Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Drawing Talismans for the Third Aunt's Safety

Chapter 4: Drawing Talismans for the Third Aunt's Safety

Qin Liuxi drew three talismans in succession, folded them into a triangle, packed her things, and returned to the birthing room.

By then, Qi Huang had returned with a steaming bowl of medicinal soup, and at Qin Liuxi's nod, fed it to Mrs. Gu himself.

Wang's stepped forward to help, but Qi Huang, with skillful ease, supported and fed the patient effortlessly.

Meanwhile, Qin Liuxi tied two talismans at the head and under the pillow of the bed, keeping the third one ready.

The onlookers watched this scene with puzzled expressions.

"Xi'er, what is this?" Wang's eyebrows twitched in confusion at Qin Liuxi's seemingly strange actions.

Qin Liuxi replied impassively, "Oh, these are safety talismans, for protection."

Everyone: "..."

They found it somewhat odd, but dared not comment.

The labor-inducing drug took effect quickly. Mrs. Gu began to cry out in pain. As she opened her mouth, the midwife reassured her, "Madam, don't worry. With the young miss here, you and the baby will be safe."

Mrs. Gu paused, not taking it seriously, seeing it as mere consolation. With tearful eyes, she looked towards Wang's, "Sister-in-law, give me a cloth to bite on."

Wang's folded a clean cloth and placed it in her mouth.

Old Madam Qin, seeing Qin Liuxi still in the room, said, "You are an unmarried maiden. It's not proper for you to be here. Wait outside, Wang's and Mei's can assist here."

Agreed.

Qin Liuxi obediently pushed the door to leave.

However, Qi Huang, handing her a cup of tea, joked, "Miss, are you really just going to sit here?"

The one suffering inside was her third aunt, after all.

Qin Liuxi sipped her tea and glanced at her, saying, "I, an unmarried girl from a prominent family, should not witness childbirth."

The Qin family, despite their downfall, had once been a distinguished official family, and she was indeed a lady of that house.

Qi Huang almost laughed, "You say that, but don't you find it ironic? Last month, passing by Peach Blossom Village, you helped Mrs. Deng, who was having a difficult labor, deliver a healthy baby boy!"

Qin Liuxi remained composed, "Having eaten their peach blossom pastry, I owed them a debt of gratitude. It was only right to repay it."

Qi Huang smiled, then sobered up, asking, "Miss, did you really not foresee this calamity befalling the Qin family?"

Qin Liuxi paused for a moment. Could she tell Qi Huang that she had foreseen this in her childhood?

After a long thought, she said, "People experience ups and downs, and so do families. No flower blooms for a hundred days. The Qin family enjoyed decades of prosperity, and now facing this calamity is also due to the machinations of the wicked, a predestined disaster. When the petty rise to power, we must avoid their sharpness, break down to rebuild. The mountains remain, and the day will come when the clouds part to reveal them again."

Qi Huang responded, "That's true, Miss. With you here, the Qin family will surely not fall completely."

Qin Liuxi smiled silently and quietly sipped her tea.

It was all a matter of fate.

"But with so many of the Qin family here, just the elderly, women, and children, we're already struggling. And on the road to exile, there are more, both old and young, defenseless men. Everywhere needs money, Miss, your days of leisure are over," Qi Huang suddenly said, her tone slightly schadenfreude.

Qin Liuxi: "!"

This tea is a bit bitter, undrinkable!

She suddenly stood up and stood by the window, looking at the drizzling rain.

  ……

Outside the city gates.

A troop of guards wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats rode into Licheng, knocking on the inn's door for shelter from the rain.

In the upper room, a distinguished man opened a scroll, which showed a beautiful, androgynous face with long black hair secured only with a bamboo pin, an indifferent expression, and lips slightly downturned, as if disdaining the world.

He stood in front of a Taoist temple, looking like he was about to leave, giving off the impression that everyone else was merely a mortal in his presence.

"Rest up. We'll visit Qingping Temple when the weather clears," Qi Qian said, rolling the scroll back into the copper tube.

It was said that in Licheng, there was a doctor known as Buqiu, famed for his medical expertise and mastery of Taoist health techniques. His pulse-reading skills were so profound that he could discern a person's fortune, status, and even predict the fate of their descendants, a truly mysterious ability.

And he, he went to seek medical help for his grandmother.

This section concludes here. Thank you, everyone.