My Fantastic Chef Wife

362. Cold Womb

Translator: ChowvanLee

State Preceptor wanted to do it with Empress Dowager right away, but he had not recovered completely since he hurt his back last time, so he had to give up that idea.

He said unhappily, “I’ve been in a bad mood recently. Now I’m finally here to meet you, but you don’t even give me a little pep talk.”

Empress Dowager asked, “Why? For the death of your wife? Aren’t you who killed her? Why do you want me to console you? Besides, isn’t a life nothing to you?”

“…” State Preceptor was furious. “You are heartless. I killed her for you.”

“I just asked you to go home and make things clear, but I didn’t let you kill her.” Empress Dowager said, “Besides, didn’t you dislike her for a long time? Shouldn’t you be happy since she died now?”

Empress Dowager had been holding her temper for a long time.

Back then, she had punished Ye Xiaoxian so hard, but not only did State Preceptor not tell her the truth, but he even watched Ye Xiaoxian suffer.

If she hadn’t found that Ye Xiaoxian was her daughter, Ye Xiaoxian was probably disabled.

‘You could watch my daughter die, so why couldn’t your wife die?’

State Preceptor couldn’t do anything with Empress Dowager, so he thought Empress Dowager had known about the truth. Otherwise, how could she be so cold?

But Empress Dowager was a veritable tomb, so he was thinking of going to Ye Xiaoxian’s residence to see if he could get anything from her.

…

At Xiao Manor.

State Preceptor suddenly arrived at her house and Ye Xiaoxian had a bad feeling.

She was still very wary of State Preceptor.

Even though she was in Xiao Manor and State Preceptor couldn’t imprison her like before, she was still scared. State Preceptor was the most dangerous bomb which would explode at any time. If it didn’t explode, it was just not the time.

However, Ye Xiaoxian still served State Preceptor like what she did to most of the guests. She cooked milk tea and then let servants take desserts and cookies she made to State Preceptor.

The milk tea was popular among women, but an old man like State Preceptor was not very interested in it. He took a sip of milk tea and felt it too sweet. Then he took a bite of cookies and felt it too crisp.

Ye Xiaoxian saw this and could only say apologetically, “I only have these snacks and drinks in my residence. I don’t know what State Preceptor likes, so forgive me for not preparing any tasty food beforehand.”

State Preceptor was not here for food, so he said, “A pot of hot tea is good.”

When the hot tea was ready, State Preceptor drank some, and then he started to talk to Ye Xiaoxian, “Madam Xiao… That’s not right. I should call you Princess Ning Yuan now. Your position is much higher than before after you’ve been to the palace.”

“… ” Ye Xiaoxian didn’t know what State Preceptor meant so she didn’t say anything.

State Preceptor added, “Your title was earned by Empress Dowager. I’m sure that Empress Dowager liked you very much when you were in the palace, right?”

Ye Xiaoxian smiled. “Didn’t Lord State Preceptor know my relationship with Empress Dowager the best?”

State Preceptor paused. ‘Of course I know, but I don’t know if you and Empress Dowager are clear.’

Ye Xiaoxian asked, “Didn’t State Preceptor see how Empress Dowager treated me when I was in the palace? I was either starved or beaten. If Baoshan didn’t go to the government office and I wasn’t nearly beaten to death, as a result, Empress Dowager couldn’t hand me over. Then how could I get the title of Princess Ning Yuan?”

State Preceptor thought about it for a while and agreed with her.

But he tried again, “Empress Dowager used to treat you harshly, but she let you be a princess, and now she allows you to come home and reunite with your husband. Shouldn’t you be grateful for her?”

Ye Xiaoxian disagreed and said, “It’s a matter of course that a husband and a wife reunite. Why should we do it with other’s permission?”

Ye Xiaoxian’s tone seemed to be extremely dissatisfied with Empress Dowager. State Preceptor thought, ‘They probably have not found out the truth. The things that happened recently were just coincidences.’

After staying with Ye Xiaoxian for a while, State Preceptor couldn’t sit still anymore and he left.

Ye Xiaoxian didn’t figure out why State Preceptor had come to her house.

Then she saw the tea set on the table State Preceptor had used and the leftovers of desserts and tea. She felt disgusted and asked servants to throw it away.

…

At night, Xiao Baoshan came from work. When he was having dinner with Ye Xiaoxian, Ye Xiaoxian talked about State Preceptor.

“State Preceptor was here today. He left after talking to me for a short time. I feel that he wanted to get something from me, but I don’t know what it is.” Ye Xiaoxian said discontentedly, “State Preceptor is thoughtless. His wife has just died and he went all over to other people’s places. He is not afraid that he’ll bring ill luck to others.”

According to the customs of the Great Qi Dynasty, people whose families had just passed away had better not go to other people’s places for three months.

Xiao Baoshan asked Little Ye about what she and State Preceptor talked about. After Ye Xiaoxian told him, Xiao Baoshan lapsed into silence.

Ye Xiaoxian asked, “Has anything happened next to you recently? If not, he probably wanted to talk to me about Empress Dowager. I guess that they have been in conflict recently, so State Preceptor wants to find out what’s the matter with Empress Dowager from me.”

Xiao Baoshan thought for a while. His life had been peaceful recently and nothing had happened.

Ye Xiaoxian was relieved when she heard this.

After they finished their meal and washed up, they went to bed like usual, chatted for a while, and then started having sex.

…

The lunar new year was coming. Empress Dowager sent someone to call Ye Xiaoxian over to the palace.

Ye Xiaoxian was extremely reluctant to enter the palace.

She had finally had a carefree time with Xiao Baoshan and now she was called into the palace, which meant that she would be put under house arrest again!

She asked Xiao Baoshan whether to go or not, but Xiao Baoshan actually had no right to decide.

He couldn’t take her away. His position was not high, and he couldn’t get into the palace and reason with Empress Dowager.

Finally, Ye Xiaoxian decided to go to the palace.

If she still couldn’t come back at 23rd this lunar year, Xiao Baoshan would go to the government office to beat the drum again. With the support of the public opinion, she believed that Empress Dowager wouldn’t hold her for too long.

However, she might still be starved a few times, or maybe she would be beaten another ten or twenty strokes.

…

Ye Xiaoxian entered the palace with the courage of “unafraid of death”.

When she saw Empress Dowager, she bowed to her with a cold face all the time.

Empress Dowager was calm, neither angry at her nor strict with her. Instead, Empress Dowager started to chat with her.

“How are you doing in Xiao Baoshan’s residence?” Empress Dowager asked.

Ye Xiaoxian said, “Good.”

“Just look at your face and I can see that you gained some weight.”

Ye Xiaoxian smiled, “Nevertheless, it’s my home. As the saying goes, east or west, home is the best.”

“You mean, you’re not doing well here?” Empress Dowager asked with a smile.

Ye Xiaoxian admitted, “The lunar new year is coming. Family members should reunite at this time. I just want to be with my husband.”

Empress Dowager smiled. “Right, it’s not impossible for you to go back a little early, but it depends on your performance. If you are clever and obedient, then I’ll definitely let you go home earlier. If you’re misbehaving, don’t blame me for not letting you go.”

“What are cleverness and obedience? I had a principle, which is, I could do anything but you can’t threaten my Baoshan with me, “Ye Xiaoxian said.

Empress Dowager smiled again, “You’re a man of principle.”

After that, Empress Dowager stared at Ye Xiaoxian’s belly.

After watching for a while, she added, “How strange. It’s been two months since you’re out of the palace, right? Why do you not get pregnant now since you stay with your husband every day?”

Ye Xiaoxian thought, ‘How could I get pregnant within two months? My period has just passed.’

However, Empress Dowager’s words reminded her.

‘Even if I haven’t been pregnant within these two months, I didn’t get pregnant when I was in Qinghe county.’

She thought for a moment before explaining, “I’m still young.”

“You’re twenty years old, not a child.” Empress Dowager said.

‘Twenty! It’s still a very young age in modern times, okay?’

Empress Dowager added, “The imperial doctors are in the palace.”

“How about I find a doctor to do a checkup for you and see what the reason is?”

Ye Xiaoxian said quickly, “Never mind. When I’m out, I’ll find a doctor outside the palace.”

Empress Dowager said with a contemptuous expression, “Would doctors outside the palace be better than ones in the palace? If you find some charlatan, your body will be damaged in the end. Since you got plenty of leisure time in the palace, so why don’t you regulate your body?”

Ye Xiaoxian looked at Empress Dowager suspiciously.

It really felt like a daughter returned to her mother’s house. The mother wanted to find a doctor for her daughter to take care of her body.

…

Empress Dowager was fast and found a doctor for her soon.

Ye Xiaoxian didn’t expect the doctor told her she was infertile because of her cold womb after he felt the pulse.

Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t figure out why she got a cold womb.

Empress Dowager also asked by her side, “Why does she get a cold womb?”

The doctor asked Ye Xiaoxian, “Have you drowned in water when you were young, or have you got a bad cold? I wonder you had been frozen for some time when you were young.”

Ye Xiaoxian had a part of the owner’s memory of this body, but it was before nine years old and she didn’t remember anything before that.

She said, “I don’t remember, but I went through the hardships of living in the open and I had been sold many times by middlemen. I must’ve experienced hunger and coldness before.”

Empress Dowager suddenly clenched her fists.

The doctor said, “No matter what, you got a cold womb. But it is not serious. Take a few sets of medicine and then take good care of your body for a while. You’ll be fine. During this period of time, you must not eat cold food and keep away from cold wind. Your body should be able to get better by half a month.”

Ye Xiaoxian asked, “This fast?”

“These symptoms were caused by cold factors. You should keep your body warm all the time and take medicines for some time. As long as you are pregnant and take care of your body one month following childbirth, these symptoms can be improved in the future.”

Ye Xiaoxian looked towards Empress Dowager and wanted to inquire about her opinion.

She thought, ‘Empress Dowager calls me over in the palace. She wouldn’t just let me take care of my body here, would she? If I’m getting better and she beats me again, then I’m doing this in vain now.’

For some reason, she actually saw tears in Empress Dowager’s eyes.

When Empress Dowager saw Ye Xiaoxian looking at her, she tilted her face. When she turned back, the tears were gone.