"Do you believe Zhulin’s daughter, Ruru, is lying, that the items were given to Jingshang by her, and the child she previously carried was also his?" Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "I don’t think Ruru’s expression looks like she’s lying, and didn’t you say Jingshang likes Xizi? Then why would he keep the walnut sculpture so carefully?"

Jiang Yichun thought for a moment and said, "Or maybe the walnut sculpture was taken by Song Yi and later given to Jingshang along with Xizi, which is why he treasures it so much. Regardless of the situation, Song Yi and Jingshang definitely have something to do with Ruru."

"Song Yi wants to continue cultivating the poisonous insect, so he must be secretly harming those women who are just a few months pregnant, right?" Bai Ruozhu gritted her teeth, "It’s so vicious, who knows how many innocent little lives have been lost."

"Another woman lost her life due to a miscarriage, but she’s been buried, so it’s impossible to determine if it was an accident or related to Song Yi." Jiang Yichun said.

The two sighed, as Song Yi remained hidden in the shadows, making him difficult to find. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

During dinner, Bai Ruozhu shared their findings with everyone, not expecting Jiang Yichun to say much, so she took on the task herself.

"The sashimi today is really fresh." After speaking, Bai Ruozhu took a bite of the extremely thinly sliced sashimi and couldn’t help but praise it.

At that time, most people from Zhongyuan didn’t like eating raw food, and no one else reached for the sashimi, except for Tang Feng and Gao Zhou who tasted a couple of slices.

Bai Ruozhu enjoyed it especially with mustard, and Shanhu also took some slices. Being from around here, she didn’t mind sashimi as much.

But right after eating, she started to dry heave and hurriedly got up to dash to the side.

Qiu Zhi hurriedly followed, feeling it was impolite, he turned back and said, "I’ll go check on her."

The table was left in silence, Fo Lanying remarked, "Could it be the sashimi making her uncomfortable? I truly believe raw things shouldn’t be eaten."

Bai Ruozhu pursed her lips without speaking. After a while, she suddenly stood up and said, "I’ll go check on Shanhu and give her some medicine. Everyone else just continue, no need to wait for us."

Jiang Yichun wanted to get up but was stopped by a single look from Bai Ruozhu; she could manage alone and it wasn’t convenient for Jiang Yichun to follow.

Soon, she found Shanhu in the backyard, who hadn’t really vomited, just dry heaving loudly.

Beside her, Qiu Zhi offered some hot tea and asked, "Would you like something warm to soothe it?"

Shanhu waved it off, dry heaving again.

Bai Ruozhu shook her head helplessly and walked over saying, "Don’t give her random tea, it’s best to drink warm plain water when not feeling well."

She took Shanhu’s wrist to check her pulse and confirmed what she had suspected earlier.

"I’ve eaten sashimi before and never felt like this, but Ruozhu ate it and felt fine, so it shouldn’t be freshness." Shanhu managed to say between breaths after stopping her heaving.

Luckily, she had a robust constitution, so the situation wasn’t too dire.

Bai Ruozhu sighed and said, "It’s because you’re pregnant, so any strong odors will trigger nausea now, you’re over a month and a half in."

"What!" Shanhu exclaimed, unable to believe it, as pregnancy never crossed her mind!

Qiu Zhi was equally stunned, eyes wide with nothing to say.

"I checked your pulse, there’s no mistake, it’s from that time." She knew Shanhu was sensitive about the matter, considering it a shame, so she refrained from making it explicit.

In reality, Shanhu’s shame wasn’t about being with Qiu Zhi, but as a Yin Yang Master being outsmarted by ordinary people, which also led to her losing part of her cultivation base.

She could regain the lost cultivation base, but it would take significant time, and the incident itself was a huge blow to the honor of a Yin Yang Master.

"Really?" Shanhu needed more confirmation, and seeing Bai Ruozhu nod, she suddenly collapsed, thankfully caught by Qiu Zhi.

She felt disappointed, mumbling, "I can’t get married, and I can’t have kids. What... what should I do..."

Before she could finish, she fainted.

"Shanhu, Shanhu!" Qiu Zhi called out anxiously.

Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "She’s just fainted from anxiety, take her back to the room to rest. She’s with child now, so it’s best not to carelessly use medicine. Let her sleep off her instability."

Qiu Zhi, not asking any further, promptly picked up Shanhu and carried her swiftly back to her room. Bai Ruozhu thought to follow.

Once Qiu Zhi settled Shanhu, Bai Ruozhu signaled to him, and the two stepped out of the room to talk.

"What are you planning?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

Qiu Zhi looked troubled, a rare sight for someone with his typically amusing demeanor.

"I don’t know." Qiu Zhi scratched his head irritably, saying, "I’ll ask her what she wants once she wakes up."

"Discuss it carefully between yourselves, it’s your matter, not for outsiders to comment." Bai Ruozhu said.

Qiu Zhi nodded and asked, "Will the medicine she took that day affect the child?"

Bai Ruozhu understood his concern, "Given both your inner strength and cultivation base, there shouldn’t be any effect."

Qiu Zhi seemed to exhale a huge breath of relief, his eyes showing joy. Bai Ruozhu noticed clearly; she knew Qiu Zhi was inwardly joyous, having grown fond of this child already, but their identities kept him from expressing it.

When Bai Ruozhu returned to the hall, everyone else had finished eating, Jiang Yichun had set aside some dishes she liked, urging her to eat a bit more.

Bai Ruozhu glanced at the plate of sashimi, half of it still untouched, suddenly losing her appetite.

"I’m full, I’ll head back to rinse and rest." She said.

Jiang Yichun glanced at the table, his brow furrowing slightly, it was rare for his Foodie Ruozhu, who never needed to diet, to lack an appetite.

Once back in the room, Jiang Yichun asked, "Is Shanhu pregnant?"

Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Their circumstances are unique, Shanhu realized she’s pregnant and murmured about not being able to marry or give birth, then fainted from stress, which worries me, also..."

She lengthened her speech, "When I think of pregnancy, I can’t help but consider Song Yi’s way of raising poisonous insects. Even though I doubt Song Yi would dare provoke us like that, it still makes me uneasy."

"Tomorrow, remind Shanhu not to leave the posthouse; with Xiaoyuan’s array as protection and with us being more vigilant, it should be fine, my concern is she might not want the child." Jiang Yichun said.

"Qiu Zhi wants the child, I believe Shanhu does too, but the burdens on them are heavy." Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but sigh again.

"Don’t overthink, get some rest; you’ve worn yourself out these days." Jiang Yichun said caringly.

After finishing their hygiene routines, as they lay in bed, urgent knocks on the door echoed from outside.