Afu, mindful of the child in her belly, dared not lay hands directly, but she warned loudly from the side.
"Fighting in private is a grave offense. Let go of each other! If the master returns and sees—"
Before Afu could finish, Liu Ning shoved her. She lost her footing and fell to the ground. Though she instinctively protected her belly, she was in considerable pain.
Liu Ning had just been forcefully pulled away from Ada by Wang Tian, but his eyes were bloodshot. Seeing Afu speaking nearby, he pushed Afu with all his might as if driven mad.
He had long found Afu displeasing, relying on the master's trust to act arrogantly. Now, pregnant, she had already disgraced the master, yet the master still favored her so!
And Ada, merely by catching a petty thief, had earned the master's appreciation. Why couldn't he?
Wang Tian was greatly alarmed by this turn of events. Forgetting about Ada, whom he had just rescued, he rushed to Afu's side to protect her.
"Quick, find a doctor! Hurry!"
A circle of onlookers stood at a distance. Hearing Wang Tian's shout, some wanted to fetch a doctor, but they noticed no one else moving. Everyone hesitated. After all, Wang Tian was not from their household; why should they obey his command?
"What are you all doing! A Yan, go invite the nearest doctor!"
Ada stood up, subdued Liu Ning, and handed him over to a carriage woman who had just entered from the outer gate. He then instructed the few carriage women who followed to escort the troublemakers to the woodshed. Due to physiological differences, women generally possessed greater strength than men.
"You, quickly go to the medical hall and invite the master and the main wife back," Ada then instructed the remaining carriage woman, turning around. Afu absolutely must not be harmed.
Afu lay on the ground, unable to get up, her stomach aching fiercely, yet she still worried about Ada's injuries.
"Are you alright?" Afu held Ada's hand, her brow furrowed as she looked at the wounds on his face and asked.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Ada said, his eyes filled with tears, his voice trembling.
"How are you? Can you stand up?"
Afu was now sitting on the ground, leaning in Wang Tian's embrace, her hands tightly covering her stomach, gasping in pain.
The nearby doctor was quickly found by A Yan. By then, Afu could already move slowly from the courtyard to the room on her own, and her abdominal pain had significantly lessened.
"This young gentleman has suffered a fright to his pregnancy, but he is not seriously harmed. It is merely excessive shock. A few doses of fetal-calming medicine will suffice."
"Thank you, doctor." Ada, seeing that Afu was indeed much better than before, felt relieved and personally escorted the doctor out.
At the entrance, they encountered Lu Yu and Shen Xuan, who had rushed back. They quickly alighted from the carriage. Upon seeing the injuries on Ada's face, Shen Xuan was startled, thinking Afu had truly suffered some harm. He grabbed Ada's hand and asked with a tremble,
"How is Afu?"
"Main wife, Afu is fine. We just had the doctor in. He said it was a fright to the pregnancy and excessive shock." Ada first calmed Shen Xuan's emotions before following the two into Afu's room.
"Afu, how are you?" Shen Xuan hurried forward, his brow furrowed at Afu's pale complexion, and asked with concern.
"Young master, I am fine. The child is well."
"That's good, that's good." Hearing Afu's voice and seeing him lying on the bed, unharmed, Shen Xuan let out a long sigh of relief. He moved aside, allowing Lu Yu to examine Afu's pulse first.
Lu Yu's conclusion was the same as the other doctor's. "Indeed, it is a fright to the pregnancy, but it is not a major issue. I will add a few more herbs to the fetal-calming medicine recently."
"The main reason is the shock. Afu has been too tense mentally lately, and today's severe fright caused unbearable abdominal pain."
"Do you often experience abdominal pain?" Lu Yu turned to ask Afu.
"Yes, I often have abdominal pain, which is why I am more attentive," Afu nodded.
"You don't need to be so tense. I have examined your physical condition, and it is quite good, with no problems at all. The child is not as fragile as you imagine. Being overly worried and tense is actually detrimental."
"Alright, I understand. Thank you, master." Afu nodded again, this time truly taking it to heart.
"You should rest well. Uncle Wang, take good care of Afu."
Shen Xuan did not linger. Ada also followed him out, leaving only Wang Tian and Afu in the room.
"Are you alright?" Afu saw that Wang Tian had been kicked in the back by Liu Ning when he came to protect him. He imagined it must have been a heavy blow.
"Daddy is fine, you don't need to worry," Wang Tian shook his head and reached out to pull up the quilt on Afu, covering him properly.
In the past half-month, as Wang Tian tried to be good to Afu, had Afu not also tried to be good to Wang Tian?
However, Afu had barely felt Wang Tian's care since birth and did not know how other fathers and sons interacted. Now, he could only try to care for him.
After leaving the room, Lu Yu did not stay long. There were still some matters at the medical hall that required her attention. She believed Shen Xuan could handle these internal family affairs.
Shen Xuan arrived at the main hall, and Ada immediately knelt to confess his fault. "It is my fault. If I hadn't fought with them, Afu would not have been injured."
"Your fault?" Shen Xuan repeated, his tone displeased. "Ada, I know you are not one to seek trouble. What exactly caused you to fight?"
Shen Xuan did not rush to question everyone together but chose to ask Ada first because he trusted Ada and believed he would not lie to him.
"Because... because they were gossiping about Afu in private."
"Gossiping about what?"
"They were gossiping about Afu's relationship with Miss Gu, saying that Afu... wanted to marry Miss Gu, so..."
Although the words were hesitant, Shen Xuan understood. He suppressed his anger and said coldly, "How long has this been going on?"
"Um... for nearly ten days." Ada answered every question without hesitation. He had never seen the master so angry and dared not be vague.
"Nearly ten days? And I didn't know anything about it for nearly ten days!" Shen Xuan's face turned ashen with anger. He slammed his hand on the table, his palm going numb from the impact.
"It is my fault. I... I shouldn't have concealed it from you." Ada truly regretted it. If he had told the master earlier, this incident would not have happened today.
Ada knelt on the cold ground, almost drowning in self-reproach. "I am willing to accept punishment."
Shen Xuan did not let him rise, nor did he comfort him. This matter indeed deserved punishment, but, alas...
"Young master, it is not Ada's fault. I begged him not to tell you." Afu appeared at the doorway at the opportune moment. Afu knew what Shen Xuan intended to do from the moment Shen Xuan took Ada away.
Afu was still pale from the shock, and he walked over, accompanied by Wang Tian.
"Why have you come here?" Shen Xuan's brow furrowed. He was still very weak.
"Young master, please don't punish Ada. I begged him," Afu remained firm in his statement. He had come to plead on Ada's behalf.
"I did not want these rumors to dirty your ears, young master."