Chapter 116: This Is What You Call a Surprise, Dammit!

Ten days or so flashed by, the New Year had passed, and the commoners looking for work dared not rest any longer; they took out their tools of the trade one after another, earning the rations to feed themselves for the coming year.

In the streets and alleys, firecrackers rang out in unison once more, celebrating the start of work for the New Year.

Just past the hour of Chen (7:00–9:00 AM) this day, a carriage slowly pulled up to the entrance of "Yipinxuan."

"Second Mistress, we have arrived."

The coachman called out respectfully from outside, and then the curtain was lifted by a pair of jade-white hands; a young girl dressed as a maid stepped out first, followed by Zheng Xi'er, who walked out with her willow-slender waist swaying.

She alighted from the carriage and glanced at the shop entrance, where a handsome youth of about fourteen or fifteen was poking his head out, peering around.

"Sister, didn't you say that since it's cold today, Dad and I would be enough here?" Seeing Zheng Xi'er, the youth hurriedly picked up a snow-white mink cloak and walked out, complaining as he went.

The youth was none other than Zheng Xi'er's younger brother, Zheng Erhu.

Because Zheng Xi'er had gained influence, she thought of the bitter life her father and brother were living in their hometown and simply brought them to the capital so she could look after them.

Zheng Xi'er smiled and stepped forward to meet him, took the mink cloak from her brother's hands, draped it over herself, and then rubbed her brother's head, saying softly, "Today is the grand opening of your new shop, how could I not come?"

"What about Brother-in-law? Didn't he come with you?" Zheng Erhu looked behind her, a trace of disappointment appearing on his face.

"He is a very busy man; there is no need to trouble him with such a small matter." Zheng Xi'er beamed, grabbed his arm, and walked into the shop.

The storefront was very large; the outermost area alone was five bays wide, and inside the rows of sales sections, fabrics were arranged neatly, with complete styles and diverse colors.

Walking further in, there was a small corridor, with four independent small rooms on each side for customers to try on and be measured for clothes.

Further inside was the reception hall for customers to rest.

"Where is Dad?" Zheng Xi'er looked around and didn't see her father's figure, so she turned to ask her brother.

"He went out." Zheng Erhu invited his sister to sit on the soft couch, ordered a maid to serve tea, and then waved his hand, signaling the maid to withdraw.

"Huzi, you've only been here a short while, and now you've learned how to order people around?" Glancing at the bean-green, gold-threaded robe on her brother and seeing his air of a young master, Zheng Xi'er couldn't help but tease, "If you walked out on the street now, Sister really wouldn't dare to recognize you."

"Sister, if you walked out on the street, I wouldn't dare to recognize you either." Zheng Erhu pouted and laughed along.

The siblings shared a simple joke, and Zheng Xi'er went straight to the point: "Huzi, you are fourteen this year. Our family was poor before, so you didn't have the chance to go to school, but now our family has money."

"I begged your brother-in-law to get you a donation spot at the Imperial Academy. After the Lantern Festival, you won't need to come to the shop to help anymore; you should properly go to the Imperial Academy to study and earn an official rank."

Zheng Erhu's forehead furrowed into a large knot, and he complained incessantly: "Oh, Sister, please spare me. You know as well as I do that when I see those 'zhi, hu, zhe, ye' (classical particles), my head feels like it's going to explode."

"When I look at the account books, I don't get dizzy or blurred vision; I only feel like I'm looking at bright, shiny silver."

"Besides, can't I live a good life by earning money here?"

"Foolish!" Zheng Xi'er narrowed her phoenix eyes and gritted her teeth, scolding, "Since ancient times, the common people have not fought with officials; don't you understand even this simple principle? Shopkeeper Hao of Seven-Colored Clouds, his business is huge, isn't it?"

"When he sees an official, doesn't he accompany them with a smiling face all day long like a Maitreya Buddha?"

"But I'm just not the material for being an official."

"How do you know if you don't try? If a student of the Imperial Academy performs well, they can become a minor official without having to take the Imperial Examination." Seeing her brother's tone soften, Zheng Xi'er struck while the iron was hot, "You go and try first; if it really doesn't work out, you can just come back."

"Your sister is right."

A resonant voice rose, and a thin, middle-aged man walked in from the corridor, radiating heat.

The two turned their heads and called out in unison: "Dad."

This was Zheng Xi'er's father, Zheng Yongfu.

"Dad, where did you go so early in the morning?" Zheng Xi'er hurriedly stood up to give her father a seat and then asked.

"Mr. Zhao from the east of the city ordered twenty bolts of fabric from our shop, so I went to deliver them to him personally." Zheng Yongfu sat down and gave his daughter a chuckle.

"For such a small matter, couldn't you have just let a servant deliver them? Did you really have to busy yourself? It's freezing cold; if you fell or caught a cold, others would blame me." Zheng Xi'er pouted, a trace of annoyance appearing on her pretty face.

Zheng Yongfu waved his hand and explained carefully to his daughter: "He is an old customer of our family, and besides, I have only just taken charge of this shop; it wouldn't do to let people gossip."

"Look at that." Zheng Xi'er covered her mouth and laughed, pointing at her father and saying to her brother, "Dad is just a workaholic, unlike Huzi, who has learned the airs of a wealthy young master in the capital in just a few months."

Zheng Erhu scratched his head and gave a sheepish laugh, while Zheng Yongfu glared fiercely at his son and then looked at Zheng Xi'er, saying, "Xi'er, if Huzi can really go to the Imperial Academy to study, that is his great fortune. If he dares not to go, I will break his legs myself and send him there."

Having said that, Zheng Yongfu turned his body and roared heavily at his son: "Did you hear me?!"

"I heard you." Zheng Erhu hung his head and agreed.

"Also, you are not allowed to hang out with those fox friends and dog companions in the future. If I see you messing around with those people again or going to disreputable places, I will kick you back to Suzhou myself and let you live that bitter life again."

Zheng Yongfu lectured with a straight face, while Zheng Xi'er played the soft-hearted one, saying gently, "Huzi, once you enter school, you must study hard. If you don't amount to anything, it won't just be Dad and me who lose face; even your brother-in-law won't look good."

"You also know what our family relies on to have this current situation and for you to be able to wear these clothes."

"I know."

Zheng Erhu hung his head and agreed, then exited the reception hall.

In an instant, only the father and daughter were left sitting together in the hall. Zheng Yongfu looked his daughter over and said with satisfaction, "Xi'er, the most successful thing I've done in my life is giving birth to you."

"Dad, what are you saying?" Zheng Xi'er felt a bit embarrassed.

"Dad isn't talking nonsense. Our family has been commoners for generations, and only you have become the mistress of a great household. I don't even dare to sleep too long every night, fearing that when I wake up, all of this will have been a dream." As Zheng Yongfu spoke, two glints of light flashed in his shrewd eyes.

After a moment of silence, Zheng Xi'er looked up at her father and said with a trembling voice, "Dad, I think... I think I am pregnant."

"This, this is a great thing! Does your husband know?" Zheng Yongfu jumped up from his chair, his face flushed red as he asked.

"He... he doesn't know yet."

Zheng Xi'er gently stroked her lower abdomen with a complex expression. She was only a concubine; if she gave birth to a daughter before the main wife had entered the house, it would be fine. But if she gave birth to a son, there was no guarantee she wouldn't face blame from the mistress in the future.

"Then what do you plan to do?" Zheng Yongfu understood his daughter's concerns and couldn't help but ask.

"I... I don't know." Zheng Xi'er shook her head repeatedly.

"Why not tell your husband? Let him decide the fate of this child?"

Zheng Xi'er did not speak upon hearing this.

Zheng Yongfu took a deep breath and continued, "I can see that although you are a concubine, your husband still has genuine feelings for you, otherwise he wouldn't have let you manage such a large business."

"This child, he will likely be able to keep it."

"I am afraid of making things difficult for him. The Xu Family's influence is not small; if that mistress makes trouble, it will only embarrass my husband."

"Silly child, then you plan to get rid of this child?" Zheng Yongfu's mouth twitched as he voiced a bold idea.

"I can't bring myself to do it, sob sob sob," Zheng Xi'er's eyes turned red as she buried her head in her father's chest and began to sob uncontrollably, "This is a human life after all, I can't bring myself to do it."

"Then you go and talk to him; a choice has to be made eventually." Zheng Yongfu gently patted his daughter's shoulder and persuaded her in a soft voice, "Besides, so what if the Xu Family is a big family? Once Xiaohu has achieved something in his studies, both we and Xiaohu will be your support."

"Father."

"Xi'er, being able to conceive this child is a gift from the heavens. If you get rid of him, it will be difficult to conceive again Higo."

The father and daughter stayed like this, one comforting and the other sobbing, for nearly half an hour.

It wasn't until after noon that Zheng Xi'er wiped her red, swollen eyes, looked up, and said, "Father, I've made up my mind. I will go and talk to him tonight."

"That's right."

Zheng Yongfu stamped his foot and patted his chest, guaranteeing, "Don't worry, as for business matters, whatever Father can help you with, I certainly will. You just focus on resting and carrying the baby."

"Mm."

Zheng Xi'er blushed and responded timidly, a maiden-like shyness appearing on her fair, oval face.

The father and daughter talked for a while longer before Zheng Xi'er hurried back to her residence.

That evening, Zhang Yunxiu received a message from Zhang Fu saying that Zheng Xi'er had a major matter to discuss with him.

Zhang Yunxiu did not delay and headed straight for the small residence.

The two met in the small parlor of the bedroom. Seeing her eyes red and swollen, clearly having cried, Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Did someone bully you?"

"No." Zheng Xi'er shook her head.

"Then what is it?"

Zheng Xi'er fidgeted for a moment, her eyes darting away. Finally, she bit her red lips as if having made a major decision and whispered, "I... I think I am pregnant."

"What?" Zhang Yunxiu didn't hear clearly, so he raised his voice to ask again.

"I'm pregnant!"

Zheng Xi'er gathered her courage and said it again.

This time, Zhang Yunxiu heard it clearly. He was in a state of extreme, dizzying excitement. Xi'er was pregnant, Xi'er was pregnant; he was going to be a father.

This was his first child.

Because of his excitement, he was unable to speak for a long time.

Zheng Xi'er, standing to the side, assumed he didn't like the child, so she held back her tears and choked out, "I know you are in a difficult position. I will go use medicine to abort this child tomorrow."

"Ah? What do you want to do?" Zhang Yunxiu was startled.

"Isn't it that you don't like this child?" Zheng Xi'er asked, tilting her neck.

"Who said that?"

"Then you kept not saying anything."

"I was happy, do you understand? Happy!" Zhang Yunxiu pinched Zheng Xi'er's delicate nose hard and threatened her as if acting angry, "I'm telling you, you are not allowed to do anything bad to our daughter."

"Otherwise, I won't spare you!"

Sure enough, did he also hope for her to give birth to a daughter?

A bitter look appeared on Zheng Xi'er's lips.

"Xi'er, when did you conceive?" Zhang Yunxiu didn't notice the change in Zheng Xi'er's mood and just kept asking.

"It's been over three months now, almost," Zheng Xi'er replied with a blushing face.

"So that means you'll be giving birth in seven months? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Zhang Yunxiu muttered to himself, then suddenly turned to Zheng Xi'er and instructed, "Xi'er, from now on, just leave the business matters to Zhang Fu to manage. You focus on resting and carrying the baby; make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Husband, if... if I give birth to a boy, what should I do?"

"You don't need to worry about the Xu Family. If it's a boy, the shops you currently manage will all be left to you and the child as private savings." Zhang Yunxiu signaled for her to be at ease.

"Aren't you afraid of Miss Xu?" Zheng Xi'er glanced at her husband and asked timidly.

"She hasn't even crossed the threshold yet, and I'm already supposed to be afraid of her? Then what will happen Higo?" Zhang Yunxiu said imposingly.

(End of this chapter)