Liang Xing and An An: The Beginning of Lu Bai House of Children

Birth

An An did wake up three days later. Her body had greatly deteriorated as a result of her sickness, but An An still held on.
"Husband, thank you." An An was very tired so her words were barely a whisper. The first thing she had seen was her still bulging belly, so she knew Liang Xing had protected their child while she had been unconscious. That was worth more than anything else in the world to her.

Liang Xing smiled softly. "I know An An, you don't have to say anything." He told her. He wanted her to save energy.

"An An just rest. Remember you are living for two, so you have to take better care. Take care." Liang Xing's face showed a smile, but his eyes were anything but happy. Sorrow was reflected there, and guilt too.

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"AHHHHHHHH!" Barely halfway into the seventh month a blood curdling scream filled the quietness of the silent night.

Everyone, from youngest to oldest, within the large orphanage instantly woke up with their eyes shooting open. Such a blood curdling scream spelled death!

The children all jumped out of bed and Liang Xing dropped the medicine he had been preparing to run into the room where An An stayed.

He found An An on all fours on the floor as she spat out mouthfuls of blood. Between her legs blood also spilled like water. It was as if all of her body wanted to expel her life's blood.

The doctor had given her an inducement drug that afternoon, but it had no effect on her. Thus, the doctor had gone to study some materials to seek answers for this oddity. Who would have known that An An would suddenly react like this right now when neither the doctor nor Liang Xing were by her side?

After that first scream An An could only gurgle out her pain as her blood continued to flow.

"Doctor!!" The children ran with terrified eyes in all directions to find the doctor and the midwife.

Minutes later An An was deliriously laying on the bed as a midwife stood in front of her and gave hopeless instruction for An An to push.

An An tried and tried, but she did not even have the strength to truss a chicken.

An An's vision began to darken and her head slowly leaned to the side. If nothing was done not only would she lose her child but also her battle to live.

It was at just this moment that Liang Xing remembered what Left Minister Lin had said all those years ago. "The flask!" Liang Xing ran out of the room and hurried as quickly as he could to the treasure room. The flask had been given in exchange for An An's loss of ability to have a child. Perhaps today that flask's contents would reverse the debt owed to An An by the Lin family.

Liang Xing ran as if his life depended on it and returned with harsh gasps only moments later. He took the flask with trembling hands uncorked it and put the contents in his mouth. Then he leaned down and delivered the contents into An An's mouth, forcing her to drink it.

He did not know exactly what was in the flask. He did not know if it was healing medicine or disastrous poison, but now that both had tasted the contents of that flask, they would both share the same fate.

When their lips separated An An's blood stained lips closed into a thin line.

Liang Xing fell back onto the ground devoid of strength. There was nothing more he could do...except...

Liang Xing kneeled down and prayed to every single God he could and couldn't think of.

Finally, what seemed like years and millennia later a feeble cry from a child was heard through the chaos. 

"It's a boy!" The tired and sweaty midwife cried out in surprise as she cleaned the blood off the baby.

Liang Xing shakily stood up and walked up to the midwife. He stared as the miracle that was life and couldn't hold back his emotions.

Meanwhile the doctor was feverishly instructing the other midwives working to stop An An's bleeding. He could not look at An An directly because An An was after all a woman and he a man. Once the baby had been handed to a second midwife the more experienced one took the creams, medicines, and the hundreds of instructions from the doctor, and proceeded to work on stabilizing An An.

Working through the night they finally stopped the bleeding.

Finally, the tired midwives walked out of the room, some collapsing from exhaustion right outside the door.

"Sir, your instructions are completed." The most experienced midwife staggered up to the doctor and reported.

The doctor nodded and let them be off.

Now that An An was properly bundled up the doctor went in to see her directly. Feeling an incredibly feeble but steady pulse he saw a ray of hope.

The doctor had by now seen how much Liang Xing loved An An. There were so many young lords with three wives and ten concubines that seeing someone so true to just one person was truly novel. Knowing this the doctor was hesitant to say his next words. "Now, it just depends on her luck. If the Young Madam can survive tonight, she will be out of danger. " The doctor told Liang Xing who was anxiously pacing back and forth as he hugged his baby boy to his bosom.

The child was so very quiet, almost like he knew that his mother's life was in danger. His eyes barely opened but they seemed to be constantly moving in wonder to stare at the barely alive woman on the bed.

And so, the night passed.