Thе ассоmраnying matrоn wiреd hеr swеat as she hurriеdlу repliеd, "Theу'vе аll аrrivеd, thеy've аll arrived. She went into labоr lаst night. Thе seсоnd mаdаm originаllу didn't wаnt tо disturb thе old mаdam and yоu, рlanning tо report thе good nеws directlу аftеr thе сhild wаs bоrn. But sincе thе child hаsn't bееn delivеred уеt, the seсоnd madаm grew somewhаt worried and sеnt wоrd аheаd to inform the оld mаdаm and уоu."
Zhоu Shаоjin's hеart lеаpеd into hеr throat.
Yеt by thе timе shе arrivеd аt Сhеng Wei's home, Мadam Xie had аlready givеn birth.
It was a hеalthу bаby bоy weighing seven jin.
Madam Xie's mother held the child, smiling so widely her mouth couldn't close.
Cheng Sheng, who had rushed over, also breathed a sigh of relief.
Madam Qiu smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits, quickly instructing maids and matrons to dye red eggs and announce the joyous news to the old madam and various households.
Zhou Shaojin gently pressed down the quilt corner that nearly covered the baby's face, smiling as she said to Madam Xie's two elder sisters, "Look at this child, what fine hair he has! And this nose—just like his mother's."
"Exactly!" Madam Xie's two sisters, who had kept vigil all night, now showed weariness mixed with excitement. "But his eyes and brows resemble the young master's. So handsome!"
Amidst laughter and chatter, everyone went in to see Madam Xie.
Cheng Rang, who had been holding Madam Xie's hand and whispering to her by the bedside, immediately jumped aside, his face flushed red, too flustered to lift his head.
Madam Xie also blushed like the morning clouds.
The women of the Xie family covered their mouths in silent laughter. Madam Xie's mother, her eyes brightening, sympathetically rescued Cheng Rang: "When I had my first child, the child's father nearly rushed into the delivery room... The young master hasn't slept all night either. Go rest now! We'll help take care of things here; nothing will go wrong."
Cheng Rang bowed to everyone, murmuring, "You've all been up all night too... I'm not tired yet!"
Madam Qiu said with a smile, "Your mother-in-law has already spoken; just do as she says. There will be plenty for you to do later—how can you manage without resting properly? Go rest now! You can come back to see mother and child later."
With both his mother-in-law and mother saying so, Cheng Rang had no choice but to leave.
He glanced reluctantly at Madam Xie and the child before exiting the inner chamber.
Madam Xie's face grew even redder.
Her mother watched with a chuckle, placing the child beside Madam Xie and saying with a smile, "The young master respects you, your mother-in-law dotes on you, and your sister-in-law rushed over as well. Even your husband's sister, upon hearing the child hadn't been born yet, brought a century-old ginseng root when she came. You've fallen into a nest of blessings. From now on, you must dutifully honor your mother-in-law, take good care of your husband, and respect the elders and his sister in the family."
Madam Xie softly replied, "Yes," her expression filled with sweetness.
Zhou Shaojin watched, feeling somewhat emotional.
This was why she loved daughters yet wished to bear sons.
Daughters grow up and marry into other families, becoming part of their husbands' households, subject to their arrangements. Even someone like Madam Xie, who had borne a son, still had her mother carefully considering Madam Qiu's feelings—let alone those who gave birth to daughters...
Zhou Shaojin thought of her own father.
Her father never seemed to care much about such matters.
Surely there were good men like her father in this world?
A slight smile touched Zhou Shaojin's lips. She urged Madam Qiu and others who had kept vigil all night to rest first, then helped care for Madam Xie alongside Cheng Sheng.
Madam Yuan only made an appearance on the day of the baby's third-day bathing ceremony.Two four-tael silver ingots were tossed into the basin, and two sets of clothing, shoes, and socks were brought for the newborn named Yi Ge'er.
The silver ingots tossed into the basin were taken away by the midwife, which was straightforward enough. The child would soon be a month old, and congratulations could be sent during the full-month celebration. However, Madam Qiu had sent someone to inform Madam Yuan early on, yet she arrived only now... As the eldest aunt of the household, her tardiness inevitably caused some displeasure.
Even someone as magnanimous as Madam Qiu couldn’t help but murmur, "Mother rushed over as soon as she heard the news to see Yi Ge'er, but Madam Yuan arrived late. People might think she and I are on bad terms!"
Yi Ge'er was Old Madam Guo’s first great-grandson, so of course she was overjoyed.
Upon hearing the news, despite her advanced age, she came by sedan chair and rewarded Madam Xie with a set of ruby jewelry. The gemstone on the hairpiece was as large as a pigeon’s egg, delighting the women of the Xie family and greatly boosting Madam Qiu’s pride.
Zhou Shaojin could only console her, "Perhaps she wasn’t feeling well. Didn’t she send a wet nurse to inquire when you informed her?"
Today was Yi Ge'er’s third-day bathing ceremony, after all. They couldn’t let Madam Yuan spoil the mood.
Madam Qiu’s expression softened slightly.
Cheng Sheng whispered quietly to Madam Qiu and Zhou Shaojin, "Mother, don’t blame Auntie. Look at Cousin Zheng—she doesn’t look well either. Jinjiang heard from my father-in-law that Uncle seems to have encountered some trouble."
Zhou Shaojin and Madam Qiu both paled, asking Cheng Sheng anxiously, "What exactly happened?"
"It wasn’t explained clearly at the time," Cheng Sheng whispered. "It seems someone recommended by Uncle turned out to be of poor character and was impeached by a censor. The matter implicated Uncle, accusing him of accepting bribes or something..."
Before Cheng Sheng could finish, Zhou Shaojin and Madam Qiu exclaimed in unison, "Impossible!": "Your uncle may be indecisive at times, but he would never accept bribes! The annual income from the ancestral fields is enough to support their family, not to mention the substantial savings from earlier years..."
"I said the same," Cheng Sheng whispered. "But outsiders are saying that when the Cheng family divided the clan, Nine Prosperities Lane took most of the assets. Over the years, the branch in the capital has struggled to sustain itself..."
Zhou Shaojin and Madam Qiu both frowned, with Zhou Shaojin feeling particularly uneasy.
In her previous life, Cheng Jing had entered the cabinet only after the new emperor ascended the throne, and there had been no such incident. In this life, Cheng Jing had entered the cabinet earlier, but conflicts had been constant.
Could it be because of her?
But this couldn’t have happened suddenly, could it?
Cheng Chi hadn’t said a word about it.
Zhou Shaojin twisted her handkerchief.
Madam Qiu discussed with Zhou Shaojin, "Shall we keep Xiao Jie'er for a chat later?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
Cheng Sheng pulled Cheng Xiao aside to talk.
As Cheng Xiao listened, she glanced toward Zhou Shaojin and Madam Qiu, her eyes suddenly glistening as if with tears.
Zhou Shaojin sighed inwardly.
If this were true, how heartbreaking it would be for the children!
When the third-day bathing ceremony ended and the four of them gathered in Madam Qiu’s inner chamber to talk, her tone couldn’t help but carry a hint of caution.Cheng Xiao listened. Before she could speak, tears began to fall in torrents: "...They say it's someone named Han Zongmei, who was recently appointed as the Xuantong Commander. Not long after taking office, he started extorting and demanding bribes. What kind of place is Xuantong? It's full of soldiers—if they're happy, everything's fine; if they're unhappy, they'd dare to raise swords and spears even against the emperor himself. There are also descendants of meritorious officials serving there. He didn't know how to win these people over, so someone incited the censors to impeach him. Father was just unlucky. Recently, the Emperor had been displeased about the Fourth Prince's affairs. Han Zongmei happened to run into this, so of course the Emperor would send someone to investigate thoroughly. The supervisor sent happened to be the godson of Liu Li, the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace. Usually, that worthless thing isn't known for being upright and honest, but this time, for some reason, he handled everything strictly by the book. So Father got implicated.
"Such things are unavoidable, especially since Father is already a Grand Secretary. In the past, when encountering such matters, he would have just reprimanded a few words and let it go. But this time, Father's luck was just too bad. The Emperor had just declared that not a single person should be spared, and immediately afterward, it was discovered that the recommender was Father."
As she spoke, she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and sobbed uncontrollably, crying so bitterly she could hardly contain herself.
If things had truly reached an irreparable point, Cheng Chi wouldn't be sitting so calmly.
He hadn't mentioned a single word about Cheng Jing these past few days!
Zhou Shaojin glanced at Madam Qiu in confusion. She hurried forward and put an arm around Cheng Xiao's shoulders, speaking gently, "Don't cry. Your father just didn't notice in time. Besides, your Fourth Uncle hasn't said a word about it since returning home, and your Second Aunt hasn't heard any news either. That shows the matter isn't too serious. Be careful not to cry so much that your eyes swell—it won't look good when you go back."
Her words only made things worse. Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiao wiped her eyes resentfully and said, "Do you think the Yuan family is any good? Not to mention Fourth Uncle, even if Second Granduncle knew about this, he could only pretend he didn't—Han Zongmei, seeing that he was finished, started biting wildly like a mad dog. He claimed he had given Father so many gifts back then. Others might not know, but how could the Yuan family not know? Did my father keep even a single item? Everything was handed over to Mother and sent to the Yuan family. Now that Father is in trouble, Mother went to beg the Yuan family to put in a good word. They agreed nicely, but when it came down to it, they didn't say a single word. If it weren't for Second Granduncle's face, and the Emperor only penalized Father with a year's salary as a resolution, otherwise, once the news spread, what face would our family have left? Even so, the Emperor transferred some of Father's responsibilities to Huang Li...
"Mother has been overwhelmed by this matter these past few days," Cheng Xiao took Madam Qiu's hand and said apologetically, "otherwise, she wouldn't have missed coming to see Brother Yi..."
With such a big matter, no one would be in the mood to congratulate others.
Madam Qiu, thinking of her earlier complaints about Madam Yuan, felt a pang of guilt and quickly said, "Don't say that! We aunts are just busy with daily chores around the stove and pots. We didn't even know such a big thing happened in Xinglin Alley, let alone help in any way. It's already good that you haven't blamed us. If you keep saying this, Auntie will feel even worse." She then asked urgently, "So, is everything all right now?"Cheng Xiao nodded, tears falling once more, and said, "Mother always talks about how well the Yuan family treated Father, how illustrious the Yuan family is, but when Father was in trouble, they stood by and did nothing. What does the Yuan family have to do with us? They’re not even as good as those who glare at us openly, who wield their swords and spears in plain sight—at least we know they’re enemies... What is this supposed to be? If they don’t want to help, why not say so directly? Even if they can’t help, they should at least tell us, so we can look for other paths... Is it possible that aside from the Yuan family, there’s no one in the world our Cheng family can turn to for support..."
She was such a gentle person, yet even she spoke with such indignation about this matter, let alone Madam Yuan, who had always taken pride in the Yuan family!
"You can say these things in front of me and Second Aunt," Zhou Shaojin sighed. "But you’re a daughter-in-law of the Yuan family—you mustn’t let such thoughts show in front of your husband from the Yuan family."
※
Dear readers, here is today’s update.
From the 1st to the 7th of this month, monthly votes are doubled. Although I can’t fight until the last moment, I still hope the ranking on the monthly vote chart can look a bit better.
Are there any readers who went out to play these past couple of days and haven’t had a chance to read? Or those who read but forgot to cast their monthly votes?
I kindly ask for your support for "Jinling Spring" and hope you can cast your monthly votes for it.
Thank you, everyone.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel