Free Web NovelChapter 402: Chapter 404: Mistaken Soul Soup
Feihua Zhenren quickly replayed the sequence of events in his mind.
Princess Consort Zhao had become pregnant a month ago.
At that time, Prince Zhao had just left Shangjing. Princess Consort Zhao had come to him once to ask for a birth control pill.
But he was still sleeping then, so he had told the Princess Consort to get the medicine herself.
At this thought, a sudden suspicion bloomed in Feihua Zhenren’s mind.
"The last time you came to me for a birth control pill, which bottle did you take?"
It had been a while, so Hua Manman had to think for a moment before she remembered. "You told me to take the bottle marked with a red circle, so I took a bottle that had a red circle on it. Is there a problem?"
Feihua Zhenren slapped his thigh and yelped.
"You took the wrong bottle! That wasn’t a birth control pill—it was my diet pill! I was wondering why I was short one diet pill. So it was you who took it, Princess Consort!"
Hua Manman stared at him in disbelief. "You’re secretly taking diet pills?!"
Feihua Zhenren looked mortified, fidgeting as he said, "Well, I’m a bit too fat, you see. My clothes don’t look good on me, so I just wanted to lose a little weight."
Hua Manman’s surprise grew. "You wear Daoist robes every day. Why do you care about whether they look good or not?"
Feihua Zhenren retorted defensively, "Even Daoist robes can be worn well or poorly."
Hua Manman said, "If you’re going to be that vain, why are you even a Daoist? You might as well just return to secular life."
Li Ji coughed twice, his voice low, reminding her not to get off topic.
Hua Manman hastily yanked the conversation back on track.
"Didn’t you say the one marked with a red circle was the birth control pill? How did it suddenly turn into a diet pill?"
Feihua Zhenren sounded aggrieved. "The birth control pill bottle *does* have a red circle mark—on the bottom!"
Hua Manman glared at him. "You drew the red circle on the *bottom* of the bottle. Who’s supposed to see that?"
Feihua Zhenren said, "You can see it if you just flip it over, can’t you?"
Hua Manman was at a loss for words.
She gritted her teeth. "I feel like flipping you upside down right now to see if I can pour all the water out of your brain!"
Feihua Zhenren cried out in terror.
"Don’t! I just ate some snacks! If you turn me upside down, I’ll throw them all up!"
The image thoroughly disgusted Hua Manman, and she quickly let go of his beard.
She took a deep breath and said to Feihua Zhenren in a serious tone.
"Let me give you a suggestion. From now on, please write the name of the medicine clearly on the bottle. Don’t use all these confusing marks."
Feihua Zhenren nodded pitifully. "Oh."
Seeing that Manman was done venting, Li Ji finally released Feihua Zhenren.
Li Ji asked, "Are we going back now?"
Hua Manman hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Yes."
Although staying at the Duke Zhen Country Mansion was nice, the Prince Zhao Mansion was her and the Prince’s true home.
Now that Prince Zhao had returned and she was pregnant, it was indeed time for her to go home.
Li Ji ordered someone to prepare the carriage and was about to notify Qing Huan and Si Yun to pack up for the journey home.
Hua Manman said to Li Ji.
"Before we go, we should say goodbye to the Commandery Princess."
Li Ji’s brows knitted slightly, a hint of reluctance on his face.
Hua Manman took his hand. "The Commandery Princess took good care of me while you were away. Please, just do it for my sake. Let’s go say goodbye to her, okay?"
Li Ji was silent for a moment before finally giving in.
’Manman is pregnant. I don’t want to make her unhappy.’
Hua Manman instantly beamed with joy.
"Then let’s go see the Commandery Princess right now."
The young couple arrived at the courtyard where Princess Rouwan lived.
When Princess Rouwan heard they had arrived, she didn’t even open her door, calling out to them from inside.
"If you’re leaving, then just leave. You don’t need to come and tell me."
Her attitude was undeniably cold and heartless.
Li Ji wanted to turn and leave on the spot.
Hua Manman quickly grabbed his hand and called to Princess Rouwan inside the room.
"The Prince and I are going to be parents for the first time, and we have absolutely no experience. We were hoping to ask you, Commandery Princess, if there is anything we need to be mindful of during the pregnancy."
There was a moment of silence.
The door slid open slowly, and Nanny Zhang emerged from the room.
She curtsied to Prince Zhao and his wife, then produced a piece of paper with a gentle smile.
"Princess Consort, all the precautions for a pregnant woman are written on this paper. You may take it back and read it at your leisure. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to send someone back to ask us at any time."
Hua Manman reached out and took the paper.
The thin sheet of paper was covered in dense, neat script.
The handwriting was elegant and tidy. Li Ji knew with a single glance that it was Princess Rouwan’s own penmanship.
Hua Manman carefully put the paper away. "Please thank the Commandery Princess for me. I’ll come visit her again when I have the time."
Nanny Zhang agreed with a smile.
She saw them out of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion.
Nanny Zhang watched until the carriage was far in the distance before retracting her gaze and returning to Princess Rouwan’s quarters.
Princess Rouwan was folding clothes again.
Seeing Nanny Zhang had returned, she stopped what she was doing and asked.
"Have they left?"
Nanny Zhang nodded. "They’re gone."
Princess Rouwan pursed her lips.
’Before, that brat was always hanging around, and it annoyed me to no end.’
’But now that she’s gone, I suddenly feel a sense of emptiness.’
’Even the familiar halls of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion feel too vast and silent.’
She asked again, "You didn’t say that I wrote that paper, did you?"
Nanny Zhang answered truthfully, "I did exactly as you instructed. I made no mention of the fact that you wrote it yourself."
Princess Rouwan said, "That’s more like it."
’The last thing I want is to see that brat get all smug about it.’
Princess Rouwan lowered her head and resumed folding the clothes.
Nanny Zhang cautiously suggested.
"Should we perhaps send a nanny who is experienced in prenatal care and childbirth to Princess Consort Zhao?"
"With someone there to look after her, Princess Consort Zhao would be in safer hands."
Princess Rouwan huffed. "If I send someone over, that boy Li Ji will definitely suspect I’m trying to plant a spy in the Prince Zhao Mansion. I can’t be bothered with the trouble."
Nanny Zhang thought, ’It wouldn’t go that far.’
But considering the terrible relationship between the Commandery Princess and Prince Zhao, ’it really was a possibility.’
Nanny Zhang could only hold her tongue and prepare to withdraw.
Just then, however, Princess Rouwan suddenly spoke.
"Don’t we still have some of that useless ginseng, lingzhi mushrooms, and bird’s nests in the storeroom? They’re just taking up space. We might as well pack them up and send them to the Princess Consort. It’s not like I enjoy eating that stuff anyway."
Nanny Zhang had to suppress a smile.
’Doesn’t enjoy it? She just wants an excuse to send her nourishing supplements!’
Princess Rouwan asked warily, "What’s that look for?"
Nanny Zhang immediately composed herself and said with a perfectly straight face.
"I believe the Commandery Princess is absolutely right. We have far too much useless clutter piled up in the storeroom. It’s high time we had a proper clear-out."
And so, no sooner had Hua Manman and Li Ji returned to the Prince Zhao Mansion than a carriage from the Duke Zhen Country Mansion arrived.
As he watched crate after crate being unloaded from the carriage and carried into the Prince Mansion, a complex expression crossed Li Ji’s face.
He never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would receive a gift from Princess Rouwan in his lifetime.
Li Ji couldn’t help but ask the woman beside him.
"Tell me honestly, did you give Princess Rouwan some kind of Mistaken Soul Soup?"
’Manman kept a lot of strange things on her person, like the Truth Elixir, Broken Jade Ointment, and Fetal Protection Pills. A Mistaken Soul Soup wouldn’t be the least bit surprising.’
