linfengchun

Capítulo 112

"Why are you so sure?" The pain was irritating, and she started to get a little angry.

He smiled good-naturedly, "Haven't you heard? Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years."

“You insulted me.” She glared at him with her dark eyes.

"Do you think you're a good person?" he asked calmly.

...

Twelve years into their marriage, Pianqian caught a cold.

"I'm probably really going to die this time," she complained weakly.

"No, it won't." That's the same answer I've given year after year.

"Someone like me will definitely go to the eighteenth level of hell if I die." She pretended not to hear and continued talking to herself.

"Impossible, that's for the Pope. You can only go to the seventeenth floor at most."

"The King of Pope?"

"That's right."

"So, Jiuwei has one more layer than me."

He paused for a moment, then fell into thought.

"Okay, the seventeenth floor isn't bad either." She nodded, seemingly somewhat comforted.

He coughed lightly. "Since Jiuwei is here too, I'll accompany you to the eighteenth floor."

Married for sixteen years.

"How come there's still medicine left?" Mingming had heard that they were almost used up.

“Suiyu and Jiuwei each sent a box, and many fast horses from Quanzhou also delivered them.”

She looked at the medicine bowl and almost cried.

"I'm not drinking anymore." She sullenly buried her head in his arms.

"You'll die if you don't drink it," he coaxed softly, fiddling with his long hair.

"So what if I die? I've lived long enough anyway." Even Doctor Fu Tian died before me.

"Not yet."

"When will that be?" she asked incoherently, frustrated.

"Wait until I'm dead," he replied calmly.

"Just because you're alive doesn't mean I can't die?"

"That's right."

"What if you die and I'm still alive?" she retorted angrily.

"...I would like you to come and be with me soon." He was very frank.

Extra - childbirth

The lush green trees provide ample shade on long summer days, and the reflections of pavilions and terraces are mirrored in the pond.

The scenery was beautiful, but the atmosphere inside the garden was inexplicably tense. As the Third Young Mistress's due date drew closer, carefully selected midwives had already been invited to the residence to be cared for. Although the young master of the Jun family was too busy to attend in person, all sorts of rare and precious medicinal herbs and tonics were sent over in abundance, clearly indicating that he was also in charge.

A slender hand tossed crumbs of steamed bun from the railing, attracting bright red carp that lingered there. Xie Yunshu, seeing the sun's shadow gradually slanting, put down his pen and put away the scrolls on the stone table.

"It's still early." She tilted her head, somewhat surprised. The daylight was just right, and there was still a pile of documents left on the desk.

"The wind will turn cool once the sun sets."

"It's summer after all, and I'm not that delicate."

“I’ll worry.” He smiled, silencing any objections, and reached out to embrace his pregnant wife.

She looked at the dark circles under his eyes with a hint of helplessness. "You haven't been sleeping well lately."

"It will be better after you give birth." Not being able to sleep night after night is indeed a terrible feeling. Seeing her approaching her due date, her anxiety and unease tormented her mind. Her second brother was almost driven crazy by him.

She hugged her neck and sighed softly, not knowing what to say. No words seemed to do justice to her. In truth, she was afraid. What would happen to him if something went wrong? He had clearly lost a lot of weight recently. She had never shown any worry in her meticulous care for him, but from the occasional words that Yin Hu had uttered, she could tell that he had been using a harsher approach lately.

She frowned deeply, her heart filled with worry for her.

"Pianxian?" I didn't hear her speak for a while.

"Carry me inside," Qingyin said listlessly.

Are you tired?

"Um."

He tenderly embraced her delicate body. Pregnancy was already difficult enough, and recently her legs had been swollen badly, often waking her up at night with cramps, making it hard to sleep soundly. No wonder she was easily fatigued. After placing her on the couch, he was about to give instructions to the maid when she tugged at his sleeve. Her expression was as indifferent as ever, but fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

He gripped her slender arm tightly, his brow furrowing with concern. "Why are you so cold?"

"I'm fine, everything's alright, although it's a little earlier than expected." Her tone was calm, but her fingers gripping the edge of the bed twitched slightly. "Call my second brother and the midwife over, I'm about to give birth."

Xie Yunshu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

Maids carried hot water back and forth, while the midwife mumbled instructions on how to exert force. The room was unbearably hot. Madam Xie, accompanied by her eldest daughter-in-law, waited in the next room, pacing back and forth restlessly. Xie Da, Xie Er, and Xie Wu were also tense and uneasy in the courtyard. They did not cry or scream, but this only made people more uneasy.

Her jade-like fingernails split, a trace of blood seeping out. She bit down hard on the soft cloth, enduring wave after wave of excruciating pain. Xie Yunshu held her hand tightly, staring at her without blinking, constantly comforting her, though he himself didn't know what he was saying.

Several hours of hellish suffering passed. In the intervals between the pain, she spat out the soft cloth, the blood seeping from her gums staining it bright red. She laboriously turned her head to the side and found that he was sweating even more.

"Don't be afraid, it doesn't hurt much." Her voice was hoarse and weak. She wiped her lips and stared blankly at the bloodstains on the back of her hand. "Really, it's a little better than reversed meridians..."

"I'm sorry..." he could barely utter a sound. "It's my fault."

She closed her eyes slightly and said after a long while, "If I can't give birth within an hour, I won't have any strength left. You need to ask the midwife to think of something, otherwise we'll just have to leave it to fate."

"……good……"

It's hard to describe Xie Yunshu's expression. Shuangjing, watching from the side, burst into tears, covering her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.

"Father!" Qinglan rushed into Xie Zhenchuan's study, covered in sweat. "Third sister-in-law gave birth, it's a boy."

Xie Zhenchuan suddenly stood up, his brush falling from his hand and staining the Xuan paper. "Are mother and child both safe?"

“The child is fine, but my third sister-in-law’s condition is not good. My second brother said it has been dragging on for too long.”

Xie Zhenchuan leaned on the table for a long time. Qinglan looked at her father and asked cautiously, "Father, would you like to give your grandson a name?"

The Xie family had had several grandchildren born before, and Xie Zhenchuan was traditionally the one to name them. However, he was unusually silent this time, and only spoke after a long while. "Let the mother choose the names. Let Jingze think of more ways, and use whatever works."

After Qinglan left, Xie Zhenchuan picked up the brush and crumpled the ink-stained Xuan paper. His usually steady hands trembled almost imperceptibly. The best outcome would be to gain a grandson, and the worst outcome would be to lose a son... He could only hope that God would protect him and help him get through this last hurdle.

For more than ten days, the Third Young Mistress has been hovering on the brink of death, relying entirely on ginseng soup to keep her alive.

The newborn child was taken in by Madam Xie for care. Neither the couple paid a glance at the baby. Despite the joy of the birth of their son, the courtyard was filled with gloom and despair. Xie Quheng handled all the congratulatory guests and gifts on their behalf. Even when the young master of the Jun family, a relative by marriage, came to visit, Qinglan went to greet him, saving them the trouble of formalities and leading him directly into the small building.

Xie Yunshu was completely disoriented. He stayed by the bedside, feeding the person on the bed ginseng soup. The person on the bed was still unconscious. After a long while, he could only feed him a very small amount. He tried repeatedly with great patience. The overflowing soup was wiped away with a silk handkerchief, and not a drop of soup was left on the pillow.

"What were the results of the joint diagnosis by Physician Fu and the Second Young Master?" Jun Suiyu, who had traveled from afar, looked at the two extremely haggard people and wanted to sigh.

Qinglan lowered her voice. "She said Third Sister-in-law has been unconscious for too long, and if she doesn't wake up in the next couple of days..."

"Yun Shu hasn't gone to rest at all?"

“No, I was just so tired that I leaned against my third sister-in-law’s bedside.” Qinglan’s eyes welled up with tears as she spoke. “My third sister-in-law woke up once, only to say that she was dirty. My third brother immediately went to bathe and change her clothes, but she never woke up again…”

Jun Suiyu suppressed his emotions, stepped forward and patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder. When he turned around and saw it was him, Xie Yunshu forced a smile. "You've come. You must be tired from your journey. She will be very happy to see you."

"Go and rest, I'll stay and watch over her."

Xie Yunshu shook his head, tired but determined. "I'm afraid that if she wakes up and doesn't see me, she'll lose her nerve and leave. You know, she doesn't care about anything much."

Jun Suiyu was already saddened, and hearing these words made her chest ache even more.

Xie Yunshu, oblivious, stared at the person on the bed and muttered to himself, "I know it's painful to be suspended like this. She frowned the whole time she took the ginseng soup. Giving up would be a relief, but I can't let her be at ease. What will I do if she's at ease..."

Qinglan almost cried.

Jun Suiyu stopped trying to persuade him, and the two silent men waited together, hoping for a miracle from the unseen world.

A sharp, shattering sound pierced the darkness, startling the maids inside and outside the house.

Xie Yunshu suddenly flew into a rage and drove everyone out. Qinglan Jun, who was temporarily staying in the garden to take care of things, came upon hearing the commotion, but was blocked at the door.

"What happened?" Jun Suiyu, who had just rested, was startled awake, her heart sinking. "Pianxian, she..."

Shuangjing choked back tears, sobbing. "Miss can't drink the ginseng soup anymore, nothing we do can help."

Jun Suiyu's hands and feet were ice-cold, and she was so panicked and powerless that she didn't know what to do. After standing there for a while, she gently pushed open the door.

The shattered jade bowl lay scattered on the ground, gleaming with a soft, eerie light. Xie Yunshu embraced his wife, his voice as low as a dream.

"...I know you don't like ginseng soup, it's very bitter..."

"...Wake up, wake up and look at me. Without you...I..."

"...It's a promise...you can't go back on your word as long as you're alive..."

"...Don't you want to see me? Don't you want to see the child...aren't you afraid I'll strangle it..."

"Mother said I look like you, but why don't I want to see you at all? Did you pay for this with your life...?"

The words grew increasingly chilling, as if the speaker was driven mad by extreme pain and grief. Jun Suiyu acted decisively, striking Xie Yunshu on the back of the neck. Caught off guard, Xie Yunshu fainted and was helped up and handed over to Qinglan. "Give Yunshu some calming medicine; make sure he sleeps for at least five hours."

The assertive tone made Qinglan nod obediently, but then she hesitated. "What if Third Sister-in-law..."

Jun Suiyu paused for a moment. "Regardless of Pianxian's situation, whether Yunshu is present or not is irrelevant. We can't let him collapse first."

After all the onlookers had left, Jun Suiyu straightened a chair and sat down beside the bed. He remained silent for a long time before leaning closer to the unconscious person. "Pianxian, Yunshu's future is in your hands. Do you really want to ruin him? Father once said that the songs of Cangwu Kingdom have the power to guide souls. If it is true, then come back with the music."

After speaking, he took out a short flute from his sleeve.

The moon-white window screen reflected the swaying shadows of the trees, and a beautiful, lively melody quietly drifted out, dissipating into the night.

I turned over in a daze, but the habitual hug fell through, and I suddenly woke up.

Judging from the furnishings, it should be a guest room in the side wing, not the bedroom he was used to living in. The empty half of the bed made him suddenly remember the reason, and his chest spasmed with pain. He threw off the silk quilt and rushed out.

How long did he sleep? How is she? Is she still unconscious, or did she die while he was asleep...?