Chapter 3: A Life for a Life

In the Gu Family Manor, a prestigious and wealthy household in the city, Du Wan, the wife of the second young master Gu Liunian, was screaming in agony within her bedchamber. The midwife standing before her bed was already drenched in a cold sweat from anxiety.

"This won't do, Honggu. Hurry out and tell the second young master to fetch a doctor. The second young mistress has been in labor for four hours now and still hasn't delivered; there is nothing more this old woman can do."

Having reached the point of exhaustion, the midwife finished her sentence and, without waiting for the maid Honggu to respond, turned and fled the room in a panic. Stamping her feet in desperation, Honggu had no choice but to push open the door and rush off to find her master.

And so, within moments, the only person left in the bedroom was the exhausted Du Wan, lying on the bed.

"Liunian..." Feeling as though her end were near, the woman, soaked in sweat, stroked her heavily distended abdomen and could no longer suppress her helpless sobs.

"Second young mistress, this servant can help you deliver your child, but can you promise this servant one thing?"

Just as Du Wan was sinking into despair, a familiar voice suddenly rang out in the room.

"Is... is that Nanny Gui?" Almost as a reflex, the nearly collapsed Du Wan managed to lift her head slightly from the bed upon hearing the voice.

Sure enough, kneeling on the floor in a disheveled state was none other than Nanny Gui, the wet nurse brought from home by the third young mistress, Mu Ya, who had been sentenced to death by the Old Matriarch not long ago. But strangely, aside from being covered in bloodstains, she was cradling an infant wrapped in a single garment!

"Nanny Gui, what is this...?"

"Second young mistress, I will not hide it from you. This baby girl was born to the third young mistress before her accident, but now the Gu family and the State Shaman have discovered her and are hunting the child down. I am at a dead end and have no choice but to beg you. I hope that, for the sake of the third young mistress being your own cousin, you will save her life!"

After saying this, Nanny Gui bowed her head heavily before Du Wan, still clutching the child.

The news that the third young mistress, Mu Ya, had been possessed by demons and executed by the Gu family's Old Matriarch was known to everyone in Tongcheng. If Nanny Gui had told Du Wan that Mu Ya had given birth to this infant from within her coffin, there was no doubt that the timid and cautious Du Wan would rather die than accept her terms.

Sure enough, upon hearing this—perhaps because she thought of the child still unborn in her own womb—Du Wan’s gaze lingered on the infant in Nanny Gui’s arms for a moment before she finally nodded. "Fine, I promise you. As long as you can help my child be born safely, I will certainly save her life."

Seeing that she had agreed, Nanny Gui was overjoyed. She set the infant aside, rolled up her sleeves, and walked toward Du Wan on the bed.

This time, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a loud, clear cry of an infant rang out in the second young mistress's room.

Gu Liunian, who had just fetched a doctor from the city and was rushing toward his wife's courtyard, suddenly heard the cry of the baby. A flash of wild joy crossed his handsome face, and in an instant, he was sprinting toward the courtyard.

"Wan'er, has the child been born?"

The moment he pushed open the door, Gu Liunian was startled by Nanny Gui, who happened to be carrying out a basin of dirty water. Seeing this, Nanny Gui quickly set the basin of bloody water aside, bowed before him, and said, "Congratulations, young master. The second young mistress has delivered."