A faint light shimmered on the horizon as the rooster in the backyard, awaiting its fate, stretched its neck and let out a resounding crow. Liu Yizhu snapped out of his daze, his neck stiff from the long wait of the night.
Wasn't it said that once the water broke, the birth would follow?
How could she have eaten a bowl of scrambled eggs and even taken a nap in the meantime? It left him a bit bewildered.
He stood up and knocked on the door again. "Mother, are you hungry? I'll go to the kitchen and see what we have to eat."
Old Lady Wang opened the door, her face showing signs of weariness. She nodded and said, "Go ahead. The midwife and those two little maidservants have been keeping watch. Bring back plenty."
Liu Yizhu glanced back at the gatekeeper who had fallen asleep against the pillar, then turned and headed for the kitchen. The cook, who had been waiting in the kitchen, was also exhausted and dozing off on the table.
He didn't want to disturb her rest, so he quietly lifted the lid of the pot. Seeing that there was nothing inside, he went to the courtyard to fetch water, intending to cook some porridge with rice.
The sound of water startled the cook, who patted her chest and rushed forward, snatching the bucket from his hands. "Master Liu, let me do it. Let me do it. How is everything going?"
Liu Yizhu shook his head. "She hasn't given birth yet." Looking at the cook, who was not young anymore, he asked, "Does giving birth usually take this long?"
"Some are quick, some are slow. If the midwife hasn't said anything, there's no need to worry."
But how could he not worry?
Liu Yizhu had a headache as he helped the cook start boiling the porridge. He carried a bowl and headed to the front, where he saw a little maidservant running towards him with joy on her face. "She's given birth! She's given birth! Madam has given birth to a son!"
Liu Yizhu's spirits lifted, and he handed the bowl of porridge to her, quickly making his way to the courtyard.
Li Mingwei lay weakly on the bed. Suddenly, something hit the bed with a thud, causing even the bed to shake. She fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes, meeting Liu Yizhu's concerned gaze. She tugged at the corner of her mouth and said, "Be gentle. It doesn't hurt."
The moment she spoke, Liu Yizhu felt even more heartache. No wonder there had been no sound in the latter half of the night; her voice had gone hoarse from shouting.
He reached out and tidied Li Mingwei's hair, damp with sweat, and leaned by her side, choked up but determined. "This is our only child."
He didn't want to see her suffer like this anymore.
Li Mingwei felt a slight dampness on her arm and used her other hand to playfully touch his face. Despite her weakened state, she found it amusing. How could a grown man be crying? Did she cry yesterday? She couldn't quite remember. If she did cry, let's just pretend she didn't mention it.
She squinted at the crib, where the midwife was examining the baby. Old Lady Wang stood anxiously nearby, asking, "How is it?"
The midwife checked the baby, feeling his arms and legs. "I don't see any major issues. He was a bit stuck, given that the mother's pelvis is a bit small, but the baby is of a good size. We just had a bit of a struggle."
She wrapped the baby up and handed him to Old Lady Wang, then turned to ask the maidservant, "Where's the hot water?"
The child hadn't taken a bath yet.
"Someone has already gone to fetch it, it will be here soon."
The young maid replied and went out of the room to take a look.
Li Mingwei shifted her arm, and Liu Yizhu looked up, then lowered his gaze. He casually wiped his eyes a couple of times before asking, "What's wrong?"
"Child, the child," Li Mingwei cleared her throat, trying to find her voice, "I want to see. If the child is good-looking, we won't give birth."
Since she became pregnant, Li Mingwei had said this sentence many times, and Liu Yizhu didn't understand why she cared so much about appearance. After all, wasn't the child theirs?
Just as he was about to get up, Old Lady Wang had already walked over, carrying the child in her arms. She bent over and placed the child by Li Mingwei's pillow, so she could see clearly. "Good-looking, good-looking, rest assured, the child looks exactly like Yizhu did when he was young."
Li Mingwei looked at the chubby baby in front of her and trembled. How could this be considered good-looking? Was the old lady blind?
She pointed at the dirty stuff on the child's face and asked, "What's that?"
"Oh, that's nothing. It's brought out from the belly. It'll be gone after washing."
"Really?"
Old Lady Wang nodded confidently.
Li Mingwei breathed a sigh of relief, but inexplicably tears welled up in her eyes. Liu Yizhu reached out to wipe them away, but she cried even harder, with tears streaming down.
Old Lady Wang hurriedly took the child a little further away, so Li Mingwei wouldn't see.
Liu Yizhu also panicked and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
Li Mingwei choked back her tears and couldn't speak.
Old Lady Wang advised, "You can't cry during your confinement. Please don't. Sigh~ The child just came into the world, they'll become beautiful as they grow up. Really, look at Yizhu, this child really resembles Yizhu when he was young."
But Liu Yizhu wasn't particularly good-looking at the moment. He hadn't slept all night, just cried, his eyes were bloodshot, his complexion wasn't good, and his hair was disheveled.
Li Mingwei looked at him and felt even more heartbroken. She sniffled, about to cry again, but Old Lady Wang quickly stopped her, "I promise you, after you finish your confinement, he'll definitely become good-looking. Just wait for another month, just one month."
Li Mingwei reluctantly nodded.
The maidservant came in with hot water, and Old Lady Wang carried the child to give them a bath. The doctor had also arrived and was waiting in the next room, so they took the child there.
Liu Yizhu dabbed some hot water and wiped Li Mingwei's face. Helplessly, he asked, "Do you care so much about the child's appearance?"
Li Mingwei shook her head, "No, I'm afraid that the child will be too ugly, and others will suspect that the child is not ours."
"Is that really important?"
Li Mingwei pondered for a moment, shaking her head and then nodding. It wasn't important here, but it would be important when they returned home.
She pushed Liu Yizhu, who looked exhausted, "Go and rest for a while. Later, you'll have to ask the gatekeeper to request leave for you at the academy."
Only then did Liu Yizhu remember that he was supposed to attend classes today. He went out to find the gatekeeper and returned when the two maidservants were already changing Li Mingwei's clothes and tidying up the bed.
Li Mingwei glared at him and he obediently closed the door and stepped back.
He sat in the corridor, listening to the cries of the baby next door, his mind blank. He was a father now?
This feeling was truly strange.
It wasn't that he wasn't happy, but there was also a tinge of sadness and worry. The emotions inside were too complex, and he couldn't sort them out for a while.
After all the maidservants had left, he gently pushed the door open and went in. He tucked Li Mingwei in, watching her for a while before holding her hand. "My child's mother, do we really have to name the baby Baozi or Pancake?"
He got up and fetched the paper filled with boy's names, bringing it to Li Mingwei's attention. "Could you consider these?"
Li Mingwei looked at it, her eyes spinning, and turned her head away with disdain.
