On the way to escape famine, my parents divorced

Chapter 594 "If this blessing comes at the cost of my mother's health and life, then I'd rather not have this blessing!"

(Thanks to reader 150804111432246 for casting 2 monthly tickets.)
Li Wangchun and Zheng Meiniang rarely visited this study in the governor's mansion.

Entering now, one feels a chilling atmosphere, completely different from the warmth of the banquet just now.

Li Shiyue gestured for the two of them to sit down. She personally poured them hot tea and even kicked the charcoal brazier next to the long table toward them.

After returning to the long table and sitting down, Li Shiyue pondered for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly, before getting straight to the point.

Her voice carried a hint of undisguised worry: "Mother, Aunt, at the banquet just now, Xia Tian mentioned that she's pregnant. What do you think?"

Li Wangchun laughed and said, "October, that's naturally a good thing!"
"I've been recuperating for over two years now, and to have another child would be a blessing—a truly joyous occasion!"

Zheng Meiniang nodded in agreement: "Yes, a large and prosperous family is always a blessing."

She looks quite well these days, even in the summer.

"A happy occasion? Good fortune?"

Li Shiyue interrupted Zheng Meiniang directly, her voice lowered, and she looked up, her gaze sharp and heavy as she looked at Li Wangchun and Zheng Meiniang.

“Mother, Aunt, you have both experienced childbirth. Do you really think that childbirth is such an easy thing for women?”
Is it really just the four light and airy words, "Many children, many blessings"?

Li Shiyue's words froze the smiles on Li Wangchun and Zheng Meiniang's faces.

Li Shiyue stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the deep night outside. Even her back looked somewhat cold and hard.

"When my elder sister gave birth to Pingping and An'an, what was the situation like? Mother and Aunt, have you both forgotten?"

In less than three years, you've already forgotten?
For a day and a night, basins of bloody water were carried out of the house one after another;

My sister was wailing in pain inside the house, and even I, a general who could wield a sword swiftly on the battlefield, felt my heart clench with dread.

If it were a timid man, he probably would have fainted on the spot!

Li Shiyue's voice was not loud, but every word was heavy, striking the silent study and also striking the hearts of Li Wangchun and Zheng Meiniang.

Just as Li Shiyue said, how could they possibly forget the scene when Li Xiatian gave birth to Pingping and An'an in Lijiatun, Jinzhou?

Upon recalling the scene, Li Wangchun and Zheng Meiniang's faces instantly turned pale.

Clearly, they had all recalled that terrible scene, and Li Wangchun's fingers, which were holding the teacup, trembled slightly.

“It was twins, so it was going to be tough,” Li Wangchun tried to explain, but his voice was weak.

"Yes, twins are more dangerous."

Li Shiyue turned around and looked at the two of them with piercing eyes. "But even if it is a single birth, childbirth is still a life-threatening ordeal for a woman."

One foot in the world of the living, the other in the world of the dead!

Fortunately, both mother and child are safe.
If you're a little unlucky, you might suffer from postpartum hemorrhage, puerperal fever, or transverse fetal movement. Which of these isn't a life-threatening situation?

Besides, Mother, how can you be sure that my sister won't be pregnant with twins again this time?

Li Shiyue walked back to the long table, placed her hands on the tabletop, leaned forward slightly, and said in an increasingly sorrowful tone: "Even though my sister survived last time by luck, her body was severely weakened."

When has my sister ever been so afraid of the cold?
We have trudged through thorns and brambles all the way from Henan Road, but my sister has never done so.
Pregnancy lasts ten months, a difficult and arduous process that depletes the mother's vital essence and energy.

Giving birth is a huge drain on one's health. My older sister's body has only improved slightly in the past two years since she gave birth to Pingping and An'an, but she is still so sensitive to cold.

At today's banquet, my sister was dressed so warmly in the flower hall, yet she didn't break a sweat at all!
And now she is…

Li Shiyue paused here, took a deep breath, and her eyes showed undisguised worry.

“It’s not that I don’t like children. My sister gave birth to a child of the Li family. With the addition of a new member to the family, I am naturally happy.”

But I'm even more afraid!
I'm afraid my sister's body can't handle it!

I'm afraid something might go wrong again.
Compared to that child whose gender is unknown, I value Xia Tian's life more!

Li Shiyue practically choked out those last words through gritted teeth, her voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of vulnerability and fear.

Zheng Meiniang had already turned pale from hearing this. She gripped her handkerchief tightly, sitting on the chair, not daring to move at all, as if she had been frozen in place.

Li Wangchun's eyes reddened, and her lips trembled as she said, "October...you...don't scare Mother. Xia Tian...this time everything will go smoothly."

"smoothly?"

Li Shiyue gave a bitter smile. "Mother, can we always rely on God to make things go smoothly?"

To entrust one's life to luck and chance?

You might survive one production run, but what about two or three?

"Many children, many hardships for the mother!" This saying is not without merit!
The hardship isn't just in raising children, but also in the real life-threatening dangers and irreversible physical damage during each birth!

Li Shiyue straightened up again, her eyes becoming extremely serious and earnest: "So, I'm thinking, shouldn't we not only be immersed in the joy of having a new baby, but shouldn't we also consider the women themselves more?"
Especially for someone like my sister, whose health isn't particularly strong after giving birth once, shouldn't she...shouldn't she have children so frequently?

Li Wangchun and Zheng Meiniang were completely stunned.

contraception?

This concept was almost shocking to them.

In this era, women considered procreation their natural duty, and having many children and grandchildren was a sign of a prosperous family!
No one has ever publicly questioned this issue, and very few people have even considered it from the perspective of the woman's own health.

"October... October... How can this be?"

Li Wangchun was so shocked that she could hardly speak. "This...this is not right! Besides, offspring are a blessing from God. How can we deliberately avoid them?"

"Good fortune?"

Li Shiyue's voice turned cold, "If this blessing comes at the cost of my mother's health and life, then I'd rather not have this blessing!"
Mother, what I want is for my elder sister to live a safe and healthy life, to grow up peacefully, not to gamble with her already fragile life for the sake of an unknown child!

Li Shiyue looked at Zheng Meiniang and said, "Aunt, would you care more about the baby in my sister's belly whose gender is unknown?"
"And not my sister's own life?"

Zheng Meiniang's lips moved, her expression extremely complicated.

She recalled the dangers that Li Tianxia had faced during his peaceful birth, and the women she had seen in Henan Province who had died in childbirth or suffered lifelong illnesses.
After a long pause, Zheng Meiniang finally said with difficulty, "October... What you said makes sense. Childbirth is indeed a gamble with a woman's life."
But in this world, is there any way to avoid it?

Even if it exists, if it gets out, I'm afraid...

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