737: The Wife Who Shared His Hardships

Xie Qi: "..."

Madam's words sounded perfectly reasonable.

So why did he feel that something was off?

Seeing that Xie Qi still looked hesitant, Madam angrily pulled out her handkerchief and turned her back to him. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes, then sobbed softly. "After all these years, I've only borne three daughters. My last delivery damaged my health, and every renowned physician I've seen says I'm unlikely to conceive again. How many clansmen know about this? How much humiliation have I suffered, how many slights have I endured, how much mockery have I heard, both openly and behind my back? Every word they say feels like a knife stabbing straight into my heart!"

Hearing Madam say this, Xie Qi's scalp prickled. He hurried over to comfort her. "Why are you crying again when everything was fine just a moment ago? It's not that I don't want to make plans for our three girls. I—it's just that the time isn't right yet."

Madam wasn't having any of his excuses.

She tilted her face just enough for Xie Qi to see the tears glistening at the corners of her eyes and the redness around them. Then she turned away, crying again. "My lord is still in his prime, and I'm still alive and well, yet people in the clan are already saying we should adopt a boy to carry on the family line, so that our three girls' marriages will be easier to arrange in the future... Isn't that tantamount to killing me? There are even clan aunties who advise me to be generous and let my lord take one of my dowry maids as a concubine, so she can bear him a son. They say that's better than letting our estate fall into the hands of some