Rebirth of a Farming Wife

“Miss, Miss, are you alright?” Xiao Xi hurried over, wanting to help Su Wenyue up but afraid that any abrupt movement might worsen her condition, she felt momentarily at a loss.

“Xiao Xi, my stomach hurts a bit, I’m afraid the fetal energy might be disturbed. Hold me and take me back to the room, try to move as gently as possible.” Su Wenyue, seeing Xiao Xi panic, desperately tried to calm herself down, instructing Xiao Xi on what to do. She was actually very worried, afraid that anything might happen to the child in her womb—the child she had longed for so eagerly. But at this moment, Han Yu wasn’t by her side, and she had to make her greatest effort to protect the child, without allowing any weakness to show.

Mrs. Liu was also helping at the time and even called out Mother-in-law and Mrs. Li. At first, she thought that the Fourth Daughter-in-law had just been bumped by a child—not much force for a youngster—thinking that the Fourth Daughter-in-law couldn’t be that delicate and at worst would only have a scraped hand. But seeing Xiao Xi’s expression and behavior, especially the Fourth Daughter-in-law sitting on the ground, pale-faced, she felt something was seriously wrong.

“Stomach pain, disturbed fetal energy?” Mrs. Liu was stunned, hearing Su Wenyue’s words. What did the Fourth Daughter-in-law mean by this? Could it be that she was pregnant? A woman’s body is delicate during pregnancy, unable to withstand such collisions. This could really be a disaster, especially since the incident happened because of her daughter, Liu felt guilty and even more worried about Su Wenyue. She followed close behind Xiao Xi, wanting to help where she could.

“Fourth Daughter-in-law, are you pregnant? How do you feel now? Is there any discomfort?”

Mrs. Liu fired off a series of questions like a barrage of bullets, but Su Wenyue had no energy to answer. With Xiao Xi’s help, she slowly lay back on the bed and finally felt a bit more at ease. Her stomach also seemed a bit better, but still ached slightly.

“My young mistress has disturbed fetal energy and needs to rest well. She probably doesn’t have the strength to talk to you right now. If there’s anything lacking, please don’t take offense.” Xiao Xi spoke for her young mistress in response to Mrs. Liu.

Having it confirmed by Xiao Xi that Su Wenyue was pregnant, Mrs. Liu had no intention of holding Su Wenyue accountable for anything: “It’s okay, if the Fourth Daughter-in-law doesn’t feel well, I won’t mind these things. But given her condition, shouldn’t we have a doctor come to see her? After all, the body is extra delicate when carrying a child.”

“We do need to fetch one. I’ll go right now, and I’ll also need Sister-in-law to help look after my young mistress.” With no one else at home, Xiao Xi had to entrust Su Wenyue to Mrs. Liu. At that time, Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Li came over, and upon hearing that Su Wenyue was pregnant but had been knocked down by Yang Juxiang’s grandson, they were both terribly anxious.

“How could this happen? After finally getting pregnant, to have such an incident… These children are too raucous; they really should be disciplined better. Who knows how the adults are teaching them!”

For the first time, Mrs. Yang felt resentment towards Yang Juxiang. Even before, she had only been disappointed in her sister, but this was different; she had barely received the news of her eagerly-awaited eldest grandson and had not even had the chance to rejoice before she heard this troubling news. The first three months are the most delicate for a pregnant woman, and the Fourth Daughter-in-law has always been somewhat frail. It was uncertain whether the child could be saved.

Fetching a doctor from the county would take too long, so out of fear of delay, Xiao Xi settled for calling the village doctor to examine Su Wenyue.

“Doctor, how is my daughter-in-law? Can the child in her stomach still be saved?” Mrs. Yang asked anxiously as soon as the doctor finished taking the pulse; she was most concerned about the child in Su Wenyue’s womb.

“Brother Yu’s wife was bumped and got a fright, which is why she suffered disturbance of fetal energy. Luckily, the child is well-nourished, and Brother Yu’s wife protected her stomach in time, so there’s no serious harm. I’ll prescribe two remedies to stabilize the pregnancy; with proper rest for a few days, all should be well.”

Hearing the doctor say this, Mrs. Yang finally relaxed. It was a relief that the child was alright. Mrs. Liu had been worried, but now she felt somewhat jealous and envious that the Fourth Daughter-in-law had fallen pregnant so quickly. When she herself had gotten married, it took two years before she had a child, and even the Second Brother’s family took a year, not to mention the Third Child’s family. Truly, this was very fortunate and lucky.

After sending off the village doctor, Xiao Xi, still worried, entrusted Mrs. Li to care for Su Wenyue and went to the city to call a doctor. Only when she heard a diagnosis similar to the village doctor did she truly feel at ease.

Upon learning of Su Wenyue’s predicament, Yang Juxiang initially took pleasure in the disaster, thinking it would be good if Su Wenyue’s child were lost. “This woman is so arrogant, her time of retribution will come,” she thought. But considering that the incident started because of her grandson, she feared that Han Yu and Su Wenyue would come looking for trouble. Unable to stay any longer, and even forgetting about Jiang Chunlan’s matters, Yang Juxiang hurriedly took her grandchildren and left.

Meanwhile, Han Yu was deep in the forest, lying in wait. Having frequently roamed the mountain forests, he had a rough idea of where tigers could be found. Previously, he had avoided those areas, but this time he deliberately sought them out, setting traps in advance, waiting for the King of the Forest. Everything was meticulously arranged; even if he couldn’t catch the tiger in the traps, he could at least inflict serious injury on it, increasing his confidence in facing the tiger.

After lying in wait for two days, the tiger finally appeared and walked into the trap as anticipated. All was going smoothly, but they had underestimated the King of the Forest’s abilities. Even after falling into the trap and covered in blood, it managed to escape, leading to a direct confrontation of brute strength. Han Yu and Chen Shuang, combining their efforts, struggled against the tiger for over half an hour before finally killing it. Exhausted, they lay on the ground, panting as they looked at each other and laughed, their smiles filled with joy and the thrill of the hunt.

Following a brief rest, Han Yu and Chen Shuang got up, ready to head home after collecting their prey and cleaning themselves up a bit, cautious of the heavy scent of blood attracting wild animals. But as their luck would have it, they encountered and bagged two adult elks and other smaller game on their way back, marking the trip as quite fruitful.

The weather was warming up, and they carried their haul directly to the city, fearing the scent would turn and they wouldn’t get a good price.

Being seasoned hunters, Han Yu and Chen Shuang knew where to sell their game for the best price. While other game might be difficult to sell, the tiger was different. People were willing to pay a high price, simply because most do not have the courage to hunt a tiger. Selling all their game, they made more than 400 silver coins in total, with each man receiving over 200 silver coins.

Han Yu gave Chen Shuang his share of the silver, but Chen Shuang was reluctant to take so much. His hunting skills were not as strong as Han Yu’s, and the traps for the tiger were mostly Han Yu’s handiwork. He had just provided some muscle, but it was only after Han Yu insisted that Chen Shuang accepted it.