Quick Transmigration: My First Female Skill Takes Effect

Chief Secretary Ning's brow remained furrowed until he returned home, and the furrow did not ease.

His two-year-old daughter ran out of the house. The little girl followed him; she was thin and frail, and the servants stayed close by, afraid that she might fall.

"Father."

The two-year-old spoke clearly; her hair was too short and sparse to be tied up in a bun.

She had a long, thin face and bright, sparkling eyes, like stars in the night sky.

Chief Secretary Ning led his daughter into the house and asked her what she had done that day and whether she had eaten properly.

"Father, you should eat well."

Seeing that Chief Secretary Ning's chopsticks remained in his hand without moving, the little girl, acting like a little adult, offered some advice.

The little girl's mother, Jia An, also put down her chopsticks: "What's wrong with you lately? The worry on your face grows stronger every day. Even Governor Zhao has come to find Li Erniu."

The biggest scourge of Youzhou is gone.

What are you still worried about!

Chief Secretary Ning looked hesitant to speak, but the lady kept looking at him, demanding an answer.

He waved his hand to dismiss the surrounding servants before leaning forward and saying, "The magistrate has been acting strangely lately; he has to read the Analects to his unborn child every day."

Sometimes we even ask him what the book means.

His wife, Jia An, thought it was some big secret, but it turned out to be just reading to the unborn baby.

"Didn't you read it when I was pregnant with Apu?"

Chief Secretary Ning waved his hand: "It's different. I'm a scholar, and the magistrate hates studying the most. Even when his eldest son was born, he didn't feel this way."

He shifted his body, a hint of disbelief in his eyes: "And you know, they're the kind of people who'd stretch every penny."

"I heard from Wen Yong that Madam Wen (Wen Zheng) also sent the Wen family's caravan to the capital to buy three bolts of snow-white satin, two bolts of Shu brocade, two bolts of Liaoling, and one bolt of woven gold brocade."

Looking at the lady's wide eyes, Chief Secretary Ning snorted inwardly, "You'll see, you don't believe me."

"They said they were making clothes and hats for children."

Upon hearing that the child was mentioned, Jia An calmed down and said, "It's understandable if it's for the child's sake."

"Understand? I understand my family, we only have one child, Apu, but the Zhao family is different." He didn't understand what these two people were doing.

Sometimes I really want to ask them myself.

Leaving aside Zhao Yifeng's other children, just talking about Wen Zheng, she has three children living peacefully in the mansion.

He said he had heard about it, and the young master and mistress in the mansion must have heard about it too. As the saying goes, it's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality, especially since the eldest son doesn't have any.

His younger brother/sister has one, and Chief Clerk Ning is really afraid that something might happen in the governor's mansion at this time.

Jia An comforted him, "Don't worry, Dalang and the others are all sensible and good children. They won't hold a grudge against a little kid."

"Sister Wen's pregnancy has been tough, so naturally she feels even more sorry for the baby in her belly," she explained understandingly.

Chief Secretary Ning chuckled and said, "...Let's eat."

He felt that wasn't the case; his intuition told him that the couple simply liked this pregnancy.

I just hope their liking isn't too overt!

The governor's residence.

Wen Zheng was talking to her three children who had all arrived. Dinner hadn't started yet, and Zhao Yifeng hadn't arrived.

Eldest son Zhao Yan, second daughter Zhao Yue, youngest son Zhao Huan.

Six-year-old Zhao Huan, with his round head, tugged at his mother's sleeve with a slight pout, his clear eyes gazing longingly at her: "Mom, I want to wear Shu brocade clothes too."

He overheard the nanny beside him saying that his mother was going to buy expensive clothes for his unborn sister/brother.

Zhao Yue raised an eyebrow, while Zhao Yan slightly raised his eyes.

They knew about this because they had a gossipy uncle who knew that the stingy sister was spending money on something unusual.

They couldn't wait to make it public so that everyone would know that the Wen family wasn't stingy.

Wen Zheng also heard about this that day, and she wanted nothing more than to beat up her brother to vent her anger. She told him to go to sleep instead of gossiping about other things.

There's an explanation behind her calling her three children over for dinner today.

"So, after you put on your Shu brocade clothes, are you still going out?"

"Yes, I want to."

"That won't do. It's windy and dusty in Youzhou. We can't go out wearing expensive clothes. Look at your mother and father. We can only go out if we wear our current clothes."

Wen Zheng stroked his youngest son's round head and said softly, "After your sister is born, she won't be going out, so she'll have nice clothes to wear."

"If you were like your sister, lying in bed all day, I would make it for you too."

Zhao Huan was unhappy. He didn't want to stay cooped up in the room. Touching his own clothes, he felt fine.

"I don't want to anymore, I want to go out and play."

Wen Zheng addressed one issue: "Good child."

Send Plum Blossom to take him to the kitchen to get a plate of his favorite snacks.

Her words might appease her youngest son, but she can't appease her grown-up children.

"You two should have heard about me buying several bolts of cloth," Wen Zheng said, downplaying the matter.

A few bolts of cloth, taken individually, are indeed a very small matter.

Zhao Yue glanced at her eldest brother and spoke first, "Mother, you don't need to explain to us. I'm not so petty as to compete with my unborn sister for a man's affections."

If anyone's going to be jealous, it's their older brother!

The family only had two good horses, one belonged to my father and the other to my eldest brother.

She didn't even have a chance to ask for it before it was already decided.

Zhao Yan meant the same thing; as the eldest son, he wouldn't stoop to the level of a baby who hadn't even been born yet.

Wen Zheng felt relieved, but still explained, "You're not young anymore, so I won't hide it from you. Our family's current situation is like that of tourists stranded in a thunderstorm without an umbrella."

"One wrong move and the whole family could suffer."

"That's why I was afraid that misfortune would come sooner than expected, and that your sister wouldn't be able to enjoy the blessings you've enjoyed. That's why I made sure she had more to enjoy when she was little."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan and Zhao Yue first comforted their mother, assuring her that everything would be alright at home, and eventually the slight ripple of the rumors in their hearts disappeared.

After all, her mother's words made sense.

When Zhao Yifeng returned, he happened to see Zhao Huan carrying a dessert called "Su Shan" (酥山, literally "crispy mountain") to the door. Cream was poured over crushed ice, and the cook decorated it with colorful flowers, creating a vibrant red and green scene.

Zhao Huan subconsciously took a step back, but remembering that it was his mother's permission, he stopped, raised his head, and said smugly, "Father, Mother allowed it."

It wasn't him who stole the food.

Zhao Yifeng glanced at him, nodded with an "Mmm," and went in first after lifting the curtain at the gatehouse.

Zhao Huan followed.

Inside the house, the mother and her two children were enjoying a happy time together.

When Zhao Yifeng helped his wife sit down, he gave her a thumbs up, but he didn't even have a chance to show off.

After the meal.

"Go, beat my brother up."

Wen Zheng raised an eyebrow and glared at him, giving him the order.

Zhao Yifeng thought to himself: The opportunity has arrived.

"become."

He was angry too.

My brother-in-law is such a blabbermouth.

Two days later, Wen Yong was given a ten-day leave. After leaving the restaurant, he was taken to an alley and punched several times.