Yuanwei frowned.
Sister Man had not married yet. If the people around them found out she was pregnant, what would she do in the future?
"Sister Man, I'll have Yun Mo go to town to find a doctor. Tell Old Father Yun not to fetch the village doctor yet, lest..."
Yun Manman also felt a headache coming on. She propped her forehead on her hand, a hint of helplessness in her voice.
"Go fetch one first. There's no need to panic. If I'm pregnant, I'll give birth. I, Yun Manman, am not so incapable that I can't even protect a child."
Yuanwei nodded to Madam Zhou, then turned and left the courtyard to find Yun Mo.
Madam Zhou looked at Yun Manman with eyes full of heartache, her tears streaming uncontrollably.
"Mother, you don't need to worry so much. Nothing is certain yet. Let's wait until the doctor comes. Be good, no more crying!"
Madam Zhou wiped her tears and wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely lowered her head in silence.
In the courtyard,
Madam Zhou, Old Father Yun, Yuanwei, and Yun Mo all watched nervously as the doctor took her pulse.
Only Yun Manman remained perfectly calm, gazing quietly at the tabletop, her thoughts unknown.
The doctor withdrew the hand he had used to take her pulse.
Yun Manman's expression remained placid, but the hand hanging at her side clenched tightly. Her voice held a slight hesitation.
"Doctor, I... what's wrong with me?"
The doctor looked at everyone's expressions in bewilderment, then understanding dawned.
This seemed to be a wealthy household. Presumably, they all looked this way because they were worried about the young lady's health?
He rose with a face full of smiles and cupped his hands toward Yun Manman.
"Congratulations, young lady! You're more than three months pregnant, though not quite four, and with rare twins at that! Congratulations! Congratulations!"
Madam Zhou slumped onto a stool, her face deathly pale.
Their family's circumstances were improving more and more. Manman should have been able to marry into a good family, but now...
Old Father Yun felt his vision darken.
Although Manman had already mentioned it to him, hearing the doctor say it himself felt like being struck by five bolts of thunder.
Yuanwei and Yun Mo both lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound, hiding the worry in their eyes.
Yun Manman unclenched her hand, revealing fingernail marks in her palm. She stood, an unusual look flashing through her eyes before her expression became utterly composed.
"Sorry to trouble you to come all this way, Doctor. Here's your fee. Take care on your way."
Seeing the two taels of silver in his hand, the doctor's face immediately blossomed into a smile. He hurriedly cupped his hands and congratulated Yun Manman again before leaving the courtyard with light steps.
Yun Manman sat down and gently rested her palm over her abdomen. Suppressing the emotions in her eyes, she looked at everyone's differing expressions with a hint of a smile in her violet eyes.
"Why are you all looking like that? Shouldn't you be happy for me? This counts as a joyous occasion for the Yun Family, doesn't it?"
Old Father Yun felt a weight clog his chest. He patted Madam Zhou's shoulder reassuringly before looking at Yun Manman and choosing his words carefully.
"Manman, just who is that man? This..."
Yun Manman lowered her eyes, the hand resting on her belly stiffening slightly. Her voice sounded as though she were recounting someone else's affairs.
"He died. Beilin soldiers killed him while he was saving me. I loved him deeply, so I won't marry for the rest of my life. I'll raise our children to adulthood."
Mo Beiyuan: I'm not dead. I'm alive and perfectly well!
Madam Zhou was so shocked that she forgot to cry. She had only just learned that her daughter was pregnant out of wedlock and had finally managed to come to terms with it.
As long as that man hurried up and married Manman, no one would gossip about her in the future.
Yet now she heard that this son-in-law was already dead.
Old Father Yun opened his mouth, suddenly at a loss for words. Self-reproach and heartache flashed through his eyes. He had failed to protect his daughter.
Yuanwei could tell that Yun Manman was not telling the truth. Sister Man had clearly been nervous and flustered just now.
Normally, Sister Manman never let her emotions show. Clearly, this had come as an unexpected surprise to her as well.
"That's right, Auntie Zhou, Old Father Yun. Once Sister Manman's children are born, with so many of us, we'll definitely be able to take good care of them.
"Besides,
"Wouldn't it be wonderful for Sister Manman to stay home with you? That way, you won't have to worry about her being mistreated after she marries, right?"
Yun Manman had already accepted the situation. Since Heaven had arranged for true kin to appear, she chose to accept them gladly.
"Father, Mother, my temperament really isn't suited to marriage.
"The children's father is already gone. These two children are the last keepsakes he left me.
"I want to spend the rest of my life taking good care of the children and both of you."
Looking at her calm, composed daughter, Madam Zhou turned her head away, unable to bear looking any longer.
Old Father Yun sighed softly, stepped forward with an affectionate gaze, and stroked Yun Manman's head.
"Manman, then give birth to them. I can hold them while I train. That way, I won't even need to strap on sandbags.
"Let them learn martial arts from childhood so they can protect their mother when they grow up."
The corners of Yun Manman's mouth slowly lifted as well, her eyes full of smiles as she looked at Old Father Yun. That kind of life sounded rather nice.
Without a man meddling, with only her parents and children by her side, and no need to rush about toiling every day,
Wouldn't that make her a proper winner in life?
Seeing that the atmosphere was still somewhat subdued, Yun Manman did not know how to comfort them either. While fetching the food box, she took the opportunity to place Returning Lotus Fruit inside.
She set the food box on the table and opened it. "Today counts as a joyous occasion for our family. Come, have some fruit to celebrate. I'm very happy, and I hope you'll be happy for me too."
Seeing Yun Manman like this, heartache flashed through all their eyes.
She was always like this, as light as clouds and a gentle breeze, as though nothing could ever fluster her.
After learning she was pregnant, Yun Manman stopped all strenuous exercise.
Each day, aside from supervising their martial arts training and studies, she practiced the Lotus Heart Art herself.
She also sent word to the Ten Cold Gate that their cooperation ended there.
Yun Manman was carrying twins, and by the fifth month, her belly was already quite prominent.
Everyone in the village knew Yun Manman was pregnant, but given her way of doing things, very few people brought up her affairs.
That day,
Yun Manman was thinking of visiting the village chief's home. Both of his sons were now in Yun Manman's group, practicing martial arts and studying every day.
Quite a few other village children had also wanted to attend the school, saying they wanted to learn martial arts and how to read. Yun Manman had not refused them.
She knew that almost none of those children would be able to persevere.
Sure enough, after fewer than two days of training, only the village chief's sons remained. None of the others dared to come again.
Yun Manman was walking slowly and was just about to pass through the center of the village,
when she heard women gossiping in the distance. She had thought it had nothing to do with her, but their voices kept growing louder.
Old Woman Shen spoke with a face full of disdain. "Exactly! I always thought there was something strange about that girl suddenly having money to build a house and buy land. Who would have thought it was because of this?"
Old Woman Wang's eyes brimmed with jealousy and hatred. She spat toward the Yun Family's home, her tone full of cutting abuse.
"I'm telling you! One look at that little vixen's face was enough to know she wasn't the well-behaved sort. Now she's actually shameless enough to sell herself, and she's even ended up carrying bastards! That Yun couple living in a house built with such filthy money-how disgusting!"
Yun Manman did not continue forward. She turned and headed straight home, killing intent flashing through her violet eyes the instant she turned.
What a wagging-tongued shrew!