Jin Qianqian had already arranged everything, but at this mont, she still couldn’t help but worry.
"When I ca over just now, I saw the wet nurse carrying the young master to the back courtyard." Qing i carefully wiped the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief, her eyes darting to the door as she silently calculated when the midwife would arrive.
Qingzhu and the others quickly tidied the room, taking out the items that had been prepared in advance and putting them in their designated places.
They had just finished preparing when Nanny Duan rushed in, dragging along the midwife who had been hired in advance.
With the two of them taking charge, Qing i and the others stepped aside to assist.
Outside the delivery room, Ancient Wen Heng paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. When he saw Housekeeper Fu arrive with Chu Dongnan, he imdiately rushed over to them. "Do we need to brew any dicine?"
Chu Dongnan pulled a packet of herbs from his dical kit and handed it to Housekeeper Fu. "Have my attendant go with you to brew this. Keep it on hand; we’ll see later if she needs to take it."
Ancient Wen Heng waved his hand, urging them to hurry. Then, he suddenly slapped his forehead. "Tianbao, hurry to Tianfu Restaurant and find Ouyang Bing! Just tell him your Madam is about to give birth. He’ll know what to do."
After Hong Tianbao left, Ancient Wen Heng started pacing anxiously in circles again. "You took her pulse before. There weren’t any problems, right?"
Chu Dongnan watched him calmly. He had seen this situation many tis, but never had anyone been as anxious as Ancient Wen Heng. "Don’t worry. A second birth is always much easier for a woman."
’Otherwise, the law wouldn’t encourage widows to remarry. Won who have given birth before are highly sought-after by common families because they’ve already overco the most difficult hurdle and are better able to continue the family line for their husbands.’
Of course, Chu Dongnan only dared to think such things. He suspected that if he ntioned it at a ti like this, Ancient Wen Heng would forget all courtesy and toss his old bones right out the door.
It was just as Chu Dongnan had said. Before they could even use the Oxytocin he’d had soone prepare, the WAH-WAH of a baby’s cry echoed from the room.
"She’s given birth!" Ancient Wen Heng wiped the sweat from his forehead, the reality just sinking in. "How was it so fast? I don’t think I even heard the Madam’s voice."
’...’ ’Is he complaining that it was too fast?’
Chu Dongnan was the first to speak, sidestepping the odd comnt. "Congratulations, Gu Juren! You’re a father again."
Ancient Wen Heng cocked his ear, listening to the sounds from inside. He looked at Chu Dongnan and asked, "From the sound of that cry, it must be a girl, right?"
After being told repeatedly by the couple that it would be a girl, Chu Dongnan was beginning to doubt his own dical skills. Now, hearing such a delicate cry, he could only say, "We should know for sure in just a mont..."
"Congratulations, Master," Liu Qingi said, stepping out and performing a Fuli. "The Madam and the Second Young Master are both safe and well."
"It’s a son," Ancient Wen Heng’s face relaxed, though a faint sense of disappointnt welled up inside him. "A son is good. At least he won’t have to suffer what his mother just went through."
"Looks like I made this trip for nothing," Ouyang Bing said just as he walked through the gate, seeing servants rushing about and announcing, "The Master and Madam have been blessed with a precious son! Everyone gets an extra two months of reward silver!"
"Why don’t you rest in the side hall for a mont, sir?" Hong Tianbao asked, bracing himself as he saw the man turn to leave.
But Ouyang Bing shook his head. "Your master is in no state to entertain right now. I’ll be sure to pay a proper visit another day to offer my congratulations.
And don’t worry about your master blaming you. He’ll understand."
Unable to stop him, Hong Tianbao could only run for the rear courtyard. He spotted Nanny Ou standing guard and quickly reported Ouyang Bing’s departure, asking her to inform the master inside.
Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’...’ ’He sure runs fast. Was he afraid I was going to mug him or sothing?’
Once they confird everything in the delivery room was fine, they brought the baby to the adjacent chamber for Chu Dongnan to examine carefully.
"My, what strong little arms and legs," Chu Dongnan said, gazing affectionately at the baby before examining him once more. "He’s perfectly healthy. Just don’t keep bringing him out in this cold weather."
Ancient Wen Heng looked up at him. "Is sothing wrong?"
"Pah! Don’t jinx it!" Chu Dongnan retorted, annoyed. "Such a tiny baby, and you’re thinking of carrying him out in this icy weather?
Have you forgotten what the weather is like? We still have the late spring cold snaps to get through. I’m just afraid you’ll be careless and let the child catch a chill."
Ancient Wen Heng rubbed his nose. ’...’ ’Well, it’s because what you said earlier sounded a bit off. It’s easy to get the wrong idea.’
Chu Dongnan skillfully re-swaddled the infant, picked him up, and handed him to Ou Qingshui, the woman who had brought him out. "The baby is safe and sound, so I’ll be taking my leave now."
’As for the new mother inside, she has a nanny skilled in dicine by her side. If there were any problems, they would have called for by now.
Besides, in his experience, a woman giving birth to her second child can handle it just fine on her own, let alone with a dical attendant present.’
＆
By the ti the flurry of activity subsided, it was well past noon.
Ancient Wen Heng personally carried a bowl of freshly stewed chicken soup from the kitchen into the inner chamber. "My love, you’ve been through so much."
Jin Qianqian glanced behind him. "Why are you by yourself? Where’s Luo Luo?"
Ancient Wen Heng replied, "Luo Luo already had his lunch. He should be resting by now.
You must be hungry, right? Here, have so soup first."
Jin Qianqian sat propped up. "Rember to go check on our son later. He hasn’t seen for most of the day and is probably going to throw a tantrum."
Ancient Wen Heng tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "I’ve already asked Nanny Ou to watch over him. The mont he wakes up, she’ll bring him to ."
Seeing that Jin Qianqian’s complexion was good and her spirits were high, the weight that had been pressing on Ancient Wen Heng’s heart finally lifted. "Looks like we won’t be able to use any of the girls’ nas we ca up with. His older brother is Gu Benluo, so let’s call him Gu Ben Can."
Jin Qianqian nearly spat out the soup she’d just tasted. "It’s a good thing we’re not living in the modern world. With a na that sounds like ’miserable capital,’ I’d be too afraid to trade stocks."
Ancient Wen Heng gently tapped her on the head. "Do you really think I don’t know you? When have you ever played the stock market?"
’Jin Qianqian knew their son’s na didn’t start with ’Le,’ like Le Tian from the Gu family’s main line. It was because Ancient Wen Heng was naming their children after his nephews from his past life.
Back then, several of the Gu family brothers had asked about it, but the two of them had always managed to sidestep the question with excuses.’
"Sigh. I actually did think about getting into stocks back then," she said. "But I was too timid, afraid that the little money I had wouldn’t even cover the ’tuition fees’ of my first losses. I kind of regret it now. It’s not like I can do it anymore even if I wanted to."
Ancient Wen Heng leaned his face close to hers. "That’s not quite right. You did buy one stock, you know."
Jin Qianqian shook her head, confused. "Impossible. I never even opened an account."
Ancient Wen Heng pointed to himself. "A blue-chip stock."
It took her a mont to understand, then she used her free hand to push his face away. "Oh, you. Why not call yourself a glamour stock? ’Blue-chip’ doesn’t do you justice."
Ancient Wen Heng actually gave it serious thought. "I still prefer ’blue-chip.’ After all, you know the old joke... the one riding the white horse isn’t always a prince."
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