50 Where Did Babies Come From
“I guess so.” As Su Ying spoke, she had already applied a layer of oil on the woman’s belly. “Aunt Zhao, keep an eye on her at all times.”
When Aunt Zhao saw Su Ying’s calm expression, she also calmed down gradually. “Sure, sure.”
Su Ying’s hands were fast but steady as she massaged the woman’s belly. She gently pushed the fetus to adjust its position. Throughout the entire process, her brows were tightly knitted. Eventually, the fetus was moved to a proper position.
She put on the gloves and reached down. The woman’s cervix was already fully dilated.
At this point, the woman’s husband also came back with tree branches and stood in front of the woman to shield her.
“Mis… Mistress, how is my wife?”
“The fetal is in the correct position now. She is ready to give birth.”
“Argh!”
The woman cried out in pain as the contractions became more and more intense.
“Don’t scream. Conserve your strength.” Su Ying said without raising her head.
Perhaps due to malnutrition resulting in the fetus being too small, the woman gave birth to the child not long after.
Su Ying quickly wrapped the child in a piece of cloth and helped the woman with the post-delivery procedures. She only stood up after everything was done.
Aunt Zhao carried the child away and helped to clean it up before handing it to the man. “It’s a boy. Congratulations.”
The man carefully took the child. He laughed and laughed, and then he started crying. He was happy that both mother and child were safe at this moment, but he also felt that the child should not have come into this world at this time.
“Thank you for saving my wife and my child, Mistress. Our family will always remember your kindness.” The man carried the child and knelt in front of Su Ying to kowtow.
Su Ying glanced at the woman who had fainted from fatigue and then at the man who was carrying the child carefully. “Why were you exiled?”
A trace of resentment flashed across the man’s eyes when he heard her query. “I’m a carpenter but I was framed. The other party said that there was a problem with the house that was built and that the house collapsed and someone died. I was therefore arrested and charged with the crime. I was subsequently exiled and my pregnant wife also ended up becoming an exile just like me.”
A carpenter’s work scope in those days cover all forms of woodwork, but it mostly involved building houses and wooden structures.
Su Ying nodded without any change in expression. “Your wife is still very weak and can’t move around normally. Follow me, and you may have a chance of survival.”
The man didn’t expect Su Ying to take them in on her own initiative.
“But let me make things clear upfront. There is only one important thing to note for those who follow me, and that is loyalty. If you dare to have any ill intentions towards my people…” Su Ying picked up a stone on the ground and clenched her fist. The stone had turned into ashes when she opened her hand in the next second. “This is your outcome. Understand?”
The man was so frightened that his entire body tensed up as he nodded. “Yes, yes. Don’t worry, Mistress. We will definitely not do anything to harm you.”
“Remember what you said today and come with me.” Su Ying picked up the woman and brought the family to where her group was resting.
Aunt Zhao looked at the man and said, ” Mistress is really kind. As long as you don’t have any traitorous thoughts, Mistress will definitely not let you guys suffer.”
The man hurriedly nodded his head. “We… we swear to pledge our loyalty to the Mistress.”
Su Ying returned with the man and his two family members, and everyone looked at them curiously.
“Our new member from now on.” She turned around and looked at the man. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Tian Mu,” the man answered.
“Mm-hmm. Tian Mu. Uncle Hea, cook more food.”
Hea Shouyi smiled and nodded. “No problem.”
After Su Ying put the woman down, she went to a tree and sat down to wait for dinner.
When the two twins saw that their mother had returned, they ran to her side and leaned on her.
The younger toddler Ling stared at the newborn in the man’s arms with her big eyes and said, “Mother, the little baby in that uncle’s arms… Did he come out from that aunt’s belly?”
Su Ying pinched Ling’s tiny face and said with a smile, “That’s right. Just like the two of you. Both you and Ji were also born from Mother’s belly.”
The younger toddler Ling exclaimed in surprise and reached out with her tiny hand to touch Su Ying’s already flat stomach. “Brother and I also came out from Mother’s belly…”
“Mm-hmm.”
It was an accident that “she” had gotten pregnant with these two children. At that time, “she” was already married to Xiao Jin, but she was still devoted to Xiao Jue. Once, Xiao Jue came to their palace, and “she” wanted to drug him. Due to an unexpected turn of events, she ended up drugging Xiao Jin instead, and she got pregnant after that time.
Every time Su Ying thought of what happened in the original owner’s past, she wanted to hunt down her spirit and give her a good thrashing. She had never come across such a stupid creature.
The woman who had just given birth was still unconscious, and the newborn baby had no milk to drink. Aunt Zhao took pity on the child, so she asked Hea Shouyi to make the porridge thicker. She then fed the child in small mouthfuls. The baby only stopped crying after he was full.
After a long day of traveling, everyone was exhausted. After eating, they all lay down and went to sleep.
Deep into the night, Jiang Yang, who was on night duty, quietly walked to Xiao Jin’s side.
“Your Highness.”
Xiao Jin opened his eyes upon hearing this, but there was no drowsiness in his eyes.
Xiao Jin sat up and lowered his voice. “What’s wrong?”
“I have just received the message left behind by Lin Jin and the others.”
Xiao Jin’s dark eyes clouded over. “Speak.”
“Previously, they left for Jin City after receiving your letter, Your Highness. They had only just arrived. They said that the Emperor did not take back the 200,000 troops in Jin City, but allowed them to continue to guard the border. A few days ago, someone suggested getting General Sima to join forces with the military to submit an appeal to the Emperor in order to reverse the verdict for Your Highness. The appeal has already been submitted.”
Xiao Jin’s expression changed drastically. “The appeal has already been handed in?”
Jiang Yang nodded, thinking that this was a good thing. “Yes, Your Highness. Don’t worry. The Emperor knows that you are loyal to the Chu State and your name will definitely be cleared in due course.”
Xiao Jin’s expression was extremely unpleasant. “They have fallen for someone else’s trick.” He knew the Emperor’s temperament too well. His Majesty was extremely paranoid, and he was very much against the Princes colluding with the courtiers. If the courtiers submitted an appeal, they would have effectively broken a taboo and touched the Emperor’s sore spot. Whoever was behind this must have known the Emperor’s temperament very well, and that was why they had set such a trap for Xiao Jin and his supporters.
After Xiao Jin was captured, the garrison troops of Jin City were led by General Sima and his men. If something happened to General Sima and his men, those troops would eventually fall into the hands of others.
Jiang Yang didn’t understand, but Xiao Jin didn’t have time to explain. “Ask Lin Kun to find a way to see me immediately.”
“Yes, Sir. He should be nearby.”
Not long after Jiang Yang left, he returned with a person. That person was Lin Jin.
“Your Highness, your humble subordinate has arrived late. Please forgive me.”
“Immediately send a letter to Jin City and ask General Sima and the others to beg for forgiveness from the Emperor. Put all the blame on the person who came up with the idea.”
Lin Jin was very puzzled. “Your Highness, don’t you want to reverse the verdict?”
Xiao Jin’s dark eyes turned menacing. “The Emperor is very paranoid. If he agrees to allow me to retract my confession, he’ll be telling the world that he’s in the wrong. Which Emperor would be willing to bear the infamy of wrongly accusing a loyal and honest man?”
Realization dawned on the two men suddenly.
“Even if I want to reverse the verdict, I won’t be relying on those people. Do as I say. If they can’t successfully beg for forgiveness, then tell them to send themselves to prison on some fictitious crime. The worst-case scenario is to start a war at the border. No matter what, we must keep all of them safe.”
“Yes. I will send a message back immediately.”
As Xiao Jin raised his eyes and looked at the increasingly darkening night, his heart started sinking.