Chapter 771 - 773: The Aunt Deserving Thousand Cuts
Jiang Yichun opened his mouth in the back, but in the end, he chose not to disturb Bai Ruozhu, knowing she must be worried about Yu Hongxiu’s situation.
He played with his son, saying, "Let’s go and see your mother later, maybe we can see the birth of two babies, sounds good?"
Dengdeng seemed to understand, waving his little arms happily, shouting with glee.
Bai Ruozhu was rushing to the Xie Residence, and on the way, she asked Ruyi, "How has your lady been recently? Is her belly severely distended? Why did she start having sudden pain today?"
Yu Hongxiu’s due date was more than a month away, but twins often come prematurely, so she had been yearning day and night for Bai Ruozhu’s return.
Ruyi was a smart maid brought back from Jiangnan by Yu Hongxiu, and she immediately briefed Bai Ruozhu on her lady’s situation.
"The lady has been in good spirits recently, especially upon hearing that Miss Bai is coming back, she’s been really happy. Her belly is larger than that of an average pregnant woman, but the doctor previously said after taking her pulse that the mother and child are in good condition, and the position of the fetus is unusually right. It’s just that it wasn’t supposed to happen so soon, but today, your second aunt-in-law came over and accidentally bumped into the lady, but she won’t admit it." Ruyi said with obvious fury, her eyes reddening.
"The lady hired a midwife, but she said she only trusts you, Bai, to oversee, told me to come and see if you were here. I didn’t expect that you really came back. The lady will surely be fine."
Bai Ruozhu patted Ruyi’s hand, saying, "Don’t worry, Sister Hongxiu and her child will be safe."
Soon, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the Xie Residence. Xie Dun came back just in time. Seeing Bai Ruozhu, his eyes lit up and he said, "Ruozhu is back? Great, Sister Hongxiu has been thinking of you all the time."
Because of Xie Dun’s second aunt-in-law, Deng Shi’s actions, Bai Ruozhu was somewhat displeased with Xie Dun. She gave Xie Dun a cold glance and said, "If I hadn’t rushed back, would Sister Hongxiu have been hurt by your second aunt? Mr. Xie, haven’t I warned you before? Yet again, you provided your second aunt the chance to cause Sister Hongxiu to give birth prematurely?"
Xie Dun only heard from the servants that his wife was having belly pain, probably about to give birth, but he didn’t know about his second aunt’s actions. He was so surprised that his mouth hung open, and he didn’t know how to explain. After Bai Ruozhu finished speaking, she ignored him, and quickly stepped into the yard with her mother.
Lin Ping’er was a bit nervous and said, "Daughter, aren’t you being a bit too...to Mr. Xie?"
"Humph, I’ve been polite. Sister Hongxiu, a noble lady, has been continuously troubled by his second aunt, nearly causing trouble several times. A man who can’t even protect his own wife and child, what right does he have to respect others?" Bai Ruozhu raised her voice intentionally so Mr. Xie behind could hear. As expected, Xie’s face turned alternately white and red after hearing it, but he didn’t refute.
Bai Ruozhu also knew that it wasn’t time to trade barbs with him, so without saying more, she directly went to the backyard, to Yu Hongxiu’s room.
Before she got there, she could hear Yu Hongxiu’s hurried breathing and faint cries of pain. But as she neared, Yu Hongxiu’s cries seemed to intensify.
Bai Ruozhu twitched her eyelids. Yu Hongxiu’s pain should gradually increase during labor, it shouldn’t be this dramatic from the start, right? Lin Ping’er also found it strange, and mother and daughter hurried into the room, only to see Deng Shi commanding the midwife to rub Yu Hongxiu’s belly, and Deng Shi herself was also doing it, saying, "Your baby’s position is wrong, you must rub it to give birth easily."
Yu Hongxiu was shouting painfully and saying, "Stop messing around, second aunt. If something happens to my child, I won’t let you off even when I am a ghost!"
Bai Ruozhu was furious, she quickly rushed over and grabbed Deng Shi’s arm, pulling her aside and said sternly, "Stop, or get clubbed to death!"
Deng Shi knew martial arts and immediately resisted, but Bai Ruozhu had also trained martial arts these days, and combined with her ability to use poison, Deng Shi was quickly subdued.
Bai Ruozhu shouted to the dark guard who followed, "I want twenty planks, keep them breathing! Anyone who stops them, I’ll cripple. I’ll take the heat!"
Jianqi suddenly appeared, which startled the guard that Madam Meng had arranged for Yu Hongxiu. They immediately realized that Jianqi was an expert and unconsciously shrank back, afraid that Bai Ruozhu’s anger would be redirected at them.
They really had no choice. Men can’t enter when women are birthing. Even their husbands can’t do it. If they ran in as two male guards, madame Xie would have been completely disgraced.
At this time, there was a commotion in the room again. Lin Ping’er was a fierce woman and she pulled out the midwife by her hair. Lin had been doing farm work for many years and her strength was extraordinary. Coupled with her well-nourished body nowadays, the average midwife was no match for her.
"Ruozhu, beat this midwife too!" Lin Ping’er shouted angrily, she took Yu Hongxiu as her own daughter. When she first entered the room and saw Deng Shi and the midwife plotting together, she couldn’t wait to skin the two alive.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Jianqi, this one too, twenty planks, keep them breathing for me to interrogate later."
Deng Shi had regained some strength by this point and started shouting, "What are you doing? What gives you the right to hit me? Xie Dun, Xie Dun, you’re not going to control her? I’m your aunt! Are you going to let outsiders kill me?"
"Give her a heavy beating!" Bai Ruozhu threw down the word and turned around to enter the room.
Jianqi acted swiftly, using his scabbard as a plank, and with one hit, made Deng Shi unable to shout anymore.
The midwife was so scared that she collapsed on the ground and shrieked like a pig being slaughtered, "Don’t beat me, don’t beat me. It was her who forced me, if I didn’t listen to her, she would’ve grabbed my daughter and sold her to the brothel."
Bai Ruozhu walked past Mr. Xie and bumped his shoulder harshly, sarcastically saying, "I didn’t know that Mr. Xie’s second aunt was so powerful."
Mr. Xie was so angry that his hand was shaking. Deng Shi pleaded to him for help and he fiercely swung his sleeve, saying, "You want to harm my wife and child, I can’t condone you!"
Bai Ruozhu entered the room and quickly went to Yu Hongxiu’s side, gripping her hand and saying, "Sister Hongxiu, don’t be afraid, I’m here, no one dares to hurt you any longer."
Yu Hongxiu was already crying non-stop. She clutched Bai Ruozhu’s hand tightly, like a drowning person clinging to their last straw. She didn’t even notice that she was squeezing Bai Ruozhu’s hand so tightly it turned red.
Seeing her so frightened, Bai Ruozhu was even more upset and couldn’t help wiping a tear away.
"Ruozhu, check on my children for me? They have been pressing on my belly for so long." Yu Hongxiu choked out.
Bai Ruozhu immediately took Yu Hongxiu’s pulse and listened to the baby’s movement with her hand on the belly. Fortunately, both babies’ heartbeats were normal, but one of them was positioned wrongly.