Coming out of the pharmacy, it was already dusk. Li Mingwei leaned against the old willow tree at the door of the pharmacy, gazing into the distance at the faint purple clouds, gently caressing her belly. This was her first year in Qingshi Town. She had gotten married and was now unexpectedly pregnant.
She had thought she was unlucky and would never have the fortune of having a child in this lifetime. But now it seemed like someone was playing tricks.
Wang Chunhua stood nearby, carefully supporting her. A thought suddenly occurred to her and she slapped her thigh, “Could it be that your ex-husband was impotent and conspired with the doctor to lie to you?”
“No, he already has children.”
When Li Mingwei had left, Cheng Ruoruo was slightly showing. By now, she was probably several months postpartum. Cheng Ruoruo didn’t have the audacity to pass off someone else’s child to Murong Yu.
As for conspiring with doctors to trick her, that was more likely.
She went through the three doctors who had treated her in her mind. She didn’t need to mention the first imperial physician who was brought by Murong Yu. He was Murong Yu’s man, so it was normal for him to help deceive her.
But the second, Imperial Physician Liu, was a longtime friend of her family elders. It was because her mother was worried about the first imperial physician that she had personally invited Liu to examine her. It was only after he had spoken that her mother felt she had no hope and wanted to marry her off as a second wife.
The third was a folk doctor she had secretly gone to see out of desperation.
All three of them had given her the same conclusion, saying she would be unlikely to ever bear children in her life. But why was she pregnant now? Was she just incredibly lucky? Or was there nothing actually wrong with her body in the first place?
It was easy to explain the first and the third, but could it be that Imperial Physician Liu had also been bought over by Murong Yu? Her grandfather's health had always been overseen by Imperial Physician Liu. If he had gone over to Murong Yu’s side, wouldn’t her grandfather be in danger?
No, she couldn’t let this happen. She couldn’t hand her trusting grandfather over to someone untrustworthy.
Seeing Li Mingwei’s increasingly tight brow, Wang Chunhua also grew concerned, “What’s wrong?”
Li Mingwei grabbed Wang Chunhua’s hand, “Sister, I want to go to the county town tomorrow.”
“Ah?” Wang Chunhua hesitated. “But you’re only two months along. The doctor said you need to rest well. The county town is so far...”
“I have to go.”
Seeing her insistence, Wang Chunhua didn’t try to dissuade her further. She nodded, “Alright, alright. Going to the county town to find a good doctor to take another look is not bad. You can take this opportunity to share the good news with Liu Yizhu too. He’ll definitely be happy!”
Li Mingwei had no intention of looking for Liu Yizhu. She wanted to go to the County Government Office to find Tang Shan.
Wang Chunhua sent her back home. Li Mingwei made a “shh” gesture, indicating for her to not tell Old Lady Wang about this for the time being.
“Why not?”
“No particular reason, let’s wait until after the trip to the county town before we say anything.”
Wang Chunhua figured she was feeling emotionally unstable and worried the pharmacy doctor had made a mistake in his diagnosis. She didn’t want Old Lady Wang to be excited over nothing, so she kept to Li Mingwei’s wishes and said nothing.
“Alright, you go back and be careful. I’ll ask my brother-in-law to come with a cart to pick you up tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, sister.”
Wang Chunhua smiled and patted her, gesturing for her to go in first before she headed back to relay Dong Shan the message. Dong Shan was also shocked. Wasn’t she...
“Tomorrow she wants to go to the county town again to get checked out. Go keep her company with the cart. The doctor said her pregnancy is unstable and she can’t walk that long of a distance.”
“Alright.”
Wang Chunhua had worried over it the entire night but still felt somewhat uneasy. Afraid that Dong Shan alone wouldn't be able to properly care for her, she brought Xiao Yan along the next morning when she headed to the Li residence.
“Old Lady Wang, my sister-in-law and I are going to the county town. Please help look after my daughter.”
Old Lady Wang took Xiao Yan into her arms, “What are you going there for?”
Li Mingwei hastily explained, “To buy some things. Is there anything mother wants me to bring back for you?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Old Lady Wang took a glance at Dong Shan’s cart and figured they were going to purchase some large items. Letting Mingwei tag along to take a look made sense. She waved them off, “Be careful on the road!”
“We will! Goodbye.”
Wang Chunhua waved them off as Dong Shan helped Li Mingwei onto the cart. Out of consideration for Li Mingwei’s condition, Dong Shan travelled very slowly. By the time they reached the county town, it was almost noon.
Dong Shan brought Li Mingwei straight to the clinic. The doctor at the clinic gave an almost identical diagnosis to the town doctor.
“About two months along. It’s a little unstable. I’ll prescribe some medication to stabilize the fetus. Go back and take it while resting in bed for a month before coming back for another checkup. You’re a little underweight, so do remember to nourish yourself when you get back. But don’t overdo it after the fourth month. You have a petite frame and overfeeding the fetus will make the delivery difficult.”
Seeing that her face still looked somewhat sallow, the doctor further instructed, “You must rest well when you return and get adequate sleep. Don’t overtire yourself physically or mentally. Here is the prescription. Come back for another look after finishing the medication.”
Dong Shan went to collect her medications while Wang Chunhua supported Li Mingwei outside to wait. The medicinal smells inside the clinic were too strong for her liking.
Li Mingwei recalled the directions to the County Government Office. Once Dong Shan had picked up all her medications, she suggested treating them to lunch, “Thank you both for accommodating me today. The last time Liu Yizhu brought me here, we discovered a very tasty restaurant. Why don’t we go there for our meal?”
Since she was a pregnant woman, the two naturally catered to her tastes and pushed her cart in the direction she pointed.
Near the County Government Office gates, she randomly picked a bigger restaurant and told Dong Shan to stop, claiming this was it.
“Wouldn’t it be too expensive?”
“It won’t be.”
Li Mingwei brought them inside and ordered a large table full of dishes. After just a few bites, she lied about having poor appetite and needing some fresh air, telling them to continue their meal and not let the food go to waste.
Unsuspecting, Wang Chunhua only allowed her to go, having intended to accompany her. But seeing the spread on the table, she was reluctant to leave it.
Li Mingwei reassured, “Sister, go ahead and eat. Don’t worry, I’ll just be downstairs walking around. It’s not far and I’ll be careful. I’ll come back to find you guys later.”
Then she headed alone to the back door of the County Government Office. As soon as she took out her gold hairpin, the guard ushered her in, so Tang Shan must have left instructions.
She had only sat in the rear hall for a short while before Tang Shan hurriedly entered. Li Mingwei stood and bowed to him, “Tang brother.”
“Please, there’s no need for such courtesies. Have a seat, have a seat.” Tang Shan steadied her into her seat before sitting down beside her, “You previously said you were returning to the capital but shortly after sent word that you weren’t going back anymore. Are you returning this time?”
“No.” Li Mingwei shook her head and took out a letter from her clothes, handing it to Tang Shan, “I’d like to trouble brother Tang to help quickly deliver this letter back to the capital city. Swiftness is imperative!”
“This is... ” Tang Shan’s brows furrowed slightly. “Has something urgent come up? If this letter is sent back, the Li family will surely trace it here. Why don’t you just return yourself?”
“It’s not being sent back to the Li family residence. Just deliver it to my handmaiden, Ah Xiu. Tell her it is a letter from her hometown in Nanjiang. She will know what to do once she reads it.”
Li Mingwei leaned lightly against the backrest and slowly explained, “I am already with child and the fetus’ condition does not seem optimistic. I fear I cannot risk long distance travel.”
“You, you can’t be...”
After Li Mingwei’s first visit, he had tasked his friends back in the capital to investigate the whole story. Wasn’t it said that she was passed to the King of Qin because she couldn’t bear children?
Now that the King of Qin already had an heir, it obviously couldn’t be an issue on his end.
If her body was also fine, just who was behind this?
Li Mingwei gently caressed her belly. “The current situation in the capital is still unclear. I do not know the intentions of those behind the scenes. Before he is safely born, it is impossible for me to return.”
Tang Shan went to his writing desk, jotted down Ah Xiu’s name on the envelope, and immediately dispatched someone to deliver it.
