WSMTATMC C68

Chapter 68

Wang Ying hadn’t expected to sleep for an entire three days. Upon waking, much of the pain in his body had already eased.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty? I’ll get someone to bring food…”

Wang Ying gripped his hand and rasped, “Where’s the baby?”

“He’s sleeping. I’ll bring him so you can see.”

“Okay.”

Not long after, Chen Qingyan appeared with a small swaddled bundle. Inside, the tiny baby slept soundly, cheeks rosy and plump.

Wang Ying reached out to gently touch the baby’s face—it was warm and impossibly soft, completely different from the blue shade he’d seen on the day of birth.

“So cute.”

Chen Qingyan said, “That day I thought… Thankfully, you both made it.”

Wang Ying never told him about the experiment field’s life-saving “system” reward—such an unnatural, otherworldly event, he planned to bury in his heart forever.

Soon enough, Madam Li and Qingyun arrived—they’d been running to the back courtyard several times daily.

Hearing Wang Ying’s voice: “Ah Ying, you’re awake?”

“Sister-in-law! You’re finally awake, we were really scared…”

Wang Ying smiled weakly. “Sorry to worry you.”

“It’s fine as long as you’re okay. Qingyun, go tell Aunt Chen to start the soup. Qingyan, stop standing there—bring the warm milk from the stove for Ah Ying to drink. He hasn’t eaten for days; he must be starving.”

They rushed out, and in the days Wang Ying was unconscious, they’d been feeding him sheep’s milk by spoon.

The baby was also fed sheep’s milk. Wang Ying had expressed before giving birth that he didn’t want to hire a wet nurse, and everyone remembered his wish.

Soon, Chen Qingyan returned with a bowl of warm milk, helping Wang Ying drink half of it until his strength returned a little.

“These past few days really scared all of us—luckily Bodhisattva protected you and the baby.”

Wang Ying looked at the small baby lying at his side, heart brimming with softness—it was hard to imagine he’d really given birth to a person.

He couldn’t help gently pinch the baby’s tiny hand. “Why is he so small?”

Madam Li laughed, “Not small at all, six jin and eight liang! Qingyan was only five and a half when he was born.”

Six and a half jin was about the weight of a kitten; Wang Ying picked the baby up.

In his last life he’d never held such a tiny baby before—his only sibling had been himself. But here, he nursed the infant deftly into his arm. When he moved, the baby shifted, opened his eyes, then gazed quietly at Wang Ying, eyes big and dark like grapes.

“Baby, I’m your father, say ‘father’ for me.”

Madam Li chuckled, “He can’t understand yet! Only around seven or eight months do they start trying to talk, late ones won’t say anything until after a year.”

Wang Ying laughed at himself too, poking the baby’s cheek—truly, so soft!

At this age, the baby hardly fussed—just ate and slept, occasionally whimpered if wet, then fell asleep right away after changing.

“Qingyan said you don’t want a wet nurse, but the two of you are both careless. I don’t dare trust you alone with a child.”

Wang Ying remembered the near-miscarriage from his fall, and rubbed his nose sheepishly.

“Your mother-in-law picked two women to help, one for the day and one for the night. Both are careful and clean. No arguing this!”

“Mother really thinks of everything.”

“No name yet for the baby. Qingyan says Master Liang will select his formal name, but for now, you two should give him a nickname or we won’t know what to call him.”

Wang Ying called to Chen Qingyan, “Qingyan, what about a nickname for the baby?”

“You choose—whatever you like.”

Looking at the baby’s round face: “How about just ‘Yuanbao’? It’s simple and auspicious.”

Madam Li repeated it: “Yuanbao—sounds good, let’s use it!”

After a while, Madam Li, worried Wang Ying would tire out, took the baby to rest, instructing the servants to watch him closely.

“In the next while you must rest well, don’t catch a cold. After giving birth, your hip bones are still open—get chilled now, and you’ll suffer the rest of your life.”

“Okay, okay.”

When everyone left, only Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan remained. They looked at each other a moment, then both began to laugh.

Wang Ying took his hand: “Let’s rest, you haven’t slept for days. Just look at the blood in your eyes. Lie here next to me for a while.”

Chen Qingyan took off his robe and shoes, lying down to gently cuddle Wang Ying: “You don’t know… how scared I was the last few days…”

“Felt like I had a long dream, saw my grandparents. I told you I was raised by them.”

“How are they now?”

“I can’t remember—Granddad hit me with his cane, told me to hurry back, said I wasn’t supposed to stay there…”

It made Chen Qingyan get chills again.

“By the way, the experiment field reached level five. I want to go check…”

“No! Wait until you’re better. Mother said if you get ill now, it’ll be a lifelong problem.”

“Okay… then tell me, what happened while I was out?”

“You fainted right after giving birth. We were all terrified, luckily we’d called the doctor early—he said you passed out from exhaustion, but nothing serious. We just needed to take care of you…” Chen Qingyan’s voice trailed off, ending in a faint snore.

He had tended Wang Ying, wiping his body and changing clothes for three straight days, nerves stretched to the limit. Now at last, beside his sleeping husband, he relaxed completely, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Wang Ying pulled the quilt over him, then soon drifted off himself, sleeping straight through till morning.

Madam Li came in twice during the night; the nurse also brought the baby several times for Wang Ying to see.

Blood ties are strange—after only a few meetings, Wang Ying was already deeply attached to the little baby. Holding him, his heart felt impossibly soft.

In a blink, it was the seventeenth of the second lunar month. Master Liang and Chen Qinghuai returned.

Chen Qinghuai had fallen ill returning, arriving home still feverish, his lips white.

Madam Li immediately sent for the doctor.

When Chen Qingyan got the news, he rushed to the front: “Master, how did Qinghuai do on his exam?”

“He passed the licentiate—almost lost his life in the process!”

“What happened?!”

Liang sighed. “The first day of the county exam, it got terribly cold. I heard the ink was freezing solid. The second day was no warmer, even snowed a little. I told him to withdraw, but he wouldn’t listen. By the third day, he fainted at the exam bench, had to be carried out!”

Madam Li clutched her hands in worry. “He’s too reckless! If something had happened, how would we face his parents?”

“Well, I’ll send him back to Shanzhou. Let his father handle him, I’m done teaching!”

Chen Qingyan understood this was just Master Liang venting. He poured him tea: “Don’t be angry, Master. Qinghuai is still young. After this lesson, he won’t do it again.”

“He’s sixteen, not a child. At his age, I was already famous in Jiangnan!”

“How can he compare to you? If he had your brilliance, he’d already be a provincial scholar.”

Liang glowered, refusing to be flattered. “Enough, I’ll go back to Yangzhou soon—I’m done with these headaches.”

“You can’t go yet! You haven’t named our child.”

Liang paused. “The boy’s been born?”

“Yes, during the county test—eighteenth hour on the twelfth, a boy, six jin eight liang.”

“Show him to me!” The old man revived, immediately heading for the rear.

They arrived just as the nurse was feeding the baby, who had grown chubbier and cuter in just a few days.

Liang looked at the baby: “The brows are yours, the nose and mouth are Wang Xiao Lang’s spitting image.”

“Really? Mother said so too, but I don’t see it.”

Liang snapped, “Then your eyes are no good—hold him up to a mirror next time.”

“Born on the twelfth of the second lunar month, gold and wood elements in the Five Phases but lacking water. Let’s use the name ‘Ze’ (泽: implying rain, nourishment for dry land)—a good name.”

Their family follows a two-character generation name tradition, so the formal name is Chen Ze (陈泽).

Chen Qingyan was touched. “Thank you, Master, for naming him!”

“How’s Wang Xiao Lang doing?”

“His was a tough birth, we almost lost the child, but heaven watched over us in the end.”

“That’s good… Take some days to persuade Qinghuai, a failed exam means nothing. If he misses his parents, let him return to Shanzhou for a while.”

“Understood.” Deep down, Liang had long considered Qinghuai as his own child.

It took over ten days for Qinghuai to recover, thinner than before but in good spirits. He didn’t let himself grow discouraged.

He apologized deeply to Master Liang. “This is my fault, too stubborn. I really thought I could hold out…”

“It’s fine—let this be a lesson. Take time to build yourself up; there’s always time to try again.”

March 12th: a beautiful spring day at last. Willow trees budded, new grass rose in the courtyard.

It was time for the baby’s one-month celebration. The family prepared for days—after recent troubles, Madam Li planned to use the occasion to host a grand affair.

They invited plenty of guests, including friends from the county and from Tianyang. Some might come, some might not.

Chen Rong’s family had arrived two days early; Lin Qiu and Cao Kun also returned.

Lin Qiu looked obviously plumper since marriage—round-faced, content.

Upon meeting, Lin Qiu grabbed Wang Ying’s arm, delighted: “I wanted to come back ages ago, but Cao Kun wouldn’t let me!”

“He was afraid the trip would jostle you.”

“I’m not that delicate. I’d have suffocated at home if not for mother and Sui.”

“Staying until May or June this time?”

“Yes, mother says we’ll stay until at least late spring.”

“That’s great—help us watch the baby.”

In the west wing, Chen Rong doted on Little Yuanbao, who was loved more than ever for being a boy—a long-held wish of hers.

“Little Yuanbao really is handsome, just like his name, round and golden.”

Madam Li beamed: “He eats so well, five feedings a day, each time nearly a full bowl of sheep’s milk.”

“Why no wet nurse?”

“Ah Ying didn’t want one; I guess he’s afraid the child won’t be close to him.”

“No wet nurse is fine; a troublesome one is more trouble than help.”

Chen Rong recalled a case in town: “A wealthy family hired a wet nurse, but one night, the woman fell asleep during feeding, and smothered the baby to death…”

“Oh heavens!” Madam Li was aghast.

“And afterward?”

“They reported it to the authorities. The wet nurse was caned and exiled.”

Chen Rong then warned the nurse, “Be careful at night—this is the family’s only treasure, nothing can go wrong.”

The nurse promised anxiously: “Don’t worry, madam. I’ll watch over the little master carefully.”

Footnotes

元宝 (Yuanbao): literally “gold/silver ingot,” a symbol of fortune and prosperity in traditional Chinese culture. Often used as an affectionate nickname for a baby, akin to “Lucky” or “Treasure.”

• 红糖鸡蛋 (brown sugar egg): Traditional nourishing food for postpartum recovery. 
• 羊乳 (sheep’s milk): With no wet nurse, sheep’s milk is being used for both mother and child—a historical practice, especially in rural areas or among those without close relatives able to nurse.