Little Su followed behind, greeting him with a smile, but she was extremely frustrated inside.
How infuriating! The master actually threw such a grand celebration for his illegitimate son's one-month celebration, and this Lady Hui treats her with such indifference. A country bumpkin who got the title of Lady Hui through her petty cleverness really thinks she's something special!
If it weren't for her, Aunt Lin and this child wouldn't be alive today. Why would she bother eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers every day? And why would she need to pretend to be dignified and generous to welcome guests at the birth of a concubine's son? Just thinking about it makes her teeth clench.
No matter how much resentment she felt, Madam Su could only suppress it for the time being. Her smile remained unchanged as she spoke:
“Madam Hui, Uncle and Aunt Mingyue, Aunt Lin has been thinking of you all this morning. She's with her child in the side courtyard. You should go and see her. Aunt Lin will be so happy to see you.”
Song Anxin glanced at her indifferently and said to Liu Yuanwai:
“Master Liu, my elder brother and sister-in-law and I will go see the peach blossoms and the children first. You go ahead with your business.”
Master Liu said, “Alright, alright. Then Madam Hui and Uncle and Aunt Mingyue can go see the children first. My wife and I will go and entertain the guests. We are all family, so there’s no need to be so formal.”
Little Su secretly tightened her grip, wondering who was with their family.
Song Anxin and her brother and sister-in-law Lin went to Lin Taohua's courtyard.
Lin Feng took two steps and stopped, saying, "Mother, there are some people over there who do business with our Dafeng Factory. I'll go over and say hello first, and then I'll go see my aunt later."
Song Anxin nodded and let him take Anlu away. Now, the second son is very skilled at dealing with people and interpersonal relationships, so she doesn't need to worry about him.
When they arrived at Lin Taohua's courtyard, there were already some ladies and young women looking after the children.
Lin Taohua held her child, who was dressed in a red outfit embroidered with auspicious patterns, looking very festive. Liu Mingyue and Mingzhu surrounded her, and everyone was in a harmonious and joyful mood.
As soon as everyone saw Song Anxin and her group arrive, they immediately stood up to greet them.
"Everyone, please sit down. There's no need to get up. We're here to see the children too," Song Anxin said with a smile.
The ladies and young women present were seeing Madam Hui for the first time. They found her to be young and kind, quite different from what they had imagined. They thought to themselves that perhaps what their husbands said was worth mentioning.
Sister-in-law Lin was overjoyed to see the child and immediately took the child from Lin Taohua's arms.
"Oh my, come here and let your aunt hold you. The little guy has grown so much in the last few days."
Big and small grasses hurriedly called out beside Sister-in-law Lin's legs:
"Grandma, we want to see our little brother too."
"The little grass is watching its younger brother."
Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi also quickly went over to take a look.
Today, Brother Lin and his wife's family dressed up very carefully, especially the two little ones, Da Cao and Xiao Cao, who were dressed in pink clothes with silver bells in their double buns on their heads, looking very clever and adorable. The two little ones also had fair skin, not at all like country children.
A lady dressed in a green silk robe teased, "Aunt Lin, I was wondering why this child is so good-looking. It turns out that all your family members are so good-looking."
"Yes, Madam Hui looks even younger. What's your secret to maintaining such good health? Could you please share it with us?"
The ladies and young women in the room immediately began to flatter Song Anxin. They had come specifically for Madam Hui; otherwise, why would they have come to a concubine's courtyard to see a son born out of wedlock?
"I've heard that Madam Hui has a second son who is not only handsome but also manages the family business at a young age. I wonder if Madam Hui's second son is engaged?"
A lady with her head full of jeweled hairpins inquired.
Instantly, the ladies and young women surrounding them all brightened up and secretly strained their ears to listen.
Song Anxin thought to herself, "So these people are after my second son."
She replied, "No."
The group of ladies were even more excited after hearing this, and they quickly began to introduce their daughters, subtly hinting at their desire to form a marriage alliance with Song Anxin's family.
Song Anxin politely smiled and deflected the criticism with a light touch, but she was truly exhausted.
At this moment, Lin Erxi suddenly exclaimed, "Second Sister-in-law, look! This little guy is smiling!"
Song Anxin finally snapped out of it and said:
"Let me hold this little one. He has such a beautiful smile. He should be named."
Liu Mingzhu said, "Second Aunt, we'll take him. The little brother will be named Liu Mingyang. Father said he was born facing the sun, so he's called Mingyang."
"Oh, it's Xiao Yangyang. Xiao Yangyang is so good-looking."
Song Anxin playfully teased the chubby, white baby in her arms.
Lin Daxi said, "Yes, this doesn't look like a baby that's only a month old. It looks like it's been raised for several months."
A lady dressed in a brocade long gown said, "That's because she was well-fed in her mother's womb. I heard that you had a difficult delivery, Aunt Lin. You must have had a tough time."
A round-faced woman in a blue silk robe immediately chimed in, "Yes, a difficult childbirth is no small matter for a woman. I heard that Doctor Zheng from the Ren Shan Pharmacy in the county used some kind of episiotomy technique to ensure the safety of you and your child. Is that true?"
Lin Taohua smiled and said, "Yes, Dr. Zheng is a miracle worker. Otherwise, my child and I wouldn't be here."
Some of the ladies in the household had heard of this new midwifery technique, episiotomy, but the thought of it involving incisions terrified them. However, seeing that Consort Lin was perfectly fine, and that both mother and child had survived, they felt that the episiotomy technique wasn't so frightening after all.
At this moment, the lady in the yellow brocade robe said, "But Aunt Lin, how come you are having a difficult labor? Didn't the doctor who took your pulse tell you? Usually, if a doctor notices something, he should tell you to pay attention to these things to avoid a difficult labor."
The lady sitting next to her immediately nudged her arm, and the other ladies' expressions immediately turned dark and unclear. Every family has its share of squabbles, and this young lady from the Liu family, Madam Su, is just a woman who appears virtuous and generous on the surface.
The lady in the yellow brocade robe realized she had misspoke and was quite embarrassed.
Fortunately, someone came from the front yard and said, "Aunt Lin, all the guests have arrived. Master said that you should take the young master out to show him to the guests. Please also come to the courtyard to take your seats."
The ladies and young women in the courtyard immediately got up to say goodbye.
“Madam Hui, Aunt Lin, then let’s go to the front yard to take our seats.”
"Aunt Lin, Madam Hui, let's go to the front yard later..."
Once they were alone in the courtyard, the group looked rather grim.
Sister-in-law Lin said, "Yes, the Liu family invites a doctor to check Tao Hua's pulse every month, so how come Tao Hua is having a difficult childbirth?"
Lin Taohua handed the child in her arms to Granny Fang and said:
"I have had a doctor come to check my pulse every month, but the doctors all say that there are no major problems with me or the baby in my belly, it's just that I'm a little weak, so they prescribed some medicine to nourish my body."
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