Chapter 4: A Family of Extremes

  Liu Rong lowered her head, not wanting anyone to see her expression about this matter. The words of the madam, even though she was a transmigrator, no longer only made her angry, but also made this body feel piercingly sad and heartbroken. She had actually been reborn into such a family.

  But these people want to impose this thing on her, can't she just destroy it?

  As she thought of this, Liu Rong's expressionless face lifted up.

  "Old mistress is in trouble, something big has happened, second madam...second madam is having a difficult labor, afraid it's going to be fatal!"

  Liu Rong was just about to speak when a sudden urgent report came from afar, and she hesitated for a moment without continuing.

  "What's the panic, you're a maid in the Marquis' household! No matter what happens, you can't be so flustered! You're so reckless and careless, if this news gets out, who knows how it'll spread? What if it startles the Old Madam?" Immediately after, Chen Mama's scolding voice came from outside the door: "Still not going out to receive your punishment yourself!"

  "...yes..." a faint response came from outside, and then silence resumed.

  Mrs. Chen came in with quick little steps.

  Madam Tai's expression changed as she gently stroked Liu Xuan's hair, comforting her. Before Chen Mama could speak, she quickly stood up, but in her haste, she sat back down again, and when she tried to get up once more, she found herself unable to support her own body.

  Liu Xuan, who was kneeling beside him, was stunned and didn't know what to do.

  Liu Rong, who was standing closest and saw the frown, although she didn't like it in her heart, still quickly stepped forward a few steps to help up Old Lady Tai.

  "What's going on? How could such a thing happen? Quick, quick, let's go and take a look." The old lady stood up with a sudden burst of energy, but didn't even glance at Liu Rong.

  Liu Rong touched her own nose and stood silently to one side, but the madam's hand did not loosen its grip on her arm, continuing to support herself with Liu Rong's strength.

  In this urgent and flurried moment, although Madam was advanced in years, her strength was by no means small, and she pulled her arm with such force that it hurt.

  Liu Xuan finally reacted and hurriedly stepped forward to support the other arm of the madam, while Liu Dà Niáng directly pushed her aside.

  Seeing someone rush to take on a difficult task, Liu Rongle smiled and quickly retreated to one side.

  Not arrogant or impatient, not competing for favor, the teachings of the Zhong family are good, and the young lady is also good. The big madam following behind couldn't help but nod in agreement.

  If Liu Rong knew the old lady's evaluation in her heart, she would definitely be at a loss for words. She was just practicing the virtue of respecting the elderly and loving the young as a modern person. As for not competing for favor, what's the point of competing in front of such a biased old person?

  But the old lady was indeed older, and her greatest hobby during her free time was doting on her grandchildren. This was also why Liu Xuan was being spoiled to the point of being reckless, disregarding the safety of the Marquis's household, and insisting that the old lady find someone to replace her in the palace.

  Now hearing that his great-grandson and grandson's wife are in danger, how can he not be anxious? His footsteps are clearly unstable, yet the pace of his steps doesn't stop at all.

  For a moment, Liu Dainai and Liu Xuan couldn't support the old lady, so the anxious Madame rushed forward to replace Liu Xuan. After thinking for a while, Liu Rong took a few steps closer: "Old Ancestor, you should slow down, if you're too anxious and accidentally get hurt, then when something happens on Erniang's side, the ancestors and mothers will lose their mainstay."

  Liu Rong said, but in her heart she despised herself. She actually wanted to say that the other person would get sick and delay things, but thinking that Li's mother was still good to her after all, and could help reduce some trouble for Er Nai Nai's side, it was a little bit of a consolation.

  Although Madam Tai did not respond, her pace slowed down a bit, and Liu Dà Niáng and Dà Fū Rén felt much more at ease instantly.

  Although Liu Dà Nǎi Nai felt relieved, she looked at Liǔ Ruì's face with a bad expression. The madam smiled and nodded towards Liǔ Ruì before continuing to support the old lady as they proceeded forward.

  Liu Rong was slightly stunned, Grandma Liu's reaction was expected, but the lady's reaction made her a bit strange. However, she never thought too much about things that didn't make sense to her, otherwise life would be too tiring.

  It's probably because of this that in his past life he chose to be a surgeon, a doctor who only needs to wield a scalpel.

  Following a line of people out of the house, Ta Furen's arrangement was indeed different. As soon as they left the courtyard, there were more than 20 maids and servant girls, who went to the pear garden in a grand manner.

  Hurrying down the corridor, they turned a corner at the foot of the artificial hill and suddenly came face to face with a middle-aged woman in a brightly colored jacket, her hair piled high on her head. She was walking quickly and seemed taken aback when she saw them, almost colliding with them as they passed each other.

  Look at the other's appearance, Mrs. Taifuren frowned: "What's the hurry, although the second lady is in a precarious situation, it won't make a difference for the time being. What if something happens to you, the master of the second house? Who will take care of the second lady then?"

  The person in a hurry was actually the mother-in-law of the second wife, the second lady of the Hou Mansion.

  The second lady was scolded in front of everyone, her face a bit unpleasant: "Mother said that it's just my family's second master's daughter-in-law, and she doesn't know how to take care of herself, usually not taking good care of herself. Suddenly something like this happened during the banquet at the mansion, I was really anxious, afraid of delaying things, so I panicked and messed up."

  One sentence was so straightforward that it made people frown, but the second lady didn't realize she had a problem at all. She just paused for a moment and then walked to the side of the old lady with a flattering expression: "Mother, I'll take you to the pear garden together."

  Mrs. Liu tactfully stepped back and yielded her position to the second lady, who nodded at Mrs. Liu with satisfaction, clearly pleased.

  After all the commotion, it took a whole tea's worth of time to get there. When they arrived at the Pear Garden, they saw that outside the delivery room, maids and servant women were rushing back and forth, while a middle-aged man in a brocade robe, clearly the master of the house, was scolding a young man who looked slightly older than Liu Rong.

  "Your mother is in a critical condition now, how can you still have the heart to call on friends and invite guests? Are you going to let everyone know that the second young master of the Hou Mansion doesn't know filial piety?"

  "Father..."

  The old lady saw this scene, her footsteps became more urgent, and her face didn't look good. The second lady she met on the side of the road had a pale face, let go of the old lady's hand and quickly stepped forward: "What's going on? Didn't you say that the second madam was in critical condition? Why are you still here teaching children? Has the imperial physician been invited? What did the midwife say?"

  "Grandma! Grandma! The stepmother is like that, what's important is that the Crown Prince came to the mansion today, I...I had something urgent...and the Crown Prince disappeared..." Before the second master could speak, a young man beside him hastily stepped forward and spoke, his face growing more anxious by the word: "You quickly call someone to help me search, in case the Crown Prince is gone, Grandma, what would we do?"

  The two madams listened, first in a hurry, then their eyes lit up, and they calmly instructed the person next to them: "Du Mama, you stay here and watch, everyone else, quickly take people to find the prince's son, no matter where he is, he must be found."

  "Brother Bo, come with me and tell me exactly what happened? How did you become friends with the Crown Prince's son? If handled well, this matter may be greatly beneficial to your father's career."

  As she spoke, the second lady showed a big smile and was in such a hurry that she didn't even bother to greet the old lady, directly leading Liu Bo away and completely ignoring the life or death of the second wife who was having a difficult labor.

  The old lady's face turned iron-green, and the madam hastily helped the old lady to smooth out her breath before going forward to ask the second master: "What did the midwife say? Has the imperial physician examined her?"

  "The imperial physician has just gone in, and the midwife said that Dan Qing's first child is not in a good position, and the baby can't come out. Now that the water has broken for some time, she says that if it doesn't come out quickly, it might be bad." Er Ye respectfully said to Da Fu Ren, but his eyes kept following his own mother and eldest son from time to time, so although he answered in detail, his heart was clearly not on it.

  Liu Rong looked on with a frown, she had heard from Zhong Shi that the second lady was a kind and gentle person, who treated them well and sometimes even helped them out, and was familiar with Li's mother, which is why she dared to come to the pear garden with such a thick face.

  Now seeing this man not worrying at all when the second wife is having a difficult childbirth, but instead being more concerned about his son and the crown prince getting along, Liu Rong couldn't help but feel a wave of disgust, and also felt heartache for the second wife.

  "The doctor has arrived."

  It was unclear who shouted that sentence, but the madam and the big madam's group began to move closer to the delivery room. They saw a imperial physician in official attire walking out with an expressionless face.

  "Shi Yu Yi, how is my great-grandson? Will he be born smoothly?" The old lady asked the imperial physician quickly.

  Shi Yu saw Tai Furen and his expression was slightly heavy: "The second lady is now suffering from qi deficiency, I'm afraid it's very difficult."

  "Can't guarantee adults, can't even guarantee children?" Madam Tai continued to ask.

  Liu Rong couldn't help but turn her head to look at Li's mother, who was following behind, and saw that her face was deathly pale, making one feel extremely distressed.

  "The... imperial physician was at a loss."

  "Please, you have to save Ernai, you must save Ernai!" Li Mama seemed to be suddenly awakened by something and quickly moved forward, kneeling down in front of Shi Yu Doctor.

  "It's not that I'm not helping, it's just that I really can't do anything. The child simply cannot be born, and the labor-inducing medication has already been given to Erniang, you saw that too, it had no effect."

  Li's mother sat down on the ground with a thud.

  She was the mother brought by the second wife from her natal family, and their feelings were already deep. Apart from this, there was another layer of relationship that outsiders did not know, which was that she was the wet nurse of the second wife, who had been nursed by her since childhood, and after the second wife, she treated her like a biological daughter.

  Hearing that her second mother, whom she regarded as her own birth mother, was about to pass away, she felt the sky spinning and the earth turning.

  Liu Rong hastily stepped forward to support Li's mother, pinched a point between her thumb and index finger, and let go only when she saw that Li's mother was slightly better.

  "My great-granddaughter!" Upon hearing Shi Yu's words, the old lady couldn't help but wail, and Liu Dàniáng and Liu Xuan hastily stepped forward to console her.

  "Madam, you must take care of your body." Shi Yu Yi also followed beside her, persuading her.

  Mrs. Li was at a loss, and couldn't help but grasp Liu Rong's hand: "Second Madam, my Second Madam, is it really hopeless? Is she really going to be gone?"

  Liu Rong's heart skipped a beat as she looked at Li Mama's unconscious face, thinking about how she had begged for medicine earlier. Li Mama not only gave her the medicine but also asked someone to bring her more supplements. Liu Rong's heart softened and she reached out to hold Li Mama's hand: "How can this be? Until the end, there is still a chance!"

  "What chance is there? The imperial physician has said it's hopeless!" As she spoke, Li's mother suddenly burst into tears.

  Liu Rong furrowed her brow, gritted her teeth, and seemed to have made a decision as she stood up and walked towards the delivery room.