The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 41: Keeping a mistress
"What did you say? He went to that little courtyard with the banyan tree in town again?"

“Yes, Miss,” an old woman said. “This old servant pretended to be a needle and thread seller and followed Young Master Zhao the whole way. I saw him go twice today.”

"You went there yesterday too?"

"Yes, I went yesterday and the day before yesterday."

"Isn't that courtyard supposed to belong to Master Zhang?"

"Yes, but there should be a woman living inside. Today, I saw a pregnant woman closing the door. Judging from her belly, she should be about to give birth."

"what?"

Xiao Chunlan was shocked.

"Is she Zhao Minghua's lover? She's about to give birth?"

No wonder the Zhao family stopped proposing marriage!
So he had been having an affair with another woman all along and was keeping her as a mistress?

"I want to see which shameless vixen dares to seduce Zhao Minghua."

Xiao Chunlan's world has collapsed!

He stormed out of the hospital in a rage.

“Miss, Madam instructed that you must stay in your room and embroider your dowry; you are not allowed to go anywhere else.”

In fact, it was Ms. Wen who felt that her daughter was too dramatic, making a scene over Zhao Minghua, which would be embarrassing if word got out, so she placed her under house arrest.

"The groom has been seduced and run off with someone! What's the point of embroidering my dowry? Who am I supposed to marry?" Xiao Chunlan angrily pushed aside the old woman guarding the door. "Don't stop me! I'm going to see where this vixen came from..."

The young lady has gone out!

The old woman couldn't stop her and hurriedly went to report to the mistress.

"What are you all good for?" Madam Wen was both angry and annoyed. "Don't you have hands or feet? Hurry up and find the person back. If anything happens, none of you will have a good time."

"Madam, Miss says..."

"Is this true? Zhao Minghua is keeping a mistress, and she's about to give birth?"

"This old servant isn't quite sure either, but someone saw it..."

"That has nothing to do with Chunlan. The marriage with the Zhao family was never discussed again." Madam Wen was both angry and anxious, and hurriedly ran out after her. "What does she mean by going out to make a scene like this? And what right does she have to cause trouble? It's shameful!"

How could I have given birth to such a stubborn daughter?

Wen was furious.

“There are other men in the world besides Xiao Minghua. Besides, he didn’t even marry his legal wife before keeping a mistress and having a son who is older than the legitimate son. Does he deserve her worry? She’s really blinded by greed.”

Mrs. Xiao personally led a group of people to chase after them.

They rushed as fast as they could, and just as Xiao Chunlan was about to knock on the door of the small courtyard in front of the banyan tree, they stopped her.

"Mother, he's keeping a vixen. So that's why he's ignoring me—he's keeping a mistress. That mistress lives here, and she's about to give birth..."

She cried so hard, her face streaked with tears, she was heartbroken.

"What business is it of yours what other people raise?" Madam Wen was very annoyed and called her servant to hold the man back tightly: "The Zhao family has already made it clear that they will not discuss this marriage. Moreover, with such family values ​​and upbringing, my Xiao family will not marry our daughter to him."

"No, my daughter must marry Zhao!" Xiao Chunlan was frantic. "I want to see what kind of person he is, and what's so good about him..."

"Nonsense, go back right now."

"No, no matter what you say, I'm going to see this vixen today."

A group of seven or eight people stood around the gate of the courtyard, crying and cursing.

Chunnuan, who was processing medicinal herbs in the courtyard, stopped what she was doing. "Eldest sister-in-law, is someone arguing outside?"

"may be."

Zhu Ling had already heard everything clearly. It was probably another man who had gotten a woman pregnant and was keeping her outside. These kinds of dramas were not uncommon in the capital. When she thought about how her husband didn't even have a concubine, and how they had been loving and affectionate since they got married... even God must be jealous of their happiness, which was why they were separated, thousands of miles apart, and she longed for him every night.
"These people are probably just bored and have nothing better to do."

Chunnuan smiled bitterly and picked up her work again: "When they are like us, worrying about food and clothing, and having so much work to do, they will take everything less seriously."

“Yes, when people are well-fed and warm, they think of lustful desires.” Zhu Ling shook her head and sighed as she made baby clothes for her child. “Sometimes people shouldn’t be doing well. They always look for trouble when they have a good life.”

No matter how noisy it was outside, Chunnuan and Zhuling lived their quiet lives behind closed doors.

"It's so hot and humid today, it looks like it's going to pour rain." Chunnuan wiped her sweat after finishing her work. "Sister-in-law, I'm going back to the village to pick some vegetables."

"Okay," Zhu Ling said. "Putting everything else aside, I'm afraid the houses in the village won't be able to withstand a heavy downpour..."

“I’ll go back and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll try to persuade my grandmother and the others to move here first.”

"That's what I mean too. No matter what, safety is the most important thing," Zhu Ling said. "Go quickly."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Sister-in-law, be careful at home by yourself, and don't go out."

"I know." Zhu Ling felt the fetus dropping these past few days, and it was pulling on her lower body and causing some pain. However, she was too embarrassed to tell Chun Nuan that it wasn't that she wanted to go out, but that she really couldn't.

Chunnuan carried a bamboo basket out of the courtyard and reminded her elder sister-in-law to lock the door.

"You only open the door when I knock."

"I know, I know, go ahead and be careful on the road."

When I passed by the banyan tree in the spring, I saw the old woman selling needles and thread still sitting there and paused for a moment: Is this a suitable place to set up a stall?
On second thought, perhaps she just wanted to rest in the cool shade. After all, the banyan tree is lush and leafy, and business is not easy on hot days. It's normal for her to sit here and get some shade and rest.

Seeing Chunnuan leave with her bamboo basket, the old woman also picked up her needlework basket and turned into a small alley.

Before long, they arrived at the backyard of the rice shop.

"Reporting to Madam and Miss, there are two people living in that courtyard. One is a pregnant woman, and the other looks like a maid. The maid went out carrying a bamboo basket, and the pregnant woman locked the door."

“Mother, look…”

"What am I looking at? Why are you so stubborn?"

"I don't care about my daughter, she won't marry anyone but him anyway."

Wen really wanted to slap her twice.

"Even so, you can't just rush to cause trouble. What gives you the right to do so?"

"What can we do? Just watch her give birth?"

"Chunlan, come back with me. Go back and embroider your wedding dress properly. Leave this to me."

"Mother……"

"That's enough. If you listen to me, you might still be able to marry into the Zhao family. If you don't, you'll suffer a lot."

Xiao Chunlan had no choice but to compromise and was escorted back to her boudoir in the Xiao family mansion by several servants.

"Granny Chen, how could I have given birth to such a good-for-nothing daughter?"

"Madam, marriage is preordained. Perhaps Young Master Zhao is Miss's destined husband."

"But Zhao Minghua clearly doesn't take her seriously!" Mrs. Xiao rubbed her temples, her head aching. "What do you think I should do now?"

(End of this chapter)