Hearing that Hu Feng wanted to keep the woman as a wet nurse, Qi Peiyao petulantly threw the feather fan in her hand to one side.

Hu Chen caught the fan, feigning a thoughtful expression. "Big Brother, why don’t we find a compromise?"

Hearing there was another way, Qi Peiyao sat up excitedly on the chaise lounge.

"What is it? Tell me."

She grabbed Hu Chen’s forearm, her almond-shaped eyes widening considerably.

Hu Feng steadied Qi Peiyao’s arm, almost imperceptibly pulling her hand off Hu Chen’s.

His tone was stern. "I’ve told you a thousand times, be careful with your belly. Look how far along you are, still acting as reckless as a little girl. How are you going to be a mother like this?"

Qi Peiyao turned her head away and muttered under her breath, "All day it’s baby, baby, baby. I’m sick to death of hearing it."

But she didn’t dare argue with him loudly, her expression full of grievance.

Standing to the side, Hu Lie scratched his head. "Big Brother, don’t be so hard on the Madam. She just has a childish personality, she doesn’t mean it."

Qi Peiyao didn’t dare throw a tantrum at the First Chieftain, but with Hu Lie, she showed a completely different face.

"Who are you calling a child? You look down on me too?"

Qi Peiyao snorted coldly. "You certainly didn’t treat me like a child when you were climbing into my bed at night."

Ji Qingwu kept her head down and sucked in another sharp breath.

’Black Wind Village really has the air of a bandit’s den,’ she thought. ’To say something so private out loud, in front of everyone.’

Ji Qingwu peeked up and saw that none of the dozens of men behind them showed any surprise, as if they were completely used to such scenes.

Seeing that none of them had any intention of looking away, she quietly raised her head to watch the show as well.

Hu Lie’s skin was dark, and his thick, bushy beard covered most of his face, so there was no telling if he was blushing.

Hu Lie’s expression was even more aggrieved than Qi Peiyao’s. "Oh, for heaven’s sake! You’re twisting my words again, my lady. I was trying to help you."

But the First Chieftain, Hu Feng, heard the hidden meaning. He narrowed his eyes. "After Yao’er became pregnant, I gave a strict order that she was to sleep alone at night. You’ve been in her room?"

Hu Lie quickly backed away, waving his hands. "The Madam had a craving for pickled vegetable buns in the middle of the night! I kneaded the dough and steamed them fresh. I didn’t go on my own initiative."

Hu Feng said, "And you left right after you delivered the buns?"

Hu Lie fell silent, scuffing the ground with his big feet.

The answer was obvious. He hadn’t left, and he had done something his big brother had expressly forbidden.

Hu Feng’s face darkened. "You broke the rule. As punishment, you’re forbidden from drinking for the next six months!"

The corners of Qi Peiyao’s mouth couldn’t help but lift into a smile, like the cat that got the cream.

She had long since heard from the men that the Second Chieftain had intercepted a caravan and immediately downed three jugs of wine on the spot. She had told him long ago that she hated the smell of alcohol.

Now that Hu Feng had given the order, Hu Lie would definitely have to obey.

Hu Lie retreated to the side, sulking in silence.

Qi Peiyao took the initiative to grab Hu Feng’s hand. "Actually, since I’ve been pregnant, the ones who have entered my room aren’t just—"

Hu Chen coughed and cut in, "The wildcat from the back mountain also got into Yao Yao’s room. That cat had a litter of kittens the day before yesterday. I was thinking of bringing one back for Yao Yao to keep as a pet."

Qi Peiyao’s eyes lit up. This was something she had been begging for for a long time.

If he brought a kitten back for her, she wouldn’t tell Big Brother that he had been in her room too.

Hu Feng’s face grew even darker. "Absolutely not!" he said worriedly. "Wildcats are hard to tame. What if it scratches Yao’er?"

Dejected, Qi Peiyao flopped back onto the chaise lounge like a lifeless rag doll.

Her eyes were vacant. "Do whatever you want. You all just treat me like a house dog. What I want, what I don’t want—you don’t care, you don’t give a damn. All you care about is what happens in bed, mmmph..."

Qi Peiyao spat out the candied date that had been stuffed into her mouth and glared at Hu Chen.

"In this life, I was married to you three brothers. I serve you day and night. I had no choice."

Qi Peiyao wiped away non-existent tears with the back of her hand.

"I hope that in my next life, I’m reborn as a wildcat, free to roam as I please. Then we won’t have to meet again."

Although Ji Qingwu had her suspicions, to have them confirmed at this moment was still quite a shock.

’So it really is one wife and three husbands.’

As soon as she said this, the three chieftains fell silent at the same time.

Hu Lie’s feelings of grievance instantly vanished, replaced by a look of shame. "Madam, don’t say that. It’s all my fault. I know I was wrong, and I’ll change. I’ll listen to whatever you say."

Qi Peiyao snorted through her nose and turned her head away, ignoring him.

Hu Chen stroked his chin, untied the coin purse from his belt, and placed it in her hand.

"Yao Yao, have you set your eyes on some more expensive clothes or jewelry? I’ll buy them all for you, whatever makes you happy."

Qi Peiyao threw the bulging coin purse right back at Hu Chen’s face.

Hu Feng frowned, staring at her face. After a sigh, his expression softened.

"Yao’er, you know that’s not what I meant."

Qi Peiyao rubbed her eyelids until they were red, making herself look even more pitiful.

"I know what the First Chieftain means. The child is what you really want. I’m just a tool for childbirth."

Her words were too harsh, and even Hu Feng couldn’t withstand them. He didn’t want to always be the one to spoil Qi Peiyao’s mood.

He turned his head and asked, "Third Brother, what was that compromise you mentioned earlier?"

Qi Peiyao’s hands stopped moving, and she peeked at Hu Feng through a gap in her fingers.

In just a short time, all three men had been defeated. Ji Qingwu’s impression of the madam changed once again.

’She’s the type who plays the fool to get her way,’ she thought. ’When it comes to acting, she’s even better at it than I am.’

Hu Chen said thoughtfully, "Yao Yao doesn’t like this wet nurse."

Chunhua had already been pulled to her feet, ready to be dragged away at any moment. Her face was filled with terror.

Ji Qingwu could tell the Third Chieftain wasn’t finished, so she watched him, waiting to see what kind of solution he would propose.

Hu Chen said, "But Yao Yao is fond of this midwife."

Hu Feng nodded. "That’s right."

Hu Chen smiled. "Big Brother, I see this midwife isn’t that old. Why don’t we just have her give birth to another one? Then she can nurse our child."

Ji Qingwu: ...

’Is the solution Hu Chen came up with something a normal person would think of?’

The moment she heard him, Qi Peiyao grabbed her feather fan and threw it at Hu Chen.

"You bastard!"

Qi Peiyao raged, "You want to have another child with *her*? What do you see in her? Have you developed a taste for sesame seed flatbread?"

Ji Qingwu: ...

’I really want to throw something at this Third Chieftain, too. And I’d like to smash a sesame seed flatbread in that madam’s face.’

Hu Chen dodged the fan. "Yao Yao, I don’t! It was just a suggestion."

Hu Lie clapped his hands loudly, startling everyone.

"Third Brother’s idea sounds feasible! I heard this midwife is already married. Her husband is locked up in the dungeon. We can just have them make another baby."

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