“Husband, the Ginseng Boss was injured so badly. The Hu family definitely won’t let this go.
“What are we going to do if they come after us again?”
The more Madam Zhang thought about it, the more worried she became, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
Qin Shiqian clenched his fists and slammed them hard against the earthen kang.
“It’s all my fault. My family dragged you into this!”
“Husband, don’t say that. It was clearly those treacherous men who harmed us…”
Old Master Qin had once been the Grand General of the Garrison, and all three of his sons held positions at court.
But he was too upright and principled, unwilling to collude with treacherous officials.
As a result, he was framed by those villains, and the entire family was sentenced to exile.
The eldest son’s family was exiled to Qiongzhou, while the second son’s family was exiled to Lingnan.
The old couple and the third son’s family, meanwhile, were exiled to Songjiang Village at the foot of Changbai Mountain.
They had traveled through ice and snow the entire way. Even with people looking after them along the road, they had suffered greatly.
As soon as they arrived, Old Madam Qin, Zhou Shi, fell ill.
It had originally been nothing more than a minor illness, but Songjiang Village lacked both doctors and medicine, and it grew increasingly serious as treatment was delayed.
To save his wife, Old Master Qin had followed the Ginseng Boss into the mountains in search of wild ginseng.
Who could have known that he would never return, vanishing without a trace, neither alive nor dead to be found?
Qin Shiqian had gone to demand an explanation, only to have the Hu family break his leg and then turn around and accuse him instead.
The Ginseng Boss insisted that the Immortal had appeared to him in a dream and told him that because Old Master Qin had violated a taboo by entering the mountains, the child in Madam Zhang’s womb had to be sacrificed to Heaven. Only then would the Mountain God’s anger be appeased and he would continue protecting the people on their ginseng expeditions.
That was how the earlier scene had come about: the Ginseng Boss bringing people to block their door and forcing Madam Zhang to abort her child.
Although the Ginseng Boss’s injury had nothing whatsoever to do with them, the Hu family was the local tyrant of the village.
They had been temporarily cowed for now, but once they came to their senses and returned to cause trouble, the Qin Residence would have no means of resistance at all. The household was full of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the pregnant.
Just as the husband and wife were sighing at each other, a sudden creak rang out as someone pushed open the dilapidated wooden door.
Qin Shiqian immediately went on alert and stepped in front of Madam Zhang.
“Uncle Qin, Auntie, are you all right?”
Only when they saw their neighbor Xiaohua poke her head inside did the couple let out a collective sigh of relief.
Madam Zhang raised a hand and beckoned to her. “Xiaohua, come in quickly. Those people came here to cause trouble just now. You must have been frightened, right?”
Xiaohua shook her head, lowering her eyes guiltily. “I’m sorry. I wanted to speak up for you.
“But my grandma was too scared. She wouldn’t let me leave the house no matter what…”
Madam Zhang had always been kindhearted, and now that she was pregnant, she was even more tender toward children. How could she bear to see Xiaohua like this?
She pulled Xiaohua into her arms.
“Your grandma was right. You’re still just a child!
“These are matters for adults. If you run into something like this again, you mustn’t rush forward. You have to hide far away, understand?”
Xiaohua leaned against Madam Zhang’s chest without saying a word.
Even after being exiled to such a poor and remote place, Madam Zhang still did her best to remain clean and dignified. There was even a faint, pleasant fragrance clinging to her.
Xiaohua inhaled greedily, then reached out and gently stroked Madam Zhang’s round belly.
“Auntie, is that where the little brother is?”
“Not necessarily. It could also be a cute little sister like you!” Madam Zhang said gently.
Xiaohua lowered her eyes and stared at Madam Zhang’s belly. “Then, Auntie, do you like little brothers or little sisters?”
This time, before Madam Zhang could answer, Qin Shiqian spoke first. “Whether it’s a little brother or a little sister, we’ll love them all the same!”
Madam Zhang smiled and nodded when she heard her husband say that.
She even untied Xiaohua’s crookedly fastened hair and combed it into two neat braids for her.
But Madam Zhang did not notice that the gentler she became, the more vicious Xiaohua’s gaze grew as she stared at her belly.
The last time, Xiaohua had deliberately caused Madam Zhang to fall. That evil spawn should have been lost then and there.
Who would have thought that the fetus would have such a strong life force and survive?
As long as this obstacle remained, Madam Zhang would never adopt her.
All the Qin family’s future wealth and glory would have nothing to do with her…
At that thought, Xiaohua could not help increasing the strength with which she stroked Madam Zhang’s belly.
Xiaorenshen had been sleeping soundly when she suddenly sensed an intense wave of malice. She shuddered violently in fright.
She had been born deep within Changbai Mountain and had spent thousands of years being nourished by the purest spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth before developing spiritual sense. As a result, she was extraordinarily sensitive to the emotions of the outside world.
Moreover, dealing with the Ginseng Boss moments ago had exhausted all the spiritual power she had managed to recover over the past few days.
The malice radiating from Xiaohua now pierced straight into her spiritual sense without the slightest obstruction, making her whole body tremble with pain.
【Waaah—it hurts so much—】
“Ow…” Madam Zhang let out a groan, clutching her belly.
Xiaohua immediately withdrew her hand and put on a frightened expression. “Auntie, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“No, it has nothing to do with you.” Madam Zhang held her belly, still taking care to comfort Xiaohua. “The baby is growing bigger and bigger now, so it moves around in Auntie’s belly every day!”
“Why is the baby so bad? It made Auntie uncomfortable.” Xiaohua frowned.
Madam Zhang thought it was merely something a child would say and paid it no mind. She patiently explained, “All babies are like that. When Xiaohua was in her mama’s belly, you were the same.”
At those words, a desolate expression instantly appeared on Xiaohua’s face.
“But I don’t even know what my papa and mama looked like.
“If my mama were still alive, she would be gentle like you too, wouldn’t she, Auntie?”
Madam Zhang immediately felt terribly guilty and hugged the thin, small Xiaohua tightly.
She knew perfectly well that Xiaohua had lost both parents when she was little and had lived with her elderly grandma ever since. She truly should not have said that just now.
Xiaohua reveled in Madam Zhang’s embrace and took the opportunity to press her cheek against Madam Zhang’s belly.
Since Heaven had sent her into this book, she was the chosen female protagonist.
No one could stand in her way, least of all an evil little spawn that had not even been born yet!
In a place like Songjiang Village, making a child die in the womb was far easier than giving birth to one safely.
The little ginseng spirit, who had only just managed to calm down a little, was once again enveloped in overwhelming malice.
She frowned in discomfort and fell into a nightmare.
Xiaorenshen dreamed that she was being forced out of Madam Zhang’s body, her spiritual power scattering as her spiritual sense gradually dispersed into the mountains and wilderness…
She jolted awake in fright. Her chest felt stifled, she could not catch her breath, and her entire body was indescribably uncomfortable.
She did not know what to do. All she could do was cry for help inwardly again and again, hoping that Madam Zhang could sense how helpless she was.
【Mama, I feel so awful!】
Indeed, mother and child were connected by heart. Madam Zhang really did release Xiaohua and began clutching her belly, groaning in pain.
Qin Shiqian hurried over anxiously. “Tongyun, what’s wrong? Is the baby moving again?”
At first, Madam Zhang thought that perhaps the fetus was further along now, and its movements were causing her abdominal pain.
She kept adjusting her position and tried taking deep breaths to calm herself, but nothing eased the pain.
In only a short while, a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead.
Madam Zhang came from a family of physicians. Even though this was her first pregnancy, she quickly realized that something was wrong.
Qin Shiqian was terrified. He hurried forward, put an arm around Madam Zhang, and let her lean against him.
“Tongyun, don’t scare me. Where exactly does it hurt?”
Madam Zhang did her best to remain calm. “It might be because I was frightened earlier and it affected the pregnancy.”
Qin Shiqian grew even more panicked upon hearing this. His father’s life and death were still unknown, his mother was seriously ill in bed, and his leg had not yet fully recovered.
If something happened to his wife and child on top of that, he was truly afraid he would not be able to hold himself together.
Qin Shiqian looked up at Xiaohua helplessly. “Xiaohua, could you ask your grandma to come and take a look?”
Only then did Xiaohua react. She hurriedly ran home in a panic.
Before long, she returned with an old woman whose hair had gone white and whose back was bent.
“Aunt Yu, come quickly and see if Tongyun is about to give birth!”
At those words, Old Madam Yu hesitated slightly.
Xiaohua immediately gave her a push from behind.
Old Madam Yu had no choice but to step forward. She casually felt Madam Zhang’s belly twice, then repeated what Xiaohua had just told her. “Your wife isn’t at the point of labor yet. For now, it should only be a threatened miscarriage.”
“Then what should we do?” Qin Shiqian asked anxiously.
Old Madam Yu repeated the words Xiaohua had just taught her. “I can prepare some medicine to stabilize the pregnancy, but we don’t have any codonopsis root on hand…”
Madam Zhang understood medicine herself and knew that codonopsis root could indeed help stabilize and protect a pregnancy.
But they were all convicted exiles now. Even if they had money, they could not go to a doctor and buy medicine. Besides, they had long since become so poor that they could barely feed themselves.
Madam Zhang struggled to grasp Qin Shiqian’s hand. “There’s no need to trouble yourself. I know my own body. I should be fine after resting for a while.”
But how could Qin Shiqian simply leave her untreated? He looked pleadingly at Old Madam Yu.
“Aunt Yu, tell me where I can get some codonopsis root.
“Even if I have to kneel and beg them, I’ll get some for Tongyun to take.”
This time, before Old Madam Yu could answer, Xiaohua spoke first.
“Uncle Qin, there’s codonopsis root in the mountains around here.”
Qin Shiqian replied without hesitation, “Tell me what it looks like. I’ll go up the mountain and find it right now.”
“Husband, no! You’re still injured.” Madam Zhang desperately tried to stop him.
【Why is Papa so stupid? Don’t fall for her trick! I don’t need any codonopsis root at all!】
Inside Madam Zhang’s belly, Xiaorenshen was spinning around in frantic agitation.
She had a very bad feeling.
Could it be that this new Papa of hers was going to get into trouble before he had even seen her face?