The Noble Lady's Rebirth: She just wants to Rest in Peace!

Chapter 535 - 527: Purpose

Zhao Housheng was asked by his sister like this and didn’t hurry to answer. Instead, he nodded and fell into deep thought. Lin Youning saw her brother in this state and didn’t say much, just sat beside him waiting for him to speak.

It wasn’t until Hailan brought over the noodles that Zhao Housheng finished eating a small basin of noodles and drank a cup of tea, yet Lin Youning still didn’t hear her big brother speak.

"Big brother, tell me, what exactly is going on?" Lin Youning glared.

Zhao Housheng put down the tea in his hand, "I deliberately did this. Ever since the old lady saw her, your sister-in-law has always wanted to get a concubine. I told her not to, but she keeps mentioning it all day long. Recently, I’ve been annoyed by her, and since I was about to take on a duty at the palace, I deliberately did this, said nothing, and let her think more. These days, she has stopped mentioning the concubine issue."

When Zhao Housheng spoke of this, he seemed relaxed on his face.

Lin Youning, hearing the reason he gave, didn’t know whether to laugh or to say he was good, "Big brother, if you don’t like sister-in-law bringing this up, you can directly tell her. Doing this makes her very upset every day. She keeps wanting to find a concubine for you because she knows she can’t have children herself, which makes her feel worse inside."

Zhao Housheng’s face didn’t look good either, "I know she feels bad inside, but I feel worse. I’ve told her many times, having Sister Ling is enough, I don’t care about having descendants, and I’ve also told our father, and he hasn’t said anything. She just doesn’t believe it and thinks one day I’ll find someone else and blame her."

Lin Youning saw her big brother raising his voice, knowing he was really unhappy, and for a moment was too embarrassed to persuade him further, only sighing deeply. Zhao Housheng also felt his emotions fluctuating, so he took a breath, pressing down the anger in his heart.

"There are many things now, even though the Holy Emperor has shown his stance, some people are clearly still unwilling. You’ve heard the rumors outside, the Crown Prince is going to have a grand wedding, and I have to take care of the other matters. It’s just been restless at home, I was too annoyed and thought of handling it this way. You don’t need to worry about this matter anymore. Your sister-in-law has been very quiet lately, not mentioning it again. When she eventually dares not bring it up, I will talk to her about it."

It was the first time Lin Youning saw her big brother being so assertive towards sister-in-law, and understood that matters between a husband and wife are beyond outsiders like them. So she nodded, "Alright, I’m not the type to meddle, just seeing sister-in-law feeling uncomfortable made me call you to ask, who knew you had such thoughts."

Normally, he’s such a slow-witted person, who knew he had such an idea.

Lin Youning really didn’t expect her big brother to have such a notion, but seeing that he wasn’t muddled, she truly felt relieved.

The siblings talked for a while longer, and by then, it was already dark outside. Zhao Housheng finally got up to leave, and Lin Youning didn’t keep him, though Gu Yifeng had not returned.

As Zhao Housheng was leaving, he asked curiously, "There’s nothing much now, and with the New Year approaching, why hasn’t the Marquis come back yet? I’ll have someone find out."

Lin Youning stopped him with a smile, "The Marquis is not a child. If he hasn’t returned by this time, there must be something going on. Big brother, don’t worry about it, you should go back to the mansion, as you only come home once every few days, spend more time with sister-in-law and Sister Ling."

Zhao Housheng glanced at his sister’s big belly, a hint of awkwardness flashed across his face, and without saying more, he nodded and turned to leave. Zhao Housheng wanted to express some concern for his sister, but in the end, was too embarrassed to speak. Being a man, this time highlighted his identity’s awkwardness.

Lin Youning watched her brother leave, supporting her waist with one hand and her stomach with the other, then asked Hailan beside her, "Zhao Wu hasn’t returned either, did he mention where he went with the Marquis today?"

"He said they went to the Capital to take care of matters, so they’ll come back a bit later." As Hailan supported her towards the courtyard, she added, "Don’t worry, miss. The Marquis is surely on his way back, and the kitchen has already prepared the dishes. If the Marquis weren’t coming back, he’d have sent a message."

Lin Youning thought about it, and that did make sense, so she didn’t ask further. As expected, after waiting for over half an hour in the room, Gu Yifeng returned, still with snow and wind upon him.

With the help of Zhao Wu, he went in to change clothes, washed clean, came out and took the hot tea Lin Youning handed over, sipped half a cup, and then smiled, "Were you anxious waiting today? The snow and wind on the road outside the city were heavy, so I returned late."

Lin Youning nodded, "A bit anxious, but thinking that big brother hadn’t had anyone send a message back, I figured there wasn’t anything going on. Big brother came by during the day, and he asked about you when he left in the evening."

The affairs of this mansion couldn’t be hidden from Gu Yifeng, who nodded, "Let them resolve matters between themselves. I know you want to call someone to the mansion, but they wouldn’t listen to your advice. Besides, given your big brother’s personality, being able to make such a move means he is quite upset, so don’t get involved more."

Lin Youning pouted, "Big brother even saw it, why didn’t he tell me?"

Gu Yifeng supported her up and led her to the flower hall, sat by the table, and laughed, "I’m afraid I couldn’t stop you, knowing your personality, how could you listen? It’s better to let you find out yourself."

When Lin Youning wanted to speak again, Gu Yifeng had already taken the soup Hailan handed over. As he blew on a spoonful to cool it, he gently fed it to Lin Youning’s lips, "Drink, otherwise the soup will get cold again."

"Big brother..." Lin Youning called out in a not-resistant tone but obediently started to drink the soup.

Lin Youning didn’t speak any more during the meal, realizing her big brother didn’t want her to continue, nor to bring up that issue again, so she wisely didn’t mention it after dinner.

After dinner, as Lin Youning sat on the bed, her stomach felt slightly heavy. She frowned a bit, causing Gu Yifeng to notice immediately, asking with some panic, "What’s wrong? Is your stomach uncomfortable?"

Lin Youning nodded, "The stomach feels somewhat like it’s sinking with pain, though there should still be some days before childbirth, it shouldn’t be premature, right?"

This pain was familiar to Lin Youning, seemingly a sign of labor, so she didn’t dare insist it was nothing.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yifeng asked no more, directly calling Hailan in, "Quickly call the midwives and have someone invite the Imperial Physician."

Hailan’s expression grew solemn upon hearing this, and she hurriedly responded and left.