"I dreamed of Nuo Nuo again. She was there, all alone, living in misery. I dreamed that she was sick, dreamed of her crying helplessly for her mother alone at night."
Speaking of this, Lady Qian choked up, her heart aching uncontrollably.
"What should I do, what should I do..."
Over the years, she had dreamed of similar scenes countless times. She longed to comfort Nuo Nuo when she cried, to tell her that mother was there.
But she couldn't do it, she simply couldn't do it. She could only watch helplessly.
Waking up from these nightmares time and time again.
Upon hearing Lady Qian's words, Luo Juan felt a dull ache in his heart.
Others might not understand Lady Qian's situation, but as her closest companion, he knew.
He was well aware of Lady Qian's circumstances and naturally knew that what she had been thinking about might be true.
That was their daughter. Hearing this, how could he not feel heartbroken? Seeing Lady Qian in such a state made him even more distressed.
He reached out and pulled Lady Qian into his embrace, gently comforting her again and again.
"Don't cry. We will find her, we will."
The Great Master had said, "When the time comes, she will return to them."
Over the years, they had traveled far and wide, moving residences multiple times in order to find her trail.
They had established branches of the Luo Family Medical Clinic across the land in search of information.
Now, he had learned that at a city not far from here, two restaurants had suddenly introduced hot pot cuisine the year before.
This dish was something Lady Qian had once made, but she had not touched it again after that incident.
Lady Qian had said that this dish was a specialty of that place, and now only people from there would know how to make it.
He had a feeling that it might be her.
But as Lady Qian's condition had been unstable lately, he dared not mention this to her until he had confirmed it.
He was afraid that if it turned out to be a false lead, it would only worsen her condition.
So he planned to seize an opportunity to investigate personally first. Once confirmed, he would share this surprise with her.
Under his comforting voice, Lady Qian gradually calmed down and fell asleep with tear stains on her face.
.....................
At the Gu Residence.
It was evident that The Prince of Nanyang was truly fond of hunting in the mountains.
After his morning exercises, he immediately took Gu Jinchen and their hunting gear to the mountains.
Only Luo Ge and the others remained at home.
"He knows nothing but wandering around. Doesn't he consider whether Luo Ge can be left alone or not?"
Upon hearing Auntie Shuang mention this, Princess Consort couldn't help but comment.
When she was carrying her young son during the later stages of pregnancy, she became extremely clingy. Not to mention that Luo Ge's condition was even more delicate, making it impossible for her to be left alone.
This fellow just took Gu Jinchen away without a word, not even letting him stay with his pregnant wife.
Hearing Princess Consort's words, Luo Ge smiled and spoke, "It's alright. When they left this morning, Jinchen told me about it. Since we're all at home, I let them go."
"It's rare for the Prince to have an opportunity like this. It's good for him to enjoy himself."
Upon hearing Luo Ge's words, Princess Consort didn't say anything further.
However, after looking at Luo Ge's condition, she still advised, "Today they've already gone, so that's that. But when they return, you must make sure to talk to them properly. Doctor Ming said that in most twin pregnancies, delivery occurs before nine months, usually around eight months."
"You're having triplets, and you're already over eight months along now. You must be careful and not be left alone at this stage."
Hearing Princess Consort's words, Luo Ge looked down at her belly and obediently nodded.
Seeing Luo Ge's response, Princess Consort seemed to remember something else.
"Have you prepared the midwife and wet nurses for the babies?"
She hadn't seen any such arrangements in the manor, so she asked.
Upon hearing this, Luo Ge was startled. They had found a midwife, but they had forgotten about wet nurses.
Mainly because in this village, most were farming families without the concept of wet nurses. They usually breastfed their children or fed them rice porridge.
Gu Jinchen had also overlooked this matter.
And in Luo Ge's time, formula was more commonly used.
As a result, the couple had simply forgotten about hiring wet nurses.
One or two babies would be manageable, but three newborns might be too much for Luo Ge to handle alone.
Seeing Luo Ge's expression, Princess Consort asked, "You haven't prepared yet, have you?"
Luo Ge nodded sheepishly, "We've found a midwife, but we overlooked the wet nurses."
Saying this, Luo Ge felt a bit embarrassed. If Princess Consort hadn't brought it up today, they would have been in a rush when the time came.
Hearing this, both Princess Consort and Auntie Shuang looked at her and sighed.
"Young ones, it's understandable for the first time. But at this stage, I'm afraid there's not enough time to find suitable wet nurses."
Finding wet nurses required careful consideration - their health, family background, and character were all important factors. It was truly difficult to find suitable candidates in such a short time.
Moreover, judging from Luo Ge's condition, the delivery date was likely within half a month.
Hearing Princess Consort's words, Luo Ge nodded.
"We'll try to find some first. If we can't find suitable ones, we'll figure out another solution later."
Upon hearing this, Princess Consort nodded, then turned to look at her young son playing with the Older Baby and Second Baby. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and turned to Auntie Shuang.
"Auntie Shuang, I recall that Chu'er's wet nurse recently gave birth?"
Previously, when she was worried about not being able to care for Chu'er alone, she had found a wet nurse for her, but it wasn't needed in the end.
However, that wet nurse's situation might be suitable now.
Hearing this, Auntie Shuang thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes, she gave birth to a child early this year."
Upon hearing this, Princess Consort turned to Luo Ge, "When I was carrying Chu'er, I had found a wet nurse, but I didn't end up using her services since I could manage on my own. However, she has remained in the manor. She is a decent person. If you find her suitable, shall I summon her to come here? If we notify her now, she should be able to arrive within two days."
Luo Ge trusted Princess Consort's judgment in selecting people, so she didn't refuse the offer.
"That would be good."
It's better to have contingencies in place.
"Alright."
Although one wet nurse had been arranged, they still needed to find more.
After all, triplets required extra preparation.
....... When Gu Jinchen and the others returned in the evening, the Prince unsurprisingly received a scolding from Princess Consort that night.
As for Gu Jinchen, he returned to their chambers with a guilty expression.
Recalling Doctor Ming and Princess Consort's words, he felt that he had been negligent.
"Wife..."
Before he could apologize, Luo Ge told him about their discussion with Princess Consort regarding finding wet nurses.
Gu Jinchen's words caught in his throat as he looked at Luo Ge in bewilderment.
"What's wrong?"
Looking at his expression, Luo Ge also had a bewildered look on her face.
"Ahem, it's nothing, I'll have them look for it tomorrow."
Gu Jinchen said with a cough, silently cursing himself as a beast.
Although his wife had grown up a lot, with three children, she naturally couldn't take care of everything, what was he thinking?
Even so, his gaze somehow kept drifting towards her.
Then he hurriedly averted his gaze, rubbed his nose, his long fingers unconsciously caressing.
That... looking at his wife... should not be inappropriate, right?
Seeing his strange behavior, Luo Ge's face was filled with confusion, feeling that he was acting odd.
Following his strange gaze, she looked down, suddenly realizing something and her face turned red as she reached out and slapped him.
"Gu Jinchen!"
Seeing his wife's reaction, Gu Jinchen immediately straightened himself and admitted his mistake.
"Ahem, wife, I know I was wrong."
Seeing how self-aware he was, Luo Ge didn't really know what to say, and then she thought that he actually seemed quite pitiful.
He had abstained for twenty-five years, and finally married his wife, but the babies came so early, turning vegetarian right after starting to eat meat...
Ahem.
"It's getting late, let's sleep."
Unfortunately, Gu Jinchen didn't know her thoughts, or else he would have surely responded to her with a pitiful "Yeah, that's right."
"Alright."
Seeing his wife move on so easily, Gu Jinchen quickly agreed, willingly acting as her pillow to help her sleep.
