Chapter 43: Extremely Bizarre

Having yearned and prayed for a grandson, Dowager Consort Xu was now beaming with boundless joy.

Instantly, her headache vanished, and strength returned to her legs. Bedridden for days, she was now brimming with spirit, and even looked upon everyone with a favorable eye.

The midwife had just finished tending to the newborn when the dowager clamored for the child to be brought to her. To everyone's surprise, the infant began wailing the moment he was handed over.

"What is the meaning of this? Why is my grandson crying so bitterly?"

The dowager's heart ached fiercely, terrified that this precious little bundle would cry his throat raw.

The midwife chuckled dryly and said, "The lady has no milk yet, and there is no wet nurse in the estate. How can a hungry child not cry?"

She had heard that a few years ago, the Prince's Mansion had spared no expense in praying for an heir—rearranging feng shui, making temple donations, and distributing porridge—squandering an untold fortune in foolish ways.

She had assumed that delivering the baby this time would bring a generous reward from the mansion.

Who would have thought the reward mentioned by the dowager was merely a handful of silver melon seeds? This was an heir to the princedom, yet the reward given by the mansion fell short of even what a wealthy merchant in the city would offer. She could not fathom how the dowager even had the face to hand such a thing over.

Therefore, upon hearing this, the midwife wore no pleasant expression.

The dowager was instantly enraged. "What is this? I told you all beforehand to look for a wet nurse. Now the child is born, why has no wet nurse been found yet?"

Mother Shen, who served in Chang Yuniang's quarters, hurriedly dropped to her knees before the dowager upon hearing this.

"Your Ladyship might not know, but it is not that this old slave was remiss. I had previously sought out wet nurses and brought them to the estate, but Lady Chang was unsatisfied and said there was no rush. Who could have known this baby would be born prematurely?"

The child's heart-rending cries drove the dowager to stamp her feet in anger.

"At a time like this, you are still making such excuses! Go out and find a wet nurse immediately!"

Mother Shen remained kneeling on the floor and whispered, "A... a good wet nurse cannot be found overnight, and their prices are exorbitantly high."

"No matter how high the price is, you must find one! You cannot let my grandson starve."

The dowager pulled a gold hairpin from her hair and handed it to her. "Take this to be pawned. You must find a wet nurse."

Zhao Shenxing had just returned and witnessed this exact scene. Although he had long known the estate was short on silver, seeing his mother pawn the gold hairpin she had worn for years right in front of the servants still struck him with shock.

Thinking of how he had squandered hundreds or thousands of silver liang at a time on courtesans and maidens in pleasure quarters and wine shops over the years, a wave of profound guilt washed over him.

"Wait!"

Zhao Shenxing called out to stop Mother Shen, produced a gold ingot, and handed it to her instead. "Return the hairpin to my mother and use this."

Mother Shen, who was about to leave, hastily halted her steps, handed the gold hairpin back to the dowager, and departed with her orders.

"Come and look at your son."

Dowager Consort Xu regained her radiant cheer, her eyes brimming with doting affection as she looked at the child. "This baby has a lusty cry; he is bound to be a prominent figure in the future."

Zhao Shenxing knew all too well how viciously people had gossiped behind their backs over the years. Looking at the tiny infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, tears welled up in his eyes.

Realizing that he, too, was now a father, a surge of heroic ambition swelled within Zhao Shenxing.

From now on, no one would ever dare say he was incapable of siring children, and no one would ever dare say he was suffering retribution!

At this moment, his resentment toward Chang Yuniang was blown away like smoke by the infant's cries.

"Yuniang is the lucky star of our household; she must be handsomely rewarded!"

Xiao Yunjing had just returned to the Prince's Mansion when she heard that Chang Yuniang had given birth to a son.

It made her so furious!

Clenching her hands into tight fists, she gritted her teeth and muttered bitterly, "Wasn't she supposed to have another month or two? How did she give birth so soon?"

"The estate physician said it might be because she was stung by bees and had toxins in her body, which led to premature labor," Qinluo said, following closely behind her.

Xiao Yunjing's heart skipped a beat. "Is there something wrong with the child?"

"It is said that aside from having many birthmarks, the child has no other issues."

Recalling the vial of medicine given by Miao Shan, a fierce glint flashed in Xiao Yunjing's eyes. "Hmph, she got lucky!"

"Where is the Princess Consort? I wish to see her."

Learning that the child was fine made Xiao Yunjing feel as though she had swallowed a fly.

"After staying by the bedside until the child was born, the Princess Consort went to the shop in the East Market."

"What? The Princess Consort actually stayed through the child's birth?"

Xiao Yunjing stopped in her tracks, staring at Qinluo in sheer disbelief. "What is the meaning of this? Tell me in detail!"

On the pomegranate tree nearby, a few birds chirped noisily, filling the air with vexation.

Looking at a fallen flower petal at her feet, Qinluo recounted straightforwardly, "Lady Chang went into premature labor, and nothing was prepared in the mansion. Had the Princess Consort not remained to oversee things and promptly summoned a midwife, who knows what the outcome would have been..."

Back at the Ning'an Inn, she had probed the Princess Consort's attitude, assuming she detested the child yet feigned nobility by refusing to form an alliance with her.

Seen in this light, the Princess Consort truly intended to keep that abomination.

Knowing that keeping this child would bring them a hundred harms and not a single benefit, she could not fathom what was going through the Princess Consort's mind.

"The dowager's illness vanished the moment she learned it was a boy. She and the Prince are both in Yunmeng Pavilion. Does my lady wish to go and take a look?" Qinluo asked.

"Go? Why wouldn't I go!"

The mere thought of Chang Yuniang lodging a complaint against her before the Prince last time made her face turn as dark as the bottom of a wok.

"The addition of an heir to the Prince's Mansion is a momentous occasion. We must go over and share in the joy."

By the time they arrived, the baby had already been returned to Chang Yuniang's side. Perhaps sensing his mother's presence, the infant had stopped crying.

In the outer chamber, only Zhao Shenxing, his mother, and a few personal maidservants remained.

After paying their respects, Xiao Yunjing quietly took a seat to the side, listening as the dowager inquired about the situation regarding Prince Liang's shops.

"The latest batch of goods we procured was nearly at Liangzhou when it was completely plundered by bandits."

Drooping his head, Zhao Shenxing said in utter despondency, "We were counting on this shipment of goods to return so we could make a massive profit and alleviate the financial strain on the estate. Who could have anticipated such a disaster?"

The smile on Dowager Consort Xu's face instantly froze. "Is the loss severe? Will it not affect future business?"

"We lost nearly thirty thousand liang worth of goods. Manager Huang says the shops are suffering from a severe shortage of stock. If we cannot replenish it in a timely manner, we risk having to close our doors."

"Thirty thousand liang!"

The dowager's jaw dropped in shock. "With such a massive loss, the Inspectorate must be urged to investigate swiftly."

"The Inspectorate has already been notified, but Mei Zhiyong claims there is insufficient evidence and says it will likely take some time."

Zhao Shenxing sighed. "The most difficult part right now isn't even the shops; the accountant says there is not a single coin left in the coffers."

"How did such a prosperous life come to this?"

Dowager Consort Xu heaved a long, drawn-out sigh. "When have we ever been in such a wretched state? Who knows where on earth you spent all that silver?"

Zhao Shenxing lowered his head silently, daring not utter another word.

"This is not the Prince's fault."

Xiao Yunjing finally managed to chime in. "Has Her Ladyship not noticed? Ever since Chang Yuniang stepped foot into this mansion, things have gone downhill. The moment this child was born, the shops suffered such a catastrophe—it is truly ominous!"