Chapter 810: The Funeral (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Chaos erupted inside the delivery room.
Chaos also broke out outside the delivery room.
"Can't they come? Not a single one?" The woman grabbed her second son, the only one in the family still capable of running errands, in disbelief. Her eldest son was still recovering from his injuries, her youngest couldn't handle the shock, and her second son, having been sent to fetch a midwife and doctor, had nearly worn out his legs, only to receive this devastating news. She broke down, saying, "Did you tell them there would be a generous reward? A hundred taels of gold would be enough if they were willing to come!"
Mother, I've told you, I've told you everything!
The second son also looked devastated and desperate.
He even disregarded family rules, holding a knife to their necks and threatening them, determined to take them back even if it meant kidnapping. Unexpectedly, they knelt down abruptly, kowtowing and pleading, "Brother Zhao, please don't make things difficult for us! If we leave this house, our entire families will die!"
He angrily retorted: "Aren't you afraid of dying right now?"
Driven to desperation, the doctor prepared to bang his head against the wall and commit suicide. If he hadn't reacted quickly, the other man's head would have been cracked open. He had no choice but to leave empty-handed, and the doctor revealed the trick with a wry smile.
【Zhao Lang, it's not that we're unwilling to help, it's just that we simply can't save him. Don't you even consider whose clinic this is?】
A clinic is not something an ordinary person can run.
Eighty percent of the medical clinics are owned by influential figures.
Although these owners have different surnames, it doesn't mean they're unrelated. With just a word, who wouldn't give them face out of kinship, friendship, or clan ties? They didn't commit murder or arson; they were just looking for an excuse to close the clinic for a few days.
As for offending Zhao Feng?
They weren't familiar with Zhao Feng.
Why should a military general with no real power meddle in things that are his own clinic, which can operate or rest whenever he wants?
Doctors also have young children and elderly parents, so they have no choice but to go against their conscience.
Upon hearing this, the woman felt a sharp pain in her chest and her vision blurred with anger.
[Doctors are afraid to visit, but where are the midwives?]
The second son said, "We can't find them; they're not home."
I asked around, and everyone was out working overnight, either rushing to the next county to deliver babies or having family emergencies and having to return home.
Not to mention the midwife, not even a ghost could be seen.
This is clearly aimed at their family.
The delivery room door creaked open with a thud.
[Husband, wife, quick! She's dying!]
A piercing scream echoed from the delivery room, sending chills down the spines of everyone outside, their legs instantly buckling. The woman, supported by others, entered the delivery room; the pungent smell of blood assaulted her senses, and she was drenched in cold sweat after just a few steps, on the verge of fainting.
The new mother's husband and mother-in-law stood helplessly by the bedside, their eyes brightening slightly when they saw her approach. The weakened woman, as if experiencing a final burst of energy before death, stretched out her swollen but still relatively plump right hand and, enduring the pain, cried out: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law—"
[Sister-in-law is here! Sister-in-law is here!] The woman managed to grab the new mother's hand several times, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.
The woman who gave birth was Zhao Feng's cousin. Her parents had both died, and she had survived by eating the food of many families for several years. When she was seven or eight years old, she could no longer endure hardship, and the village headman, thinking of Zhao Feng, arranged for her to come and find her family. Upon hearing her story, Zhao Feng took her in, and she grew up alongside Zhao Wei, considered him almost a daughter. When she came of age, the woman acted as matchmaker, arranging her marriage to the son of an official.
During a break in the contractions, she regained some strength.
She weakly begged the woman for a favor.
The woman said, "You said your sister-in-law has taken care of everything for you!"
Everyone knew perfectly well that this was her giving her last words.
[I can't go on, sister-in-law—please, this child must live! Please cut open my stomach! I'll die anyway, so while there's still a chance, take the baby out and at least one of us can survive! Please!]
The new mother's request shocked everyone.
The woman cried out in anguish, "How can this be!"
However, time cannot be delayed.
Seeing that no miracle had occurred and the baby's foot was stuck outside, the woman had no choice but to harden her heart and do as instructed, ordering her limbs to be tied to the four corners of the bed. Unexpectedly, the woman was already numb from the pain, and the movements of her abdomen did not elicit a strong reaction from her.
In a daze, my tense belly suddenly relaxed.
Warm liquid, whether amniotic fluid or blood, flowed from the wound, wetting the bedding below. Then, a cry like a cat's meow was heard. She blinked, straining her blurred vision to try and make out the child the woman was holding in her arms.
My hands and feet were ice cold, and breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.
Sister-in-law, sister-in-law—
Her voice was barely audible.
The woman, holding the child close to her face, brushed the hair from her forehead with her sticky, blood-stained hands and murmured, "Look at him, he's your son, his features look just like yours..."
When the baby's skin first turned bluish-purple, she was worried that it was stillborn. Fortunately, he was very brave and managed to make a sound.
However, the person on the bed was no longer responding.
The maidservant who served the woman checked her breathing and shook her head.
The woman, having no time to grieve, handed the child to his grandmother and ordered someone to fetch needle and thread. While stitching up her belly, she hesitated for a moment, then hardened her heart and had a servant bring a wheat bran pillow, which she then disassembled. With tears in her eyes, she sewed the wheat bran into the pillow.
After stitching it up, clean her body with water.
She changed into clean clothes, combed her hair, and applied makeup.
After finishing her tasks, the woman was exhausted, but she couldn't collapse yet. Just as she was about to ask the servants and children how they were, she heard another scream outside. Her second son rushed in, his face even paler than the body on the bed.
His mouth opened and closed, but the woman couldn't hear him clearly.
Who did you say died?
Her second son opened and closed his mouth again, but she still couldn't hear him clearly.
She said numbly, "I'll go take a look."
Halfway up I got up, everything went completely dark.
She only had time to see her son's terrified, contorted face. When she woke up again, the intense discomfort had subsided.
She looked at the three neatly arranged coffins being dragged out of the storeroom. Zhao Feng, as a military general, had been coming and going in the flames of war and never knew when he would be gone. So he was keen on making coffins for himself. Whenever he had good wood, he would make one. The coffins were custom-made according to Zhao Feng's size and were twice the size of ordinary coffins. The three ordinary corpses were placed inside, making them look small and pitiful.
This scene gave her a surreal feeling, as if she were in a dream.
The second son stood behind her, blaming himself, "Mother, I failed in my duty to protect them and couldn't save them..."
Knowing that the entire Tianhai Medical Clinic was closed and midwives were unavailable, and having witnessed their daughter-in-law's/wife's tragic death, the mother and son were emotionally devastated. They left a suicide note, stating they could no longer bear to implicate the Zhao family. They took turns holding their newborn child, made an excuse to send the servants away, and committed suicide together. Since the perpetrators were after their family, at least their bodies would be taken away, at least providing some closure.
In this way, the crisis at the Zhao family's residence can be resolved.
They will have to find a reliable family to adopt the child.
Only when they die can the children live.
They didn't even know their husbands/fathers had passed away until they died.
——
"Outrageous! Outrageous!" Yun Ce was overwhelmed with rage, his killing intent almost spiraling out of control. "Using such despicable means to force a pregnant woman to her death, slaughtering everyone... I've never heard of such a thing! If these stupid villains don't die, is there any justice left in this world?"
The woman interrupted Yun Ce's angry buildup.
After seven days of vigil, her emotions had calmed down considerably, and she had become more rational: "I accept the sentiments of the righteous men on their behalf. However, it is not advisable to cause any further trouble now. The righteous cause is still on the front lines and has not yet returned. It is not safe for a group of elderly and weak people in the house to take risks."
Nothing can be done until Zhao Feng returns.
Looking at the three coffins, Yun Ce felt a tightness in his chest.
The woman said, "Yun Yishi, come with me."
She led Yun Ce to a dark little house in the backyard, with many firewood and bedding nailed to the outside. Yun Ce, a martial artist with accomplished skills, could clearly hear two breathing sounds inside the house, one of whom was pacing back and forth.
With a creak, the small door opened.
Yun Ce followed and bent down to enter.
The air inside was somewhat hot and dry.
The maidservant held a swaddled baby and gently soothed it. The infant in her arms whimpered uncomfortably, its voice soft, not even as loud as the few cats in heat in the yard. To conceal the child's presence, the woman had ordered people to make noise and build this small, soundproof room overnight.
The maidservant was startled by the noise, and only lowered her guard when she could see who it was by the dim light of the lamp.
"lady!"
The woman asked her, "How is the child today?"
The maidservant placed the child in her arms: "Young master has been holding it in for three days, and he finally had a bowel movement a quarter of an hour ago. It doesn't look too loose, but since he has no milk to drink, he's very hungry and has little energy..."
This child was born without a mother, and there's no wet nurse in the household to feed him. For the past few days, he's only been eating rice cereal or millet porridge. How can a baby only a few days old have his stomach handle such food? Several servants are working day and night to take care of him, fearing he might die.
The woman hugged the child tightly, reluctant to let go.
She turned around and handed the child over to Yun Ce.
Seeing this, the maid hesitated to speak.
"Yun Yishi, I'll leave this child to you for now."
Yun Ce looked young, but he was very skilled at holding a child. He controlled his posture and strength well: "Madam, please rest assured, I swear on my life that I will take good care of the child."
The woman bowed respectfully to Yun Ce.
With Yun Ce's strength, taking the child away silently would have been too easy. The guards and servants stationed outside the old mansion didn't even notice anyone coming and going. Yun Ce wasn't familiar with Tianhai, so he didn't linger there and went straight to He Yin.
According to the lord, the annotation by Xu Wenzhu, the governor of He, is reliable.
However, plans can't keep up with changes.
Before even leaving Tianhai territory, the child was already starving. He cried when hungry, and whimpered when he was tired of crying. Where could Yun Ce, a man, feed him? Helpless, he ducked into the nearest village.
They would go from house to house, looking for any household with clothes hanging outside, and then they would go to that household, scaring the homeowners so much that they would tremble all over.
"Do not move!"
In the darkness, Yun Ce lowered his voice to warn.
"Don't make a sound!"
By the moonlight, the couple saw the cold glint of the weapon in Yun Ce's hand. The man, terrified, kowtowed and begged for mercy, while the woman instinctively protected their sleeping child beside her. Yun Ce, suppressing his shame and embarrassment, asked the man, "Does your wife still have milk?"
The man's face contorted for a moment.
They probably didn't expect the bandits to pull this stunt.
With a knife to his neck, he dared not make a sound.
Fearing that Yun Ce would lose patience and kill her man if she answered too late, the woman suppressed her fear and said, "Yes, there is more..."
Yun Ce breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, please, Madam, spare a bite for my child. I will repay you handsomely!"
The couple never expected things to turn out this way.
They were too terrified to notice the faint voice. The two looked at each other, and finally the woman was the braver one: "Bring the child here."
As a man, Yun Ce felt it inappropriate to watch someone breastfeed, but fearing for the child's safety, he took the man and his child out the door as hostages: "After you've finished feeding, please let me know."
The child was very hungry, and it took a long time to finish.
The woman returned the fed baby to Yun Ce in exchange for her husband and child. Despite her curiosity about Yun Ce and his wife's identities, she, being an ordinary person, dared not ask further. She simply acted on maternal instinct, reminding Yun Ce to be careful when holding the child.
They are prone to spitting up milk right after eating.
Yun Ce took out a piece of silver, which was not light in weight, from his pocket and said apologetically, "I acted hastily and frightened you. Consider this my reward and an apology for the offense I just committed."
Before the couple could say anything, he vanished in a flash. The couple stared at the broken silver, feeling as if they were dreaming.
On his way to He Yin, Yun Ce borrowed diapers several more times, using up many diapers in the process, and finally arrived at Fugu City, the seat of He Yin, before being covered in the stench of excrement and urine. The city's prosperity and bustle made Yun Ce feel as if he had been transported to another time.
Without delay, we found out the location and went straight there.
Startled, Xu Jie, who was practicing calligraphy, trembled, ruining half a day's worth of work. Several guards rushed out to block him, their blades pointed at Yun Ce. Xu Jie glanced at Yun Ce's appearance, then at the swaddled baby in his arms, and his mind raced.
He waved his hand and said, "It's alright, you can all leave."
The guard then sheathed his blade.
Before Yun Ce could even introduce himself, Xu Jie had already revealed his identity: "Young master, are you under Lord Shen's command?"
Yun Ce nodded in agreement.
Xu Jie then asked, "Who is this child?"
Yun Ce: "The only surviving member of that family, my lord would like to trouble Prefect Xu to temporarily take over and care for him for a few days."
Sending it to Longwu County would take too much time.
Xu Jie is the most reliable candidate at the closest distance.
"Leave it to me," Xu Jie agreed without much hesitation. If he wasn't willing to help, he wouldn't have risked his life to deliver the secret message in the first place. Now was a good opportunity to show goodwill. Things had escalated to this point; the Xu family was finding it difficult to maintain their position in Tianhai.
"Someone, go and post a notice." Fugu City is densely populated, so finding a healthy wet nurse shouldn't be too difficult.
Yun Ce only left after seeing that the child was properly settled. During this time, Xu Jie hosted a welcome dinner for him, giving him a hearty meal. Xu Jie was cunning and shrewd; while getting close to Yun Ce, he also managed to extract a lot of information from him, especially about the situation at the front.
"Alas, Master Wu is so foolish..."
Xu Jie also understood Zhao Feng's temperament.
Once Zhao Feng learns of the series of events that have occurred recently, he will certainly no longer serve Wu Xian, and even if these events were not at Wu Xian's behest, the relationship between the two as master and subject will break down.
Qin Li's faction may appear scattered, but it is actually the most united.
This unity is not based on interests, but on feelings.
One goes, and a whole string follows.
Yun Ce left with the child, and the Zhao family had no more worries. At daybreak, they ordered the long-closed gates to be opened.
The door creaked heavily.
The servants and guards who had been surrounding the courtyard for several days all came to swarm around.
Even the common people passing by glanced in this direction.
Behind the gate, everyone was dressed in mourning clothes, their expressions solemn.
I could vaguely see a coffin being carried at the front.
Madam Zhao Feng walked at the front, carrying a knife in one hand. Supported by her second son, she stepped over the threshold and looked at the crowd outside with a cold smile: "What, are you here to be filial sons and grandsons and see us off?"
|ω`)
(End of this chapter)
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