Xiao Mandong reached out and casually felt Qi Yuqing’s pulse.
Her pupils contracted sharply. She never would have imagined that Qi Yuqing was actually pregnant at a time like this.
Qi Yuqing was still immersed in the despair she had just experienced. Tears clung to her face, and her voice was hoarse. “Mandong, am I especially pathetic?”
Xiao Mandong did not answer. Instead, she said in a low voice, “Don’t speak yet. Give me that wrist.”
She switched to the other hand and carefully took Qi Yuqing’s pulse again, disbelief flickering in her eyes.
Seeing her expression, Qi Yuqing thought she had some incurable illness.
She was just about to ask when Xiao Mandong spoke.
“Your pulse is smooth and slippery, your conception and governing vessels are well balanced, and your kidney qi is strong. There’s not the slightest sign of infertility.”
Qi Yuqing looked utterly confused. “What did you say? The doctor back then clearly told me…”
Xiao Mandong looked at her with an unwavering gaze.
“I didn’t know about it before, but I can tell you with certainty now that your qi and blood are flowing freely, your uterus is stable, and this is the pulse of pregnancy. You’ve been pregnant for at least a month.”
Qi Yuqing froze in place.
Pregnant? She was actually pregnant? How was that possible? She had been unable to conceive for more than a decade, and now she had suddenly become pregnant.
Qi Yuqing felt dazed. She grabbed Xiao Mandong’s arm, her voice trembling. “Mandong, are you sure? You must have made a mistake. It’s impossible. Don’t tease me…”
Xiao Mandong clasped her hand and said firmly, “I haven’t made a mistake. I can tell you with absolute certainty that you really are pregnant.”
The instant Qi Yuqing heard those words, her mind went blank. She stared at Xiao Mandong’s resolute expression, her lips trembling for a long time without managing to say a single word.
Then, all the grievances, despair, and longing she had accumulated over more than a decade erupted at once. Tears poured down her face. At first, she wept silently, but soon she could no longer control herself and began to sob uncontrollably.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi Yuqing finally began to calm down. Then she suddenly remembered something.
“Mandong, could you come to my house and take a look at something for me?”
Xiao Mandong did not refuse and followed Qi Yuqing home. To her surprise, her new house was right next door to Qi Yuqing’s.
Qi Yuqing took a yellowed paper packet from a cabinet and handed it to Xiao Mandong.
Xiao Mandong opened it carefully. A strong medicinal odor filled the air. The paper wrapped around the herbs had already become brittle, clearly showing that they had been stored for many years.
“Dani said her grandfather was a barefoot doctor in the countryside and knew some traditional remedies.”
“She knew I had damaged my health after my miscarriage, so she specially prepared this medicine for me. She said it could gradually repair the damage to my uterus.”
“How long did you take it?”
“For nearly five years without stopping. After that, I took it on and off. Six years ago, Zhang Chenghui stopped coming to my room, and I felt there was no hope left, so I stopped taking it altogether.”
“After I stopped, I felt like my complexion and overall health actually improved. Around that time, my second uncle happened to catch a pregnant doe and make deer fetus paste from it. That was when I started taking the paste.”
Xiao Mandong sighed. “Your failure to conceive all these years was directly related to this medicine. It contains sparganium, zedoary, and an excessively large dose of motherwort.”
“You had already damaged your qi and blood through the miscarriage. Taking this medicine year after year would inevitably injure your conception and governing vessels. The fact that this child came at all is a miracle. It may also have something to do with the deer fetus paste you took. Under normal circumstances, after taking this medicine for more than three years, you wouldn’t be able to have another child.”
Qi Yuqing stood there, leaning against the wall so she would not collapse. Her eyes remained fixed on the packet of medicine, while tears streamed down her face.
Her heart was filled with both hatred and regret. She hated herself for being so foolish, for believing everything she was told.
She had pitied Dani for being alone and helpless in the countryside. She had pitied Dani’s child and convinced herself that none of this was Dani’s fault. She had even sent her living expenses every month and yielded to her at every turn.
In the end, she had been manipulated all along.
In Dani’s eyes, she was probably nothing more than an idiot. And from Dani’s perspective, that made sense—she was the woman who had stolen her husband.
Qi Yuqing wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Mandong, can you keep this a secret for me? I want to divorce Zhang Chenghui. I can’t let my child have a father like him.”
She gently touched her lower abdomen. A life she had longed for over a decade was growing inside her. This child belonged to her and had nothing to do with Zhang Chenghui. She wanted a divorce. Her child could take the Qi surname.
“All right. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know. You still need to be careful during these first three months. Don’t let your emotions become too extreme. This child really didn’t come easily, so you need to put the baby first.”
“Thank you.” Qi Yuqing took Xiao Mandong’s hand, genuinely grateful that Xiao Mandong had saved her today.
Xiao Mandong glanced at her watch. “Sister Yuqing, it’s getting dark. I have to go home. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
Qi Yuqing nodded absently, still clutching the packet of medicine that had harmed her for more than a decade. Her mind was already working out what to do next.
Xiao Mandong gently closed the door, returned to the bicycle shed, and rode her bike back to the village.
It had just begun to grow dark when Xiao Mandong disappeared into the night and entered the hills behind the village. She proceeded cautiously along the same mountain path as before. After walking for about an hour, she finally saw the row of mud-brick houses at the foot of the mountain.
As she drew closer, she noticed that the old thatch on the roof had been replaced with fresh wheat straw mixed with yellow clay and chaff. The roof had clearly been repaired only recently.
She remembered her father saying that one winter, the roof of her eldest uncle’s room—and the empty room beside it—had collapsed under the weight of heavy snow. Fortunately, no one had been injured.
She had intended to warn her family, but she had never expected the house to have already been repaired.
Shaking off the thought, Xiao Mandong prepared to circle around to the backyard. She planned to place the things from her storage space beneath the window and bring them inside through it. That would be much safer than using the door and would keep anyone from discovering her.
But just as she reached the corner of the side wall, she heard voices beneath the eaves.
She pricked up her ears and listened. The voice sounded familiar. Could it be… Pei Jiaojiao?
Pei Jiaojiao’s imperious tone was unmistakable.
“Don’t worry. As long as you help me this time, I’ll regularly bring you daily necessities. I won’t let you suffer.”
The man swallowed, his voice kept low. “What I mainly need are padded clothes and quilts. It would be best if you could get us some grain too.”
Pei Jiaojiao sounded impatient. “I know, I know. Why are you nagging? When I start screaming later, your wife is supposed to run outside and call for help. I’m going to ruin his reputation.”
With that, Pei Jiaojiao turned and went back into the house.
Xiao Mandong hurried to the window. By the light of the candle inside, she saw a man lying on the kang.
She rubbed her eyes and looked again. The clothes he wore seemed to be a military uniform. A bad feeling welled up inside her.
Then she saw Pei Jiaojiao begin undoing the man’s buttons one by one.
She was saying something under her breath. Xiao Mandong quietly opened the broken window of the adjoining room and slipped inside. She wanted to see exactly who the man was.
“Shen Linzhou, you knew perfectly well that I loved you, yet you sent me to another man’s bed. You don’t want to marry me, do you? Then I’ll ruin your reputation. I’ll show everyone that you’ve been sleeping with your sister-in-law. I refuse to believe that Xiao Mandong will still marry you once you have nothing left.”
