Chapter 83

The immense natural disaster struck with a vengeance, but because the Great Zhou Dynasty was fully prepared, no riots broke out among the commoners. Aside from the impact of the drought—with the ground parched and cracked—and despite how difficult daily life was for the ordinary people, they could still see a glimmer of hope for survival.

The situation was similar in several neighboring countries.

There was only one exception: starting from March of this year, all newborn babies across the land were inexplicably stillborn. This bizarre phenomenon triggered widespread panic until Cheng Ruyi safely gave birth to her healthy triplets, finally showing everyone a ray of hope.

It turned out that not every single pregnant woman was destined to give birth to a stillborn child.

In an instant, the Changle Marquis Mansion became the center of attention.

Visitors arrived in an endless stream to pay their respects. Even the imperial physicians from the Imperial Academy of Medicine wanted to station themselves within the Changle Marquis Mansion to study exactly why Cheng Ruyi had been able to deliver living triplets.

Cheng Ruyi enjoyed no peace during her postpartum confinement period. From time to time, maidservants would come to pass along messages. Truth be told, if her mother, Rong Susu, hadn’t insisted that she undergo the traditional confinement month, Cheng Ruyi would not have stayed in bed at all.

Her body was exceptionally robust; the moment she finished giving birth to the three babies, she had circulated her wood superpower through her body once, leading to an extremely rapid recovery. She could have hopped and skipped right out of the room that very day.

“Moxiang, I don’t want to drink this unsalted chicken soup anymore. It tastes awful…” Cheng Ruyi felt that her life was truly miserable. Her body was completely different from ordinary people, so why did she have to undergo confinement and eat such bland food like everyone else?

Moxiang felt completely helpless. “Miss, this is what Madam ordered the kitchen to prepare.”

Refusing to even look at the bowl of chicken soup, Cheng Ruyi looked at Moxiang pitifully. “Moxiang, I want to eat delicious braised meat, roasted meat…”

“No!” Moxiang shook her head resolutely in refusal. Her lady was currently in confinement and could not eat random things; it would be terrible if she developed any long-term ailments from improper care during this month.

Having been rejected yet again, Cheng Ruyi did not lose heart. She obediently drank the chicken soup, and as she watched Moxiang clean up and leave, her eyes darted about. She planned to sneak down to the ice cellar tonight, grab a piece of meat, and roast it herself. Otherwise, her mouth would remain completely devoid of flavor.

“Hmph, if you won’t give it to me, I’ll just sneak out and roast it myself.”

“Eldest Baby, Second Baby, Third Baby, don’t you think your mother is incredibly clever?” Cheng Ruyi peeked at the three infants sleeping quietly beside her, carefully touching their tiny faces and gently squeezing their little hands as she muttered to herself.

“So small, so soft. I barely dare to hold you. Shes, if only you could grow up in a flash. It’s a pity my wood superpower can’t accelerate your growth…” Cheng Ruyi’s eyes were full of regret. If her superpower could ripen her babies, she could take them out hunting right away.

Among the three infants, except for her daughter, Third Baby, who possessed a healing superpower, both Eldest Baby and Second Baby possessed wood superpowers. Fortunately, none of them had lightning, fire, or water superpowers; otherwise, strange phenomena would have manifested at their birth, which would surely have terrified the midwives.

When Rong Mo walked in, he saw his little wife playing with the three sleeping infants with a bored and regretful expression, leaving him completely speechless.

“Ruyi, you aren’t thinking about accelerating the children’s growth again, are you?” Rong Mo was entirely without words to counter his little wife’s bizarre ideas. Who on earth would think about ripening their children to make them grow up faster?

“I do want to, but I lack the ability.” Cheng Ruyi felt a bit disheartened. Wondering if it was because her superpower level wasn’t high enough, she resolved to work hard to elevate her strength in the future. That way, by the time she gave birth to her second litter, she could accelerate their growth.

Cheng Ruyi silently established a small goal for herself.

Rong Mo thought to himself: It’s a good thing you lack the ability. If you actually had the power to grow the children in a flash, I wouldn’t even have a place to cry. Whose children grew up in the blink of an eye? Those weren’t human beings; those were monsters!

On the surface, however, he comforted his little wife. “It doesn’t matter. We can watch the children grow up slowly together.”

“But they’re so small, I’m afraid I’ll accidentally hurt them…” Cheng Ruyi felt rather wronged herself. On several occasions, she had left marks on the babies’ delicate skin. If it weren’t for her mutated wood power possessing healing capabilities, everyone would probably accuse her of child abuse.

Rong Mo smiled and patted his little wife’s head. “They’ll be fine once they grow a bit bigger.”

“Look, the children all like you very much. They never cry or make a fuss when they’re by your side, sleeping so peacefully. The moment they leave you, they cry incredibly loudly.” Rong Mo was quite fond of the children for not troubling his little wife.

Upon hearing this, a trace of guilt naturally flashed across Cheng Ruyi’s eyes. In reality, it wasn’t that the babies chose not to throw tantrums; rather, it was because she frequently thought about ripening them, and every time, she couldn’t control her instincts and channeled her superpower into them. Once the babies stuffed themselves full of energy, they would fall asleep to absorb it. This was something she would absolutely never reveal to Rong Mo.

“I also think they like me best.” Cheng Ruyi decided to praise herself. One had to be thick-skinned to get by; she couldn’t show her guilt. With the assistance of her superpower, the babies would grow even stronger in the future. Thinking this way, Cheng Ruyi immediately felt entirely justified.

“Yes, they like you best.” Rong Mo smiled faintly. On this point, he had no intention of arguing with his little wife.

“Ah Mo, I have to eat unsalted meals every day, and I’m on the verge of developing an eating disorder. Can you speak with my mother and let me eat normal food?” Cheng Ruyi complained to Rong Mo with a rare, pitiful expression.

Rong Mo also knew that his little wife’s health was exceptionally robust. Just after giving birth, she was bursting with energy, and even the imperial physicians stated that her physical body was the strongest and healthiest they had ever witnessed.

“Very well, I will mention it to Mother-in-law.”

“Ah Mo is the best!” Overjoyed, Cheng Ruyi hugged him tightly, leaning in to press a kiss onto his thin lips. Rong Mo returned her embrace, deepening the kiss.

After the kiss ended, Cheng Ruyi’s lips were slightly red and swollen. She leaned lazily against Rong Mo. “Ah Mo, when will the imperial physicians in the mansion leave?”

“Soon. It’s said that Daoist Priest Yunqing has discovered the cause behind the stillborn births. Do you remember the anomaly at the Grand Canal?”

“A large number of dead fish appeared in the Grand Canal. In truth, it wasn’t just many fish dying in the river; quite a few wild animals in the mountains died as well. Only the fish in the sea remained unaffected. Daoist Priest Yunqing deduced that it was an issue with the water, and a medicinal formula should be developed very soon.”

Cheng Qingyao possessed the power of foresight. In her past life, the immense prestige Daoist Priest Yunqing accumulated was precisely because he saved thousands upon thousands of fetuses that were destined to die in the womb. As long as a pregnant woman had not yet gone into labor, the fetus inside her could still be saved.

As for how exactly this medicinal formula was concocted, Cheng Qingyao did not know. Being reborn did not make one omniscient; there were some things she had simply never come into contact with. The people monitoring Cheng Qingyao had deduced from her careless remarks that the person capable of saving all unborn fetuses was none other than Daoist Priest Yunqing of the Yunshui Daoist Temple.

With the backing of the imperial court, Daoist Priest Yunqing’s progress went very smoothly.

Cheng Ruyi silently breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they hadn’t held Daoist Priest Yunqing accountable for the massive mistake he had inadvertently committed in the past.

That evening, after ensuring everyone had fallen asleep, Cheng Ruyi retrieved a large chunk of wild boar meat from the ice cellar, swiped some seasonings from the kitchen, and returned to her courtyard. She set up a roasting rack on the empty clearing inside her courtyard, lit a fire, and began roasting the meat.

Before long, the entire courtyard was thick with the aroma of roasted meat.

Rong Mo had known the moment his little wife snuck out of the room. There weren’t that many rigid rules in the mansion, and his little wife’s body had long recovered; the two had already been sleeping together. It was only because Rong Susu insisted that her daughter undergo confinement that Rong Mo was powerless to intervene.

But this time, his little wife truly was…

The patrolling guards followed the scent to the courtyard, and upon witnessing this scene, they were on the verge of fainting. The eldest young lady and the young master were actually roasting meat in the middle of the night…

Rong Susu was furious; her daughter was simply being too outrageous. Cheng Ruyi listened to the lecture with an obedient expression. In the end, seeing her daughter’s pitiful look and remembering that the imperial physician had stated her daughter’s body was different from ordinary people, Rong Susu had no choice but to give in to prevent her from sneaking out to roast meat at midnight again.

Cheng Ruyi was overjoyed; she finally didn’t have to eat unsalted meals every day. Fantastic!

Ten days later, wonderful news arrived concerning the pregnant women in Dahu County. After taking the medicine formulated by Daoist Priest Yunqing, they had all safely given birth to living infants.

The dark cloud that had weighed heavily upon everyone’s hearts finally dissipated.

Daoist Priest Yunqing’s grand name spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, and even neighboring countries learned of his renown. Many people from other nations arrived to request Daoist Priest Yunqing’s medicinal formula.

Upon learning of Daoist Priest Yunqing’s monumental achievements, Cheng Ruyi felt rather pleased. However, alongside her joy, she developed a new grievance.

The babies were simply too popular!

The three infants were close to reaching their full month, and many people were waiting for them to host a grand full-month banquet.

Every time the Changle Marquis went out, he would encounter high-ranking and influential officials. Today, he once again ‘accidentally ran into’ the Left Prime Minister.

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Left Prime Minister spoke with a brilliant smile, “Changle Marquis, I heard that your three maternal grandchildren are about to reach their full month. Remember to send this old man an invitation when the full-month banquet takes place.”

Another old fellow looking for a free meal!

The Changle Marquis snorted, his smile looking particularly provocative. “…Left Prime Minister, my daughter and son-in-law have already stated that during this time of natural disaster, everything should be kept simple. We will not be hosting a full-month banquet.” After speaking, the Changle Marquis casually strolled away with his hands behind his back.

The Left Prime Minister who was left behind did not grow angry either. Watching the Changle Marquis’s triumphant departing figure, he stroked his slightly silver beard, his face remaining entirely split with a smile.

Not hosting a full-month banquet? How could that be possible!

Aside from the Left Prime Minister, the Changle Marquis ‘accidentally ran into’ the Marquis of Jinyang, several princes, generals, and commanders on his way back. Even the imperial censor, who usually did not get along with him, managed to have a ‘chance encounter’ with him.

Everyone possessed only one objective: they all wished to attend the full-month banquet of his three grandchildren.

In truth, it wasn’t only the Changle Marquis who was being targeted for ‘chance encounters’; Prince Rong fared the same. When those old fellows from the imperial clan heard Prince Rong state that no full-month banquet would be hosted, they immediately used their advanced age to lecture Prince Rong thoroughly.

If no full-month banquet was hosted, how could they stuff their bellies with the fruits from the Changle Marquis Mansion to their hearts’ content?

Prince Rong: “…” A bunch of old fellows whose true intentions lie elsewhere.

When the two returned to the Changle Marquis Mansion together and looked at the fruit trees filling the residence with fragrance, they realized it was all the fault of these fruit trees.

Within the imperial palace, the Emperor listened to his trusted eunuch recount the recent frequent ‘chance encounter’ incidents involving the Changle Marquis and Prince Rong, and he couldn’t help but burst into loud laughter.

“With such excitement, how can This Emperor not join in?”

Thus, with a grand swipe of his brush, the Emperor decreed that he would personally attend the triplets’ full-month banquet and bestow names upon them.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, the Changle Marquis and Prince Rong were completely dumbfounded.

When Cheng Ruyi heard about this matter, she nearly spat out the chicken soup in her mouth. Was it truly necessary to mobilize such a massive crowd just for the peaches and grapes in their mansion? They had even stripped away her right to name her own children.

The moment she imagined a massive crowd arriving at their mansion to eat them out of house and home, she couldn’t help but think about how much grain and meat they would lose. The protective Cheng Ruyi felt extremely unhappy.

Rong Mo was also completely speechless. It was all the fault of the Changle Marquis Mansion’s fruits; the fragrance filling the entire garden was simply too alluring to people.

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