Chapter 128: An Auspicious Pulse

Chapter 128

An Auspicious Pulse

After that, Nie Shuang became busy preparing for the opening of her new tea house. With the help of messenger pigeons from Princess An Le, who regularly communicated with Wang Dongpo, it wasn’t long before she received a reply from Kang Wang. He had no objections to the princess investing in the venture. Nie Shuang was then able to enter and exit the royal palace freely, using the seal bestowed upon her by the princess. Of course, the main issue she had to decide herself was the location of the new tea house. She consulted with the princess, feeling quite troubled.

"All the good locations are already taken. This new tea house can’t be too small. I can’t seem to find a spacious enough place close to the city."

Princess An Le was stroking a fluffy white kitten on her lap. She had just asked her father for it when the foreign envoys brought it as a tribute, and she even named it Xiao Mao.

"Have you contacted real estate agents in the capital yet, Sister Nie?"

Nie Shuang nodded.

"I’ve seen many places, but none of them are satisfactory."

"In truth, I know of a place that fits what you’re looking for—spacious and not far from the city."

Nie Shuang asked with interest,

"Where is it, Your Highness?"

"It’s part of the fief given to me by my father. If I ever marry, I could even build a palace on that land."

Nie Shuang quickly shook her head.

"I wouldn’t dare make use of your personal property, Your Highness. Let’s find another place."

But An Le just smiled widely.

"I’m not planning to marry anyway. Besides, the land is vast. Even if you use the front portion for the tea house, there will still be plenty left. It’s not an inconvenience at all."

After being urged several more times, Nie Shuang finally agreed to at least go and inspect the land. However, as she stood up, she suddenly felt dizzy and had to sit back down.

"Are you alright, Sister Nie? Quick, someone fetch the doctor!"

Princess An Le commanded the maids.

"I’ve probably just been overworking and not getting enough rest,"

Nie Shuang replied. In truth, she had been thinking a lot about Song Qilin, throwing herself into work to avoid dwelling on him too much. Every month, she received letters from him, detailing his life in the military camp and telling her how much he missed her. He was fighting his hardest to achieve victory so he could return to her and their children soon. Each time she received his letters, Nie Shuang found herself shedding tears without reason.

It wasn’t long before the royal doctor arrived. After taking her pulse for a few moments, he smiled and clasped his hands in a congratulatory gesture.

"Congratulations, Young Furen. You have an auspicious pulse."

Both Nie Shuang and An Le looked at each other in surprise. Nie Shuang had no idea she was pregnant. While nursing her children, her menstrual cycle had been irregular, and she hadn’t experienced any signs of morning sickness. Princess An Le cleared her throat before addressing the doctor.

"Thank you, doctor, but please don’t mention this to anyone just yet."

The royal doctor, of course, was well aware of who Nie Shuang was. Her story, from when she first married General Song, had been widely discussed throughout the capital. Additionally, her actions during the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, when she had saved Princess An Le, had solidified her as a trusted confidante of the princess.

After the doctor left, An Le turned to Nie Shuang with a joyful smile.

"Sister Nie, even with the General away at war, only spending so little time with you, you still managed to give him so many children. I can’t imagine how happy he’ll be when he returns to hear this news."

Nie Shuang smiled, her emotions difficult to describe. She was happy about the pregnancy, but thinking about the three little turnips at home and the business she was establishing in the capital made her feel like there wasn’t enough time in the day. The three mischievous children were growing up, so she entrusted their care to Xiao Tong and the wet nurses during the day while she handled her business, only returning to them in the evening. Fortunately, the Hou and Xu Shi visited them daily; otherwise, the children would have felt quite lonely.

"Sister Nie, are you going to pause your tea house business for now?"

An Le asked with concern. However, Nie Shuang shook her head.

"I’m only pregnant; I’m not bedridden. When I was setting up the tea house in Huangjing, I was pregnant with those triplets as well."

An Le laughed upon hearing this.

"Come to think of it, maybe those children are your lucky charms. Ever since you were pregnant with them, hasn’t everything been going well?"

Nie Shuang smiled. No matter how exhausted she was, just seeing them made all her fatigue disappear. She still invited the princess to go look at the tea house location as planned. As the princess had mentioned, the land wasn’t far from the city. It was a vast land resembling a garden forest. If they used just a small portion of the land near the road for the tea house, it wouldn’t disrupt anything, and the tranquil, beautiful atmosphere with such convenient transportation would surely attract many customers.

After walking around for a while, Nie Shuang turned and smiled broadly.

"This place pleases me very much, Your Highness."

Princess An Le was delighted to hear this.

"Then use as much of the land as you like, I’ll give it to you. We can even write up a contract if you’d like."

Nie Shuang shook her head.

"This is your personal property, Your Highness. Xiangyun Tea House will rent the land from you and pay annual rent."

The princess nodded. Whatever Sister Nie said, she would follow. On their way back, they stopped to eat at Tianfu House. As fate would have it, Nie Shuang, who paid Chen Yuelan no mind, ran into her there. It seemed Chen Yuelan was shopping for her upcoming wedding, which was less than two months away. As soon as the princess stepped inside, the head manager personally came to welcome her and escorted her to a private room. Chen Yuelan’s mother, who was about to leave, quickly pulled her daughter’s arm and bowed respectfully to the princess. The princess told them to rise and was about to continue walking, but Chen Yuelan glanced at Nie Shuang, who was walking behind. Nie Shuang’s face glowed, radiant as ever, and jealousy flashed in Chen Yuelan’s eyes. At that time, she was so close to marrying Song Qilin, if not for Nie Shuang running away and grabbing all the attention. By now, she could have been his wife too. Seeing her daughter’s hateful gaze, her mother tugged her hand. How could she behave like that in front of the princess? Even after the princess and Nie Shuang disappeared into their private room, Chen Yuelan still couldn’t take her eyes off them.

"Let’s go. Soon you’ll be marrying into the same family as her. What good will come from starting fights? We should be grateful that the Hou was kind enough to let you marry Song Ren. So many women in the city would love to marry him. What more do you want?"

Chen Yuelan’s mother led her by the hand back to their carriage, gently reprimanding her. She knew how much her daughter had set her heart on Song Qilin, but since fate hadn’t favored them, why hold on to it? Chen Yuelan had good family standing but wasn’t outstanding in any way. It had already been difficult for her to dream of marrying Song Qilin. Now, with her growing older, finding a match had become even more challenging. The Hou had agreed to the marriage only out of respect for old friendship.As she followed her mother onto the carriage, Chen Yuelan still couldn’t let go. How could a mere merchant’s daughter, the child of a concubine no less, have everything that should have been hers? No matter how good Song Ren might be, she still felt defeated by Nie Shuang.