Chapter 163: The Issue of Offspring
Yu Hongxiu’s words obviously made Bai Ruozhu feel much better, but then Bai Ruozhu thought of Yu Hongxiu’s family affairs and couldn’t help but feel for her too.
A little girl had to face the complexity of the household from a young age, with five stepmothers besides her own father. Even though she spoke lightly of the situation now, she must have been heartbroken once.
Bai Ruozhu took Yu Hongxiu’s hand and said, "Sister Hongxiu, thank you. You’ve had it tough too."
Yu Hongxiu waved her hand carelessly, "It’s all in the past. I haven’t got the short end of the stick. Now, Xie Dun doesn’t have any elders meddling, and he won’t take a concubine either. My life is actually quite comfortable. In another family, if a couple doesn’t have a child in two years’ time, they would start considering taking a concubine."
She had a smile on her face when she started talking, but towards the end, there was a hint of desolation.
Before having her own child, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t understand, but now as a mother herself, she understood a woman’s longing for a child. She began to worry for Yu Hongxiu and reached out to comfort her, in the process secretly taking Yu Hongxiu’s pulse.
Seeing this, she felt relieved. Yu Hongxiu was in excellent health, extremely so even, hence, conceiving a child shouldn’t be a problem. Most likely, the problem lay with Mr. Xie.
She had already noticed that Mr. Xie appeared malnourished, but without actually checking his pulse, she could not pinpoint the exact problem.
"Your health looks fine, but the master seems a bit malnourished. Could it be affecting you?" Bai Ruozhu didn’t say it outright. Even though she had medical skills, it would be impolite to say bluntly that the husband was having fertility issues.
Yu Hongxiu gratefully smiled at Bai Ruozhu. "Only you say my health is fine. Last time when Xie Dun’s uncle visited, he pointed out that Jiangnan women, such as myself, were frail and not good at bearing children. He meant to encourage Xie Dun to take a concubine."
See? Even when the elder has died, the uncle from the husband’s family still sticks his nose in. It’s annoying. Fortunately, he couldn’t force Xie Dun to do anything.
"With my medical skills, I can tell you’re in good health. Maybe within a half year, you can conceive a baby." Bai Ruozhu comforted Yu Hongxiu with a smile, at the same time mulling over how to improve Mr. Xie’s health. Otherwise, even if Yu Hongxiu were healthy, it wouldn’t be of any use.
"You have medical skills? Then hurry up and take my pulse. If there is any problem, I can start treatment as soon as possible. I don’t mind these things." Yu Hongxiu stretched out her wrist, looking excited and calm at the same time.
Bai Ruozhu smiled shyly, "I have already done it secretly. You are quite fit."
"Since you can practice medicine, why don’t you treat your grandpa?" Yu Hongxiu playfully winked at Bai Ruozhu, hinting at her to expose Bai Fu.
Bai Ruozhu shook her head with a bitter smile, "Not many people know that I have medical skills. Even if I say my grandpa is faking, it’s useless if he refuses to admit. It would backfire and would accuse me of defaming elders and being unfilial."
Yu Hongxiu patted Bai Ruozhu’s hand and said, "Don’t worry, let him act out his charade. Rest assured, I won’t let Xie Dun help your incompetent uncle."
Bai Ruozhu chuckled. Bai Yibo had offended Mrs. Xie with his foolish remarks. And it would be strange if her husband were willing to help him. Even if he were to promise now, when Mrs. Xie hints at something to him later, Mr. Xie won’t get too close to Bai Yibo.
"Don’t laugh at me. I’m not a small-minded person. I just can’t stand their ways. They come here to eat meals without letting you sit at the table. Even clear fish head soup can be said to have bones stuck in it. Two men targeting a woman, is that honorable?" Yu Hongxiu seemed even more indignant.
Seeing her straightforwardness, Bai Ruozhu felt even more fortunate to have made her acquaintance today.
Just then, there was the sound of a door opening outside. Bai Zehao had invited the doctor over.
While Bai Ruozhu was chatting and breastfeeding, Little Dengdeng was no longer fussing as he was full. Yu Hongxiu said to her, "Let’s go and see. We should show our concern, right?"
"You mean to add insult to injury?" Bai Ruozhu laughed.
"Add insult to injury?" Yu Hongxiu looked at Bai Ruozhu puzzled.
Bai Ruozhu secretly stuck out her tongue. In her excitement, she had blurted out words from her past life. She quickly explained, "I mean, you want to join the fun, right? I didn’t explain clearly because I spoke too fast."
"Oh." Yu Hongxiu did not ask further and just pulled Bai Ruozhu out.
Looking at Bai Ruozhu, the doctor’s gaze was somewhat strange. He must have heard about Bai Ruozhu treating Zhou Taohua and wondered why Bai Ruozhu didn’t treat Bai Fu.
However, seeing Bai Ruozhu’s helpless expression, he suppressed the doubts in his heart and went to take Bai Fu’s pulse.
After checking the pulse, he understood why Bai Ruozhu would not bother. Although Bai Fu had some anger, it was not severe enough to cause fainting. And given Bai Fu’s constant complaints of dizziness that did not align with the symptoms, it was obvious that Bai Fu was pretending. How could his granddaughter conveniently expose him?
The doctor couldn’t decide whether to expose Bai Fu’s pretenses. He was old and was the village’s scholar. More broadly, with three scholars in the house, could he afford to offend them?
After struggling with his thoughts, the doctor withdrew his hand, bowed deeply to Bai Fu, and said, "I apologize for my incompetence. I cannot treat your dizziness. You should seek advice from the town’s famous doctor. Today’s consultation fee is waived. I feel ashamed."
Without waiting for the Bai family’s reaction, he turned around and left.
Bai Zehao ran after him insisting on paying the consultation fee. How could he not pay after the doctor had made the effort to come? They left the yard while refusing each other’s offers. The doctor couldn’t resist Bai Zehao’s insistence and finally accepted the money. As he glanced back and saw no one, he whispered, "Zehao, your grandfather has no serious illness. I didn’t feel right to expose him."
"You mean he’s faking it?" Bai Zehao almost jumped up.
"Otherwise, why doesn’t your sister, who knows medical skills, treat him? If she says your grandfather is fine, wouldn’t she be accused of having ulterior motives?" The doctor’s voice grew even lower. He admired Bai Ruozhu as she had honestly shared with him her treatment method during their previous encounter, without admitting her medical skills. Having heard about the Bai family’s situation in the village, and now seeing Bai Fu pretending to be ill, he naturally sympathized with Bai Ruozhu.
Once again, Bai Zehao thanked the doctor. Even though he was angry, he couldn’t expose Bai Fu. There was no way around it; his family couldn’t expose him.
Returning to the courtyard, he heard Mr. Xie say to Bai Fu, "How could this happen? Perhaps you should come with me to Fushou Hall in town."
Bai Fu waved his hand feebly, "It’s not serious. It’s an old ailment. It will pass in a while. Don’t mind me, carry on. Don’t let me interrupt your enjoyment."
Internally, Bai Ruozhu cursed: You asshole, you know you’re affecting people’s mood, huh? Was it easy for me to prepare a whole table of food? Just because you fainted, everyone couldn’t eat anymore. The guests had to go hungry. Do you have any shame?