Giving Birth to a Son
The Go master that Xiao Lingyan hired for Zhao Ruxi was an old man about the same age as Kang Shilin, named Cai Wenzhong.
He used to be an official in the Ministry of Revenue, but he retired ten years ago to enjoy his old age at home. Xiao Lingyan personally visited him and invited him, and he finally agreed to Prince of Qi's Residence every other day to teach Zhao Ruxi how to play chess.
At first, he was very unwilling. Before retiring, he was at least a fourth-rank official in the imperial court, and now his descendants also hold high positions, so he has a strong sense of pride and doesn't think much of women.
So what if Zhao Ruxi is the top scholar in the imperial examination? So what if she's the Consort of the Prince of Qi and the future Crown Princess? He's not someone who serves others, so why should he serve Zhao Ruxi?
But for the sake of his descendants' future, he ultimately swallowed his pride and came.
Once you arrive, you'll experience the "it's actually really good" phenomenon.
Zhao Ruxi understood immediately and grasped concepts instantly. When he left the chess manual the night before, he tested Zhao Ruxi the next day and found that not only had he memorized it all, but he could also apply it flexibly to other situations.
Zhao Ruxi had only briefly learned Go while taking Go classes at the Beining Women's Academy, without spending much time or effort studying it. Therefore, when Cai Wenzhong first came to teach her, she was still a complete novice.
But in less than a month, Zhao Ruxi was already playing chess with him quite well; two months later, they were evenly matched; and three months later, he was starting to struggle against her.
"Haha, wasn't I right? To have such a student is the greatest fortune of your life," Gan Lun laughed. "Those old men at the Imperial Academy are so envious of you when they heard that Consort of the Prince of Qi wants to learn chess from you."
From shock to amazement to numbness, he and the other teachers at the Imperial Academy went through this psychological journey and got used to it.
"Alas, it truly is fate." Cai Wenzhong looked distressed. "But you guys are lucky. You can teach them until you can't teach them anything more, then you can declare yourselves graduates and brag about it everywhere. But I can't do that. I get slaughtered by my apprentices every day. Who can stand that?"
"You don't know, when I saw Zhiwei's innocent and disappointed little eyes, my heart was filled with shame." Cai Wenzhong clutched his chest, his face full of grief.
Gan Lun waved his hand. "You have to think more positively. Look at us, we get used to it after a while. We're just ordinary people, we can't compare to geniuses. Even a prodigy like Mister Kumu was left far behind by his little apprentice, so what are we?"
These words were somewhat comforting to Cai Wenzhong.
"You're right." Cai Wenzhong sighed. "As teachers, aren't we always hoping that our students will surpass us?"
Seeing Cai Wenzhong's heroic expression, Gan Lun continued to comfort him, saying, "Once Princess Consort of the Prince of Qi gives birth, she won't have time to play chess with you anymore. Just hang in there for a few more months."
Having found some comfort in Gan Lun and done some mental preparation, Cai Wenzhong continued on his path of being tortured.
Zhao Ruxi spent her days eating, drinking, and sleeping, taking walks around the Prince of Qi's Residence, playing chess with Cai Wenzhong, and drawing farm tool designs. Lady Zhu, the old lady, and Grand Princess Shangde would occasionally come over to chat with her. Her days were incredibly leisurely and pleasant.
Lady Zhu and the others didn't tell her about what was happening outside, and she didn't ask; although she had the system monitor those who were after Xiao Lingyan, she forbade it from reporting to her.
She wants to maintain a relaxed and happy mood for herself and her child.
Even after marrying Xiao Lingyan, the two were deeply in love and their relationship was incredibly good; after she became pregnant, Xiao Lingyan became even more caring and considerate towards her, but she remained perfectly clear-headed.
She clearly understood that women, especially pregnant women, should care most about themselves and the baby in their womb.
As for men who have taken meat and then switch to vegetarianism, you can't control them; you can only let them be.
If they behave well, then keep them; if they behave poorly and get involved with other women, then you can kick them out.
Although divorce is impossible for her given her current situation, she can separate her heart and body from Xiao Lingyan.
To be on the safe side, she still had Qingfeng, Lu Yun, and Lady Luo serving her, instead of people from the Prince of Qi's Residence; the cook in the small kitchen who prepared her meals was also from the former Earl of Suiping's Residence. The ingredients, however, had to be handled by Lu Yun.
Lu Yun Chu is knowledgeable in medicine and also skilled in cooking; he is a well-rounded individual.
As for the trivial matters of the Prince of Qi's Residence, since she had gone to work in the Ministry of Works to design agricultural tools for the court, she couldn't spend the time and energy to manage the Prince of Qi's Residence. Noble Consort Cen specially sent two nannies from the palace to manage the trivial matters of the Prince of Qi's Residence's Mansion.
After Zhao Ruxi became pregnant, she would report all matters, big and small, of the Prince of Qi's Residence to Xiao Lingyan, Xiao Lingyan didn't need her to worry about anything.
In this relaxed and pleasant environment, Zhao Ruxi endured the first three months of morning sickness and the subsequent seven months of excellent appetite, finally giving birth to a son the following autumn.
A time of universal celebration.
Xiao Ge was overjoyed to receive a general amnesty. When his grandson was one month old, he named Xiao Lingyan as the crown prince and selected one of the hundreds of names he had suggested, bestowing upon his grandson the name Xiao Shaoduo.
Finally out of confinement, Zhao Ruxi took a good bath and finally asked the system, "Tell me about the scandalous incidents involving Xiao Lingyan during this time."
For the past ten months, the system has been constantly asking questions but has nowhere to vent its frustration, and it's become incredibly frustrated.
Upon hearing that Zhao Ruxi wanted to hear more, it immediately became excited and asked, "There are Noble Consort Cen summoning him to the palace to ask if he wants to take a concubine; there are stories about officials wanting to bring Xiao Lingyan home so he can see their daughters; there are stories about noble ladies trying to find out his whereabouts and even running into him by chance; and there are stories about maids in the mansion wanting to climb into his bed. Which one would you like to hear first, host?"
Zhao Ruxi's face darkened instantly.
Although she had expected it, she was still unhappy to hear it.
"Just tell me first whether he's been involved with any women or whether he's been tempted by any," she said.
"No," the system answered decisively. "He rejected them all."
"Those who tried every means to get their daughters into Prince of Qi's Residence as concubines, or those from noble families who tried to meet him by chance, he punished the heads of those families severely, and no one got away with it. As for those who tried to climb into his bed, he had them beaten and sold off."
Zhao Ruxi's lips involuntarily curled up, her mood brightening like a clear sky.
"What's going on with Noble Consort Cen?" She wanted to know Noble Consort Cen's attitude. She would use this to decide how much sincerity she would give to Noble Consort Cen in the future.
"After you became pregnant, Noble Consort Cen summoned Xiao Lingyan the palace, inquired about your condition, and then asked if he wanted any maids to serve him in bed. If he did, she offered to Xiao Lingyan with two palace maids. Xiao Lingyan immediately and firmly refused. After that, she never mentioned it again."