Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1050 - 1048_1

Chapter 1050: Chapter 1048_1

An hour later, a pot of milky-white porridge was ready. The porridge was so well-cooked that the grains were completely dissolved and blended with the water, forming a thick and perfectly balanced mixture.

Shangguan Xuanyi found plain white porridge too bland, but adding meat would make it too greasy for Xiao’er, triggering her nausea.

Glancing around the small kitchen, Xuanyi wondered what else he could add to the porridge. He decided to prepare two bowls; one of plain porridge and another with some added ingredients.

He then spotted a half-filled colored glaze jar of mixed nuts on a shelf. The nuts, processed in a space workshop, were commonly used by Xiao’er in a variety of snacks and biscuits, and sometimes even added to milk.

However, she hadn’t had any for a while due to her intense morning sickness. Perhaps, she’d be able to stomach this.

So, Shangguan Xuanyi brought down the jar, cleaned his hands, took out a clean handkerchief from the shelf. He poured out some dried nuts, wrapped them in the handkerchief, and crushed them using his inner strength.

He sprinkled a pinch of salt into the pot then served two small bowls. He added the freshly crushed nuts into one of the bowls before bringing both to Xiao’er.

Shangguan Xuanyi had placed the bowls of porridge on a tray filled with some cold water, ensuring that when served, the porridge was the perfect temperature to eat.

Xiao’er was moved as she looked at the two bowls of freshly-cooked, perfect-temperature white porridge in front of her.

"I thought the plain porridge might be too bland, so I prepared two bowls. One with a bit of crushed nuts. Try and see which one you’d like," Shangguan Xuanyi said, placing both bowls in front of her.

Xiao’er decisively chose the one with nuts. After her first taste, she found the combination of porridge and nuts surprisingly delicious. She proceeded to have another spoonful, and then another after that.

Concerned about her eating quickly, Shangguan Xuanyi stopped her. "Eat slowly, there’s no rush."

He worried that if she ate too fast, she might vomit excessively; while slow eating might still trigger her vomiting, it was certainly the better option.

Xero’er did not dare to eat too much. After four spoonfuls, she laid down her spoon, and waited.

Shangguan Xuanyi waited as well.

Waited for what? Waited for Xiao’er to vomit.

After half a minute, when Xiao’er and Shangguan Xuanyi dared to look at each other — surprisingly, she didn’t vomit?

Neither of them dared to be too certain, so they continued to wait. After 15 minutes, Xiao’er still hadn’t vomitted. She was sure she wouldn’t vomit anymore and couldn’t help but express her excitement. "Brother Shangguan, has my morning sickness subsided?"

Shangguan Xuanyi couldn’t be sure and suggested, "Why not have a bit more and see?"

Xiao’er nodded and then finished all the remaining porridge.

After a while, they both confirmed — finally, there’s no more vomiting!

Xiao’er sighed in relief, "After so many days of hunger, I’m feeling the joy of having a little food in my stomach. It’s an incredible feeling of happiness."

"Don’t eat too much for now; otherwise, your stomach might hurt." Shangguan Xuanyi had crushed the nuts to a powder, out of concern for Xiao’er’s stomach. Otherwise, he could have added the whole nuts to the porridge, which would have looked better.

Xiao’er nodded; she naturally knew this.

Xiao’er was also aware that every pregnant woman has a different response to pregnancy. Most find that morning sickness disappears after three months or so. Perhaps she was finally through the toughest days of morning sickness.

But Xiao’er’s joy was short-lived; she started vomiting again after just a few mouthfuls of dinner.

After vomiting all the bile, Xiao’er caught her breath and said, "Brother Shangguan, could it be that I only digest food that you personally prepared?"

"Then I’ll go and make another bowl of porridge!" Having heard this, Shangguan Xuanyi stood up and went to the kitchen.

This time, he made the same kind of porridge as he did at noon. However, Xiao’er vomited again after just a few spoonfuls.

It was strange, identical porridge — why could she keep it down at lunch but vomit it up at dinner? Shangguan Xuanyi remembered every step of making the porridge at noon. He hadn’t made any mistakes!

How strange, why would Xiao’er not be able to keep down food made by the same hands this evening?

Shangguan Xuanyi looked at his own hands. The injury he’d got while chopping vegetables at noon was almost healed after applying some ointment. The only difference between lunchtime and evening was— at lunch, the cut was still bleeding; by dinner, it had stopped.

An idea suddenly struck Shangguan Xuanyi, and he quickly stood up: "I understand. I’m going to cook something else for you."

Having said this, he quickly left the room.

After 30 minutes, Shangguan Xuanyi brought a bowl of noodles.

Using her chopsticks, Xiao’er ate the entire bowl of noodles bite by bite, surprisingly, she didn’t vomit!

"Brother Shangguan, did you add something to it? I’m not vomiting anymore."

"From now on, I’ll personally prepare every meal for you. That way, you won’t vomit." Shangguan Xuanyi hadn’t mentioned what he added, but seeing that Xiao’er didn’t vomit, he breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he had found a method to alleviate her vomiting!

"That’s great! But won’t that make you the household cook?" Now that she was full, Xiao’er finally had the energy and mood to joke.

"Cook or not, as long as I’m not the wife," Shangguan Xuanyi joked back.

"So, when I was cooking, was I playing the wife?"

"Not at all, even if you were, you’d be the loveliest wife in the world!"

"Curse your lovely wife! To punish you, you can take over all the cooking duties from now on!" Xiao’er was not that old to be called a wife!

"As you wish, my lady!"

That’s how Shangguan Xuanyi’s culinary skills were honed — during Xiao’er’s pregnancy. It was a result of meeting her constant, ever-increasing demands and learning how to deal with her pickiness!

In the following days, Xiao’er quickly regained the weight she had lost as she was now able to eat. Despite the trouble, Shangguan Xuanyi prepared meals for her three times a day plus tea-time snacks and late-night meals! He reliably returned home to prepare her regular meals and prepared snacks in advance when he was busy. Under this duck-stuffing-like feeding, Xiao’er put on weight rapidly. By the time she was three months pregnant and allowed to move around, she had already put on a considerable amount of weight.

However, Xiao’er was not bothered. It was common to gain weight during pregnancy, as long as she was able to eat and sleep. Waking up without feeling weak and being able to get through each day was enough to make her feel happy.

One morning, after having breakfast with Xiao’er, Shangguan Xuanyi prepared a carriage for her, "Let’s go out for a little walk."

Xiao’er was baffled by the sudden suggestion, "Why?"

"To see the sights!"

See the sights? Suddenly remembering something, Xiao’er got a bit excited!