Cui Anhua finally got his wish and stayed in Beijing, no longer having to go to Liangzhou to be a miserable garrison commander. The reason why he easily agreed to Jiang Wenyue's request, besides because he really wanted to be with her and the child, was another reason that only he knew, which was that he was afraid that if he didn't come back, his fate next year would be the same as in his previous life, and he would die on the battlefield.
He died in his previous life, but in this life he was with his beloved and had a child, so he was very content and naturally did not want to risk his life, so he simply returned to Beijing once and for all. Then the death in his previous life would naturally not happen again.
It was difficult to explain the reason publicly, so when his colleagues curiously asked him why he did not continue his career as a general and instead came back to be a Beijing official with little real power, Cui Anhua said with a look of guilt that it was so that he could spend more time with his wife and children at home.
Colleagues laughed at him in front of him, saying that it was true that gentlemen were the burial place of heroes, and that Lao Cui really doted on his wife and young son, a tough man with a soft heart; but when they turned their backs on him, they laughed at him for being short-tempered and sentimental. If he really worried about his wife and children, why didn't he worry about them for the first twenty years, but said he was worried after marrying his new love? Wasn't he just blinded by beauty? I wonder if his ex-wife, who he divorced, would be heartbroken after hearing what he said...
Cui Anhua was unaware of the discussions of outsiders. He happily told Jiang Wenyue the good news. Jiang Wenyue's eyes instantly turned red. She threw herself into his arms with tears in her eyes, saying that he was a truly great man...
When Cui Anhua saw her tender and affectionate look, he felt that it was really worthwhile to stay in the capital.
Since Cui Anhua would not leave Beijing again, Cui's mother would naturally have to rely on her son to take care of her. Cui's mother was also not happy for Jiang Wenyue to live too comfortably, so she agreed to come back, but asked her daughter-in-law to serve her.
Cui's mother's spine was broken in the earthquake. Even after seeing a royal physician, it couldn't be completely cured. She was basically paralyzed in bed. It is conceivable how difficult it would be for Jiang Wenyue to take care of a paralyzed patient, not to mention that Cui's mother deliberately tortured her.
Cui Anhua, a careless and rough man, could not have known what kind of fight would arise from a bad relationship between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. Therefore, when he heard his mother say that she wanted her daughter-in-law to serve her, he did not think much about it. Instead, he was happy to think that Cui's mother no longer blamed his wife and did this to mend their relationship.
So he excitedly told Jiang Wenyue to take care of her mother, saying that this would allow her mother to see her virtuous and sensible side. Jiang Wenyue almost couldn't keep the smile on her face after hearing his words. She had known for a long time that Cui's mother had resented her after she became paralyzed, and felt that it was her delay that caused her to become like this. Now he asked her to take care of her, which must be no good.
But as a daughter-in-law, she couldn't refuse, so she had to go with a forced smile. Sure enough, when she arrived, Cui's mother started to torment her, asking her to drink water, change clothes (go to the toilet), and then said her feet were too stiff and asked her to give her a massage...
Jiang Wenyue was originally weak and frail, and naturally she was exhausted after being tortured by Cui's mother. If she moved a little slowly, Cui's mother would scold her and ask if she disliked her and wished that an old woman like her would die...
Jiang Wenyue was like a mute eating bitter herbs, unable to express her pain, and could only continue to listen to her harassment with tears in his eyes.
However, Cui's mother could not suffer for a few days, because on the fourth day, Jiang Wenyue suddenly fainted when she was helping Cui's mother bring water. She fell heavily to the ground with a thud, which scared Cui's mother.
The servants who heard the noise in the room hurried in and saw the lady lying on the ground. They were so frightened that they carried her out in a hurry and asked someone to find a doctor.
After being shocked, Cui's mother immediately became angry again, because she felt that Jiang Wenyue pretended to faint on purpose and must not want to take care of herself, so she came up with this method to escape.
Cui's mother knew her son very well. She knew that Jiang Wenyue was "fainted from exhaustion", so naturally she would not agree to let her come and serve her. Cui's mother was so angry that she just scolded Jiang Wenyue for being a troublemaker and a vixen.
Cui Anhua happened to be home, and when he learned that Jiang Wenyue had suddenly fainted, he hurriedly called a doctor. The doctor felt her pulse, smiled, and said, "Congratulations, General. Your wife is pregnant."
"What? Pregnant?" Cui Anhua asked with some concern, "My wife is not in good health. She is pregnant again this time. Can her body bear it?"
After asking for detailed information, the doctor also felt that it was not a good idea and said, "If the general's wife has just given birth to triplets, then it is indeed not suitable for her to get pregnant. Ordinary women have to rest for a year or two after giving birth to a child, not to mention that the general's wife gave birth to three at once? She must be extra careful..."
As she was talking, Jiang Wenyue woke up. When she found out that she was pregnant again, her face turned pale. "Didn't they say that giving birth to triplets hurt my body and it would be hard for me to get pregnant again? How come I'm pregnant again so soon?"
"It's really difficult to get pregnant, but maybe this is an accident?" said the doctor.
Jiang Wenyue thought of the situation of giving birth to triplets, and was filled with fear. She didn't care about maintaining her kindness in front of Cui Anhua, and begged the doctor: "Can I abort this baby?"
"Your health is not good. Even if you have a miscarriage, it will be harmful to your body." The doctor shook his head.
Jiang Wenyue suddenly felt disheartened, and Cui Anhua hurried to comfort her.
After Jiang Wenyue became pregnant, she indeed did not go to take care of Cui's mother. Cui's mother became even more angry with her. When she learned that she was pregnant, she thought that Jiang Wenyue was too scheming. She must have known that she was pregnant a long time ago, but she pretended to be faint when taking care of her, absolutely to ruin her son's good impression. So Cui's mother found an opportunity to speak ill of her daughter-in-law to Cui Anhua. Over time, the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law became worse. Cui Anhua was caught between two women and was exhausted.
In the end, the baby was kept because the doctor said that Jiang Wenyue's abortion might be more harmful to her health than giving birth to the child. If she took good care of herself during the pregnancy, she might be able to recover.
After that, Cui Anhua had to take care of his wife and mother, teach his three young children, and also deal with work. He was so busy that he was dizzy.
In addition, he also offered a reward for a miracle doctor among the people, but he didn't find one. Instead, many quack doctors came to try their luck, and Cui Anhua was cheated of a lot of money.
Originally, he and Liu Shichu had divided the family property after their divorce, leaving two parts of the family business. However, Jiang Wenyue had lost a lot of the family property in the past two or three years, and now a lot of it had been cheated away by others, so Cui Anhua felt that he was short of money.
Neither of the two mistresses could manage the household, so he had to do it himself. As soon as he got home, the servants came to him, asking him to handle everything and asking him for money everywhere. He was entangled in these household chores all day long, and felt overwhelmed. It was even harder and more difficult than in Liangzhou. For a moment, he was a little dazed. Why was this life not as good as he imagined? This was not the life he wanted at all.
But no matter how exhausted he was, he could no longer free himself from this kind of life. He was no longer the awe-inspiring general in charge of a region's military power, but a mediocre, fat middle-aged man who was entangled in trivial matters and overwhelmed.
Although he was reborn once, his life became a mess. I wonder if he ever regretted it.
As for Liu Shichu, she later left the capital to look for various kinds of rare wines from the people. Qi Zhixi volunteered to lead the way for her, and the two of them traveled together in a carefree manner. Who knows what will happen to their relationship in the future