novelhk Chapter 147 Son's Death, Mother's Demise
Chapter 147 Son's Death, Mother's Demise
Only after knowing that she had given birth to a son did Aunt Zhao finally fall into a deep sleep, completely satisfied.
Fortunately, she had a background in dance since childhood, so although the labor was difficult, she recovered relatively well. She woke up in less than half a day, and the first thing she did was look for her son.
"Where's the baby? Bring him here so I can see him."
Aunt Zhao was speaking to her maid Xueshang. She was now filled with pride. With her son, she had a solid foundation. Even if she had to climb the ranks, she would climb to the position of mistress so that her son could rightfully inherit everything.
Xueshang seemed hesitant to speak, her eyes filled with sorrow as she didn't know how to answer. Seeing this, Aunt Zhao was puzzled and, in her usual manner, scolded her.
"Are you deaf? Can't you understand what I'm saying?"
Xueshang was startled and immediately stammered, "Auntie, the young master... he's not doing too well."
"What do you mean?"
When Aunt Zhao heard the bad news about her son, she sat up abruptly, which aggravated her wound and made her cry out in pain.
Xueshang stepped forward to help her up, and then said with a hint of sadness.
"The midwife said that the young master had been holding it in for too long, so his complexion was not good when he came out. I took a look and he did have some bruises. The master is not at home, so the steward arranged for a doctor to come and treat him. But more than a dozen doctors came this afternoon, and they all said that it was not good. I'm afraid the young master... I'm afraid he won't survive."
"what?"
Aunt Zhao felt like she'd been struck by lightning; her head was buzzing. This was her only hope. If it was gone, who knew when the next one would come, or even if it would ever come again?
Thinking of this, my hands and feet suddenly went limp.
She lay in bed silently shedding tears, smashing the bed like a madwoman, wanting to vent all her dissatisfaction. After crying loudly for a while, she finally spoke with red eyes.
"Bring him here, he's my son, I want to see him!"
"Alright, I'll go get him!"
Xueshang had followed Aunt Zhao for so long, so of course she would follow her lead. Therefore, she immediately went next door to "steal" the child. When the steward heard that Aunt Zhao had woken up and wanted to see the child, he sighed and said.
"Send it over, so that Auntie can see it one last time."
This sentence already foreshadowed the fate of the newborn young master of the Chi family. It's pitiful that he had no time to experience everything in this world before he had to leave in sorrow.
Inside the house, Aunt Zhao looked at the baby she had given birth to with all her might, who was covered in bruises and on the verge of death. She almost fainted, but she held back her tears and took the baby from Xue Chang's hands. Perhaps it was the bond between mother and child, but she felt the baby who had been moving around in her belly for more than nine months quietly wrapped in swaddling clothes, and she smiled and comforted the baby.
"My son, make something of yourself and drink some of your mother's milk. Only by drinking it will you have the strength to grow up, won't you?"
After saying that, she lifted her clothes as if to breastfeed, but she had just given birth and had no milk. In addition, the young master could not even catch his breath, so how could he have the strength to breastfeed?
Therefore, seeing this scene, Xue Chang and the several midwives serving her were moved to tears.
While breastfeeding, Aunt Zhao hummed a lullaby. It was a lullaby she remembered from her childhood, probably sung by her mother to comfort her. However, she had been sold from one place to another since childhood and could not remember anything from her childhood. Therefore, she could only hum the tune, and could not remember the words very clearly.
The midwives couldn't bear to watch any longer and silently left.
The steward had no intention of making things difficult for them, so he gave them the money they had agreed upon beforehand and let them leave.
It wasn't until late at night, when Xue Shang went to pick up the child, that she discovered the baby had already cooled down and died shortly after birth. This was undoubtedly a devastating blow to the Chi family, so she comforted them while shedding tears.
“Auntie, take good care of yourself. You can have another child in the future. Let’s give the young master a proper burial first. He won’t rest in peace in his current state.”
Unfortunately, Aunt Zhao seemed not to hear, and remained in the position of holding the child, her body stiff, yet she refused to let go for even a moment!
Xueshang tried to hug him several times but failed. In the end, the steward had the old woman ruthlessly "snatch" him away. Aunt Zhao lost her son and went a little crazy.
"My son! Give me back my son!"
The pitiful cries were heartbreaking, but what could be done? The child was gone, and they were powerless to change anything.
Right now, the housekeeper is just hoping that the master can come back soon, and that the concubine can cheer up so that the family can get through this difficult time and have more children in the future. Otherwise, the Chi family will really be extinct.
Misfortunes never come singly, nor do blessings come in pairs.
The tragic events at Linglong Courtyard hadn't even ended when Old Madam Chi quietly passed away.
She was originally in good health and, if she had taken good care of herself, she could have lived to ninety-nine.
Unfortunately, she encountered the Lü family, which led to a violent fight and left her bedridden. For a moment, Old Madam Chi almost woke up, but when she heard the maids outside talking about Aunt Zhao losing her son, she hadn't even caught her breath before she passed away.
By the time the maids noticed, it was already getting light.
The poor steward had just calmed down Aunt Zhao's side of people, and now he could only wail and cry as he handled the old lady's funeral arrangements.
They can do anything, but they lack a backbone, so they do things very tentatively and shakily.
Left with no other option, the steward had to seek help from the Zhenguo General's Mansion.
With the death of a concubine's son and the death of the old lady, the Chi family was wiped out.
Hearing the steward of the Chi family pleading and crying, Madam Qiao felt bad and could only sigh before speaking.
“If something happens to my sister-in-law’s family, it would indeed be against filial piety for me to stop her from going. But as you know, she is pregnant with her first child. If she goes to the Vice Minister’s residence and gets upset or offended, it will only cause more trouble. How about this, I will have my maid, Granny Quan, go and help you with the funeral arrangements. On the seventh day after her death, I will personally take my sister-in-law to the funeral. This way, we can complete the proper rites, and if the old lady knows in the afterlife, she will not blame her only granddaughter.”
Since things have been said to this extent, the person in charge cannot ask for anything more.
After all, since the Zhenguo General's Mansion was willing to provide manpower and resources to help, it meant that they still recognized the marriage. Even if the master couldn't return for a while, the old lady's funeral wouldn't be held in a shabby manner.
Therefore, he knelt down and expressed his gratitude profusely, saying many kind words.
Soon, he was sent back. By some time in the afternoon, Granny Quan from the Zhenguo General's Mansion arrived, followed by forty or fifty people, all of whom were capable and observant.