Marquis Mu Houchu curved the corners of his mouth: "I’ll take that as a compliment."
"So, you helped the bandits defeat the imperial soldiers sent by the court?"
"If the imperial troops refuse to retreat, they will definitely not give up. After all, whether I’m really dead or not, they won’t be reassured without finding my body. They might even opt to set the mountain on fire. That’s why I had to repel them. In this incident, the Great Prince was seriously injured, and I narrowly escaped death during the failed suppression of the bandits due to a stroke of fortune. The report we spread is just like that. The Emperor can choose to believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. He has disliked me for a long time, so I don’t mind making him more wary." Marquis Mu Houchu said calmly.
Now that he has established a stronghold in Yu State, the Emperor needs to think carefully before taking any rash action against him.
Marquis Mu Houchu even felt that if the Emperor were to go so far as to break ties in his anger, there’s nothing to fear. He could simply declare independence. However, he doubted the Emperor has the courage to do that.
Ji Xinhe felt a relief in her heart, lying in the arms of Mu Houchu, and let out a gentle sigh: "I’m just glad you’re safe."
"I’ve said there’s nothing to worry about, why do you have to fret so much for me?" Mu Houchu lightly sighed.
Just then, Shulan entered, smiling: "Madam, you’re awake? Now that you’re awake, eat something first. The kitchen has just cooked millet porridge, please have some. And this bowl of ginseng soup, it’ll help replenish your vitality."
Ji Xinhe had to tap into all her energy to give birth to the child this time, and she was completely drained. Even though she had already woken up from a sleep, she was still feeling lethargic. It looked like she’ll have to rest well for some time.
"Let me take care of this," Mu Houchu took it from Shulan’s hand.
Shulan then politely bowed with a smile and left the room.
Mu Houchu kept the millet porridge on the small stove to keep it warm and fed the ginseng soup to Xinhe spoonful by spoonful.
Xinhe, finding the taste of the soup too awful, boldly snatched the bowl from Mu Houchu’s hand, and poured it down her throat in one gulp.
Mu Houchu chuckled, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief: "I see you have quite an appetite."
Xinhe grumpily replied: "I was in pain all night yesterday. How could I have given birth to Ah Guai without significant effort? Anyway, is childbirth always this torturous? Why did I not know childbirth could be so painful before! I was almost dying from the pain and those midwives just kept encouraging me to push."
Mu Houchu gently caressed her wrinkled face: "If it’s too hard, you don’t have to have any more babies. We will not go through this pain again."
Remembering that she was in pain for an entire night and he was not by her side, Mu Houchu felt a pang of guilt. He felt he owed her something. He had hastened back today to find her looking pale and lifeless, and he suddenly felt remorseful.
She had straddled the line between life and death and he was not there. Just for this, he would bear this guilt for a lifetime... regret for a lifetime.
If she said it was painful, then they wouldn’t have any more babies. There won’t be any more pain in the future.
However, Xinhe said: "Actually, despite the pain I experienced for a whole night, I thought I would never want to go through childbirth again. But when I saw Ah Guai, I suddenly felt that everything was worth it."
As she spoke, a tender look filled her eyes. Looking up at Mu Houchu, she said, "When I saw Ah Guai, I thought, I must make her happy in the future. For her, it would be worth it even if I was in pain for a whole night."
She’s a part of her, a precious baby girl she had carried for ten months. How could she not treasure her?
Mu Houchu gently smiled, caressing her face: "She’s our daughter, we should indeed spoil her."
However, Xinhe suddenly giggled: "Today Xiaobei even said, luckily she’s a girl! Otherwise, the cute little nickname you’ve given her would be awkward if she were a boy!"
Mu Houchu smirked, "As for the given name, did you think of any?"
"I was waiting for your return to decide on the name, so I didn’t finalize it yet." Xinhe laughed.
Mu Houchu brushed the hair on her forehead away: "You name her, she’s our first child, you went through so much labor to give birth to her, you select the name."
Xinhe tilted her head, thought for a while, and then said, "I did think a lot these days. How about Huanyan? It means living a safe and happy life. Do you think it’s a good name?"
"Mu Huanyan," Mu Houchu recited the name, and then grinned, "Good, we’ll stick to this name."
"Alright!"
-
Xinhe rested in bed for quite a while. Since there was no elder at home to assist them in the postnatal care, Marquis Mu Houchu specifically hired a few experienced women to take care of Xinhe during her confinement period.
Both Xiaoyu and Shulan hadn’t been married before, so they were too naive in certain aspects.
Now that a weight was lifted from Xinhe’s heart, she focused on resting and recuperating. However, she recovered quite quickly. She felt fit enough to leave the bed and move around after staying in bed for a few days, but the experienced midwives were alarmed and forbade her from doing so.
"Oh, Madam, you mustn’t leave the bed! A woman must abide by the confinement period for a whole month. If the confinement period is not properly complied with, it could leave long-term health issues, causing future suffering!"
With these old women fussing over her constantly, Ji Xinhe was left with no choice. Later, after more than ten days in the bed, she couldn’t bear to stay in bed any longer; she felt itchy all over her body! So, she stealthily sneaked out of bed for a walk.
However, she ended up being discovered by those matriarchs, who were watching her vigilantly. This caused quite an uproar, and even Marquis Mu Houchu was alerted.
On hearing that disrespecting confinement period could result in lingering ailments, Mu Houchu angrily ordered her to obediently lie in bed and not to go anywhere.
Xinhe almost burst into tears. She was not one of those pampered noble ladies who lived a sheltered life; her bodies naturally recovered faster!
However, her words seemed to carry no weight in front of Mu Houchu. The experienced women’s words were considered the ultimate truth.
Xinhe was forced to lie in bed unable to go anywhere. Even her diet had multiple restrictions. She felt the days were unbearable, so she sulkily started throwing tantrums.
Whenever Xinhe threw a fit, Mu Houchu had to appease her. This little woman was getting increasingly difficult to please, but at least they had a daughter now. So, Mu Houchu simply started using their daughter to placate her. Ah Guai’s coos and cackles were often enough to pacify Ji Xinhe’s anger.
Thus, a month passed by with laughter and arguments.
Finally freed, Ji Xinhe, the first thing in the morning, took a bath, put on her clothes, and went to the garden to bask in the sun. Stretching her body, she couldn’t help but exclaim, "Ah, freedom is so precious!"
Shulan burst into laughter: "Madam, the way you’re saying it sounds like you’ve been wronged greatly."
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