Yuan Qi followed her into the house. Du Haitang was only around twenty years old, with a delicate oval face and fair skin. She wore a loose apricot-colored dress that covered her not-too-large belly.
Judging from their appearances, both mother and child are safe and sound. Yuan Qi didn't think there was anything to see. The child was already full-term. What else could they do but let the baby be born? Could it be that Xiangli Mingzhu and Jiang Zhengqing would kill them?
Before long, Jiang Zhengqing arrived with a midwife and the family physician. The physician and midwife went into the room together, some taking pulses and others preparing for the delivery.
Jiang Zhengqing had no expression, and his emotions were unreadable.
Xiangli Mingzhu came to Jiang Zhengqing to apologize: "My lord, it was my oversight."
Jiang Zhengqing raised his hand, not really caring: "Never mind, it's not your fault. It's my destiny to have another child. Today I met the Imperial Advisor, who congratulated me on the birth of my son. I was very puzzled at the time, and now I know what's going on."
Giving birth isn't something that can be done in a short time. Jiang Zhengqing learned from the Imperial Advisor that both mother and child would be safe today, so he instructed Xiangli Mingzhu to take good care of them before turning and leaving.
Yuan Qi then followed and left.
At daybreak, Du Haitang safely gave birth to a boy weighing six pounds and six ounces.
She watched her baby son cry loudly in his swaddling clothes, feeling extremely content. It was all worth it for her to use talismans to conceal her pregnancy for six months, and to be careful in everything she did, even eating, walking, and using the toilet. With this son by her side, she could finally enjoy her old age in peace.
As the morning light streamed through the window, the baby boy in his swaddling clothes smacked his lips a few times and fell asleep.
Du Haitang watched happily, a relieved smile appearing on her lips. With this son, everything was worth it.
Xiangli Mingzhu entered with Granny Zhao, staring coldly at Du Haitang's son: "Du Meiren, do you know your place?"
When Du Haitang saw the cold face of the pearl in the picture, her heart sank into an ice cellar. She knew who she was, of course. She was given to Jiang Zhengqing by the magistrate of Laiyang County. She was originally a prostitute in a small, unknown brothel in Laiyang County. Before being given to Jiang Zhengqing, she had served many men.
She knelt on the bed, trembling, and quickly picked up the baby boy, holding him protectively in her arms. "Madam, I beg you, please don't take my son away. I promise I will raise him well and he will not bring shame to the Jiang family..."
Xiangli Mingzhu snorted: "You grew up in that kind of place, you don't even know a single word, and all you learned from childhood was how to serve men. What kind of good child can someone like you raise? The Jiang family has rules that no woman in Chun Guang Courtyard is qualified to bear children for the Marquis. Even if she did, you know that you are not qualified to raise the child."
As for why she drank the contraceptive soup and still got pregnant, and how she managed to hide it for several months, Xiangli Mingzhu had already found out the answer in one night.
Du Haitang was extremely beautiful. A servant from the Jiang family also came to Yangxian County. The two met by chance. Du Haitang gave all her money and jewelry to the servant, who then obtained a talisman from Wuji Palace to hide her pregnant belly.
Xiangli Mingzhu personally interrogated the servant, who couldn't withstand the torture and confessed everything.
The servant was then beaten and sold off.
Granny Zhao stepped forward and roughly snatched the baby boy from Du Haitang's arms.
Du Haitang broke down in tears. She had planned for so long and finally had a son, but he was taken away. She was unwilling to accept it, and she kowtowed to Xiangli Mingzhu like a chicken pecking at rice.
But Xiangli Mingzhu left without looking back.
She staggered to the door and saw the corpses lying haphazardly in the yard, and her heart sank.
The servants who had served her were all strangled to death with white silk.
When Yuan Qi went out, he saw several servants carrying corpses out of Chun Guang Courtyard. He roughly counted about six people being carried out, presumably all of whom had served at Haitang Xiaozhu.
It's all about individual destiny. Yuan Qi saw it last night, and she has no intention of interfering.
As Yuan Qi passed through the front courtyard, she saw Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu learning etiquette from the palace maids in the flower hall. She made a face and skipped away from the Jiang residence.
When Xiangli Mingzhu finished arranging for her newborn son and remembered Yuan Qi, Yuan Qi had already changed into a Taoist robe and was strolling around the street.
Under the big locust tree on Tianshui Street, Yuan Qi set up his fortune-telling stall again.
"Hello, Uncle Zhang." Yuan Qi greeted Zhang Liu, the noodle stall owner, as soon as he sat down.
Zhang Liu chuckled sheepishly and didn't ask why Yuan Qi hadn't come all day yesterday. That was her privacy; perhaps something had happened at home, or perhaps she had a big job to do. Although the girl was young, she was very capable, as he had already figured out in the past few days.
I asked, "You're here so early today? Have you had breakfast yet? Would you like a bowl of noodles?"
Yuan Qi politely declined. Zhang Liu's only daughter, a mute girl, tiptoed over, slipped a few pieces of milk candy into Yuan Qi's hand, and smiled at her.
Yuan Qi unceremoniously popped one into his mouth; it was incredibly milky.
Then, the mute girl brought a table from somewhere and placed it in front of Yuan Qi. She gestured with her hands, saying that a young master had sent it to him yesterday.
Yuan Qi understood and knew that it was sent by someone from Xiangli Youming. Since she wasn't there, he entrusted Zhang Liu from the noodle stall to deliver it. Then the mute girl brought over two stools, one for Yuan Qi and one for the customer who came to have his fortune told.
Yuan Qi took out two amulets from his cloth bag and stuffed them into the mute girl's hand: "Thank you for keeping them for me. This is for Uncle Zhang and you, one each, for protection."
Before long, a customer arrived. He was a dejected man, around twenty years old, with messy hair, a pale face, and a foul odor. It was hard to tell how long he hadn't showered.
Looking at his clothes, he was dressed in coarse cloth and short clothes, clearly from a poor background.
"Would ten copper coins count?" The man placed the only ten copper coins he had in front of Yuan Qi.
"Yes, that's settled." Yuan Qi accepted the ten copper coins. "What would you like to have settled, sir?"
The man pointed to the gambling den not far away: "Let me see if I can win back the money I lost yesterday."
Yuan Qi glanced at his face; his wealth palace was gloomy. He then pulled his hands over and looked at them again: "You won't win it back. You're not destined to be rich in this life."
"What bad luck!" The man stood up to leave, muttering, "The fortune teller said I wouldn't win it back, and I guess I never will. Sigh, two taels of silver!"
Seeing his distressed expression, Yuan Qi stopped him: "Don't go. Although you are not destined to be rich, you have a good son. If you work hard to earn money so that he can study and learn to read, he can bring honor to the family."
The man's eyes lit up, and he turned back to sit down: "How did you know my wife was carrying a boy? How did you know she was about to give birth?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com