Chapter 231 – “A surprise” (2)
That’s good? How could he say that? Qian Lianxue’s eyes slightly widened, but she was afraid of committing a gaffe, so she hurriedly lowered her head and quietly coughed.
It was impossible for Marquis Moyu to not know that if she was demoted to an ordinary concubine, some of her servants would be reassigned to other work. She would even have to move to another courtyard. How could he allow this?
She silently reflected on her past actions. Her work had been watertight. She had done so much, but no one could tell for sure that she had been the one responsible. She had done her best for her masters. One by one, she had accomplished the tasks they had given her. Although she had encountered Nie Sangyu, this unyielding iron plate, she still had ways to deal with her and hadn’t been worried. But, why was she suddenly unable to understand what Marquis Moyu was thinking?
—
After Qian Lianxue was demoted, Ji Man personally selected half of her loyal servants and reassigned them to Feiwan Courtyard and Muxu’s Wenxiang Courtyard. However, Old Madame felt sympathetic about Qian Lianxue’s poor health and said that she didn’t need to move to another courtyard. Although she ended up not having to move, her lifestyle standards were reduced and not as good as before.
Looking at Qian Lianxue’s slightly stiff face, Ji Man faintly smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter. Young sister Lianxue, there’s still plenty of time.”
—
Liu Hanyun would soon be giving birth, but such a bloody event had recently occurred in the household. This was really unlucky. She left her courtyard and went to Old Madame’s praying hall to ask Buddha to protect her unborn baby. She happened to meet Wen Wan, who had also come here to pray to Buddha.
Wen Wan’s belly was smaller than Liu Hanyun’s, but it wasn’t that much smaller. Although Liu Hanyun was now an honored concubine and Wen Wan was only a servant, Liu Hanyun still saluted Wen Wan out of habit.
Kneeling on the neighboring praying mat, Wen Wan asked her, “Mistress Yun, you’re going to be giving birth soon, right? Why did you come out?”
Liu Hanyun slightly smiled. “Bad things have happened in the estate. Didn’t you come here to pray to Buddha for protection and safety too?”
Wen Wan curved the corners of her lips into a smile. “Since that woman became Madam, haven’t things been constantly happening in this household without a break? Today, a person burns to death. Tomorrow, a person dies from poisonous snake bites. It really makes my heart feel unsettled.”
Liu Hanyun respectfully bowed towards the Buddha statue, then she said, “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you won’t have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. If there’s no blood on your hands, nothing will come by sniffing.”
Wen Wan mockingly laughed. “What do I have to feel guilty about? Haven’t I already fallen to such a lowly state? This proves that only ruthless people can survive in this household.”
Looking at Wen Wan’s slightly sinister face from the side, Liu Hanyun opened her mouth, but ended up closing it without saying a word. She felt a sudden wave of pain in her belly. It felt as if she was about to give birth.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as Liu Hanyun gritted her teeth and called out, “Chunpi.” While it was almost about time for her to give birth, it shouldn’t have been today.
Chunpi had always been carefully watching over her master. Seeing her like this, she hurriedly called out, “Help! Mistress Yun is about to give birth!”
This prayer hall was right next to the main courtyard and wasn’t far from the bedrooms. However, Liu Hanyun was already in so much pain that she had collapsed on the praying mat. Seeing her condition, no one dared to move her.
It was Wen Wan that hurriedly said, “Tear down those curtains and use them to pad the floor for her. She’s going to be giving birth here!”
—
Very soon, the news reached Old Madame and Ji Man’s ears. Old Madame wasn’t feeling well enough to leave her room, but Ji Man rushed over. There were two pregnant women in the prayer hall, and one of them was about to give birth. This really couldn’t be anymore chaotic.
Wen Wan had originally been kneeling by Liu Hanyun’s side. Watching her miserably cry out in pain, her own belly also started feeling somewhat painful.
Her pregnancy had only just reached nine moons. It shouldn’t be time for her to give birth too, right? She grabbed Tanxiang’s swaying skirt, but in the end, she couldn’t resist crying out in pain too.
—
Ji Man had to deal with a difficult situation. Two pregnant women were giving birth in the prayer hall at the same time. She hurriedly ordered one group of servants to find a midwife and ordered the other group to prepare items that would be needed for giving birth. In the passing, she told Dengxin to request for Marquis Moyu to come over.
The sound of two women painfully screaming at the same time was certainly livelier than when she had been screaming by herself a few months ago. And yet, Ning Yuxuan still had a mostly calm expression as he waited outside with her.
Someone had brought a screen to divide the prayer hall. All of the windows and doors had been closed, servant girls had brought over quilts, the midwife shouted again and again for Wen Wan and Liu Hanyun to push harder.
Two hours hadn’t even passed before the sound of a baby crying was heard. A little while later, a second baby’s cry joined the first one. Ji Man thought; it seemed as if the other women were able to give birth more easily than her.
Her fingers were slightly clenched as she walked forward and curtsied Ning Yuxuan, “My lord, congratulations.”
Marquis Moyu nodded.
The midwife came out of the hall with the two babies. There was one on her left arm and another one on her right arm. She joyfully said, “This is the first time this servant assisted with two women giving birth at the same time. Your lordship, congratulations. Mistress Yun gave birth to a girl. Mistress Wan gave birth to a boy.”
Ning Yuxuan paused. He looked at the two babies that were wrapped up in swaddling clothes, even their faces were loosely covered. His lips were pursed, and there was joy in his eyes that couldn’t be hidden. “You worked hard. Go get your reward.”
The midwife happily handed the babies over to the wet nurses. One went left, and the other went right. She was very careful in which wet nurse she handed each baby to.
Ji Man thought; Wen Wan had given birth to a boy. Liu Hanyun had given birth to a girl. What a pity.
