Chapter 114 Chapter 114 "We agreed to join hands with Bai...
It was near the Lesser Heat, and the heat in Bianjing City was unbearable. Fang Ying had moved to the bamboo house where Yue Qing'e had stayed last year to escape the summer heat since the summer solstice. Ji Yanlang was unwilling to stay alone in the empty house, so he moved in with her.
The bamboo house was close to the water, so it was at least cooler at night, allowing for a good night's sleep. Ji Yanlang felt comfortable living here. Counting the days, he said to Fang Ying, "Why don't we give birth here? We can move back home after the full moon."
"No, maybe it will be okay during the birthing period, but by the time the full moon comes, it will be almost September."
"That's right. If the cold weather comes early this year and you can't be exposed to the wind during your confinement period, then you should go back and give birth."
Fang Ying had already planned to clean up the side room to use as a delivery room, but for her at the moment, all this was secondary. As her belly grew bigger and the due date drew closer, the fear that had been suppressing her heart became increasingly unbearable.
"Let me ask you, if something unexpected happens during my delivery..."
Before Fang Ying could finish her words, she called out to Ji Yanlang, "Pfft, pfft, what do you mean by 'what if'? Everything is fine, there is no 'what if'."
Fang Ying pushed his hand away: "Just because you said you didn't have it, did it mean it didn't exist?"
"If I say no, then there's no!" Ji Yanlang said firmly. Then, coming to his senses, he leaned closer and asked her, "Are you scared again?"
Fang Ying sighed: "How can I not be afraid?"
Ji Yanlang put his arm around her shoulders and said softly, "Don't worry. Have you forgotten how we got married? It's because of your precious horoscope."
He actually believed this at this point. Fang Ying smiled and asked, "Don't you think you don't believe this?"
"Who said I don't believe it? Didn't I tell you long ago that we were destined to be together? If you call that disbelief, then what is belief?"
Fang Ying said, "Who would argue with you about this? I just want to ask you... Forget it. With mother here, even if you remarry, the child will be taken care of and will definitely grow up well."
"..." How come in the middle of this conversation, even his business has disappeared?
Ji Yanlang frowned: "You just don't trust me?"
"It's not that I don't trust you, but you're a man. You have to be an official and lead troops in battle, so naturally you won't be able to take care of family matters."
"I said remarriage."
Fang Ying asked back, "Could it be possible for you not to remarry?"
Ji Yanlang retorted, "Stop cursing yourself about whether or not to remarry. Besides, why can't I be faithful to my husband?"
Fang Ying couldn't help but smile.
She smiled, and Ji Yanlang, who had not been annoyed at first, became a little annoyed. "You just don't trust me. That's what happened last time when you said you wouldn't take a concubine."
Fang Ying's own worries were still unresolved, so how could she have the energy to comfort him?
Just admit it: "I don't believe it. If you were me, would you believe it?"
"I..." Ji Yanlang wanted to ask why he didn't believe it, but he didn't say it. Instead, he said, "I know that you only care about others, and I am no exception."
"This isn't about being unconventional, it's about being reasonable. Not to mention he lost his wife at such a young age, the emperor is already a grandfather. Wouldn't it be a good idea for him to marry a new queen?"
Ji Yanlang asked back, "What about you?" He pressed further, "If I died first, would you remarry?"
"From my heart, I'm unwilling to do so, but if I have no choice, there's nothing I can do." Fang Ying paused for a moment, then continued, "The same goes for you."
Ji Yanlang wanted to refute, but when he thought about it seriously, at his age, after the demise of his wife, even if he firmly refused to remarry, his parents could tolerate him for a few years, but they would never allow him to be alone forever.
What's more, they need to reproduce and carry on the family line.
Seeing him silent, Fang Ying didn't say anything more. Unexpectedly, after Ji Yanlang sat in silence for a while, he suddenly grabbed her hand and said, "Don't worry, I will be with you on the day of delivery and sit next to you."
Fang Ying was stunned.
"No matter what others say, no matter who wants to drive me away, I won't leave. I will stay with you in the delivery room." Ji Yanlang said seriously, his eyes full of solemnity, "You are blessed with great fortune, and you will definitely have a safe delivery."
Fang Ying felt a lump in her nose and a lump in her throat, unable to utter a word.
Seeing her eyes were red, Ji Yanlang came over and kissed her cheek, saying with a smile: "We agreed that we would grow old together, and no one would leave first."
Fang Ying felt that she was really easy to coax. Just two simple words from him really made her feel at ease and not so scared anymore.
On the second day, Fang Ying wrote her pregnancy notes as usual. She wrote this partly to prevent herself from forgetting and to keep it for future reference. The other part was to keep it for Zhou Congshan and her sisters to refer to when they became pregnant. Therefore, she only wrote about her body and the fetus, and did not mention what she and Ji Yanlang said or did.
So should we avoid the fear of production and not write?
Fang Ying thought about it carefully and decided not to write it, because writing it on paper could not bring comfort to people. She should stay with them more and say more comforting words, just like Ji Yanlang treated her.
After finishing her notes, she picked up the Analects of Confucius and began to read.
Since she became pregnant, Fang Ying had nothing to do during the day. At most, she would go out for a walk in the garden. When it got hot, she would go out with Ji Yanlang after dinner and simply find some books to read.
She started by reading the poetry selections of the predecessors. As she read, she found that some of the poems contained allusions that she had never heard of. She remembered that although she learned to read in the Ji Mansion, she relied on self-study after returning home. She even read "The Analects of Confucius" in a hurry without understanding it thoroughly. So she found a copy of "The Analects of Confucius" annotated by famous scholars of the previous dynasty from Ji Yanlang's decorative bookshelf.
Fang Ying was too heavy to sit for long periods of time, so he had to get up from time to time and move his hands and feet around the house. He also had frequent urination, so he read the book intermittently. It was not until the beginning of the Great Heat season that he finally finished reading the book.
During this period, Zhou Congshan sent someone to visit her. When he heard that she was reading "The Analects of Confucius", he specially found the "Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci" that he had read and sent them to her to read to relieve her boredom.
When Ji Yanlang saw this, he even joked with her: "It seems that my wife is going to become a talented woman through study. In the future, when your children study, you won't have to worry about your husband anymore."
"You dare to say such things? Do you believe me? I'll tell my mother."
Ji Yanlang immediately begged for mercy: "No, no, no, it's such a hot day, why make mother angry over such a joke?" As he said that, he stretched out his hand to massage Fang Ying's shoulders and legs, very attentive.
Fang Ying was just joking, of course. But she couldn't help but worry, "What if the child doesn't like studying like you do? What should I do?"
Ji Yanlang himself really didn't like studying, but he also felt that for a child of their family background, it would be too inappropriate for him not to study. Moreover, the government intended to eradicate the evils of the feudal system. Even if they were to use them now, they had to be separated to prevent the next generation from only practicing martial arts and not studying.
He then found his own military manual and read it with Fang Ying, saying confidently, "A military manual is also a book, and even Mr. Lian said that Sun Tzu's Art of War is well-written and vivid."
Fang Ying saw that the pages of his copy of The Art of War were curled and the cover was worn, showing that he had been reading it frequently. She smiled and said, "Okay, tell me about it."
When Ji Yanlang heard that he was asked to talk about military strategy, he felt that the responsibility was heavy and he couldn't be so careless. He asked Fang Ying to read the original text first and he had to prepare a few things himself.
Fang Ying agreed and read slowly for a few days. When she had her day off, Ji Yanlang sat down in front of her seriously and asked her how she was doing and if there was anything she didn't understand.
"That's a lot." Fang Ying pointed to the passage she had just read. "'When governing the many, treat the few as you would treat the many, and this is done by dividing them.' What does that mean?"
"That is, managing an army of ten thousand can be as easy as managing a hundred or so men. This depends on the military system. The 'fractions' here, according to Cao Mengde, are called 'units as divisions, and ten and five as numbers.' In modern times, taking the Imperial Guard as an example, there are wing, army, battalion, and capital. A wing has ten armies, an army has five battalions, and a battalion has five capitals, each with a hundred men."
Fang Ying vaguely understood: "Does it mean that by governing at every level like this, we can rule the many as easily as the few?"
"Pretty much. Just like you and your sisters-in-law are managing the household, you are also managing the crowd. If you want to manage the household in an orderly manner and have the servants to work at your will, you need to appoint a lady in charge."
"What about the following line, 'Fighting the many is like fighting the few, the form and name are the same'?"
"This refers to the use of flags, gongs, and drums to command the troops during battle."
This article talks about military affairs, which is bound to be difficult for a girl in the boudoir to read. Ji Yanlang simply took the book and explained it to Fang Ying sentence by sentence, and from time to time he gave examples of household chores that Fang Ying was familiar with. He made it easy to understand and quite interesting.
After finishing this story, both of them were still not satisfied, so they turned back to the beginning of the book and started again.
Unfortunately, Ji Yanlang only had one day off in ten days. When he got home from work on weekdays, it was already late. His eyes were tired from reading, so he could only answer questions verbally. He read a book of military strategy until they moved back to the courtyard and Fang Ying was about to give birth, but he still hadn't finished explaining it.
Fang Ying's body was becoming increasingly heavy, and she no longer cared about being afraid. She just wanted to give birth to the baby as soon as possible so that she could feel free without the baby.
Yue Qing'e laughed a few times after hearing her words and said, "Your belly isn't that big, and you're not that plump either. After you give birth, it won't be long before you're back to normal."
Fang Ying didn't think so, but she had indeed been intentionally restraining her diet for the past two or three months. She could never forget the tragic incident when Liu ate too much and the fetus was too big, so she couldn't be born. Now that it happened to her, she didn't dare to eat more.
"But it's almost the end of the summer heat, why is there no sign of giving birth yet?" She complained, holding her belly.
Yue Qing'e smiled and said, "Maybe this child is just a steady person, not impatient or irritable. Besides, the imperial physician also said that as long as the body is fine, it is not too late to wait until the end of this month."
Fang Yingxin said that the child was not impatient, but she was. However, there was nothing she could do. She could only walk around more often when she had nothing to do, hoping that the birth would be easier.
Unexpectedly, Yue Qing'e's words came true. Her stomach still didn't move for a few days. Until the 29th, when she was about to take a nap, Fang Ying suddenly felt a pain in her stomach, and she grabbed Ji Yanlang's hand.
Ji Yanlang was on leave today, and worried Fang Ying was about to give birth, he hadn't gone anywhere and had been with her the entire time. He noticed she was using a lot of force, and seeing her face had turned pale, he hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Does it hurt anywhere? Are you about to give birth?"
Fang Ying gritted her teeth and endured the abdominal pain, then nodded and said, "It should be."
Ji Yanlang immediately asked Lichun to invite a nanny. When the nanny arrived and saw that the baby was about to give birth, she hurriedly sent someone to tell Li and Yue Qing'e to call the midwife and the imperial physician.
Fang Ying was moved to the delivery room. She was no longer in pain and smiled at Ji Yanlang, "Thank goodness I was diligent and washed my hair yesterday."
Otherwise, you won’t be able to wash your hair during the confinement period, and when you leave, you won’t know what your hair will look like.
Seeing that she was still laughing and talking, and didn't seem very scared, Ji Yanlang felt a lot more at ease.
Soon Yue Qing'e and Gao came to see Fang Ying and stayed with her while she waited for the midwife to arrive. In order to avoid suspicion, Ji Yanlang left first. After the midwife had taken a look and said it was still early, and both sisters-in-law had left first, Ji Yanlang went back to accompany Fang Ying.
Fang Ying survived another contraction, and the imperial physician came and took her pulse. He said that she was in good health and just needed to accumulate strength, and she would be able to give birth safely.
Ji Yanlang sent the imperial physician to the side hall outside to rest and arranged for someone to take good care of him. When he returned to the delivery room, Fang Ying's amniotic fluid had already broken.
The nanny and midwife sent by Mrs. Li were surprised that he would come in again, and kept asking him to go back to his room and wait.
Ji Yanlang walked around them and sat next to Fang Ying. He gave her his hand and said, "If you can't bear it anymore, bite me."
Fang Ying was in pain and didn't care about anything else. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly.
"No need to persuade me, I'm not going anywhere today. I'll just stay here." Ji Yanlang turned around and said to the midwife and the maids, "You guys take care of yourselves, don't worry about me."
The maids were unable to persuade her, so they had to report it to the lady.
Mrs. Li had not planned to come so early. She knew that the first child would not come so quickly. When she heard that her youngest son was "causing trouble" in the delivery room, she planned to ask him to come over. But then she changed her mind and went to the delivery room in person.
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The author said: "To command a large number is to treat it as one would a small number, and to fight a large number is to treat a small number as one would a small number, and to use the form and name is the key." This is from "The Art of War".
I originally thought I could finish writing about production, but for some reason I ended up writing an extra paragraph about a young couple reading. Haha, that’s pretty good too.
The newborn baby will be born in the New Year. I wish you all a happy New Year and everything goes well in 2025.
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