Chapter 1

Chapter 1 “Ah—!” A piercing scream tore through the sky! Liu Siyue was carrying a basket home from the fields when she saw her Elder Sister-in-law sitting in her Husband’s arms. The two of them were behaving intimately. So startled was she that she dropped her basket, which struck the ground with a loud “thud.” The sound alerted the two people inside the house. She wanted to run away as quickly as possible, not wanting them to discover her. But then a sharp pain seized her abdomen. She knew she had been jolted into premature labor. Liu Siyue was sweating profusely from the pain. Slowly, she sank to the ground. The two of them stood in the doorway. Lu Yunzhou’s cold expression and terrifying gaze made Liu Siyue’s entire body turn icy. She actually saw death in his eyes. She had caught them in their affair. Could he be planning to kill her to silence her, taking both her and her unborn child’s lives? She was utterly terrified. “Husband, I think I’m going to give birth. Hurry and call the midwife and the doctor.” Lu Yunzhou and his Elder Sister-in-law remained where they were, unmoving. Liu Siyue’s voice trembled as she reached out to them for help. “Please, save me and my child! Elder Sister-in-law, Husband, I didn’t see anything just now, and I won’t tell anyone anything. I swear on my life and my child’s life!” Liu Siyue hoped to awaken some remnant of conscience in her Husband and make him save her and their child. Lu Yunzhou exchanged a glance with his Elder Sister-in-law. They hurriedly carried her into the house and placed her on the bed. “Elder Sister-in-law, hurry to the village entrance and call the midwife. I’ll go to the fields and find Mother.” Before leaving, Lu Yunzhou also went to the neighbors and asked one of the village women to help look after Liu Siyue. He first went to summon the doctor, then hurried toward the fields. Along the way, whenever he encountered villagers heading out to work, he quickly asked them to pass word to his family that Siyue had accidentally fallen and might be about to give birth. The midwife arrived at the Lu Household first. When she saw Liu Siyue lying on the bed, already unconscious, she held a finger beneath her nose to check her breathing. She was still alive. The neighbor hurriedly said, “Midwife Wang, Madam Liu has fainted from the pain. What should we do?” Midwife Wang did not know what to do either. She was only a midwife, not a doctor. Afraid that someone might die, she wanted to leave. But just as she stepped out of the courtyard, the village doctor arrived, and she quickly led him inside. The doctor took one look at the mother’s condition and immediately began inserting needles, first rousing her before proceeding with further treatment. The midwife quickly had the Lu Family’s eldest daughter-in-law boil some water, then stayed nearby to assist the doctor. “Doctor Yang, how is Madam Liu?” “She’ll wake up soon. But her body is severely depleted, and she’s also in premature labor. I’m afraid it won’t be easy for both mother and child to survive safely.” Just as the doctor had said, Liu Siyue soon awoke, but her condition was extremely poor. Doctor Yang instructed the midwife, “I’ll give her a ginseng slice to raise her spirits and replenish her qi. I’ll leave the rest to you.” The midwife felt as if a huge burden had fallen onto her shoulders. She closed the door and said, “Madam Liu, if you want to save your life and your child’s, you must do exactly as I say.” After examining her, the midwife found that the cervix had dilated seven fingers. She would be ready to give birth after waiting a little longer. Wave after wave of excruciating pain struck Liu Siyue, making her cry out. The midwife told her not to scream and to conserve her strength. If she used up all her energy, how would she give birth? Another half hour passed, and the cervix was fully dilated. “Inhale, exhale, push!” the midwife ordered. After several rounds, Liu Siyue was completely out of strength. She only wanted to close her eyes and sleep. “Madam Liu, you absolutely cannot fall asleep! Don’t you want your child? We can already see the head. Listen to my commands—in­hale, exhale, push!” Along with Liu Siyue’s hoarse, heart-rending cry, she completely lost consciousness. A tiny baby girl was born, crying like a kitten. The midwife quickly cleaned up the baby, then tidied Liu Siyue as well. Only after that did she open the door and carry the child outside. She first said to Doctor Yang, “Doctor Yang, go check on Madam Liu.” Then the midwife walked over to Lu Yunzhou and his mother, Liu Pozi. “Congratulations! The Lu Family has gained a granddaughter. The child is weak, so you must raise her carefully.” Seeing the look of disgust on Liu Pozi’s face, the midwife handed the baby to Lu Yunzhou and said earnestly, “Student Lu, this is your eldest daughter. “You can give me the birth-delivery fee in a couple of days.” At that moment, Doctor Yang came out from inside. The mother had not suffered a hemorrhage; she had practically snatched her life back from the gates of death. “Madam Liu has been injured by the birth and needs to recuperate properly. The consultation and medicine fees come to two taels of silver. You can pay me in a couple of days. For now, have someone come with me to collect two doses of medicine. She needs to be treated for a few days first, so the mother can recover.” Liu Pozi immediately became displeased. “She gave birth to a money-losing girl, and you still want her to take medicine? Does she think her body is made of gold? Besides, how could the consultation and medicine fees possibly be so expensive? Are you trying to cheat us?” Doctor Yang’s expression darkened at once. “Sister-in-law Liu, what are you saying? We’re all neighbors from the same village. Why would I cheat you out of that little bit of silver? “Your daughter-in-law was just on the verge of death and had no strength left to give birth. I used a ginseng slice to keep her alive and restore her strength. “If you don’t want to get the medicine, so be it. But pay one tael and five qian of silver for the consultation and ginseng slice.” Lu Yunzhou hurriedly said, “Doctor Yang, please go home first. I’ll deliver the money to your house tomorrow.” Doctor Yang gave his sleeve a sharp flick and left. Lu Yunzhou held the baby in his arms, not knowing what to do. He looked at his mother. Liu Pozi’s face was dark, and she turned and walked away. He then looked at his Elder Sister-in-law. “Elder Sister-in-law, please help take care of the child and Madam Liu. After all, they’re two human lives.” Zhou Xiangxing took the baby and carried her inside to see Liu Siyue. She placed the child beside Liu Siyue. Perhaps it was the bond between mother and daughter, but Liu Siyue actually opened her eyes. She looked at Zhou Xiangxing and called out, “Elder Sister-in-law.” Zhou Xiangxing nodded at her. “You gave birth to a daughter. I’ve placed the child beside you. I’ll go make you something to eat.” Zhou Xiangxing knew that the moment Liu Siyue gave birth to a daughter, her fate had already been decided: she would be driven out by her In-laws' Family. Lu Yunzhou went to Liu Pozi’s room. “Mother, don’t be angry. They’re still two human lives. Since the mother and daughter have made it through the gates of death, that’s their good fortune. “Just do as you said before. If she gave birth to a boy, we’d keep the child and divorce Madam Liu. If it was a girl, we’d drive both of them out directly. “But she just gave birth, and it was a premature birth at that. Both mother and daughter are extremely weak. Driving them out now would inevitably invite gossip. Why not keep them for a few more days, let them recover a little, and then send them away? If not for anything else, we can do it to accumulate blessings for your son. “Madam Liu deserves no small amount of credit for your son’s illness being cured.” “Very well. My son, you’ve thought this through carefully. We’ll drive them out in a few days. Otherwise, once you pass the xiucai examination, it won’t be so easy to send them away. If you did it then, people would say that you were abandoning your wife who had shared your hardships simply because you had become a xiucai, which would damage your reputation. “My son is the Wenqu Star descended to earth. Your future is boundless. The woman you ought to marry is an official’s daughter. How could she possibly compare to a dirt-covered peasant?” “What about the midwife’s and Doctor Yang’s fees?” “You don’t need to worry about that. Mother will take care of it.” “Then I thank you, Mother.” For the next five days, Zhou Xiangxing was the one who cared for the mother and daughter. Liu Siyue did not know what to feel. Her mother-in-law and Husband had not come to see the child even once, and her heart had gone cold. After five days, Liu Siyue’s body had recovered somewhat, and she was already able to get out of bed. Liu Pozi then stopped Zhou Xiangxing from caring for her. Because Liu Siyue had no milk, the baby cried weakly, like a hungry kitten. Liu Siyue was still a child herself and understood nothing. She was terribly frightened, afraid that she would not be able to keep her baby alive. She knew which women in the village had recently given birth, so she carried her child around, begging them to give the baby something to eat.