Ziwei Qingdu is a thousand miles away from Longfeng Town. It's unknown how much manpower and resources it took to deliver these lychees. Fu Jiuxin didn't go to receive them, but coldly said, "Go back and tell your master that if he wants to emulate Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's 'Imperial Concubine's Smile' (a legendary imperial concubine), he'll have to see if anyone is willing to be his Yang Guifei. Take these things back the way you brought them. Your master doesn't need to worry about Dou Akou's food, clothing, and lodging."
The men looked troubled and wanted to persuade him again, but they saw Fu Jiuxin move. They only saw a blur of shadow in front of them, and Fu Jiuxin was already several feet away. After a few more leaps, his figure could no longer be seen.
As Fu Jiuxin headed towards the lychee orchard, he saw townspeople gathered in twos and threes along the way, whispering amongst themselves.
Fu Jiuxin had extremely sensitive hearing. Although he didn't pay attention, a few scattered words still drifted into his ears on the wind. What those people were talking about was the ruins of Haohui City, which was more than ten miles away from Longfeng Town. They said that a group of people had suddenly arrived on that wasteland not long ago. They seemed to be people from the imperial court. The group of people were stationed on that wasteland, as if they were going to stay for a long time. No one knew what they were doing there.
Fu Jiuxin's expression hardened; Xu Liren was mining the resin. He clenched his fists, then immediately realized he was being too tense, since those matters were already settled and had nothing to do with them anymore.
He returned with lychees, and Dou Akou was dozing under the shade of a tree in the courtyard. She heard Fu Jiuxin's footsteps and smelled his unique scent, but she was too lazy to open her eyes. She cheerfully said, "Sir, you're back."
"Mmm." Fu Jiuxin stroked Dou Akou's temple and neck with infinite tenderness. This gentle caress immediately made Dou Akou open her eyes. She and Fu Jiuxin were too intimate, so intimate that they could judge each other's mood from the slightest movements. She almost immediately noticed that Fu Jiuxin was restless and asked worriedly, "Sir, what's wrong?"
Fu Jiuxin had no intention of letting Dou Akou know that Xu Liren had made some moves in Haohui City. He simply offered a small reassurance: "It's nothing. Don't think too much about it. Focusing on your pregnancy is the most important thing."
Dou Akou's belly grew larger and larger. She used to be able to go for walks with Fu Jiuxin every day, but now she would be out of breath after walking only a few steps. Her body felt heavy, her waist was sore, and her calves were swollen. Fu Jiuxin then asked an old doctor for advice and learned a set of acupressure techniques. He massaged Dou Akou's legs every night without fail.
The massages continued until the twelfth lunar month, and judging by the days, Dou Akou was about to give birth. Xu Liren's work of mining gypsum in Haohui City continued, but after that delivery of lychees, he hadn't made any further moves, probably having given up hope.
On the day of Laba Festival, the aunts got up early in the morning to cook Laba porridge. They added red dates, raisins, and golden and silver threads to the white rice. It was fragrant, sticky, and sweet. The whole family gathered around the round table and slurped up the porridge.
Dou Akou drank a bowl of porridge and suddenly felt a slight ache in her lower abdomen. Then, she felt something flowing out between her legs. She was startled and thought, "No way, did I urinate right after drinking the porridge?" Dou Akou felt very embarrassed, her face turned bright red, and she pushed the bowl away, wanting to leave the table.
As soon as she moved, Fu Jiuxin beside her immediately moved as well, supporting her and asking with concern, "Akou, where are you going?"
For the first time, Dou Akou felt that Fu Jiuxin's meticulous care had come at the worst possible time. She hesitated and fidgeted for a while, feeling the liquid flowing down her calves, and she was so anxious that she wanted to cry.
The concubines, being experienced women, immediately realized what was going on when they saw Dou Akou's appearance. Noticing her awkward posture, they focused their attention on her legs and saw that her skirt was soaked with amniotic fluid.
Third Aunt was the first to react: "Her water broke! She's going into labor!"
In an instant, before the two men present could react, the women immediately jumped up as if they were seasoned veterans, and each went about their own business in an orderly manner. Some went to boil water, some went to prepare clean scissors and cloths, and some went to help Dou Akou. When the Third Aunt saw that Fu Jiuxin was still standing there in a daze, she immediately shouted, "Go and fetch a midwife!"
With a click, Mr. Fu, who had been standing frozen, cracked open and finally came to his senses. He leaped up and rushed towards the door.
The midwife was the most experienced one in Longfeng Town. The Dou family had already arranged things with her. She estimated that Dou Akou would give birth in the next day or two, so she made preparations in advance. As soon as Fu Jiuxin rushed in, she knew that she was about to give birth. She picked up her medicine box and went out with Fu Jiuxin.
When they arrived at the Dou family's house, Dou Akou had already been arranged to lie in the inner room. Fu Jiuxin kept trying to rush in, but Dou Jincai grabbed him and glared at him, saying, "A woman is giving birth, what are you going in for!"
When a woman is giving birth, men should not be present. No matter how anxious Fu Jiuxin was, he had no choice but to stay outside. Even though he knew he couldn't see, he couldn't help but crane his neck to look into the lowered curtain.
At this moment, Dou Jincai fully experienced the dual advantages of being both a father-in-law and an experienced man. Master Dou leisurely puffed on his pipe, patted Fu Jiuxin, gesturing for the restless man to sit down, exhaled a puff of smoke, and squinted, saying, "It's not like you gave birth to him, there's no use in being anxious, sit down!"
Fu Jiuxin was very anxious, but there was nothing he could do. The billowing smoke created by Master Dou added to the tense and confusing atmosphere. He couldn't see anything, so he could only listen, but it was completely quiet inside, without a sound.
Dou Akou had heard that childbirth was an extremely painful experience, like walking through the gates of hell. Lying in bed, her hands clasped over her abdomen, she felt terrified. But unexpectedly, she didn't feel much pain, only occasional contractions that were bearable.
The midwife told her to open her mouth, placed a cloth in her mouth and told her to bite down, then told her to bend her legs and spread them open, covered her between her legs with a white cloth, and then instructed her to breathe and relax continuously.
Dou Akou was still thinking that childbirth was just like that, it didn't hurt at all. The next moment, a sharp pain that felt like flesh was being torn apart suddenly came from her lower body. She was caught off guard by the pain and clenched her teeth, sinking deep into the soft fabric of the cloth.
Then she realized that the initial pain was nothing compared to the more intense pain that came wave after wave, leaving her no time to catch her breath.
Soon, Dou Akou had no energy left to think about anything else. She bit down hard on the cloth, moans and screams rolling from her throat. All she could hear was the midwife's calm voice: "Push!"
She was covered in sweat, her vision blurred, and after blinking, she realized that tears were streaming down her face without her noticing. The midwife was still urging her to push, but Dou Akou felt that she had already used all her strength. The intense and heavy exhaustion made her gasp for breath, and the cloth in her mouth seemed both cumbersome and unnecessary. She heard the midwife exclaim in surprise, "The head is out! Push one more time!"
Dou Akou steeled her resolve, pushed the cloth out of her mouth with her tongue, took a few deep breaths, and strained with all her might. With each thrust, the pain screams that no longer obstructed her mouth escaped her lips.
When Dou Akou let out a heart-wrenching scream, Fu Jiuxin practically jumped up from his chair. Without thinking, he rushed inside, and before Dou Jincai could stop him, he bumped headfirst into someone coming out from behind the curtain. It was the Third Madam, who was carrying a basin of bloody water and was about to pour it out. But Fu Jiuxin's collision caused the entire basin of dirty water to be splashed all over him.
Fu Jiuxin froze, staring at the shocking blood on his white robes. A chill ran through him, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head in the dead of winter, chilling him to the bone. In that moment of hesitation, his third aunt shoved him out of the room: "Jiuxin! Get out! Be good! Akou will be alright!"
Just then, Dou Jincai caught up from behind, grabbed Fu Jiuxin, and shouted, "Don't cause trouble! This is a woman's matter inside! Go and change your clothes!"
Fu Jiuxin nodded blankly. The basin of blood on him was still warm. So much blood, gushing from Dou Akou's body... Fu Jiuxin walked a few steps in a daze. Suddenly, he heard Dou Akou scream again from inside. This time, she seemed to be gritting her teeth and spitting out a few words. They were mumbled and indistinct, but Fu Jiuxin heard them very clearly. It was "Master." Dou Akou was calling for Master in her painful struggle.
Fu Jiuxin immediately turned around and rushed a few steps, but stopped abruptly when he saw Dou Jincai staring at him with a stern, warning expression and the busy concubines going in and out. Inside, Dou Akou was still screaming desperately, and Fu Jiuxin's face was pale. Anyone who didn't know better would think that he was the one giving birth.
He sat down next to Dou Jincai in frustration, then suddenly grabbed Dou Jincai: "Don't let Akou give birth, we won't have any more!"
The midwife, who happened to be lifting the curtain, overheard this and immediately spat out, "Pah! Stop saying such unlucky things! The baby's halfway out, and you think you can just say you don't want to give birth?"
As if in response to her words, a loud cry broke through the gloomy winter clouds and ushered in the first ray of warm sunshine of the day.
Dou Akou had just used up her last bit of strength; her back could no longer support her, and she collapsed onto the thick mattress. Her whole body felt as if she had been pulled out of water, indistinguishable between blood, tears, and sweat. Her third aunt was cutting the umbilical cord and wiping away the blood from the newborn baby, deftly wrapping it in swaddling clothes. Then she brought the baby close to Dou Akou's eyes: "Akou, look, the baby's out! It's a little Jiuxin!"
Dou Akou only had time to glance at the baby and barely make out its wrinkled, wet face before she could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep.
Fu Jiuxin rushed in from outside the door and saw only Dou Akou's pale, sweat-drenched sleeping face. He leaned over and hugged Dou Akou into his arms, and a tear quietly fell where their hair intertwined.
Unbeknownst to them, while chaos reigned in the Dou family courtyard, four imperial physicians in plain clothes stood guard at the gate. Each carried a thousand-year-old ginseng to keep them alive, along with an imperial edict from their lord to ensure the safety of Dou Akou and her child.
In a deep sleep, Dou Akou vaguely recalled that Laba Festival in Qingyong City. Fu Jiuxin had gone down the mountain to collect debts, and she was suddenly awakened from her dream. She ran to the mountain gate and saw Fu Jiuxin walking down the thousand-step staircase from afar. At that time, she had fled to the Elephant Dance Platform, but in her dream, she stood in the darkness, watching Fu Jiuxin approach her step by step. In that instant, spring sunshine filled the air, and the grass grew tall and the birds sang. This year, on Laba Festival, she gave birth to their child, and her life finally completed a perfect circle.
Spring outing
On a spring outing, apricot blossoms fill the air.
On the sunny hillside, peach petals lay scattered on the ground. From the lush peach grove, bursts of laughter and chatter could be heard.
Dou Akou and Tang Xunzhen sat on the ground under the peach tree, watching two children playing in the distance.
Not long after Dou Akou gave birth to her child, Tang Xunzhen married Gu Huaibi at Xilie Fort. The wedding of the eldest daughter of Yiyantang and the young master of Xilie Fort was, as expected, a grand affair. Almost every sect in the martial arts world sent people to attend this grand banquet, and gifts were sent into Xilie Fort like a flowing river, filling the entire house.
"It's a pity you couldn't see it, otherwise you would have been so happy at such a lively occasion." Tang Xunzhen spoke of her wedding with great enthusiasm.