Chapter 168 Good News
Jiang Li didn't know about what happened in the Li family these days. But she didn't pay much attention to it, probably because she knew that everything was going according to her plan, slowly and steadily, and Princess Yongning would always reach the ending that was set for her at the beginning, so there was no need to rush what she did before.

She liked going to Ye's house more.

Maybe Jiang Yuanbai has been busy with his own things recently, so he turned a blind eye to Jiang Li's behavior of running to the Ye family almost every day. Jiang Li went to the Ye family to see Xue Huaiyuan. She went to see Xue Huaiyuan every day, but didn't do anything. Occasionally, she talked to Xue Huaiyuan, but more often she accompanied him silently. When Xue Huaiyuan was reading, Jiang Li also held a book and watched from a distance. In Xue Huaiyuan's eyes, Jiang Li is the second daughter of the Jiang family. But in Jiang Li's eyes, Xue Huaiyuan will always be her father. As long as her father is by her side, she can give her endless strength and courage.

Xue Huaiyuan occasionally asked about some details of the Tongxiang case and the evidence related to Xue Fangfei. Haitang and Jiang Li said that Xue Huaiyuan often asked Xue Fangfei what kind of life she lived in the Shen family and what happened to Xue Fangfei before Haitang left the mansion. When Xue Huaiyuan finished listening, he hunched over and silently shed tears on the ground, which was heartbreaking.

Jiang Li felt heartbroken whenever she thought of this scene. Besides, Xue Huaiyuan had apparently been persuaded by Jiang Li to no longer take the spring exam, but privately, he began to secretly inquire about the robbery case that Xue Zhao had encountered. He could not leave the house, otherwise he would be caught by Princess Yongning or Shen Yurong's people, so he asked Ye Mingyu's people to inquire. Or maybe he learned from the small servants' gossip that Jiang Li told Ye Mingyu not to let Xue Huaiyuan go out alone. Jiang Li knew how many people in Yanjing City wanted Xue Huaiyuan's life.

Just Princess Yongning is enough. Princess Yongning hurt Xue Huaiyuan once, and she will never allow the other party to hurt Xue Huaiyuan a second time.

Ye Mingyu said to Jiang Li, "Mr. Xue's temper is really too stubborn. Not many people knew about Xue Zhao's case, and it happened a long time ago, but he is still very stubborn. Don't be fooled by his gentle smile and gentle appearance. I'm afraid he is very opinionated in his bones, and no one can convince him." He glanced at Jiang Li again, "If you don't know, you would think that you learned your temper from this old man, Ah Li."

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Really?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Ye Mingyu complained, "Now I don't dare to speak loudly to the old man, I always feel afraid that he will say a lot of big truths. It's really strange, your father is also a scholar, why am I not afraid of your father?"

Jiang Li smiled but didn't answer. When she returned to Jiang Mansion in the evening, as soon as she reached Fangfei Garden, Bai Xue, who stayed in the mansion, came to meet her and said to Jiang Li, "Miss, there's movement in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion."

"Oh? What happened?" Jiang Li asked.

"A doctor entered the gate of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion." Bai Xue replied.

Doctor? Jiang Li understood. It seemed that Princess Yongning had lost her patience, or she simply did not have the patience to play along with the Li family. She was so eager to give her pregnancy a legitimate start.

It’s a good start like this, so that the show can start quickly.

……

At the Right Prime Minister's residence, the doctor was taking Princess Yongning's pulse.

It was evening. Princess Yongning had chosen the time when the three Li family members were all at home. She suddenly fell ill and said that she felt very nauseous and could not eat anything.

The new bride had only been in the mansion for less than two months, and she still needed to be treated well. Besides, Princess Yongning had not been in good health since she came into the palace. She had been taking medicine to recuperate, and nothing had gone wrong, but today she suddenly became seriously ill. Li Zhongnan did not dare to neglect it. Seeing that Princess Yongning's maid had taken a letter to invite the imperial physician to the mansion, he came to see what was going on.

The brothers Li Xian and Li Lian were also waiting at the door. If Princess Yongning really had any problems with the Li family, they would have a hard time explaining themselves to King Cheng. Moreover, although Princess Yongning had been a little spoiled these days, she had not caused any trouble and seemed to get along well with the Li family. Therefore, there was really no reason not to treat her better.

After the imperial physician took Princess Yongning's pulse, he was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up, bowed to Princess Yongning, and said, "Congratulations, Your Highness, and congratulations to Lord Li!"

Li Xian and Li Zhongnan were both startled. Princess Yongning frowned and asked, "Why are you so happy?"

The imperial physician smiled and said, "Your Highness is pregnant!"

"Pregnant?" Li Xian looked strange, and Li Zhongnan was also stunned.

"Yes, judging from your pulse, you should be pregnant for a month." The doctor turned to Li Zhongnan and said with a smile: "Congratulations, Lord Li, on the birth of your grandson!"

Princess Yongning was surprised and delighted, and shouted, "I'm pregnant?"

The imperial physician said, "That's right!"

The maids in the room all knelt down, shouting congratulations. Just from this point of view, it seemed that this was indeed a great happy event. Princess Yongning looked at Li Xian, but saw that Li Xian had a strange expression on his face, without a trace of joy. She felt a pang in her heart, wondering if Li Xian was doubting that the child was not his. But think about it, in order to make Li Xian believe that the child was indeed the blood of the Li family, she had not left the house for more than a month since she married into the mansion, so it was naturally impossible for her to have an affair with a man outside. And she had bribed the imperial physician a long time ago, saying that they had a child in January, that is, on the wedding night, so there should be nothing wrong with that, right?
Li Xian shouldn’t be able to see it, right?
"Husband?" Princess Yongning called him, but she felt uneasy and tentative in her heart.

Li Xian seemed to be called back to his senses by her voice. He said "OK", walked a few steps to Princess Yongning's side, held her shoulders, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that the princess would get married and get married. This is a blessing for the Li family and for your husband." He asked someone to reward the imperial physician, who left happily with silver in his hands. Princess Yongning was greatly relieved.

Li Lian asked, "Sister-in-law, are you still feeling uncomfortable?"

"No." Yongning smiled and shook her head. "I couldn't find the reason why I felt so uncomfortable before, but I didn't expect it was because I was pregnant. Speaking of which, I caught a cold a few days ago, but fortunately the child was not hurt. The imperial physician said that my child is very healthy, which is reassuring."

"Princess, you should take good care of yourself and keep your child healthy and safe. That's the important thing to do." Li Xian smiled and said, "I'll have someone get the pregnancy-protecting medicine. Princess, you should also pay attention to your food, clothing and expenses in the future."

What he said was very tender, but for some reason, Princess Yongning felt that Li Xian's words lacked any affection and were as if he were talking to a stranger. His words did not contain any expectation for the birth of the child, but instead were false.

Princess Yongning didn't like this feeling. She couldn't see any excitement on Li Zhongnan and Li Lian's faces. Except when the imperial physician announced the pregnancy, these people were surprised for a moment, and then there was no expression. Are all members of the Li family like this? Or do the Li family simply not want to have their own children and grandchildren? Don't wealthy families all hope to have children and grandchildren as soon as possible?
Princess Yongning found that she didn't quite understand the Li family.

She used the excuse that she was tired and needed to rest, and asked the rest of the Li family to leave, leaving only Meixiang by her side. After making sure that the Li family had left the courtyard, Princess Yongning asked Meixiang, "Why do I feel that they are not looking forward to this child? I heard that blood relatives have feelings, could it be that Li Xian feels that this is not his biological child, so he is like this? If this goes on, will they find out that I married into the Li family pregnant?"

Princess Yongning was a little scared. After she became pregnant, she became much more timid than before, perhaps because she had a soft spot. And she didn't want anything to happen to the child.

Meixiang comforted her, "No, Your Highness is overthinking. Your Highness's pregnancy was covered up perfectly, and the imperial physician would not leak any information. Even if the Li family wanted to find evidence, they would not be able to find anything. I think that Your Highness may have gotten pregnant right after marrying into the Li family, and they are still a little uncomfortable with it, but it will be fine after a few days."

"Besides, Young Master Li is right. The most important thing for Your Highness now is to take good care of your body and the little prince in your belly." Mei Xiang said.

Princess Yongning slowly touched her belly, "What else can I do? I am now in the Li family, alone and weak, and I have to protect such a little one, so I always have to be careful."

She actually felt a little disappointed.

……

After Li Zhongnan and his son left Princess Yongning's bedroom, they went directly to Li Zhongnan's study. Li Zhongnan asked everyone to leave, and his trusted subordinates guarded the door. As soon as the door was closed, he asked Li Xian: "What's going on? How did she get pregnant?!"

"Yes, brother," Li Lian also said, "Didn't you say that you didn't touch her. Could it be..." He looked interested.

Li Xian knew what he was thinking as soon as he saw his expression, and said with disgust: "I really didn't touch her. On the wedding night, I asked someone else to do it for me."

Li Xian had no interest in women. Even if a fairy stood in front of him and wanted to have physical contact with him, he would be disgusted. What's more, it was Princess Yongning. Li Zhongnan and Li Lian knew this, so when they knew about this marriage, the Li family was not much happier than Princess Yongning.

On his wedding night, Li Xian asked someone else to consummate his marriage with Princess Yongning on his behalf. The servant who consummated the marriage on his behalf was naturally executed.

"How could you let her get pregnant?" Li Zhongnan said angrily. He really loved and hated this son. Li Xian was not like Li Lian, and he was talented and capable, which made Li Zhongnan very proud. But Li Xian did not love women, and was destined to not be able to have children for the Li family. Li Zhongnan had tried to change this, but each time he failed. After a long time, Li Zhongnan gave up. At least he still had a son, and his other son, Li Lian, was not short of women.

"After entering the house, she couldn't have gotten pregnant." Li Xian said, "The man took medicine before entering, so it's impossible for her to get pregnant."

"What went wrong?" Li Lian asked, "Is there something wrong with the medicine?"

Li Xian smiled playfully, "Dad, second brother, don't you find it strange? I heard that this marriage was granted by Concubine Liu who requested it from the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother talked to the Emperor. Even if Concubine Liu wanted to find a consort for Princess Yongning, isn't it too hasty to get married a month after the marriage? Ordinary girls have to wait at least half a year to get married, let alone a princess? And they have to raise their status?"

"That is..." Li Zhongnan was surprised.

"I think we should go find the imperial physician who treated the patient and ask him for clarification. For example... is the baby in the princess' belly really only one month old? Or has it been several months already?"

Li Zhongnan and Li Lian were both shocked when he heard this. Li Lian said, "You mean, she has been pregnant for a long time, and she deliberately married into our Li family and used you as a cover!"

"Bitch!" Li Zhongnan couldn't help but curse out loud, "You actually cuckolded the Li family! When I find out who the adulterer is, I will skin him alive!"

"The 'adulterer' who could attract the attention of Princess Yongning, who is so arrogant, is certainly not an ordinary person. Moreover, she could have given up the bastard in her belly and raised it for half a year before marrying into the Li family, and no one would know about it. But she was in a hurry to get married, obviously wanting to keep the bastard. It can be seen that Princess Yongning also loves this 'adulterer' very much." Li Xian said. His tone did not sound like the anger of being cuckolded, but rather rational and outrageous.

"The most important thing now is not to find out who the 'adulterer' is. Princess Yongning is so affectionate. If her 'adulterer' is really touched, who knows what desperate actions she will take. The most important thing now is that this evil child cannot be kept. If it is kept, the Li family will become a big joke." Li Xian said.

"That's right! We can't keep this bastard! The Li family can't raise children for others!" Li Zhongnan said angrily, "If it's a son, he will inherit the Li family business. This is a bargain for outsiders! Yongning, this slut, actually wants to seize the family property. How shameless!" "I didn't think so before, but now I think about it, it's really strange." Li Lian also said: "This princess claimed to be sick as soon as she entered the house and refused to sleep with the eldest brother. The eldest brother stayed in the outer courtyard, and she didn't care. How could other women be like this? It turns out that she is pregnant and is afraid that the eldest brother will find out. She also hopes that the eldest brother will stay away so that he can't see her secret!"

Li Xian shook his head and said nothing. If this happened to another family, Princess Yongning would have probably gotten away with it. Because of the joy of a new life, people often don't pay attention to these details. Especially who could have thought, who dared to think, that a princess would marry someone else while pregnant?
But the Li family was different. Both Li Xian and his son knew that Li Xian would not touch women. They also knew that it was impossible for Yongning to get pregnant on their wedding night. So Yongning's plan was exposed from the very beginning.

"But how do we deal with this child?" Li Lian asked, "As you said, since she is deeply in love with the 'adulterer', she will naturally be very concerned about this child. If we want to get rid of this evil seed, I'm afraid it will drive her crazy."

"Of course we can't do it now." Li Xian said, "Otherwise, if she suddenly miscarries right after the good news, not only she, but King Cheng will also blame us. Let's wait a little longer. These days, just pretend that nothing happened. Don't miss any medicine or food to maintain the pregnancy. When the time is right, let her 'accidentally' miscarry, and we can't be blamed."

"That being said, are we just going to let her deceive us?" Li Lian was unwilling to accept it. "Anyone who could do such a thing to the Li family would have died long ago. This woman is not bad. She treats our Li family as a joke."

"What can we do?" Li Xian smiled bitterly, "She is the sister of King Cheng."

"Speaking of which, does King Cheng know about this? If he knows, wouldn't that be repaying kindness with enmity? We followed him loyally, but he secretly made us the scapegoat for his sister. It's really not fair."

"King Cheng..." Before he finished speaking, Li Zhongnan on the side said in a deep voice. His eyes were filled with anger, and he said, "This is too much!"

……

The good news of Princess Yongning spread throughout Yanjing City overnight.

When Jiang Li heard the news, she just found it extremely funny.

"Isn't it still premature..." Bai Xue wondered, "There's a saying in our hometown that if a noble family is going to have a baby, they can't tell anyone the good news in the first three months. Only after the first three months can they publicize it, otherwise the child will be easily taken away by the King of Hell."

"Yes, yes, yes," Tong'er said, "I've heard that, too. Princess Yongning really isn't afraid of her child being in danger, she couldn't wait to announce it to the world. She couldn't even wait a month."

"Of course we can't wait." Jiang Li smiled slightly, "She just wants everyone in the world to know her good news, to know that she just entered the Li family's gate and had a child of the Li family."

The less one has, the more anxious one is to prove something. This has been human nature since ancient times. Princess Yongning was afraid that others would find out that the child was the result of a secret marriage between her and Shen Yurong, so she announced to the world that the child was undoubtedly from the Li family. In fact, this was a cover-up, and those who knew the inside story found it ridiculous.

Jiang Li was someone who understood the inside story, and of course, Li Xian was also someone who understood the inside story. The more Princess Yongning publicized it and announced it to the world, the more the people of the Li family felt as if a cloud was hanging over their heads and they felt short of breath.

However, Princess Yongning may not only want to prove that the child is from the Li family, but also do it for Shen Yurong to see. Shen Yurong would feel upset that her own child calls someone else "dad" and uses someone else's surname. This is Princess Yongning's counterattack.

But Jiang Li knew better than Princess Yongning that Shen Yurong would be indifferent to this. When he was in love with her, he was still so indifferent to the child he had lost. For Princess Yongning, who already had the intention of using her, Shen Yurong would not care too much about her child.

Maybe one day when Princess Yongning has no child, Shen Yurong will applaud and feel relieved. In this way, the threat to him will be gone. There will be no more handle to threaten him.

Jiang Li walked to the dressing mirror, picked up the pearl earrings from the box, and put them on carefully. Tong'er leaned over and asked, "Miss, are you planning to go to the Ye family? Isn't it after noon?"

"No." Jiang Li said: "Go to another place."

Last night, she told Zhao Ke that she wanted to go to the Duke's Mansion today. She had something to tell Ji Heng about the drama between Princess Yongning and Li Xian, and she hoped that Ji Heng could help. But she really didn't know what she could do to repay Ji Heng. Ji Heng could cook, so there was no need for snacks. So she picked a piece of jade with no shape from the trinkets that Ye Mingyu gave her. The shape of the jade was strange, and it was hard to tell what it was. What was special was the color, which was a transparent red. The red color changed from dark to light from the center to the surroundings. The color in the middle was the most intense and bright, and the surroundings were a light red.

Jiang Li spent the past few days using tweezers and a fine-hair brush to carve out a butterfly from morning till night, and finally managed to carve it into the shape of a butterfly.

He had a golden folding fan, a weapon for killing people, but on it was a blooming peony. On weekdays when he wasn't killing people, the folding fan was a very beautiful fan, but it was missing something. Jiang Li made a butterfly fan pendant, thinking that it would be a nice scenery to put under his fan. The butterflies fluttered around the peony, just like the fluttering corners of his clothes when he killed people, beautiful and terrifying.

Jiang Li put the butterfly fan pendant in a small box and asked Bai Xue to take it. However, she was not sure whether Ji Heng would use it. Maybe not, but it represented her feelings. Otherwise, she would feel bad if Ji Heng always helped her in vain.

The road Zhao Ke pointed out was not an ordinary main road, but a small road. Jiang Li did not take the Jiang family's carriage, but looked for another carriage outside. No one found them along the way. When they arrived at the Duke's Mansion, Jiang Li and the maids jumped off the carriage, and the doorman opened the door.

Really familiar.

Walking along the gate of the Duke's Mansion, as soon as they reached the flower garden, they heard a noisy "stinky horse, stinky horse" sound, mixed with the neighing of horses. Jiang Li walked closer and saw Xiao Hong sitting on Xiao Lan's back, happily pecking Xiao Lan's mane. Seeing Jiang Li coming, the black wings spread and rushed straight towards Jiang Li, scaring Tong'er to scream. Xiao Hong landed on Tong'er's head and tilted her head to shout to Jiang Li: "Fang Fei Fang Fei!"

Jiang Li: "...Shut up."

This mynah bird is a big mouth. Fortunately, when I was at the Shen family, I didn't keep it in the house, otherwise all my secrets would be known by it. Jiang Li thought again, if the mynah bird had not been locked in a cage at the Shen family, it might have seen the affair between Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong. It was so loud that Jiang Li found out. It was really a pity.

Jiang Li suddenly realized what was wrong with her. She was still pinning her hopes on a bird? She even felt sorry for it. Jiang Li shook her head. She thought that she had put so much effort into making the fan pendant that she was not thinking clearly.

"You're here." Just as she was thinking, she heard someone talking in front of her. Jiang Li looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ji Heng coming over at some point, stroking Xiao Lan's horse head. Xiao Lan obediently let him touch her, but Jiang Li suspected that it was her illusion. Xiao Lan seemed to be trembling?
She looked at Ji Heng suspiciously. Was Ji Heng torturing Xiao Lan behind her back? Or was she simply seeing things wrong? This was not a Ferghana horse at all, but just an ordinary timid colt.

After Ji Heng touched the horse's head, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands carefully, handed the handkerchief to Wen Ji, and walked to Jiang Li.

"My lord."

"What do you want?" he asked.

Jiang Li asked Bai Xue to take out the small box, handed it to Ji Heng, and said, "I saw a very beautiful piece of jade before, and I thought it was suitable for making a fan pendant. The Duke's gold-thread folding fan is very beautiful, and I thought maybe it could add a fan pendant. So I made this, and I hope you don't dislike it." She looked at Ji Heng with a smile.

Wen Ji and Zhao Ke stood behind Ji Heng like wooden men. Even if they had some thoughts in their hearts, they didn't dare to show them on their faces.

Ji Heng took the box, opened it, took a look, and closed it again. He handed it to Wen Ji, who put it away. Ji Heng looked at Jiang Li again and said, "Thank you. So what do you want?"

Jiang Li was discouraged. The tone of Ji Heng's words made it seem like she was the kind of person who would come to Ji Heng for no reason and clean up the mess for her. She couldn't even say the request she had thought of before, how to go with the flow.

She looked at Ji Heng dejectedly. Ji Heng was just looking at her leisurely, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he was smiling.

Jiang Li's heart trembled, and she said, "I do have something I want to ask the Duke for help."

"Okay," Ji Heng said lazily, "Go ahead."

Jiang Li suppressed her inner embarrassment and pretended to be calm and said, "The news of Princess Yongning's pregnancy has spread all over Yanjing City. I guess Li Xian has also guessed that the child in Yongning's belly is not from the Li family. Next, Li Xian will definitely find a way to make Princess Yongning accidentally 'miscarry'."

Ji Heng asked: "So what?"

"If Princess Yongning had really 'accidentally' miscarried, there would be no way to solve this matter. I think that if Princess Yongning knew the truth about her miscarriage, which was a premeditated act by the Li family, this matter might not end well. With Princess Yongning's temperament, she would definitely fight to the death and take revenge on the Li family."

"I think about it, what could possibly be worthy of revenge in the Li family? It's just Li Xian's different and disgusting habit."

"If word of Li Xian's hobby gets out, the Li family will become a huge joke. The Li family is not a tolerant family. No matter how much Li Zhongnan depends on King Cheng, they will not let it go. They will definitely tell the truth about Princess Yongning's pregnancy."

Ji Heng: "So?"

"So, of course we have to find the child's real father. Shen Yurong has been hiding behind others, this time, it's time for her to stand up."

"So, you want to exchange a fan pendant for the key to winning this show?" Ji Heng said with a smile, "You are really good at business, Ah Li."

Jiang Li was startled when he called her "Ali". Ji Heng's voice was mellow and moving, intoxicating like fine wine. When he called your name gently, the plain name became vivid.

Jiang Li came back to her senses, her eyes curved, and she smiled, "Then would the Duke be willing to do this business?"

"Okay." Ji Heng agreed very readily. He looked at Jiang Li and said, "I promise you."

(End of this chapter)