"Yes, Third Sister-in-law," replied Ruoyin politely. She also noticed the "too" she used in her question.
"Aiyah, this is good news. You've been with Lord Fourth for five years, and your abdomen's finally come up with the goods," insinuated the Third Fujin glibly.
On the surface, there didn't seem anything wrong with her words. However, she changed the subject and said, smiling, "What a coincidence. I'm also expecting and will be giving birth at the end of the year."
Ruoyin felt uncomfortable that the Third Fujin had deliberately mentioned that she had not given birth once in the past five years at such an event.
Even the wives around them became awkward when this was uttered.
Some of them stared at Ruoyin's stomach, making her the center of attention at once.
Meanwhile, Ruoyin looked toward the Third Fujin's big belly.
Who wouldn't know she was pregnant with that big belly of hers?
Such matters were better heard from the mouths of others.
To say it herself made her seem as though she was boasting.
Moreover, the Third Fujin could simply boast if she wanted to, so why drag her down as well?
Ruoyin said embarrassedly, "I wish for Third Sister-in-law to give birth to a son soon, then. No one knows for sure when one will get pregnant, only that before a pregnancy, the time was not yet right, but once pregnant, that fate has brought the child to us."
Her words were well-organized, smooth, and comfortable to the listeners.
However, the Third Fujin did not spare her still. She asked, "Is that a boy or a girl in your stomach?"
"Like what Third Sister-in-law has mentioned, I've only started showing, so I wouldn't know the gender of the baby," said a smiling Ruoyin as she affected embarrassment.
"Who says that you can't tell at this stage? When I first got pregnant, I vomited violently and had cravings for sour things. I reckon it must be a boy," said the Third Fujin satisfactorily.
Upon hearing this, the corners of Ruoyin's lips twitched. Was the Third Fujin really silly, or only pretending to be silly?
No wonder the other wives and concubines of Lord Third did not like to visit the Third Fujin.
It was one thing to be clueless about maintaining a good relationship with the other wives, but another to destroy it completely!
However, Ruoyin still answered politely, "I don't really know about these things, and I didn't really vomit either."
She did not mention that Lord Fourth had instructed her kitchen to prepare old hen soup for her.
She did not like to boast about such things to outsiders. Moreover, not many people might believe her if she said so.
It would only bring about more confusion if she explained this, and make her seem as though she was trying to cover things up.
"You have to work hard, then. After giving birth to this child, you have to hurry and carry another child for Lord Fourth. You have to give birth to a boy for him," said the Third Fujin.
She sounded as though she had already determined that the child in Ruoyin's womb was a girl.
"Thank you for your concern, Third Sister-in-law. Lord Fourth has said either gender is fine." Ruoyin rolled her eyes internally.
She did not even mention that she liked to eat spicy food, yeah?
Probably unable to listen to this further, the Eighth Fujin took the initiative to help Ruoyin out.
"Well, I think Third Sister-in-law shouldn't be so certain. Anything is possible," the Eighth Fujin said in a rare act of righteousness.
Upon hearing this, Ruoyin was a little surprised. According to her knowledge, the Eighth Fujin had always spoken frankly and did not like to get along with others.
Why was she speaking up for her voluntarily?
No matter the case, Ruoyin still smiled politely at the Eighth Fujin.
And when the Eighth Fujin looked at Ruoyin, the corners of her lips also turned up in a faint smile.
Right now, it would be inappropriate for the Third Fujin to say anything more even if she had extra mouths.
She seemed a little extra because even the parents of the child did not care about their gender.
Moreover, the Fourth Fujin appeared nonchalant at the mountain of words she had just spewed.
It made her seem as though she had landed a punch on cotton candy.
Also, she wouldn't be able to get herself out of a fight with the usually unreasonable Eighth Fujin—even if the latter was being reasonable, much less when she was not.
Thus, she only pursed her lips and did not venture another word.
This topic was finally ended thus.
The subordinates delivered dishes of food one after another.
It was as Lord Fourth had said—no one urged Ruoyin to drink. Everyone was tactful.
After all, the first wives were noblewomen from prestigious families. Not everyone was unable to conduct themselves like the Third Fujin.
After their afternoon meal, the women began to say their farewells.
Ruoyin called for Li Fukang and said, "Go ask Lord Fourth if he's returning to the manor now. If not, I'll head back first."
"Understood!" replied Li Fukang before he went off on his mission.
He returned in a short while. "Fujin, Lord Fourth says that he will be staying for a while longer because it is rare for his brothers to gather like this."
"Okay. Let's go back to the manor first, then." Ruoyin understood this.
Even though the princes might have ideas because they all wanted power, they still interacted more naturally with one another compared to their wives with one another.
They were still blood-related under all the power they had.
Moreover, men were more imposing, and drinking more was something that was hard to avoid.
After returning to the manor, Ruoyin lay down for an afternoon nap.
When she finally awoke, the sky was already dark.
She rubbed her eyes and asked Nanny Liu, who was in the process of changing her, "Has Lord Fourth returned?"
"He returned at around four in the afternoon, Fujin. I heard that he drank a little too much, so Su Peicheng gave him some hangover soup. He's now resting. Also, Eunuch Su says that Lord Fourth will eat dinner at your residence tonight," said a smiling Nanny Liu.
"Since Lord Fourth is having his meal here, get the kitchen to prepare the loaches I instructed them to catch and make oil stir-fried loach. Add more dried chillies, and fry the loaches until they have a charred fragrance before adding some Sichuan pepper and a pinch of ripe sesame," ordered Ruoyin mildly, as though her directions were totally normal.
Ever since Li Fukang's formula had cured her of her morning sickness, she had begun to eat and drink gluttonously again.
Upon hearing the dish she ordered, Qiao Feng asked, "Does the Fujin want anything else?"
"Make a loach with tofu soup, then. Pour the loaches into a pot of soft tofu and heat it up. Then, give it a good stir and add chopped onions, fresh ginger, and other condiments, then serve it with the original flavor just like this. You can tell the kitchen to choose and make the other dishes themselves, and also tell them that Lord Fourth is coming at night."
Loaches were regarded as ginsengs of the water and very nutritious.
It would be a pity to only fry them, so Ruoyin added a soup to her order.
When Lord Fourth first started visiting her, Ruoyin only ordered what she thought Lord Fourth liked to eat according to her intuition.
Now that she was used to ordering food, the prodigies in the kitchen could almost all understand the kind of food Lord Fourth and she liked to eat.
"Understood," Qiao Feng replied before going off to pass on the instructions.
Just then, Nanny Liu gasped. "Ah, Fujin, your clothes are a little hard to close. In a short while, your stomach will grow bigger and you wouldn't be able to wear this anymore. I will get someone to measure you and make a new batch of clothes. It's going to be autumn soon too, and you definitely won't be able to fit into last years' clothes."
Ruoyin looked down at her own body. Right, she had eaten so much and fattened herself up once more.
Additionally, her pregnancy seemed to be making her appetite even larger than before.
Sighing internally, she said, "Alright, ask someone to measure me. Also, get them to make a few undergarments as well, or the tightness will be uncomfortable."
She was unsure whether her pregnancy was causing it, but her chest area was also growing dramatically.