Chapter 17
In Labor
Meanwhile, dense fog permeated and everywhere was whiter than before.
The chief of the Yamen officers found a long rope. Everyone held onto it so that they stayed close to each other.
Besides, they couldn’t distinguish humans and ghosts in the fog. Most of the time, they leaned on each other’s backs to rest. They dared not to enter any temples or go near the trees.
Nobody knew what was here in the area outside Desolate City.
The atmosphere around everyone became heavier and heavier, and they dared not to say anything along the way.
What Jiang Huaiying said made everyone raise their eyebrows.
Yuan was drenched in sweat. She looked pale and her eyebrows, that had the shape of a willow leaf, frowned.
Yuan almost couldn’t stand stably and she started to slide down from Jiang Huaiying’s hands onto the ground.
“My tummy hurts.” Yuan was a woman who had already been through a delivery once and her heart sank at this moment. This was the sign that she was going to give birth.
She had been married for more than a decade and she had only one daughter, Jiang Huaiying. So, nothing could happen to the baby in her womb right now!
“Father, father, mother is in labor,” Jiang Huaiying said and her voice shook. Countless eyes in the fog stared at them. Her mother was in labor right now!
Jiang Huailu leaned on her brother’s head and looked at Yuan’s belly with her eyes.
She narrowed her eyes and felt that the baby was breathing extremely weakly.
“Why is she suddenly in labor? Can she wait? We’ll be out of the fog in three days!” The chief of the Yamen officers frowned. When he smelled the odor of blood in his nose, his face couldn’t help but darken with rage.
There were a lot of ghosts and monsters in Desolate City, not to mention strange things happened in the fog. The smell of blood might attract something to them.
“Wait, wait, wait, can childbirth wait?” Liu was immediately enraged.
She still thought she was the superior Old Lady of the Jiang family in the capital.
She regretted it once she spoke.
The old lady gave an ingratiating look. Yuan was her sister’s daughter and her younger son’s wife. How could she not be anxious?
Jiang Huaiying glanced at her grandmother with a displeased look. She instantly took out the silver bag her mother had already prepared with a smile. The bag was heavy and there were faint golden glitters.
Jiang Huaiying pulled the chief of the Yamen officers with her warm little hands. Although the girl was a bit skinny, her exquisite features had already been shown.
“Sir, please show us some kindness. Can we stop for half a day?” Her voice was soft and her weak little hand pulled the chief of the Yamen officers under the cover of her body.
This noble girl begged the chief of the Yamen officers respectfully, distracting him for a second.
He felt that there were at least three hundred taels of heavy gold in his arms.
This was much more than the total amount the Jiang family had given him along the way.
The chief of the Yamen officers looked at the furious prisoners around. “We’ll rest here.”
He then licked his lips as he looked at Jiang Huaiying’s elegance and charisma. Unfortunately, he would never have the chance to enjoy such a noble, even if she was down and out.
Jiang Huaiying turned around and she immediately became serious.
There was coldness at the corners of her mouth and viciousness in her eyes.
“They cause so many problems. They’re truly digging their own graves delivering a child in the fog. It’s fine if they want to die, but they’re dragging us in as well,” a prisoner mumbled.
The Fang family looked at one another. They then formed a circle and sat down, looking on guard.
Yuan’s labor happened very quickly this time. Luckily, Liu was well-prepared. She immediately asked the family to draw a curtain to cover Yuan.
The corners of Xia’s mouth suddenly twitched.
All these years, people always said that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-laws in the Jiang family got along well. And yet, only she knew that there was a wall between her and the Jiang family after all.
Before she went into the house, the old lady was chatting joyfully with the Yuan family. And right after she entered, they immediately became silent.
The Jiang family showed her enough respect, but she was still wandering outside.
Even though she gave birth to Jiang Huailu, the old lady had been angry with her for a long time because she delivered her at a bad time.