Chapter 39: Four Months – This is My Pregnant Concubine

Huh? Meng Huan was a bit dazed.

When he had just walked over, he clearly felt that Wen Zhaoyin was smiling on the surface but not in her heart. How come she suddenly became genuinely happy now?

Just because he said he didn’t come to persuade her?

“Then I’ll go back.” He pulled Wen Xi and walked away. She didn’t show any intention of stopping them, and even shifted her gaze elsewhere.

Uh… Meng Huan felt he had thought wrong. How could Wen Zhaoyin’s emotions be swayed by him? Most likely this woman thought a man shouldn’t speak, and only felt happy when she saw he tactfully stayed quiet.

Halfway back, he heard her loudly announce to the people in the main hall: “This is my pregnant concubine…”

Even Wen Xi raised his face in joyous surprise, excited to look at him. It was the first time the family head publicly acknowledged Young Master’s identity in front of outsiders, pretty much making it official.

Meng Huan was also a bit startled. Even with his insensitivity, he could feel that Wen Zhaoyin had always been evasive before, but this time she openly stated he was a concubine… This woman was indeed becoming more and more incomprehensible.

Slightly shaking his head as he left the main hall, he didn’t care whether he had a formal status or not. What he cared about most right now was his own belly.

After giving birth to the child and recovering, he would leave, even if it meant going to some remote mountains or wilderness to survive. He really didn’t want to get pregnant a second time.

Oh, come to think of it, his waist started aching again at the thought.

Other pregnant men could still lightly massage and rub, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even touch it, otherwise there would be a risk of miscarriage.

When it hurt badly, he couldn’t even move much. Only lying in bed made it a bit better. It was simply torturous enough to kill someone.

“Pregnancy is the biggest punishment for a person!” He sat on the couch in a huff, but his movements were exceptionally gentle, with his hand vaguely protecting his belly, fearing any accident.

No wonder some modern women always clamored about not having kids, being DINK and whatnot. Thinking about it now, it made some sense to him.

Getting pregnant was so uncomfortable and you couldn’t do anything. Anyone with sense wouldn’t give birth!

Wen Xi hurriedly took off his shoes for him, gently lifted his legs onto the couch, and covered him with a thin silk blanket before saying:

“No, pregnancy is not a punishment for people at all.”

His gaze softened a bit as he looked at the bright sunlight outside the window. “If Father hadn’t endured the pain to give birth to this slave, how could I exist in this world? If Young Master’s father hadn’t given birth to you, how could you have met such a good wife like Madam?”

Meng Huan was stunned by the glowing fatherly love flashing in his eyes. He didn’t expect Wen Xi, who usually had a blank mind, to have such a sentiment.

I must say, hearing this made him feel quite great for a moment too. Of course, only for a moment, before the waist and back pain along with nausea pulled him back to reality the next second.

He quickly raised his hand to rest on Wen Xi’s shoulder, lifted his legs to move towards where the spittoon was placed, and dry heaved for a long time without vomiting anything, making his eyes tearful from retching.

“What good wife! Would I be this miserable if not for her?”

Perhaps the biggest benefit of pregnancy was not having a period. All other feelings were quite negative for him.

Wen Xi didn’t dare to speak beside him, only diligently serving tea and water, patting his back, leaving Meng Huan with no outlet for his anger. He sat there taking deep breaths waiting for the nausea to dissipate.

The little brat in his belly had better obediently come out when it’s time, otherwise he would… Humph.

Thinking about how to threaten the brat in his belly, he thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with a way, only sighing and lying back on the couch.

Apart from obediently waiting to give birth, he really couldn’t do anything.

“You’re slandering your wife again.” Wen Zhaoyin stepped over the threshold and walked in from outside. She took off the alcohol-scented clothes, changed into a clean outer robe, and only then walked to the bedside.

Meng Huan was a bit resentful. “How dare I speak ill of Madam, I’m only stating facts. If not for you, would I need to retch every day, unable to even sleep well?”

It was all her fault for making him pregnant and not allowing an abortion, otherwise he wouldn’t be so miserable.

Wen Zhaoyin didn’t respond, but took out a jasper bracelet from her inner sleeve, pulled his hand and put it on.

Meng Huan was a bit startled by the sudden coolness when the jade bracelet contacted his wrist. But after prolonged contact with his skin, the bracelet gradually reached body temperature and no longer felt cool.

“Why are you putting a bracelet on me? It looks too weak. I don’t want to wear it.”

He raised his hand to take it off, but was stopped by Wen Zhaoyin. “Don’t take it off, this is a reward.”

She was rewarding him for what he said in the hall today: “I’m just here to watch the show, I didn’t intend to persuade you. The decisions you make must be well thought out. Outsiders who don’t understand shouldn’t meddle.”

When everyone was trying to persuade her to change her mind, only he acknowledged her decision.

Wen Zhaoyin felt that Meng Huan understood her.

Hearing that Father even threatened him with the promotion of concubines, if it were any other man, he would have probably given in long ago. Only he completely disregarded these things and dared to voice his own thoughts.

He was starting to become different in her heart.

“This bracelet is meant to help protect your pregnancy after I invited someone. Wearing it should make you more comfortable.”

“It has this effect too?” Meng Huan raised his wrist to look at the crystal clear jade bracelet, expressing great doubt.

Wen Zhaoyin rubbed her aching head from the alcohol and sat beside him. She lightly patted his shoulder, pretending to be a bit displeased. “How can you doubt your wife so? Just wear it. It won’t harm you.”

Alright alright, Meng Huan compromised. He put down his wrist and leaned lazily, swinging his bent knees left and right, bumping into her back from time to time, not too light or heavy but also not ignorable.

Wen Zhaoyin turned around to stop his fidgety legs. Her hand pressed on his knee and naturally slid downwards, finally landing on the back of his foot. It felt cold to the touch.

She frowned and pulled over the thin blanket he had kicked to the side, carefully wrapping it around twice before feeling slightly relieved.

“Wen Xi, bring a coal basin in.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Huan bumped her with his knee again and laughed. “Are you crazy? Lighting a coal basin in the middle of summer. My feet are just cold, not my whole body.”

Wen Zhaoyin was a bit tipsy. She nodded with half-closed eyes. “That’s right, then forget the coal basin. I’ll warm up with you.”

With that said, she took off her own shoes and socks, put her feet under the thin blanket too, unabashedly sticking to that coldness.

Meng Huan glanced at her from the side. He found that she seemed especially agreeable today, giving him a bracelet and warming his feet, so gentle that it didn’t seem like her.

Could this woman have a split personality, with the gentle one coming out when drunk?

No no, Meng Huan quickly shook his head to dispel this strange thought. He remembered the first time he encountered her drunk after coming to the Wen Residence. She wasn’t as calm as now.

Whether she acted humane or not probably just depended on her mood.

But she was a bit unpredictable, making it hard to figure her out.

“Now, it’s so nice to have a coal basin even in summer.” She closed her eyes and leaned against him.

“I remember one winter when the residence lacked coal. Everyone tried to use as little as possible but it still wasn’t enough. We could only huddle together like this for warmth. That winter felt really long…”

Meng Huan turned to look at Wen Zhaoyin who inexplicably started feeling sad. He didn’t say anything, wanting to hear what else she would say.

Then she kept her eyes closed and never opened them. Taking a closer look, she had fallen asleep.

He quietly raised his hand to beckon Wen Xi over and asked in a low voice: “The Wen family is so wealthy, yet there was a time when you couldn’t even afford coal?”

Wen Xi was left completely confused by the question. He hadn’t entered the household very early and didn’t know about these things.

Failing to get a reason, Meng Huan didn’t continue asking. Perhaps Wen Zhaoyin once had a hard life, but what did that have to do with him?

He wouldn’t feel sorry for her.

—

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Meng Huan was already four and a half months pregnant.

He could clearly feel the slight bulge in his lower abdomen on a daily basis. It wasn’t the kind from eating too much, but something slowly growing inside.

It was a bit small, yet truly existed.

This feeling was a bit subtle. Rationally, as a man, Meng Huan really couldn’t face his pregnant self.

But that little thing had already coexisted with him for over four months, drawing nutrients from him and also flowing with his blood, making it impossible for him to ignore its existence.

What was this like? It took a long time for him to understand. Perhaps he was like a clam with sand inside. Unable to spit it out, it nurtured the sand into a pearl over time.

Ah… What was he thinking?

Meng Huan tapped his head, thinking he must have been contaminated by Wen Xi’s terrifying paternal love mindset. Otherwise, how could he harbor such horrifying thoughts?

“You’d better be a girl. Being a man in a female-dominant society is too useless.”

He lightly touched his belly, but quickly removed his hand.

He definitely wouldn’t take this child with him. He didn’t know how to take care of a child, nor did he want to. It would also be inconvenient to bring the child while escaping.

Instead, leaving the child in the Wen family, by Wen Zhaoyin’s side, was the best choice.

She loved Wen Shu so much. On the surface, she spoke coldly like a teacher to a student, but in fact, he could see that she wished she could hold Wen Shu in her palm and cherish her in her mouth.

Even if she was angry at him for running away, she would still take good care of the child.

“Young Master.”

Wen Xi walked in from outside carrying a basin of ice, turning to place it on the table to cool down.

In the past few days, Meng Huan had been a bit afraid of the cold, but recently he started to fear the heat. Even a little warmth made his whole body uncomfortable.

After asking the physician to confirm that cooling down was okay, they started placing ice basins in his room. He could also occasionally eat some cold fruits.

Without those pregnancy reactions, he lived quite a comfortable life. Even Wen Zhaoyin indulged him and rarely forced him to do anything.

He sat down and instructed Wen Xi to fan the ice basin with a fan to make it cooler, suppressing the heat that had recently emerged in him.

That fellow Wen Zhaoyin accommodated him in everything, but just not in that way, saying she was afraid of harming the child.

It had been four months. The physician said there was no problem, yet she still insisted. It was maddening. Didn’t she want it?

Could it be that she thought his protruding belly was unsightly, so she didn’t want to?

“Stop fanning, it’s getting more irritating!” He told Wen Xi to stop. He was still very agitated. Looking at the unchanging boring scenery outside the window, he didn’t want to stay in Qingzhu Courtyard anymore.

“Bring an umbrella and accompany me for a walk.”

Wen Shu said the cranes in the Crane Courtyard also feared the heat, but were greedy. As long as you brought some shrimp they loved to eat, you could lure the cranes out to bask in the sun.

At this time, the ground was the hottest. If the cranes stood on the ground to eat the shrimp, they would feel the heat on their feet. Their two legs would alternate back and forth as if dancing.

Meng Huan, with this rare bit of fun in mind, left with Wen Xi. They took some shrimp and went to the Crane Courtyard to tease the cranes.

As a result, before the two reached the Crane Courtyard and saw any cranes, they saw Wen Zhibai sitting in the cool pavilion reading a book.