Chapter 63

Chapter 63: A Happy Pulse

A few days passed. Huo Zheng left even earlier and came home even later.

Chun Zhi still got up before dawn to make tofu. With Lucky Fortune to keep her company, she did not feel lonely.

The West Market still did not allow street stalls, and her old customers were almost used to coming to Peach Blossom Lane to buy tofu.

She sold only two baskets of tofu each day. After the busy morning, she could rest in the afternoon and sew clothes for Huo Qi.

One day, while she wrapped tofu for Auntie Li, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea. She dry-heaved several times but brought nothing up.

Seeing this, Auntie Li asked at once: “Chun Zhi, you have been married for more than two months, right? Are you with child?”

Chun Zhi was caught between surprise and joy and said softly: “I don’t know. I will go to the clinic later to see a physician.”

She handed over the tofu she had wrapped.

“You and your husband are young,” said Auntie Li. “It is easy to conceive. You should go to the clinic soon.”

“I know,” she said, and in her heart she counted the days since her last monthly flow. It had come at the start of last month. Now the month was almost over, and it had not come. Making tofu meant rising early and working hard, so her monthly days were never exact. She had not paid much attention. But now, with this sudden nausea and Auntie Li’s question, she could not be sure.

After finishing her morning sales, she cooked a bowl of rice cakes for herself, tidied the yard, and went to the clinic.

The physician on duty was the same Doctor Zhang who had taken Yu Zhu’s pulse last time.

Chun Zhi sat before the case table and held out her wrist for Doctor Zhang to take her pulse.

The room was very quiet.

Doctor Zhang felt her pulse for a long while, then said: “Your pulse is like rolling beads. It is a happy pulse.”

“Really a happy pulse?” she asked.

She had wanted a child bound to her by blood for a long time. She had been an orphan for ten years. Even though the Lu Clan took her in, and she treated Lu Jing Yun and Old Madam Lu as family, something was still missing: blood ties. Now that she lived with Huo Qi, she knew sweet nights could not last forever. He would leave one day. But this child would belong to her completely.

Hearing the physician say “happy pulse,” she still could not quite believe it.

“Why would I lie to you?” said Doctor Zhang.

“What should I watch for in daily life?” she asked. “Do I need tonics to protect the baby?”

“You are healthy,” said Doctor Zhang. “Do not swallow random tonics. Rest more and do not overwork.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Dizzy with joy, Chun Zhi stopped by Qian San Niang’s shop on her way home and bought several good bolts of cloth. She planned to start sewing baby clothes. Qian San Niang teased her, saying that after getting married she was finally willing to spend money, and each time she bought better cloth than before. Smiling, Chun Zhi said nothing.

She was only a little more than a month along. By the custom of Linshui Town, she could not tell others so early. She should wait until the baby was bigger and she had begun to show.

Arms full of cloth, she returned to Peach Blossom Lane. As soon as she reached her gate, she saw a lavish carriage drawn by a matched pair of horses. A line of maidservants stood before it. When they saw her, every eye turned her way.

Chun Zhi wanted to go around them and slip straight home, but one maid turned, lifted the curtain, and reported respectfully: “Heir Apparent, she has returned.”

“Let me, the Heir Apparent, have a look,” said a man from inside the carriage, “and see what kind of beauty has hooked Seventh Brother’s heart.”

Huo Yu stepped down, folding fan in hand. As he walked, he looked Chun Zhi up and down and said with a smile: “Truly a rare beauty. Even plain dress cannot hide such grace.”

He came toward her. Chun Zhi backed up two steps, and the maidservants from Prince Ning’s Residence blocked her path.

Huo Yu kept coming and said: “Beauty, what is your name?”

Her face went a little pale. She did not answer but asked in return: “Who are you?”

“Me?” he said with an easy laugh. “I am the Heir Apparent of Prince Ning, Seventh Brother’s cousin.”

These last days, Huo Zheng had been traveling between Nanzhou City and Linshui Town. Huo Yu had set people to follow him and finally found the home he kept on Peach Blossom Lane. Prince Chang’an was inspecting Nanzhou, and he would not take any bait, no matter how they tempted or pressured him. He was stubborn as stone. Left with no choice, Huo Yu looked for another way, which led him here, to Chun Zhi.

“Heir Apparent of Prince Ning,” said Chun Zhi. She had never seen Prince Ning, but she knew he ruled all Nanzhou. The young man before her claimed to be the Heir Apparent of Prince Ning, and from his grand way of traveling, it did not look false. Then the “Seventh Brother” he mentioned—could that be Huo Qi?

She had guessed Huo Qi might come from wealth, but she had never thought he would be tied to someone like Prince Ning.

Huo Yu leaned closer and said with a smile: “What is it? Did Seventh Brother ever mention me?”

Chun Zhi slipped to the side to avoid him. Before she could speak, hoofbeats thundered up behind her, close enough to feel.

“Huo Yu!” shouted a voice.

Huo Zheng swung down from his horse. He pulled Huo Yu away from Chun Zhi with one motion and stepped in front of her. His handsome face had gone cool as he asked: “Why are you here?”

Huo Yu nearly fell but did not grow angry. He smiled and said: “I came, of course, to see what kind of beauty you have hidden away.”

Huo Zheng turned slightly and said to Chun Zhi: “Go inside first.”

She wanted to ask who he really was, but with all these outsiders watching, she held it back. In a low voice she said: “All right,” opened the gate, and hurried in.

“Hey, don’t go, beauty,” called Huo Yu.

He started after her, but Huo Zheng blocked him.

Huo Yu shut his white fan and said with a grin: “Seventh Brother, don’t be so stingy. You built a golden house to hide a beauty—no, a grass hut to hide a beauty—and you still won’t let me have a look?”

“Only an ordinary face,” said Huo Zheng evenly. “Nothing worth seeing.”

“You cannot say that,” said Huo Yu. “A beauty like her is rare even in all Nanzhou City. If she were not special, why would you run to this hut every day?”

“It has nothing to do with you,” said Huo Zheng.

He moved to go into the yard. Chun Zhi had surely been frightened by Huo Yu. He needed to calm her, and then he would tell her who he really was.

Just then, a group of Nanzhou officials rushed in from the mouth of the lane. They fell to their knees in a row and cried out together: “This official greets Prince Chang’an!”

Their voices rose in unison, echoing at the gate.

Chun Zhi, who had just passed through the door and had been worried that Huo Qi and the Heir Apparent would fight, heard that shout of “Prince Chang’an” and saw officials in court clothes kneeling before Huo Qi. She froze where she stood.

Huo Qi—Huo Qi turned out to be Prince Chang’an!

Huo Zheng turned and saw Chun Zhi’s face, stunned beyond words. “Chun Zhi,” he called gently as he took a step toward her, and she stepped back without even thinking.