| The Paternity Guard (PATERNITY) |
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The girl who screamed miserably behind them was the one who saved Xing Beiming's. It is said that on that day, this girl was carrying a fish basket like usual to pick up the fish that her old father had caught in the fishing net. However, she found a person in a coma by the fishing pillar while being soaked all over with a handsome face pale with misery and a well-made robe, especially with bloodstains on the calves.
Beauty saves the hero!
In an instant, these five big words floated in her mind, and she fell in love with him at first sight.
She arranged for a nearby town's skilled doctor to treat his injuries, served him tea, poured water, served meals every day and told him interesting things happening outside.
She served him as if he were her future husband.
Since he woke up, there have been many unmarried girls and all kinds of old women coming to see him every day with various excuses. This kind of popular and eye-catching husband must be taken care of tightly, or else he will be snatched by someone.
A few days ago, when his injuries were better and he could move, he wrote something on the paper specially borrowed for her. She even sneaked over to take a look under the pretext of pouring water, only to sadly find that she couldn't understand a single word. He must be someone with status and identity.
If she married him...
Scenes of family disputes and grievances appeared in her mind.
Being bullied by several madams on her head, being abused by his parents and even the maid servants and servants taking the opportunity to trip her. She endured the humiliation to take care of her parents, greeted several madams with smiles, all just to stay with him but her life was getting more and more miserable, as fragile as paper...
Originally full of courage and even thinking that she didn't care about many worldly things, a group of people looking for him came outside. Looking at their clothes and momentum, he was indeed not an ordinary person! Before she could be happy or sad about her fate, she saw him holding a... pregnant... woman disguised as a man in his arms and deeply kissed in front of her.
She even sees their entangled tongues...
Ignoring the miserable-faced girl who liked to imagine sad plots, Xing Beiming decisively cleared everyone out of the house. The family looked at this momentum and didn't dare to say much.
The girl pouted as this is clearly her home!
Gu Weijing didn't have time to care about Xing Beiming's impolite words. After clearing out people unrelated to the situation, he instructed everyone to boil hot water and fetch clean cloth while he backed up the medicine box and locked everyone out, turning back to Xing Beiming, "Take off his clothes quickly!"
Gu Weijing quickly arranged the necessary tools near the bed.
Xing Beiming pulled off the black cloak covering Shi Qi and tried to undo his pants. Before he could completely take them off, his face darkened. Gu Weijing saw his complexion change and pushed him to the bedside, sitting at the foot of the bed himself.
While looking even his face turned dark. The black pants were wet and bloody, how could it have just started hurting?
"When did it start?" Gu Weijing asked angrily. This man, didn't he consider his own situation? Running around with a big belly.
"When I hurried over, it was probably midway... huff huff..." Shi Qi, panting constantly, said with difficulty but it made the person behind him look complicated.
Xing Beiming hugged Shi Qi's upper body while listening to him gasping in pain. Seeing his pale lips, he felt like a piece of flesh in his heart was stabbed with a sword. He wanted to scold him but couldn't bear to do it.
He just firmly grasped the hand that was turning white in his grasp and occasionally kissed the sweaty cheek.
Gu Weijing checked Shi Qi's condition and breathed a sigh of relief. "This is a sign of impending childbirth. During this period of time, fatigue and extreme emotions are not only laborious but also risky. If he didn't have a good foundation and I wasn't by his side, it would be hard to say if the child could survive. Shi Qi has bled a bit, although it's not a big problem, it's best not to move before actual childbirth. I'll go prepare some medicine to stop the bleeding and also make arrangements outside."
Xing Beiming's heart finally settled a bit as he took the hot water and clean cloth brought by Ying Qi and began to wipe Shi Qi's body. He glanced at the bedding used by fishermen, which still smelled of fish, and his brow furrowed into a knot. Shi Qi was still in pain and reached out to grab his hand, saying, "Master... being away from home..."
"No need to elaborate," Xing Beiming replied while still holding onto that cold hand. Just then, the sound of Shadow Guards reporting came from outside the door.
Thus, what was originally a simple fishing house suddenly transformed. They threw away the bedding Shi Qi had been sleeping on, replacing it with brand new, thick and soft bedding. Since Shi Qi's amniotic fluid had leaked, they also prepared many soft and absorbent blankets, ready to change them at any time. They also prepared several pillows because of the occasional cold sweat from the contractions, fearing that Shi Qi might be uncomfortable.
The village mostly relied on seafood foods like fish, shrimp, and crabs, so the Shadow Guards also worked hard to buy many nutritious meat and vegetable dishes before persuading the villagers to cook for everyone. It was considered everyone pitching in.
————
Ke Weiqing sat in the courtyard with his face wrinkled. "What should we do? I'm so nervous! Just now, I thought he was going to give birth! I was scared enough to lose ten years of life!"
Shi Er ridiculed him, "Young Master Ke, it's not like you're the one giving birth. Why are you so nervous? Besides, it's not your turn anyway!"
Ke Weiqing rolled his eyes while disdainfully saying, "What right do you have to talk, Shi Er? Just now, I saw you nervously pinching the arm of whoever's beside you so tightly that it probably turned blue. Let us have a look."
Shi Er gritted his teeth and Shi Yi tugged at his tightly wrapped sleeves.
Ying Ba looked dazed, completely unlike his usual sharp and mature self. Ying Qi patted his shoulder. "What's wrong, still finding it hard to believe?"
"No, it's just..." Ying Ba finally showed the expression and tone appropriate for his age. "Shi Qi is still a man, after all. We've all lived together but suddenly one day, he has such a special condition and is with Master..."
In the end, you still can't adapt to the fact that Master and one of your brothers have suddenly become a couple, can you, Xiao Ba?
————
Shi Qi lay in the comfortable bed and experiencing intermittent contractions,
while Xing Beiming helped him walk around occasionally to widen the birth canal for easier delivery. The kitchen outside continuously simmered nourishing herbal soups, ensuring they were well-fed to have the strength for childbirth. Although Shi Qi wasn't hungry at all, he was forced to eat several bowls.
Despite the curiosity of the villagers about the identity and background of this group of people, their simple and timid nature kept them from asking or prying and just continued with their daily activities as usual.
At Taohua family house, the place where Xing Beiming forcefully stayed, Miss Taohua had peeked several times.
These people had taken over her home, although they compensated her family with money.
But!
But!!
But what on earth was that person doing?
Was the person he was holding his wife?
Would that be the madam she would serve in the future?
And she seemed heavily pregnant, would her temper be very volatile? Would she scold her out of frustration once she entered the house?
Oh... she was truly unlucky...
Everyone had gotten used to the girl's occasional outbursts, so as long as she didn't come near the house, she's harmless.
Xing Beiming, rarely coming out was inexplicably stared at by this girl. He glanced at her lightly, signaling the people sitting in the courtyard to keep an eye on her and not let her in to scare anyone.
In the middle of the night, Xing Beiming, who was sleeping haphazardly at the bedside, was awakened by a gentle moaning sound. He quickly sat up and Shi Qi was stretching his arm to wake him up. He grabbed that hand while anxiously asking, "Is it contractions or is it time to give birth?"
Shj Qi, probably in extreme pain took a deep breath and shakily said, "It seems... it seems like it's time to give birth..."
Xing Beiming jumped up and was ready to run outside but Gu Weijing, who had been guarding outside, was called in by the guards. With one look and without a second word, he rolled up his sleeves, preparing to assist.
Everything was prepared properly; hot water was continuously being heated in the kitchen, and all the necessary items were within easy reach.
Shi Qi's moans, which had been suppressed for a long time, became more and more alarming, interspersed with hurried gasps. He almost wanted to crush Xing Beiming's hand bones while cold sweat occasionally dropped from his forehead then flowed down his neck.
His disheveled hair stuck to his cheeks, adding a touch of fragility.
Gu Weijing's hand was constantly under Shi Qi, so what was visible only to Xing Beiming was Shi Qi's legs which were spread wide and trembling so much that he could hardly bear to look.
Gu Weijing shouted loudly for more effort to push.
Due to the recent rushed travels and today's additional hours of activity, the child was coming down very quickly and almost reaching the entrance but despite the long period of 'expansion,' the male body's structure still wasn't enough to smoothly deliver the child. Moreover, too many things had happened recently and Shi Qi's mind had long flown to his missing Master and forgot about using that thing every day.
"Push harder! Can a healthy man like you have so little strength? Come on, push harder and the child will come out!" Gu Weijing watched the gushing amniotic fluid and traces of blood while feeling a bit sweaty on his forehead. It was his first time assisting in a male delivery and although he knew the knowledge and process of childbirth, seeing it first hand was still shocking.
The encouraging words made Shi Qi take a deep breath and exert more force but it almost made him scream in pain. He tightly clenched his teeth to suppress it and Gu Weijing shouted, "Be careful not to let him bite his tongue and give him some air! Don't just stand there dumbfounded!"
Xing Beiming was momentarily at a loss and was even being scolded for the first time but he didn't get angry, only complied. He lowered his head to kiss someone's lips, which is stained with a trace of blood and hoarsely said, "Shi Qi, listen to me, our child can't wait to be born, so you must exert force! Don't you want to see him soon? Don't be afraid, I'm right beside you."
Gu Weijing had never seen such gentle encouragement during childbirth before but for Shi Qi, this kind of encouragement was evidently very effective. The intervals between exertions, which used to be long, became more frequent. Gu Weijing looked at the tightly tensed legs in front of him.
This person was as if risking everything...
Outside, people were like released kites as some were holding their breath on the roof, some pacing back and forth in the courtyard and others sitting in corners while being anxious or scared.
Compared to the piercing screams of women they had heard before, Shi Qi's restrained groans and occasional gasps were even more heart-wrenching.
Suddenly, a scream that couldn't be suppressed any longer, as if undergoing extreme torture, came from the room. The voice was low and hoarse, as if being choked but it was the sound of unbearable pain and known to everyone present.
Almost everyone froze in that moment and waited for the next moment, the whims of fate…