As usual, Xiaoxiao finished dinner and returned to her room. Lately, her mood hadn’t been great, and she ate less than before. She felt like Yang Ming had stood her up; he didn’t show up for several days at noon, and she was a bit upset.
She had just entered her room when she heard her second sister-in-law’s voice, "Third sister-in-law, can I come in?"
"Come in." What could second sister-in-law want at this late hour?
To her surprise, not only did her second sister-in-law enter, but her eldest sister-in-law was with her.
"Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, what’s the matter?" Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled.
Second sister-in-law nudged the eldest one with her elbow, "You ask her."
The eldest sister-in-law, not usually one to talk much, but being the boss among them, it was her place to ask. "Third sister-in-law, we’ve noticed you’ve been distracted these past few days, and you’re not eating much. We came to see if something was wrong."
"..." Was she really that obvious?
"Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, thank you for your concern, I’m fine."
"You can stop pretending, you’ve been quite abnormal lately!" Second sister-in-law obviously didn’t believe her, bluntly speaking her mind.
"..." How was she abnormal?
"Oh dear, you haven’t been eating much these days, and you always return to your room early. Could it be that you’re expecting? Too embarrassed to say?" Second sister-in-law looked like she suddenly understood everything.
"..." Second sister-in-law, this again? Can’t you think of anything else? Why does everything have to be about what might be in her stomach?
"Second sister-in-law, I’m not."
"Not what, it’s been a good while since your husband came back, maybe you are, considering the warmth you two share every night!"
"..." Xiaoxiao was speechless once more, how could second sister-in-law be so shy about wearing a bra and panties, yet talk about this as if it were everyday gossip.
Besides, what was second sister-in-law talking about? There was no warmth between her and Yang Ming; it had always been cold.
"No, we must see the doctor first thing in the morning, can’t have a mix-up like last time. I’ll make your second brother go to bed early so we can go to the doctor early."
Second sister-in-law said as she headed for the door. This was a big deal and she needed to take it seriously, especially since she made a mistake last time.
Xiaoxiao immediately stopped her, "Second sister-in-law, there’s no need to go, I’m truly not pregnant."
"You’re not a doctor, how would you know." Second sister-in-law didn’t listen at all and continued to the door, struggling to get away.
In her urgency, Xiaoxiao blurted out, "We haven’t consummated the marriage, it’s impossible for me to be!"
Second sister-in-law froze, not consummated? Then what had they been doing in their room these days? Could it be that her husband was impotent and had never succeeded? She looked at Xiaoxiao differently now, feeling sorry for her. It hadn’t been easy for her to marry a scholar, and yet he was lacking in that area.
"Third sister-in-law, you..." The eldest sister-in-law found it strange, "You haven’t consummated the marriage? But when they said you were pregnant, why didn’t you deny it?"
"..." How was she supposed to answer? How would she explain this lie? "I was too young, I didn’t really understand these things. I thought you could get pregnant just by being married, even if you hadn’t consummated it, hehe."
Xiaoxiao had a foolish smile on her face and cursed herself countless times inside. Why bring up the consummation when going to the doctor would’ve been enough!
"..." Both the eldest and second sister-in-law didn’t know what to say, wondering why she hadn’t been better educated about such matters before getting married.
"Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, it’s enough that just the two of you know about this. Please don’t tell anyone else, especially not our parents."
Xiaoxiao felt helpless; after admitting they hadn’t consummated the marriage, she couldn’t turn the lie around and could only ask them to keep it a secret.
Both sisters-in-law nodded, thinking that they definitely couldn’t tell the old folks about their brother’s impotence.