Chapter 107 Chapter 107
When Yao Niang was having contractions, she suddenly heard Gu's mother shouting, "Girl, the lady is here, your dear mother is here."
She also didn't expect that her mother would arrive at the same time as she was giving birth. When she saw Xie again, she was a little plumper than before. Both mother and daughter had never expected to meet in this scene.
"Yao Niang, mother is here, don't worry." Xie saw her daughter lying on the bed with a painful face and hurried to comfort her.
But Yao Niang's pain was gone after a while. She smiled and said, "Mother, my daughter's stomach pain is gone now that you are here."
Xie smoothed her daughter's hair and said, "These are contractions, which come and go. We arrived at the inn at midnight yesterday, and somehow I remembered that you were pregnant. I asked them to go back and wanted to come over to check on you, but I didn't expect that you were about to give birth."
"With mom by my side, I'm not afraid of anything." Yao Niang took a deep breath.
Xie had a lot of experience in childbirth, so she asked someone to heat water for her to bathe. She said to Yao Niang, "Before you give birth, wash your body clean. You will feel much better."
…
The Yan family returned to Beijing. Yan Yingqi had already gone to the palace to meet the emperor. Li was at home with her two children, her brother-in-law and her own son. She was naturally very proud to be back now. She went home in tears last time, but this time she was victorious.
Her younger brother-in-law was only one or two months older than her son, and they were like brothers. Since she returned to Jinling, he often helped take care of the children. Her mother-in-law always treated her very well. To be honest, the situation in the Yan family was very special, and it was almost obvious that her father-in-law favored her mother-in-law. However, she was the daughter-in-law of the Xie family, so she benefited from it and could not say anything.
But if she had such a strong enemy, she would probably be unable to sleep or eat.
"You guys clean up our yard first and let the fifth master and the young master take a nap. I will go to the front yard and ask them to clean up the main yard. Mother just sent someone back saying that my sister is in labor and she has to stay at the Shen family to take care of her. If the baby is born, we will have to go to their house in person to congratulate them." Li said.
"Grandma, the third young lady has been married to the Shen family for three years and just gave birth to a child. Good things are happening to her. But the eldest young lady is going to the capital with us this time. I wonder if she will be jealous of the third young lady when she sees her situation?" Li's servants were also worried.
Xie was talking to Yao Niang about this matter: "After the mourning period, many things happened to our Yan family. Jingwen's marriage could not be delayed any longer, so we had to finish Jingwen's marriage first. Ying Niang's marriage to the Xu family was also imminent. But I didn't expect your father to relapse faster than expected, so no one paid attention to your elder sister. I didn't expect that she would come along with us hiding in the box when we were halfway through the journey."
Yao Niang stroked her belly and looked at Xie and said, "Maybe it was the work of the eldest lady..."
"Yes, I guess it was her. I was busy with Jingci and missed you, and I bet that your father would be able to recover, so I comforted him when he was frustrated. But Zhen lost the support of the people, and your father became a stranger to her. She was anxious, and I thought I had a sure win. How could I know that Yan Ningxin secretly boarded the ship? With her strict management of the household, how could she not know that a living person was on the ship? I'm afraid she did it on purpose to dislike you and me." Xie also guessed it.
Yao Niang had already had two or three rounds of cramps by noon. After taking a bath, she looked at the silver noodles that were brought to her and ate them while saying, "She doesn't hate me. You know that she once asked me for a painting, but it was not given to the prince of Qi, but to Gong Ding. Now Gong Ding is on duty in the inner cabinet. It would be good if she keeps quiet. If she makes trouble, I'm afraid my father will punish her. I'm already sitting on the fishing platform, so why should I rush to deal with her? I'm not Ying Niang."
It has to be said that after three years of marriage, Yao Niang has mastered the art of cultivating her energy and is no longer the same person she used to be.
After finishing the noodles, Yao Niang felt a little tired and was about to take a rest when she started to feel pain again. This time, she was really about to give birth. She used to feel that menstruation was so painful, but now that she had given birth, she knew that this pain was ten times more than menstruation.
Xie hoped that Yao Niang would have a smooth birth. It didn't matter whether it was a boy or a girl, but she had to be safe. After all, as long as you have green mountains, you will never worry about lack of firewood. She hoped that all her children would be well.
…
When the sky was covered with dense clouds in the evening, it looked like a flaming cloud. Shen Linfeng stood outside the door, waiting for good news.
Hearing a baby cry from the inner room, Shen Linfeng stood up suddenly and rushed in again. Seeing his wife's hair soaked with sweat and her face pale, he felt much more relaxed.
Xie stood up and said, "Aunt, happy news of your birth."
"Really? That's great, that's great. I also want to thank you, mother-in-law, for taking care of my wife here. I don't know how to thank you enough. I'll send someone to take you back." Shen Linfeng also knew that Xie had traveled a long way and came here to take care of Yao Niang for a whole day, so he was also very considerate.
Xie smiled and shook her head: "This is a great joyous event. Yao Niang suffered a lot, but fortunately she gave birth smoothly. Otherwise, I really don't know what to say."
Shen Linfeng personally asked the housekeeper to send Xie back. He went in to take another look at the mother and daughter. The child seemed to be wrinkled and red, with a lot of hair on her body and face, much like a little monkey. He and Yao Niang were both extremely good-looking people, could they also give birth to ugly daughters?
But it was really strange, she was so small, but she could breathe through her nose just like adults, and her heart rate also rose and fell. Looking at Yao Niang who was now sleeping on the bed exhausted from childbirth, Shen Linfeng was full of sympathy.
The first wife gave birth to a daughter, and Mrs. Shen said with a smile, "Mother Qian, I will go and see her myself tomorrow."
Giving birth to only a daughter is no different from not giving birth at all. She asked Mother Qian again: "Mrs. Wang has been quite active recently. She is often away from home and doesn't even think about what she should do."
Mother Qian said, "This old slave doesn't know."
Madam Shen Er had a good idea. If her son passed the provincial examination, he would definitely marry a second wife, and then the Xinning Marquisate would be unable to say anything. They only had this one son, and they couldn't get married and have an empty child for several years.
The eldest wife at least gave birth to a daughter, which shows that she is still fertile. But it is hard to say about Wang.
Shen Xunfu was already worried about a situation like Grandma Qing, so he specially selected a woman with a clean family background to come to his house to serve Shen Linqing.
Grandma Qingda has to prepare for the second wife to move in these days, and she doesn't seem to be happy at all.
When she heard that Yao Niang had safely given birth to a daughter, she couldn't help but touch her belly and said, "It would be nice to have a daughter, it would be better than having an empty belly."
Han Ruohua and Shao were both there. Shao always seemed to be outspoken. She was delighted when she first heard the good news that the first wife had given birth to a daughter. But then she learned that Grandma Qing was going to take a second wife, which made her feel a little sad.
Although Shao was lucky, she couldn't help but say, "Sister-in-law, do you really want to marry that Chu? Although she is the daughter of a poor family and her father died early, she is a beautiful lady."
"Since it was my father-in-law who arranged it, and he even sent someone to send her to Beijing, I, as a junior, had to listen to the arrangements of my elders. To be honest, it's my own fault." Grandma Qing didn't seem to be reluctant at all.
Grandma Qing has been married for six years, and Shao has been married for five years. At first, they had some disagreements, but after they separated, they became closer. Shao was also worried about Grandma Qing. Seeing how virtuous she was, she was also worried about her: "What is the status of the harem? In the end, it is still the men who decide. She was sent by my father-in-law, and she is sensible and beautiful. I am afraid that she will overshadow you in the future. You must not be careless."
After listening to what Shao said, Grandma Qing was somewhat moved. She knew that although Shao had some small thoughts, she was not a bad person. Han Ruohua, on the other hand, was a stubborn person. She said nothing about the matter. She saw everything and said casually, "Let's think about what to give to the eldest wife for the third day of her wedding first, so as not to give duplicate gifts."
"It's nothing more than giving some gold and silver ingots, which is nothing." Han Ruohua said.
Shao smiled and said, "I'm afraid the eldest wife will have to ask my sister-in-law to preside over the third-day bath. Dalang's wife is a smart person, but now she has just given birth and her family has returned. Dalang was also appointed as the Right Chunfang Youzhongyun a few days ago. I'm afraid there will be even more people coming, and someone will have to greet them."
Grandma Qingda said seriously: "Not entirely. The managers in their family must have arranged everything."
The last time she got close to the Fan family, she deliberately didn't go to the first house. Given Yan's self-esteem, she would definitely not be someone who would tolerate others causing trouble in her house.
This person is definitely not someone who is easy to get close to. If she suspects you, you will not be in her eyes. Besides, Grandma Qing also knows that there can't be two tigers in one mountain, especially now she is not in such a mood, Chu will come in soon.
It is also said that Wen Qilang went to Shen Linfeng to learn that Yan Yingqi had returned to Beijing, and he hurried back. This time, Aunt Yin did not come with him. Because Yan Jingzhang was required to study at home and at least pass the examination, Aunt Yin was now at home helping to take care of the old lady Yu and playing with her grandson. She did not have to follow the rules here at Zhen's house, and she was happy.
As for Aunt Feng, Yan Yingqi considered that she was still young and did not want to waste her youth. After asking for her opinion, on the way here, he asked Zhen to cancel her slavery and marry her to a magistrate in Jinling as a consort.
Qianniang went back to pay her respects to Zhen first. Seeing that Zhen had a few more white hairs, she did not dare to say much. She only said that she missed them and talked about Yingniang's marriage.
Zhen smiled and said, "This time I came back to arrange your sister's marriage. The Xu family has been waiting for three years. Your sister is sixteen this year, and the wedding date is set for this June."
“這可太好了，我也一直惦記着這件事情。”倩娘自從公公辭官之後，丈夫也只是蔭官，平日那些圍繞在她們身邊的人也早一哄而散。
還好她爹現在又成了宰相，雖然只是四輔，但也是閣輔，倩娘果然覺得她的運氣真好，甚至于聽到窈娘也生了個女兒，心情更好。
這話當然也是瑩娘說的，她長大了三歲，比之前長開了許多。只見她一身玫瑰紫二色金刻絲及膝窄袖褙子，配着朱紅色的裙子，身上更是珠翠環繞，很顯雍容。
“不知不覺，二姐姐和三姐姐都各自有了孩子了，以前大家都在一處不覺有什麽，我獨自在家，卻是無趣極了。”瑩娘和倩娘關系素來不錯。
倩娘感嘆：“我也是如此想的，日後你出閣了，我們也要常常往來才是。你知道的，我和窈娘關系平常不怎麽走動。”
瑩娘歪頭不解：“這是為何？”
“我常常下帖子請她，她也不總來，前些日子聽說沈家的她的那些妯娌們也和她不怎麽來往。”倩娘覺得窈娘實在是不會做人。
瑩娘捂嘴：“三姐姐的性格就是挺不好相與的，我看她和誰都合不來。正好大姐姐上京了，日後還不定又鬧出什麽怪事來呢。”
倩娘不可置信：“什麽？大姐姐上京來了。是爹讓她上京來的嗎？”
瑩娘正欲說話，外面說三奶奶過來了，她才止住話頭。甄氏的侄女在顏景文成親之後，也回了九江府，由她父親許婚。
莘婉現在做婦人打扮，看起來還是那般纖細袅娜，她正道：“二姑奶奶，三姑娘，家裏筵席準備好了，夫人讓我請你們過去。”
倩娘也沒想到終究莘婉還是嫁給了景文，真的是讓人覺得不太真實，她一直以為莘婉不可能成為她們顏家的兒媳婦。
終究，她還是起身喊了一聲：“三嫂。”
莘婉以前就是在顏家長大的，和倩娘瑩娘都很熟悉，她不必像別人那樣還要熟悉婆家，這大抵就是好處。
如今聽倩娘喊她，她有些不好意思的應下：“走吧。”
大房的人在一起用飯，倩娘并不見顏寧馨，心知顏寧馨恐怕不是正常渠道回來的，若是父親讓她回來的，肯定是大大方方的，現在這樣分明大夫人也不想讓她出來。
只是她回來，到時候又做錯什麽事情，那自己好容易積攢的名聲可惜就全部沒了。心急之際，又想起了窈娘，暗道她肯定比自己還急。
實際上窈娘是根本就沒放在心上，她生下女兒之後，不過幾日，皺巴巴的她變成一個小糯米團子似的，粉嫩嫩的特別可愛。
沈臨風笑道：“你說取什麽名字呢？大名可以晚些取，小名咱們先叫着。”
“你先說幾個我聽聽。”窈娘問。
沈臨風說了幾個“賢”“淑”這般的，窈娘都否了，她不禁道：“洛神賦中說，迫而察之，灼若芙蕖出綠波。你看若芙如何？小名就叫芙兒，願咱們女兒能永遠如芙蓉出水，即便是在泥淖中也會出淤泥而不染。”
聽到窈娘取的名字，他念了幾句：“若芙，若芙，好，就叫這個名字。”
“明日洗三，我已經讓管事替我安排好了，女眷這邊我原本想請王氏過來，可是之前二夫人留在咱們的釘子被我好不容易拔走，請神容易送神難。三房的清大奶奶家中娶二房，怕是擂臺有的打，邵氏和咱們面和心不和，所以我想請你表妹過來。”窈娘道。
沈臨風笑道：“要我說也不必請誰來？反正咱們都準備的差不多了。”
“話雖如此，總得讓人主持，我已經差人去請她，若她不願意，那就罷了。”窈娘倒也豁達。
其實韓若華現在屬于是清大奶奶和邵氏的小妹似的，自己總不能出頭，如今有擡舉她的機會，她若是不敢，那就罷了。說明此人也不過是玩些小把戲，并非任事之人。
韓若華平日在妯娌中一聲不吭，現在卻應了下來，很快就來到大房了。清大奶奶一哂：“果真是會咬人的狗不會叫。”
洗三這日，解氏把景慈和孫兒潤哥兒都帶了過來，她見了窈娘的女兒若芙也是歡喜不已：“這孩子不過幾日就通體雪白，鼻子像你，嘴巴像姑爺，生的真好看。”
“娘，我可沒看出來她像誰，因為她太小了。但是我想生個女兒還挺好的，我的娃娃又堆了一櫃子了，到時候都可以給她玩兒。”窈娘道。
解氏和李氏對視一眼，都笑道：“你還是這般孩子氣，你的身子如何了？”
窈娘道：“肯定還是不舒服的，月子還得坐一兩個月，慢慢養着就好了。現在你們都在京中，我也就放心了，更何況夫君前些日子在升任修撰之後，又轉右春坊右中允。雖然此刻官運亨通，但亦有許多不足之處，還要請爹爹多多指教于他，他素來心胸開闊，很能聽得進去別人的意見。”
“女兒嫁了人，就一心向着丈夫了，瞧瞧你，自己都在坐月子。倒是惦記着丈夫，你也真是的。”解氏打趣女兒。
窈娘正笑着，又說甄氏帶着瑩娘過來了，瑩娘倒是養的很好，看起來白皙又健康，看起來生機勃勃，甄氏卻臃腫蒼老了一些，和在京的時候老了十歲似的。
“大娘，四妹妹。”窈娘颔首。
甄氏倒是很能繃得住，段位大抵和沈二夫人差不多，什麽時候看起來都像個體貼的好人。此次過來，專門看了若芙一眼，還道：“這孩子生的齊整，大抵也只有你們才生的出了。”
一句話說的大家都笑了，窈娘又問李氏：“五郎（景慈）和潤哥兒在一起打不打架？我聽說他們年紀相仿的孩子，最容易搶東西了。”
李氏笑道：“五叔叔可愛我們潤哥兒了，什麽新鮮玩意兒都要分給侄兒玩。”
“這可就太好了。”窈娘看着小弟弟景慈，總覺得他看起來十分乖巧，和解氏的性格很像，日後必定是個內秀的人。
他今年兩歲了，看到窈娘在前，被大人拱着叫姐姐，連忙躲到解氏身後。
窈娘笑道看他：“等會兒讓你姐夫帶你出去玩兒好不好？他可想你了。”
“姐夫？”景慈海不懂這些關系。
窈娘摸了摸弟弟的頭，又對解氏道：“日後娘可多帶他過來，也能陪陪女兒。公定常常忙于公務，這偌大的府邸就住着女兒一人，我看景慈很乖，您若有事只管送來我這裏。”
解氏交給女兒，比交給兒媳婦還放心，這是實話，李氏再好，于她而言都是外人。
顏家人說了些話，外面收生姥姥就要把孩子抱出去洗三，解氏和李氏便讓乳母把孩子們都抱去客房，瑩娘這等未出閣的女子也不宜在坐月子的房裏久待，但她也在看她這位三姐姐過的如何。
看起來一切都很好，即便生的是女兒，三姐姐竟然毫無煩惱。
今日孩子洗三，來的人也不少，瑩娘雖然如今是宰相的女兒，心高氣傲，但是見首輔的兒媳婦都過來，可見對她這位三姐姐的看重。
主持洗三的沈家女眷則是韓若華，這樣能出頭的場合，大房把物事準備齊全，只需要她出來主持就行，真沒想到這個機會落在自己身上，大抵還是親上加親的好，無論如何，大房和自己有親，什麽好事都會想到自己。
邵氏和清大奶奶咬耳朵：“她一言不發，原來是來這裏了。”
清大奶奶卻道：“少說幾句吧。”她卻看向了解氏，解氏原本說是兼祧，實際上也算是二房，如今站在甄氏身邊，顯得更為年輕，如今卻登堂入室，兒女皆比甄氏生的争氣，将來恐怕自己也是如此了。
楚氏雖然父親亡故，卻才貌雙全，家世清白，識文斷字，性情極好，剛進府，沈臨清就開始日日回來了。家裏的什麽通房，全然不看一眼了。
解氏卻無所覺，扔了一枚金鑲玉的長命鎖在盆子裏，衆人誇獎道：“不愧是外祖母，就是大手筆。”
“這是我家老爺小時候戴過的，特地命我送給外孫女。”解氏笑道。
無論是誰和解氏說話她都柔聲回答，從不輕慢任何人，沈二夫人覺得奇怪，這顏氏是個驕矜蠻狠之人，因此在族裏和誰都算不上很好，把個沈臨風拿捏的死死的，反而她母親卻柔情似水，和她完全相反。
若芙的洗三辦的很盛大，窈娘早已讓人給每位客人準備了伴手禮，不同于傳統的送雞蛋，她們回送的是專門的禮盒，裏邊裝着做成雞蛋模樣的喜餅一屜、帶生肖的帕子一方、茶葉一罐、香膏一瓶、生肖蠟燭一對，然後随機在禮盒裏放不同寓意的不倒翁。
沈臨風還笑道：“這不倒翁裏面塞了一個字謎，若是明日之前猜出來的，必有賞，記住，都是我會鈔。”
Many of the people who came were literati who loved to do these things. Rulong immediately opened it, but he couldn't figure it out after thinking for a long time.
Yan Yingqi appeared calm, but in fact he opened the note stuffed in the tumbler in the carriage, thought for a while and said, "Isn't this just a word 'Qing'? Wait, I have to go back to the Shen family."
Xie quickly pulled him aside and said, "Don't be embarrassed. Your son-in-law didn't invite you to eat anything you wanted. Now that you're back, there are only young people or your son-in-law's peers there. What are you doing?"
"I don't care. I'm going back now. You go home first. I'll be back soon." Yan Yingqi said as he was about to smoke.
Xie tried hard not to roll her eyes. This man had really become more and more backward the more he spent time with Jingci.