The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 202

"Yu'er, you're quite far along in your pregnancy, so don't work too hard. Come and sit down for a while."

Madam Xia said to Xiao Chunyu, "You don't need to worry about me here. Panpan will be with me, right, Panpan?"

"Yes, I played chess with my grandmother."

Xiao Chunyu's heart clenched. It was clearly the old lady who was accompanying and taking care of her, but the old lady changed her tone and said it like this, and Panpan felt very accomplished.

To truly control Panpan, you still need the old lady.

"Yu'er, I've hired a midwife and a wet nurse. I'll have them come over this afternoon. You can take a look and see if they're to your liking. If not, we can find someone else."

"Thank you for your trouble, Mother."

This is the difference between someone who truly treats you well.

Back in the Wu family, when I was about to give birth, Madam Wu didn't care at all.

She was stupid; when Granny Zhou advised her to find a wet nurse, she insisted on feeding the baby herself.

"This is what I should do."

The old lady said to Xiao Chunyu, "You have carried on the Xia family line and given birth to children, so you are a meritorious contributor to our Xia family."

Xiao Chunyu... I'm a little flattered by what you're saying.

"Also, please feel free to ask if there's anything else you need. I'm getting old, and sometimes I might not be able to think things through, so please don't feel bad about it."

"Mother, everything is fine, really fine."

There was nothing that was not considered.

In particular, the old lady turned down all visitors and didn't let her do any work, which was especially good.

Yes, Xiao Chunyu was originally a gentle person and didn't like crowded places.

Of course, as a general's wife, she was not afraid of necessary social engagements.

Even though she felt a little uneasy, Xiao Chunyu always kept her back straight, thinking that she represented the General's Mansion when she went out.

No matter what others said, Xiao Chunyu took it all as envy and jealousy, and didn't take it to heart.

Yes, she is no longer the Xiao Chunyu that others talk about.

When the Xiao family was in trouble, only Madam Qiu and Miss Qiu offered her a helping hand.

She now only recognizes Madam Qiu and Miss Qiu.

Of course, she wouldn't offend any of the ladies, because of her different status, and she wouldn't make enemies for the general when she went out.

Having gone through so much, Xiao Chunyu knows very well that there are some people you can't afford to offend, otherwise they might kick you when you're down or even trample on you if something happens to you.

What Xiao Chunyu didn't know was that she was someone no one dared to offend in the capital.

Firstly, Xiao Chunyu was the first woman to file a lawsuit against the emperor since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, and the fate of the Wu family made everyone keep their distance from her.

Secondly, Madam Xia was known for her fierce protectiveness of her children. Once, a woman made a few gossipy remarks about Panpan, only to be immediately humiliated by Madam Xia.

The third reason is Xia Guangcheng, a general who is favored by the current emperor, young and promising, and holds considerable military power.

Who would dare to mess with someone like that?

As they were talking, a servant came to report that Miss Qiu had come to visit.

"Quickly, invite her in."

Xiao Chunyu quickly said, "Please come to my courtyard. Jianlan, go and invite her."

"Yes, ma'am."

Jianlan led Miss Qiu into the inner courtyard.

"Sister Yu, your belly is so big!"

Qiu Yan, who was not yet married, was very worried when she saw Xiao Chunyu's belly.

"Isn't this very tiring?"

For a woman to become a mother, ten months of pregnancy and one day of childbirth sounds easy, and she never took it seriously before. But now, seeing Xiao Chunyu's big belly makes her feel very tired.

"You only know the love of your parents when you raise a child." Xiao Chunyu said with a smile, "When you become a mother one day, you will understand how hard your mother worked."

Xiao Chunyu knew that Qiu Yan had a falling out with Madam Qiu over the matter of marriage.

Judging from the looks of it, he probably had another fight with Madam Qiu before running away.

"Raising a child is a lifelong worry, even at 100 years old. Mothers always think more about their children." Xiao Chunyu pretended not to know and just chatted casually: "Look at Panpan, I'm always worried about her, afraid she'll get cold or hot. I'm really a worrywart."

"Sister Yu, I know what you mean, but my mother keeps nagging me about it every day and it's giving me a headache."

Madam Qiu now has even more reason to talk about her daughter.

Chunnuan is already married, and you're still her best friend. Why aren't you in a hurry?

It seems unusual for a girl to be married by the age of eighteen; people will gossip about her and say she'll never find a good husband.

"I can understand Mrs. Qiu's feelings."

Xiao Chunyu said, "Actually, I think you should still consider it and get to know each other better. After all, a girl eventually has to get married."

"What if I don't want to get married?"

Qiuyan's aversion to marriage stems from her inability to find someone she finds compatible.

My mother is getting older every year and is getting anxious. She always says that she's too picky and has gone too far in choosing a son-in-law. Now it's even harder to find a good one.

Matchmakers even came to her door to propose marriage, asking her to be their second wife, which made Qiu Yan so angry that she said she would never get married again.

This infuriated Madam Qiu even more.

Madam Qiu even said: It's a small matter if you don't get married, but you can't affect the marriage of the other girls in the Qiu family.

Well, it seems like I'm guilty if I don't get married.

"Don't rush. If you haven't found someone you like yet, it just means that the matchmaker has not yet arranged your true love." Xiao Chunyu comforted her gently, "It's okay to take your time getting married. After all, you're going to spend your whole life with your partner. Choosing a good husband will save you a lot of trouble in life."

Xiao Chunyu's words serve as a personal example.

She married into the Wu family when she was only fifteen or sixteen years old.

As a result, Xiao Chunyu was furious and it made her teeth itch with hatred whenever she thought about the Xiao family's misfortune.

"Sister Yu, you and the General are so loving, how did you meet?"

Qiu Yan really wanted to know which direction she should pray to the Bodhisattva in order to meet a man she admired who also admired her.

"He saved me, and then..."

Chunyu never mentioned that she had saved him.

She only said that Xia Guangcheng had saved her.

"Wow, your story is so interesting, a hero saves a beauty, and the beauty repays him with her body."

"You've been reading too much opera."

Xiao Chunyu was overjoyed: "Those kinds of situations in plays are actually mostly made up. Don't be fooled by them and ruin your life."

In their youth, young girls might be captivated by the stories in plays, falling madly in love with poor male scholars, ignoring family objections, and even eloping. "In reality, marriage still largely depends on matching social status and knowing each other's backgrounds," Chunyu worried that she was being deceived: "What good man would encourage a girl to elope? And to portray it as a beautiful story? Since ancient times, marriage has been a major event, ordained by parents and matchmakers, with the three letters, six rites, and six betrothal gifts—none of them can be omitted."

“Sister Yu, I know. When I was watching the play, I thought to myself, that poor scholar is really good at making things up, and that young lady is so naive.” Qiu Yan said, “If he were faithful, why would he deceive a young lady he met on the way? If he were amorous, why would he only have this one young lady?”

“The poor scholar, before he achieved official rank, didn’t even have the travel expenses to go to the capital for the imperial examinations, so how could he support this young lady?”

“If he truly loves this young lady, he should study diligently and strive to pass the imperial examinations before proposing to her and offering her the title of wife.” Xiao Chunyu, having been through it all, had long seen through reality: “Think about it, a pampered young lady being taken by him to farm, weave cloth, do laundry, and cook—is that love? Is that liking?”

"True love means not letting her suffer any hardship or difficulty."

Ironically, the play portrays it as the young lady's own choice, praising the rarity and preciousness of such love.

All I can say is that one is bad and the other is stupid.

Chunyu was very worried that Qiuyan would be misled by such toxic fiction.

"Sister Yu, I know all that, and I wouldn't do something so stupid," Qiu Yan said. "I'm not interested in those poor scholars or anything like that. The people I want to see don't suit my taste. My mother keeps nagging me to get married, but who am I supposed to marry?"

"I'm the one living my life. I can't just rush into marriage because of their nagging. If I marry someone I don't like, I'll probably have nightmares when I open my eyes and see him, right?"

Xiao Chunyu immediately laughed.

This girl says whatever she's thinking.

Qiu Yan clearly saw and understood what she was worried about, so there was nothing to worry about.

“What kind of husband are you looking for? I’ll keep an eye out for you later. If there’s a suitable one, I’ll let you know. You can then secretly observe him and see if he’s suitable. If you think he’s alright, I’ll have the other party ask a matchmaker,” Xiao Chunyu said. “If you like military generals, I can also ask the general if there are any suitable people around him.”

"Sister Yu, I don't like military generals anymore either."

Years ago, I thought it was very impressive for military generals to ride horses.

But later I learned that military generals could go to the battlefield at any time, and then... I don't even want to think about the outcome.

Of course, Xiao Chunyu married a general, so there were some things she couldn't say out loud.

"student?"

“No, those bookworms look dull and stupid,” Qiu Yan said. “I’d get tired of talking to them even for three sentences.”

Qiu Yan means that she is not well-educated and cannot communicate with scholars.

"Sister Yu, I'm very curious, how could a woman like Nuannuan willingly marry the son of a doctor in a remote town?"

Qiu Yan had been curious about Chun Nuan ever since she received her letter informing her that Chun Nuan was getting married.

Not wanting to say it directly in a letter, he could only seek answers from Xiao Chunyu.

Let's see what's so good about that person that makes Nuannuan take a liking to him.

She also tries to learn from any advantages it has.

"Nuan Nuan wrote in her letter that the Xiao family was in great difficulty when they arrived in Shu. It was this young master who helped them time and time again. They had many interactions and knew that his family had good traditions and a simple life. It just so happened that the other party was willing to propose marriage. Nuan Nuan was observing three years of mourning and he agreed to wait, so this marriage came about."

"So, it seems that the man Nuan Nuan met is a man of great loyalty and affection."

It's another story of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress, and the damsel in love reciprocating his feelings.

Qiu Yan was thinking to herself that she really couldn't even learn from others.

After chatting with Chunyu for a while, Xiao Chunyu yawned repeatedly.

Qiu Yan was a sensible person; she knew that Xiao Chunyu was feeling unwell and it was time for her to take her leave.

"Sister Yu, please rest well. I'll take my leave now."

“Alright, Jianlan, see Miss Qiu off for me.”

"Miss Qiu, this way please."

"Thank you."

After Qiuyan left, Chunyu went back to her inner room to rest.

"My body is getting heavier and heavier, and I feel more and more tired. I can't sit still after just chatting for a short while."

“That’s how it is when the pregnancy is more advanced,” said Granny Zhou. “Madam, Miss Qiu is incapable of this or that. In my opinion, she has someone else in her heart.”

"No way, if she had someone in her heart, why didn't Madam Qiu ask her about it?"

Could it be that she's really fallen for a poor guy?

Xiao Chunyu thought to herself that she had spent so much time explaining the opera to her, and she was afraid that it might backfire and she would be guilty.

“It’s possible that the person she has feelings for is not of a suitable social status.” Granny Zhou’s analysis made a lot of sense: “Miss, you see, if she didn’t have someone in her heart, why would she not even look at the young masters of high-ranking families?”

Honestly, for a while, the Qiu family's doorstep was practically worn out by suitors. They were all flocking to the Qiu family, offering to introduce this person or that person, and some even offered to introduce Ji Xian.

At first, Madam Qiu rejected him, but later, even Madam Qiu herself accepted the reality of Ji Xian's situation.

In her opinion, Qiuyan was already eighteen years old, and if she didn't get married soon, she would become an old maid. She panicked and thought that a young man from a wealthy family with a good family background who looked young and whose wife had died would be a good match.

“A girl’s prime years are only a few years,” said Granny Zhou. “Once she’s over twenty, the only path she can take is to become a second wife.”

"Sigh, is this girl going to ruin all her good fortune?" Xiao Chunyu said, "I'll have Nuannuan ask her later to see if she can help."

What Qiu Yan didn't know was that her marriage was causing both families a lot of worry.

Xiao Chunyu thought for a while, then fell asleep because she was tired.

When she wakes up, it will be lunchtime again.

"Madam, the old lady has sent word that the wet nurse and midwife have arrived. Please go and see them."

"Let's go, let me go take a look."

Xiao Chunyu was very happy to see the midwife.

"Auntie, it's you."

"It's me, madam. You are so blessed. I can tell you're carrying a son. You have both a son and a daughter. That's wonderful."

"Thanks to my aunt, everything went smoothly during my birth."

“It will definitely work, it will definitely work.” The midwife said, “Back then, I was able to give birth to your daughter smoothly because I used the method taught by your second young lady. After that, I tried several other similar methods, and they were all correct. Then, they all gave birth to their children smoothly.”

"That's because my aunt is very skilled."

The old lady felt reassured when she saw that the midwife was someone Xiao Chunyu knew.

When it came to choosing a wet nurse, Xiao Chunyu had the old lady do it for her.

"How about we keep both wet nurses?" the old lady asked Chunyu.

"No need, one is enough."

One monk carries water to drink, two monks carry water together to drink, three monks have no water to drink.

Some things are better left unsaid; too many people aren't necessarily a good thing.

With the midwife and wet nurse in place, Xiao Chunyu remembered Panpan's words and guessed that the baby would come out sooner.

However, what Xiao Chunyu didn't expect was that he would become so powerful so early.

That evening, Xiao Chunyu felt a stomachache.