Chapter 50 Chapter 50 "Fourth Room Concubine Liu gave birth prematurely...
At first, Cheng Shi didn't take it seriously. Lately, the maid had been complaining of discomfort, aches and pains. Doctor Guang had been seen twice in the past half month. She turned around and told her personal maid, "Go back and take a look."
He then said to Yue Qing'e, "I'll have to trouble my second sister-in-law to send for the doctor. Liu's pregnancy has been very unstable, and my second sister-in-law has suffered as well."
Yue Qing'e immediately sent a message to the outer courtyard, then replied, "What's the big deal? It's just a simple word."
"Why is she still restless at this stage?" An interrupted. "Isn't it already over seven months?"
"How can there be a fixed rule for such things? If you get pregnant with a troublesome baby, you won't be at peace until you give birth." Cheng replied.
Yue Qing'e agreed, "That's right. Before I gave birth to Huaizhi, I also stayed in bed for a long time to take care of the baby. Some babies are restless at the beginning, vomiting a lot, and can't eat or sleep well. Others are tossing and turning at the end, feeling anxious, restless, and having swollen hands and feet..."
Fang Ying was the only one present who hadn't given birth yet. She frowned upon hearing this. An, sitting across from her, could see clearly and interrupted Yue Qing'e with a chuckle, "Stop talking, second sister-in-law! Look how scared you've made Sixth Brother's wife."
Yue Qing'e glanced sideways at Fang Ying and said with a smile, "It's my fault. No more talking. Come on, continue guessing."
Guess another number? Were they truly not worried about Aunt Liu at all? Aren't they worried about premature birth if she's spotting this month? Fang Ying remembered it clearly. Her mother had gone into premature labor after spotting at seven or eight months of pregnancy, and the baby wasn't saved after birth...
An didn't give her time to think further. She hid two chess pieces in her palm again and held them out to her for her to guess.
"One black and one white." Fang Ying guessed casually.
An raised his eyes and asked, "Did you peek?"
"No..." Fang Ying laughed. "Third sister-in-law is really good at accusing people. When you hid the chess pieces, I was still wondering, is it premature labor if you're seeing blood this month?"
Before An could say anything, Cheng was a little unhappy: "Sixth brother's wife has never given birth, but she knows a lot."
"I just said it because I don't understand. I want to ask you sisters-in-law for advice." Fang Ying pretended to be frightened. "Ever since the incident with Princess Yan, I've been particularly afraid of hearing such things."
An said first, "That's not the same thing. Spotting during pregnancy isn't uncommon, but it's not rare either. Ask the doctor to prescribe some medication to preserve the pregnancy, and then rest in bed for a while, and it will be fine." She unclenched her fist and showed everyone the chess pieces. "It's your turn."
The maid walked behind Fang Ying, holding the chess box. She turned around, took two white pieces, and hid them in her palm. Then she heard Cheng say behind her, "Sixth sister-in-law, your words are getting more and more outrageous. It's because we're close that we know you don't have bad intentions. If it were someone else, hearing you keep talking about premature birth and mentioning the recently deceased Princess Yan, wouldn't they think you were cursing us?"
Fang Ying turned around and was about to reply, but Yue Qing'e interrupted, "Alright, since you know Sixth Sister-in-law is concerned with good intentions, why bother saying such spoiling things? Come on, keep guessing."
Cheng's face was filled with displeasure: "Second sister-in-law, what you said is too biased towards Sixth Brother's wife. Am I the first one to say something that spoils the fun?"
Fang Ying had actually lost the mood for a feast, but seeing the tense atmosphere, to avoid further arguments, she forced a smile and admitted her fault, "I was too careless. I didn't expect Fourth Sister-in-law to care about Liu and the unborn child and couldn't bear to hear such things. I'll drink a glass as punishment. Please don't be angry with me."
As she spoke, she picked up the cup with both hands, saluted Cheng, and drank from it.
Cheng was stunned for a moment. Although she felt that there was something wrong with her apology, she didn't have time to think about it. Fang Ying had already finished the wine in the glass and turned to ask Yue Qing'e to guess the chess piece in her hand.
Yue Qing'e didn't give Cheng another chance to speak, and directly guessed that there were two black pieces. If she guessed wrong, she would drink a penalty. Then she asked Gao to guess. An watched the fun from the side, laughing and joking, and the atmosphere at the table became lively again.
After two rounds of guessing, An suggested changing the rules. "Have someone come beat the drum. We have some newly picked plum blossoms, right? Let's pass the flower around. Whoever stops after the flower gets to tell a joke. If it's not funny, they have to drink a drink. How do you do that?"
"OK."
Yue Qing'e responded first, then looked up and was about to ask someone to get a small drum, when she saw a figure swaying outside. Then someone pushed the door open, hurriedly walked to Cheng's side, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Cheng's face paled, and she glared at Fang Ying fiercely. She stood up and said sarcastically, "Sixth sister-in-law is right. Liu's water has broken, and she's about to give birth. I have to go back, and ask Second Sister-in-law to send someone to find a midwife."
At this moment, no one cared whether her words were pleasant or not. Yue Qing'e repeatedly ordered the servants to find a midwife, asked the kitchen to boil more hot water, and asked if the doctor had arrived.
An followed Cheng and stood up, asking her, "How about I go back with you to take a look?"
"No, you can have fun." Cheng put on her coat and politely declined. "If a child is born in my room, why should I bother my third sister-in-law? I'll send people to announce the good news to the other rooms after the baby is born."
After she finished speaking, she left in a hurry, leaving the four sisters-in-law behind. How could they have the mood to continue drinking and having fun?
"Let's go our separate ways and get together next time. I have to go and report back to my mother." Yue Qing'e said.
The banquet ended in a hurry. Fang Ying and Yue Qing'e went to Li's room together and reported that Liu, the fourth concubine, had given birth prematurely.
Li immediately sent a maid over. After a cup of tea, the maid returned with the news, "The cervix hasn't opened yet. The doctor has arrived and said Liu is fine. As long as the baby is in the right position, the birth won't be difficult. I felt the baby and it seems to be in the right position, but we still have to wait for the midwife to arrive and see."
Li nodded, and the nanny continued, "Si Niang said that Madam Tzu is concerned about her and that she can't leave for the time being. She will come back to report in person after the child is born. When I came out, I ran into Madam He. Madam He said that she will be watching over Si Lang's courtyard, so Madam, please rest assured."
Fang Ying and Yue Qing'e, who were sitting nearby, exchanged a look of amazement. What did Aunt He mean by that? Who was she targeting? Madam, please rest assured...
"She's a worrier." Li smiled faintly, "Then let's just wait for news."
He also asked Fang Ying and Yue Qing'e to go back, "Who knows, the baby might be born at night."
Fang Ying and the other two took their leave as instructed. Since the two sisters-in-law were going the same way, they walked back together, talking as they walked.
"Don't take your fourth sister-in-law's words to heart. If Liu is going to give birth prematurely, no one can stop her even if no one tells her. When has anyone been able to decide for themselves about giving birth?" Yue Qing'e said.
"I never took to heart what Fourth Sister-in-law and the others said. It's just..." Fang Ying exhaled a white breath, "I was a little scared."
Yue Qing'e thought she was afraid of giving birth and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, we've all been through this before."
Fang Ying found this strange - if everyone had gone through this, wouldn't it be scary? Everyone was going to die, so why was everyone afraid of death?
But she had already argued too much today, so she couldn't bring herself to say this to Yue Qing'e. She just sighed softly and said, "I hope Liu can give birth to the child safely."
Yue Qing'e found this strange and glanced sideways at her. Fang Ying noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just..." Yue Qing'e pondered for a moment, then spoke directly, "After all, this is the Fourth House's matter. It's enough for us to express our concern. The same goes for the one from the Third House. Whether the birth is safe or not, and whether it's a boy or a girl, has nothing to do with us. Good or bad is all their karma. Don't think too much about it, it's not worth it."
Fang Ying was stunned for a moment. Yue Qing'e recalled their previous conversation in Meilin about the Princess of Yan and continued, "I know you've always been soft-hearted and warm to others, but the world is like this. We are just women in the harem. We can only see this small world and control a few things. If you think too much, you will make it difficult for yourself. I still say that everyone has their own destiny, and living your own life is the most important thing."
After saying this, they reached a fork in the road where they parted ways. Fang Ying could hear her sister-in-law's genuine concern and responded seriously, "I've made a note of that. Thank you for your guidance."
Yue Qing'e shook her hand and said, "There's no need to talk about this between you and me. If you have any questions in the future, come and talk to me more often."
Fang Ying agreed and said goodbye to her. She returned to her room, changed her clothes, washed her hands and face, sat down and was stunned for a while before whispering to Lichun, "Actually, I'm not doing this for Princess Yan and Liu."
Lichun ordered a cup of tea for her mistress, brought it to her, and said softly, "I know you are thinking of your deceased wife."
Yes and no.
She just felt that in this world, it was really difficult for a woman to live a good life.
That night, until Fang Ying fell asleep, there was no news from the fourth room. She tossed and turned for a long time, which was rare, before finally falling asleep.
The next morning, when she opened her eyes, the room was brighter than usual. Lichun heard the noise and came to help her get up. Fang Ying asked first, "What time is it? Am I up late?"
"No, it's sunny outside, so it's brighter." Lichun hung up the curtains and continued to report, "Fourth Room Concubine Liu gave birth to a little boy. They said he was born at 3:30 pm."
"Really? It's all right after the birth." Fang Ying breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help asking, "Are both mother and child safe?"
Lichun's smile faded. "Madam Liu is fine, but the young master..." She shook her head and leaned close to Fang Ying's ear. "The servants are saying that the child was born the size of a kitten and couldn't even cry. I'm afraid they won't be able to keep him alive."
Fang Ying sighed: "I'm glad the big one is okay."
She packed up, had breakfast, and went to pay her respects to Mrs. Li. After the winter solstice, Mrs. Li no longer invited her to have breakfast with her, saying that the weather was too cold and it would be too painful to walk around on an empty stomach so early in the morning. It would be better to eat and wait until the sun rises before going out.
When Fang Ying arrived at Li's room, she saw that Cheng had already arrived.
After greeting each other, Fang Ying saw that Cheng's eyes were red, so she asked, "Did Fourth Sister-in-law not sleep all night?"
"I took a nap in the middle of the night." Cheng's words were a little weak. "Sixth brother's wife must have heard that the baby wasn't born well. I was just telling mother about it. I don't know how to explain it to your fourth uncle."
Li said, "How can you be blamed for the sudden premature birth? Okay, go back and get some sleep first, don't overwork yourself. Liu and the child will be taken care of, and we can deal with other things once you've rested."
Cheng wiped her tears and blamed herself a few times before leaving at Li's urging.
Fang Ying saw her leave from the window and couldn't help but ask Li, "What's wrong with Fourth Sister-in-law? Yesterday when we were in the garden, we heard that Liu had given birth prematurely, but she didn't take it seriously. Why is she crying now?"
"You're late and didn't hear anything." Li smiled and shook her head. "Didn't He go there yesterday? She stayed with Liu until she gave birth. When she saw the baby, He suddenly got anxious and implicitly blamed your fourth sister-in-law for not taking good care of her. So she came to me to seek justice."
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The author has something to say: There were typos in the previous chapter. I'll fix them, so you don't have to go back and read it.
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