Last October, Gan Qiongying was overwhelmed with worry because of Gan Lin's situation and frequently sought comfort from Li Hua. As husband and wife, it was perfectly normal for them to comfort each other physically.

One day, Gan Qiongying... forgot to take her medicine!

It wasn't that the medicine was fake, but rather that she forgot for a day, and after that, the two of them had marital relations again, so Gan Qiongying took it again.

She took it several more times afterward. Her pregnancy was unstable before, probably because of the bumpy ride and the fact that she had taken birth control pills during her pregnancy.

Gan Qiongying was extremely worried that the baby in her womb might not be healthy, so she got up in the middle of the night and went to the next room to wake Xiao Qiansong up so she could take his pulse.

There is no such thing as 4D imaging of a fetus in this world. There is no way to see what the baby in the womb is like. The only way to confirm whether the baby is healthy is by taking its pulse.

Xiao Qiansong thought Gan Qiongying was feeling unwell, and he suddenly woke up, jumping off the kang (a heated brick bed) to the ground. He quickly helped Gan Qiongying sit on the edge of the kang and reached out to take her pulse.

Her pulse remained steady and strong. The medicinal diet that Gan Lin had been researching during this time had made Gan Qiongying's face rosy and fair. If it weren't for her particularly large belly, she would really look like a pretty nun who wasn't exactly respectable.

"How is it? How are the children? Are they healthy? Are their limbs intact? I had to take medication to stop getting pregnant so many times before..."

Xiao Qiansong was so frightened that his pulse almost stopped. Hearing Gan Qiongying say this, he sighed helplessly and said, "Grandma, it's alright. The children are all healthy. The medicinal diet you've been taking has been very effective in nourishing your body. Your constitution is even several times better than when you escaped from the capital."

Gan Qiongying was slightly relieved upon hearing this, while Gan Lin, who had heard the commotion, ran over from the next room, wearing only his underpants and undershirt, bursting in with a chill and his eyes filled with terror.

"Sister, what's wrong with you!" Gan Lin seemed to be trapped in a nightmare. Every day, besides going down the mountain to help take care of the disaster victims, she would come back and cook all kinds of medicinal dishes for Gan Qiongying.

His eyes were glued to Gan Qiongying's stomach and face, as if afraid that if he lost focus for even a moment, his beloved older sister would be gone.

Especially after learning about childbirth from medical books, he realized how dangerous childbirth was, and from then on, he acted like a somewhat abnormal person every day.

He would ask Gan Qiongying "How are you?" several times a day.

When Gan Qiongying saw his expression, she immediately got up, grabbed his hand, and rubbed it frantically. Gan Lin's hand became a little stiff, and he was so frightened that he froze.

After rubbing Gan Lin's hands, Gan Qiongying rubbed his back, quickly explaining, "I just suddenly remembered that I took a lot of medicine after I got pregnant, so I came to have Xiao Qiansong take my pulse... Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I don't feel uncomfortable anywhere."

Gan Lin finally calmed down, but her eyes still showed some signs of panic.

When he was providing relief to disaster victims at the foot of the mountain, there was a woman who was seven or eight months pregnant when she suddenly went into labor. In addition, the baby was in an abnormal position and she could not hold on during childbirth, resulting in the death of both mother and child.

The blood soaked through the cotton quilts. Gan Lin was so frightened that he fell to the ground, his eyes bloodshot, which terrified the shadow guards who had gone with him.

Gan Qiongying comforted Gan Lin, then confirmed with Xiao Qiansong that the child was indeed alright, and showed Xiao Qiansong the remaining pill.

Xiao Qiansong assured them that everything would be alright and repeatedly assured them before finally sending the siblings back to their bed.

Gan Lin dared not return to his own room, so Gan Qiongying called him to her side, and the two of them slept side by side on two quilts.

By this time, it was already May, wildflowers were in full bloom, the weather was warming up, and the snow on the mountains was beginning to melt.

Although Kagehachi and Mangetsu had changed their appearances, they were still extremely cautious as they made their way in this direction, taking detours every so often to make sure no one was following them before continuing.

Gan Qiongying got up very late the next morning. She was lying in bed feeling very lazy and didn't want to move. Gan Lin brought her food to her side.

“Sister, if you’re feeling lazy today, don’t get up. I’ll bring you dinner like this again.” Gan Lin said, “The snow is starting to melt, and some disaster victims need to go down the mountain to rebuild their houses. I need to take my shadow guards to some distant towns to help Jishi Temple bring over some disaster relief grain, which was donated by the Northwest Army.”

"The Northwest Army... isn't that the Chen Family Army from Chen Wa's family?"

Gan Lin nodded.

"The imperial court has always struggled to maintain its army, but the Chen family army is truly formidable. Even in this time of war and chaos, they still have surplus grain to donate to the people."

“Go ahead, but make sure you’re well covered up,” Gan Qiongying said. “I never imagined you’d enjoy doing this kind of thing.”

She sat up, took Gan Lin's hand, and exclaimed, "Your hands are covered in calluses from all the work you've been doing lately. I always thought you were too delicate and wouldn't be used to hard work, but I didn't expect... you're even more used to it than I am."

“It’s only recently that I feel like I’m alive,” Gan Lin said. “Before, I was locked up in the palace, and I was of no use except for reading the memorials that the regent had already reviewed and approved, and the useless flattering memorials from the ministers.”

"I often feel that I'd rather be dead than alive."

Gan Lin laughed as he said this, and Gan Qiongying pinched him, and they both laughed.

In just one short winter, the peaceful years flowed like a gentle river, and all their wounds had completely healed.

They can now speak of life and death in such a joking tone, topics they used to be so taboo about.

"Anyway, we're already like this now, so you can do whatever you like from now on. Your older sister will fully support you."

Gan Lin put his arm around Gan Qiongying's shoulder and said, "I used to think that my father was cruel, that he would not allow my mother to live such a short life. Many servants told me that my mother was given death by my father."

“I used to complain about my fate, but meeting my elder sister in the palace was the best gift God gave me.”

"Stop being so sentimental," Gan Qiongying said, patting her belly. "Once the baby is born, you can help me take care of it."

"No problem!" Gan Lin said with a smile. "I'm already learning how to take care of children, and I've already found a wet nurse for my sister!"

"Among the disaster victims are two women, one of whom has just given birth and the other has given birth four or five months ago."

“Both of them have excellent breast milk and are kind people. When my sister gives birth, I will give them some money so they can come and take care of her.”

“You’re quite a dutiful uncle,” Gan Qiongying said, pinching Gan Lin’s cheek. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”