novelraw Chapter 576 - 508: Promoted to Linzhou Magistrate
Chapter 576 - 508: Promoted to Linzhou Magistrate
The doctor named Jin took Yu Xiaolian’s pulse and confidently informed Su Jingchen that Yu Xiaolian was pregnant.
Yu Xiaolian and Su Jingchen exchanged joyous smiles, both relieved. Due to the effect of the Longevity Gu, Yu Xiaolian wasn’t certain if she could conceive and have children like a normal person. Since she and Su Jingchen got married, they hadn’t really talked about pregnancy, but they both hoped for the arrival of a child deep down in their hearts.
Now, with the confirmation of Yu Xiaolian’s pregnancy, the two of them were overjoyed, more than they had expected, and truly delighted.
Su Jingchen inquired in detail with Doctor Jin about matters to pay attention to during pregnancy and personally escorted Doctor Jin out.
Yu Xiaolian’s journey of nurturing the fetus was particularly tough. She couldn’t eat anything, felt nauseous at the sight of any food, and even if she forced herself to eat, she would vomit everything later. Su Jingchen felt incredibly distressed yet helpless.
The season quickly approached winter, and Yu Xiaolian’s belly gradually grew, but it was unclear whether they were out of touch or what; they heard nothing about news from the Capital and Yu State.
Even in a letter from Yu Changhe, it was mentioned that everything was calm and normal in Yu State. Prince Jin was still at the Prince Jin Mansion and hadn’t been summoned to the Capital by the Emperor.
While Su Jingchen was pondering the Emperor’s intentions, a secret decree was quietly delivered to him.
Along with the secret decree, an official decree arrived, promoting Su Jingchen to Magistrate of Linzhou, to take office on an auspicious day.
After reading the secret decree, Su Jingchen finally understood the Emperor’s intentions.
It turned out the Emperor was wary of the intricate power networks of Concubine Lü and Prince Jin, intending to dismantle Prince Jin’s foundation steadily and strategically. Considering the instability in the Northern Land, the Emperor decided not to recall Su Jingchen to the Capital just yet, letting Su Jingchen guard the Northern Land so the Emperor could feel completely at ease in the Capital.
With Su Jingchen transferred to Linzhou, the position of Yangcheng County Magistrate was vacant. Since no one was appointed from above, Li Wenyuan had to temporarily fill the role.
However, Su Jingchen did not expect that during the handover with Lin Heqing, Lin Heqing showed intense hostility, even resorting to sneering sarcasm.
In theory, Lin Heqing, having served as Magistrate of Linzhou for many years, had at least the credit of hard work, even if he hadn’t accomplished significant achievements for Linzhou. He hadn’t committed any grave mistakes either. At such an advanced age, he should have been promoted if not retained as Magistrate of Linzhou. But instead, he was transferred flatly to become Magistrate of Huizhou. Huizhou belonged to Prince Cheng, Jun Tingzhang’s territory. Expecting any good from a place like that upon arrival?
He could originally remain in Linzhou, living a peaceful official life without contention, but going to Huizhou...
Just thinking about it gave Lin Heqing a headache; life there seemed destined to lack tranquility.
All this was because Su Jingchen was too outstanding.
During the handover, Lin Heqing couldn’t suppress his annoyance, uttering many sarcastic remarks; could Su Jingchen not notice?
He did notice but chose to endure it.
Although he and Lin Heqing were now on the same fourth-rank official level, the situation in Linzhou was too complex. He was afraid Lin Heqing had left some mess in silence, catching him off guard later.
What would be the point of fussing with someone heading to Huizhou soon? Not only did Su Jingchen refrain from retorting, but he also thought of ways to comfort and reassure Lin Heqing.
Considering that Su Jingchen had kept Yangcheng secure, indirectly saving him, Lin Heqing mumbled for a while. Seeing Su Jingchen not retorting, he stopped nagging and instead felt a sliver of admiration for Su Jingchen’s tolerance for others.
Then, the more he thought about it, the more Lin Heqing felt ashamed. Already nearing sixty, he was not as composed as a mere twenty-year-old. Thinking about the complex officialdom in Huizhou, Lin Heqing promptly changed his attitude and began seeking advice from Su Jingchen.
An old man should not be ashamed to learn. Is there anything shameless about consulting Lord Su, who is of equal rank?
The more Lin Heqing discussed officialdom with Su Jingchen, the more he regretted. Back when Su Jingchen was studying at Linzhou County School, he was classmates with Lin Heqing’s son, Lin Zhiping. At that time, when Su Jingchen won as top scholar of the Linzhou exam, Lin Heqing intended to match his daughter, Lin Zilan, to Su Jingchen. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t materialize.
Alas, had he known that Su Jingchen would be so fortunate, he would have employed some tricks to ensure Su Jingchen became his son-in-law.
Sigh, Lin Heqing sighed inwardly, blaming it on his daughter’s lack of fortune!
Su Jingchen chose to ’advise’ Lin Heqing for his own clever reasons.
Not only does Prince Cheng reside in Huizhou, but the Kou Family does too.
The Kou Family has debts with him and his mother that he intends to settle. With Lin Heqing being assigned to Huizhou, it would be a waste not to take advantage of this opportunity presented on a silver platter, right?
After kindly advising Lin Heqing and joyfully seeing him off, Yu Xiaolian, with her large belly, started eating heartily.
Fang Cao noticed that since coming to Linzhou, Yu Xiaolian had an exceptionally good appetite and was genuinely happy for her.
While others would gain weight during pregnancy, her lady had become so thin that her cheeks were sunken.
Since becoming pregnant, Yu Xiaolian never stopped prenatal education. She talked to her unborn child many times, asking him not to trouble her, yet the little one disregarded her wishes, continuously affecting her appetite for her meals.
Today, for some reason, Yu Xiaolian suddenly smelled a delicious aroma of food, and her stomach rumbled with hunger. The hunger was urgent, couldn’t wait a quarter of an hour, and needed to be satisfied immediately.
Once Yu Xiaolian mentioned her hunger, the kitchen dared not delay, swiftly serving a table full of delicious dishes.
Yu Xiaolian took a bite of soft, flavorful pork hocks, savoring it to the point of nearly swallowing her own tongue in delight.
Emma, to not feel nauseous and even taste the deliciousness, Yu Xiaolian was moved to the point of tears.
The feeling of restored appetite was truly wonderful!
When Su Jingchen came in, Yu Xiaolian was just asking Fang Cao to bring over the fish and take away the pork hocks.
"You’re here, and I’ve got a great appetite today; everything tastes delightful!" Yu Xiaolian said, grabbing a piece of fish cheek meat to eat.
"Not feeling nauseous?" Su Jingchen sat down beside Yu Xiaolian.
"Not only not nauseous, but I feel like I could eat a whole cow!" Yu Xiaolian chuckled, "I devoured an entire small pork hock myself."
"You shouldn’t eat too much greasy food all at once. Your intestines have been light for so long that eating overly rich foods might upset your stomach," Su Jingchen cautioned.
Yu Xiaolian chuckled, "By the time you finished speaking, I had already devoured it all!"
Yu Xiaolian no longer feared an upset stomach; she only worried about vomiting the food back up.
The sensation of eating and throwing up everything was terrible. Once the little one in her belly was born, she would certainly ’educate’ him appropriately. Wasn’t it somewhat brazen to give his mother such a hard time?