Chapter 49: The Matriarch Arrives

After wiping her clean, Lu Huaijin scooped her up and placed her on the bed.

"I have some official documents to look over these past few days. Go to sleep first and don't wait up for me."

Su Yao bit her lower lip, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke out.

"My Lord... I'm still used to living in my previous courtyard..."

"You are pregnant now. Staying with me allows me to look after you."

Su Yao was about to say something more when Lu Huaijin frowned slightly.

"The child you are carrying is, after all, the first grandchild of the Lu family."

Su Yao understood then that Lu Huaijin cared deeply about this child.

Naturally, as it was his firstborn.

She had almost made a fool of herself by harboring unwarranted expectations.

Seeing Su Yao's obedient appearance, Lu Huaijin's heart softened slightly.

He turned and left the bedchamber, returning to the study.

Inside the study, the candle flickered, illuminating the memorials piled high across the desk.

They had just been sent over from the palace, stacked like mountains.

He rubbed his temples in exhaustion.

Tucked beneath a memorial was a young maiden's birth-date slip...

That night, Su Yao did not sleep well.

She dreamed that her father had returned, but upon seeing her protruding belly, his eyes were filled with utter contempt.

She parted her lips, wanting to explain, but her throat felt blocked, unable to utter a single sound.

Her elder brother appeared as well. Both of them regarded her as a woman who had brought disgrace upon the family, and without the slightest mercy, they drove her out of the Su residence.

She walked the streets all alone, the surrounding people pointing and whispering at her.

"An unmarried maiden with such a big belly. Who knows whose wild bastard's seed it is."

Su Yao stumbled, finally falling to the ground as a sharp pain wrenched through her abdomen.

She curled up in agony, and a pair of cloud-patterned black boots appeared before her eyes.

She reached out to grab the hem of the person's robe, wishing to beg for help.

Yet, when she saw the person's face clearly, she froze in shock.

Her whole body turned ice-cold.

"Sister A-Yao, how could you have gotten pregnant? Whose child is this?"

Lu Chuyao's voice was piercingly cold.

His eyes held disgust and aversion.

As if he were looking at the dirtiest thing in the world.

Su Yao's tears soaked the bedsheets.

Just as Lu Huaijin was about to lie down, he noticed her abnormal state—her body was trembling slightly, and her face was etched with sheer anguish.

A tight knot formed in his chest, and he quickly patted her shoulder. "A-Yao, A-Yao, wake up."

In a daze, Su Yao opened her eyes. A mist of tears blurred her vision.

She was still sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling faintly.

The moment she saw Lu Huaijin clearly, her body stiffened abruptly, and she froze.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"I..." Su Yao bit her lower lip tightly and ultimately chose silence, saying nothing.

"It was only a dream." Lu Huaijin took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Lu Huaijin took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

It took a while for Su Yao to gradually calm her emotions. She raised her head slightly and spoke with a tremor, "My Lord, I am still used to sleeping on my own side..."

Lu Huaijin's expression darkened. "Does living in my courtyard make you that miserable? So much so that you cry in your sleep?"

"I..." Su Yao's hands trembled slightly. She kept her head down, not daring to meet Lu Huaijin's eyes.

Seeing her like this, Lu Huaijin's heart softened in the end.

He sighed, softening his tone, and coaxed her gently, "Very well, very well. Tomorrow, I'll have the servants tidy it up, and you can move back then. Sleep here for tonight, all right?"

Su Yao knew the wisdom of accepting when she was ahead, so she nodded obediently.

Lu Huaijin removed his outer robe, only to see Su Yao turn around, facing away from him, and close her eyes.

Lu Huaijin's gaze was burning and profound.

He stared intently at Su Yao's back.

Ever since the estate physician told him that Su Yao was pregnant, he had restrained himself all these days and refrained from touching her.

No matter how much he missed or desired her, he tried his utmost to control himself.

Yet today, Su Yao had shown concern for him, which naturally made him happy. After finishing the official documents, he couldn't resist drinking a few cups of wine.

The scent of alcohol wafted toward the back of Su Yao's head as Lu Huaijin called out softly, "A-Yao..."

What he could not see was Su Yao's furrowed brows and the look of utter revulsion on her face.

"What is it?" Su Yao squeezed the terrified words out of her throat.

Fear gripped her heart. She was still carrying a child; surely this man wasn't thinking of...

The very thought had barely surfaced when she was flipped over by Lu Huaijin.

Immediately afterward, Lu Huaijin's scent rapidly enveloped her.

"Don't be like this."

Su Yao pushed against his chest.

Blazing flames burned in the man's eyes, searing her until she trembled.

"I'll be gentle," he coaxed softly. "Nothing will happen."

Catching the strong stench of alcohol, Su Yao felt a wave of nausea instantly surge up, and she retched a few times.

Lu Huaijin snapped back to sobriety instantly.

He rolled off her at once.

"Do you want to vomit? Are you feeling unwell again?"

"You've been drinking?"

In Su Yao's memory, Lu Huaijin rarely drank alcohol.

"I was just happy today and had a few small cups."

"I don't like this smell."

Seeing her reluctant expression, Lu Huaijin figured that pregnant women were indeed more delicate and demanding.

He would just have to endure a little longer. Imperial Physician Shi had said that after the first three months, it would be fine.

He took hold of Su Yao's hand...

The tips of her ears burned hot.

The next day.

Su Yao's complexion looked extremely poor. When Chuntao served her to wash up and saw her haggard appearance, she was startled.

"Why didn't you sleep well, Miss?"

"I need to sleep a while longer," Su Yao said feebly, crawling back onto the bed.

There was no tormenting someone like this, refusing to let them sleep.

When the sun was high in the sky, Chuntao's voice sounded once again, "Miss, it's bad! People from the main estate have arrived."

"What people?" Su Yao lightly covered her mouth, yawning, not yet fully awake.

"It's the Master and the Head Madam."

"Who?" Su Yao asked dismissively.

"Why, the Lord's parents, of course."

"Ah!"

Startled, Su Yao instantly snapped awake.

She had no recollection of Lu's father and mother; she only remembered Lu Chuyao telling her once that his grandparents had retired to their hometown, and that it had not been easy for Lu Huaijin to raise him alone in the capital.

"The Qingfeng Courtyard has already been tidied up by the maids. Does the Miss wish to move back?"

Su Yao sat up immediately, panic flashing across her expression. "Back, back, let's go back immediately."

Fleeing in a panic, she took Chuntao along and jogged all the way back to her own courtyard.

The moment she stepped through the courtyard gate, she leaned against the courtyard wall, panting heavily as her heart pounded wildly against her ribs.

At that moment, Madam Lu was seated with great composure in the main room, while Qiuyue carefully reported, "Madam, for these past few days, the young master has been keeping a woman in his inner courtyard, practically inseparable day and night."

Madam Lu was currently twisting a string of Buddhist prayer beads in her hand. Hearing this, her movements halted abruptly, and her previously serene countenance instantly froze over with frost.

She had been strong-willed all her life and placed high expectations on her son Lu Huaijin; how could she tolerate such an unseemly state of affairs?

In her mind, her son should marry a maiden of a noble and distinguished family, rather than getting entangled with a woman of unknown origin.

Madam Lu gnashed her teeth. "Preposterous! What kind of behavior is this? The Lu family's face is about to be completely dragged through the dirt."

With that, she slammed the prayer beads heavily onto the table, rattling the teacups.

After a brief moment of thought, she spoke sternly to Qiuyue, "Go, summon that woman to see me. I want to see what kind of vixen has bewitched my son's mind."