The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and a maidservant stepped out, asking hurriedly, "Little brother, do you know where there is a doctor around here?"
Shen Jialu said, "There is a barefoot doctor in the village."
"A barefoot doctor?" The maid hesitated for a moment. "Are there any more?"
Shen Jialu could tell that the other party probably just wanted to find a doctor, so he said, "It takes more than an hour by carriage to get to the town, but a whole day to get to the prefectural city."
Upon hearing this, the maid realized that the only option for now was to find a barefoot doctor; to get a better one, they would have to spend time traveling to a more distant place!
"What should we do? Our lady can't wait any longer!"
“Cuihong…”
A weak voice came from the carriage in front, and Cuihong immediately ran up to the carriage anxiously: "Madam!"
Seeing this, Shen Jialu and Shen Jiaqing dared not make any rash moves.
From a different angle, Pear Pear, being small, saw a richly dressed woman inside the carriage, clutching her protruding belly and looking unwell.
"Hey, there's a little brother."
The woman heard a small sound, forced herself to open her eyes, and saw a little dumpling with two buns in her hair looking curiously at her stomach from the lower right corner of her vision.
"What did you say? Little brother...?"
"Hmm! Little brother!"
The woman was momentarily dazed, clutching her stomach with a complicated expression.
She and her husband had been married for seven years without getting pregnant. Although her husband's family and husband didn't think it was a big deal, she felt very guilty.
A year ago, her husband went on an inspection tour of Nanlin County, and she went with him. Her family's old house was in Nanlin County, so she went back to visit her grandparents.
Five months ago, her husband was urgently summoned back to the capital and rushed back by fast horse, so she stayed alone for two more months before returning.
Counting the days, it was just before I was about to say goodbye to my husband and return to the capital.
So after staying at the old house for two months, she hurriedly set off back to the capital to personally deliver the news to her husband.
It was because she had no symptoms for the past few months and seemed normal that I felt safe enough to return to Beijing. Who would have thought that after only a few days, she would start to lose her appetite and feel dizzy and nauseous.
She has been childless for many years, and if this time she is carrying a boy, she will be completely satisfied!
Seeing the woman clutching her stomach in discomfort, but not quite like she was having a miscarriage, Lili noticed the snacks still on the table in the carriage and realized, "You've eaten too much."
The woman looked up in surprise, then hesitated, "Did you eat too much?"
The woman looked closely at Lili and found it strange. Although it was the first time she had met this little girl, she felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to her.
Lili tugged at Shen Jiaqing's sleeve, showing him the small dishes on the table: "Look, buddy!"
Shen Jiaqing looked and saw that there were indeed several plates of pastries on the table, some with only a few pieces left, and others with only a bite or two eaten.
When Lili saw those pastries, they were clearly black rice cake, glutinous rice cake, and osmanthus cake.
Black rice cake and glutinous rice cake, one made primarily of black rice and the other primarily of glutinous rice, are both staple foods that are filling.
What might be a nice pastry for the average person could be difficult to digest for some pregnant women with severe morning sickness, leading to bloating and stomach pain.
Lili whispered to Shen Jiaqing, "Mimi, take up belly space!"
Shen Jiaqing often absorbed in the medical books he borrowed from Doctor Zhu, forgetting to eat and sleep, and naturally understood the principles behind them.
But people might not believe what a child says, so he only touched on it briefly: "Black rice cake and glutinous rice cake are made with black rice and glutinous rice. If you are pregnant and can't eat much, don't force yourself to eat too much."
Before the woman could speak, the maid Cuihong exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, it's true! Our mistress has always had a poor appetite, but she was afraid that the child would lack nutrition, so she forced herself to eat a lot of pastries."
The woman did not refute, clearly agreeing with what the maid said: "If it's just because I'm too full, then it should be fine. I'll hold on a little longer and find a doctor when we get to the city."
Cuihong was somewhat worried about her mistress's health, but she knew there was no other way: "Yes, Madam."
The woman picked up the plates of pastries and instructed Cuihong to thank the children. Before Cuihong could move, a little pink dumpling ran to the side, grabbed a handful of hawthorns, and tried to reach the carriage with its short legs, but it was too short to climb up.
The woman was amused by the child's adorable appearance, and felt her discomfort lessen. She unconsciously grew to like the little dumpling even more.
"Cuihong, quickly bring the child up here."
Shen Jialu and Shen Jiaqing were a little nervous, but when they saw their younger sister give them a secret smile, they felt inexplicably relieved.
Lili was carried by Cuihong to sit next to the woman, holding a bunch of hawthorns, and showing her little baby teeth: "Madam is so beautiful."
Perhaps it was because she had become a mother, but the more Madam Bai looked at Lili, the more she liked her: "You have such a sweet mouth. My surname is Bai, what's your name?"
Lili said crisply, "My name is Lili!"
"Lili?" Madam Bai was taken aback, her expression changing slightly. She murmured, "My sister's lost darling was also named Lili..."
Lili didn't hear clearly and tilted her head to look at her.
Madam Bai shook her head. It was true that she was getting pregnant and becoming less sensitive. The letter said that the little girl had been abducted by a villain half a year ago and had not been heard from since. Her sister-in-law's family suspected that it was the eldest prince's side, but they had no evidence and could not do anything about it.
The eldest prince made a move, and then disappeared without a trace for half a year. Everyone knew that the young girl was probably...
Madam Bai was trapped in grief and could not extricate herself. Her stomach was also aching. Lili put the hawthorn in her arms into her hand.
Caught off guard, Madam Bai saw the little dumpling's bright eyes and felt the pent-up anger in her stomach dissipate: "What is this?"
Lili picked up the biggest and reddest one: "Fruit!"
Cuihong asked, "Is this a wild hawthorn?"
Fearing that his younger sister would be blamed, Shen Jiaqing quickly explained, "Hawthorn is sweet and sour, which can stimulate the appetite and promote digestion. Madam can eat it, which can alleviate her symptoms to some extent."
Lili nodded vigorously, her little dimples shining brightly: "Mmm, little brother, eat!"
Madam Bai suddenly realized that although it was a wild fruit from the countryside, the child's innocent heart was the most precious thing: "Why do you think it's a little brother?"
Lili thought for a moment, wondering how to explain it, since she knew it was a younger brother.
When Madam Bai saw that the little dumpling was blinking and not speaking, she thought it was just something the child said casually and didn't take it to heart.
Let's just consider it a lucky charm.
The little dumpling held the hawthorn with longing eyes. Her heart softened, and she couldn't bring herself to refuse. She had no choice but to let Cuihong wash it with a water bag and put it in her mouth.
The amazing thing is that although these hawthorns grow by the roadside, they look absolutely delicious, and even the taste is juicy and flavorful, sweet with a hint of sourness, which immediately relieved her loss of appetite.
I don't know if it was just psychological, but even the indigestion in my abdomen seemed to have subsided a bit.
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