Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 21: This Young Lady Indeed Has a Pregnancy Pulse
The doctor glanced nervously toward the doorway, then turned back and urged, "For your own well-being, miss, it’s best to have an examination so we can be at ease."
"There’s really no need."
"Please... please, just let me check." The doctor was repeatedly wiping sweat from his brow.
Seeing his earnestness, Song Lianhe didn’t argue any longer and finally nodded.
The doctor visibly sighed in relief, then raised his hand and placed his fingers on her pulse...
Outside the curtain, Zhou Cangyan watched with a dark, brooding gaze.
The doctor’s brow furrowed in suspicion. He glanced up in Zhou Cangyan’s direction, then once again raised his sleeve to wipe his forehead.
"Doctor, is something wrong?"
Seeing his hesitation, Song Lianhe started to get anxious. "I don’t have some terrible disease, do I?!"
"Um, may I ask, miss... are you expecting your period soon?"
A pregnancy pulse is typically smooth and flowing, like pearls rolling across a platter—a "slippery pulse." However, this same pulse pattern can sometimes appear just before a woman’s period is due, so the doctor had to first confirm her cycle.
’Aunt Flo?’
Song Lianhe didn’t realize the doctor was asking about the body’s original owner and blurted out the dates for her own cycle. Upon hearing this, the doctor’s spirits immediately lifted, and he finally said, "You are in good health, miss. You can rest easy."
"Oh, that’s good."
Song Lianhe clutched her chest. He’d nearly scared her into a cold sweat.
After leaving the room, the doctor immediately reported to the Shadow Guard waiting outside. "Judging from her pulse, the young lady does indeed have a pregnancy pulse, but it’s also possible it’s due to her upcoming period or other reasons. We’ll need to wait..."
But the Shadow Guard’s attention was entirely focused on the phrase "pregnancy pulse," and he immediately went to find Zhou Cangyan.
"Your Grace! It’s a pregnancy pulse! Second Miss Song is truly with child!"
Zhou Cangyan’s expression froze, and for a moment, he seemed to be in a daze.
Then, he turned and walked away.
The Shadow Guard then returned to give the doctor a stern warning, to which the doctor bowed repeatedly, murmuring his assent.
’Ling’an City is teeming with princes, nobles, and powerful clans. If a man wants to make a living and keep his family safe, keeping his mouth shut is the absolute first rule!’
The Shadow Guard hurried to catch up to his lord, unable to contain his excitement. "Your Grace, the Old Master has always longed for you to marry and have children. If he were to find out that Your Grace..."
Zhou Cangyan stopped abruptly, a hint of irritation in his eyes. He shot the guard a look of pure disdain. ’A Shadow Guard who talks this much!’
"You are not to reveal a single word."
"Yes."
Zhou Cangyan’s gaze returned to the inner hall, his dark, gloomy eyes fixed on the woman inside, coiling around her like a venomous snake.
After a long moment, he slowly retracted his gaze.
"Have Xuan Mei follow her."
"Yes."
—
Song Lianhe spent a makeshift night at the clinic. After such a tumultuous day, she actually slept surprisingly well.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but in her dreams, she felt a pair of eyes brazenly watching her, making her skin crawl.
She went to see Yan Wen first. He had dark circles under his eyes, and the look he gave her was... complicated.
’How should I put it?’
’It was a look that screamed, "I don’t really want to see you, and you’d do well to realize that on your own."’
Song Lianhe pretended not to notice. Toward her future business partner, she was nothing but enthusiastic. "Good morning, Young Master Yan!"
Yan Wen glanced up, his eyes involuntarily landing on her lips before he hurriedly averted his gaze. He clearly didn’t want to acknowledge her, but bound by the decorum of a gentleman, he had to respond, "Morning."
’Whether he likes me or not is irrelevant. My strategy is pure sincerity!’
Just as Zhou Cangyan entered from outside with his men, he looked up to see Song Lianhe, her head held high, smiling brightly as she spoke to that pale-faced scholar who looked too weak to even truss a chicken. She showed none of the reserve expected of a proper maiden.
The man’s expression was grim and foreboding, and he remained silent.
Yan Wen was clearly trying to avoid her, and anyone with a shred of awareness would have backed off. But Song Lianhe refused to be deterred. Seeing him deliberately look past her, she simply stepped up onto a rock to get in his line of sight. "Young Master Yan, I have some preliminary ideas about opening the shop, and I’d like your advice..."
Before she could finish, an arm suddenly snaked around her waist, lifting her off her feet. She let out a terrified shriek and instinctively wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, terrified she would be dropped.
With a dark expression, Zhou Cangyan held her with one arm before setting her back on the ground.
Still shaken, Song Lianhe stared at him blankly. "King Qing?"
’What’s he doing?’
’Isn’t his whole persona that he hates women?’
’Is it really appropriate to get all handsy at the slightest provocation?’
