Zhao Xian looked at Jiang Wei’s outstretched hand, her eyes narrowing slightly as she said, “Nanny He, quickly help Miss Cui to sit down. Shaoyao, go pour a cup of warm tea for Miss Cui.”
Nanny He, shrewd as ever, subtly nudged Jiang Wei aside and helped Cui Tingyue to her seat.
Shaoyao brought over the tea. “Miss Cui, please have some tea.”
After drinking the tea, Cui Tingyue’s condition improved considerably.
Just as she was about to open her mouth to apologize, she met Zhao Xian’s gaze and suddenly felt a chill, lowering her eyes and choosing to remain silent.
In private, Zhao Xian had asked Nanny He and learned that the Muxiang Fenqi Pill was used to treat qi rebellion and chest and diaphragm stuffiness.
In summary, this one was genuinely ill.
The old physician directed the female physician and the midwife, while the maid Chilan bustled about.
Nanny He advised from the side, “Madam, please sit for a while. The young mistress is blessed and will surely overcome this misfortune.”
In both the book and the drama, as the female lead, Li Lianniang naturally survived, but Zhao Xian feared that her own interference might alter the plot.
Zhao Xian was also feeling a bit weary from standing, so she took Nanny He’s hand and sat down.
She still craned her neck to peer into the inner chamber.
Jiang Wei stood with his hands behind his back. Ever since his father was promoted to Jin’an, his mother had mentioned more than once her intention to break off the engagement with the Li family.
She even blamed his father for stubbornly insisting on arranging the marriage.
Since Lianniang had entered the household, she had never received a single kind look from his mother.
He didn’t understand why his mother had suddenly changed, but Jiang Wei couldn’t help but feel relieved, as this meant he wouldn’t be caught between his wife and his mother anymore.
Unaware of his thoughts, Zhao Xian was anxious. Severe bleeding could be fatal even with modern medical facilities, and she dared not imagine whether it could be treated in ancient times.
No matter how anxious she was, she could only wait. Suddenly, Zhao Xian remembered Danruo, who was still being restrained, and beckoned to Nanny He, whispering a few words.
Nanny He went out for about half an hour and returned to whisper in Zhao Xian’s ear.
Thus, Zhao Xian learned the whole story from beginning to end.
Jiang Wei only felt a chill run down the back of his neck.
Looking down, he saw his mother avert her eyes.
Cui Tingyue sensed the tense atmosphere and tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
After roughly three-quarters of an hour.
The female physician and the midwife emerged from the inner chamber, and Nanny He helped Zhao Xian to her feet.
They saw the female physician, the midwife, and the old physician huddled together, whispering, with the old physician writing something with a brush.
After a while, the old physician picked up the prescription, blew on it to dry the ink, and handed it to Chilan. “Take this to get the medicine. Boil three bowls of water down to one bowl and take it twice a day.”
Only then did Zhao Xian step forward and ask, “How is my daughter-in-law? Is she alright?”
What she really wanted to ask was: Is the tragic heroine alright?
The old physician’s voice was steady, carrying the confidence of years of experience. “Madam Jiang, rest assured. The young mistress is out of danger.”
“But wasn’t it severe bleeding?”
How could she be fine? Traditional medicine is truly remarkable!
The old physician glanced at the midwife, who understood and whispered to Nanny He.
Nanny He then quietly explained to Zhao Xian.
It turned out that the blood the maid had seen from Li Lianniang’s lower body was actually lochia. It was normal to discharge lochia after giving birth.
Due to the shock and stress, the lochia discharge was heavier.
It was normal and not as severe as a major hemorrhage.
Zhao Xian breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t severe bleeding, it was fine.
Then she heard the old physician change his tone and add, “The young mistress suffered a severe emotional shock this time, which was extremely dangerous. She has just given birth and needs to rest well. If it happens again, I’m afraid even Bian Que himself wouldn’t be able to save her.”
Zhao Xian glanced at Jiang Wei beside her. Look at the mess you’ve made.
Jiang Wei, knowing he was at fault, pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Nanny He went to see the old doctor off.
Zhao Xian called out to the midwife, “Old Mother Wang, you are a renowned midwife in Jin’an with extensive experience. I would like to ask for your help.”
The midwife was flustered and took half a step back. “Madam Jiang, please don’t say that. I’m just a humble midwife. Rest assured, I am known for keeping my mouth shut.”
She whispered the last sentence.
She had seen plenty of happenings in the inner courtyards. The reason she had been able to work as a midwife for so many years and maintain her reputation was largely due to her discretion.
Zhao Xian didn’t quite grasp the implication in the midwife’s words and spoke straightforwardly, “I would like to invite Old Mother Wang to care for my daughter-in-law during her postpartum confinement. You are experienced and skilled.”
The midwife was slightly taken aback. “This…”
It wasn’t that no one had ever hired a midwife to care for a new mother, but it was rare among wealthy families. After all, wealthy households had maids and servants who were familiar and trustworthy, making them safer to use.
Zhao Xian immediately assured her, “Money is not an issue. It’s only for a month, just to take good care of my daughter-in-law.”
The midwife reluctantly declined, “It’s not that I’m unwilling, but I’ve already been approached by a family with an expectant mother. As you know, Madam, childbirth is unpredictable, and the timing is hard to pin down. I truly dare not make a promise.”
“In fact, the day after tomorrow, I must go outside the city. That family made arrangements with me a month ago. Since it’s quite a distance from the city, they specifically asked me to arrive a few days early.”
The midwife was in such high demand that she even had appointments booked in advance. Zhao Xian couldn’t force her.
She had a maid give the midwife some silver and see her out.
Not long after the old doctor and the midwife left, Li Lianniang woke up.
With nothing requiring Jiang Wei’s attention outside, he entered the inner chamber.
As soon as Li Lianniang opened her eyes, his words spilled out:
“You’re in confinement. You should be resting quietly. Is a mere maid worth you…”
“If you don’t know how to speak, no one will mistake you for a mute.”
Jiang Wei’s words were cut off by Zhao Xian.
Is being the female lead in a tragic novel some kind of lowly profession? To have to encounter such a scoundrel—someone who can’t even speak properly yet gets to be the male lead?
Turning around, Zhao Xian instructed Nanny He, “Take some people and tidy up a side room in Yunzhu Yuan. During Lianniang’s confinement, I will personally come to take care of her.”
With Jiang Wei’s mouth, every word he speaks is filthier than a cesspit.
No wonder the female lead in tragic novels often suffers from poor health after giving birth—not critically ill, but constantly plagued by various discomforts.
Even when doctors are called to diagnose and prescribe medicine, they say it’s nothing serious. In the eyes of the tragic male lead, she’s just pretending to be sick.
Zhao Xian strongly suspected it was due to a poorly managed postpartum confinement.
Especially since Li Lianniang was already thin to begin with—even during pregnancy, her cheeks lacked a healthy, full glow.
It wasn’t as if Jiang Jia was poor. Could they really skimp on a pregnant woman’s meals?
Do tragic novel heroines have to look like bitter gourds all the time?
Upon hearing her decision, everyone in the room was stunned.
Jiang Wei frowned with a cold expression. “Mother, this is unacceptable. What kind of propriety is this?”
Nanny He also tried to dissuade her. “Madam, I’m afraid this is inappropriate.”
“What’s inappropriate about it? She just gave birth yesterday, and today this mess happened. I don’t want doctors constantly coming and going from Jiang Mansion in the future. What would outsiders think? They might assume Jiang Mansion mistreats its daughter-in-law, tormenting her during her confinement.”
A few sharp retorts left Jiang Wei speechless. Zhao Xian then continued instructing Nanny He, “Tell the servants to work quickly. Starting tonight, I will be staying here.”
Nanny He glanced at the eldest young master’s extremely unpleasant expression, tugged at her mistress’s sleeve, and whispered in her ear, “Madam, it’s unheard of for a mother-in-law to live in her son and daughter-in-law’s quarters. If word gets out, it won’t sound good.”
Zhao Xian retorted righteously, “If something happens to my daughter-in-law during her confinement, will my reputation as an evil mother-in-law sound any better if word gets out?”
Nanny He’s lips parted slightly. Why did she feel that her mistress’s aura had grown stronger?
In the past, even when she acted unreasonably, it was only directed at the eldest young mistress. Toward the two young masters, no matter how angry or upset she was, she could never bring herself to reprimand them harshly.
“Hurry up, don’t dawdle. Prepare a room for Liu Nüyi as well.”
Zhao Xian couldn’t care less about how outsiders might gossip. No matter how much the male lead tormented the female lead in the early parts of the book, as long as he was later tormented for a few chapters, a dozen chapters, or even dozens of chapters…
Well, once the readers were satisfied, they’d start clamoring for the female lead to forgive the male lead.
In the end, the two would reconcile joyfully, but Jiang Zhao-shi, as the mother-in-law, remained the villain throughout.
In the finale, she was sent to the countryside and bullied by wicked servants.
The readers rejoiced, with comments all saying, ‘If it weren’t for this evil mother-in-law, the two might not have had so many conflicts. She deserves her miserable end.’
The terrifying part was that she had once shared the same sentiment.
So, in the end, the two reconciled, and the evil mother-in-law bore all the blame?
If she hadn’t transmigrated, or if she hadn’t transmigrated into the mother-in-law’s body, she wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with these messy affairs.
But unfortunately, she was stuck with it.
“Mother, if you act so willfully, you’ll bring shame upon Jiang Jia. Father’s reputation will also suffer. How will he maintain his standing in court?”
Zhao Xian’s heart skipped a beat. Wait, wasn’t she a widow?
She wasn’t a widow?
She thought carefully and recalled that the original body had indeed not been widowed. It was just that the true head of Jiang Jia rarely appeared in the plot.
It had been a while since she read the novel. Even when she was pulled in to review the script, she only read the earlier parts and hadn’t gotten to the later sections yet.
Right, at this time, Jiang Wei’s father had been appointed as an imperial envoy and was away in Jin’an.
“Your father has been an official for so many years. If he could be easily swayed by rumors, you might as well start calling the princess consort ‘Mother’,” Zhao Xian blurted out without thinking.
What a scoundrel, threatening her like that.
Seeing that even invoking his father couldn’t stop his mother, Jiang Wei knew she was determined to cause trouble. Furious, he stormed off to his study, Molin Zhai.
Cui Tingyue remained quiet and kept to the side the entire time.
For some reason, she felt that Madam Jiang was terrifying now—like a firecracker that had been lit.
She had been in Jiang Jia for half a year, and this was the first time she had seen Madam Jiang lose her temper with the eldest young master.
Just a few days ago, before leaving the estate, everything had been fine. It seemed this change began after the eldest young mistress gave birth.
What had happened during that time that she didn’t know about?
Leaning on her maid Dong’er, Cui Tingyue stopped Shaoyao, who had just returned after seeing the midwife off, and said softly, “Sister Shaoyao, the eldest young mistress needs to rest quietly, so I won’t disturb her. Please convey my regards to Madam and the young mistress. Tingyue will take her leave now and visit another day.”
With that, she left without lingering any longer.
Shaoyao was puzzled. Madam and the eldest young mistress were right in the inner chamber—why not just go in and tell them herself? Why ask her to relay the message?
Cui Tingyue’s departure caused no stir. Zhao Xian was determined to stay in Yunzhu Yuan, having already angered Jiang Wei, and Nanny He’s attempts to persuade her were futile.
The servants were ordered to start moving things from Haitang Ju.
Zhao Xian sat by the bedside, tucked in the quilt, and looked at Li Lianniang lying on the bed.
Having just given birth, she wore a fox fur headband with a large red gemstone in the center. Already weakened from the loss of blood and energy, the red gemstone made her complexion appear even more pallid, looking increasingly frail the longer one gazed.
Coupled with her gaunt cheeks, she looked as though she lacked any semblance of good fortune.
Suppressing the lingering dislike this body held for Li Lianniang, Zhao Xian comforted her, saying, “Focus on recovering your health. Don’t worry about anything else. I’m here for you.”
How wonderful—barely in her twenties and already a mother to an eighteen-year-old girl. Talk about skipping a generation.
It was certainly a unique experience.
Li Lianniang had always been most afraid of her mother-in-law, but today, seeing her scold her most beloved son, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was dreaming.
“Danruo, she…” Even though she was awake, Li Lianniang was still extremely weak, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
But from the shape of her lips, it was clear who she was asking about. Zhao Xian reassured her, “Danruo is fine.”
Just then, Chilan entered the room carrying the freshly brewed medicine.
“Focus on recovering. I’ll go check on my granddaughter.” Zhao Xian was well aware of her current role. Her words might not be fully trusted by Li Lianniang, but Chilan’s words certainly would.
She decided to rise and leave, letting the mistress and her maid speak privately.