Chapter 607: Chapter 224: Conception Dream

They chatted about this and that, talking for quite a while.

As the sun rose, the dart masters prepared to set off. The group exchanged a few more promises to meet again before finally bidding their farewells. They waited until the escort agency’s convoy was completely out of sight before boarding their carriage to head back.

On the way, Xu Su Ying said to Chen Wanqing, "Uncle Xu’s petition to return to Capital City for a family visit has been approved. We leave the day after tomorrow."

"Ah? So suddenly?"

"What do you mean, suddenly? I’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time. Those who owe me debts better wash their necks and wait for me. If I don’t take everything back with interest, my name isn’t Xu Su Ying."

Xu Su Ying then looked at Zhao Jing. "Has your official travel document been issued yet?"

Zhao Jing nodded. "It’s all sorted. I just need to pack some books, and I’ll be ready to go."

"Make sure you properly comfort your mother and Xiang’er so they don’t worry. Your father and I will have people watch over the estate here; nothing will go wrong."

Zhao Jing smiled. "Thank you, Mother and Father."

With that settled, they discussed asking for a leave of absence for De’an and Yao’an, planning to take the two boys along as well. After all, this was a formal family reunion—such a grand occasion couldn’t possibly happen without those two little rascals. They also agreed that they needed to visit the Sheng family one more time before leaving, just to give their in-laws a heads-up.

As they talked, they entered the city gates and soon arrived near the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office. Zhao Jing and Chen Wanqing got off the carriage and walked into Xinghua Alley, while Xu Su Ying and Chen Song headed toward Orchid Alley.

Upon arriving home, Chen Wanqing immediately went to find Mrs. Zhao to tell her about the trip to Capital City. Afterward, she returned to her room to pack.

There actually weren’t many items to bring, but they took up a massive amount of space. For instance, since the weather was growing colder by the day, they needed to prepare several sets of thick clothes and a few heavy quilts. That alone took up a lot of room, but what took up even more space were Zhao Jing’s books. His collection filled an entire large trunk.

Among them were some of the books granted to him by His Majesty, along with others given to him by Mr. Sheng and Uncle Xu. Even his cousin, Xu Yanlin, had promised to give him some materials useful for the Imperial Examination once he arrived in Capital City. On top of all that, there was the charcoal, the pots, bowls, pans, and the stove...

As Chen Wanqing was packing, her mother sent a servant over.

"Just bring your clothes, shoes, socks, and the writing materials you’ll need," the maid said. "There’s no need to prepare anything else. Uncle Xu has already bought everything."

"We don’t even need to prepare dry rations?"

"It’s all been arranged. You only need to bring the essential items that you and your husband must use."

Chen Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief, the tension completely fading from her face.

The next day, they visited the Sheng family to bid farewell to Mrs. Sheng and Sheng Saya. Leaving in the afternoon, the mother and daughter took a deliberate detour to a local specialty shop in the city to buy some souvenirs before heading home.

They had originally planned to buy some gifts for the Xu family relatives as meeting presents, but upon second thought, they decided against it. They didn’t even know what their relatives liked. Moreover, Xinghuai Prefecture was a rather remote place. Anything from here would likely be considered hopelessly outdated in Capital City, and their relatives probably wouldn’t appreciate it anyway. In the end, they decided to just make a set of clothes and two headbands for the elderly parents. As for the rest of the family, they would make up for it after the formal reunion.

Traveling a long distance was truly no easy feat. Now that the packing was done, they began to worry about whether the journey would be safe and if the family reunion would go smoothly. Xu Su Ying was especially prone to overthinking. Unsurprisingly, she suffered from insomnia the night before their departure.

When it was time to set off, Xu Shiling came to pick them up. Seeing the dark circles under his sister’s eyes, he couldn’t help but tease her. "You’ve always been so lawless. When you bet your mansion on a polo match against Princess Kangning, I didn’t see you worry even a bit. Now you’re stressing over whether a family reunion will go smoothly? Look at you."

Noticing that his niece looked even more haggard than his sister, Xu Shiling asked, "What’s wrong? Are you afraid the journey won’t be safe? Don’t worry. I’ve brought plenty of men. I won’t let anything happen to you."

Chen Wanqing nodded, offering no explanation.

She wasn’t worried about the safety of the trip; she was worried because she had a pregnancy dream the night before. In the dream, a lively little fish swam about freely, spitting bubbles from its mouth: GLUB GLUB GLUB. She had been overjoyed to see it and reached out to play with it. But instead, the little fish suddenly charged right into her belly while calling out, "Mother!"

Having grown up in a village, Chen Wanqing had listened to countless aunts and older women sit under the trees, recounting the stories of how they conceived in their youth. Some dreamed of reaching out to pick peaches, while others dreamed of wrangling horses in the wild. Some even dreamed of the flowers they planted coming into bloom. A month later, without fail, they would discover that they were pregnant.

If all went as expected, she was probably pregnant too.

However, it was still too early—less than ten days had passed. Even if she had a doctor check her pulse, they wouldn’t be able to detect anything. She wondered if traveling at a time like this would pose any danger to the baby.

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