"Drink your medicine~" Steward Li said indifferently.
He then placed the jade bowl in his hand on the table.
"Okay... uh, why is there only half a bowl today?" Qiao'er looked at the jade bowl and noticed that there was only half the amount of medicinal soup as before.
"Drink your medicine!" Steward Li frowned slightly and repeated indifferently.
Qiao'er bit her lip upon hearing this, making no move.
"Hm?" Steward Li grunted, a look of displeasure on his face.
"Steward Li, the Lu Family rules clearly state that any pregnant woman carrying the Lu Family Bloodline, from the day of discovery, must be ensured one bowl of prenatal medicine daily until childbirth," Qiao'er said, emboldened.
"Hehe~" Steward Li sneered.
"You certainly remember clearly."
"Didn't I bring you the medicine? It's you who doesn't want to drink it."
Qiao'er replied, "There's only half a bowl."
"What did you say?" A fierce glint flashed in Steward Li's eyes.
Qiao'er gritted her teeth. Although she was very scared, thinking of the fetus in her womb that still needed the nourishment of prenatal medicine, she still spoke up: "Steward Li, you only brought me half a bowl of prenatal medicine today, I won't drink it!"
Steward Li looked at Qiao'er, but unexpectedly, Qiao'er showed no weakness.
"Hehe, very good. You really think that just because you're carrying the Lu Family's seed, you can shed your lowly maid status and dare to speak to me like that." Steward Li's eyes were sinister.
Qiao'er's heart trembled upon hearing this. She remembered Steward Li's cruel methods and couldn't help but feel afraid, but then she thought of the child in her belly and mustered her courage.
"Steward Li, I just want what my child deserves!" Qiao'er said.
"Deserves?" Steward Li sneered.
"I've worked in the Lu Family for over forty years, serving so many people. I know better than any doctor which child in a belly has potential."
"You've been pregnant for almost ten months now, drinking a bowl of prenatal medicine daily, but your body hasn't changed at all."
"This means the child in your womb hasn't inherited the Lu Family's Blazing Red Bloodline at all."
"Such a mundane child will be born in at most ten months."
"You only have a few days left until he is born. Drinking more prenatal medicine would be a waste. It's better to let me handle the prenatal medicine, and I will remember you."
"Otherwise, you should know what fate awaits those who give birth to ordinary children like you."
Listening to Butler Li, Qiao'er couldn't help but bite her lip. She knew that Butler Li was largely correct.
She also knew that by following Butler Li's arrangement and letting him remember this favor, her future life would be a bit easier. Conversely, if she angered him, the outcome would be counterproductive.
However, as a mother, she didn't care about herself, but she couldn't bear for her child to suffer any disadvantage.
"No! I want the full amount of prenatal medicine!" Qiao'er gritted her teeth.
Steward Li's expression darkened upon hearing this.
"Are you going to violate the Lu Family rules?!" Qiao'er cried out, seeing the murderous intent in his eyes.
Steward Li chuckled twice, took out a jade bottle from his embrace, opened the stopper, and poured the medicinal soup into the bowl, making up a full bowl's worth.
"Drink it~" Steward Li smiled.
His smile was devoid of kindness, full of malice.
But Qiao'er was not afraid. As long as the child hadn't been born, she was absolutely safe.
She picked up the bowl and drank it in one gulp.
Steward Li didn't look at her again. He took the empty bowl and turned to leave the room.
After he left, Qiao'er let out a long sigh of relief, leaning weakly on the table, reaching out to caress her belly.
"Child, your mother is incompetent. This is all I can do. I only hope you can grow up healthy in the future..."
Qiao'er murmured unconsciously.
She knew offending Steward Li would not end well, but she had no regrets.
Inside her womb.
Lu Yun heard what had just happened and fell silent.
"Since I have Rebirth for a second life, I should accept my new identity. From now on, you are my mother, and I will not let you suffer any grievances," he thought to himself.
Then he looked at the System before him.
As the familiar warm current entered his body, the System interface floated again.
Lu Yun didn't hesitate and added the newly gained points to his Bloodline.
He had waited this long just for today.
However, after adding the points, the System suddenly returned to calm, as if it had never appeared.
"Hm? Is it a bug?"
Before Lu Yun could complain, a scorching sensation suddenly surged through his body.
It was as if a ball of flame was burning inside his body, incinerating everything to ashes.
"Ah!" Lu Yun only felt intense pain, and then his body's protective mechanism triggered, causing him to faint.
Outside, Qiao'er had the same feeling, as if the fetus in her womb was burning. Before she could even cry for help, she too fainted the next moment.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yun woke up.
He quickly checked his body and found nothing unusual.
"Hm? Was it an illusion?"
He thought his previous sensation of being in flames was an illusion.
"No, my hands seem to have changed a bit!"
His hands seemed to have grown a size, and there appeared to be some patterns on them, though he couldn't see them clearly.
"Let's check the System."
He then immediately opened the System.
【Name: Lu Yun】
【Realm: None】
【Bloodline: Blazing Red (Yellow Rank Low Grade)】
【Talent: None】
【Martial Arts: None】
【Points: 0】
"Blazing Red? Is this the powerful Bloodline of the Lu Family? Does this mean I've activated it?" Lu Yun was a bit confused, as he didn't feel any different.
If he had to pick out some differences, perhaps his body was a bit warmer than before?
"But why is it only Yellow Rank Low Grade? Didn't mother say the family head was Yellow Rank High Grade?"
Bloodlines are divided from high to low into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow Ranks, with each Rank having High, Middle, and Low Grades. The difference between each Rank is immense.
"Can it still be upgraded?" Lu Yun looked at the '+' button after the Bloodline entry, lost in thought.
However, with no points currently, he couldn't verify his idea.
Just then, a soft grunt came from outside. Lu Yun knew his mother had woken up.
Outside, in the room.
Qiao'er opened her eyes in confusion.
She then quickly checked her body, starting with her abdomen.
Only after realizing her body was fine did she relax.
"What's going on? Was what I just felt an illusion?" Qiao'er was puzzled but didn't think much of it.
But when she inadvertently looked at a mirror nearby, she noticed something unusual.
"Hm? Why has my hair turned red?" Qiao'er looked at a strand of hair behind her ear in confusion.
This strand of hair was a different color from her other black hair, and it felt a bit coarse.
If she didn't look closely, she wouldn't have noticed this red hair.
After some thought, Qiao'er's expression suddenly changed as she remembered a saying, and she reached out to caress her belly.
"Child, have you Awaken the Lu Family Bloodline?!" Her eyes held both surprise and doubt.
She wasn't sure if it was true, after all, it was just something an old maid in the Lu Family had casually mentioned once.
She wanted to go out and announce this, but after thinking about it, she sat back down.
"I'll wait until Steward Li comes tomorrow."