Chapter 208 Gaining a Daughter

Chapter 208 Gaining a Daughter

Watching Meng Qing leave the backyard with a radiant smile, Yin Caiwei couldn't help but show envy. "Second sister-in-law is so capable. Even though she's thousands of miles away, the female saint still remembers her. I don't know if I'll ever be able to meet the female saint in this lifetime."

“Of course I can,” Du Min said confidently. “I’ll definitely reach the position of Minister in my lifetime. As the Minister’s wife, you can enter the palace.”

Yin Caiwei smiled, feigning stomach pain and remaining silent. She couldn't articulate her feelings, nor dared to delve into them; she even harbored a subtle resentment towards the honors she had gained through her husband. She despised this thought herself—truly, her ambitions were sky-high. But the resentment and yearning within her refused to disappear, like a seed pressed down by a stone. She constantly burdened it, trying to crush and destroy it, yet it always found a crack to emerge, tormenting and harassing her, making her suffer for her choices.

She didn't even dare admit that a part of this seed was jealousy. From childhood, she admired the female saint, and later admired Meng Qing. Unable to reach the female saint, she could only be close to Meng Qing. But her own incompetence and self-imposed isolation caused jealousy to grow alongside her admiration. She was jealous that Meng Qing could issue orders outside by using Du Min's name, and jealous that Meng Qing could gain the female saint's favor.

It was terrifying. She was scared of her own changes. She couldn't face her own heart. She had become the person she used to despise the most.

A sudden, sharp pain shot through her abdomen, and Yin Caiwei cried out. She took the opportunity to openly shed tears; the pain was unbearable.

In her life, she was first the daughter of the Yin family, then the wife of Du Min, and finally the mother of Du Wangshan. She was Lady Yin, Madam Yin, she was her yet not her.

"Does it hurt a lot? Why don't you go back to bed?" Du Min suggested.

Yin Caiwei leaned on his shoulder and whispered, "If only I hadn't married you..." If she hadn't married him, she wouldn't have met Meng Qing, she would only have heard of her name in the inner quarters, and in the end, Meng Qing would have become a heroine she admired, like a female saint, and she wouldn't have suffered.

"Are you confused? You won't have children if you marry another man?" Du Min had clearly misunderstood her meaning. He helped her lie down on the bed, and when he got up, he suddenly felt a warmth on his hand. He opened it and saw that his hand was wet.

"Your water has broken. This is amniotic fluid. You can't get out of bed and walk around anymore," the midwife explained. "Lord Du, you can go outside and wait."

"Go and rest in the study," Yin Caiwei said.

“If I can sleep tonight, what’s the difference between me and an animal?” Du Min wasn’t that heartless. “I’ll be guarding outside the screen. Call me if anything seems wrong.”

In the middle of the night, Meng Qing and Du Li came over. She went inside to check on Yin Caiwei and, after confirming that both the mother and the fetus were fine, she returned to the front yard to rest.

In the middle of the night, when the rooster crowed for the second time, the sound of a child crying came from the backyard of the Chief Secretary's residence.

Du Min's spirits lifted, and he went in from behind the screen.

"Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, madam! It's a beautiful young lady!" the midwife announced.

"I'm finally a father." Du Min walked closer and took a look. He clicked his tongue. "He looks just like Wang Chuan when he was born, all red and wrinkled."

Yin Caiwei stared at him, making sure he didn't show any disgust, before she lay back down.

The midwife chased Du Min out and then cleaned up the blood and placenta.

By the time everything was cleaned up, it was already dawn.

The midwife and the servants went to rest, and Du Min walked to the bedside and sat down.

Yin Caiwei opened her eyes. "You should sleep in another room. This room smells strongly of blood."

“It’s not that strong; I’ve smelled much stronger blood.” As for changing rooms to sleep in, Du Min hesitated for a moment before saying, “My second brother didn’t have a separate room after my second sister-in-law gave birth. I’ll go ask him later whether he slept on a bed or a couch at the time.”

Yin Caiwei gave a weary laugh, "You want to learn this from your second brother too?" But she hadn't learned the most important thing: respect.

Du Min did not deny that Meng Qing had never complained about her illiterate husband after she was conferred the title of Lady of the County. This showed that his second brother was very good at coaxing people and could satisfy Meng Qing in every way. He could definitely learn from Du Lao Er and save a lot of trouble by following the template.

"The name 'Wangshan' will not be used for the time being," Yin Caiwei said.

"Keep it for now, it'll come in handy someday. The rooster crowed twice when the child was born, and the sun has already risen, so let's name him Xi (meaning 'dawn')." Du Min had already decided.

“I want my second sister-in-law to name it,” Yin Caiwei said softly.

“Alright,” Du Min readily agreed. “I named Wangzhou, so it’s fair that she chooses my daughter’s name.”

"It's a young woman, aren't you disappointed? You've been eagerly awaiting Wangshan's arrival," Yin Caiwei asked.

“No disappointment.” Du Min clearly felt a sense of relief when he heard the midwife announce the good news. He knew his own nature; selfishness and pragmatism were ingrained in his bones. Before having his own son, he dared to boldly declare that he would treat Wangzhou and Wangchuan as his own children to repay Meng Qing's kindness. But once he had his own son, he wasn't sure if he could treat them equally twenty years later. One wrong move, and the alliance between him and Meng Qing would crack. Therefore, he hoped that his own son would be five or six years older than Wangchuan, so that when the brothers all entered officialdom, there would be no competition, and he wouldn't show favoritism.

"But I'm disappointed. As a woman, she can only be like me in the future, as Miss Du or Madam Du, without any other identity." Yin Caiwei tentatively revealed her thoughts.

Du Min frowned. "Isn't it enough that you're doing well? You're overthinking it. Go to sleep."

Meng Qing's voice came from outside, and Du Min quickly got up and went to open the door. "Second sister-in-law, you're up so early?"

"Worried about Caiwei, she didn't sleep well. Are mother and daughter both safe?" Meng Qing walked in.

"Second sister-in-law," Yin Caiwei said, propping herself up slightly, "Second sister-in-law, please name the child."

"You want me to get it?" Meng Qing asked in surprise, looking at Du Min.

“I named Wangzhou back then, and today you’re naming my first child. It’s fair, isn’t it?” Du Min joked.

"Don't listen to him. If I give birth to a daughter in the future, I'll let you name her. I hope they can be like my second sister-in-law, living their lives to the fullest." Yin Caiwei almost burst into tears again. It was ridiculous; she couldn't even do it herself, yet she placed such a wish on her children.

Meng Qing fell silent. She looked at Yin Caiwei and said, "Why don't you name the child yourself? Don't you understand your feelings for the child?"

Yin Caiwei shook her head, "I want to borrow my second sister-in-law's good fortune for my child, and also to get some good luck."

"Let me think about it." Meng Qing agreed. "The child was moved by the joy yesterday and was born on the auspicious day. Her birth is also a joyous occasion, so let's name her with the character '喜' (xi, meaning joy). Instead of '望喜' (wang xi, meaning hope for joy), we should '观喜' (guan xi, meaning to observe joy). '望舟' (wang zhou, meaning to look at a boat), '望川' (wang chuan, meaning to look at a river), and '望山' (wang shan, meaning to look at a mountain) all have the meaning of looking out, which is the same as '观' (guan, meaning to observe). Moreover, when looking at a mountain, one must look up, and when one looks up, one will surely see joy."

"Thank you for the name, Second Sister-in-law." Yin Caiwei smiled. "The young lady's name is Guanxi."

Seeing that she was satisfied, Meng Qing was also quite satisfied. "You've been working hard all night, go to sleep. Have you eaten?"

"I ate it." Yin Caiwei nodded.

"Go to sleep, I won't disturb you anymore." Meng Qing left.

Du Min saw her off. He spoke to her outside the door for a while before coming back in. Yin Caiwei was already asleep. He called a maid to come in and keep watch, and then went out himself.

Before Meng Qing had gone far, Du Min quickly caught up with her. "Second sister-in-law, I want to use the baby's third-day celebration to get to know the six military advisors, the newly appointed Sima, as well as the county magistrate, county assistant, registrar, and county lieutenant. Could you help me arrange a few tables?"

“Okay,” Meng Qing agreed.

"Xi Mei's full moon celebration is at the end of the year, so we won't hold it then. Please help me spread the word so that the newly appointed officials won't have any complaints and feel the need to send two gifts as soon as they take office," Du Min instructed.

"No need to reveal it. Why are you trying to please your subordinates? Who cares what they say?" Meng Qing didn't take on the matter. "When the baby is a month old, if you don't send out invitations, they will naturally understand your meaning, and those who are having doubts will feel ashamed."

Du Min judged others by his own standards. When he took office at the beginning of the year, he attended five weddings at the same place in four months and often cursed Xu Ang behind his back for trying to make money in various ways.

"I think you're confused. Go get some sleep and clear your head." Meng Qing waved for him to leave.

Du Min didn't leave. He looked at Du Li and asked, "Second Brother, when Wangzhou and Wangchuan were born, were you sleeping on a bed or a couch?"

Du Li looked him up and down, and he chuckled, "Third brother, are you learning from me?"

"When Sheng Wangzhou was born, where did your Du family have a couch?" Meng Qing asked.

“That’s true.” Du Min realized, “I was confused. I should go to sleep.”

"Remember to bring me the tuition fee when you wake up," Du Li instructed.

Du Min ignored him completely, pretending not to hear, and strode away.

"Go ahead and do your thing. I'll take care of the banquet and inviting guests," Du Li said, taking on all the miscellaneous tasks.

"Then I'll go to the library." Meng Qing was going to check on the progress of copying the books; she needed a few urgently. Ten days ago, she sent a letter to He Bian, asking him to bring the person to Hanoi County after the heads of the local academies gathered in Luoyang. It's already the end of November; the person should be arriving soon.

Unable to resist the nagging, the twenty-two officials arrived in Hanoi County the following afternoon.

Meng Qing had already arranged accommodations at the guesthouse. She told the guests to rest there for two days and spend their free time at the library.

After Guanxi's third-day celebration ended, Meng Qing finally had time to receive the twenty-two stewards.

"You're familiar with these kinds of private schools, aren't you?" Meng Qing asked. "You've heard about the many free schools that have sprung up in other prefectures and counties this year, haven't you?"

The people in charge all nodded.

"In your respective prefectures and counties, there will be no new free schools. You could say that you, like those former scholars who passed the imperial examinations, are in charge of the development of paper-mache free schools in your prefectures, which means you bear the same responsibility as them. Here, people copy books daily, and every few days a new handwritten copy is sewn and bound. The collection has already increased to over 1,500 books. When you leave, I will give each of you twenty books to take with you to use in your own libraries. Before you leave, you should agree that within a year, you will exchange handwritten copies with each other, increasing the collection of your respective libraries to one hundred books within that year." Meng Qing issued the task. "When we meet again next winter, you will exchange books with other managers who haven't exchanged books yet. In this way, within two years, each library's collection can reach four or five hundred books."

"Will adding an extra task increase wages?" someone asked.

“No.” Meng Qing shook his head. “I received a list of talented people recommended by each of you. Since the free schools will not expand under my control, these people will only become your subordinates and will not enjoy the same treatment as you. You should discuss with them whether they would like to manage a free school in a county or township, or serve as the head of a private academy. I think most people will choose the latter. But I still suggest that you serve as the head of the academy as well. While managing the academy, you can also study on your own. In six or seven years, you might be able to pass the imperial examination like Ren Wenqiu. That seems a bit difficult. Taking the Mingjing examination is also a good option. Once you have official status, the free schools and private academies you run will naturally belong to you, and you will no longer need to take orders from me.”

Meng Qing saw a greater possibility in the officialdom. She was not enough energy and could not be sure that she could control more subordinates. So she chose to make promises to the existing twenty-two managers and make them completely obedient to her and loyally manage the free schools and academies in various places.

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Author's Note: I can't stand myself anymore. My procrastination is getting worse and worse. I'm sorry everyone, I need to find a way to correct this.