Chapter 288: A Woman Who Also Gave Birth To A Girl
“It hurts, doesn’t it?” Gu Tingxiao’s voice cracked with emotion as he gently brushed a strand of damp hair from her temple. “Wife, I’m so sorry for making you suffer like this.”
Sheng Wanyan shook her head weakly. The mere thought that she would have to endure the exact same agonizing stomach-pressing routine tomorrow drained whatever little energy she had left. “I’m just… so tired.”
Her eyes were rimmed with red, and seeing her look so utterly defeated made Gu Tingxiao’s own eyes sting.
“Close your eyes and rest, sweetheart,” he murmured, leaning down to press a tender kiss against her forehead. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
He felt a profound, suffocating wave of distress. If he had known that bringing a child into the world would subject her to this level of torment, he would have happily chosen to never have children at all.
Exhaustion eventually won, and Sheng Wanyan drifted into a deep sleep. Gu Tingxiao sat entirely still by her side, his gaze anchored to her face. When Mother Gu walked back into the ward carrying a fresh container of food, she took one look at her daughter-in-law’s peaceful sleeping face and immediately lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Tingxiao, eat something first,” she instructed softly, gesturing toward the table. “Let Wanyan rest a while longer.”
Gu Tingxiao nodded. He carefully tucked the edges of the quilt around his wife’s shoulders, smoothed back a few stray hairs from her cheeks, and finally stood up to eat.
By the time Sheng Wanyan stirred and opened her eyes, the morning sun was high. Gu Tingxiao immediately sat by her side to feed her. Mother Gu had prepared an incredibly light, gentle breakfast, knowing that heavy foods would upset a postpartum digestive system. Because she knew how much Sheng Wanyan loved noodles, she had specially rolled out a fresh batch of delicate egg noodles.
The other patients and relatives in the ward watched the exchange with unabashed envy. Their own families were decent enough by local standards, but none of them could afford to eat refined white flour and fresh eggs for every single meal. Sheng Wanyan was truly blessed to have married into such a magnificent household.
What stunned the onlookers even more was the level of reverence being shown. In their experience, a daughter-in-law who gave birth to a mere girl would be met with cold shoulders and meager rations. Yet here, the treatment for having a daughter was far more luxurious than what most families provided for a son. The relatives exchanged bewildered glances, silently wondering if the world had somehow turned upside down.
It hadn’t, of course. It was simply that the Gu family possessed a modern mindset and had absolutely zero desire to treat their daughter-in-law with cruelty.
Sheng Wanyan’s compressed stomach couldn’t handle a full portion, so after finishing half the bowl, she pushed the rest toward Gu Tingxiao, who readily ate the leftovers.
With her son securely stationed at the bedside, Mother Gu no longer needed to pull twenty-four-hour shifts in the ward. Her role shifted to managing the logistics, focused on delivering fresh, hot meals three times a day to keep the young family nourished.
“Oh, by the way, I placed a long-distance call to your grandfather yesterday,” Mother Gu noted, pulling up a chair. “The old man had already brainstormed a few options. He had a boy’s name ready—Gu Jinmin—which he says the fourth branch can use whenever they manage to have a son. For a girl, he suggested either Gu Jinsheng or Gu Jinchao. Both are perfect for our little Yi Yi. What do you two think? Which one catches your eye?”
Sheng Wanyan turned the names over in her mind, finding herself genuinely fond of both. In their lineage, Jin represented the beauty of the present moment, while Sheng referred to a traditional, elegant musical instrument. It harmonized flawlessly with the peaceful, graceful life she envisioned for her daughter. Even in the modern era of her previous life, a name like Gu Jinsheng was rare, striking a beautiful balance between traditional refinement and unique sophistication. It felt incredibly gentle.
The alternative, Gu Jinchao, carried an undeniable ancient charm. In the old dynasties, such a grand, sweeping name was usually reserved for royal princesses. However, the syllables carried a slightly masculine weight, and Sheng Wanyan worried that it might cause confusion for the girl as she grew up. Still, there was no denying its majestic presence.
“Let the baby choose for herself,” Sheng Wanyan suggested with a soft smile. Both names were beautiful extensions of the family’s love and blessings, so letting the child decide felt entirely appropriate.
Mother Gu’s eyes lit up at the creative idea. “That’s a marvelous suggestion! Let’s let the little one draw her own lot.” Privately, Mother Gu actually favored Gu Jinchao for its grand scope, but she had harbored a lingering worry that a girl might find such a heavy, powerful name a bit overwhelming to carry. Then again, she quickly checked her own doubt—how could the great-granddaughter of General Gu and the granddaughter of Commander-in-Chief Gu ever be considered too weak to bear a grand name?
Since they didn’t have a pen and paper on hand in the sterile ward, Mother Gu resolved to bring the supplies during her next visit. “Alright, I’ll pack a fountain pen and some paper slips tomorrow, and we’ll let her draw.”
The mini-lottery took place the following afternoon, and little Yi Yi’s tiny hand miraculously swatted right against the slip bearing the name Gu Jinsheng.
With the choice finalized, Mother Gu immediately called the capital to update the elders, clearing the path for Gu Tingxiao to finalize the official paperwork. The moment his mother arrived to take over the noon shift, Gu Tingxiao pocketed their documents and hurried down to the local administrative office to register his daughter’s household entry.
When he returned, he opened the crimson household registration booklet, his eyes lingering on the final two pages. There, stamped in crisp ink, were the names Sheng Wanyan and Gu Jinsheng. An indescribable wave of profound emotion flooded his chest, leaving his heart feeling entirely full. He carefully slid the booklet back into his jacket pocket, intending to carry it straight home and lock it securely in their master bedroom safe.
With the household registration complete, the final bureaucratic hurdle was cleared. Now, the family was simply counting down the days until Sheng Wanyan was medically cleared to check out and return to the comfort of their courtyard for her month of postpartum confinement. The doctors insisted she remain under observation for a full week, as her body was still far too fragile to handle the transition back to the compound.
“Is the registration finalized?” Mother Gu verified as she settled into her chair.
“It’s all taken care of, Mom,” Gu Tingxiao replied softly.
Mother Gu nodded with satisfaction, leaning over the crib to play with little Jinsheng for a few minutes before gathering her empty containers to head home and start dinner.
From across the room, the impoverished village woman—the one who had delivered a daughter on the exact same night—stared intently toward their bedside, her neck strained as she tried to glean any scrap of information. But her hopes were instantly dashed; the moment Mother Gu rose to leave, she meticulously pulled the heavy privacy curtains completely shut, sealing their space from prying eyes.
Finding her view blocked, the woman bit her lower lip bitterly, looking down at the skeletal, frail infant cradled in her arms. “Be a good girl,” she whispered hoarsely, pressing a small spoon against the baby’s dry lips. “Just drink a little more water.”
Her body remained entirely incapable of producing milk, leaving her with no choice but to rely on plain water to trick her daughter’s stomach. A dark, toxic resentment began to fester deep within her chest as she realized that out of all the patients in the busy ward, her daughter and Sheng Wanyan’s daughter were the only two girls born that night.
Yet, while her own flesh and blood was forced to survive on water to quell her hunger pangs, Sheng Wanyan’s child was swaddled in luxury, thriving on premium milk powder and pristine care. The deeper she sank into the comparison, the more fundamentally unbalanced her mind became.
If only my daughter had been born into a family like that… she thought, her heart racing as a dangerous, frantic idea took root. Her life would be an effortless, smooth journey. She would grow up beautifully educated, with a magnificent inheritance to support her.
The woman’s breathing turned shallow and rapid, her eyes locked onto the solid seam of Sheng Wanyan’s closed curtain, entirely consumed by her own spiraling thoughts.
On the other side of the fabric barrier, Gu Tingxiao was currently engaged in a clumsy, high-stakes battle with a soiled diaper. Little Jinsheng had pooped, and the uncomfortable wetness had her crying in sharp, pathetic bursts.
“Go fetch a basin of warm water to wipe her bottom completely clean,” Sheng Wanyan instructed from the pillows, “and then we’ll slip a fresh diaper on her.”
“On it,” Gu Tingxiao responded instantly. He carefully rolled the wooden crib closer to the edge of Sheng Wanyan’s mattress so she could maintain a direct eye line on the baby, grabbed the empty enamel basin, and stepped out into the corridor to hunt down the hot water supply.
The exact moment the door clicked shut behind his broad shoulders, the impoverished woman next door snapped into motion. Seeing the formidable husband depart with the basin, her eyes flashed. She slid out of her cot, gathered her thin, patched bundle into her arms, and glided silently toward Sheng Wanyan’s closed curtain.
Inside the private space, Sheng Wanyan was leaning over the guardrail, softly coaxing her daughter. She had no idea where the little girl had inherited such an absolute obsession with cleanliness, but the moment her skin felt dirty, she would wail at the top of her lungs.
“Shh, be good, my darling. Don’t cry,” Sheng Wanyan murmured, her voice sweet and soothing. “Daddy is already on his way to fetch the water. You’ll be perfectly clean and comfortable in just a minute.”
Yi Yi couldn’t comprehend the words, only knowing that her little bottom felt sticky and miserable, and she stared up toward her mother’s face with a profoundly aggrieved expression. Although Sheng Wanyan was fully aware that a newborn’s vision was still a blurry fog, seeing those wide, watery eyes lock onto hers sent a sharp pang of maternal protectiveness through her chest. “I know, sweetheart, I know. It’s going to be clean very soon.”
“Sister…” a tentative, overly sweet voice suddenly cut through the quiet as the heavy curtain was abruptly pulled aside.
Sheng Wanyan flinched, her head snapping up to find the gaunt, skeletal village woman standing directly inside her bedspace, cradling her own frail infant. Sheng Wanyan’s brow furrowed automatically, a cold, defensive instinct taking hold as she studied the uninvited intruder. What on earth did this woman want?
“Sister, I heard the little one crying so terribly,” the woman, who introduced herself as Dahua, said with a strained, eager smile. “I’ve already successfully raised three children of my own back in the village, so I have an immense amount of practical experience when it comes to soothing fussy babies. Your little girl is weeping so hard, why don’t I step in and help you cradle her for a bit?”
Dahua’s enthusiasm was entirely too aggressive, her eyes darting frantically around the small space. Sheng Wanyan’s expression hardened into a flat, unyielding wall as she looked at the skinny infant in the woman’s arms.
“There’s no need to trouble yourself,” Sheng Wanyan declined, her tone slicing through the air with clear finality. “Please focus on tending to your own child.”
Dahua’s smile froze completely at the blunt rejection. Her gaze dropped to her own daughter, who was wrapped in a rough quilt constructed from coarse, multi-colored fabric scraps, before shifting back to the opulent crib beside Sheng Wanyan.
Up close, the sheer wealth of the family was staggering. Little Jinsheng was resting atop a plush, imported wool blanket, shielded by a second cloud-soft linen coverlet. From the far side of the ward, Dahua had only been able to tell that the household was comfortable; but standing directly within the space, the true luxury of their provisions left her breathless.
A mere infant girl actually gets to use a luxury wool blanket as a common mattress cushion? What kind of elite dynasty did this woman marry into?
Her eyes hungrily cataloged the immaculate stack of brand-new, thick cotton diapers arranged on the nightstand, flanked by large, expensive tins of premium malted milk and imported infant formula. These were magnificent, priceless treasures she had never even laid eyes on throughout her entire existence in the countryside. A dark, frantic longing clawed at her throat, and she secretly wished with every fiber of her being that every single one of these luxuries belonged to her own daughter.
