"Sixth Sister, Sixth Sister, don't get agitated!" Ding's immediate priority was to calm Sixth Sister down. She quickly stepped forward, personally supporting Sixth Sister, and said softly, "Qian-ge'er has drunk too much and is talking nonsense. Don't believe him!"
Sixth Sister closed her eyes, seemingly trying to hold back her tears. Due to her good upbringing, she forced her eyes to redden, but no tears fell.
Kneeling to the side, Xu Hui was filled with shock and fear. All her hard work these past few days was about to be ruined. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She clutched her stomach and almost collapsed.
Chen Qian reacted quickly and caught her.
Seeing all this, Liu Niang ignored Ding Shi's objections and repeatedly said, "Good, good, Chen Qian, hello—"
Having said that, Sixth Sister turned and left without looking back.
Ding looked at Chen Qian, who was holding Xu Hui and showed no remorse, and at Liu Niang, who was extremely angry and heartbroken. She was at a loss for what to do and was so angry that she almost fainted.
"Hurry and call a doctor!" Chen Qian made the decision immediately.
******
The Chen residence was in complete chaos all afternoon.
Fortunately, Chen Li had to leave the capital for two days to go to Zhen Ding Prefecture. Otherwise, if he were still in the prefecture, he would definitely have taught Chen Qian a lesson.
Xu Hui suddenly fainted. Chen Qian had to protect her, and Ding Shi couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So, she had no choice but to have someone take Xu Hui to Ding Shi's courtyard, to the maid's room, and call a doctor to come and see her.
Ding lay on the bed, fuming. The doctor was taking her pulse when a maid came in to report that, according to the doctor's diagnosis, Xu Hui was nearly two months pregnant. She had fainted from the shock. The fetus was almost lost, but it was discovered in time and the baby was saved.
Although the fetal breathing was a little unstable, the doctor prescribed some pills, and after resting for a few days, it got better.
Upon hearing the news, her face showed no joy, but rather deep worry, and she felt even more dizzy and disoriented.
After the doctor prescribed the medicine and got it for her, she immediately called Chen Qian in.
Chen Qian, who was a new father, actually had a look of joy on his face.
"You reek of alcohol!" Although Madam Ding was angry that Chen Qian had embarrassed himself in front of others, she couldn't bear to say much more to her own son. She only scolded him a couple of times before letting it go. After all, it was Xu Hui who had seduced Chen Qian into making a mistake, and her son was also a victim.
Chen Qian waved his hand dismissively and said, "Mother, we must take good care of Hui Niang now. She's pregnant, so we should give her a proper status, shouldn't we?"
Seeing his expression, Ding was so angry that she slapped him hard again.
"You're only thinking about giving Xu Hui a proper title! Have you thought about how you're going to explain this to Sixth Sister?" Ding was still more worried about Sixth Sister. After all, she had only been married into the family for a short time when she caught Chen Qian flirting with someone else, and then she learned that Xu Hui was pregnant. Where would Sixth Sister's face be then?
Sixth Sister is not from a humble background; her maternal family is the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion. She has an elder sister who is the wife of the Prince of Yi's heir and a younger sister who is the wife of the Marquis. If Sixth Sister is angered, the Chen family will probably not have a good outcome.
Moreover, it was indeed the Chen family's fault in this matter. The new bride had only just entered the family when the issue of the illegitimate son being born first arose.
"How am I supposed to explain this?!" Chen Qian muttered impatiently, fiddling with the jade pendant on his body. "Can't I even have two concubines? It's not like I'm favoring my wife over my concubines, what can she possibly do? If she does, it'll just mean she's intolerant and not virtuous!"
The pine-flower colored tassel on the jade pendant he wore was made by Sixth Sister.
Now, Chen Qian's eyes are filled with disgust.
The more Chen Qian spoke, the more convinced he felt he was in the right. He was just keeping two concubines and maids around him; what family didn't have that? Not to mention other families, even in the Nan'an Marquis's mansion, his father-in-law, the Nan'an Marquis, had two young and beautiful concubines by his side.
"So it's An Yuanliang, is he some kind of good person?" Chen Qian sneered. "He's not just someone who keeps actors and plays around with women!"
Ding quickly covered Chen Qian's mouth and scolded him, "Don't talk nonsense! How can you talk about your father-in-law like that!"
"Alright, let's not talk about anything else. How did An Liu Niang come to be? Is she a legitimate daughter born of the principal wife?" Chen Qian got more and more excited as he spoke. "Wasn't she brought back from outside? She's not even as good as a concubine's daughter born of a concubine. Who knows who her concubine really is?"
Chen Qian didn't know the secrets of the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion; he just picked out the most vicious guesses and actually got them pretty close to the mark.
"Qian-ge'er, you mustn't talk nonsense in front of Sixth Sister!" Ding hurriedly instructed.
Chen Qian didn't care at all. "That's just how it is, what's there to be afraid of? Even in the Marquis of Nan'an's residence, no one can find fault with what we've said!"
Madam Ding was exasperated. She slapped Chen Qian's arm hard and said, "Have you forgotten how many young ladies have returned from outside the Nan'an Marquis's mansion? Right now, that one is the Pingyuan Marquis's wife! If word gets to her that the Pingyuan Marquis dotes on her, and if she whispers in his ear, you'll be in big trouble!"
The person she was referring to was An Ran.
Chen Qian was lost in thought, not quite hearing what Ding Shi had said. He wished he could convey his feelings to An Jiu Niang so she would know his heart.
Ding was in a panic, but had no idea what to do.
Their first task was to keep Liu Niang calm.
******
An Ran thought that she had been busy these past few days and hadn't been able to visit San Niang at her residence, so she took Nian Ge'er to Prince Yi's residence one day.
These days, aside from taking care of Nian-ge'er and managing the accounts, she spends most of her free time doing embroidery. She had promised Liu-niang that she would make some small clothes and blankets for her future nephew, and she put in a lot of effort.
Although the result was not entirely satisfactory, it was clear that she had put a lot of thought into it.
She had already informed Third Sister the day before, and instructed Third Sister not to go to the door to meet her, but to just wait for her to come over by herself.
When Anran led Niange'er by the hand and stepped off the carriage of the Marquis of Pingyuan's residence through the hanging flower gate, Yinping was already waiting at the gate with her maids.
"Ninth Aunt, you've finally arrived." Yinping and Anran were already familiar with each other, and even after Anran became the Lady of Pingyuan Marquis, they remained very close to her. "The Crown Princess was still talking about it, saying that you hadn't visited her in a long time. If it weren't for her health issues, she wouldn't have wanted to come to your residence herself!"
Such a whirlwind of behavior is more like something that Third Sister would do.
An Ran hurriedly smiled and said, "I've been busy with some things at home lately, so I haven't been able to come and see Third Sister. I'll have to explain this to her properly."
The group chatted and laughed as they arrived at Third Sister's courtyard. When they reached the corridor, Anran noticed a maidservant hurrying past without bowing, her expression seemingly unpleasant.
An Ran found it strange, but since they had already reached the door and a maid had lifted the curtain, she didn't ask any further questions.
As soon as Anran entered the main room, she was greeted by a warm and fragrant aroma.