Chapter 48: Pregnant

After returning home, Shen Xiuyan ate the lovingly prepared meal by Su Mingyue and went to sleep.

He slept for an entire day and night, so much that Su Mingyue was worried something might have happened.

Fortunately, he woke up the next afternoon.

The next few days were calm. Shen Xiuyan focused on accompanying Mingyue and didn’t worry about the results.

After all, worrying after the exam would only cause unnecessary heartache.

Before the results came out, Shen Xiuyan was greeted with some fantastic news.

His wife, Su Mingyue, was pregnant!

During dinner one day, Su Mingyue suddenly felt nauseous.

She then vomited uncontrollably, making the room spin.

Panicked, Shen Xiuyan immediately called for a doctor, who after taking her pulse, confirmed that she was pregnant!

Shen Xiuyan was overjoyed, and in his excitement, he impulsively gave away all his pocket money for the month to the doctor.

Su Mingyue watched his foolish joy and didn’t remind him.

As expected, when he finally came to his senses and wanted to give some reward money to the servants to share in the happiness, he found that there was no money left…

He shamelessly approached Mingyue, “Wife~”

Su Mingyue laughed at him, “There’s money in the little wooden box on the table. You can give it to everyone as rewards.”

“Got it~”

Shen Xiuyan generously rewarded everyone in the house with 200 wen each.

The servants were as happy as Shen Xiuyan.

At this moment, Shen Xiuyan was ecstatic—he was about to become a father!

He didn’t care whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

It didn’t matter; as long as it was their child, he would love it equally!

From then on, Shen Xiuyan, who had always been cautious around Su Mingyue, became even more attentive and protective of her.

To say he treated her like a precious gem was no exaggeration.

It wasn’t even time for bed yet, but the young couple was already in bed, though Shen Xiuyan kept a distance of three feet from Su Mingyue.

Su Mingyue looked at him amused, “Why are you so far away from me?”

Shen Xiuyan nervously said, “I’m afraid I’ll crush you. Should I sleep in the next room?”

“But I don’t want to sleep alone, and the baby doesn’t either,” Su Mingyue pouted playfully, “We want to be close to you.”

Shen Xiuyan stiffly moved a little closer, “Alright, just a little closer, okay?”

Su Mingyue smiled broadly, finding her husband’s silly behavior amusing.

But it was also a sign of how much he cared for her.

Suddenly, she pounced into his arms, “No, we want to sleep in your arms!”

Shen Xiuyan stiffened, not daring to move, but he had no way to resist Su Mingyue’s persistence.

“Alright, alright, we’ll sleep like this. I promise I won’t move. Just be careful.”

Su Mingyue felt that he couldn’t keep being this tense, considering it had only been a few days since she was pregnant.

She extended her delicate finger to trace circles on his chest, “You really won’t move?”

The fragrant scent of her body filled the air, and Shen Xiuyan felt a wave of affection. His wife truly was a little demon.

For a moment, his expression was a mix of nervousness and hesitation.

“Hahaha, husband, you really don’t need to be so nervous. Other women with big bellies aren’t as tense as you,” Su Mingyue sighed and comforted him while sitting in his lap.

“I’ll try, after all, it’s my first child, I have no experience. I’ll get used to it, I’m sure…”

Su Mingyue rolled her eyes, “What are you talking about? As if it’s my second child!”

Shen Xiuyan sat up straight, “Phew, phew, phew, it was the husband who misspoke.”

Then he tried to comfort her, “You’re still pregnant. Let’s sleep early.”

Once they slept, he would feel less anxious.

Su Mingyue glanced at the sky outside, then at Shen Xiuyan, not feeling like going to sleep yet.

But when she saw his pitiful little expression, she couldn’t help but give in.

“Alright, we’ll go to bed early tonight, but tomorrow I’m not going to bed this early.”

“Okay, okay, anything you say.” Shen Xiuyan nodded eagerly, determined to get her to sleep first.

Gradually, the two of them lay in bed, feeling drowsy and drifting between dreams.

Suddenly, Su Mingyue murmured, “Oh no, I forgot to write a letter to my parents.”

Shen Xiuyan gently stroked her hair to calm her down, “It’s fine, sleep first, I’ll write it tomorrow.”

“Alright…”

In September, the osmanthus flowers bloomed, and the eagerly anticipated examination results were about to be announced.

This time, Shen Xiuyan didn’t feel dejected waiting for the results. He had already given up hope for the exam.

At this point, being with Mingyue was far more important.

Su Mingyue, seeing that he wasn’t anxious, was the one who was worried. She sent a servant early to check the results.

But the servant didn’t return.

Instead, a messenger from the government arrived.

This surprised Shen Xiuyan—did he pass???

He passed, but why was he being notified so soon?

Looking at the time, the results should have just been posted.

Could there have been a mistake?

“Congratulations, congratulations! I’m looking for Shen Xiuyan from Zhulin County.” The messenger said with a respectful tone, bowing.

Shen Xiuyan: “!!!!!!”

Su Mingyue: “!!!!!!”

Cui Cui: “!!!!!!”

The servants: “!!!!!!”

He really passed!

Shen Xiuyan stood up excitedly, “That’s me!”

“Congratulations! Not only did you pass the exam, but you also topped the list as this year’s top scholar!” The messenger congratulated him, bowing deeply.

For a moment, Shen Xiuyan felt as if he were in a dream.

He was first in the exam???

So the questions were as simple as he thought, and he didn’t misread them?

Hahahaha, he was indeed the genius who could become the top scholar!

Su Mingyue was also overjoyed, but she was in a much better state than Shen Xiuyan.

Looking at her silly husband, she thought he was so happy he had lost his mind.

She took charge and said, “Cui Cui, give the officials some reward money, so they can share in our happiness.”

“Understood!”

Cui Cui quickly retrieved money from the box. She first took out a five-liang silver coin, then reconsidered and returned it, instead picking up a ten-liang silver bar.

Yes! This was appropriate for the top scholar!

“Here, sir, this is from our master and mistress, thank you for your hard work in coming all the way here.”

The messenger looked at the ten taels of silver in his hand, his eyes widening. The top scholar’s family was too rich—one tael of reward silver was common, but ten taels was a first.

He immediately put on a smiling face and flattered, “We won’t be polite then. Wishing Master Shen victory in the imperial examination next spring!”

“Thank you for your kind words.”