Chapter 498 Imminent Delivery
The Changxing Marquis's Residence.
Meng Jinyao had no interest in, nor did she have the extra energy to, the power struggles within the Meng family across three generations. Now, as she was about to give birth, she was filled with anxiety.
The Gu family had already found two wet nurses, just in case one of them didn't have enough milk and the baby went hungry. The midwife was also experienced and well-regarded, and she stayed at the house on call 24 hours a day so she could be there immediately if Meng Jinyao went into labor.
Seeing that she was heavily pregnant and being helped by a maid to take a walk in the garden, Zhang stepped forward to greet her: "Third sister-in-law, taking a walk again?"
Meng Jinyao responded with a smile: "Sister-in-law."
Looking at her belly, Zhang asked, "Third sister-in-law, are you going into labor in the next few days?"
Meng Jinyao nodded slightly: "That's what the doctor said, but there's still no sign of anything happening. It seems the baby isn't planning to come out yet."
Zhang replied, "Some pregnant women will go into labor a few days later, so don't worry, Third Sister-in-law. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe the day after, the baby will be ready to come out." As she spoke, she reminded her again, "When you go into labor, remember to send someone to the Imperial Hospital to invite Physician Baili. He is very experienced in handling all kinds of situations for women in labor. Even if there is nothing wrong, you will feel much more at ease with him around."
Meng Jinyao replied gently, "Thank you for the reminder, sister-in-law."
Zhang said again, "I have other things to do. I'll talk to my third sister-in-law another day."
Meng Jinyao nodded with a smile: "Okay, sister-in-law, go ahead and get busy."
Zhang nodded slightly, then turned and left. After turning away, she sighed almost inaudibly. Her daughter was only a year younger than her third brother's wife, who was about to become a mother. Her daughter, on the other hand, had resisted marriage since her divorce. Now, at such a young age, she stayed in the Buddhist hall with her mother-in-law, chanting scriptures and worshipping Buddha all day long. She was almost becoming a nun.
Last night, she told her daughter that the young master of the Yu family was quite good. He was handsome, well-educated, and morally upright, making him a good young man. She also said that the lady of the Yu family was very kind and would be a good mother-in-law.
As a result, her daughter gently twirled the prayer beads in her hand and began chanting Buddhist scriptures in front of her, completely ignoring her words and even pretending not to hear them. After finishing a section of the scriptures, she asked her in the tone of a nun, "Benefactor, have you not gone back yet? This humble nun is eating vegetarian food tonight, and I'm afraid the food may not suit your taste. Please go back."
She was already angry, but hearing her daughter's serious nonsense made her even angrier. She was so angry that she couldn't sleep for half the night. She wanted to talk to her husband, but then she remembered that he was having an affair with his concubine, so she could only process her emotions on her own.
She got up early this morning and got busy, so busy that she didn't have time to be depressed.
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Three more days passed, and Meng Jinyao's belly still showed no signs of labor; there was no indication that the baby was about to be born.
Therefore, Meng Jinyao's anxiety intensified day by day. The more she learned about childbirth, the more afraid she became. After learning the approximate time of labor, she would calm herself down every morning and try her best to be calm and welcome the day. However, even before labor started, she had to be anxious for another day.
Gu Jingxi could also see her anxiety and fear, so he tried to distract her by assigning a lot of official duties to the two junior officials and spending more time with her, going home as soon as he finished his shift.
Today, Gu Jingxi had just returned when he saw Meng Jinyao staring blankly at her stomach. She didn't even notice him when he walked up to her. So Gu Jingxi reached out and gently touched her stomach, asking softly, "Ayao, what are you thinking about?"
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao looked up and saw him looking at her with tender eyes. She then smiled and said, "My husband is back."
Gu Jingxi nodded: "Yes, I just got back. What are you thinking about?"
Meng Jinyao gently shook her head: "I wasn't thinking about anything, just wondering why the baby hasn't come out yet? The doctor said it would be in the next few days, but there's still no sign of labor today. I've been waiting since this morning, and it still hasn't started."
Gu Jingxi comforted her, "Ayao, don't worry, maybe our child is just slow-paced."
Meng Jinyao pursed her lips and sighed softly, "But every day the baby stays in my belly, I become more anxious. Now, every day I think about how I won't have to be anxious once the baby is born."
Gu Jingxi looked at her belly. In fact, not only was she anxious, but he was also anxious. After learning about the various dangers of childbirth, he was also filled with all sorts of worries. He had already made up his mind that he would not have a second child after this one. Ayao had already had a very hard time with this one pregnancy.
After a moment, Meng Jinyao said again, "Husband, I had nothing to do today, so I thought of several nicknames for the child, and finally chose one from them."
Gu Jingxi was slightly taken aback, then asked curiously, "What's your nickname?"
Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "What do you think of the child's nickname, Wanwan?"
Gu Jingxi assumed it was the elegant and graceful Wan, and immediately said, "There is a beautiful woman named Wanru Qingyang, and her nickname Wanwan is also quite nice. Our daughter will definitely be a pretty and gentle girl."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao paused slightly, then smiled and shook her head: "It's not this Wan, husband, guess again?"
Gu Jingxi guessed, "Is that the 'Wan' in 'Wanyan'? Although a silver hairpin can be used casually, 'Wanyan' is hard to change. 'Wan' means beautiful jade. This nickname is very suitable for our daughter."
Meng Jinyao shook her head again: "No, husband, guess again."
Gu Jingxi thought for a moment and guessed again, "Could it be 'Wan' from 'Wan Wan' (meaning 'tall trees grow, blooming in splendor')? That's good too. It's a nice nickname, and it suits our daughter well."
Meng Jinyao gave him a strange look and shook her head again: "None of them. Although the meanings you mentioned are quite good, the 'wanwan' I meant is the 'wanwan' in 'dinner'."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi was immediately stunned. He never expected it to be the "late" in "dinner," so he asked, "Why did you choose this 'late' in your name, Yao?"
Meng Jinyao countered, "Don't you think that having dinner late is suitable for our daughter?"
Gu Jingxi shook his head. He didn't think that this evening was a bit unworthy of his daughter.
Meng Jinyao explained, "This child hasn't come out yet, so we can't just call her Zaozao, can we? And Chichi doesn't sound very nice either, so Wanwan is fine."
Gu Jingxi remained silent, but when he met his wife's gaze, he immediately nodded in agreement: "Ayao is right. Who told her to be so slow to come out? Then let's call her Wanwan. That's her nickname."
Meng Jinyao was satisfied with his reply, smiled again, gently stroked her belly, and said, "But my second sister-in-law said that judging from my belly, I might have a boy this time."
Gu Jingxi replied, "I don't think it's possible. When I named her, she immediately started to move in the womb, which proves that she was very satisfied with the name I gave her. She is a girl."
Meng Jinyao agreed with him: "I also think she's like a girl."
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