't seem unhappy after hearing this, and realized that someone had improved. She always thought everything was better than it actually was, just like this matter. Fu Yiyang had originally brought back some small souvenirs from Jiangnan to coax his wife into a good mood, naturally hoping that his wife would appreciate the little gifts he had brought back.

  He asked this question, hoping Su Ying would give him a smile and praise the gift he gave her, saying it was to her liking. But Su Ying said she hadn't had time to look at it yet, and had only just sent it to the old lady upstairs and the eldest daughter. Fu Yeyang really thought that this was not her character, always putting others first, and never putting him in the front of things. Thinking about this made his heart feel hot with anger.

  "You first take a look, I'll go and see Wen 'Yu'." After saying this, the old master walked away very carefreely.

  Su Ying was slightly stunned, and Lu Xi and Bo He came in, both smiling, supporting Su Ying to see what Fu Ye Yang had brought back. In fact, the value of this thing is not comparable to the valuable golden jade headwear that Fu Ye Yang had given her from his "private" collection before, but it's a small gift that women would like, let alone being specially brought back from Jiangnan.

  Mint smiled and picked out a wooden hairpin from inside, "The lady just said that she was tired of wearing other hairpins that were dazzling, this one is plain and simple, and it even has a fragrant scent, it's just right for the lady. Does the lady want to try 'inserting' it?"

  Su Ying pursed the corner of her mouth, and the red flush that had not yet faded from her face began to spread again. This time she really felt embarrassed. Had this person opened up a gap?

  A ripple rose in her heart, but her face remained calm and serene as she lightly said, "Put it on and let me take a look."

  Lü Huì took down the pale purple hairpin that Sū Yǐng had been wearing on her head and replaced it with a wooden hairpin. Bò Hé handed Sū Yǐng a mirror, "You look great with this on, madam."

  Su Ying nodded slightly with a faint "en".

  Lü Huì and Bò Hé exchanged a glance, biting their lips to hold back a smile, it seems the lady is shy...