Chapter 147: Land, Not Given Anymore
This was not an exaggeration at all. Even though Xiao Ji knew that the woman giving birth inside was a stranger, anyone guarding the door would involuntarily worry about the woman inside.
Moreover, Xiao Ji had experienced his mother's miscarriage and had personally witnessed the blood being brought out in basins. Now, a similar scene appeared before his eyes again. When his eyes fell on the copper basins that Baozhu brought out, his body trembled violently, and his eyes became even colder.
As an outsider, I was already full of worries, but the man in front of me actually still cared about protecting others.
Xiao Ji raised his hand and slapped Shi Qingping. The courtyard fell silent, leaving only the intermittent painful moans of the woman in labor. Xiao Ji took a deep breath, suppressed the rage in his heart, and asked in a cold voice:
"Are you sure you still want to protect that old hag outside?"
Shi Qingping covered his cheek, looked in the direction of the gatehouse, then looked at his grandmother who was slapped outside the door, and suddenly knelt down in front of Xiao Ji with a "thump".
"I know my grandmother is arrogant and domineering, but she is my grandmother after all. My Lord, please let my grandmother go. She is old..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Brother Li couldn't hold it anymore - his sister was still giving birth to a baby in there, but this brother-in-law didn't worry about the mother, but instead felt sorry for the old woman who was slapped twice outside?
"Get out! Get out now! Take your grandmother with you and stop being an eyesore here!"
At this moment, a loud baby cry suddenly rang out from inside the house. Everyone was instantly drawn to the sound and looked towards the doctor's room. Mrs. Shi's eyes lit up outside the door. She ignored the burning pain on her face and rushed back into the house, "My great-great-grandson!"
When she rushed into the house, Yuzhu just came out holding the baby in her arms, smiling and saying, "Mother and daughter are safe."
The joy on Mrs. Shi's face froze instantly: "Girl...girl?" She stopped immediately, not even wanting to hold her, not even bothering to look at her, muttering: "What's the use of this girl..."
Brother Li glared at Mrs. Shi fiercely and immediately stepped forward to hold the child in his arms. Shi Qingping didn't care about being scolded by his brother-in-law and tried to step forward to take a look, but was glared back by Brother Li again.
Another half-minute passed before Qingwu emerged from the delivery room. She had just finished stitching up Wanniang's wound, and her sleeves were pulled up high, tightly bound by a cloth bag around her forearms. Her fair skin was stained with blood, looking rather frightening.
Xiao Ji's heart tightened, and he subconsciously took a step forward. Only when he got closer did he realize that this wasn't Qing Wu's blood. But Qing Wu saw his worry, and she exchanged a comforting glance before turning her attention to Li Wanniang's husband.
"Wanniang had a cut. After giving birth this time, she needs to rest well for a few years. She can't have children again for at least three years..."
In fact, there is no need to recuperate for so long, but Qingwu feels that Wan Niang is too young and the family she married into is not good. She may not be able to bear the pain of frequent childbirth. It is better to wait until she is older to consider having a second child.
But when these words reached Mrs. Shi's ears, their meaning changed completely.
Mrs. Shi was immediately furious: "What?! Li Wanniang can't have children?!" She slapped her thigh and wailed, "Return her! We don't want this granddaughter-in-law! We don't want the child either! Giving birth to a child that loses money and hurts her body is such bad luck!"
Brother Li was so angry that he was shaking all over. He didn't take action because of his niece in his arms, but his fists were clenched so hard that they made a crackling sound.
Just as Fugui was about to carry Mrs. Shi out again, the door of the house suddenly opened, and Li's mother rushed out and grabbed Mrs. Shi's neck.
"You black-hearted bastard! My daughter has suffered so much, and you still despise and humiliate her!"
Seeing the two people fighting, Qingwu and Xiaoji frowned. Zhao Tong and Fugui immediately stepped forward to separate them. Fugui used force to squeeze Shi Pozi, making her scream.
Baozhu brought clean warm water, and Qingwu went into the room again - this delivery was safe, but she still needed to take care of the finishing work.
After Qingwu left, Xiao Ji's eyes immediately turned cold. He was so imposing that he could calm Li's mother and Mrs. Shi with just one glance, but Mrs. Shi was still muttering, "Even if you are a noble, you can't control the family affairs of us ordinary people."
This completely annoyed Xiao Ji. He looked at Shi Qingping and said, "Now, take your good grandmother and get out."
Xiao Ji gave Zhao Tong and Fugui a look, and the two immediately understood and dragged the grandparents and grandchildren out.
"Wait." Brother Li suddenly stopped them. "You don't want my sister and child, so today I ask you to be my witness: I will take my sister and child back, and from now on, they will have no relationship with your Shi family!"
Shi Qingping wanted to say something, but Mrs. Shi said first: "Okay! It's settled!" She felt that Li Wanniang would not be able to give birth in the future, which would delay her from having a great-grandson.
Xiao Ji did not comment on this, but he knew in his heart: if the historian came to harass him again in the future, he would testify.
At that moment, people from Hedong Village were rushing in. With only a few families in the village, any daughter-in-law having a difficult childbirth was big news. The village head didn't need to come in person, but someone had reported that Mrs. Shi had made a scene at the palace gate.
Who is Mrs. Shi? She's the troublemaker in the village! How can the headman be so confident?
As he arrived at the door, he heard Li Dahai (Li Wanniang's brother) from Hexi Village say he was taking his sister and child back to her parents' home. The village head's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself, "Oh no! This must be a scene in front of the noble!"
The village head hadn't known Xiao Ji's identity before, but after recently inquiring in the capital, he knew exactly what he was talking about. Xiao Ji was the deposed crown prince. Even if deposed, he was still the grandson of an emperor, the former crown prince, and only one step away from becoming the ruler of the world. Now that he lived in the temporary palace, he was a "tiger crouching and dragon-coated" figure for the village. They were lucky to get some benefits out of him, so how could they dare to provoke him?
"Oh, Dahai, how can I care about your family affairs? Let's go, let's go to my uncle's house. I will take care of everything for you. Don't disturb me here." The village head was about to leave with Li Dahai in his arms, but Xiao Ji suddenly said in a cold voice: "Village head."
"Hey, I'm here!"
"My wife and I just signed a land deed with Hedong Village, which states 'Men and women are equal, and all share the land.' You also defended Hedong Village in front of my wife, saying they abandoned the girl because they couldn't afford to raise her. But now, despite the fact that this isn't a disaster year, this woman Shi publicly declared the baby girl useless..."
Qingwu had delivered this baby girl herself. Even if she were a cat or a dog, let alone a living person, it was not for others to arbitrarily deny her. Furthermore, if he allowed Shi Pozi to do what she wanted, where would he be? Where would Tianqi's credibility be?
A dragon swimming in shallow water is still a dragon and will not tolerate provocation from small shrimps.
The village head had seen Xiao Ji many times, but had he ever seen him so cold? Just a glance from him sent a chill down his spine. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, hating Mrs. Shi in his heart. He quickly whispered to Xiao Ji, "There are bound to be some bad apples in the village. My dear, don't listen to this old woman's nonsense. This girl is fine!"
The village head knew: Xiao Ji was of royal blood, the empress's legitimate son, and he would return home sooner or later. Even if he didn't ascend to the throne, he could at least become a wealthy prince. Even if he did fall, no one would pursue the matter of a mere piece of land. Once this contract was signed, it would most likely ensure decades of peace. If Mrs. Shi ruined it, how much would the village lose?
But how could these words comfort Xiao Ji? He glanced at Shi Pozi and her grandson and asked, "They also rented land, right?"
Without waiting for the village head to answer, Xiao Ji said to himself, "No need to give it. I don't want to rent the land for free to such a family."
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