Chapter 933 - 935: Elder Sister-in-law’s Stomach Pain_1
Lin Ping hurried to help Tu Ying and Tu Bai. Seeing them speak this way, she couldn’t blame Bai Ruozhu anymore.
"Mother, we haven’t eaten anything almost an entire day and night, please have the kitchen send us something to eat," Bai Ruozhu also very timely shifted the topic.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ping quickly called for a maid to send a message to the kitchen, and soon steaming hot meals were brought up, along with a nourishing and aromatic stew.
Bai Ruozhu also invited Jianqi to sit down and eat with them. Jianqi hesitated for a moment but eventually sat down, and all four of them started to devour the food ravenously. Lin Ping watched them with pity, continually saying at the side, "Eat slowly; there’s more if it’s not enough."
When the four had almost finished eating, Bai Zepei finally opened his mouth to ask, "How did you all come back? I heard that the city gate was sealed shut."
"It was Achun who came back, bringing people from the Communication Office, as well as the military officials from the Northwest Main Camp. They fought their way in," Bai Ruozhu said, pride showing on her face — her man truly hadn’t let her down.
"There were also soldiers who had been hiding in the city to act as inside assistance; they opened the city gate from the inside," she added.
Bai Zepei nodded and met her barely concealable happy expression, but ultimately turned his gaze away.
"So the rebellion by King Duan will be suppressed soon?" Lin Ping asked.
"It should be," Bai Ruozhu said.
"That’s really quick," Lin Ping muttered.
While Bai Ruozhu was sipping her soup, a sudden thought popped into her head. King Duan had been plotting in the Northwest for so many years, could he be defeated so easily? Was it like her mother said, too fast indeed?
After the meal, Bai Ruozhu had someone temporarily settle Tu Ying and Tu Bai and told Jianqi to rest as well. She greeted her parents and then took her son back to the room to rest.
Although she had slept for a while on the horse, it was far from enough. Lying down in bed felt much more comfortable.
When she woke up again, it was already dark outside. It was Lin Ping who personally came to call her, saying she had slept for a day and it was time to eat some dinner.
Getting up, Bai Ruozhu felt sore all over. Her lightness skill was inadequate, and she exerted a lot of effort escaping. Now with rest, all the exhaustion was manifesting itself.
Going to the main hall, Tu Ying and Tu Bai were already there. Bai Ruozhu greeted them and asked how their rest was. They both seemed somewhat distracted.
Lin Ping had the maids serve the dishes, and the three of them talked while eating.
"Ruozhu, do you know how the situation is with Lord Jiang? Why hasn’t my father sent any word?" Tu Ying asked with concern.
"It is probably because King Duan might be trying to escape. They are all busy trying to capture him and don’t have the time to send messages," Bai Ruozhu said while placing a piece of food into Tu Ying’s bowl, noticing that the siblings were too worried to eat much.
After thinking for a moment, Tu Bai spoke up somewhat embarrassedly, "Ruozhu, I feel a bit embarrassed to say this, but I’m really worried about my mother’s safety. Could you arrange for someone to go to my cousin’s place to gather some information?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded immediately, got the address of Tu Lie’s cousin, and then instructed Jianqi to arrange for a dark guard to gather information.
Tu Ying patted her elder brother on the shoulder and said, "Mother’s martial arts skills are good, and she’s smarter than us, she certainly won’t be in any trouble."
Bai Ruozhu muttered under her breath. She didn’t find Madam Tu particularly clever. If she were, she wouldn’t have humiliated her in public that one time. Of course, Madam Tu had sent gifts to make amends, and for the sake of Tu Ying and Tu Bai, Bai Ruozhu wouldn’t hold onto that past incident.
Just then, the sound of a maid’s frantic footsteps came from outside the room. "Eldest Miss, you must come quickly—Young Mistress says her stomach hurts, and she fears she’s going into labor!"
Bai Ruozhu sprang up immediately, and Lin Ping’er, who had been sitting beside her, playing with Dengdeng, stood up hurriedly too, her face breaking into joy. "Our family is going to have another baby."
"Mother, quickly have the maids prepare everything. Just like when I was giving birth, I’ll go check on my sister-in-law first," Bai Ruozhu said before she dashed off like the wind.
Wan Caiyue discovered she was pregnant when she returned from Mountain Village in the middle of the first month, by which time she was already nearly one to two months along. Now, before the fifteenth of the eighth month, counting the days, she was only around eight months pregnant. Bai Ruozhu was not as happy as her mother; she believed it would be better if the baby were born full-term or after 36 weeks.
With these thoughts, she went to her elder brother’s room. Bai Zehao had not left the room, staying by Wan Caiyue’s bedside, holding one of her hands and saying, "Caiyue, don’t be afraid. With Ruozhu here, everything will be fine."
Wan Caiyue’s brow was slightly furrowed, showing that she was enduring pain, but she seemed not overly panicked. She had always been a woman who was soft on the outside but tough on the inside.
"Elder brother, let me take a look. Don’t be too nervous, lest sister-in-law becomes worried," Bai Ruozhu said gently.
Bai Zehao quickly stood up, gave a sheepish smile, and scratched his head. "Okay, okay, I’m not nervous."
Bai Ruozhu chuckled quietly as she went over to take Wan Caiyue’s pulse. Caiyue’s placid nature also helped people to calm down.
After checking her pulse, Bai Ruozhu found that Wan Caiyue was not actually in labor. It was just false labor pains as the baby was getting bigger, coming in waves, making it seem like she was about to give birth.
"It’s fine, it’s not time to deliver yet. It’s just false labor. Sister-in-law must have not rested well these past couple of days and has been worried about me, which likely caused this," Bai Ruozhu said, showing a hint of guilt. "Sister-in-law needs to rest well now. She must avoid any severe emotional swings and not go to bed late. She should also refrain from rubbing her belly, which can stimulate the false labor pains and could lead to premature birth."
Bai Zehao, upon hearing this, looked somewhat disappointed. Although he had been nervous, he was also excited at the prospect of seeing his child very soon.
Seeing her brother’s reaction, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh. "Elder brother, you’ll have plenty of worries once the baby is born. So, don’t rush it. It’s best for the child to be born full-term; they will be stronger and healthier that way."
Upon hearing it was better for the child, Bai Zehao immediately said, "Then Caiyue should rest well. It would be better to have the baby later."
Bai Ruozhu gave Wan Caiyue a set of acupuncture treatments to ease her false labor pains and prevent them from getting severe, which could lead to premature birth.
After finishing, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked out of her elder brother’s room.
As soon as she stepped out, she met a pair of pitch-black eyes. Overwhelmed with excitement, Bai Ruozhu rushed forward. "When did you come back? Why didn’t you call for me?"
Jiang Yichun saw her hair carelessly pinned up due to busyness, with a stray wisp falling beside her ear, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to tuck the lock of hair behind her ear.
"Not long ago; I didn’t want to interrupt you while you were attending to sister-in-law," he murmured.
Bai Ruozhu noticed he was so close that his fingers brushed her cheek when he tucked her hair, the roughness of his fingertips slightly tickling her face. She blushed deeply and quickly said, "Have you seen Father and Mother yet? If so, let’s go back to our room and talk."