Chapter 229: Fireworks Show
A large bird flew in the sky, its shadow sweeping across the grassland.
The sun climbed higher.
Icicles slowly turned into water, gradually soaking into the yellowed grass.
Come next year, as soon as the spring breeze blows, tender shoots will crawl out from the moist earth.
By then, the withered wild grass will have decayed into mud, becoming fertilizer for the new grass, allowing them to grow sturdily and bloom in midsummer.
When autumn and winter arrive, the grass turns yellow again, and the withered grass acts like a quilt, covering the new life of the coming year with its dried-up body.
The cycle repeats, endless and ever-flowing.
Because this place is beautiful.
The resting spot had a grove of trees and a small river, with a grassland at its back; it was almost hard to leave.
This scene—even without a mobile phone, if one were to just snap a picture, it would be a spot worth fencing off to charge admission; it was just too beautiful.
Mianmian tucked away her small sword because Mother said there was an ambush.
She stood before the grassland, the wind blowing her rabbit-fur robe, holding her sword with a very serious expression.
Jiang Yu called out, “Mianmian, come here.”
“Coming.”
Jiang Mianmian trotted over.
Her older sister handed her a piece of walnut sprinkled with sesame seeds.
“Try this; it smells amazing and tastes delicious.”
Jiang Mianmian looked at her sister’s belly. It was terrifyingly large, and her mouth never stopped chewing.
Although she was not an OB-GYN specialist, based on Jiang Mianmian’s limited experience, the probability of twins was very high.
The good news was that the Meng Family’s curse of having only one heir should be broken.
The bad news was that in ancient times, giving birth relied basically on natural delivery, and the probability of complications with twins was high.
The good news was that Jiang Mianmian was confident enough to perform a C-section, as it was already the simplest surgery. Great-Aunt also knew how to deliver babies.
The bad news was that they were on the road, and she didn’t quite know the due date; after all, twins were prone to premature birth, and postpartum care was slightly troublesome.
The good news was that her sister was as sturdy as a calf, and it felt like the C-section tools wouldn’t be needed.
Jiang Mianmian watched her sister jump down from the carriage and felt a headache coming on.
“Sister, be careful! When other people are pregnant, they can’t even handle a harsh word, and yet you’re jumping around here.”
“It’s fine. I feel like whenever I jump, the babies in my belly seem to be giggling; they must be as active as I am.”
Great-Aunt, who had been a step too slow to catch her, had her brows twitching.
As someone who had been through it, Aunt Yin was also very worried looking at such a large belly.
In the palace, the most important matter was definitely pregnancy.
As a seasoned professional servant, to have a place by the master’s side, one had to be professional in handling everything from pregnancy and childbirth to postpartum confinement and recovery.
Jiang Yu was likely carrying twins.
Twins were difficult to deliver.
And they were on the road; what if labor started early…
Fortunately, Jiang Yu looked very sturdy, and her hips looked like they were well-suited for childbirth. She had also been very careful with her diet and ensured she got proper exercise, so it seemed like it would be fine.
Although this sudden trip to the capital was an accident.
However, Jiang Yu’s husband’s family was in the capital, so they would have to go eventually; having the whole family go together now was actually a good thing.
Right now, they were resting again because there might be an ambush ahead.
Aunt Yin’s right eyelid kept twitching.
This journey was unlikely to be peaceful.
On the other side, Jiang Changtian and his wife were discussing strategy with their one and a half sons, Jiang Feng + Meng Shaoxia.
It was known that there was an ambush in the canyon ahead.
The ambushers were about several times their number.
Going through would definitely lead to a fierce battle.
So what to do?
Jiang Feng said, “That is the only path; if we take a detour over the mountains, it will add two days to the journey. Besides, we have female family members, and Jiang Yu is pregnant, so climbing mountain paths is inconvenient.”
Meng Shaoxia said, “Father, let’s rest for now and launch a night raid after dark; it’s better to strike first.”
Jiang Feng turned to look at his brother-in-law. Brother-in-law, you have changed. Not only has your square face become round, but your heart has also turned dark. You never used to talk about sneak attacks. Could it be that you’ve been influenced by… no, wait, I’m not a pig.
Seeing his brother-in-law’s innocent gaze, Meng Shaoxia quickly explained, “They dare to intercept and kill a court official, and with so many of us, the fact that they ambushed in advance means they definitely didn’t intend to leave anyone alive. We must strike first.”
Jiang Feng patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder, looked up at the clouds racing across the sky, and said, “Father, Shaoxia is right. We must strike first. Those people are lying in ambush without eating or drinking, so poison won’t work on them. We can use fire attacks and then throw in poisonous herbs. They have to breathe eventually; with a big fire and poisonous smoke, I don’t believe we can’t kill them all!”
Jiang Changtian gave his son a look of approval.
His half-son-in-law Shaoxia was smart, but his mind was too straightforward. The enemy was well-prepared for an ambush; attacking them from below was a counter-raid, which was an improvement, but the combat losses would definitely be too high. Every person he brought was the cream of the crop, and he couldn’t bear such losses.
A true villain’s main strategy is to be base and shameless; as long as the goal of sending them to the grave is achieved, who cares about the process of how they were sent there?
Qin Luoxia said, “I’ll go start the fire; I have experience from cooking every day.”
Jiang Changtian said, “Xia Mei, such a dangerous task doesn’t require you to go; just let Fenger and Shaoxia go.”
Meng Shaoxia:…There is love, but not much.
At night, Jiang Mianmian had not yet fallen asleep. She heard some movement in the distance, and then she saw smoke rising in the distant mountains, with patches of bright light.
In the endless dark night, a light appeared.
Truly beautiful.
It was like a magnificent firework blooming in the grassland.
Jiang Mianmian wondered if there were wild goats, if there were lamb skewers, if there was express delivery; she really wanted a midnight snack.
She lay down, and her stomach let out a rumbling sound.
The journey was long, and a midnight snack was a must.
She got up and climbed out of bed.
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