Chapter 75 [VIP]

Chen Qingyan's exoneration was not publicized, and life continued as peacefully and simply as before.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, they returned to the village. Before leaving, Wang Ying called Uncle Chen over and said that there was still a month until the autumn harvest. They should take this time to have some people build five more houses on the empty land in the backyard.

When Wang Ying built the villa, she didn't think too much about it. She only left three master bedrooms, a living room, and a study, plus side rooms and a rear room for the servants. It was more than enough for the family, but after Old Master Liang and Qing Huai came, there was no room for them.

Once it's finished, I can take my mother-in-law and sister back for a short stay. Otherwise, if I take Yuanbao to the village alone, Li will definitely worry and might even get sick from missing her grandson every day.

After receiving the instructions, Uncle Chen went back and began recruiting people. At this time, most of the men were idle, but when they heard that the landlord was going to build a house again, they all came to sign up. Some even didn't ask for money and just came to help.

With previous experience, the new house was built quickly, and it was almost finished in less than a month. There were four bedrooms in the back, so that even if Aunt San and Lin Qiu came back, they would have enough room to stay.

On the sixth day of the tenth month, news came from the county town that Lin Qiusheng had given birth to a son.

*

In the Cao family's new house, Chen Rong was cooking chicken soup in the kitchen.

The chicken is an old hen, which is the most nutritious for making soup. Half a ginseng root was also added, which Cao Kun had obtained a few years ago but had never been willing to use. It was just the right amount to nourish Lin Qiu's body.

In the east room, Lin Qiu lay on the bed, the little one beside him sleeping soundly.

Cao Kun had just returned from outside. He didn't dare to hold the child directly when he entered the house. He took off his coat first to warm himself up before picking up the child and showing him affection.

How's the wheat today?

Lin Qiu's face was a little pale as she said, "I'm fine, I just drank some milk."

"Take good care of yourself these next few days. Let your mother and the others look after the child."

"Um."

Lin Qiu's childbirth was quite dangerous. It was her first pregnancy and she was slender. Although her pelvic bones had opened, she couldn't give birth.

However, there were professional midwives in the county town, so Cao Kun specially spent ten taels of silver to hire two midwives from wealthy families to help with the delivery.

Although she was born, Lin Qiu suffered a lot, lost a lot of blood and was very weak. Cao's mother and Chen Rong took turns taking care of her these past few days.

"I've sent a message to my cousins; they should be able to come over when the baby turns one month old."

Perhaps Cao Kun wasn't holding her comfortably, because the baby frowned and started whimpering.

Lin Qiu sat up, leaning against the pillows, and reached out to take the child. Seeing the red mole between his eyebrows, she couldn't help but sigh. She hadn't expected to give birth to a boy...

Chen Rong's words were etched into his heart. Every time he held the child, he was filled with conflicting emotions, feeling both love and disgust. He was exhausted and mentally drained.

In modern terms, Lin Qiu would be considered to have postpartum depression, but most people in ancient times would not understand this.

Although Cao Kun noticed that Lin Qiu's mood was a bit off, he was a man and not very perceptive. He had to go out to manage the shop every day, and at most he could help coax the children and take care of the children when he came back at night. No matter how much his husband did, he couldn't do much else.

Chen Rong and Cao's mother were mostly focused on the child, and they both thought that Lin Qiu was depressed because she was physically weak and mentally exhausted after giving birth.

Only Lin Sui noticed her brother's unusual behavior and, when no one was around, pulled Lin Qiu aside for a talk, "Brother, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Lin Qiu said with a forced, relaxed smile.

Lin Sui shook her head. "You must be hiding something. We grew up together, you can't keep anything from me."

"Don't overthink it, I'm fine..."

Lin Sui grabbed his hand, "Brother, I have no other relatives, only you and Mother. If something happens to you, how are we supposed to live?!"

Lin Qiu paused for a moment and then suddenly said, "Do you think that if I only have boys in the future, will Cao Kun do what Father did and go out to find other men to have children with?"

"What are you saying? Brother isn't that kind of person!"

Lin Qiu leaned against the headboard, looking somewhat dazed. "Dad wasn't like this at first..."

Although Lin Changbin was cold to them, he had previously been a decent person. Who would have thought he would do such a petty and despicable thing?

Lin Sui knew that her older brother was stuck in a rut, so she had no choice but to tell her mother about it.

Upon hearing this, Chen Rong was filled with regret. "It's all my fault. I told him about having a boy before, and he probably took it to heart."

Cao's mother happened to be nearby. After hearing this, she slapped her thigh anxiously, "What is this child thinking? Our Cao family has no throne to inherit, so we must have a son."

“Mother-in-law…” Chen Rong was surprised to hear this. When she got married, her mother-in-law talked about her grandson every day. She didn’t expect that Qiu’er’s mother-in-law didn’t care about these things at all.

"I'll go talk to him!"

Cao's mother was a straightforward person who couldn't keep her thoughts to herself, so she went straight into her son-in-law's room.

Lin Qiu was secretly shedding tears when she entered the house. When she saw her mother-in-law, she quickly turned her head and wiped her face dry. "Mother, you've come."

"Qiu'er, I have a few words to say to you."

Lin Qiu suppressed his emotions and forced a smile, saying, "Yes, please go ahead."

Cao's mother moved a stool over and sat down next to him, saying, "To be honest, I didn't agree to your marriage with Cao Kun at first, but Kun'er was determined to be with you, so I couldn't do anything about it."

Lin Qiuxin lifted it up, her hand gripping the handkerchief tightening.

“Since you entered the family, your kindness to Cao Kun has been evident to everyone. Compared to other husbands, you are not only literate but also know how to run a shop, making you more capable than them. The neighbors in the old courtyard all praise our Cao Kun for marrying a good husband.”

Lin Qiu looked puzzled, wondering why his mother-in-law was suddenly telling him all this.

"You worked yourself to the bone to give birth to Xiaomai for us. Whether it's a boy or a girl, your mother loves you from the bottom of her heart. Our family is different from others. Cao Kun has no brothers or sisters, only me, his mother. The addition of a new member to the family is a great joy!"

“Mother…” Lin Qiu’s nose tingled and she couldn’t help but shed tears.

Cao's mother's eyes also reddened. She took Lin Qiu's hand and patted it, saying, "Good child, don't think such things. I've heard about your father's situation. Cao Kun is definitely not that kind of person. If he dares to do anything to betray you, I'll be the first to stop him!"

"Over the years, quite a few girls have tried to woo Cao Kun, but he has never paid any attention to them. I can't guarantee anything else, but you can rest assured about his character."

"Um."

"Even if there are no boys in the future, it's fine. So what if the Cao family line ends? What does it have to do with us?"

Cao's father died early, and the couple's relationship was not deep. If Cao's mother hadn't been so reluctant to leave her son alone, she would have remarried long ago. She had finally raised her child with great difficulty, and she had no intention of having any children to carry on the family line.

Lin Qiu was greatly relieved by her mother-in-law's words, and the pressure in her heart was instantly reduced. She even started to enjoy taking care of the child.

He hadn't had a good look at his child before, but now, upon closer inspection, he noticed that the child's nose and mouth resembled Cao Kun's, while the eyebrows and eyes didn't look like his own but rather resembled Sui'er's. The child was extremely cute.

He couldn't help but hug her and apologize softly, "It's all my fault, I've neglected you these past few days."

As if sensing something, the little child raised his hand and touched Lin Qiu's face, their soft skin touching.

At this moment, Lin Qiu's inner knot was completely untied, and he no longer dwelled on those things. This was his own child, and he would raise him well regardless of whether others liked him or not.

*

On the second day of the eleventh lunar month, Chen Qingyan and Wang Ying came to the county town to attend their nephew's one-month celebration.

The weather this year has been relatively normal. It started snowing as soon as November began, and the temperature dropped day by day.

Wang Ying didn't dare to take the child out in such cold weather, so she simply left the child at home for her mother-in-law and sister to look after.

After a bumpy ride to the county town, Cao Kun was already waiting to pick them up. He came up to greet the Chen family's carriage from a distance.

"Uncle Chen!"

"Oh, son-in-law."

Cao Kun jumped onto the carriage and sat in the front, saying, "Let's go home. Mother and Lin Qiu have been waiting for you for several days."

The carriage headed straight for the new courtyard. As soon as it entered, Chen Rong and Lin Sui came out to greet them. "Qingyan, Aying, you've finally arrived!"

Wang Ying jumped off the carriage road: "I heard that Qiu Di had a handsome son. Take me to see him quickly."

Chen Rong led Wang Ying into the bedroom, while Cao Kun led Chen Qingyan to the guest room for a chat. He was a very eloquent person and never made anyone feel neglected.

In the east room, Lin Qiu was holding her child and breastfeeding. The baby was also drinking goat's milk. Most boys have difficulty producing milk, and poor families usually feed their children with porridge. Only wealthy families can afford wet nurses or goat's milk.

Hearing the car outside, I knew it must be people from my hometown arriving, and I was instantly overjoyed.

"Sister-in-law, you're here!"

"Quickly, let me see our handsome boy."

Lin Qiu handed the child to him, and Wang Ying skillfully held him in her arms and gently bounced him around. "Hey, so light and nimble."

Chen Rong said, "He weighed only 5.8 pounds at birth, but he has gained a lot in the past month and now weighs 9 pounds."

“Yuanbao weighs 20 pounds now. Holding him in my arms every day feels like holding a small weight, and it makes my arms hurt.”

Chen Rong couldn't help but laugh when she thought of Yuanbao: "That chubby kid is so adorable, how many teeth does he have yet?"

"Eight pieces, four on the top and four on the bottom. He's really good at eating now; he can eat half a steamed bun by himself."

“Even a kid can eat that much. Qingyan was about the same when he was a kid.”

Wang Ying looked down and teased the child in her arms, saying, "This baby is so handsome, have you named him yet?"

“He was born. His formal name was Cao Yuliu, and his nickname was Maizi.”

"Wheat, that sounds pretty nice, little wheat~"

Lin Qiu smiled and patted her son's hair. "Didn't your aunt come along?"

"No, your aunt is tied to her child. Wherever Yuanbao is, she goes too. Your cousin and I don't dare bring Yuanbao over such a long distance, so she simply stays at home with her grandson."

Chen Rong couldn't help but laugh, "Sister-in-law, you've got something to do this time."

After chatting for a while, Cao Kun called everyone out to eat, having pre-ordered food from a restaurant.

Lin Qiu said, "You guys go ahead, I can't eat salty or spicy food right now, I'll stay home and take care of the kids."

Chen Rong said, "I won't go either; I'll stay home with you."

"No need, Sister-in-law Sun is here. Your cousin and sister-in-law have come all this way, you should have a meal with them."

The restaurant was the same one we booked for our wedding last time. The food was pretty good, and the group sat down in a private room on the second floor.

Chen Qingyan took the initiative to speak, "There are still a few days until the full moon celebration. Is everything arranged?"

Cao Kun nodded, "It's all arranged. Our family is small, and A Qiu doesn't have many relatives either. Only some of my friends are coming, so we've prepared five tables of food at home."

"If you need any help these next few days, just let me know."

"Alright, with you saying so, cousin, I won't stand on ceremony."

After finishing their meal, Wang Ying remembered something: "I forgot to tell you some good news, Qingyan has been exonerated!"

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