Chapter 256: The Guideline of Giving Birth to a Child: Live and Get Pregnant (4)
Translator: Iris
At the night when Old Master Yuan made that decision, Old Madam Yuan cried that she would hang herself with her hair dishevelled. She also urged her two sons to say, “Our mother still should be credited with her diligent work for the family”. Old Master Yuan felt half of his body getting numb when hearing that and said, “Before you married me, Yuan family was wealthier than now. What did your diligent work end up with?”
At last, Old Master Yuan who got completely furious threatened to open the ancestral temple, “I don’t care about my own reputation now. How about calling all my brothers and uncles over! Let them judge if you deserve to be a madam in this family! By then, I’ll either divorce you or send you to the temple! It’s your call!”
Only then did Old Madam Yuan get a bit scared. She always had a bad reputation in the Yuan’s clan. If Old Master Yuan opened the ancestral temple, she would be doomed.
“I wonder why you look so good these days.” Minglan finally understood everything.
Hualan also felt quite pleasant lately and always walked with her head held high. Then she said, “This time, even my brother-in-law refused to help my mother-in-law!” She laughed complacently, seeming in a perfect mood.
“Of course.” Minglan wasn’t surprised to hear that. After all, the money Old Madam Yuan had wasted could be considered as First Master Yuan’s property.
“Lately, the couple has been at odds with each other.” Hualan pointed to the east, trying to imply that she was talking about First Master Yuan and his wife, “Eldest Brother-In-Law blamed his wife for helping my mother-in-law conceal everything. He also said that if my father-in-law hasn’t found out about the truth, there would be nothing left for him to inherit except for the title!”
Although one of the Yuan brothers was capable while the other was mediocre, they were in a close relationship. In particular, Yuan Wenshao had made it clear to his brother several times that he was willing to share less family property because he wanted to make achievements on his own.
“What do you say if I ask Concubine Zhang to send a few maids to their room?” Hualan bit her red lips and said that with an evil smile, “I should make a stir in their family too...”
“No, no, no, definitely not!” Minglan interrupted Hualan’s lousy plan right away, saying, “It’s good that your Eldest Brother’s family could stay this way.” The numbers of the concubines and the Tongfang of the two brothers should be maintained in a great disparity.
“Are you sure?”
Hualan was not convinced at all. Right now she was in high spirits and only wanted to vent out her ten years’ grievance.
“Letting your Eldest Brother-In-Law and Sister-In-Law quarrel with each other would do you no good. Will you gain a few pounds because of that?” Minglan said that in a low voice as if she was Hualan’s counsellor, “Harming others without benefiting ourselves is not wise! Harm others only when we can benefit ourselves!”
Hualan, as intelligent as she was, understood Minglan’s words at once. However, she still felt aggrieved that she couldn’t let off steam.
Minglan looked at Hualan’s thin neck and prominent collarbones sticking out, feeling pity for her Eldest Sister. Then Minglan said in a sympathetic tone, “Eldest Sister, you need to have a long-term view. Your mother-in-law wouldn’t stay quiet all the time. Since she has suffered a setback elsewhere, she will definitely vent her anger on you and you still can not retort her by then. Now that your condition is not so well, what if she uses this as an excuse and finds another concubine for my brother-in-law?”
Hualan nodded slowly, “That’s right. If my mother-in-law dares to bring that up again, I’ll let Concubine Zhang report her wrongdoing to my father-in-law! She has two sons and two daughters-in-law. There’s no way she can be so biased.” After suffering grievances for ten years, Hualan finally won her husband’s full support and had given birth to two sons. She finally had the confidence to fight her mother-in-law.
Thinking of her sons, Hualan suddenly smiled curiously and grabbed Minglan’s sleeve, saying in a low voice, “Tell me, have you felt any sign of pregnancy?”
Minglan held the tea cup which hadn’t even touched her lips while staring at Hualan in a daze. She was impressed by how quickly Hualan’s thought had changed. Then Minglan said in an embarrassed voice, “I’ve only got married for two months. It can not be that quick.”
Her period was longer than normal women’s, which was once in forty days. As a result, her ovulatory period was also shorter than other women’s.
“Stop fooling me!” Hualan glared at Minglan and took away the snack in her hands, saying, “I know you have Old Madam He’s medical booklet! Tell me, when do you want to give birth to a child?”
Minglan knew that she couldn’t hide anything from Hualan, so she gave a wry smile and said, “Before, I wanted to give birth to a baby after six months. But a few days ago, grandma criticized my thought. So after I finish the remaining medicine, I’ll prepare to get pregnant. Perhaps it’ll be a few months later.”
Old Madam Sheng’s instruction was: Since no one could make sure that the first child Minglan gave birth to would be a boy, it was about time for Minglan to get pregnant.
Hualan nodded with satisfaction, “I’m glad you know about this! A woman has to have children. You can not rely on your husband’s love to you all the time! It’s a very important thing!”
Minglan felt misunderstood right away and raised both of her hands, shouting, “I don’t! Where there’s life, there’s hope! Old Madam He told me that women’s first pregnancy is the most important. She also mentioned that as long as I take good care of my body during my first pregnancy, I would be in a good condition when giving birth to other kids. However, when I just married into the Gu family, I have met with all kinds of conspiracies. So I had to deal with the family affairs first, otherwise I couldn’t even trust the people who served me or dare to eat the things they handed to me. How could I have the guts to give birth to a child?”
Old Madam He’s medical skill was excellent, but she had still failed to save her baby. After all, it was hard to avoid being hurt by a plot.
“What a slick talker you are!” Hualan pinched Minglan’s ear while goggling, “Don’t talk nonsense! Give birth to a boy quickly!”
Minglan protected her ear and said with a long face, “Eldest Sister, stop reproaching me. You should take care of yourself too! Everything would be meaningless if you can not have a strong body! If anything happens to you, my brother-in-law would remarry and my nieces and nephews would be looked after by another woman! Would you accept that? The medicines I brought to you this time were all made according to the prescription! You should take care of yourself first!”
Hualan pinched Minglan’s bulging face and said smilingly, “Fine! You are great! If you can give birth to four boys and four girls like Old Madam He, I will truly admire you!”
Minglan, not feeling shy at all, nodded seriously and said, “That’s right. I am planning to learn from Old Madam He. Give birth to lots of kids, lots of good kids.”
Hualan was speechless.