Chapter 76 Offering Sincere Comfort Some say death is not the end of life,...
Some say death is not the end of life, but oblivion. But for Cheng Qianyue, death is death; once dead, everything is gone. It's like she was unlucky enough to be in a car accident in her past life, and then, in the blink of an eye, she became a crying infant. She couldn't prove that her soul truly existed after leaving her body, so the demise of her body meant saying goodbye to all connections with the world, including family, friends, civilized society, and the complexities of work.
Sometimes Cheng Qianyue even wondered if, if gods truly existed, they could grant her another favor. Perhaps she could pass away peacefully in her sleep, waking up to a new environment and a completely different life. But Cheng Qianyue knew this was wishful thinking; after all, who wins the lottery multiple times? Being able to live again with the memories of her past life was already a blessing from heaven. To ask for another rebirth would be greedy. She'd leave the opportunity to those who truly deserved it.
Therefore, Cheng Qianyue cherished her life so much that her will to live was even stronger than the DNA engraved in her bones. This made her so afraid of death and so eager to live.
And if she were old and frail, having seen and experienced everything, then death would be a fitting end, after all. But she was so young, so full of energy. She hadn't yet seen the vast ancient lands, hadn't witnessed the endless rivers and mountains, hadn't tasted all the delicious food, hadn't experienced all the fun activities. How could she be willing to let her life end abruptly in the prime of her life?
Cheng Qianyue cried so hard she could barely breathe, thinking to herself, "I'm not pretending anymore, I'm coming clean, I just don't want to die."
Yinreng's heart skipped a beat at her sobbing words. He frowned and said seriously, "Nonsense!" He softened his tone, but his brows were still furrowed. "How could you think that? You've already given birth once, how could something happen to you?"
“But I have two in my belly…” Cheng Qianyue said, her voice choked with sobs.
Yinreng cupped her face and earnestly told her, "What's wrong with two? Our children are all well-behaved and will definitely not cause you any trouble. Think about it, when you gave birth to the Third Prince, didn't he come out quickly?"
Even so, she was still worried. Cheng Qianyue sobbed and fell silent again.
Yinreng slowly let out a breath and comforted her, "Don't think so much, think about good things." His voice lowered, and he held her tightly, saying in a deep voice, "Are you willing to leave? Are you willing to leave the Third Prince? Are you willing to leave me?"
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, "Is this something that can be done just because I'm reluctant to part with it?" She burst into tears again. As she was crying, she heard another loud cry from outside, and then the Third Prince rushed in like a firecracker.
Cheng Qianyue's mood has been terrible lately, so she hasn't paid much attention to the Third Prince's affairs. She only knows that the child spends most of his time playing by himself. Sometimes he comes over and chatters away, but his servants quickly coax him out with excuses like "Your Highness needs to rest" or "The baby in your belly needs to sleep too."
The Third Prince had just come out of his afternoon nap in the side room, his forehead still a little sweaty. Chen He and the others serving outside thought he had come at an inopportune time and tried to stop him, but the Third Prince, with his sharp ears, immediately heard the crying inside. He panicked and dashed inside, calling out "Mother!" Once inside, the crying grew even louder, and the Third Prince let out a wailing sound and joined in the sobbing.
Upon seeing the Third Prince, Cheng Qianyue finally had a place to vent her pent-up grievances. She hugged him and burst into tears, crying, "My child."
The third prince stood on the bed, hugging her neck, tears streaming down his face, crying out, "Mother... Waaah, Mother." He said haltingly, "I don't want younger brothers and sisters anymore, I don't want them anymore, I only want Mother, waaah..."
Yinreng felt particularly uneasy about what the mother and child were saying. They were perfectly fine, yet they acted as if they were about to die! He sighed, thinking that while twins were rare, they weren't unheard of. If Cheng Jia had given birth to their first child safely, she would surely be able to give birth to a second and a third. However, seeing how heartbroken the mother and child were, he didn't say anything to stop them from crying. They had scared themselves; they needed to vent. He simply held the two of them, waiting for them to finish crying.
After a while, Cheng Qianyue finally stopped crying, feeling much better afterward. She looked at the Third Prince and saw him looking at her cautiously with red eyes. She exhaled and wiped away his tears, saying, "My dear, Mother is alright."
Yinreng picked the boy up from the bed and said softly, "Your face is all stained from crying. Go back and have someone fetch water to wash it off."
The Third Prince murmured, "Father."
Yinreng agreed, "Father is here, but Father is busy taking care of Mother and can't look after you. Third Prince, you're all grown up now and can wash your face by yourself, right?"
The Third Prince nodded heavily and said "Yes," then left, turning back every few steps.
As soon as the Third Prince left, basins of water and towels were brought in from outside. Yinreng took the wet towel and wiped Cheng Qianyue's face, saying as he did so, "Do you feel any better?"
Cheng Qianyue nodded silently. She not only felt better, but also felt tired from crying and wanted to sleep.
Seeing that her face was blank and her eyelids were drooping, Yinreng wondered if she was sleepy, and said softly, "Are you tired? Why don't you take a nap?"
Cheng Qianyue said "okay," then took off her outer clothes, and fell silent as soon as her head hit the pillow.
After Yinreng had her fall asleep, he left the main room and went straight into the west wing. This side hadn't been used much, but it still had all the necessary furnishings. He sat up straight and glanced at Ruoyun and Lin Quan'an, who had entered and were kneeling.
These two could still manage to say a few words in front of Chen He, but they dared not hide anything from the Crown Prince. Ruoyun stammered out the story of Cheng Qianyue's recent reluctance to eat much. She said with a mournful face, "This servant is useless and could not persuade her mistress. Please punish me, Your Highness." Lin Quan'an echoed this sentiment, kowtowing heavily several times before burying his face in the ground.
Yinreng slowly twirled the sandalwood beaded bracelet on his wrist and said in a deep voice, "Deceiving your superiors and concealing the truth from your subordinates, you are being insolent!" He didn't even know about this, which shows that it had been going on for a while.
Ruoyun and Lin Quan'an lowered their heads, trembling with fear.
Yinreng slowly exhaled. He was not one to punish people severely now, so he only intended to give them a small lesson to teach them a lesson. He said in a deep voice, "Give each of them ten strokes of the cane. If they do it again, they will no longer need to serve in the palace."
Ten strokes of the cane meant their master still needed them, so the executioners wouldn't use excessive force. Thank goodness. Ruoyun and Lin Quan'an breathed a sigh of relief and quickly kowtowed to express their gratitude.
That evening, Yinreng held Cheng Qianyue in his arms on the bed, telling her over and over again that she should eat when she was hungry, otherwise she would get sick before she could even give birth. He even cited the example of disaster victims, saying that when natural disasters struck, many people starved to death, some because they had nothing to eat, and others because they ate tree bark and clay until they were stuffed to death.
"Food is the most important thing for people. If there is a natural disaster, people outside will have nothing to eat. So you should cherish what you have," he said.
Cheng Qianyue wasn't unaware of this principle. If happiness could be compared, then compared to those outside the palace who were starving, her life was incredibly fortunate. But just as different people have different troubles, she couldn't ignore her own pain through comparison. She even felt that this method of self-consolation was wrong. Because pain is pain; it descends upon everyone equally, regardless of status or rank, and doesn't shift among people based on the type or amount of suffering.
Seeing that she still looked worried, Yinreng sighed and then comforted her, saying, "You are very lucky, you will definitely be fine. If you are worried, I will have someone find midwives in advance. They have given birth to many children and have been delivering babies for many years, so they are very knowledgeable. With them taking care of you, you will definitely be safe and sound."
Cheng Qianyue responded with a tearful "Mmm".
Yinreng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had agreed, and gently stroked her hair downwards.
Cheng Qianyue's emotions calmed down a bit as he gently stroked her. Then she remembered what he had just said, looked up and asked, "Has another natural disaster struck somewhere? Is the imperial court going to provide disaster relief? Can I donate money?"
Donate money? Yinreng tilted his head.
Cheng Qianyue then said, "I'll pay for the grain, cloth, medicine, and things to send over." She added that she could also give away some of her old clothes and belongings that she no longer needed. In ancient times, even a tattered cotton coat could be sold for silver, so although her things were all old, they were probably worth quite a bit of money.
Yinreng said, "Then let people set up a soup kitchen and send people to the countryside to provide relief to orphans, widows, women and children." This way, it would not only be a good deed, but it would also bring good fortune to her and the child in her womb.
With Yinreng's order, the midwives arrived within two days. Compared to the last time when there were only two midwives and four assistants, this time there were many more people to serve. There were six midwives alone, and two older women who looked to be in their thirties, who were said to be female doctors skilled in women's health care. The group lived in a walled house not far from Donglizhai, coming to serve every day and keeping watch at night.
Then Cheng Qianyue stopped dieting. They said she was too hungry; her hands and feet were so weak they dented easily. They said this wouldn't do; if she collapsed from hunger one day, it would be terrible, meaning her vital energy and blood were completely depleted. Vital energy and blood are very difficult to replenish; many women have died because of prolonged deficiency.
Cheng Qianyue suddenly realized that she had been obsessing over something for a while.
"If you're worried, Master, you can eat until you're six or seven tenths full at each meal, and eat ten or eight times a day. As long as you keep moving around, that's fine." The nannies chattered among themselves, then ordered someone to bring over some steamed buns, and specifically instructed that the buns should not be too oily or heavy in flavor, and that they should be a mix of meat and vegetables.
Cheng Qianyue pondered to herself, thinking that too much of a good thing could be bad. If she were to die from dieting, it would truly be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. So when the steamed buns were served, she ate one from each plate.
The women exchanged glances, their expressions gradually relaxing. They had all been warned beforehand that they were only allowed to show concern for the mother and avoid mentioning the unborn child. The Crown Prince had even said that if mother and child were safe and sound, they would all be credited and each would receive two hundred taels of silver as a celebratory bonus; but if their master encountered problems, well, they could expect to suffer the consequences!
Although there were risks, the benefits were also great. The group was incredibly dedicated, thoroughly inspecting Dongli Zhai inside and out, and even voluntarily buying up Cheng Qianyue's handkerchiefs and clothes. It just so happened that Master Cheng was cleaning out her room, sending away unwanted clothes and things—out with the old, in with the new, right?
Some of them went to work, while others chatted with her, and Cheng Qianyue's tense spirit finally began to relax.
At this moment, Yinreng also received the things that Cheng Qianyue had sent over. There was a box of silver and several boxes of clothes, cups, and ornaments. Looking at these things, he said to Cheng Yexing, "These were all sent by your mistress Cheng. They are things she used. If you give them away as alms, the blessings will all be accumulated on her head." He paused and continued, "Also, take two thousand taels of silver from the accounting office to open a soup kitchen outside the capital, tentatively scheduled to open until next spring."
This was for his younger sister's sake. Without saying a word, Cheng Yexing knelt down and solemnly vowed, "Master, rest assured, this servant will obey your orders and handle this matter properly."
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