Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1049 - 1047_1

Chapter 1049: Chapter 1047_1

Finally, the stomach cramps subsided. Xiao’er, with the help of Shangguan Xuanyi, slowly straightened her body. She weakly said, "After the baby is born, I’m definitely going to teach her a lesson. She’s nearly wearing me to death!"

"Alright, teach her however you like." Shangguan Xuanyi handed Xiao’er a cup of water for rinsing her mouth. After rinsing, Xiao’er weakly said, "Carry me to the bed, I need to rest. I’m so tired."

Upon hearing her words, Shangguan Xuanyi immediately carried Xiao’er up in his arms and walked briskly towards the bed.

Yang Liu and Yang Mei watched as Xiao’er’s face turned deathly pale. She had become thinner, her chin was sharper, and it had only been ten days. Her morning sickness was horrifying! Seeing Xiao’er’s condition, their hearts ached. When had their princess ever said she was so tired that she needed to lie down? She must be enduring unimaginable discomfort to have worn out her normally energetic self.

Xiao’er quickly fell asleep once she was on the bed. Shangguan Xuanyi waited until she fell asleep before he went to the table nearby to deal with things.

...

Despite also being pregnant, Du Yijin and Zhu Yan seemed to be glowing more with each passing day, while Xiao’er became thinner and thinner. Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Tan, Zhu Yan, and others were so worried that they visited Prince Rui’s Mansion every day, asking around for any remedies for morning sickness, but to no avail.

Anyone who knew about Xiao’er’s condition sought remedies to cease her ailment.

All the remedies they found, Shangguan Xuanyi sought Doctor Luo’s advice on them. After getting his approval, he would have people prepare them for Xiao’er to try, but they were of little help.

Xiao’er still couldn’t digest anything; she could only sustain herself on water most of the time.

Ten days later, after drinking half a bowl of soup, Xiao’er was sick for more than 15 minutes before finally calming down.

She lay in bed and rested for about one hour until her stomach had completely calmed down, but then Xiao’er felt hungry again.

She was going insane. She wanted to eat when she was hungry, but she couldn’t ingest more than a few bites without feeling sick! These were her days. However, Xiao’er was not afraid of discomfort, and even if she vomited after eating, she insisted on continuing to eat after the vomiting subsided!

"I’m so hungry! Brother Shangguan, I want porridge! I want the porridge you make." Xiao’er laid on the couch and looking hungrily at Shangguan Xuanyi.

"Alright." Presently, Shangguan Xuanyi was immersed in decoding a bunch of secret messages.

Upon hearing this, he quickly finished reading the message, then crushed the letter into ash with his inner strength and threw it into the waste bin nearby.

Xiao’er wanted to ask what the letter said but was too weak from hunger to speak. She knew he would handle everything well, anyway.

Shangguan Xuanyi arrived in the kitchen and saw some fresh vegetables that had been washed clean on the counter. He planned to make a vegetable porridge for Xiao’er, so he washed the vegetables again and cut them into dices.

As he was chopping the vegetables, Shangguan Xuanyi was pondering about the information in the letter.

The true identity of the woman who managed to get Xiao’er’s blood had been found. His men had already found out that the original owner of the identity had died while escaping calamity and was buried by a peasant. So, who could she be? Maybe she came from Nangong Country, as many people from there had fled to our country!

A thought struck Shangguan Xuanyi, and he inadvertently cut his finger while chopping. Fortunately, his reflexes were fast, and the injury was not deep, but it still bled.

At this moment, Yang Liu walked into the kitchen. Xiao’er had called her over as she was worried that Shangguan Xuanyi may not be able to handle cooking on his own as he seldom cooks.

Upon seeing that Shangguan Xuanyi had indeed cut himself, she hurriedly said, "Master, let me do it."

Upon seeing Yang Liu, Shangguan Xuanyi said, "No need, call Zhao Yong in for me, I need him to do something."

Yang Liu nodded in acknowledgment, "Master, our princess said it is enough to cook white porridge."

Having said that, she went to the front yard to find Zhao Yong.

After Yang Liu left, Shangguan Xuanyi abandoned the diced vegetables stained with a bit of blood, and started washing and boiling rice for the porridge. Even though he seldom cooked himself, he assisted Xiao’er as her sous-chef many times and had learned from it. He had to recall how Xiao’er used to make it, then followed the same method she employed.

After 15 minutes, the porridge in the pot began to boil. Shangguan Xuanyi lifted the lid, stirred it a few times, then reduced the flame and let the porridge simmer gently.

Just as everything was done, Zhao Yong arrived. Shangguan Xuanyi stirred the pot a few more times before he began, "Is the residence of the seventieth hidden guard close to Prince An’s mansion?"

Shangguan Xuanyi had many hidden guards. Guards ranked from seventy to one hundred were usually scions of various influential families spread across the entire country, exclusively responsible for monitoring respective families. Only Shangguan Xuanyi knew who these thirty people were, and the rest were oblivious, perhaps only aware of one or two.

The only ones who knew each other well in Shangguan Xuanyi’s hidden guards were those ranked within the top thirty. They were also the earliest hidden guards. After each mission, they would not know each other’s identities. Everyone used secret code to verify each other’s identity during the mission, so many of them didn’t recognize each other in real life. Some of them were even rivals in their real lives!

As secret guards, they also concealed their identities in various ways, so it was difficult for outsiders to identify them.

"Yes, Master," Zhao Yong nodded. The seventieth hidden guard was the concubine’s child of the General, whose mansion just happened to be next to Prince An’s mansion.

"Notify him and ask him to keep an eye on Princess Wanru from Prince An’s Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yong was stunned for a moment before hurriedly replying, "Yes!"

Shangguan Xuanyi then took a box from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Yong, "Find someone to disguise as..."

"Yes!" Zhao Yong was taken aback by this, yet he dared not utter a word. His master was never one to act without reason.

"Don’t let the princess know about this for now, to avoid her overthinking," Shangguan Xuanyi added. This was just his speculation, and he couldn’t be sure about the reason. But since that day, Xiao’er had been behaving a bit unusual, and moreover, she hadn’t taken anything into her space since Bai Tian reminded her not to.

"Understood," Zhao Yong replied. With the state the princess was in, who would dare mention disheartening matters in front of her, adding to her worries?

"You may leave," Shangguan Xuanyi instructed after assigning the task, and he returned to stirring the porridge in the pot.