Chapter 98: Difficult Labor

After hearing the system's words, Du Ruo's heart sank.

If it were anyone else from the First Branch, Du Ruo would let them go to hell, but Qin Shi was different. Qin Shi had never harmed her from beginning to end. Even if she were a stranger, Du Ruo could not bear to watch a mother and child both die.

"Is there any way to save Qin Shi?" Du Ruo asked.

The system thought for a moment, "Unless a cesarean section is performed, there might be a glimmer of hope."

If this were the new century, this surgery would not be difficult. Although Du Ruo studied biopharmaceuticals, medicine and pharmacy are inseparable; she had once taken clinical medicine as an elective and even interned in the emergency department of a Grade A tertiary hospital for a period. She could still handle such a simple, minor surgery.

However, surgical instruments and essential medications were a major problem. She now had only a pitiful 0.5 points left, making it impossible to redeem them.

Even if she had all these things, how could the people at the old residence possibly agree to let her perform this surgery?

After thinking it over, besides watching Qin Shi die, Du Ruo really didn't know what else she could do.

Du Ruo withdrew her hand and squeezed out a smile, "Sister-in-law, have you found a midwife?"

Qin Shi said "Mm," "Grandmother found Tao Gu."

Tao Gu was the best midwife in the village, having been in the business for over a dozen years with rich experience. She hoped she would be that miracle.

Although the two had no grudges, they also had no close friendship. After chatting about some idle matters, Du Ruo took Zheng Shi and left.

Zheng Shi was an experienced woman and could tell at a glance that Qin Shi's belly was not right.

"Aman, your sister-in-law is too thin; I'm afraid she will suffer quite a bit during labor."

"Who's to say otherwise? I don't know if Jiang Zongbao hasn't been feeding her, how she got so thin like that." Du Ruo sighed, "If only I could share half of my fat with her."

Zheng Shi stumbled, both angry and amused, "Look at you, don't even think about losing weight. Last night you ate such a big bowl, and your husband kept piling food into your bowl, afraid you'd eat even one less piece of meat. This isn't raising you like a wife; it's clearly raising you like a pig."

Although she said that, Zheng Shi was extremely happy inside.

It showed that her son-in-law truly doted on her daughter!

Speaking of this, Zheng Shi looked around and then lowered her voice to ask, "Aman, you've been married for several months now, why is there no movement in your belly?"

Du Ruo: "..."

If there were movement, that would be a disaster; the two hadn't even consummated the marriage yet.

"Oh, Mother, my husband is working at the Ya Men now and is very busy. He doesn't come back many times a month, so I..." Sorry, Husband, you have to take the blame for this one.

Zheng Shi thought that made sense.

But thinking about it again, that wasn't right. Jiang Li's build looked like someone who knew how to plow the fields; even if the number of times he sowed seeds was low, there should at least be a few that could sprout.

Could the problem be with her own daughter?

Zheng Shi examined her daughter's obese body, becoming more and more certain of this deduction.

"From tomorrow on, Mother will have to manage your food. You can't gorge yourself like before. Being too thin is bad for childbearing, and being too fat is the same."

Ah? Is this the start of pregnancy preparation?

Du Ruo's shoulders slumped, and she begged with a bitter face, "Mother, can I just exercise more? Can you not cut my rations?"

"No." Zheng Shi's attitude was very firm, "Don't take this lightly. If there really is a problem later, it will be too late to regret it."

Fine, in order to ease her mother's mind, Du Ruo could only bite the bullet and agree.

In fact, the main reason for her obesity was the residual poison in her body, which had little to do with how much she ate, but Du Ruo didn't tell Zheng Shi about this. If Zheng Shi knew, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Anyway, once she earned money, she could exchange silver for points. By then, with the stiff silkworm as a medicinal guide, losing weight would be a matter of minutes, right?

As the mother and daughter talked, they arrived at their doorstep in the blink of an eye.

Master Jiang was walking towards them with Jiang Wan.

Seeing Du Ruo and Zheng Shi, the little girl's eyes lit up, and she immediately pounced over affectionately.

Du Ruo held her hand and asked suspiciously, "Why did school let out so early today?"

Jiang Wan shook her head and looked up at Master Jiang.

Master Jiang stood straight, still with that poker face, "For the next half month, Wan'er doesn't need to go."

"Why is that? Did Wan'er hit someone again?" Du Ruo asked hurriedly.

"Wan'er didn't!" At least she didn't hit them in the school, giving the master enough face.

As for after school, she just blocked them halfway and beat them up.

Who told them to have such loose mouths?

There were also a few with loose hands who always took advantage of people not paying attention to pull her braids, pulling until it hurt her to death. She just had Tie Dan catch a few non-venomous snakes and put them in those bad kids' desks, letting them pull enough for once...

Looking at Jiang Wan's righteous little appearance, Master Jiang's expression was indescribable.

He seemed to have overcorrected a bit, teaching a simple little white rabbit into a black-bellied little fox.

But forget it, it was better than being bullied and not daring to fight back.

"Actually, I closed the school." Master Jiang hesitated for a moment before explaining the reason, "I decided to try one last time. If I am still unlucky, it proves that Heaven really refuses to reward me with this bowl of rice, and I will give up completely, never to get involved in the Imperial Examination again in this life."

Du Ruo understood immediately.

Every time Master Jiang took the exam, he ended up in the "stinky cell" (the worst-located exam cell); it was no wonder his resentment was so deep.

"Third Uncle is right. In this life, one must fight for oneself at least once, so there will be no regrets. I wish Third Uncle good luck and a place on the list."

A rare smile appeared on Master Jiang's handsome face, "Then Third Uncle will take your kind words."

No wonder the old man liked Du Shi so much; she really knew how to talk. These words went straight to his heart.

"This must be Zheng Niangzi?" He looked at Zheng Shi beside her.

Zheng Shi curtsied and called out "Third Brother Jiang."

After a few polite words, they each returned to their own homes.

Zheng Shi was a person who couldn't stay idle and started getting busy after lunch.

There wasn't much work at home, as Chunhua had done most of it. Seeing Zheng Shi wandering around the front and back of the house like a headless fly, Du Ruo was worried she would be bored, so she simply dug out the few pieces of fabric she had bought earlier and asked Zheng Shi to make a few sets of clothes.

As for who to make them for, Zheng Shi could decide for herself.

Zheng Shi went off to work happily.

Du Ruo went to the sandy land with Jiang Li. The ghost-dudu (a medicinal herb) was already waist-high. Although there were only three, the system had detected that at least one jin could be harvested, and all of it was of the highest quality.

Thinking of the white, shiny silver that was about to be in her hands, Du Ruo couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.

Jiang Li clapped the sand off his hands, "Should be able to start digging in another three or four days, right? I'll come back to help then."

Du Ruo smiled, "It's fine, you go do your work. I can still dig up this little bit of stuff."

Besides, there were Jiang Cheng and Tie Dan.

"I'm not worried that you can't dig it up; I'm worried that someone will know this stuff is valuable and have designs on it." Jiang Li held her hand and walked home, explaining, "Although we come to check on it from time to time, and Tie Dan runs over several times every night, if someone really wants to steal it, there are plenty of opportunities."

There is only the thief who steals for a thousand days, not the one who guards for a thousand days.

That was indeed the truth. Du Ruo thought for a moment and said, "Wan'er doesn't have to go to school recently, and Tie Dan is free all day. Let's just have it guard here. It's only for a few days anyway, just in case."

Jiang Li thought it was feasible; Tie Dan was indeed a good helper.

The couple had just entered the courtyard when they caught sight of Wang Bujiu, who was leaning against the sweet-scented osmanthus tree, looking utterly bored.

Wang Bujiu was still wearing his constable uniform. Seeing Jiang Li and Du Ruo return, he rolled his eyes in annoyance, "I say, Brother, you're free and easy, walking away and throwing all the trouble to me. It's annoying me to death!"

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What trouble?"

Du Ruo also curiously opened her squinty eyes, waiting to hear the rest.

"That's not just one thing." Wang Bujiu gestured toward the Jiang family's First Branch and snorted, "Look, today I was the one who brought your family's troublesome eldest aunt back. That woman really doesn't cry until she sees the coffin. Every time she sees me, she curses me. She cursed so damn ugly that it made me angry. You tell me, can I indulge her in this habit? Definitely not!"

He paused, keeping them in suspense, "Guess what I did?"

Du Ruo rolled her eyes, "You hit her?"

"..." Wang Bujiu gave her a thumbs up, "Sister-in-law, you're still the best; you could even guess that."

He chuckled, "Originally, I just wanted to teach her a lesson and lock her up for a few days. Anyway, the Mei Ruxi case really doesn't have much to do with their family. Who knew that woman wouldn't change her ways and her mouth was especially dirty, so I reported this to the Lord. The Lord had someone pull down Cao Shi's pants and gave her twenty strokes..."

Twenty strokes, those were solid, real strokes.

Cao Shi's butt was blooming; she would have to lie in bed for at least ten days or half a month before she could get up. This time she was truly taught a lesson, crying so miserably.

She didn't dare to curse anymore; seeing Wang Bujiu was like a mouse seeing a cat, she almost shrunk herself into a hole.

Sure enough, evil people are more afraid of being ground down by even more evil people; Cao Shi had met her nemesis.

Du Ruo touched her chin and thought, this trick works on Cao Shi, I wonder if it works on others. Should I just take ruthless action next time someone bullies me?

Hmm, worth a try.

Jiang Li didn't have much of a reaction, "Besides this, is there any other trouble?"

Wang Bujiu's face suddenly became serious, "This second trouble is the big trouble. Last time at the Li family's banquet, didn't Commandery Prince Ji say he wanted to go to the prison to see Mei Ruxi's beauty?"

"He really went?" Jiang Li asked with a frown.

"Of course he went, and the Assistant Magistrate accompanied him personally."

Speaking of this, Wang Bujiu was full of fire, "That old lecher Commandery Prince Ji, when he saw Mei Ruxi, it was like he was possessed; he didn't even know how to walk, staring straight at her. If it weren't for us blocking him, he probably would have pounced on Mei Ruxi!"

It was truly shameful; the Thirteenth Prince having such an uncle was simply a huge misfortune.

Jiang Li had an intuition that things weren't that simple. If it were just Commandery Prince Ji coveting Mei Ruxi's beauty, it wouldn't count as a big trouble; after all, Mei Ruxi was a wanted criminal of the imperial court, and Commandery Prince Ji couldn't do anything.

Sure enough, he heard Wang Bujiu continue, "Originally, the Lord had transferred dozens of officers from elsewhere to escort Mei Ruxi to the capital. Who knew that Commandery Prince Ji insisted on following along, using the excuse of visiting his nephew, the Thirteenth Prince, in the capital, and having this batch of officers protect him on the way. You tell me, is this outrageous or not?"

Jiang Li and Du Ruo looked at each other.

It was indeed a big trouble. With Commandery Prince Ji's lecherous nature, he certainly wouldn't be honest on the road. What would happen then was imaginable.

The ending would be nothing more than a few possibilities.

Either submit to Commandery Prince Ji, let Commandery Prince Ji run around for her, and finally successfully escape guilt.

Or kill Commandery Prince Ji and flee, living on the run from then on.

But Mei Ruxi had always been a smart person; perhaps she could find a third path...

What Jiang Li worried about was, if Mei Ruxi really escaped, would she come back to take revenge on him? He wasn't afraid for himself, but he was afraid of implicating his family.

Du Ruo saw the worry on his face.

"Don't worry, Husband, nothing will happen." Du Ruo comforted him with a smile, "Mei Ruxi isn't stupid; can the same trick be used twice?"

Mei Ruxi's greatest reliance was her face, but this trick didn't work on Du Ruo, so there was nothing to worry about.

Jiang Li nodded, "I will have people go and inquire to see what the situation is, and then make plans."

After finishing the business, Wang Bujiu didn't stay long and hurried home to see his old mother.

The couple went into the house to chat with Zheng Shi for a while.

Jiang Wan was teaching Chunhua to read as usual. Although Chunhua's talent was far inferior to Jiang Wan's, she was hardworking and diligent, and now she had learned quite a few characters.

"Big Brother, Big Sister-in-law, come over and help quickly!" Jiang Cheng suddenly shouted from the vegetable garden.

Du Ruo and Jiang Li hurried out.

Jiang Cheng was holding oil paper and was anxiously spreading it over the vegetable plot, "The weather is changing; these chili seedlings must not be drenched!"

Otherwise, all previous efforts would be wasted.

While speaking, the sky had already darkened, and a strong wind had picked up.

Several people hurriedly pulled the oil paper open and spread it out, then pressed stones on the edges, and only then did they enter the house with peace of mind.

Over there, Zheng Shi also took the two little girls to collect the things drying in the courtyard.

Boom! A thunderclap exploded in the sky.

Soon, a torrential rain began to fall. The rain was dense, and the world was dim, as if it had entered the night early.

Zheng Shi looked up at the sky and muttered, "Thunder in autumn, I'm afraid it's ominous."

Du Ruo chuckled, "Mother, don't be so superstitious. There's nothing ominous; it's just a normal phenomenon."

The ancients were just superstitious; everything could be linked to ghosts and gods.

Zheng Shi also felt that what she said was not auspicious, so she hurriedly made up for it, "Yes, yes, yes, Aman is still the one with broad knowledge, unlike me who hasn't read books and doesn't understand anything, just babbling."

As soon as the words fell, the courtyard gate was suddenly knocked with a bang.

Jiang Li went to open the door, and Yao Yulan rushed in from the outside with an umbrella, her body soaked by the rain.

Du Ruo hurriedly found a clean towel to wipe her and asked in confusion, "It's raining so hard, why did Sister-in-law Yulan run over? Is there any urgent matter?"

Yao Yulan's lips were white; she didn't know if it was from the cold or fear.

"Sister-in-law, something big has happened." She grabbed Du Ruo's hand, her voice trembling, "Just now, your grandmother's side sent someone to pass a message, saying... saying Qin Shi had a difficult labor, and both the adult and the child are already, already gone!"