Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Chapter 164 False Pregnancy

Duan Mingzhu stated calmly, "Yun Ting is no ordinary person. He is stronger than anyone I have ever met. He is patient, restrained, and has the demeanor of a great man..."

Nianyao sensed something was wrong: "A normal wife praising her excellent husband would use an appreciative, excited, and proud tone. You didn't do anything to him?"

Duan Mingzhu laughed and said, "If I hadn't taken liberties with him, how could I have had a child?"

Is this a case of using minimal force to achieve maximum effect? ​​Nianyao said, "Why are you so obsessed with having a child? So what if you don't have a child? Why do you care about what others think?"

Duan Mingzhu said, "You can't talk about ice with a summer insect. My sister is healthy and lively, and is the only one Father dotes on. I, on the other hand, only managed to catch their eye because of my intelligence and talent. How can I not care about what others think?"

I don't know what I did wrong that God is treating me like this. I don't want to die, I haven't lived enough, and my only way out is to have a child.

He is independent and free, and will not be confined. I will watch over him from heaven, watching him make up for my regrets... He will travel to famous mountains and rivers, taste all the delicacies of the world, and witness firsthand the customs of different places..."

Duan Mingzhu looked on with anticipation, and Nianyao could sense her joy and happiness, so she couldn't bear to interrupt her.

Duan Mingzhu finished her porridge and placed it on the tray: "Sister, do you think I'm not worthy of Yunting's affection?"

Nianyao quickly shook her head: "No. I just felt that you were too bland when you talked about Yunting..."

“I learned to control my emotions and remain calm in the face of adversity since I was a child. I’m like this unless there are special circumstances.” Duan Mingzhu paused, “Sister, to be honest, Yunting married me and gave me a child, and I helped him get Kunzhou. We each got what we needed and neither of us owes the other anything.”

Neither party owes the other anything? Is that what Duan Mingzhu thinks? What about Xue Yunting?

Nianyao felt very uncomfortable: "You were faking it all before? Since you left Kunzhou and have no acquaintances there, why did he lie to our faces? Why didn't he take you back to Qinzhou?"

Duan Mingzhu said, "Yun Ting is a righteous person. Since I followed him, he has done his best to protect me. He takes all the blame upon himself because he feels that it is always good to be wary of others. If people find out that I am in poor health, I could be easily taken advantage of and harmed."

Just like before, Young Master Nan and the others only knew I was sickly, but they didn't know the extent of my illness. Yun Ting lied, and others thought I'd been deceived. They would hate him and pity me, so naturally they would take extra care of me.

Nianyao said, "Indeed, I thought he had lied to you, and I wanted to beat Yunting up."

Duan Mingzhu said gently, "No matter what, I appreciate your kind heart."

Nianyao still felt something was wrong: "Didn't you consider that your body might not be able to handle... the risk of both life and death? Even if the child is born, so what? He has no mother."

When the child grows up, how will Yunting explain it to him? Will he say that his mother died giving birth to him? You'll make Yunting and the child feel guilty for the rest of their lives…”

Duan Mingzhu interrupted Nianyao: "Sister won't do that, there won't be a double tragedy. I will protect him, and brother-in-law will protect him too. The child has never seen his mother since birth, so he won't know he doesn't have a mother."

Nianyao didn't understand Duan Mingzhu's complicated feelings: "You went to Chongming Island because Luo An is there? No matter how good a stepmother is, you can't hide this kind of thing from her. One day he will find out the truth."

Duan Mingzhu looked at Nian Yao with a strange expression.

Nianyao thought Duan Mingzhu didn't believe her: "I'm not exaggerating, I've experienced this myself."

Duan Mingzhu got up and opened the window, seeing Xue Yunting standing in the middle of the courtyard. Hearing the noise, Xue Yunting looked up and gestured to her with two orchids in his hand.

Duan Mingzhu closed the window, turned to Nian Yao and said, "I went to Chongming Island not just because my brother-in-law is there. It's because I don't want to cause trouble for Yun Ting. Yun Ting's parents won't be present at our wedding, and the Xue family and Nan Yue can disown us. My death won't affect Yun Ting's marriage."

If I were to go to Qinzhou and stay at the Xue family mansion, I would undoubtedly be the eldest young mistress. If I die, Yun Ting would remarry, becoming his second wife. Being a second wife doesn't sound as good as being the first wife. Yun Ting can marry a princess, but it would be much more difficult for a second wife to do so.”

It sounded like she genuinely cared about Xue Yunting. Nianyao said, "You're quite thoughtful too."

Duan Mingzhu said, "I don't like owing people favors; I have to repay them. Yunting is thinking of me, so naturally I'll think of things for him too."

Nianyao was pleased: "That's good. Now that you're married, live a good life together."

Duan Mingzhu said, "When Yunting first mentioned my sister to me, her tone was so natural that I assumed she was my biological sister whom I grew up with. It was only after we got married that Yunting said she was my cousin."

He said his sister lost her mother at a young age, and his uncle wouldn't allow Yunting's family to acknowledge her as their sister. Over the years, they could only secretly watch over her, and they felt very guilty towards her.

Nianyao said, "Is it because my father won't let my uncle acknowledge me? I thought it was because I scolded my uncle when I was little, and he was angry? It seems I was being petty."

Duan Mingzhu said, "Sister, although Yunting is a young general, he is actually very kind. He is the eldest brother in the family and is not good at expressing his feelings. He keeps everything in his heart, which is quite similar to my brother-in-law."

Nianyao scoffed, "How is he similar? I would be perfectly content if your brother-in-law bore even a five-tenths of Yun Ting's resemblance."

Duan Mingzhu smiled so hard her eyes narrowed: "Sister, brother-in-law will be unhappy if he hears this."

Nianyao said, "Does he have ears that can hear from a thousand miles away?"

Duan Mingzhu said, "I have long heard of Dongyang Xizhai. How could the royal residence allow outsiders to stay there?"

Nianyao frowned slightly: "You mean, even when you don't go out, you're being watched?"

Duan Mingzhu said, "Yun Ting is the young general of Nan Yue, and I am from Xiling. If the crown prince is so magnanimous as to let things go unchecked, wouldn't Dongyang have fallen into decline during his years as regent?"

Nianyao said, "What's the point of monitoring you if you can't get out?"

Duan Mingzhu said, "If you don't believe me, you can go out and take a look. There must be someone on the roof."

Nianyao looked at Duan Mingzhu: "On the day you left, was it because you were able to shake off the people watching you that Luo An was so angry?"

Duan Mingzhu said, "Yes. That day I went to prepare the antidote for Yunting, and it took a lot of effort to get rid of them."

Nianyao asked, "You know medicine?"

Duan Mingzhu replied, "I know a little."

Nianyao pouted: "You scholars are so pretentious. You're obviously incredibly proud, but you pretend to be very humble. You're so hypocritical."

Duan Mingzhu walked over and sat down next to Nianyao: "I've become a good doctor through long illness, so I can't compare to my brother-in-law."

Nianyao seemed to remember something and placed her hand in front of Duan Mingzhu: "Then can you take a look at me? I've been feeling nauseous and vomiting a lot lately..."

Duan Mingzhu took her pulse for a long time before letting go, and said seriously, "Sister is not pregnant."

Nianyao bluntly said, "It seems you're not being modest."

Despite her small stature, Duan Mingzhu said generously, "Sister, what you're experiencing is a false pregnancy, which is common among people who are eager to have a child and become mothers. This condition becomes even more obvious when someone around them is pregnant."