Ke Cha’s subordinates shouted in exultation, “It’s a boy! Master, this child is our young master! Madame gave birth to a young master.”
“Y-yes… this is my son. My little son… I have a son.”
Ke Cha was so moved that his body slightly trembled. He hurriedly gave instructions, “Quick, bring me some sheep milk.”
“Y-y-yes!” The pageboy, who was called upon, quickly ran to the horse carriage parked outside to fetch some sheep milk. After that, he warmed the milk over the fire and let the baby drink it.
While everyone was focusing on the newborn, Ji Yunshu was extremely busy tidying up. Her bloodstained hands were placed in front of her chest as she coiled a thread around her finger. Next, she began to close the incision she made. She had her head bent down and was completely focused on her task. She gave off the feeling of an embroidery master doing her work. After what seemed to be less than a quarter-hour, her movements came to an halt. The incision has been thoroughly closed. A narrow line remained present, the only vestige of the cesarean. Apart from it, the corpse was preserved and did not show any other damage. She twisted and cracked her sore neck before ordering the servants present, “Hurry and put your mistress back into the coffin to avoid her body from absorbing the humidity. We don’t want the putrefaction to accelerate.”
“Yes.”
She moved back several steps to give them some place. When the servants came to carry the body, they took a glimpse of the scar on her face and gawked at the discovery. ‘Ah! What a pity. Unfortunately, such a beautiful face was marred by a scar!’ They quickly snapped out of their shock and focus on completing the assigned task. As they carried the body, the stench of rot and blood assailed their olfaction, causing nausea and discomfort to well inside them. They endure the stench and placed the corpse back inside the coffin and closed back the lid.
In the meantime, Ji Yunshu picked up her veil on the floor and silently left the abandoned temple. She found a dry spot under the eaves and stood there, hands outstretched into the rain. She watched as the rain fell onto her hands and slowly trickled down along with the blood, washing her long and slender fingers until they were clean again. Next, she wet her stained veil and washed it with the rainwater. The feeling of scrubbing the blue veil within her hand made her quite comfortable. She watched the rain fall like a curtain of water while listening to the raindrops making “plop” sounds as they fell onto her hands. The corner of her mouth curled into a smile like a child having fun in the rain. Unknown to her, Jing Rong had come to her side. His expression fraught with love, frustration and worry as he looked at the scar on her face.
‘How it is ugly? She’s clearly not ugly at all!’ Despite the long scar lining her cheek, her temperament completely offset it, just like her slightly curled lips that revealed a faint smile. This smile simply bewildered people into fascination!
“Are you having fun?” asked Jing Rong.
Ji Yunshu halted her hands and cast a glance at him before giving a light reply, “Yes. It’s fun.”
“Isn’t it cold?”
“No, it’s not.”
“I never knew you could do such things. Before…” His sentence was promptly cut short by Ji Yunshu.
“I’ve never done this before. This is the first time I’ve delivered a baby. In fact, this is the first time I did a cesarean!”
“A cesarean?” Jing Rong creased his brows.
She slanted her head to ponder for a moment. Then, she explained, “There are cases where pregnant women cannot give birth normally, so an incision is made in the lower abdomen until the uterus is reached. Then, the baby is pulled out. After it is done, the incision is sutured with thread. It only takes a few days for the wound to close up before the thread could be cut and taken out.”
Her explanation was very explicit! What’s more, she was rarely this patient when explaining. It caused Jing Rong to feel depressed. He never knew that a child could be taken out from the abdomen. He could not blame Ji Yunshu for giving an explanation that mystified him more, since the notion of cesarean was too novel and never been done until now. It’s a sad fact that women in ancient times who died following a difficult childbirth was mostly due to the lack of cesarean delivery.
“Ah, so it’s like that!” Jing Rong pretended to understand her explanations.
‘Forget it, I won’t expose you.’ Ji Yunshu retracted her hands from the rain. She was about to lower them, when her left hand was caught by Jing Rong and raised midair. Under the eaves drummed by raindrops, they locked eyes. He was a head taller than her. Therefore, she could only arch her head to look at him. Suddenly, her heart tightened. She felt as if she was on the verge of going mad when she felt Jing Rong’s big hand wrapping around her fingers. His warmth seeped through her skin and into her blood, causing her whole body to boil. She trembled and tried to retract her hand, but Jing Rong refused to release her hand.
“Let go of my hand!” Her tone was more of an order than a request.
“I want you to honestly tell me, there’s really not even a small place for me in your heart?”
“…”
“Answer me!” Jing Rong yanked her closer to him.
Ji Yunshu’s complexion darkened. Her tongue was knotted and she could not give him a reply.
Ever since she said ‘You are a prince; I am a concubine-born’, this deity was depressed and did not speak much along the road. Even when they stopped to rest, he distanced himself from her, yet his eyes never left her.
During their journey, they barely spoke more than a few words to each other. Most of the time he stayed silent, not even replying, as if he was being bullied! Tonight, the tense atmosphere between them could not go on. The situation smelt like gunpowder ready to explode! Ji Yunshu did not mind about repeating herself once again. Her expression was determined as she looked at him and declared, “In my heart…” But her words were interrupted.
“Where are they?” Ke Cha’s voice could be heard near them.
In an instant, Jing Rong let go of her hand which she immediately withdrew. They acted as if this small interlude between them had never existed.
Ke Cha came out with the baby in his arms. His eyes still had trace of tears, but his expression only had gratefulness as he looked at Ji Yunshu. He approached her and spoke, “Young madame, if it wasn’t for you, my child would not be of this world. You are mine and my child’s benefactor.”
“Master Ke, don’t say that. Doing a good deed every day is a virtuous achievement. Moreover, it must be because your wife’s spirit in the heavens guards over your child that he was blessed and born safe and sound.”
“Regardless of how you put it, you will remain this Ke’s benefactor.” If it was not because he was holding onto his child right now, he would have kowtowed to her.
Watching the little baby, Ji Yunshu smiled and could not help but ask, “May I hold him?”
“Of course.” Ke Cha carefully passed the infant to Ji Yunshu.
When Ji Yunshu held the child, her heart tightened and her breathing stifled a bit. Her eyes slightly reddened as she looked at the infant in her arms.
“If you don’t mind, may I ask you to give him a childhood name?” asked Ke Cha.
‘Name him?’ She had never named someone before. She gently rocked the baby in her arms while contemplating. “This child is fortunate to be alive, which is simply a miracle. To come back from death’s door could be considered a good omen. How about calling him Amo? I wish that in the future, he can become unyielding and overcome defeats and difficulties, forever and ever.”
“Amo?” Ke Cha softly repeated the name. He was all joy when he spoke, “Good! Let’s call him Amo.”