Chapter 34: She Also Has Her Own Destiny

The female physician comforted her, "The position of the fetus has improved a bit; it's almost time. Second Madam, please hold on..."

A gurgling sound came from the laboring woman's throat. "Pain..."

The squatting midwife suddenly shouted loudly, "It's coming out! Oh dear, why is it a hand again?"

As she spoke, she used her hands to push the baby's hand back into the birth canal.

The laboring woman was in too much pain to scream; she could only open her mouth.

Even though Feng Chuchen had experienced such scenes before, she still felt a strong sense of discomfort.

After nearly an hour had passed, the female physician shouted loudly, "The position is correct! Follow me: inhale, exhale, push..."

This voice excited everyone, both inside and outside the room.

The midwife's shrill voice rang out, "It's coming! The head is out, it's a boy... Oh!"

Just as everyone was rejoicing, the "Oh!" caused their hearts to leap into their throats.

Master Wen the Second asked anxiously, "What happened?"

Madam Wen rushed directly into the delivery room.

The midwife cut the umbilical cord, tied it, and held the infant upside down, giving its bottom a few small slaps.

The infant made no sound at all, appearing as if it were dead.

Looking at the infant's small belly, there was no rise or fall; it looked lifeless.

The room fell into a deathly silence as everyone stared blankly at the infant in the midwife's hands.

Madam Wen and Second Madam Wen were the same, having even forgotten to cry.

Feng Chuchen desperately wanted to say that they shouldn't cut the umbilical cord yet; performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation might save the child.

But she couldn't speak. She quickly took the "Life-Sustaining Incense" toward the infant, chanting in her heart, "All phenomena are impermanent, the law of arising and ceasing. Once arising and ceasing have ceased, tranquility is bliss. Entering the world without being stained, exiting the world without being lost..."

As she chanted, she placed the incense into a small censer and opened a fire striker to light it.

At this moment, she was also extremely nervous, staring intently at the tip of the incense.

Under her earnest gaze, the tip of the incense lit up, and a wisp of blue smoke curled up from a tiny spark.

That tiny spark was the hope for the infant, and also the hope for Feng Chuchen.

Everyone was incredibly excited, including Feng Chuchen.

Tears flowed from Madam Wen's eyes as she covered her mouth and said, "The incense is lit! My grandson can be saved!"

Suppressing her inner excitement, Feng Chuchen sat down on a chair and gestured for the midwife to hand the infant to her.

The midwife walked over and placed the blood-stained infant on Feng Chuchen's folded arms.

Feng Chuchen used her left arm to support the infant's head and her left hand to support its buttocks. She took a silver needle from the handkerchief held by Auntie Wang and inserted it into the infant's *Baihui* point, then took another needle and inserted it into the *Tiaohuan* point, and a third needle into the *Shanzhong* point.

Then, she began to slowly twist the silver needles, injecting her *qi*...

One breath, two breaths, fifteen minutes passed...

Feng Chuchen had forgotten her nervousness and forgotten the many people watching her in the room. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead one by one, and the clothes on her back were soaked through.

Auntie Wang used a handkerchief to gently wipe the sweat from Feng Chuchen's forehead and cheeks.

At the exact moment the incense burned out, two milky, tiny laughs suddenly rang in Feng Chuchen's ears.

The laughter was soft, tender, and delicate, melting Feng Chuchen's heart.

The infant in her hands moved, and its small belly began to rise and fall.

One midwife cried out in surprise, "The little young master is breathing!"

Madam Wen burst into tears, "It's true! He's come back to life!"

Lying sideways on the bed, Second Madam Wen, using her last bit of strength to look at her son, whispered, "He's alive... my son is alive..."

Then, she collapsed onto the bed, fainting.

Feng Chuchen removed the three silver needles one by one and handed them to Auntie Wang. She used her fingers to pick up the ash from the small censer and applied it to the three acupoints she had just needled.

The infant began to cry loudly.

"Wah~~ wah~~ wah~~"

The sound was as melodious as heavenly music.

Feng Chuchen stared blankly at the wailing infant, finding it utterly incredible.

He just came back to life like that?

He really came back to life!

Who was laughing just now?

It was too miraculous!

How lucky—she also had a destiny!

As soon as the midwife took the infant from her arms, Feng Chuchen felt the world spinning and nearly collapsed.

Auntie Wang caught her.

Madam Wen said, "Miss Feng must be exhausted. Please, go to the east wing to rest."

A maid led them out of the delivery room. Feng Chuchen's face was pale, her body was weak, and her feet felt as if they were walking on cotton.

Master Wen the Second was overjoyed and bowed to Feng Chuchen with a smile, "Miss Feng, you have worked hard."

The midwife's loud voice came from the room again, "The little young master weighs six jin and four taels, and he is quite handsome!"

The maids and servants guarding the courtyard all laughed in unison, "Congratulations, Second Master, on the birth of your precious son."

Master Wen the Second laughed heartily, "Rewards! Rewards for everyone!"

Upon entering the opposite east wing, the maid asked, "Does Miss Feng need a bath?"

How could she bathe in someone else's house?

Feng Chuchen said weakly, "No need, just bring a basin of warm water."

After wiping off her sweat and eating a bowl of egg noodles, Feng Chuchen went to bed to rest.

Her body was extremely fatigued, yet she could not sleep.

She was too excited.

The fact that she could light the Life-Sustaining Incense and apply the Yin Spirit Needles meant that she also possessed a destiny.

But what kind of destiny was it?

Destiny includes the connections between people, such as love, kinship, friendship, or even a chance encounter.

There is also destiny with things or events, such as an encounter or a connection to a certain object. This concept is too broad to define clearly, and it is inherently accidental...

Feng Chuchen could not find her own connection to the Life-Sustaining Incense, but her eldest aunt and the original owner had a connection to it.

Aside from the original owner acting as a bridge, there was no other connection or encounter between her and her aunt.

She could only look for the connection between herself and the original owner, and between the original owner and her aunt.

For example, she and the original owner looked similar and had homophonous names.

What was the connection between the original owner and her aunt? They didn't look alike and had no blood relation. If it were the destiny of adoption, the aunt had also adopted Auntie Wang and Banxia. The Feng family had so many girls who were blood relatives to the aunt; their connection would be closer...

Yet the aunt said only the original owner had the destiny.

Ah, the ancients were particular about the Four Pillars of Destiny (birth dates).

In her past life, Shui Chuchen was born on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and her aunt's birthday was also the 15th day of the seventh month.

But the original owner was born on the 6th day of the eighth month.

Therefore, the birth date could not be the destiny...

In her past life, Shui Chuchen left the mortal world because of this birthday. That man blamed her mother's suicide on her, saying she was inauspicious and caused her mother's death.

He never mentioned that he had been unfaithful during her mother's pregnancy, and that woman had caused a scene at their home, leading her mother to suffer from postpartum depression and commit suicide by jumping.

Because that woman gave birth to a son, the grandmother favored that family of three and also claimed the mother's suicide was due to Shui Chuchen being an ill omen.

Fortunately, her grandfather always cherished her, so her past life wasn't entirely filled with hardship...

Feng Chuchen felt that her destiny with her aunt must have been established through the original owner. As for the specific destiny between the original owner and her aunt, she truly could not guess.

She thought about it until the middle of the night before finally falling into a daze of sleep.

When she woke up, it was already broad daylight.

Auntie Wang was sitting nearby watching her.

Seeing her open her eyes, she smiled, "You're awake. It's normal to be exhausted. You need to nourish yourself well these next few days, and you mustn't practice Tai Chi."

Feng Chuchen sat up, her whole body aching and weak, feeling extremely tired.

She asked, "How are the child and the mother?"