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Just like when they came, Baozhu and Li Zhi planned to take a carriage to Jiangbei Prefecture first, then switch to a boat, walk from Xiaoshui to Lanjiang, and then change boats again to return to the capital.
On the way to Jiangbei Prefecture, Baozhu was very silent. Li Zhi knew she was not feeling well, so he could only stay by her side quietly without disturbing her.
They traveled to Jiangbei Prefecture, found a market to sell their carriage, and boarded a boat bound for Lanjiang.
After the incident at the Goddess Temple, the Xiaoshui River reappeared. The officials and Taoist priests of Jiangbei Prefecture underwent a major reshuffle, and the newly appointed prefect cracked down on the custom of abandoning female infants in the Jiangbei area with swift and decisive measures.
Upon learning of this news, Li Zhi boarded the ship and had a special conversation with the local boatmen. The boatmen, deeply moved, said that they would never again entertain such thoughts of being struck by lightning and would never do such a terrible thing again.
Even an old boatman struggling to make a living knew right from wrong, which shows that the new prefect was determined to reform the system.
Li Zhi nodded, said goodbye to the boatman, and walked into the cabin.
In the cramped cabin, Baozhu was looking up, leaning against the porthole and gazing outside.
Li Zhi stepped forward and looked outside with her.
Several birds were circling continuously in mid-air.
Baozhu gazed intently at the birds changing their flight patterns in the air, murmuring, "Birds belong to the sky..."
Li Zhi sighed softly and gently pulled her into his arms.
Birds belong to the sky, and fish swim freely in rivers.
The fox, of course, had to stay in the mountains and forests.
When Baozhu turned around, the red fox did not follow; it had already made its choice.
This separation, because of the child in her womb whose birth date was uncertain, and the responsibilities they should bear, made the day of reunion seem far away, which is why Baozhu was so sad.
The Xiaoshui River was bustling with activity after the ship was recaptured, with laughter and cheers constantly coming from outside the portholes.
Hearing joy that wasn't hers, Baozhu nestled in Li Zhi's arms, silently wiping her tears all over his clothes.
Li Zhi pretended not to know.
After hugging for a while, Baozhu finally felt a little better. She slowly raised her head, about to say something, when she suddenly clutched her slightly protruding belly in surprise and exclaimed.
Li Zhi was startled and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Baozhu shook her head, looking dreamy, and said, "She kicked me."
"She kicked you?" Li Zhi took a deep breath, then placed his hand blankly on Baozhu's stomach. "She's not usually like this..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Zhi's eyes widened, and he exclaimed with delight, "She kicked again!"
Baozhu smiled and nodded, then sighed, "I knew it, why is my child always so listless?"
"Does it hurt?" In the chilly spring weather, beads of sweat appeared on Li Zhi's forehead without his noticing, because his daughter was kicking and punching inside her mother's belly, and he could see the small bulge of Baozhu's belly with the naked eye. "She, she seems to be pushing very hard."
Baozhu laughed until tears streamed down her face. She reached out and wiped the sweat from Li Zhi's brow, saying, "It's alright. I'm a demon, I'm not that fragile."
Li Zhi didn't believe it and stammered, "But...but I'm also a monster, and I'm stronger."
After saying that, he touched Baozhu's belly with a serious expression, leaned forward and said in a deep voice, "Don't be so naughty, or you'll hurt your mother."
His daughter, whether she understood or not, rolled over and created a small bulge on Baozhu's belly.
Li Zhi grunted and awkwardly sat back down.
The pearl made Gugu laugh heartily, and all the gloom in his heart vanished.
The journey along the Xiaoshui River took them longer, but once they reached the Lanjiang River and boarded King Jinlin's boat, their return journey became much faster.
When the boat arrived at the dock south of the capital, Xiaoman was already waiting.
Baozhu was pregnant and sent a letter to Granny Rat before the New Year to let all her compatriots and friends know. She also told her friends in advance about their return trip. Xiaoman was working at the dock and naturally took on the task of meeting them.
This bull demon, weighing about 200 pounds, has been making a name for himself at the docks lately. When Baozhu was about to disembark, she heard many laborers around her calling him Brother Xiaoman with great respect.
Xiaoman showed no fear and calmly nodded to anyone who called him "brother," looking very composed, which impressed Baozhu.
She and Li Zhi smiled at each other, and after getting off the boat, they walked hand in hand towards Xiaoman.
Xiao Man, the aloof eldest brother with his arms crossed, rushed over to help Bao Zhu and Li Zhi with their luggage when he saw them. While he was busy, his eyes kept glancing at Bao Zhu, Li Zhi, and Bao Zhu's stomach.
Sneaking around, like a thief.
“Your eyes are bulging out, so if you want to look, then look properly. Look at you acting so strangely,” Baozhu said, both amused and exasperated.
Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief, chuckled, and scratched his head, saying, "I was just wondering what my niece will look like. Will she look like both you and Master Li?"
He stumped Baozhu with his question.
Baozhu turned her head and stared at Li Zhi for a long time, thinking that the man beside her had no bad features, and that it would be nice if her daughter looked like him.
Li Zhi smiled at her gaze, squeezed her hand, and whispered, "If I were like you, it would be the most perfect thing in the world."
Seeing them gazing at each other with affection, Xiaoman smiled broadly, then without saying a word, she hoisted her luggage onto her shoulder and left.
The clueless new parents took a long time to come to their senses and hurriedly caught up amidst the laughter of the surrounding laborers.
After returning to the capital, they could no longer be as leisurely as they were in Qiling. After more than a year away, many new things had happened in the capital, and Baozhu and Li Zhi were so busy that they didn't have time to rest for two months.
At this point, eleven months had passed since Baozhu discovered she was pregnant.
The weather was starting to get warmer, and Baozhu's belly was finally getting bigger. Pei Xuanji would come to check on her every two days, and her expression was becoming more and more nervous.
After finishing her shift that day, Pei Xuanji went to Baozhu's house. Before she could even sit down, she pressed her head against Baozhu's stomach and started listening.
"Oh dear, she's getting more and more active!" Pei Xuanji bit her nails nervously, her round face scrunched up. "It's been eleven months already, her belly is so big, she'll be giving birth soon, won't she? Isn't she coming out yet?"
"Don't be nervous, what should Baozhu do?"
Zhang He also came to visit Baozhu today. He had just entered the door with Li Zhi when he heard Pei Xuanji rambling on and on, so he quickly spoke up.
However, even as he spoke, his expression didn't lighten much when he saw Baozhu's belly.
Seeing this, Baozhu laughed and said, "I'm fine. I'm a monster, so it's no problem for me to be pregnant for another eleven months."
"Pah, pah, pah."
Before she could finish speaking, all three people in the room spat.
Zhang He smiled wryly and said, "Baozhu, you don't need to be so carefree."
“Exactly!” Pei Xuanji’s eyes widened.
Li Zhi stepped forward, his lips pressed tightly together, looking only at Baozhu without saying a word.
A wise fox doesn't fight a losing battle, so Baozhu immediately raised her hands in surrender: "I will be careful and won't let you all worry."
She spoke carefully, but her behavior remained the same as before. She would reason with vendors on the street, and when there was a case, she would bang on the table and argue with her colleagues in order to get a lighter sentence for the monster who committed the crime.
Another month passed in this manner, and even Pei Jiangping couldn't stand it anymore. He specially found Baozhu during her inspection and said, "You're too carefree. Do you really have to give birth on the street? I can tell you're about to give birth any minute now. You should take a leave of absence and go home!"
Seeing Baozhu's unwilling expression, Pei Jiangping raised his voice: "Am I not your superior? This little devil is so stubborn!"
Pei Jiangping was a higher-ranking official than Baozhu's superior. Baozhu suspected that Li Zhi had approached her to persuade her to take leave to prepare for childbirth, but she had no evidence.
Since that was the case, Baozhu had no choice but to ask for leave from Yiren Temple and return home to prepare for childbirth.
Li Zhi also received the same leave and stayed home with her.
When Granny Mouse found out about this, she had the big rat drive a cart to pick them up and take them back to the millet garden the next day.
"It's fine if you have to go on duty, but when you're free, you should naturally come to the millet garden. I'll take good care of you." Granny Mouse stood at the entrance of the millet garden waiting for Baozhu and Li Zhi, and then led them to a well-lit courtyard that she had specially prepared, so that they could settle down in comfortably.
At this time, the millet garden was inhabited by a group of monsters, including Shan Jun, Hui, Wan Yu, and Mei Mei. They would gather at two tables to play mahjong, so Bao Zhu never felt bored. Every day, as soon as she opened her eyes, she would have a fierce battle with her mahjong friends.
The fox demon was carefree, but Li Zhi was so nervous that he couldn't sleep at night. He would often wake up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely, to check the breathing of the pearl beside him.
After staying in the millet garden for a few days, Baozhu ate, drank, and had fun, looking radiant, while Li Zhi looked several years older.
One day in late June, in the morning, Baozhu had just won three rounds of mahjong by self-draw and was laughing and slapping the table when suddenly her expression changed, and she clutched her stomach and said, "Ouch!"
Li Zhi, who was sitting beside Baozhu peeling an apple, put down his things and went over to help her, asking, "What's wrong?"
Meimei, Wanyu, and Shanjun also held their breath and stared at Baozhu, not daring to move an inch.
Baozhu frowned and said, "The baby is about to come out."
Li Zhi gasped, and Mei Mei and Wan Yu screamed, "Mother-in-law! Baozhu is about to give birth!"
The millet garden immediately sprang into action. After everyone hurriedly prepared according to the previous arrangements, Baozhu was helped into the delivery room by Li Zhi.
All the monsters were driven out, and Granny Rat, trembling, tied her headbands and stayed inside with Li Zhi to help Baozhu give birth.
Both the rat and the human were deathly pale; one's legs were trembling, and the other's eyes were glazed over.
Baozhu felt fine; even lying in bed, she still had the energy to laugh at them.
However, after a while, Baozhu could no longer laugh.
She frowned and said, "It hurts a little."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhi's teeth began to chatter, and he said in a trembling voice, "Pinch me if it hurts."
He reached out his hand, and Baozhu pinched for a while before suddenly stopping.
"I've already seen it, it'll be out soon..." Granny Mouse said, trembling, at the foot of the bed.
Li Zhi's hands were trembling violently. He forced himself to wipe Baozhu's sweat with a handkerchief. Before he could say anything, he heard Granny Mouse shout, "She's born!"
Grandma Mouse carefully cleaned the child, wrapped him in a cloth, and handed him to Li Zhi.
Li Zhi stiffly took the daughter and placed her beside Baozhu, his mind blank.
Baozhu breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at her daughter.
"Ugh, she doesn't look like me or you at all, she's so ugly!" Baozhu frowned and tugged at her daughter's little hand, expressing her disgust.
Li Zhi blinked and looked intently at his daughter.
The newborn half-demon had a pair of fox ears and a fox tail, but the rest of its body was wrinkled and red, and it was indeed not good-looking.
Li Zhi, seemingly lost in thought, took the scissors from Granny Mouse and cut his daughter's umbilical cord. Amidst his daughter's discontented crying, he said, "Thank goodness, her fingers and toes are still there."
"Oh dear, she's crying so hard, can she understand what we're saying?" Baozhu poked her daughter's foot in confusion.
Li Zhi shook his head, then poked his daughter's other foot: "Do you understand?"
The clueless parents' actions resulted in their daughter's hysterical crying. Then, the newborn struggled to roll over and tried to jump off the bed.
—She failed, and Granny Mouse swiftly picked her up and rocked her in her arms.
Granny Rat snatched the child away, rolling her eyes to the heavens. She said to Li Zhi in an annoyed tone, "You stay here and take care of Baozhu. I'll watch the child for now. Also, have you thought of a name for her yet?"
The name had already been decided. On the ship back to the capital, Baozhu and Li Zhi discussed it for a long time and decided on their daughter's name.
"Her name is Mingzhu."
Baozhu and Li Zhi exchanged a glance, and a smile appeared on their faces amidst Mingzhu's sobs.
On the second day after Mingzhu was born, she was already crawling all over the place. The old lady, who was dizzy from staying up late, didn't keep an eye on her and almost let her climb onto the main beam of the house. Fortunately, Hui, who came to see her, was quick-witted and pulled her down.
"Mingzhu, you're so naughty!" Hui gently pinched Mingzhu's nose.
Mingzhu laughed so hard her mouth watered, and she slapped Hui's arm repeatedly.
Granny Mouse was so tired from taking care of the children that she handed Mingzhu over to Hui and woke up Li Zhi, who had just finished a night's rest, to watch over the two children.
Because Baozhu had just given birth, even a demon would have some injuries, so the demons didn't let her move. Mingzhu and the others took care of her with Li Zhi so that she could rest well.
Meanwhile, Mingzhu's friends and compatriots in the capital all put aside their own affairs and took turns coming to the millet garden to keep her company.
So, today Mingzhu rides a big horse on Xiaoman's back, tomorrow she is held in Suanpan's arms to learn arithmetic, and a few days later Pei Xuanji and Zhang He come to play cat's cradle with her. Even Jinlin, who is far away in Lanjiang, sent her a huge luminous pearl as a gift.
With everyone's love and companionship, in just six months, Mingzhu was already able to run and jump around in the millet garden, causing chaos among the chickens and dogs.
Even with Hui as a precedent, Li Zhi was not prepared for his daughter, who was only six months old, to have grown so big.
At night, Li Zhi held Baozhu in his arms, gently stroking her arm, and sighed, "Mingzhu has grown up in the blink of an eye."
Baozhu chuckled and said, "She's a half-demon, so naturally she grows up quickly. What's wrong with that?"
"It's nothing," Li Zhi said in a low voice. "It's just that the thought of her leaving us soon makes me feel a little..."
"My father can't bear to part with me!"
Before Li Zhi could finish speaking, Mingzhu's laughter suddenly came from the rooftop.
Baozhu frowned, threw off the quilt, and before Li Zhi could say anything, she climbed out the window and dragged Mingzhu back from the roof.
The little pearl, with its fox ears and tail, looked just like its mother. When Baozhu held it in her hand, it looked extremely obedient. It blinked its big, round eyes at Li Zhi and said, "Father, I was wrong. Please ask Mother to let me go."
Li Zhi glanced at Baozhu, then at Mingzhu, and hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Baozhu, expressionless, lifted her daughter up in front of her and said in a deep voice, "Since you were hiding, why did you make a sound and get caught?"
Mingzhu's eyes darted around, and she hesitated before saying, "Then I won't make a sound next time?"
Baozhu was taken aback, then snapped back to reality and angrily said, "Are you going to hide on the roof again next time?"
Seeing that things were going badly, Mingzhu quickly tried to cry, but crying was useless. Her heartless mother still slapped her bottom hard.
With her swollen bottom, Mingzhu lay on Baozhu's lap, crying her eyes out. She swore to her mother that she would never climb onto the roof to eavesdrop again before finally escaping her mother's clutches.
With such a mischievous daughter, Baozhu and Li Zhi had no choice but to move their home to Shuyuan, where they would travel dozens of miles each way every day on duty, so that a monster could watch over Mingzhu during the day and prevent her from causing any trouble.
Baozhu didn't feel anything when she didn't see her daughter during the day, but Li Zhixian couldn't bear it anymore.
Since Mingzhu grows so fast, she can learn many things ahead of time.
Li Zhi missed his daughter terribly during the day. After finishing his shift, he rushed home and, in order to spend more time with Mingzhu, he began to teach her to read.
So this little one, who was not even as tall as the table, would wait for his parents to come home every evening, and after having dinner together, his father would hold him on his lap and start teaching him to read.
Mingzhu was happy to be able to play alone with her father, but the game was really boring. She only lasted for two days. On the third day, as soon as Li Zhi picked her up, she started to throw a tantrum, covering her ears and refusing to listen.
Li Zhi sighed helplessly and tried to coax her a few times, but Mingzhu simply pouted and threw the book on the table aside, shouting, "I don't want to learn this, it's not fun! Why don't you play the games I like with me, Daddy?"
Baozhu, who was catching crickets with Hui in the yard, heard the noise. After exchanging a glance with Hui, she tentatively suggested, "How about we call it quits?"
Silence filled the study.
Hui nervously nudged Baozhu, signaling her to go in and rescue Mingzhu.
Just as Baozhu stood up, Li Zhi came out of the study carrying Mingzhu, whose eyes were red.
Baozhu looked at the father and daughter and said with a smile, "Let's catch some crickets together?"
Mingzhu stopped crying and smiled, opening her arms to Baozhu and saying, "Mother, hold me so I can grab you."
Hui noticed that Baozhu and Li Zhi had something to say, so she quickly stepped forward and took Mingzhu from her, coaxing, "Can't your brother take you to play? Why does Mingzhu only want to play with Father and Mother?"
Hui was also a child, so Mingzhu naturally got along better with him. Since he had extended an invitation, Mingzhu put her parents out of her mind. She took Hui's hand, and the two little half-demons giggled and ran into the bushes together.
"Mingzhu doesn't want to learn to read with you, are you upset?" Baozhu smiled and took Li Zhi's hand, then touched his face.
Li Zhi sighed, gently stroking Baozhu's hand with his face, and said with a smile, "I was forcing things. Since Mingzhu doesn't like it, I will accompany her to do what she likes."
“She seems more like a monster,” Baozhu said somewhat embarrassedly. “She’s more like me.”
“What’s wrong with being like you?” Li Zhi laughed. “I’d rather Mingzhu be a demon, so she won’t be bound by the rules of mortals and can live her life as she pleases. That would be the best thing.”
From afar came the excited shouts of Hui and Mingzhu. Under the moonlight, they smiled at each other.
"Mingzhu will have its own path to follow."
"And we will accompany each other and spend this life together."
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