Chapter 80

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three months had passed. Ever since winter ended, not a single drop of rain had fallen. The temperature continued to rise, and by the Lunar New Year, everyone had already changed into summer clothes.

The current temperature was astonishingly high, around thirty-five or thirty-six degrees Celsius. In previous years, this time would still be early spring, but now it had plunged directly into the scorching heat of midsummer.

~

Lanyue Pavilion, Prince Rong’s Mansion

Inside the room, several ice basins were placed around. Cheng Ruyi, dressed in a lake-blue ruqun, sat with her bulging belly protruding as she chewed on jerky. With her cheeks puffed up, she looked exactly like a little squirrel.

Moxiang served her attentively from the side.

“Miss, this is the crystal cake made by the head chef from the kitchen…”

Cheng Ruyi nodded. “I’ll eat it later.” After speaking, she continued to gnaw on her jerky. This time it was shark jerky; she didn’t know what fine ingredients had been added, but there wasn’t a hint of fishiness, and it tasted incredibly good.

“Moxiang, you don’t need to treat me like a porcelain doll. I’m doing great. I’m already four months along, and I haven’t had any morning sickness at all. Everything tastes delicious.”

Moxiang: “…”

It wasn’t that she wanted to be like this, but at only about four months, her lady’s pregnancy bump was already very prominent. Imperial Physician Chen had said that her lady was carrying more than one child, so how could they not be careful?

Hadn’t she noticed that recently even the young master wouldn’t let her hop and skip around anymore?

However, despite eating so much every day, except for her belly growing day by day, her lady’s facial features remained exquisite and beautiful, her figure was still slender and graceful, and her complexion was fair and rosy. She radiated a captivating charm.

Thinking of those pregnant noble ladies, which one of them wouldn’t apply powder to their faces before going out? Her lady was the sole exception.

Moxiang truly felt that her lady was a darling of heaven.

“Miss, this servant heard that someone has proposed digging up the water-storing roots of the thousand-year-old ancient tree…”

Cheng Ruyi paused her chewing and frowned unhappily. “Which idiot proposed that? It’s only been three months, and the well water hasn’t dried up yet. Why are they digging up tree roots? Absolutely not.”

No matter what, that thousand-year-old tree was the private property of the Changle Marquis Mansion. Even if Prince Pingnan had sent people to guard it now, anyone who wanted to dig up the roots would still need the consent of the Changle Marquis Mansion.

Moxiang carefully glanced at her lady’s expression, pursed her lips, and said in a low voice, “It was proposed by the Marquis of Jian’an.”

Cheng Ruyi grew furious.

“Does Eldest Uncle have a hole in his brain? There are still several months ahead, and who knows if the temperature will rise even further. He’s already thinking about digging up the tree roots now—what on earth does he want to do?”

No matter how one looked at it, the Changle Marquis Mansion and the Jian’an Marquis Mansion belonged to the same clan. What kind of trouble was the Marquis of Jian’an trying to stir up?

“As far as this servant knows, a concubine-born daughter of the Jian’an Marquis Mansion has become a concubine of the Seventh Prince. The Seventh Prince is likely plotting to get his hands on the thousand-year-old tree. Digging up the roots is just a pretext; he actually wants to force Master to give up the ancient tree.”

“The news about the roots of the ancient tree storing a large amount of water has already spread everywhere outside, and the commoners are growing restless.”

Originally, this matter had only circulated within the upper-class circles, and the ordinary people at the bottom had no idea.

Now, the Marquis of Jian’an had brought it out into the open.

“In his dreams!” Cheng Ruyi took a fierce bite of her jerky.

This severe drought had only just begun three months ago, and these princes were already itching to make their moves.

It was truly enough.

“Isn’t there a Grand Canal? Although the Grand Canal has shrunk a bit now, it should still be more than enough for their daily use. Why are they targeting the ancient tree? Has water gotten into their brains?”

It hadn’t even been half a year yet. The book said that the Grand Canal would dry up by the middle of the year, but right now water sources were plentiful. If they wanted water, they could just transport a cartload back from the Grand Canal.

When Moxiang heard her lady mention the Grand Canal, her face changed instantly. She said rather hesitantly, “Miss, the water from the Grand Canal can no longer be drunk.”

Cheng Ruyi froze, blinking in confusion. “Why can’t it be drunk?”

Water in ancient times didn’t have much pollution, and plenty of commoners drank river water.

“Miss, recently there have been a lot of rotting, foul-smelling fish floating on the Grand Canal. The doctors say the water is unclean, and drinking it will cause illnesses.”

“…No way?” Cheng Ruyi was stunned, and the jerky in her hand almost slipped to the ground.

The book didn’t seem to mention this.

How could so many dead fish appear in the Grand Canal? How bizarre!

She remembered that in another storyline of the book featuring the other female protagonist, no dead fish had appeared in the rivers and various large and small lakes of Dahu County.

So, was this the real reason why everyone wanted to leave the capital?

Thinking of the schadenfreude tone in Cheng Qingyao’s final letter, it seemed she must have known long ago. What a scam! The capital was also a major setting in the book; was it really okay to leave out such an important detail?

Moxiang gave a bitter smile. “Yes, the river water can no longer be used. Fortunately, Miss had that prophetic dream, so everyone was prepared. However, the weather is too hot, so we still have to use our water sparingly.”

“That’s why everyone wants to obtain the roots of the ancient tree as early as possible, especially the influential and noble households. According to the information this servant gathered, after the issue with the Grand Canal’s water arose, they all wanted to leave the capital for Dahu County before the world falls into complete chaos. Naturally, they want to have enough water-storing roots before they leave.”

“It’s just that no one expected the Marquis of Jian’an to expose the secret of the thousand-year-old tree.”

Cheng Ruyi’s face turned dark.

What a great eldest uncle of hers!

Although she had never thought about monopolizing the thousand-year-old ancient tree and even intended to use her superpower to accelerate its growth—after all, groundwater was the least likely to dry up, and once filtered by the ancient tree, it would be enough to sustain everyone’s daily drinking water—she found it detestable.

Now, before anyone had even reached the end of their rope, people were already stirring up trouble. It was truly infuriating.

As soon as Rong Mo entered the room, he saw his little wife looking absolutely furious. He strode forward quickly.

“Ruyi, who made you unhappy?”

“Ah Mo, why didn’t you tell me that something went wrong with the Grand Canal water, and that the matter of the thousand-year-old tree was exposed?” Cheng Ruyi cast a sidelong glance at him, displeased by his concealment.

These past few days, she had been staying inside the mansion and hadn’t gone out, so she hadn’t realized so many things had happened.

The Changle Marquis Mansion had actually been pushed to the forefront of public storm.

Rong Mo sat down beside his little wife. Extending his long arm, he drew her into his embrace. His sharp eyes swept over Moxiang, who was trying her best to shrink her presence, while his large hand gently stroked Ruyi’s abdomen. He explained, “I was afraid you would worry. In truth, these are not major issues. As for the thousand-year-old tree, Father-in-law has already handed it over to Prince Pingnan to handle.”

Prince Pingnan held immense prestige in the hearts of the commoners. With him stepping forward, no one would dare question it.

“So you’re saying I worried for nothing?” Cheng Ruyi snorted resentfully.

Rong Mo smiled indulgently and lightly pinched her cheek. “Mm, you indeed worried for nothing.”

Cheng Ruyi rolled her eyes and began gnawing on her jerky again. Along the way, she stuffed a piece of jerky into Rong Mo’s mouth. Rong Mo bit down right from her fingers, devouring it in just a few bites.

After finishing the jerky, Rong Mo leaned down and pressed his ear against Cheng Ruyi’s abdomen.

“Imperial Physician Chen said that fetal movement can be felt at around four months. Let me listen and see if they are moving.”

“Are they moving?” Upon hearing this, Cheng Ruyi instantly became interested.

She had also heard Nanny Yang mention that once a fetus reached four or five months, fetal movement could be felt. Since she was currently carrying more than one baby, she had used her superpower to sense them, and the babies were all very healthy.

It was just that the babies seemed a bit lazy and hadn’t really moved much until now.

“It seems like… wait, no, I think I heard them move.” It was rare for Rong Mo to show such an excited expression.

Cheng Ruyi focused her senses, and the babies were indeed moving.

“I felt it too!” Cheng Ruyi answered with excitement.

The young couple joyfully felt the fetal movements of their babies.

Standing to the side, Moxiang felt both happy and conflicted. She also wanted to feel the little masters’ movements, but at this moment, she had the sense to tactfully withdraw from the room.

After the excitement passed, Rong Mo spoke to Cheng Ruyi about Cheng Qingyao, who was far away in Dahu County.

“Ruyi, Cheng Qingyao has run into terrible luck recently.”

Even though his little wife no longer paid attention to this person, Prince Pingnan’s men were still monitoring Cheng Qingyao’s every move.

That was how Rong Mo knew about her situation.

Supposedly, it was because the forces she had secretly cultivated split up, absconding with a large amount of food and ice that Cheng Qingyao had hoarded.

“No way? Their contracts of sale are all in Cheng Qingyao’s hands, yet they dared to do such a thing?” Cheng Ruyi was completely shocked.

Shouldn’t the forces cultivated by a female protagonist be fiercely loyal to her?

Rong Mo smiled. “Everyone knows that Cheng Qingyao, the di-born daughter of the Jian’an Marquis Mansion, supposedly burned to death in a fire. She is no longer the Marquis’s di-born daughter but a dead person. Without an identity and without a backer, yet hoarding a vast amount of food, she is like a small child carrying a golden doll. It was only a matter of time before the people beneath her mutinied.”

“To avoid exposing her identity, Cheng Qingyao can only swallow her broken teeth along with the blood.”

From what he knew, Cheng Qingyao, far away in Dahu County, was furious.

Cheng Ruyi sighed with emotion. This was all Cheng Qingyao’s own choice, and she didn’t deserve an ounce of sympathy. Then, she asked enthusiastically, “…Did Prince Pingnan send people to rob those traitors?”

Cheng Qingyao had started hoarding three years ago, so the amount of food stolen by her servants was definitely not small. If it were her, she wouldn’t have been able to resist running off to rob them long ago.

Rong Mo coughed lightly. “…Yes!”

With so much food, they naturally couldn’t let it go. Since they were all a bunch of runaway slaves and the food had been stolen in the first place, Prince Pingnan’s men felt absolutely no pressure when robbing them.

Cheng Ruyi remarked meaningfully, “So in the end, Prince Pingnan got the best deal.”

His little wife’s money-loving nature was acting up again. The corners of Rong Mo’s mouth curled up slightly, his eyes filled with amusement. “Yes!”

After her brief moment of pity, Cheng Ruyi asked with curiosity, “How much food and ice does Cheng Qingyao have left now?”

“Only the place where she currently resides still has food and ice,” Rong Mo replied with a smile.

“So ruthless? Did the forces she cultivated all mutiny?” Cheng Ruyi smacked her lips, unable to suppress an exclamation.

This was the female protagonist, after all. What about the promised female protagonist halo and her irresistible charm?

“Yes, now she only has Qiulan and a few loyal servants left. However, she owns quite a few properties and lands in Dahu County, so she won’t starve to death,” Rong Mo said unhurriedly, taking a sip of tea.

Prince Pingnan’s army was stationed in Dahu County, making it extremely secure. No one would dare seize Cheng Qingyao’s land.

Cheng Ruyi: “…”

By now, Cheng Qingyao’s regrets must have turned her intestines green.

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