Chapter 322: The Heir of the Duke of Britain

The Duke of Britain’s residence in Qingshui Hutong.
Since the early hours of last night, countless maids and servants had been rushing back and forth in front of the north courtyard gate. Although the due date was still about a month away, four experienced midwives and a highly skilled doctor had already arrived early to get ready. Fortunately, this allowed them to arrive in time in the dead of night. Now that it was daylight, the messages coming from the main house were rather ominous, and even the women coming in and out wore solemn expressions.

The concubines were waiting for news in the west wing room of the adjacent courtyard. Though each had her own plans, they all pretended to be extremely concerned, with some even quietly wiping their eyes with handkerchiefs. After a long while, a low voice came from the corner: “It’s no use just waiting here. How about we go and ask over there?”

“What’s there to ask? Can’t you see how Lady Zhong looks down on us? Going there would only bring shame!”
At these words, the others nodded in agreement, but none spoke in support. The one who had spoken impulsively looked embarrassed when no one responded and tried to suppress her fear by sipping tea. Everyone knew well that Lady Wang had managed the household for many years. Though she seemed unassuming, she was ruthless when faced with problems. Back then, Concubine Chen died quietly, without even a clear cause of death. After a long pause, another person murmured,

“Of course we hope the lady is safe. Lady Zhong is probably just worried. She owes everything to the lady’s support. Without her, what is she? With no family or brothers to back her up, how can she expect to be recognized as a legitimate concubine? But the lady is already quite old, and the master is not here. What if something happens…”

Before she could finish, a maid rushed in hurriedly. Before she could steady herself, she shouted, “Ladies, the old lady of the general’s household and several other ladies have arrived. They’re probably already at the second gate. Lady Zhong is tied up outside the main house and can’t go. Please hurry and greet them!”

Seeing the girl say that and dash off in a flash, the several concubines exchanged glances, feeling annoyed. Although the people of the general’s household were not the masters of this Duke of Yingguo’s estate, everyone knew that the old lady, as the master’s wife, deserved respect. So, despite their dissatisfaction, they could only pinch their hair and put on their snowproof cloaks before leaving the courtyard and hurrying along the path toward the second gate. After braving the wind and snow, they arrived and saw a group approaching under the guidance of the steward Rong Shan. Sitting in the sedan chair in the middle was Lady Gu, so they quickly stepped forward to pay their respects.

Due to the weather, Lady Gu had stayed in her warm attic at home for several days, hardly moving from there. But early that morning, she received an urgent message from the Duke of Yingguo’s estate, and she couldn’t care less about the cold and snow. She hurried over in a sedan chair. At this moment, faced with these ladies greeting her, she really had no mood to pay attention and only kept urging the four maids who had come to take over to quickly lift the sedan chair and carry her inside.

Feng Shi and Dong Fang Shi, who had followed from the east gate, were also freezing despite wearing snowproof cloaks and holding hand warmers. They certainly didn’t feel inclined to be kind to these concubines. Zhao Fen, who hadn’t wanted to make this trip in the first place, just led the maids inside without looking back, while Li Yun slowed down slightly to return their greetings.

Though it was just a simple greeting, it brought some warmth to the hearts of these concubines, who usually felt inferior, as they quickly surrounded the eldest lady of the general’s household and began chatting about the situation inside. Li Yun didn’t have much affection for her cousin, Lady Wang, but seeing that she was still striving to have more descendants at an advanced age moved her inexplicably, reminding her of Hui Xiang, who had just given birth to a son. Even though her mother-in-law had been unhappy before, it was after all the first male child of the Zhang family’s fourth generation—even if illegitimate—the old lady was overjoyed and immediately ordered the servants to change how they addressed Hui Xiang, and she also gave them some money. Although gold and silver locks had already been prepared, she had someone cast a small golden Buddha for her great-grandson to carry with him and rushed Zhang You to come up with a name for the child. Faced with all this, although Li Yun had hoped Hui Xiang would have a son right away, she still felt somewhat uneasy.

A group of people arrived at the main house in the northern courtyard, followed by attendants. Xi Yu hurriedly brought a few maids to greet them and personally helped Lady Gu down from the sedan chair. Before Lady Gu could ask anything, Xi Yu whispered, “The midwives just sent word that since Madam is now of advanced age and her health isn’t as strong as that of younger women, plus she gave birth to her first child not long ago and hasn’t fully recovered before becoming pregnant again, the risks are even greater than usual. This time it’s happened a month earlier; if we’re lucky, both mother and child might survive. Madam has been suffering from abdominal pain since last night, and her amniotic fluid broke this morning, but she still hasn’t given birth yet—seems she has no strength left…”

Xi Yu didn’t dare say more, and Lady Gu was terrified. Before leaving the capital, Duke Yingguo had specifically asked her to take good care of her. Later, when Lady Wang announced she was three months pregnant, he continued to send people to check on her regularly. During her pregnancy, she often sent people to the temple to offer sacrifices, light incense, and keep eternal lamps burning—everything went smoothly until now. Who would have thought that Lady Wang would still face such difficulties at the time of delivery! After pondering for a moment, she insisted on entering the delivery room immediately. Despite Feng Shi and Dong Fang Shi’s earnest attempts to dissuade her, it was no use.

“This woman is giving birth without any family around her—how tragic! Duke Yingguo isn’t here, and her relatives are all on official duties. If I don’t go to take care of her, who will? What so-called bad omens? I’m just an old woman—what am I afraid of? You all wait outside. If anything happens, I’ll send Bai Fang to give you instructions!”

With that, Lady Gu ordered Bai Fang to help her enter the room. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she smelled the scent of mugwort and a faint blood odor in the room. She took off her fur coat covered in snowflakes, washed her hands in a copper basin, put on clean shoes, and then went to the bed in the inner room. At that moment, the midwives were sweating profusely, while Lady Wang’s voice was hoarse from shouting, and she no longer had the strength to struggle, her face completely pale.

Lady Gu had given birth to a son herself and had also helped several sisters-in-law give birth, so she knew well that if something went wrong at this critical moment, it would be hard to save the situation. She quickly ordered the flustered Bi Luo to prepare old ginseng slices for Lady Wang to chew on, then went up to hold her hand.

“Wan Niang, it’s already this far! Since you insisted on giving birth to this child despite the risks, why give up now? Think about it—how many years has he waited for this child, and how many years have you waited! Don’t worry about saving the mother or the child—only if both of you are safe will he be happy when he returns! Do you intend to give up this child, or let it be born without a mother?”

At this moment, Lady Wang only felt a ringing in her ears. Though her consciousness was somewhat blurred, she could still hear Gu’s reckless shouting clearly. She thought of how Zhang Fu already had two concubines when she entered the family, and how she, a young lady just turned fourteen, suddenly became the head of the household and went through many hardships. She remembered how she struggled to keep the large household running while Zhang Fu went off to war with his father. After her father-in-law died on the battlefield, Zhang Fu resolutely donned mourning clothes and went back to war. What had he said to her then? “You’re still young. If I die or fail, remarry.” What had she replied then? In an instant, it seemed as though thunder exploded in her mind, and suddenly she felt strong again. Clutching tightly the sweat-soaked cloth in her hands, she let out a heart-wrenching cry. Vaguely, she seemed to see her own determined expression as she held the reins back then, and seemed to see the smile Zhang Fu gave her from atop his horse. Wah— “Wan Niang, it’s a boy, a boy!” In a daze, Lady Wang heard excited and joyful shouts beside her ear, along with faint crying. At this moment, exhaustion, pain, and indescribable weariness overwhelmed her. She didn’t even have time to take a look at her child before her head tilted and she lost consciousness. Seeing this, Gu, who was holding the child, was shocked and quickly ordered the midwife to go check. One of them skillfully checked the baby’s breathing and heartbeat and quickly turned around, saying, “The old lady needn’t worry. The lady just fainted from exhaustion. Fortunately, there wasn’t heavy bleeding. After she wakes up, she should drink some ginseng soup and rest properly—she’ll recover. As for the baby, since it was born late, please take it quickly to the east side room so the doctor can examine it. We’ll take care of the lady here.” Realizing that the child in her arms was Zhang Fu’s only heir, Gu forced herself to suppress her concern for Lady Wang, carefully wrapped the baby again, and then came out from the inner room through the main hall to the east side room. Although it was traditional for women to give birth with only midwives and no doctors, the Duke of Yingguo’s household paid heavily to hire a famous doctor from Hui Chun Tang, who reluctantly agreed. As soon as he heard the baby’s cry, he breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing someone pull back the curtain and enter, he quickly stood up. “Doctor, please take a look at the baby’s bones and health!”

A heated bed was also lit in the side room, so there was no risk of catching a chill. The middle-aged doctor took the child in his hands, examined him carefully, and gradually frowned. After wrapping the child back in the swaddling clothes, seeing Lady Gu staring at him intently, he gently coughed and said, “Since the child was born premature, and moreover, the mother was quite old when giving birth, he stayed in the womb for a longer time after the amniotic fluid broke. Naturally, he has some congenital deficiencies. To speak frankly, this child has a weak constitution and will need careful care in the future. Even so… I’m afraid his lifespan will be shorter than that of ordinary children…”

Thinking of Lady Wang, who was still in her forties yet insisted on giving birth to this child, and now the doctor making such a judgment, Lady Gu felt a surge of anger, but she quickly calmed down. Glancing at Bai Fang, whose face was pale, she ordered in a stern voice, “Don’t go spreading these words around!”

Realizing the importance of this child, she thought for a moment before holding the child and saying to the doctor, “Since the doctor has said these things, please take extra care of this child from now on. If he falls ill, I’ll surely have to trouble you. Deficiencies from birth can be compensated for later. One of my grandsons was also sickly as a child, but he overcame it all when he grew up.”

Facing Lady Gu’s piercing gaze, the middle-aged doctor felt a shock in his heart and quickly agreed repeatedly. After Lady Gu left the side room with the child, an idea came to her—although her own grandsons were good, as long as there were male descendants in the Zhang Yu lineage of the Duke of Rongguo, even if the emperor was dissatisfied with the Zhang Fei and Zhang Jie families, it would be difficult for him to choose another branch to inherit the Duke’s estate. Rather than letting the worthless sons of those families ruin the reputation of the duke’s estate, it was better to hope this child could pull through like Zhang Yue!

Staring at the scrunched-up face, Lady Gu murmured to herself, “Child, your mother risked her life to give birth to you. You must live up to her expectations!”

Learning that Lady Wang and the child were safe, everyone in the Duke of Yingguo’s estate breathed a sigh of relief. Overjoyed, Xi Yu ordered that everyone who served inside and outside the main house that day be rewarded with 500 coins each. She also sent people to prepare everything needed for the baby’s third bath. The nurse who had been waiting already brought the newborn back inside to nurse him. After all this hustle, she invited Lady Gu and the others to the main hall for tea, expressing her sincere gratitude with deep bows.

“Thankfully, both mother and child are safe. My trip wasn’t in vain.” At this moment, Lady Gu gently massaged her swollen temples and sighed again. “She’s already quite old, yet she’s given birth twice in a row—her health must be severely weakened. You need to pay close attention to her diet and care, especially during the postpartum recovery period; not the slightest carelessness is allowed.”
“Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll take good care of her this month and ensure nothing goes wrong.”
Just as Lady Gu was about to leave someone behind at the Duke of England’s residence while the rest returned temporarily, someone from the household rushed in to report that Fang Shuixin had suddenly suffered a miscarriage. Faced with such unexpected news, Lady Gu, who had been somewhat pleased earlier, immediately turned pale. Although Zhang You wasn’t her biological son and she didn’t like Fang Shuixin for lacking manners, the child in her womb was still part of the Zhang family’s third generation. Everything had been taken care of properly there—how could a miscarriage happen so suddenly?
Seeing Lady Gu’s icy expression, Lady Feng quickly stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Grandma, please go back with your people. I’ll stay here to take care of things.”
“Then you stay!”
Lady Gu knew they couldn’t afford to leave anyone behind at the Duke of England’s residence. The only reliable people around her were her eldest daughter-in-law and eldest granddaughter-in-law, but since Li Yun had recently had an illegitimate son, she had no choice but to leave Lady Feng behind. She left in a hurry. Xi Yu quickly ordered the leftover tea to be cleared away and brought fresh tea and snacks for Lady Feng, saying with a smile, “Things were too busy just now, and I didn’t even have time to tell the eldest madam. I heard that Marquis Fengcheng has just submitted a petition to the court, stating that the eldest master has made great contributions to calming the people in Jiaozhi and requesting that he be promoted to Left Counselor of the Jiaozhi Administrative Commission.”
Left Counselor? Lady Feng’s smile froze on her face as bitterness filled her heart. Even if he were promoted to the fourth rank, he couldn’t return. What use was getting promoted in such a chaotic place?