After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 11.1
Chapter 11: Junior Magistrate of the Capital
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The child in Ruan An’s belly cried loudly and without stopping. Sun Ye also panicked, realizing that it was fortunate that there were no outsiders nearby; otherwise, Ruan An and her unborn child could be mistaken for monsters. If someone reported this to the authorities, things would get even worse.
The baby’s crying gradually weakened, and due to the pain in her back, Ruan An didn’t speak at first. When she regained some strength, she calmly asked Sun Ye, who looked astonished, “Did you not read the miscellaneous medical records Master wrote before?”
Sun Ye, inheriting his father’s medical talent, was more skilled at acupuncture and surgery than her. However, when it came to prescribing remedies based on pulse conditions, he rarely did the hard work unless Ruan An forced him to.
“Go to the kitchen and find some beans, and bring Master’s miscellaneous medical records.”
Sun Ye felt somewhat helpless about Ruan An’s actions, but in these circumstances, he had to let her guide him in medical knowledge.
However, with Ruan An heavily pregnant, he had to accommodate her and not add to her troubles. When Sun Ye brought the medical book and a small dish of beans, Ruan An weakly instructed, “Turn to page 148 in the book and read the records according to what Master wrote.”
Sun Ye looked at his father’s scribbled handwriting, nodded as if pecking at grains, and read, “In cases of prenatal child crying, you can sprinkle beans, copper coins, or similar objects on the ground, and let the pregnant woman pick them up. This method can restore the woman’s energy, align the breathing of the mother and child, and alleviate the child’s crying.”
After he finished reading, the baby inside Ruan An’s belly gradually stopped crying.
Ruan An didn’t understand the principle of this remedy at first. However, after experiencing various discomforts during her pregnancy, she realized that the symptoms of prenatal child crying were related to the deficiency of qi and blood in pregnant women.
A while back, she concealed her protruding belly, disguised herself as an elderly woman, and examined patients. This had tired her out, and her sleep was also restless, leading to the symptoms of qi and blood deficiency.
So, that day, Ruan An wrote a prescription called “Supporting Qi and Stopping Crying Soup.” After drinking it, her condition improved. After two doses, the baby in her belly never cried again.
After her recovery, Ruan An wrote down the six characters of “Prenatal Child Crying Records.” Thinking of that day, her soft and warm brows tightened and loosened, showing strength and determination beyond her years.
She was strong for her child. Being a single mother with no father for her child, she knew she had to play the role of a strong figure in the child’s future life.
As the day of delivery approached, Ruan An couldn’t help but feel anxious, and her burning tears gradually stained the ink of those six characters in the Prenatal Child Crying Records.
***
Time flies, like a white horse passing by, in the blink of an eye, three and a half years have passed.
Ruan An did not receive a good education from a young age, so she never hesitated to spend money on hiring a tutor for Ruan Xi.
Ruan Xi is now three and a half years old and can use his chubby little hands to hold a pen and write on rice paper. The boy’s black, clear eyes and chubby little face radiate innocence and obedience.
Sun Ye also looks at Ruan Xi, and his facial features and eyes resemble his biological father Huo Pingxiao, but his soft and cute temperament has taken after Ruan An.
Sun Ye has also grown from a mischievous boy into a thin young man. In the past six months, he happened to experience a voice change, and his voice sounds like a duck’s low quacking, not very pleasant.
Ruan Xi is diligently practicing writing when she sees Ruan An, disguised as an old woman, returning home, but her eyes are tinged with red, and she feels somewhat confused.
Ruan Xi puts down the pen in her hand and asks Ruan An in a childish voice, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Ruan An shakes her head at the child, not wanting to reveal her vulnerable side in front of him.
Just now, she took a stroll in the folk alleys after finishing her medical duties and found a tea house to rest in. However, she heard the news of Huo Pingxiao’s death.
The storyteller recounted how the Marquis of Dingbei met his end in the desolate wilderness of Beiwan, where a sudden violent sandstorm engulfed thousands of Li army cavalry who had launched a surprise attack. The reinforcements found only the remains of some warhorses and other soldiers, with nearly a thousand men missing.
The Marquis of Dingbei was among those thousand soldiers.
“Mother is fine; you focus on practicing calligraphy,” Ruan An said.
However, Sun Ye noticed something unusual about Ruan An and followed her into the inner room.
As soon as she avoided Ruan Xi, Sun Ye saw that Ruan An was already shedding tears. The tears almost destroyed the aged makeup on her face, revealing her fair skin.
Sun Ye’s expression was filled with concern, and he asked, “Ah Xu, what’s wrong with you?”
Ruan An wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, took a deep breath, and her tone slightly regained composure. “In a few days, I will take Ruan Xi away from Mengyang County. At that time, I will entrust you to the county magistrate. You will stay at the magistrate’s residence. Don’t be naughty, and remember to listen to the magistrate’s wife.”
Sun Ye stared at her in disbelief and asked urgently, “Why do you want to leave? Where are you going?”
Ruan An did not reply to his question. She just turned silently and found the cloth bags used to wrap the baggage. Immediately, she began to pack her belongings.
Like all the common people of this era, she had the most traditional mindset.
Huo Pingxiao died in the borderlands without getting married, leaving no offspring.
She simply wanted to take Ruan Xi to Chang’an, leaving a legacy for the man.
Ruan An decided to take Ruan Xi to Chang’an to get acquainted with the life there, find a way to contact the Huo family, and act according to the circumstances, gradually making Ruan Xi recognized by the Huo family.
Of course, if the child didn’t adapt to life there, she would respect Ruan Xi’s wishes and take him back to the familiar Jiazhou.
***
The next day, Ruan An brought Sun Ye and Ruan Xi to the official residence of Mengyang County.
Ruan An had once healed the illness of the wife of the county magistrate of Mengyang County. Therefore, when the county magistrate heard that she wanted to go to Chang’an to find her relatives, he sent a letter to Chang’an, asking a certain surnamed Li, a junior magistrate in the capital, to take care of her and Ruan Xi.
“I have an old friend in Chang’an, he is also a person from Jiazhou in Jiannan. His name is Li Yifang, and he is currently serving as the junior magistrate in Chang’an.”
Coincidentally, this county magistrate’s old friend Li Yifang had also lived in Jianwei County before Ruan An, Sun Ye, and Ruan Xi. Ruan An sighed secretly; Li Yifang was only twenty-five years old, with no significant background in Chang’an, yet he was already a fourth-ranking official in the court. He was indeed a talented young man.
Moreover, this person’s experience coincided in many ways with the fictional fiancé that Ruan An had created earlier. Apart from smoothly entering the official residence of Jingzhao, Li Yifang, like her nonexistent fiancé, also had a widowed mother. He had moved to Chang’an with his mother five years ago, concentrating on preparing for the imperial examinations. He had also painstakingly built many connections and finally established himself at the foot of the imperial city.
Upon hearing that Li Yifang’s mother was not in good health, Ruan An purchased a valuable millennium-old ginseng specifically in Jiazhou to give it to Li’s mother for nourishment.
Chang’an’s household registration was very strict. After arriving there, she only had a temporary residence permit for thirty days. Once this period passed and she couldn’t obtain the registration certificate, she and Ruan Xi would be expelled from the city by the official soldiers wielding rods.
Therefore, the first thing she did upon arriving in Chang’an was to find Mr. Li and inquire about the registration matters with him.