Just after the New Year, Wei Linxia was about to give birth. She could barely lie down, and Xi Linxuan sat by her bedside every night, softly talking to her. On the fifteenth day, the sound of firecrackers startled the child in Wei Linxia’s belly, prompting the midwife to suggest the birth might be a few days early. After struggling until early morning on the sixteenth, the child was finally born safely.
Xi Linxuan wanted to approach the birthing bed, but Wei Linxia refused, only allowing him near after the midwives and palace maids had changed her into clean clothes and fixed her hair.
“Finally saved a coffin’s worth of money,” Wei Linxia smiled, her lips slightly sore.
Xi Linxuan took out a silk handkerchief to wipe her lips: “Yes, saved the palace’s burial expenses. Don’t laugh foolishly, the midwife said…” He leaned close and whispered something in her ear.
“You go out, don’t look,” Wei Linxia blushed and pushed him away.
Xi Linxuan shrugged, full of mischievous intentions, whispering: “I’ve seen it before, I ate earlier than the women.”
“Xi Shui, get out,” Wei Linxia said annoyed.
The daughter’s birth made Wei Linxia forget the worries hanging over her head. She focused all her thoughts on her daughter, eating oily, salty foods to ensure good milk, which sometimes irritated her. However, seeing her daughter suckling earnestly made her feel satisfied, and she would willingly eat the oily food again.
To find a name for her daughter, Wei Linxia forced Xi Linxuan to search through classics and historical books, often rejecting his suggestions, feeling they didn’t suit her delicate daughter.
Before the name was decided and before Wei Linxia completed her postpartum month, her greatest fear came true.
What should have been an ordinary winter morning was suddenly interrupted by a group of armored soldiers who took Xi Linxuan away without explanation. Wei Linxia had just finished feeding her daughter and, shocked by the news, dropped her handkerchief and choked on her breath. Feng Shou beside her cried anxiously.
Wei Linxia caught her breath and hurriedly asked Feng Shou to inquire if the officials were also arrested. The palace maids were in panic. Wei Linxia sent them away and held her sleeping daughter, whispering, “Don’t be afraid, mother won’t let you get hurt.”
