Sima Hong ran out of the door with his long legs. When he heard the clear "dong" sound in the quiet night, he immediately stopped and looked back. The candlelight in the room was already dim and blurry when it shone on the door. Mingyu was kneeling on the ground in the shadow, with her head down and hugging her stomach, her body curled up into a ball.
For a moment, Sima Hong's mind went blank. When he came to his senses, he ran towards the door with his voice changed in fear. He didn't dare to think about whether Mingyu would be in any danger.
"Yu'er, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?" Sima Hong shouted in a trembling voice, "Where did you fall? Does your stomach hurt? I'll go find a doctor for you. Talk to me. Does it hurt?" He wanted to help Mingyu up, but he didn't dare to. He was afraid that if he helped Mingyu up, there would be a pool of blood underneath.
Mingyu lowered her head and said nothing, leaning against the door frame, maintaining the kneeling position on the ground as if numb.
Sima Hong was terrified and reached out to pull Mingyu, but Mingyu turned away and pushed Sima Hong's hand away. Sima Hong looked at his hand being pushed away, regretting it so much that he wanted to slap himself a few times. He stepped forward and said to Mingyu in a soft voice: "Yu'er, don't be angry, stand up and see how it is, does it hurt? Go to bed and lie down, I'll go find a doctor for you."
Mingyu shook her head and said nothing. It was only October, but her heart was as cold as the coldest days of winter.
Sima Hong squatted down and tried to turn Mingyu's face. He reached out and touched her, but found that Mingyu's face was covered with cold tears. The tears on his hands were like fire, burning his heart. Sima Hong sighed slightly. He thought, it was Mingyu who fell, why was he in so much pain
"Don't be angry, the child is important." Sima Hong said with a pale face, and reached out to pick up Mingyu, striding towards the bed. Seeing Mingyu's pale face full of tears in his arms, he turned his head away, not daring to look at her. He gently put Mingyu on the bed, took off Mingyu's shoes and covered her with a quilt, then ran out, shouting loudly: "Sister Liu, the madam just kowtowed, come and take care of the madam, I'll go get the doctor!"
Immediately, the lights in the rooms in the outer courtyard where the maids lived, which had been turned off, began to light up one after another. Seven or eight maids ran out without even having time to put on their outer robes, and hurried into their masters' rooms in a panic.
Mrs. Liu had disheveled hair and wanted to ask Mrs. Sima Hong how she got hit, but she was too late. Sima Hong ran to the front yard like a gust of wind, took the horse and rushed out. She had no choice but to go to Mingyu with a few maids.
"Madam, what's wrong with you? Do you have a stomachache?" Mrs. Liu asked. Seeing Mingyu's face full of tears, she thought she was in pain. She was afraid, so she quickly asked someone to wring out a hot towel to wipe Mingyu's face.
Mingyu was also very scared. She regretted it to death. If Sima Hong wanted to leave, he could just leave. Why did she drag him along? In her panic, she forgot that she was a twin. If anything happened to the child, she would hate that bastard Sima Hong for the rest of her life!
"My stomach doesn't hurt much." Mingyu spoke, her voice tinged with tears. When she couldn't help but kneel on the ground to balance, she subconsciously hugged her stomach with her hands. The clothes she was wearing were thick, so except for the hot and painful knees, she didn't feel anything in her stomach.
Mrs. Liu heaved a sigh of relief, lifted Mingyu's quilt and said, "Madam, I'm sorry, let me see if you have bleeding." Then she took off Mingyu's skirt and pants. She had given birth to several children, some of which were saved and some were not, so she knew a little about this.
Mingyu asked nervously, “How is it?”
Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "It's okay, there's no bleeding, just two bruises on your knees. The Marquis has called a doctor for you. When the doctor comes, he will take a closer look at you."
Mingyu nodded. She was three months pregnant and her belly was only slightly bulging. Thinking that there was a living little life inside and that something had almost happened because of her negligence, Mingyu felt very nervous and uneasy. Seeing that there were seven or eight maids crowded in the room, Mingyu felt very suffocated for no reason and waved her hand, saying, "You guys go down first. I'll call you if there's anything."
Everyone went downstairs as instructed, leaving only Mrs. Liu standing in the room pouring tea for Mingyu.
Mingyu thought of what had just happened, and she covered her eyes with her hands. Tears flowed through her fingers onto the pillow, soaking a large area. Her mouth was bitter and she couldn't make any sound. What did he want to do? Did he think he was immoral before marriage? Or did he dislike that she had an ambiguous past with the Prince of Qin, and felt that his dignity as a man was challenged
Sister Liu came over with a teacup. Seeing Mingyu covering her eyes and crying, she was shocked and quickly put down the teacup. She leaned over the bed and comforted her, "Madam, please relax. The child must be fine. You have always been in good health. It's just a bump. What's the problem? When the doctor comes and takes your pulse, you can rest assured. If you are worried, it will also affect the child! Besides, look at how panicked the Marquis is. He is worried about you and the young Marquis. You can't think too much about it. The Marquis is so worried about you."
Sister Liu kept nagging Mingyu. If she also had a daughter, she would probably be about the same age as Mingyu. During the days she lived with Mingyu, she found that Mingyu had a good temper and was kind. She was not picky or abusive, and was very easy to serve. Subconsciously, she wanted to love this young wife of the Marquis's Mansion more as if she were her own daughter.
There was one thing that Mrs. Liu held back from saying, fearing that Mingyu would think more after hearing it. The couple were so young, even if the child had an accident, they could easily get pregnant again after a period of recuperation. Farmers have many children, and there are even more who can't be guaranteed to have miscarriages. Don't women give birth one after another? Pregnant country women are still working in the fields, and their children are still born safely. But she knew in her heart that the wives of the marquis's mansion were very precious, how could they be the same as those of the farmhouse family.
Hearing Sister Liu talk about how Sima Hong was worried about her and how he hurriedly went to ask for a doctor, Mingyu couldn't help but laugh sarcastically. She put her hand under the quilt and gently touched her belly. She felt wronged and sad, and tears couldn't stop flowing out. Wasn't he very angry? Standing on the moral high ground, he came to ask her what her relationship with the Prince of Qin was? Of course he was nervous. In his eyes, no matter how ambiguous she was with other men, the child in her belly was his. If the child died, he, as the father, would be the culprit. She wanted to see how he would explain to her.
Sister Liu looked at Mingyu's appearance and roughly realized that something was wrong tonight. The Marquis came back too late. Could it be because the couple had a quarrel? Thinking of this, Sister Liu immediately rejected her idea. The Marquis and his wife have always had a sweet relationship. He always holds his wife in his heart. The master of a wealthy family would take a concubine when the mistress was pregnant. The Marquis has never brought a messy woman into the mansion. How could he quarrel with his wife over such a small matter
"Madam, drink some water while it's hot. Your health is important." Mrs. Liu advised, helping Mingyu sit up and handing the tea to Mingyu's mouth.
Mingyu wiped her face with a handkerchief and drank a few sips of hot tea. Only then did she feel her cold hands and feet warm up a little. Sister Liu was right. She was the child's mother and her health was important. Only when she was well would the child be well.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside, and several maids shouted, "The doctor is coming! The doctor is coming!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sima Hong pushed open the door of the room with all his might, and pulled the person behind him to run quickly to the bedside. The doctor with a gray beard was dragged all the way by him, panting, his eyes white, and it took him a long time to catch his breath.
"Doctor, take a quick look. She just fell to the ground. She is three months pregnant and is kneeling on the ground." Sima Hong pointed at Mingyu. He was nervous and scared, and his speech became incoherent.
The two of them were still feeling the cold air from the cold night outside. Mingyu didn't even look at Sima Hong, stretched out her hand from under the quilt, and simply said, "Thank you, doctor."
The doctor was old, and he had just warmed up the bed when Sima Hong dug him out again. He was very dissatisfied with Sima Hong's behavior of dragging him out at night. However, the patient was the most important, and he would not dare to be disrespectful to Sima Hong even if he had a hundred and twenty guts. He immediately sat down and put his hand on Mingyu's wrist.
"The pulse is quite normal." The doctor stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "Madam, how did you fall? Did you bleed?"
How did he fall? Mingyu snorted in her heart. It was so embarrassing to say it out loud! "I didn't see any blood. I just didn't stand firmly. I leaned forward and knelt on the ground."
Mrs. Liu added quickly, "Both of Madam's knees are bruised and swollen."
Upon hearing this, Sima Hong's expression darkened even further.
The doctor nodded and smiled, "From the pulse, the fetus is fine, thanks to Madam's good health. But Madam has fallen before, so you can't be completely assured. There have been women who fell before, and they were fine at the time, but miscarried a few days or even a month or two later. To be on the safe side, Madam should take some medicine to stabilize the pregnancy, and stay in bed for the next few days."
"Yes, yes!" Sima Hong took over and said hurriedly: "Doctor, just prescribe medicine, the best medicine! If there are herbs that Tianshui doesn't have, it doesn't matter, I will send someone to buy them somewhere else!"
The doctor chuckled twice, "My Lord, don't be nervous. You should rest well these few days. If you need any help, call me over immediately."
The doctor wrote a prescription, and Sima Hong followed the doctor to the pharmacy to get the medicine. After tossing and turning for so long, Mingyu was too sleepy to bear it anymore, so she asked Sister Liu to change the quilt and bed sheets, and she took off her clothes and lay down, and slowly fell asleep.
When she was half asleep and didn't know what time it was, Mingyu was woken up by Mrs. Liu and made her drink a big bowl of black medicine. It was so bitter that Mingyu cried. She rinsed her mouth with two cups of tea and felt better. She lay down and fell asleep again in a daze.
During this period, she did not see Sima Hong from beginning to end.