Chapter 610 Fear of Zhao Dashan taking a concubine
Cheng Wanwan put on her clothes, not even having time to dry her hair, and quickly walked towards Zhao Dashan's yard.
As soon as I stepped through the courtyard gate, I heard Wu Huiniang's painful groans coming from inside.
Her face immediately darkened: "Has the doctor been summoned?"
Ye Zi nodded: "I've already sent Cheng Yi to find Doctor Zheng. I just gave the First Madam some hot water, and her condition has improved a little."
Cheng Wanwan pushed open the door and went in. Granny Ma was by the bedside, gently massaging Wu Huiniang's abdomen, but it seemed that she still could not relieve her pain.
"Thankfully, there's no bleeding," Granny Ma said softly. "This old servant guesses she probably ate something wrong. Luckily, the First Madam has a good constitution..."
If the baby is born prematurely at this time, there is a high probability that the child will not survive.
Cheng Wanwan gently patted Wu Huiniang's hand: "The doctor will be here soon, just bear with it a little longer."
Doctor Zheng arrived quickly. After taking the pulse, his gaze was grave: "This is due to accidental ingestion of realgar and cinnabar. Fortunately, the amount was small, otherwise it would have been a double tragedy... Although the situation is rather critical, it's not too serious. Let me prescribe a medicine first, and she'll be better in two days..."
After the prescription was written, Ye Zi quickly went to brew the medicine. After drinking the first dose, Wu Huiniang's abdomen was still a little painful, but her complexion was much better. She leaned against the headboard, her eyes lowered, and remained silent.
Cheng Wanwan told her to rest well and stepped out of the courtyard. Behind her, Granny Ma said, "Many women in the countryside believe that decocting realgar, cinnabar, and some herbs will definitely result in a son. Madam, this is..."
Cheng Wanwan sighed.
Many modern, highly educated women are poisoned by these feudal ideas, let alone women who are already living in such an environment.
Hui Niang wanted to have a son, and she could understand that.
But no matter what, this method should not be used.
But why on this particular day should we take this folk remedy?
Cheng Wanwan asked Yan Hong to call Wu Xiaochui over.
The workshop has now built employee dormitories, with four people per room. People from other villages can stay in the dormitories for free. Wu Xiaochui lives in the dormitory. When he heard Cheng Wanwan looking for him, he quickly changed into clean clothes and went over.
Cheng Wanwan cut straight to the point: "Your parents came to Dahe Village for a feast today. Did they say anything to you and your brother?"
Wu Xiaochui's fingers tightened: "Auntie, has something happened?"
“Your second sister accidentally drank some medicine and now she can’t get out of bed.” Cheng Wanwan’s tone became stern. “If you know anything, you’re not allowed to hide it from me, otherwise if your second sister gets into trouble again, even Hua Tuo (a legendary Chinese physician) won’t be able to save her.”
Wu Xiaochui looked astonished: "That medicine was a folk remedy my parents got from a temple to help me have a child. When they gave it to my second sister, she refused to take it. How could she have drunk it..."
Cheng Wanwan understood that in her family's environment, Hui Niang didn't really care whether she had a son or a daughter, but she couldn't resist having parents who wanted her to have a son. The parents came every day to brainwash her and even brought her folk remedies for conceiving a child. Even if Hui Niang didn't care about this, she would be slowly influenced. So tonight, she tried it...
Fortunately, the amount of realgar and cinnabar in this prescription was not large, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
She took a deep breath and said, "Go back now and tell your parents that the birth of children in the Zhao family has nothing to do with the Wu family. If any of the Zhao family's children are harmed because of the Wu family, the Zhao family will disown this marriage."
Her sharp words made Wu Xiaochui realize that this matter was serious, and he immediately said, "Don't worry, Auntie, I will definitely relay these words to my parents without missing a single one."
He bowed, turned and walked out of the courtyard, borrowed a carriage from the workshop, and left in a hurry.
Cheng Wanwan got up and went to Wu Huiniang's room again. She had taken her medicine, but couldn't fall asleep and was silently thinking.
"Huiniang," she said gently as she sat down beside the bed, "what do you think of Xiaozhuzhu?"
Wu Huiniang smiled and said, "Little Zhuzhu is very obedient, sensible, and smart. Although Granny Yang is not here now, she is also learning to distinguish herbs seriously. Now she can recognize more than ten kinds of herbs."
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "Then let's have another little sister for Xiaozhuzhu, wouldn't it be nice if the two sisters could keep each other company?"
Wu Huiniang's smile froze. She understood that her mother-in-law probably already knew why she had been having abdominal pain that night.
She remained silent, unsure of what to say.
“Whether you have a son or a daughter isn’t something that can be decided by a single prescription. Whether it’s a daughter or a son, aren’t they all your children?” Cheng Wanwan said earnestly. “I’m not a mother-in-law who insists that her daughter-in-law give birth to a son, and Dashan isn’t a husband who insists that his wife give birth to a son. This matter is a shackle that you’ve forcibly put on yourself. Thinking about this every day isn’t good for you, and it’s not good for the baby in your belly either. You’ll give birth in a little over a month, so don’t add to your worries.”
Wu Huiniang bit her lip and said, "One of the seven grounds for divorce is not bearing a son for her husband. Now that Dashan has become an official, if I... if I can't bear a son, he... he can take a concubine..."
Her voice grew softer and softer, and her head drooped lower and lower.
“I taught you to read and write, not to read these books that poison your minds.” Cheng Wanwan patted the back of her hand. “Dashan is an honest man and would never take a concubine. If he ever has such thoughts, I will be the first to not let him off the hook, without you even having to tell me.”
Wu Huiniang raised her head, her eyes filled with tears: "Thank you, Mother. I misunderstood. I will never do it again."
Cheng Wanwan tucked her in: "It's good that you've thought it through. Go and get some rest."
Zhao Dashan was completely unaware of what happened that night, because he was drunk, quite drunk, and his head was still aching when he woke up the next morning.
He always got up early, and Grandpa Ming in the courtyard had also gotten up long ago. He was squatting on the ground talking to a wolf and a goose in a very friendly manner. These two were very affectionate towards Grandpa Ming because they had eaten his food, and they even rubbed their heads against his palms.
"I'm taking you two little darlings to a nice place. You two get in the carriage and stay put. We'll be there in a few days." Eunuch Ming smiled and pointed to the magnificent carriage beside him. "Let's go, get in the carriage."
These two had no idea they were going to a very far place, and they happily followed along onto the bus.
Eunuch Ming breathed a sigh of relief. Great! He had finally dealt with those two gluttons. When he returned to the capital, he would surely receive the Emperor's reward, and his position as the Grand Eunuch would be unshakeable.
Zhao Dashan walked over and said, "Eunuch Ming, don't you plan to stay a couple more days?"
"No, no." Eunuch Ming waved his hand. "This round trip will take more than a month and has delayed too many things. We must hurry back to the capital."
At this moment, Cheng Wanwan also got up. She directed the servants to carry the prepared snacks and dried fruits onto the carriage, and said with a smile, "The journey back will be tiring, so please rest well, Father-in-law. Don't let those two little things wear you out. Feed them some of this every day, and they will sleep peacefully all the way to the capital."
She handed over a small porcelain bottle containing animal-specific sleeping pills. One pill every morning would allow the animal to sleep for ten hours, and even if it woke up, its mental state wouldn't be very good, preventing it from causing trouble on the way... Otherwise, if a wolf stayed in the car for too long, it would become agitated and might accidentally hurt someone, which would be disastrous.
Eunuch Ming took the medicine bottle and said, "Lady Sui is now a fourth-rank official. Although she is far from the court, she still has responsibilities. In the future, we will inevitably have to trouble Lady Sui with some things."
“How can you call it troublesome?” Cheng Wanwan quickly said, “Now that I’m in this position, I must do what is appropriate for this role. Father-in-law, rest assured, I will still work hard to benefit the people and be loyal to the court and the emperor, just like before. This will never change.”
Ming Gonggong laughed loudly, said a few more words, and then got into the carriage to take his leave.
Before the sun rose, the morning mist enveloped the small mountain village, and people busy in the fields came out to see them off.
The convoy gradually drove away and disappeared on the mountain road.
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