Fierce Consort

Chapter 118 - Part 2

In the third lord's eyes, Chen-shi had returned to the wife from the past who shared his worries. Even though she had strayed a little, she had now returned back to the proper path. He was naturally very gratified to see such a Chen-shi.

However, Concubine Cui was extremely unsettled.
This was because when the madam felt her stomach and spoke, it made her feel like she wasn't a person, but rather an incubator. In Chen-shi's eyes, she only saw a stomach, or perhaps the potential son inside?

This sort of feeling terrified Concubine Cui. She wasn't the only one who felt this way. Her two personal maids also felt this way more or less.
After the madam and the lord left, the remaining mistress and servants grew more and more frightened.

Concubine Cui had mentioned this matter to her parents. Steward Tian and Granny Tian had initially told her not to overthink things. However, after she brought it up repeatedly, even the two elders couldn't help but think a little more. After all, there were many cases of surrogate pregnancy, and it wasn't like they hadn't seen cases where the mother was eliminated afterwards.

Before the Tian family's elders could come up with something, calamity struck.

Concubine Cui started bleeding.

Her emotions were already unstable, and she lost her head in fear when she saw blood. She cried with all her might that the madam wanted to harm her.
There were no doctors at the estate any more.

Concubine Cui's maids went to report to Chen-shi. Chen-shi also anxiously ordered for a carriage to get a doctor and personally arrived at Concubine Cui's room to watch over her.

But they waited and waited and the doctor still hadn't showed up.

The Tian family had quite a few helpers and the news was spread to the front court. Steward Tian couldn't worry that he shouldn't interfere in this matter himself anymore and ordered his own people to call for a doctor.

But the pity was that due to this delay, Concubine Cui's fetus was lost. The fetus was only six months old and was naturally not ready to be born. The doctor arrived and took her pulse. He shook his head and sighed, saying it was not possible to stop the bleeding. They could only force the birth.

No one had any hopes that the child would survive the birth. After all, it was premature by a lot. No baby had survived being born so early.

After taking medicine that forced the birth, Concubine Cui gave birth soon after. She gave birth to a baby boy. He merely cried once and then stopped breathing.

The third branch seemed to collapse overnight.
Concubine Cui's crying could be heard throughout the estate.

Chen-shi was filled with shock and the third lord was depressed. The servants were all quiet and tiptoed around. The maids by Concubine Cui's side cried as though their mom had died. Along with the pale and howling Concubine Cui, the scene inevitably made one tear up.

Granny Tian knelt on the floor a mess of tears. "Third lord, you must mediate for the concubine. The concubine suffered a grievance. Such a good young master is gone just like that. The young master's hands and feet had already formed, but it's impossible for a six-month old fetus to survive. The young master was ripped from the concubine's womb. Oh, my daughter, my poor little young master...."

Every word was filled with implication.

The third lord thought of his poor son. That little purple body filled with wrinkles, which looked like a little monkey.

The third lord knew that if it had grown another three months, his son would have looked perfect. He would have grown to be like those boys from the eldest and second branches. His face would have been flushed and full, like a little peach. After a few days, the peach would have transformed, becoming tenderer by the day, and becoming a chubby little baby.