Chapter 162: First-Time Parents
As dawn gradually broke, Fu Tingyun's muffled moans could be heard from inside the room.
Zhao Ling stood beneath the window, drenched in sweat from anxiety, repeatedly murmuring, "A-Jun, it's alright, it's alright, I'm right outside... Just endure it a little longer, it'll be over soon..."
This wasn't an illness—how could simply enduring make it better?
Fu Tingyun wanted to laugh at his words, but as soon as she twitched her lips, another wave of pain struck...
She could only bite down hard on the handkerchief Granny Lu held for her.
Granny Lu gently stroked her forehead and said in a kind and soothing tone, "Just do as I say, and everything will be fine. Look, your husband is here with you!"
Fu Tingyun nodded.
Granny Lu signaled to Tong Shi, who immediately brought over a bowl of brown sugar water. Granny Lu personally fed it to her.
Hearing no further sounds from inside, Zhao Ling grew frantic and called out anxiously, "A-Jun, A-Jun, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine!" Fu Tingyun replied weakly, her voice strained.
"That's good, that's good!" Zhao Ling muttered to himself before asking her, "You only had a few boiled eggs two hours ago—are you hungry? Is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll have someone prepare it..."
Just as Fu Tingyun was about to answer, Granny Lu, who had been gentle all along, suddenly snapped in displeasure, "She needs to save her strength for childbirth. The less you ask, the better it is for her—better than any food!" She then scolded Fu Tingyun, "Instead of talking to him, you should focus on conserving your energy."
Blushing, Fu Tingyun lowered her head and concentrated on drinking the brown sugar water.
Zhao Ling didn't dare say another word and paced back and forth restlessly.
Zhenzhu and Kou'er didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
When Zheng Sanniang came in with hot water, she tried to console him, "First births are always like this, Ninth Master. Why don't you rest in the other room for a while? You haven't slept all night. Once the baby is born, I'll bring them to you right away."
But Zhao Ling couldn't possibly sleep.
He knew standing outside worrying wouldn't help, but staying away would only make him more anxious.
"How... how much longer will it take?" he asked urgently.
It had already been an entire night, and he still hadn't heard the cry of a newborn.
He was exhausted just from standing, let alone Fu Tingyun, who had been in pain all this time.
"Soon, soon!" Zheng Sanniang could only offer this vague reassurance.
Hearing the dismissiveness in her tone, Zhao Ling's expression darkened, his lips pressed tightly together, and a fierce intensity flashed in his eyes.
Zheng Sanniang shuddered at the sight and hastily excused herself, saying, "Granny Lu is waiting for the hot water," before hurrying into the inner chamber.
Zhao Ling stood with his hands behind his back on the steps of the main hall, motionless as he watched the morning sunlight slowly dye the pomegranate tree beside him crimson.
Suddenly, a clear, sharp cry of a baby rang out from the inner chamber.
Overjoyed, he called out, "A-Jun, A-Jun..." Ignoring Granny Lu's earlier instructions, he rushed to push open the partition door of the hall.
"Quick, quick, stop him!" Granny Lu shouted upon hearing the commotion. "Don't let the cold air in—it could startle the mother and child!"
At her shout, Zhao Ling's steps froze abruptly just before the curtain of the inner chamber. Unable to see anything through the silk drape, he craned his neck anxiously and asked, "A-Jun, how are you?"
"I'm fine," Fu Tingyun's tired but joyful voice reached him through the curtain. "It's a daughter... we have a daughter...""Good, good..." Zhao Ling replied from behind the curtain, suddenly finding his vision blurred with tears. "Quick, bring her to me, bring her to me!" As he spoke, the baby's cries stopped, making him anxious. "What's wrong? What's wrong? Why isn't the baby crying anymore?"
"In all my years of midwifery, I've never seen anyone as noisy as you, sir," Granny Lu scolded. "Both mother and child are perfectly fine. The baby isn't crying because she's being bathed."
Zhao Ling flushed at Granny Lu's words, but then heard her teasing voice add, "Though your little girl is quite amusing herself—eyes wide open, dunked in water without so much as a whimper..."
This made Zhao Ling fidget impatiently, itching to see his daughter immediately...
Hearing rustling sounds from beyond the curtain, Granny Lu chuckled and said to Fu Tingyun, "Your husband treats you so well—you're truly blessed."
She had been in labor all night, and Zhao Ling had been restless outside the entire time.
"Please excuse my husband's behavior, Granny Lu," Fu Tingyun replied shyly, though her eyes and smile couldn't conceal her happiness.
Granny Lu laughed heartily. "Next time, I'll deliver your baby again."
Next time?
She had just given birth!
Fu Tingyun was stunned.
Granny Lu had already stood up and walked over to Tong Shi, taking the swaddled baby to examine her closely. Turning back to Fu Tingyun, she smiled and said, "Your little girl looks just like you—thick eyebrows and big eyes, so pretty." Then she handed the baby to Zheng Sanniang. "Quick, take her to show your master, or he'll wear out the bricks at the chamber door with all his pacing!" Her tone was full of amusement.
Everyone present couldn't help but smile.
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Zhao Ling leaned over the edge of the kang, his eyes fixed adoringly on the porcelain-skinned baby wrapped in bright red swaddling clothes, fast asleep with her eyes closed.
Fu Tingyun finished her bowl of brown sugar water in one gulp, handed the empty bowl to Zhenzhu, rinsed her mouth with Kou'er's assistance, then reclined against the large bolster pillow. Wiping her lips with a handkerchief, she noticed Zhao Ling hadn't moved from his position.
She couldn't help but smile. "Weren't you clamoring to hold the baby earlier? Now that you can, why aren't you?"
Zhao Ling chuckled awkwardly. "She's sleeping now. I don't want to wake her and make her cry. I'll hold her when she wakes up." He didn't mention his real reason—when Zheng Sanniang first brought the newborn out and placed her in his arms, her tiny, fragile body had made him so nervous he feared he might accidentally hurt her...
Fu Tingyun didn't expose him, her gaze tender as she said softly, "You should rest. You haven't slept for nearly two days and nights!"
"I'm not tired," Zhao Ling replied, his eyes irresistibly drawn back to his daughter. "Who do you think she looks like?" he mused aloud. "I think her nose is like mine—tall and straight—but her mouth is like yours, red and rosy..." He bent down to gently touch the baby's cheek. "She's so small. When will she grow up?"
Such childish words.
Fu Tingyun couldn't suppress her laughter. "Instead of wondering about that, why don't you think of a name for our daughter?""I've already thought it through," Zhao Ling said with a hint of pride upon hearing her words. "Our daughter was born at the beginning of the hour of Si on the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month, just as the morning sun was rising. Since she's our firstborn, I think her formal name should be 'Hui' (Radiance), and her pet name 'Little Dragon'!"
The hour of Si corresponds to the fourth month in the earthly branches, associated with the snake, which is also called a little dragon.
"A girl called Little Dragon?" Fu Tingyun looked at Zhao Ling in astonishment, shaking her head like a pellet drum. "No, no!"
"Well then, how about 'Chun'er' (Spring Child) as her pet name..." Zhao Ling began, but before Fu Tingyun could respond, he shook his head himself. "That sounds like a maid's name, not good... Or perhaps 'Xu'er' (Dawn), which also means morning sun..."
Seeing him getting increasingly carried away, Fu Tingyun interjected, "I think 'Youyou' would be nice. 'The deer calls youyou, grazing on wild apples'—look how strong-willed she is, crying loudly the moment she's hungry. I think 'Youyou' suits her perfectly." The more she thought about it, the more she liked the name.
Zhao Ling gazed at their daughter, now peacefully lying beside her mother, and recalling her earlier earth-shattering cries, burst into laughter. "Alright then, Youyou it is." He then started talking to the baby, "Youyou, your mother thinks you cry too loudly, so she specially gave you this name..."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Fu Tingyun chided. "Babies have ears too, and they remember everything you say."
"Really?" Zhao Ling chuckled. "Then she should be most familiar with me—I talked to her every day before she was born." As soon as he finished speaking, the sleeping Youyou suddenly opened her eyes.
Her pitch-black pupils clearly reflected Zhao Ling's image.
Overjoyed, Zhao Ling exclaimed, "A-Jun, look, look... Youyou opened her eyes. She must have known I was talking about her!"
"Where? Where?" Fu Tingyun quickly leaned in to see.
Their daughter's eyes were large and round, bright and clear, as beautiful as flawless crystal.
Perhaps because the two heads hovering over her made her uncomfortable, Youyou began wailing loudly.
"What's wrong with her?" Zhao Ling asked anxiously. "Is she hungry?"
Fu Tingyun flusteredly picked up the baby. "No, she just fed."
"Maybe she's thirsty?"
"We gave her a little water before feeding."
"Or needs a diaper change?"
The two heads bent together again to unwrap the swaddling clothes.
The diaper was dry and clean.
They clumsily tried to rewrap the baby.
But the child kept moving her arms and legs, and despite Zhao Ling and Fu Tingyun sweating profusely, the baby remained unwrapped, crying even louder.
"What should we do?" Fu Tingyun asked, wiping her brow.
Zhao Ling wasn't sure either, but always full of ideas, he immediately suggested, "Let's call the wet nurse in."Before Youyou was born, a wet nurse had already been arranged. However, Fu Tingyun began producing milk shortly after giving birth, just after eating a few brown sugar boiled eggs. The wet nurse's child had been born a month earlier than Youyou, and when Fu Tingyun went into labor, someone was sent to fetch the wet nurse. Fu Tingyun labored for a full day and night, and according to custom, the wet nurse couldn’t bring her own child into the household. By the time she arrived, her milk had already started to dry up. Meanwhile, Youyou was smacking her tiny lips hungrily. Seeing this, Fu Tingyun’s heart ached, so she tried nursing the baby herself. Youyou latched on eagerly and drank her fill.
When the wet nurse came in to take the baby, Fu Tingyun couldn’t bear to part with her. She simply told the wet nurse to rest and recover well, keeping her daughter by her side and nursing her herself.
Zhao Ling later found out that the wet nurse’s milk wasn’t as good as Fu Tingyun’s, and since he doted on his daughter, he pretended not to know.
Hearing the baby’s cries, Zheng Sanniang hurried in. "What’s going on?" she asked. Seeing the swaddling cloth loose, she gasped and quickly stepped forward to wrap the baby properly. "Let me handle this!"
The two of them let out a long sigh of relief.
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Sisters, brothers, do you have any pink votes… urgently needed… (>_
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