Chapter 410: The Principle Wife
Li San Niang had no idea that Jin Niangzi was going to drug her.
After a busy day, Li San Niang dragged her tired body back to the Li family home. When she saw Lu Zhu'er greeting her at the door and Lu Zhu'er sweetly calling her "Mother," Li San Niang smiled radiantly.
"Third Sister, someone came to deliver a letter and some things to you today."
"Quickly wash your hands and go check. The things are in the west wing, and the letter is in the main hall."
"My letter?"
Li San Niang never imagined that someone would write her a letter. After all, these days, most messages were sent verbally, and only noble families were particular about this. If they were to visit someone's home, they would send an invitation in advance.
After washing her hands, Li San Niang led Lu Zhu'er to the main hall, picked up the letter, and looked at the small characters on it. Only then did she remember that when Guo Wu Niangzi (who appears in chapters 179-181, 203-205, and 330-332) got married, she did indeed say that she would write to her.
"So it was a letter from Guo Wu Niangzi."
Upon opening it, I read, "Dr. Li, greetings! I have arrived in Suzhou with Lang Xu..."
Guo Wu Niangzi didn't actually write much; she just talked about how she was alone while serving as an official in Suzhou, didn't know many people, and was usually quite lonely.
Upon reading the letter, Li San Niang felt that Guo Wu Niangzi considered her a close friend. Although the letter contained some subtle complaints, they were still palpable.
Of course, it also mentioned that along with the letter were some local specialties from Suzhou sent by servants. If Li San Niang liked them, she could write to them, and when she sent someone to Chang'an to deliver Mid-Autumn Festival gifts next time, she could send them to Li San Niang as well.
After putting down the letter, Li San Niang picked up Lu Zhu'er, who was sitting at her feet, and said, "Come on, let's go see what kind of local specialties Guo Wu Niangzi sent."
Upon arriving at the west wing, I saw local specialty fabrics and some long-lasting fried pastries. Most surprisingly, there was a basket of pears, which looked quite good and must have been stored in the ice cellar earlier.
"Sister-in-law, take out all the food here and eat it. If you don't eat it now, it might not stay in the refrigerator any longer."
So, after dinner tonight, the Li family's digestive aid will be pears.
"This Guo Wu Niangzi is truly an honest person. She went to such a far place and still remembered to bring some local products for San Niang."
"It is because Third Sister was honest that she received such a reward."
Third Sister, write a letter and leave it here.
The messenger said they would be returning after the third day of the third lunar month.
After coaxing Lu Zhu'er to sleep, Li San Niang wrote a reply to Guo Wu Niang by candlelight.
He not only thanked her for her thoughtfulness and gifts, but also mentioned some interesting things that had happened in Chang'an recently, and made his concern for her health clear in his heart.
Such a heartfelt reply pleased Li San Niang greatly, making her feel that she had done right by the pears Guo Wu Niang had sent.
The next day, it was still very cold. After rubbing her hands together, Li San Niang took the hand warmer prepared by Sister-in-law Li and Qiu Xiang got into the carriage driven by Shi Jiu and headed towards Yongpingfang in the cold wind.
This morning, however, three strange people came in: a heavily pregnant woman followed by two men who looked to be about the same age.
What Li Sanniang found strange was that both men were very careful and attentive to the woman. At first, Li Sanniang guessed that one of them might be the woman's husband, and the other her brother.
However, the more one listened to what the three people were saying while conducting the consultation, the stranger the situation became.
Although Li San Niang felt something was strange, as a doctor, she still had to see patients, so she asked, "When was the last time you had your period, madam?"
Seeing the woman's troubled expression, Li Sanniang said gently, "Please don't be offended, madam. I'm asking this to estimate the approximate date of the child's birth. It's all for the sake of the child's safe delivery."
"My lady, do you not remember?"
The woman looked embarrassed, but still looked up at Li San Niang: "Female doctor, I remember the date roughly."
Well, well, I wanted to ask, to ask…
Li San Niang didn't urge her, patiently watching the woman wait for her to finish speaking. However, the taller man behind the woman became impatient and interrupted, saying, "We've come to ask if the child in Peach Blossom's belly is the young master?"
Li San Niang was dumbfounded. How could this be?
Then, through the three of them adding their own comments, Li San Niang finally understood what was going on!
Peach Blossom is the wife of the short man. They have two sons, but they live in the outer three cities and have no land, so they live a very frugal life.
The tall man also had a hard life. He finally managed to get a wife through an official allocation as he grew older, but his wife couldn't bear the hardship and ran off with a peddler who sold goods on the streets.
The older a tall man gets, the less likely he is to find a woman who will take a liking to him.
Having no other choice, the tall man still wanted a son to carry on the family line, so he found a short man who worked odd jobs with him at the merchant's.
“I want a son, but I can’t get married because of my circumstances. But I have three mud houses. If you can get your wife to give me a son, I will sell one of the mud houses and give you ten taels of silver.”
These days, buying a seven- or eight-year-old boy only costs seven or eight taels of silver. As soon as the tall man said this, the short man was tempted.
So he went home and told his wife, Peach Blossom.
Peach Blossom was naturally unwilling and flatly refused the short man.
"How could that possibly work?"
I'm your wife. If I have a child for someone else, what does that mean?
I'm not one of those shady people who run a business with only a half-open door!
"Oh my, peach blossoms, beautiful peach blossoms, this is not what you're looking at at all!"
No matter what the short man said afterward, Peach Blossom did not agree to it.
The turning point came when Peach Blossom's five-year-old son fell ill. The cost of medicine was one thing, but taking care of the child and not being able to go out to work was another.
For the sake of her child, Peach Blossom compromised.
The problem was that, in order to get treatment for her child, Tao Hua couldn't wait two months and went directly to the tall man's house.
She did indeed become pregnant smoothly, and the tall man kept his word, selling a mud house and giving Peach Blossom five taels of silver as a gift.
However, it's impossible to determine from the date of birth whether the child is a tall or short boy.
That's why Peach Blossom blushed and was too embarrassed to speak when Li San Niang asked her question earlier.
"Doctor, can you take a look? Is there a baby boy in Peach Blossom's belly?"
"These children, regardless of gender, are all your children. What are you going to do about this?"
"Sigh, we made a promise. If it's my son, I'll take the child, no matter if it's actually mine or not."
If it's a girl, I don't want her.
"What do you mean by that?"
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