Chapter 207 Three Joys in One Family
Meng Qing helped Du Min up. To her, Du Min was someone who listened to her opinions on political matters, who could relinquish some of his political power to her, and who would run back to tell her the good news as soon as he received it. This was the gift she liked most from him.
"What gratitude? That's too much. I know your feelings, and I have no demands on you now, so don't feel burdened. You are an extremely intelligent person. In politics, we are partners. Having a teammate like you fighting alongside me gives me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. I have also gained something from this case." Meng Qing pursued practical benefits and wasn't very interested in words of gratitude. She remained wary of those who viewed great favors as great enemies.
"Not at all, not at all. Second Sister-in-law has truly given me a second life." Du Min knew perfectly well that he never doubted his own abilities, but beyond those abilities, all his good fortune was bestowed upon him by Meng Qing, not by fate. Without the fortune she bestowed upon him, his abilities would be like a pearl in an oyster; before a benefactor opened the shell, he would be just another ordinary person. Once revealed to the world, he would inevitably have to endure the pain of being put to the brink of death and then reborn.
“I know there’s another way to describe the kindness of being reborn: second parents.” Wang Zhou teased mischievously, “Third Uncle, are you trying to become my elder brother again?”
Du Min certainly had this wish, but unfortunately, he wasn't lucky enough to be able to legitimately enjoy this relationship in this lifetime.
"I'm preparing for my next life, saying it a few more times so that God will remember it," Du Min rambled on.
Meng Qing was amused. "Don't talk nonsense. Go tell Caiwei the good news."
"Sigh." Before leaving, Du Min grabbed Wang Zhou and picked up his nephew, who was as tall as his chest. He held his breath and spun him around, taking the opportunity to exhaust his strength and let the excitement in his chest have an outlet.
"Put me down!" Wang Zhou protested, his face flushed red from the commotion. "Third Uncle, I'm almost nine years old!"
Du Min laughed heartily, released Wang Zhou to the ground, and then strode away, chuckling as he went: "I've been promoted again! Two promotions in one year, who can compare to me?"
Wang Zhou tugged at his crumpled clothes, smiled and said, "Just like my dad said, what a scoundrel."
Meng Qing smiled and said, "Never mind him, let him be smug. Let's get back to what we're doing."
Wang Zhou's model is almost finished. He had worked with Lin Canjun and Si Shizuo from the local county government to make a version when he was in Wuzhi County. With that experience, he knew the shortcomings, so he made a second version.
Because the Meng Family Inn was priced low, the construction cost had to be controlled. Therefore, the Wangzhou Inn abandoned the brick and wood structure and did not adopt the construction methods of workshops, government offices, or fine houses. Instead, it used a combination of adobe walls and fences. The inn's walls were made of adobe bricks, with bamboo and wood fences pasted inside. This reduced costs and prevented the adobe walls from crumbling.
The model made by Wangzhou was made entirely of paper cut and folded. The walls were made of paper bricks, the outer walls were mud-colored, and the inner walls had the texture and color of bamboo and wood fences.
“I’ve discovered that the color of the interior walls can adjust the brightness of the room. In the first model, the walls were earth-colored inside and out, making the guest room look dark from the outside. This version is much better.” Wang Zhou said to Meng Qing while applying glue to attach the roof tiles. “If my grandparents are willing to spend a little more money, I can paint the fence on the interior walls with lime. This will increase the brightness of the guest room considerably.”
“Three buildings, hundreds of rooms, it would be very expensive to whitewash them all,” Meng Qing said. “You could suggest whitewashing the guest rooms with poor orientation. As for the other guest rooms, you could focus more on the fences. The older the bamboo, the lighter the color after it’s dried. You could tell your grandfather that he can choose older bamboo to weave the fence. Another method is to paste paper on the fence, but the downside is that the paper needs to be replaced every year.”
"I'll think about it," Wang Zhou said.
"Mother, elder brother—" Wang Chuan's voice rang out from outside the courtyard. Before the last word had even faded, he came running in, with Du Li following behind him with his hands behind his back.
Wang Zhou treated him like a thief, and as soon as he heard his voice, he immediately grabbed his model and ran into the house.
“I’m watching him and making sure he doesn’t cause any trouble,” Du Li said.
"It's impossible to guard against everything." Wang Zhou was still worried and insisted on moving the model back into the house. He was not only worried about Wang Chuan, but also about Du Min. The model had to be kept in his own room, and he refused to put it in the study.
Thanks to Wang Chuan, Meng Qing no longer had to work, and she stretched out her arms to signal to Wang Chuan.
Wang Chuan puffed out his cheeks and bumped into her arms, whispering, "Brother is bad."
“You have a criminal record, no wonder your older brother doesn’t believe you.” Meng Qing grabbed his hand and slapped it. “Where did your dad take you to play?”
“We went to the aviary in the library to talk to the parrots and play with them for a while. Then we took him to the market to buy some spinach to send to the four geese. On the way back, we met the newly arrived judicial officer taking office, and we watched for a while.” Du Li answered on his behalf, “Right now, we are only missing a prefect and a governor. Once these two arrive, the officials of the Huai Prefecture governor’s office will be complete.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhou came out and said, "The position of Prefectural Governor has been filled; the surname is Du."
Upon hearing this, Du Li blurted out a guess: "Could it be your third uncle?"
Wang Zhou nodded, "Now all we're missing is a chief clerk."
"There's a candidate for governor too?" Du Li asked Meng Qing.
“It is Prince Ji, but he will not take up his post. The actual person in charge of Huai Prefecture is Prefect Du.” Meng Qing laughed, “Your third son wields power over a prefecture under the title of Prefect Du.”
"He's incredibly lucky!" Du Li exclaimed subconsciously. "My God! He brought down the Xu family, not only did he not offend the female saint, but he also got promoted and gained power?"
“Yes!” Du Min’s voice rang out from outside the courtyard. He said proudly, “I knocked down two old trees that were hollowed out by insects for the female saint. With the old trees down, the tender branches and buds that were oppressed by the old trees can grow strong. I am also one of the tender branches. How could the female saint blame me?”
Du Li couldn't bear to watch. "I wonder who was the person who was so anxious before."
Du Min remained silent.
"Shall we celebrate tonight? I'll have someone prepare a feast?" Meng Qing asked. "Do you have any plans for tonight?"
Du Min waved his hand, "Forget it, Caiwei is useless. She got so excited about the good news that her stomach hurt. If I'm drunk, I won't be able to process anything that happens at night."
"Stomach ache?" Meng Qing immediately went outside. "Did you call a doctor?"
"I've sent someone to invite them." Du Min followed them out.
Du Li called to the two children to follow.
Yin Caiwei lay on the bed with her eyes closed, adjusting her breathing. Mother Sun and a maid were attending to her in the room. Meng Qing quickly walked in and asked, "How are you? Does your stomach still hurt?"
"Much better." Yin Caiwei opened her eyes sheepishly, but the next moment, she frowned and gasped, "It hurts again."
"Wife, close your eyes again, don't think about anything, don't waste your energy." Mother Sun pushed Meng Qing aside.
"Let's wait for the doctor. I'll go out and wait first." Meng Qing wasn't in the way.
Meng Qing went out, and Du Min came in. He gave Sun Mama a cold glance and sat down to watch over her.
Half an incense stick later, Yin Caiwei opened her eyes and said it didn't hurt anymore.
The doctor arrived, took her pulse, and said, "Please have the midwife come and wait."
"She's about to give birth?" Du Min exclaimed in surprise. "My wife was just a little excited; it's not even her due date yet."
"The pulse indicates that your wife has experienced a miscarriage, and the baby shows signs of being born," the doctor explained.
"Go and fetch a midwife," Meng Qing instructed as she entered. "Doctor, please stay here for now. I'll have a servant take you to a guest room to rest."
The doctor nodded and followed the servant out.
“Wangzhou was born on the first day of the third month, more than half a month earlier than I expected. My delivery of him was very smooth, and I didn’t suffer much. Caiwei, don’t worry, your estimated delivery date may not be accurate. Even without today’s incident, the baby would probably have come out tonight, or tomorrow or the day after. It’s not premature, it’s a natural birth.” Meng Qing comforted her with her own example, “When I gave birth to Wangchuan, I had his father help me walk outside for almost an hour. Standing and moving around will help the baby descend into the pelvis and come out faster. If you can manage, have the third prince and the maid help you go outside for a walk. Before the baby is born, you can also wash your hair and take a bath, because you can’t touch water for the next month.”
Yin Caiwei sat up. "I'll listen to my second sister-in-law."
Du Min got up to help her, saying, "Second sister-in-law, you and my second brother take the child back to the front yard. I'll stay here and let you know if there's any movement."
"I'll leave once the midwife arrives," Meng Qing said. She went out first, sending Du Li and the two children away.
A short while later, Yin Caiwei came out.
Meng Qing stayed with the midwife for a while, and then left when the midwife arrived.
When Meng Qing arrived at the front yard, the sky was already turning gray. She heard the sound of birds flapping their wings and looked around before finally spotting a gray pigeon on the roof. Having experience raising homing pigeons, she suspected it might be one, but she couldn't see clearly whether it had a carrier pigeon on its claws. So, she grabbed a handful of rice from the small kitchen and tried to lure the pigeon down.
Du Li heard a "coo coo coo" sound and came out of the Green Bamboo Courtyard, where she saw a pigeon land on the roof.
Meng Qing approached and, after a brief struggle with the pigeon, she caught it and found the letter tube on its claw.
"Is it a carrier pigeon?" Du Li asked.
"Yes." Meng Qing took the pigeon back to Qingzhu Courtyard. With the light coming in, she saw the character "Yin" embroidered on the ring on the pigeon's claw.
"It's a letter from Uncle Yin." Meng Qing took down the letterbox, poured out the small note inside, unfolded it, and saw a line of small characters: "Your Highness, the Holy Lady, bestowed with a purple robe, will arrive at the end of the year."
Meng Qing read it twice, a bright smile spreading across her face.
When Du Li saw this, he went over to take a look.
Meng Qing leaped up, hooked her arm around the man's neck, and jumped onto him. "I also have a reward, hahaha! The female saint is going to bestow a purple robe upon me! The messenger delivering the reward will arrive at the end of the year."
Du Li was overjoyed, "Congratulations, Princess! Congratulations, Princess!"
Meng Qing was overjoyed. It was true that having something yourself was better than having it others. This kind of joy was something she hadn't experienced when she heard the good news about Du Min.
"The female saint is so wise; she didn't forget Mother's contributions." Wangzhou was overjoyed. He half-dragged and half-carried Wangchuan, saying, "I really hope that my brother and I can grow up quickly and also make contributions and be rewarded."
Hearing the child's voice, Meng Qing calmed down a little and jumped off Du Li. She unfolded the note in her hand and looked at it again, saying, "The envoy who sent the reward is likely Vice Minister Yin. I'll go tell Caiwei."
Arriving at the backyard, there was no one in the courtyard, but shadowy figures were moving around in the bedroom. Meng Qing went in and saw Yin Caiwei walking around in the room. She smiled and said, "Caiwei, I received a letter from your father. He will be coming over at the end of the year and will definitely bring your mother with him. Your parents and your child will be able to celebrate the New Year with you this year."
"Really?" Yin Caiwei's face lit up. "Where's the letter? Let me see it."
"When did the letter arrive?" Du Min asked. "Why is my father-in-law coming over at the end of the year? What's the purpose?"
Meng Qing handed over the note and said, "It was delivered by carrier pigeon; the letter is probably still on its way."
Yin Caiwei and Du Min understood immediately after reading the contents of the note.
"Congratulations, Second Sister-in-law, your wish to wear a crimson crown and gold and jade has come true." Du Min was happy for Meng Qing. "The female saint is so wise. She did not forget your contributions and still remembers your wish."
"Congratulations, Second Sister-in-law," Yin Caiwei said. "Thanks to you, my parents and I are reunited."
"Let's not talk about that. I'm here to give you good news," Meng Qing said. "This child is very sensible. He will be born tonight. Your parents will come over at the end of the year, and you will be out of confinement by then, so you can spend some quality time with them."
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Author's Note: There will be one more update tonight.
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