I served as Li Bai's page.

After obtaining permission from Mr. and Mrs. Xu, we began preparations to return to Longxi Courtyard.

Li Bai was filled with mixed emotions. He was happy that he was finally going home and could see his parents, but worried about how to explain it to his younger sister, Yueyuan. One moment he was incredibly excited, and the next he was filled with anxiety. Xu Ziyan and I always tried our best to comfort him.

That night, I was half asleep when Li Bai knocked loudly on the door:

"Yuehua, Xiaoqian, get up quickly and see what's wrong. The young mistress has vomited."

I got out of bed, got dressed, and opened the door. Li Bai stood outside in a panic. I followed him into their room and saw Xu Ziyan vomiting violently into the bedpan, her face covered in tears.

"Young Madam, what's wrong? Did you eat something you shouldn't have?"

Xu Ziyan waved her hand at me and continued vomiting, which frightened me so much that I quickly called to Xiaoqian, "Quickly go and fetch Madam and Master."

Xiaoqian ran out quickly. A moment later, Madam Xu and Wu Ma came running in, putting on their clothes.

"Daughter, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Mrs. Xu asked anxiously.

Upon entering the room and seeing that Xu Ziyan was only vomiting, Madam Xu and Wu Ma exchanged a glance and said, "Don't panic, everyone. I'll send Steward Wu to fetch a doctor right away."

At this moment, Master Xu and his third concubine also entered. Master Xu said, "Yuehua, immediately tell Steward Wu to fetch a doctor."

I went to the front yard and found Butler Wu, saying, "Uncle Wu, Miss is ill, and Master wants you to fetch a doctor."

"Go to the stable and fetch a horse. I'll take a carriage. There are no doctors in Da'an Mountain; we'll have to go to Anlu to ask for one."

I went to the stable to get the horse, harnessed it to the carriage, and Uncle Wu hung a lantern on the carriage. As I sat down, I stopped the carriage road: "Uncle Wu, I'll go with you. It's too dark; one more person means one more pair of eyes."

"Hurry up and get in." I got into the carriage, Uncle Wu cracked the whip, and we sped off towards Anlu.

We arrived at a pharmacy in Anlu. Since it was nearly midnight, the pharmacy was already closed. I went up and knocked hard on the door. I heard footsteps coming from inside.

"What can I do for you?" an old man asked as the door opened.

"Dr. Song, it's me, Old Wu from the Xu family of Da'an Mountain. My young lady is ill; please come and take a look."

"It's Old Wu. Wait a moment, I'll go get the medicine box." Doctor Song took the medicine box from the inner room, and I took it and carried it on my shoulder. We got into the carriage and returned to the Xu residence.

I helped Doctor Song down from the carriage, and Uncle Wu said, "Take Doctor Song inside quickly, I'll go put the carriage away."

I led Doctor Song to the backyard. After Mr. and Mrs. Xu greeted Doctor Song, they invited him into the house.

Xu Ziyan lay on her side on the bed, while Li Bai stood in front of the bed, watching her nervously.

Doctor Song went over, sat down by the bed, and took Xu Ziyan's hand to feel her pulse. After feeling her left hand, he felt her right hand, and after confirming her pulse several times, Doctor Song stood up and said:

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Xu, you are going to be maternal grandparents. Congratulations, Mr. Li, you are going to be a father."

Master Xu and Madam Xu embraced each other happily, leaving Li Bai stunned on the spot.

I tugged at his arm and said, "Young Master, you have a child." Li Bai suddenly snapped out of his daze, grabbed my hand, and said, "Yuehua, I have a child. I want to take him back to see my father, mother, and his aunt."

Mrs. Xu said, "It's still early. Don't you understand the ten months of pregnancy? You won't see your child until next year."

Li Bai smiled shyly.

I asked Doctor Song, "Doctor, does the young mistress need any medicine? She's vomiting quite a lot."

Before Doctor Song could speak, Aunt Wu said, "I will treat Miss Song; she doesn't need medicine. All medicine has side effects, and it's not good for the child."

Dr. Song said, "Aunt Wu is right. I don't recommend taking medicine either. I'll go back now."

"Dr. Song, let me see you out." I followed Dr. Song out of the room.

"Yuehua, since you're not going, I'll go. You stay home and see if there's anything you need to help Aunt Wu with."

"Okay, it's very dark, be careful."

Uncle Wu followed Doctor Song out.

"It's nothing else. Wu Ma and I will stay here. You should all go back and rest. Please make do with the young master sleeping in Yuehua's room," Madam Xu said.

"Mother, I won't sleep. I want to stay with Ziyan and our child."

Ziyan also held Li Bai's hand, not letting him leave.

I walked up to Madam Xu and said, "Madam, you and Wu Ma should go back and rest. Just let the young master stay with you. He'll call us if anything happens. Don't worry, he's not sick."

Master Xu also said, "Madam, let the two of them stay together. If you stay here, our daughter won't rest well, and neither will you. Come on, I'll accompany you back to your room. Yuehua, escort Third Concubine back to her room."

The third concubine walked to Xu Ziyan's bedside and said, "Miss, don't be nervous. Every woman has to go through this. Just let nature take its course."

"Thank you, Third Aunt. You should go back and rest," Xu Ziyan said weakly.

I escorted the third concubine back to her courtyard. When I returned, the master and the others had already gone back to their rooms.

I returned to my room, lay on the bed, and couldn't fall asleep again. Li Bai was about to become a father, and our return to Longxi Courtyard was once again a pipe dream. Madam was absolutely determined not to let Xu Ziyan go with us, and we dared not risk sending a pregnant woman on a long journey with us. What if Li Bai became stubborn? I needed to think of a foolproof plan. Thinking about all this, I actually fell asleep.

"Yuehua, get up quickly," Xiaoqian called as she entered my room.

"What is it now?" I sat up.

"Didn't you see it's already broad daylight? Madam said she's going to the study after breakfast; she has something to say."

"Is it just the two of us who are invited, or are both the young master and young mistress going?"

"They all want to go; I guess it's about not letting the son-in-law go back to his hometown."

"How do you know?"

"You know, Miss is pregnant and can't overwork herself, and the young master is the father of the child, so he can't abandon Miss either. Therefore, the young master can't leave."

"Xiaoqian is right. What do you think we should do if the son-in-law insists on going back?"

"Your son-in-law can't leave. You go back in his place and let him know he's safe."

"Xiaoqian is clever, let's do it this way. Come on, let's go have breakfast."

After breakfast, we went to the study, where Madam Xu and Master Xu were already there. When Li Bai and Xu Ziyan entered the study, Madam Xu said:

"Now that my daughter is pregnant, she can't travel long distances. So let's put aside the matter of you all going back to your hometown for the wedding. Right now, we all need to work together to protect the baby in my daughter's womb."

When Li Bai heard that he couldn't go back to his hometown, he was a little taken aback. He looked at Xu Ziyan, then turned back to look at me.

Seeing Li Bai's expression, Xu Ziyan felt heartbroken and said to Madam Xu, "Mother, I'm pregnant, will it affect my mobility? We can still go back to our hometown."

"No, it will take almost a month just to get here. You won't be able to handle it. Look how badly you threw up last night, your stomach was churning. You'd throw up even worse on the ship."

Thinking about what happened last night, Xu Ziyan couldn't help but feel scared.

"Husband, what do you think?" Xu Ziyan looked at Li Bai, her eyes filled with fear.

Li Bai thought for a moment and said, "Ziyan, you can't go through this. I'll be fine going back. Yuehua and I will go back quickly."

"No, if you leave, I'll miss you. I won't be able to rest well."

As they talked, the two became increasingly unwilling to give in to each other.