readsfreenovel Chapter 140 The Concubine of the Lin Family in Dream of the Red Chamber
Chapter 140 The Concubine of the Lin Family in Dream of the Red Chamber
After instructing the physician, he was sent back home, and told to come back for a check-up in half a month.
Grandma Lin then talked to Liu Yuxi about many precautions to take during pregnancy, and also said that she would arrange for the midwife and wet nurse to be used later, so that Liu Yuxi could rest assured and take care of her pregnancy.
Liu Yuxi naturally wrote them all down. Although she had given birth in the previous era, medical conditions in ancient and modern times were different. She had to listen to the local people with experience and combine it with the knowledge from the videos in her space. She then selected what she thought was reasonable and wrote them all down.
Recently, when Lin Ruhai went to pay his respects, Old Madam Lin stopped asking him to visit Liu Yuxi's courtyard frequently. Naturally, Lin Ruhai only went to the main courtyard when he entered the backyard. He and Jia Min had a good relationship to begin with, after all, she was the wife he married when he was young and who satisfied him.
Whenever he went to Liu Yuxi's courtyard, Jia Min would be in a bad mood, and the couple would have some disagreements, which was not what he wanted. Although he also wanted children, he wasn't as anxious as Old Madam Lin.
He felt that it wouldn't have much of an impact if a man had a child at thirty, since his family had been a single-lineage family for several generations. Jia Min hadn't gotten pregnant yet, so it was probably just a matter of time.
As for Jia Min, she was only happy that Lin Ruhai didn't go to Liu Yuxi's place. Besides, Lin Ruhai didn't go to the backyard every day; he spent about half the month in the front yard.
As a result of these coincidences, Lin Ruhai did not visit Liu Yuxi's courtyard for the past two weeks, and Liu Yuxi acted as usual, so no one noticed anything unusual.
Two weeks later, the family physician took Liu Yuxi's pulse again in the old lady's courtyard. "Congratulations, old lady, Aunt Liu is pregnant, it's been a little over a month!"
"Good! Good! Good! Granny Lin, here's a reward!" Granny Lin slipped a purse into the physician's hand and had a maid escort him back. Knowing that the old lady had other matters to attend to, she didn't leave.
"The entire Fu'an Hall will be given three months' worth of allowances!" "Thank you, Madam!" All the maids and servants in the courtyard knelt down to express their gratitude.
The old lady continued, "I need to go and offer incense to the old man and tell him that the Lin family has an heir!" She choked up as she spoke.
Liu Yuxi and Granny Lin helped the old lady up. The old lady patted Liu Yuxi's hand and said, "Good child, you don't need to help me. Just take care of yourself. Linglong, come and help your aunt! You sit down and I'll talk to you when you come back."
"Yes!" Liu Yuxi sat down after seeing a head maid come to help the old lady, and waited for the old lady to return.
After burning incense, the old lady returned and sat slumped on the bed. Perhaps her worries were gone, as she seemed completely relaxed. Liu Yuxi sighed inwardly, thankful that she had been giving the old lady her medication for the past month; otherwise, with her spirits so relaxed, she would surely have fallen seriously ill.
She seems alright now. In a couple more days, her body should recover, and she'll have hope again. She should be able to hold on for a few more years. Take it slow. Considering her age, she's only in her early fifties. With proper care, there's still hope that she can live for another ten years or so.
Zhao Liu Yuxi sat down next to her, and Old Madam Lin said, "Take good care of yourself during your pregnancy. As long as the baby is born safely, I will have someone cancel your indenture. You came from my courtyard, and as long as you behave yourself, the Lin family will not mistreat you."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yuxi was incredibly excited. You see, in ancient times, people who owed indentures were no longer considered human beings; at most, they were considered objects. The master had all the rights to dispose of them—buying, selling, killing—it was all up to the master's word.
He was about to kneel down to express his gratitude when the old lady stopped him: "Be careful, you're not even three months along yet, so you have to be careful. If you want to thank her, wait until the baby is born. But you can't take advantage of the baby and have any improper thoughts. Don't blame me for being unforgiving!"
"Grandma, don't worry, I grew up in this mansion, you know my temperament well. You can judge me by my behavior in the future. If I misbehave, you can punish me as you see fit!" Liu Yuxi replied from the side.
"I know your temperament well, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen you. But things in this world aren't static. Remember what I'm saying today!" "I'm awake!"
The two chatted for a while, and then the old lady got sleepy. She told Liu Yuxi to come to her place for dinner that evening and to tell Lin Ruhai and Jia Min about the pregnancy. Then she told Liu Yuxi to go back.
When Lin Ruhai returned home after his shift that evening, the old lady had someone inform them that they would be having dinner at Fu'an Hall that night, as there was something else going on.
During the meal, Lin Ruhai saw that Liu Yuxi was also there. He didn't think much of it and just assumed that Liu Yuxi had been keeping the old lady company all day. Jia Min, however, was unhappy. This Aunt Liu used to be quite perceptive. What's wrong with her today?
During the meal, the old lady arranged for Liu Yuxi to eat at a small table next to her. Normally, in such a mealtime for the master, Liu Yuxi, as a concubine, should stand aside and serve the dishes. Lin Ruhai and Jia Min were puzzled by the old lady's arrangement. After all, the old lady was not an unruly person. Why would she make such an arrangement?
The old lady simply said that they would talk about it after dinner, and the family ate their meal in silence. After dinner, they sat down in the living room, and the old lady gave Liu Yuxi a stool to sit on as well. Only then did she say to Lin Ruhai and Jia Min, "Aunt Liu is pregnant. It should be a joyous occasion. She has been pregnant for more than a month!"
The news came as a shock, but Lin Ruhai was still happy. Although he wasn't in a hurry, and the child wasn't born of the principal wife, having a child was better than not having one, wasn't it? The Lin family could afford to raise a child.
Jia Min is different. She hasn't gotten pregnant in the five years since she entered the household, while this maidservant got pregnant right away? Why is that? She, a pampered young lady raised in luxury, is not even as good as a maidservant.
Although the physician always said that she and Lin Ruhai were in good health and that they didn't have children just because it wasn't the right time, and that she had someone to accompany her, she didn't insist on blaming herself. She thought that not getting pregnant could also be Lin Ruhai's fault, right?
But now that Aunt Liu is pregnant, everyone is wondering if there's something wrong with Jia Min's health. Not to mention others, even she herself is thinking this. Now she just wants to see more doctors to find out what's wrong and why she can't get pregnant.
He reluctantly offered his congratulations to the old lady, then bestowed some gifts upon Liu Yuxi, instructing her not to visit the main courtyard to pay her respects until she was three months pregnant. He told her to stay in the old lady's courtyard to keep her company and take care of her pregnancy, and then he returned to the main courtyard with Lin Ruhai.
Liu Yuxi didn't know how Lin Ruhai comforted and consoled Jia Min that night, but she was happy that Jia Min had said earlier that she didn't need to pay her respects since it was less than three months since the birth.
Although it was because Jia Min panicked for a moment, and also because she was used to putting on a show in front of the old lady, she might regret it when she calmed down tomorrow. No matter what she said, there was no going back. So for the next two months, she only needed to pay attention to the food and rewards, which would reduce her workload considerably.