Bai yiniang’s due date was already very near, so why did it have to happen right at this moment?
Gu Jiu didn’t want to assume the worst of Bai yiniang, but she couldn’t help thinking in that direction.
Bai yiniang was not a simple inner-court woman.
She was extremely shrewd, very good at seizing opportunities, and making full use of them.
Gu Jiu asked Xiao Cui, “Does taitai know about this yet?”
Xiao Cui nodded. “Nubi saw Dong Mei enter the main quarters.”
At this time, Xie shi was in the Songhe Hall, sitting in the main room with the lao furen.
Gu Jiu said, “I understand. Don’t spread the word just yet.”
Xiao Cui answered obediently.
Gu Jiu kept her eyes on the main quarters, and sure enough, before long, she saw Xie shi hurry out with her maids, rushing back to the fu.
Qing Mei asked softly, “Guniang, should we go back too?”
Gu Jiu shook her head slightly. “This muddy water, we won’t dip our hands in it.”
As a junior, she was supposed to steer clear of inner-court disputes.
Still, she instructed Xiao Cui to slip back into the Gu fu through a side gate and keep an eye on Bai yiniang’s situation.
At that moment, in the Xiangsi Yuan of the Gu fu, Bai yiniang was screaming inside the birthing room. Because of the labour-inducing medicine, the child was coming early.
Bai yiniang had already prepared for this. As soon as her labour began, she sent for a midwife. But the outer-court servants had no idea where to find one and were panicking, not knowing what to do, when Cui Liu stepped forward.
“I know two midwives,” she said.
The outer-court servants had no time to question how a mere inner-court maid would know midwives from outside. Since someone knew, they hurried to fetch them.
The two midwives brought in were the same ones Gu Jiu had sent for last time. At a glance, they understood the situation: clearly, Bai yiniang had taken labour-inducing medicine, forcing the baby to come early.
They didn’t say a word, just ordered preparations and shut the birthing-room door to begin the delivery.
Hu yiniang, having heard the news, rushed to Xiangsi Yuan.
By the time she arrived, the midwives were already inside. From within came Bai yiniang’s shrill, piercing cries, filled with pain.
Hu yiniang’s expression grew grim. She guessed that Bai yiniang had taken inspiration from her earlier words and decided to act.
But she hadn’t expected Bai yiniang to be so decisive, so quick to make up her mind and immediately use the opportunity to induce labour.
Bai yiniang did things with startling crispness.
Hu yiniang gritted her teeth and strode toward the birthing-room doors.
Suddenly Cui Liu appeared, blocking her way. “Please stop here, Hu yiniang.”
Hu yiniang frowned. “Bai meimei is crying so terribly, I must go in and see her, or I won’t feel at ease.”
“Thank you, Hu yiniang, for caring so much about my yiniang. But she gave strict orders: no one may enter except the midwives. If anything happens, she’ll blame whoever barged in, and report it straight to the laoye.”
Hu yiniang’s face changed. “What do you mean by that? Does Bai yiniang suspect someone is trying to harm her?”
Expressionless, Cui Liu replied, “Nubi doesn’t know if anyone wants to harm my mistress. But as the saying goes, ‘You shouldn’t harbour the intent to harm others, but you must guard against being harmed.’ Don’t you agree, Hu yiniang?”
Hu yiniang gave a cold snort. “You shouldn’t ask me, you should ask Bai yiniang. When will her paranoia be cured? Always thinking someone’s out to get her, if you ask me, she’s lost her senses.”
Cui Liu said coldly, “Whether my yiniang is in her right mind doesn’t matter. Hu yiniang, please return. Once the child is safely born, I’ll personally come and give you the good news.”
“No need to bother. I’ll sit in the side room and wait. With such an important matter, and taitai not in the estate, it’s only proper I keep an eye on things for Bai yiniang.”
“Hu yiniang is thoughtful. Please.”
Cui Liu politely but warily led Hu yiniang to the side room and seated her, then returned to guard the birthing-room door, watching every person who tried to approach.
The door opened, and a little maid came out carrying basins of bloody water.
Cui Liu turned pale. She grabbed another little maid and asked anxiously, “How is Bai yiniang?”
“She’s almost there. The midwives are telling her to push with all her strength.”
Cui Liu let go, exhaling in relief. As long as the child was born safely, it would be fine.
In her heart, she urged, willing Bai yiniang to deliver quickly. Taitai couldn’t be delayed much longer. If she returned now, things could turn very bad.
Hu yiniang stood by the window, her eyes fixed on the birthing-room doors.
She twisted her handkerchief tightly, her face growing greenish.
Every one of Bai yiniang’s screams made her own heart leap.
Then, as Bai yiniang’s cries weakened, Hu yiniang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Her strength was running out. If this ended in a difficult labour, that would be the perfect drama. Heaven itself seemed to be helping her.
She glanced again toward the courtyard gate. She had already sent people to inform the hou fu. So, why hadn’t taitai returned yet?
But then again, with the midwives already inside, what could taitai even do? The chance to interfere had already passed.
Hu yiniang clenched her teeth. That woman Bai shi really did know how to calculate.
She had planned it all out perfectly; only with everything in her grasp would she dare to use medicine to force the birth at such a time.
Hu yiniang gave a cold snort. “Bai yiniang, let’s see whether Heaven sides with you, or with taitai.”
By the time Xie shi reached the gates of the Gu fu, the servant bribed by Cui Liu had already reported to the capital’s prefectural office and spoken with Gu daren.
The boy delivered his message: Bai yiniang had gone into labour.
Gu daren paused in thought, then turned to his secretary, Ma shiye. “Are we busy with official business today?”
Ma shiye, quick to read the mood, replied, “Rest assured, daren. All matters have been handled.”
“Good,” said Gu daren. “It’s still early. In half an hour, I’ll return home.”
Ma shiye bowed, “Daren shoulders the countless matters every day. You must take care of your health. Why not return home early today? Should urgent matters arise, I will send word at once.”
Gu daren nodded. “You’ve worked hard.”
“It is my duty to ease your burdens,” Ma shiye replied respectfully.
After lingering in the yamen for a short while, Gu daren ordered his sedan readied and set out for home.
In truth, his heart was still with Bai yiniang, hoping she would give him another son.
Many sons, much fortune, this he firmly believed. The more sons, the better.
At the Gu fu, Xie shi alighted from her carriage at the second gate. She did not return to her own Furong Yuan, but went straight toward Xiangsi Yuan.
As she walked, she questioned an older servant woman. “What’s the situation now? Has the child been born?”
“Not yet, taitai. Hu yiniang is watching over things.”
“Oh.”
Relief loosened Xie shi’s chest. With Hu yiniang keeping an eye, nothing major should go wrong.
Yet as soon as she entered Xiangsi Yuan, the anguished screams of Bai yiniang came rolling from the birthing room.
Xie shi’s brows furrowed deeply.
When one despises someone, even the sound of her voice can be nauseating.
Such was Xie shi’s loathing for Bai yiniang. Hearing her wails, Xie shi felt both irritated and oddly satisfied.
Hu yiniang quickly emerged from the side room to greet her.
“Nubi greets taitai.”
Xie shi gave a curt “Mm.” “How is it now?”
Hu yiniang hesitated.
With a cold snort, Xie shi stepped inside, and Hu yiniang hurried to follow.
At the birthing room door, Chun He was keeping guard, barring anyone from entering.
“What is the situation?” Xie shi demanded impatiently once inside.
Hu yiniang hurried to explain, “To report to taitai, Bai yiniang must have taken a labour-inducing drug.”
“Truly?” Xie shi’s eyes widened.
Hu yiniang nodded. “Nubi is seventy percent certain. The timing is too coincidental. For her labour to begin just as taitai went next door to pay respects at the hou fu…”
Xie shi gave a cold laugh. “Does she think with such tricks she can rest easy? Dream on.”
Hu yiniang added, “As soon as I heard, I rushed over. I wanted to enter the birthing room to check, but her maids blocked me. They said no one could go in without her permission, and that if anything went wrong, the intruder would bear the blame.”
“Absurd! What right does that lowly Bai have to stop others from entering?”
With a furious cry, Xie shi stormed out and marched toward the birthing room doors.
Cui Liu stepped forward to stop her, but before she could speak, Xie shi’s voice rang out: “Insolence! How dare you bar me? Drag this wretched maid away!”
Shoving the door open, she strode in.
Past the screen lay the birthing chamber.
On the bed, Bai yiniang strained and gasped, her head tossing weakly. Through her blurred vision, she thought she saw Xie shi.
“How is it now?” Xie asked the two midwives directly.
They kept their composure. “Taitai, things are proceeding well. The child should be born very soon.”
“Is that so?” Xie shi’s gaze lingered on Bai yiniang, her lips curled in a mocking smile.
Bai’s eyes flew wide. Her whole body tensed. “Taitai? Why is taitai here? The birthing chamber is unclean, you had best leave at once.”
“It matters not. You’re giving birth; naturally, I must see for myself. I promised Master with my own mouth that I would ensure the safety of both mother and child.”
“Yiniang, push, just a bit more, the child is almost here!” urged the midwives.
“Aah!” Bai yiniang screamed, her heart seething with rage.
She had calculated everything, yet never imagined Xie shi would cast aside propriety and enter the birthing chamber itself.
Sweat poured from her forehead, her muscles knotted painfully tight. She screamed again, venting all her anger.
“Push, yiniang, push! Listen to me, with strength, yes, like that!”
“I… I have no strength left! I can’t… I won’t give birth!”
Bai yiniang broke down sobbing.
The seasoned midwives, used to every manner of scene, were unmoved. They continued urging her steadily.
Bai yiniang gasped desperately, feeling as though she might suffocate.
Then suddenly, a cold hand clasped hers.
She turned her head. It was Xie shi’s hand.
Her body shuddered violently, gooseflesh rising all over.
Xie shi clasped Bai yiniang’s hand and said, “Bai yiniang, laoye has been full of expectations for this child. How can you let him down? Don’t say such things about not giving birth. You’re harming yourself and the child, do you understand?”
Bai yiniang’s eyes widened in terror. “Ah… go away, go away… wuu wuu…”
She wailed and trembled, her body convulsing.
Xie shi gave a cold smile. “You’re in the middle of labour. I won’t hold this against you.”
With that, she let go of Bai yiniang’s hand and turned to the two midwives. “Do your job well. If anything happens to the child, you won’t be spared.”
The two midwives nodded repeatedly in assent.
Xie shi flicked her sleeves and walked out of the birthing room.
At the doorway, Hu yiniang, who had been keeping watch, quickly stepped forward when she saw her. “Taitai?”
Xie shi gave a soft laugh. “Let’s wait in the side room. This delivery will likely be a difficult one.”
Hu yiniang bowed her head meekly and followed her.
Xie shi sat upright, her eyes half-narrowed. Outwardly, she looked composed and confident, but inwardly, she was not so certain.
She had provoked Bai yiniang, yes, but she could not be sure how much it would affect her, or whether it would at all.
And since she could not afford to leave evidence in such a matter, she had done nothing beyond words. She hadn’t even given the midwives the slightest hint.
She had arrived too late and missed the best chance to tamper.
But Hu yiniang…
Xie shi turned sharply, staring at her. “The matter I instructed you to handle, why wasn’t it done?”
Hu yiniang lowered her gaze. “Bai yiniang has been on guard against me. By the time I received word and rushed over, the midwives were already inside.”
After a pause, she added, “Those two midwives are the very ones er guniang arranged for last time on Bai yiniang’s behalf. Clearly, Bai yiniang planned this long ago and purposely took advantage of your absence to use medicine for inducing labour.”
Xie shi sneered coldly. “Bai yiniang truly is calculating. I wonder if she has calculated her own life as well.”
“Yiniang! Yiniang!”
From afar came Gu Lin’s anxious cry.
Having heard that Bai yiniang was in labour, she had rushed back from the hou fu, drenched in cold sweat, tears streaming, panic written all over her face.
She feared that upon her return, she would find both mother and child lost.
She ran into the courtyard, and hearing Bai yiniang’s cries from within the birthing room, suddenly collapsed to the ground, wailing.
“Wu yatou, look at yourself, what kind of behaviour is this?”
Gu Lin stared blankly upward, startled to see Xie shi emerging from the side room. “Taitai?” she called out in confusion.
With a look of disgust, Xie shi barked, “Stand up. You’re a young lady of the household. Where are your manners? Who allowed you to squat on the ground?”
Gu Lin quickly wiped her tears and rose. “I, I was too nervous.”
Xie shi snorted. “Go wait in the side room.”
Obediently, Gu Lin followed. Then, suddenly, she turned back, asking, “Taitai, my yiniang… she’ll be alright, won’t she?”
“You’d better pray she is,” Xie shi replied sourly.
Gu Lin fell silent, reciting sutras in her heart. But her mind was in chaos. She had never studied diligently, and now, when she needed them, she couldn’t recall even one sutra in full. It felt like blasphemy.
“Taitai, laoye has returned,” Chun He whispered beside her.
Xie shi frowned. “Why would he return at such a time? Did someone secretly inform him?”
Her gaze darted toward the birthing room. If anyone had done so, it could only be Bai yiniang. That wretched woman, she must never be underestimated. One slip, and she found her opening.
Xie shi shot Hu yiniang a venomous glare. Useless creature, more hindrance than help! Was this how she had been “watching” Bai yiniang? Not the least bit effective.
Hu yiniang felt deeply wronged. She had done her best, even persuading Bai yiniang to risk using labour-inducing medicine. Judging by her cries, this birth would not go well.
Soon, Gu daren arrived at Xiangsi Yuan. In his eyes shone excitement, worry, and expectation all at once.
The moment he entered, he asked, “How is it? Has the child not been delivered yet?”
Xie shi came forward with a curtsy. “Greetings, laoye. The midwives say Bai yiniang is in poor condition, it may take some time.”
Gu daren frowned. “There won’t be an accident, will there?”
Xie shi hesitated. “Childbirth is like stepping with one foot through the gates of Hell… even I cannot say.”
Dissatisfied, Gu daren at once ordered Steward Gu Quan to send for a physician, just in case.
Xie shi gave a show of surprise. “Ah, laoye is thoughtful indeed. Qieshen didn’t even think to summon a doctor.”
Gu daren eyed her. “And how was your visit to the hou fu today?”
Xie shi smiled gently. “Quite well. The lao furen mentioned er yatou’s marriage, and expressed some concerns.”
Gu daren’s expression hardened. “I’ve heard old houye raise the matter as well. Tomorrow, prepare a gift to send to the wang fu.”
Xie shi ventured carefully, “Should we not go in person? Might it appear disrespectful otherwise?”
“Going abruptly would be inappropriate,” Gu daren said. “Better to send a gift first, to test their attitude.”
“As you command, laoye.”
“Aaaahhh–!”
From the birthing room came Bai yiniang’s anguished screams, startling everyone in the courtyard. Moments later, the faint cries of a newborn followed, thin, like a kitten’s.
Gu daren burst into laughter. “Born! The child is born!”
Xie shi accompanied his joy with a forced smile, while inwardly cursing.
That wretched slut Bai shi, how could she, even after such agitation, still deliver the child so smoothly?
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