Li's wet nurse, Madam Li, was also in the living room. She said to Li through the door, "Grandma, Second Madam Zhao is here."
The shouting in the house became quieter.
Xu Lanyin comforted her outside the door, "Sister Li, don't be afraid, I'm here with you."
Li's voice, "Oh, Sister Xu..."
Nanny Li, with red eyes, whispered to Xu Lanyin, "The midwife said that my grandmother's baby is a little big and it's not easy to give birth."
Xu Lanyin was also anxious. She had often advised Li to exercise more and eat in moderation. Li did listen, but as a young lady raised in seclusion, she was not as active as Xu Lanyin, who worked out from morning till night. She had grown fat and a big belly.
Li gave birth to a boy at 1:00 AM on the 21st after a day and night of labor. The child weighed 7.5 jin, which was considered a rare chubby boy in ancient times.
Xu Lanyin took the baby from the midwife. The baby was much fatter than when Zhao Mingxi was born, with shiny hair, and was crying with his eyes closed.
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "What a handsome boy."
Li was packed up and carried into the room opposite. She had been in labor and had fallen asleep. Xu Lanyin vaguely heard the midwife tell Li Ma that Madam Min had been injured during the birth and would have difficulty conceiving in the future.
Nanny Li was overjoyed just now, but after hearing this, her eyes turned red again.
Minhu went into the house to see Li first. Seeing that Li had her eyes closed, he asked Li Ma, "Is Qingtong okay?"
Nanny Li smiled and said, "Nothing, she was just too tired and fell asleep."
Minhu raised his hand to touch Li's wet hair, but seeing that there were other people in the room, he retracted his hand. He turned around and took the child from Xu Lanyin's hands, saying with a smile, "Daddy has already given you a name, Minzhe."
After daybreak, Mincan's wife received the letter and came to Min Mansion, and Xu Lanyin took Zhao Mingxi back home. When she left, Li was still asleep.
After returning home, Xu Lanyin fell into a deep sleep, sleeping until the sun set. She only woke up twice to feed her child. Even when she fed the child, she kept her eyes closed.
She had barely slept for the past day and night. Mrs. Li's occasional screams, the bloody liquid the midwife brought out, and her fear of an accident had left her extremely nervous and exhausted. She hadn't felt anything during Zhao Mingxi's birth, but watching Mrs. Li had finally grasped the reality of how childbirth was not only painful for women in ancient times, but also incredibly dangerous. It was like walking through the gates of hell.
Xu Lanyin had just put on her clothes when she heard Huqi's surprised voice in the yard, "Second Master is back."
Xu Lan went out to greet him with joy. She had been anxiously waiting for Zhao Wupan to come.
Zhao Wufeng was covered in dust, with frost hanging on his hair.
He bent down and kissed Xu Lanyin, then took her hand and went into the house to see Zhao Mingxi. Zhao Wu's hand was as cold as a popsicle, but Xu Lanyin was reluctant to pull it out.
Zhao Wu was cold and dirty, so he didn't dare get too close to the child. He stood about a meter away from the crib and smiled at the child.
Little Mingxi lying on the small bed seemed to know that his father had returned. He grinned with his toothless mouth and waved his two little hands in the air, as if calling his father to come closer.
After he looked at the child for a few seconds, Xu Lanyin helped him take off his cloak and said, "There's always hot water in the pot. Go take a bath."
Zhao Wu smiled and said, "Come and help me wash my hair."
Xu Lanyin agreed and went to the closet to get some clothes to change into.
The maid had already poured hot water into the large wooden tub. Zhao Wu took off his clothes and sat in the tub, resting his head on the edge. Xu Lanyin helped him to comb his hair, wet it, and then applied Poria cocos on it, rubbing it slowly.
The air was thick with mist, and Zhao Wuji closed his eyes in enjoyment. After a long while, he said, "Yin Yin, kiss me."
Xu Lanyin smiled and lowered her head to kiss the corner of his mouth.
Zhao Wu stretched out his long arms to hold her head down, and their lips and teeth were entangled for a while before he let go and said regretfully, "I don't know how long I have to wait."
Xu Lanyin laughed out loud and said, "Madam said that we have to wait until the lochia is completely discharged, which should be about half a month." Then she asked, "How is that matter going?"
Zhao Wuxian sighed, and Xu Lanyin thought he had returned empty-handed, so she advised, "Take your time, don't rush."
Zhao Wu continued, "We've uncovered some clues. That farm and the thousand acres of fertile land nearby were actually the dowry of the late Madam Pu. Before her death, she gave it to her son, Pu Lao Guojiu Pu Qibai, and it's now his private property. But none of the tenants know who the real owner is. I had to ask an acquaintance at the county government office to find out. They're being so secretive. My mother must be related to Madam Pu. It's possible she's the twin girl. Madam Pu sent her to the temple to become a nun. I don't know if it was to save her life or to keep her under house arrest. But even a tiger wouldn't eat its poison. Even her daughter had killed her son and was hiding in the temple. Why did Madam Pu want to kill everyone, not even her own son?"
Xu Lanyin stopped what she was doing and said, "There's another possibility. My mother-in-law isn't Madam Pu's daughter, but the Queen Mother's. Madam Pu didn't give birth to twins, but twins. She sent one of the children out of the palace, and the Queen Mother brought her own daughter home. This would explain why the Queen Mother had the same Yanshang hairpin as my mother-in-law, and why the Pu family was so afraid of that hairpin."
Xu Lanyin has read too much official and unofficial history about various palace fights in her previous life, as well as online novels.
Zhao Wu sat up suddenly, turned around and looked at Xu Lanyin in surprise. The foam of the Poria cocos had flowed into his eyes, irritating him so much that he couldn't open them. Xu Lanyin quickly wiped it away with a handkerchief.
"You mean, my mother is the empress dowager's daughter, and even the emperor may not be a true dragon seed?" This guess was too bold and too explosive, making Zhao Wu a little unable to react.
He thought for a moment and continued, "When Empress Dowager Pu was born, the late emperor already had several princes. At that time, Empress Dowager Pu's status was not very high, so she wouldn't dare take the risk of replacing the prince's son, right? Besides, it is said that the emperor had no intention of that position in his early years, so he married the girl from the Zhou family..."
Xu Lanyin said, "Marrying a girl from the Zhou family might seem like a bad idea for the throne, but it would bring the powerful Zhou family into the fold. Empress Dowager Pu is a clever woman, otherwise she and the current emperor wouldn't have had the last laugh. Besides the possibility that the Empress Dowager gave birth to a girl in exchange for a boy, there's another possibility. It's that the Empress Dowager was pregnant with twins, and someone secretly diagnosed her through pulse diagnosis, but she bribed the imperial physician to keep the news a secret. Because the royal family frowned on twins, regardless of whether they were boys, girls, or a boy and a girl, one would be given away. Since Madam Pu's due date was close to hers, the rumor spread that she was pregnant with twins. If the Empress Dowager gave birth to twin girls, the Pu family boy would be substituted, and both girls would be given away. Madam Pu's children wouldn't be twins, but twin girls. If the Empress Dowager gave birth to twins, giving away a son would result in Madam Pu's children being twins again. Therefore, the Empress Dowager must have given birth to twins, giving away the girl. And to appease the Empress Dowager, Madam Pu's child might have been induced..."
Zhao Wu's expression turned serious.
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