В Цзянху есть Сяо Чань

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Seeing his pitiful appearance, Song Xiaohua's heart softened, and she softened her tone: "Ling'er still has homework to do and doesn't have time to come out to see you. I did mean well by not letting Wuque come, so that Zhi'er wouldn't be frightened into something bad later. If you want witnesses, no problem, so many servants along the way saw it, I can just call two over. I wouldn't have dared to say that just now if I hadn't found out the situation beforehand. So, you can keep the word 'cover-up' to yourself!"

Zhao had been resentful for some time now, seeing Song Xiaohua, a countrywoman with no backing, receive such kindness from the Lu family. She had wanted to take this opportunity to deflate Song's ego and vent her anger, but she hadn't expected Song to be so capable and shrewd in such a short time. It seemed that Zhao wouldn't gain any advantage today.

But he was unwilling to just let it go, so he said sarcastically, "Always letting Ling'er hang out with a dog, I really don't know what they're up to!"

One sentence ignited all of Song Xiaohua's pent-up anger. She was already furious to learn that Lu Zhi had bullied her son and her dog, but she hadn't planned to pursue the matter further, considering he'd brought it on himself. But then the mother and son dared to preemptively accuse her, the stepmother, of having malicious intentions and mistreating Lu Ling. This was simply unbearable! Even her aunt and uncle couldn't tolerate it anymore.

She sneered, "What I'm thinking is none of your business, and how I treat my son is even less of your concern! However, I would like to remind you that you should spend more time on your son, otherwise, you'll be the one who suffers in the end! A mother's status depends on her son, but only if the son is successful can she truly be 'status'!"

An eight-year-old bullying a boy four years younger—what a feat! Terrified by a dog's bark, he runs away in terror—how impressive! After causing trouble, he goes home and, instead of telling the truth, gets his mother to make a scene and humiliate him—how filial! Whether this child will be your support in your old age, I don't want to say. But…”

Song Xiaohua picked up a fruit knife from the fruit plate on the table, chuckled, and waved it in front of the stunned Lu Zhi. Then, she continued casually to Zhao Shi, who was trembling with anger, "I suggest you let him join the army in the future. At the very least, being around to fight all day will surely toughen him up. Oh, by the way, you've probably never seen anyone die in battle, have you? I have. Those who die have their heads chopped off, right here..."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked to Zhao, whose face was deathly pale. He gestured lightly with the small knife in his hand against her neck: "One slash, and a fine head is severed at the root. If it's not quite dead yet, the blood will spurt two feet high, roll a few times on the ground, and its eyes will still be rolling around! At that point, we can light a fire, throw these heads in, and burn them. They'll crackle and pop, and soon you'll smell a pungent, burning odor..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao screamed, covering her ears, and dragged the mentally impaired Lu Zhi away, stumbling and staggering. Song Xiaohua scoffed, "Tch, with such little skill and such cowardice, you dare to challenge me!"

At this moment, Xiaoyan, who had been quietly waiting to the side, finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Second Madam, your move is really ruthless. From now on, I'm afraid not only her, but everyone who wants to cause trouble will not dare to step into our garden again! Did you just see those scary things in the play? You said it as if you had really seen them with your own eyes."

Song Xiaohua's expression darkened for a moment, then she said casually, "I saw it with my own eyes."

Now it was Xiaoyan's turn to turn pale...

Just as he sat back down at the table and picked up his teacup to take a sip of water to moisten his throat, he suddenly heard Zhao's extremely penetrating voice coming from afar outside the courtyard: "She's nothing but a woman who can't bear a son. I'll see how long she can keep swaggering around!"

Enraged, Song Xiaohua slammed the fruit knife into the nanmu table: "Xiaoyan, calculate how much this table is worth, and we'll go there tomorrow to collect the money!"

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After dinner, Lu Ziqi, who had returned from court, would usually read books or handle some unfinished business in his study. At this time, Song Xiaohua would usually take Lu Ling to another separate small study to practice calligraphy and review their lessons.

Today, Lu Ziqi had barely sat down when he heard a soft knock on the door, and a beautiful figure dressed only in a thin veil swayed gracefully in.

"Is something the matter?"

"have."

He put down the book: "What is it?"

The answer was serious: "It's about having children."

"…………"

Although they had been married for a year, the first half of the year was in name only, and the latter half was spent living apart. The few days they had together were spent simply lying under the covers and looking at the stars because Song Xiaohua was so focused on contraception.

Therefore, it's perfectly normal that the couple doesn't have children to this day. After all, the probability of conceiving on the first try is very small; otherwise, in ancient times when contraception was still in its infancy, women could have spent all their time getting pregnant and giving birth and wouldn't have had to do anything else...

However, these reasons are absolutely not something that can be explained to outsiders, especially the struggle between those who tackled and those who counter-tacked; if told out loud, probably no one would believe it...

However, to outsiders, the fact that Song Xiaohua's belly hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy was quite abnormal, and it would slowly become a topic of gossip, even an excuse to attack her. In this era, a woman who couldn't bear children was considered extremely guilty. It was considered quite considerate of the marital relationship if her husband mistreated her and took three or four more wives; it was not uncommon for him to simply divorce her and kick her out.

Although Song Xiaohua wasn't worried about these things, she was always annoyed by others pointing fingers at her about it. Most importantly, she believed that now the time was right, the place was right, and it was time to have a child, a child that belonged to her and Dongqing.

She dimmed the candlelight of the glass lamp, casting an ambiguous glow in the room. Sitting on his lap, she wrapped her arms around his waist, her fingers deftly untying the jade belt, and slipped her hand inside to gently caress his chest: "Dongqing, I want a son first, then a daughter. That way, our little daughter will have two brothers to love her, and she'll be very happy. What do you say?"

Her delicate fragrance after her bath lingered in the air, and the light breath from her mouth lingered on her skin. Her soft body was like a pool of spring water, waiting to be stirred and create intoxicating ripples.

Lu Ziqi sighed softly, "Yaoyao, don't you think choosing this place is rather uncivilized?"

Song Xiaohua chuckled: "Dongqing, this is more in line with your reputation as a refined scoundrel!"

He rolled over and sat up, kneeling on his legs, removing his coat and kissing his neck all the way down: "Dongqing, by this time next year, I must have a baby that pops out of my belly to hold and play with! Come on, show me your true manly beastly skills!"

Aroused by desire, he reached out and swept away the objects on the table, blowing out the last remaining candle flame, leaving only the starlight and moonlight to spill onto the cold, desolate ground.

Sigh, it's best to do such uncivilized things in the dark...

Before his reason completely crumbled, Lu Ziqi's thought flashed through his mind: It seems that Zhao's commotion today wasn't all bad. Since the girl has resolved it successfully on her own, there's no need to interfere further. He can simply have You Rong send people to keep a close eye on the garden...

Well, if anyone dares to cause trouble like this again, he'll... he'll clear the table beforehand to make room...

Author's Note: Under the tutelage of his YD wife, Little Lu is gradually falling into depravity~ Hooray! OH YEAH!

This way of writing should surely suit the tastes of the censors...

Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Poisoning Incident

After these two uproars, especially after the usually sharp-tongued Zhao Shi went to cause trouble but was so frightened that she covered her face and ran away as if she had seen a ghost, Song Xiaohua had a few days of peace and quiet, spending her days eating, waiting to die, and busy "making babies".

Lu Ling was also riding high at the academy, becoming a diligent and hardworking student in front of the teachers, and even a little leader among his classmates. Many of the slightly older kids were willing to follow him because of his righteousness, generosity, and ruthlessness. Of course, there were also those who were forced by circumstances to go with the flow and curry favor with him...

Meanwhile, Song Wuque, a key figure in both incidents, gained considerable fame, even attracting the interest of Lu Tuo. Lu Tuo would often bring several pieces of braised beef from the most famous restaurant in the capital to bribe him and try to get close to him. After several such attempts, he finally succeeded in winning him over.

Thus, one could often see a sprightly old man on the streets of Beijing, with a pink, chubby little girl on his left and a large, long-haired black dog on his right, swaggering through the city...

One evening, as the sun set and a cool breeze blew, Song Xiaohua and Lu Ziqi were squatting among a pile of watermelons, competing to see who could pick out the finest watermelon with the thinnest skin, reddish flesh, and sweetest taste. Suddenly, they heard a string of children's laughter, and then they saw Lu Ling riding on the neck of the old man Lu Tuo, whose face was beaming with rage. Lu Ling was pulling on the old man's ears with both hands and making "giggle" noises, having a great time. Meanwhile, Song Wuque was walking proudly to the side with a braised beef bun he had bought for Lu Tuo in his mouth.

Lu Ziqi was immediately shocked and stood up, shouting, "Ling'er is being ridiculous! What kind of behavior is this!"

Lu Ling was startled by the shout, and pouted, wanting to get down, but Lu Tuo stopped her with an even louder voice: "Ling'er, don't move! I told him to play like this, so what?! Staring at your son and trying to show off your power, you've got quite the nerve!"

Seeing Lu Ziqi shut his mouth with a helpless and wronged expression, Song Xiaohua couldn't help but burst out laughing: "As expected of father and son, Dad, aren't you just glaring at your son and showing off your power?" Taking advantage of Lu Tuo's choking, she moved over and stretched out her hand: "Ling'er, go wash your face."

Lu Ling quickly and obediently threw herself into her arms, and before leaving, she earnestly said, "Grandpa and Daddy are both very successful! Ling'er wants to be just as successful in the future!"

Lu Ziqi remained silent.

Lu Tuo turned around and gently patted the back of his head: "You brat, you'll talk after you bring me a granddaughter-in-law first!"

"Grandpa, why does Ling'er have to get married first?"

"If you don't have a wife, where will you get a son? If you don't have a son, who will you rely on to succeed?"

"How can I have a son with my wife?"

"...Ask your father!"

"Daddy~"

"...Go ask your mother!"

"Mother~"

Catching the big ball kicked by the pair of lovebirds, Song Xiaohua cleared her throat: "It's like this, there's a pool in your wife's belly, and in the future, there will be many tadpoles in your belly, and then you put the tadpoles into the pool, and when the tadpoles grow up, they will become your son."

"Wouldn't Ling'er have many sons?"

"No, no, no, usually only one tadpole can be successfully put into the pond, the rest will swim to other places and won't grow up."

Lu Ling bit her finger and thought hard for a while, then clenched her fist as if she had made up her mind: "Ling'er will start practicing now how to put more tadpoles into the pond, because Ling'er wants to have many, many sons to play with!"

"...Ling'er, you can't practice now, there aren't any tadpoles in your belly yet! You have to wait until you grow up, until you're as big as Daddy..."

Although Lu Tuo didn't quite understand what she meant by tadpoles and ponds, he was clear about the significance of practice, so he quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need, Ling'er, your father can practice when he's thirteen."

“Oh, thirteen years old…” Song Xiaohua drawled as she nodded, looking at Lu Ziqi, who was already in a petrified state, with a half-smile: “Ling’er, look, your father must have raised countless tadpoles before finally having you. It wasn’t easy, and you are so lucky!”

After saying that, he picked up Lu Ling, who was intently calculating how many more years it would take before he could start practicing releasing tadpoles, and walked away.

Lu Ziqi finally came to his senses and sighed, "Father, you really are..."

Lu Tuo stroked his beard and chuckled as he looked at him: "Hey, tell me, why didn't my little tadpole turn you into a frog back then?"

"…………"

Song Wuque glanced sideways at Lu Ziqi, whose face was full of black lines, opened his mouth and bared his teeth, causing the braised beef bun to fall to the ground with a thud.

That night, countless tadpoles launched a desperate, mass assault on a certain pond...

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His peaceful days didn't last long before another incident occurred.

That morning, Song Xiaohua was bored in her room, studying the pictures of beautiful women on a fan, when Xiaoyan rushed in: "Second Madam, is Wuque perhaps ill?"

"Wasn't Ling'er lively and energetic when I sent her off this morning?" Song Xiaohua put down her fan and strode out. "What happened?"

"Cui'er just came to report that no matter how she tries to coax her, she absolutely refuses to eat."

What should I feed it in the morning?

"It's just like usual. I just checked, and there's nothing wrong. There's a plate of minced meat mixed with some grains, vegetables, and fruits, and a plate of half-cooked meat and bones. Oh, and there are two pieces of the kind of braised beef that it usually eats."