Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 514: About to Give Birth

Chapter 514: Chapter 514: About to Give Birth

The shadowy figure perched on the wall found a slightly higher spot to watch over everything inside the residence from.

Two old hens clucked a few times, squinting their eyes and pacing back and forth.

Realizing the intruder was a stranger, they screamed as if they had been plucked, their cries sharper and shriller than those of roosters.

No one expected this turn of events. The person hiding on the wall was taken aback by the two hens, and hid even lower when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

"What’s going on?"

The person running over was Cheng Yue.

Having taken care of Nanzhi for a few days without any problems, and with Sun Cui about to give birth, Nanzhi simply invited Cheng Yue to stay.

On most days, she would help fetch water and chat with Mother Lin about the past to pass the time whenever she was bored.

She was familiar with the instinctive reactions of these two old hens and took better care of them than the other servants.

The city had long run out of poultry, and even the City Lord’s Residence only had salted meat and sausage hoarded from the previous year. The meager supply of fresh meat in the residence relied solely on the eggs these two old hens laid.

Although Sun Cui didn’t suffer from severe morning sickness during her ten months of pregnancy, her appetite deteriorated as her due date approached. The two old hens could lay four or five eggs a day, which were then used to make soft egg custard for her to eat.

If anything were to happen to these two old hens, that would be a real problem.

Seeing Cheng Yue, the two old hens quieted down a bit, but they didn’t stop clucking.

Looking around, Cheng Yue found there were still leftovers, and the water trough was full. She was baffled—what were the hens calling for?

One of the hens stretched out its neck in the direction where the shadowy figure was hiding and let out a couple of clucks before scratching the ground with its claws. It was then that Cheng Yue seemed to understand and turned to look, albeit skeptically.

Could it be that the hens were trying to tell her something?

Following the hens’ line of sight, Cheng Yue noticed a spot on the eave that was slightly higher than its surroundings. She also thought she saw the shadowy figure flinch.

"Thief! Catch the thief!" she shouted.

Cheng Yue might have been a bit naive on normal days, but she had an exceptionally loud voice.

The alarm raised by the hens had failed to attract anyone’s attention, but her shout certainly did.

"Where’s the thief? Where’s the thief?"

"What’s been stolen?"

The servants rushed over with sticks in their hands, only catching a glimpse of the figure lurking into the shadows of the night.

"Over there, someone was just clinging to the eave, acting all suspicious!"

Cheng Yue’s face was as white as a sheet—whether from the cold or out of fear was uncertain. Ma Po arrived with a coat, took off her own jacket and draped it over Cheng Yue’s shoulders.

Shen Wenchen climbed to the eave, finding only two footprints and a piece of torn cloth left by the intruder.

The intruder had taken advantage of the cover of darkness to flee towards the northern city. If the intruder hadn’t torn off that piece of cloth in time, he would have been captured!

Thinking back on the cloth snagging on something, he felt a surge of irritation.

Ah, how he was quickly growing weary of Yan City!

He fled all the way back, narrowly avoiding detection by several patrolling parties.

Finally, he made it back to his hideout, where he sank to the floor, gasping for breath.

Upon returning, he definitely needed to report this!

Nanzhi was a light sleeper; the noise Shen Wenchen made when he got up also roused her.

Seeing the grim expression on his face, Nanzhi also grew anxious.

Had something serious happened?

"What happened?"

When Nanzhi tried to help him get dressed, she was stopped by Shen Wenchen.

"An intruder made their way in, hiding on the eave. He was spotted by the two hens that wouldn’t stop cackling, which raised a maid’s attention."

"Is everyone safe?"

Nanzhi asked with concern.

The only other person living in the yard besides Cheng Yue was absent.

Although Cheng Yue was a bit naive, she learned quickly and was quite efficient, proving to be an exceptional maid.

Much better than Qing Lian.

"Don’t worry, that girl has a big voice. With one shout, everyone rushed over. The culprit was also unlucky; his sleeve got caught. By the time we got there, we only found a piece of torn cloth."

Shen Wenchen took off his outer garment, warmed his hands in front of the heater to make sure they were not cold, then slid under the blanket and drew Nanzhi into his warm embrace.

"As long as the girl is alright. She’s a good kid."

Nanzhi nodded and rested her head on Shen Wenchen’s arm.

"Try to sleep quick."

"Ok."

Dawn just broke when another scream came from the Lord’s residence.

This time, it wasn’t Cheng Yue, but Lin Ercheng.

Sun Cui’s amniotic fluid had broken!

Having given birth once before, Sun Cui remained quite composed.

But Lin Ercheng was never the calm sort.

He knew how painful childbirth could be for a woman.

Yet, looking at his wife, agony etching her face with sweat as big as beans and biting her back molars to silence her pain, Lin Ercheng became panicked.

"What do we do, what do we do, what do we do——"

A tall and sturdy man, panic-stricken like a lost child.

"You, you go, invite, invite Ma Po over."

Utter pain from contractions made Sun Cui frown. She hadn’t managed to relax yet.

But to muster some strength for childbirth, she managed to bite her teeth and remind him word by word.

"I’m going now, I’m going right now!"

In his panic, Lin Ercheng rushed out of the room.

He ran into Cheng Yue, who was rushing over.

"Quick, quick, quick, get everything ready!"

"Yes!"

Since Sun Cui was nearing her labor, the household had been rehearsing for the past few days. Hot water was kept ready in the kitchen, they couldn’t afford to wait for it to heat it up when it was actually needed.

Not even half a quarter of an hour later, Lin Ercheng rushed over with Ma Po. The rest of the Lin Family followed behind.

"All men, out, out, wait outside!"

Ma Po shooed everyone away then entered the room with Lin’s mother and Chen Qiulan.

"Cui, quickly, have some egg custard, it’ll give you strength."

Mother Lin, feeling sorry for her daughter-in-law, quickly scooped some caramelized eggs that had just arrived from the kitchen, hoping to feed her.

Sun Cui managed a nod, but the pain in her lower abdomen sapped all her strength.

Only when the contractions stopped was she able to gather some strength and eat two spoonfuls of the egg. In the brief respite it gave her, she managed to finish the whole bowl of caramelized eggs.

No matter how strong she was, the increasing pain eventually made her cry out.

"Good girl, hold on, conserve some strength."

Ma Po comforted Sun Cui while continuously moving her hands to assist the birth.

"Almost there, almost there, hold on just a bit more!"

Watching bucket after bucket of bloody water being carried out of the room, Lin Ercheng’s face drained of color.

"Ercheng, it’s going to be okay, just relax."

Seeing his younger brother still only wearing a thin robe, Lin Yicheng sighed and handed him his outer coat.

"Why hasn’t the baby come out yet?"

Lin Ercheng’s eyes were glued to the door, anxiety written all over his face.

Nanzhi, clutching onto Shen Wenchen tightly, was just as worried as Lin Ercheng.

Childbirth is always perilous for a woman, even more so in ancient times under primitive conditions. It would be a lie to say that they weren’t worried.