Chapter 626: The Secret About the Past (244)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“I think your life is really pathetic. You don’t have a mind of your own, and all you do is follow your husband and mother-in-law’s orders. Why are you fussing over things when you don’t even have the guts to do anything?” An Xiaoning remarked bluntly, not mincing her words at all.
Mo Li looked down and said, “I’d like to live independently like you do too…”
“You’d first need to be courageous enough.”
An Xiaoning sighed and continued, “You probably haven’t experienced what it’s like to be truly hopeless. I believe that in every human soul lies two strikingly contrasting forms of one’s self. Sometimes, one of the two would be completely subdued and suppressed by the other. Thus, when you meet with difficulties, the form that has been suppressed will rebound like a boomerang. Perhaps that’s the case for you. You’ve gotten too used to taking things in your own stride and swallowing your pain and grievances that you’ve become weak and submissive.”
“You’re right, I agree with you.”
“I think you should discuss this properly with Ye Xiaotian. After all, you two are a married couple. He actually has the final say in your family matters. Regardless of how vicious and cunning your mother-in-law may be, she can’t override her son. Your husband’s opinion is critical. It depends on you to decide if you want to heed the advice of others. You have to take charge of your own life,” An Xiaoning advised.
“I understand.”
Mo Li then left and set off to the Ye Corporation.
Mo Li’s sudden visit caught Ye Xiaotian by surprise, for she rarely goes to the office to look for him.
“Are you busy now?”
“Not quite, at the moment. I heard from Mother that you’re pregnant,” Ye Xiaotian said, smiling.
“I just came from Xiaoning’s place. I sought her help to see if my fate has been altered,” Mo Li explained as she took a seat opposite his desk.
“What did she say?” Ye Xiaotian asked.
“She said, it seems like your mother had really spent a bomb trying to alter my fate. The fetus in my womb now is a boy, without a doubt.”
“Is that so? If it’s true, my mother will finally stop harping on this matter once the baby is born,” Ye Xiaotian exclaimed gleefully, smiling from ear to ear.
Mo Li was a little disappointed to see how elated he was. “Must you really be that happy?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t rejoice too soon, for we’ll have to accept another form of punishment before we get to keep the child. Hubby, will you still be happy even though we have to face some dire consequences?”
“Didn’t they say that it won’t necessarily happen? Maybe we’ll get lucky, don’t worry,” said Ye Xiaotian.
“Xiaoning has already told me firmly that there’ll definitely be grave consequences to face. It might also implicate one of our family members.”
The smile on Ye Xiaotian’s face faded. “Did she really say that?”
“Yes. Since when do Xiaoning’s words lie? I asked her if there was a way to avoid the punishment, and she told me that we’ll have to abort the baby and perform a ritual,” Mo Li answered anxiously.
A frown creased Ye Xiaotian’s forehead. “We can’t abort the child, no matter what. Otherwise, my mother will kick up another fuss and get up to another funny idea. By then, it’ll impact us directly. Shall we look for another medium and see if he has a solution to our problem?” Ye Xiaotian asked carefully, afraid to upset Mo Li, who did not speak to him for days after being forced to drink the talisman water.
Mo Li was filled with disappointment upon hearing his words.
She was both mentally and physically tired from the entire baby-making saga, in order to carry on the Ye family’s bloodline. She no longer saw hope in her life or marriage.
“Honey?” Ye Xiaotian stood up to hug her from behind and continued, “Don’t worry too much about it, I don’t want to cause any unnecessary aftermath problems because of this matter either, but you went through painstaking means to conceive this child, and my mother is so desperately eager for you to carry on the Ye family bloodline. I don’t know if I can strike a balance between the two. Besides, those absurd, superst.i.tious beliefs might not actually be real. Don’t they always say that your destiny lies in your own hands?”
“Xiaotian, let me ask you a question. If the person facing the punishment has to be me or Jiani, would you still want to keep this son? Would you still try to balance the pros and cons?”
“Of course not,” Ye Xiaotian answered.
Mo Li stood up and exclaimed agitatedly, “We have no idea what awaits us next. Can’t we just avoid the possibility of suffering any consequences altogether? Is giving birth to a son really that important? Don’t you see how several wealthy families only have one daughter for their heir? Is it really worth sacrificing our future peace and happiness because of the family bloodline!?!”
“Will you let me think through it carefully? I’ll look for an opportunity to talk to Mother about this,” said Ye Xiaotian, who did not come to a decision immediately.
Staring at him, Mo Li said, “I feel I already know the outcome.”
“…”
——
After basking in the sun for an entire morning, An Xiaoning headed to the gynecologist’s office in the People’s Hospital at two o’clock in the afternoon.
She was wearing the pretty mask.
She did not wish for her health condition to be leaked online.
Since she was an unfamiliar face, the gynecologist proceeded to tell her about her condition exactly as it was, without mincing her words.
After the checkup, the doctor took a close look at the diagnosis report of her womb, birth ca.n.a.l, cervix ca.n.a.l, and ovaries.
“How many children do you have?” asked the gynecologist.
“One.”
“How many have you aborted?”
An Xiaoning placed her hands on the table and answered after some thought, “My uterus was severely wounded during my first pregnancy, so I’ve had three natural miscarriages in total. I’ve never aborted any intentionally.”
Staring at her calmly, the doctor answered, “So you’ve had four pregnancies but only managed to give birth to one and suffered three miscarriages. You really don’t take care of your body, do you?”
An Xiaoning’s heart sank and she asked, “Doctor, what do you mean…”
“Your uterus can no longer hold a fetus, so stop thinking of trying to conceive again. Even if you manage to fall pregnant by chance, you’ll suffer a miscarriage in the end and possibly lose your life as well. But of course, medical technology overseas is far more advanced than what we currently have in the country. Perhaps there’ll be some hope if you seek help from a prestigious doctor overseas. But I suggest you don’t hold your hopes too high.”
“I don’t have plans to get pregnant anyway,” An Xiaoning answered with a nod.
“That’s good. Good that you’ve accepted it with an open mind. You already have a child anyway. Women ought to treasure themselves and their body. You’re anemic. You should nourish yourself properly and nurse yourself back to health. Otherwise, you’re going to suffer from ailments when you’re older. I’ve prescribed you some medicine. I suggest you look for an experience traditional Chinese medical physician to get your pulse checked and ask for some traditional Chinese medicine to aid your condition,” the gynecologist said while scribbling with a pen.
“Alright, thank you, Doctor.” An Xiaoning proceeded to collect her medicine with the prescription slip before heading to a Chinese traditional medicine clinic.
She was again prescribed with traditional Chinese medicine.
While on her way home, she stared at the packet of medicine on the pa.s.senger’s seat and said with a wry smile, “I’ve already become heavily reliant on medicine at such a young age. Great.”
An Xiaoning removed her mask and chewed on some chewing gum.
Once she arrived at the entrance of the Gu family mansion, her car was stopped by the bodyguards on duty.
One of them scurried toward her car and said, “Missy, Madam Xu is here and she’s looking for you.”
“Got it.” She drove inside the mansion.
She alighted from the car with the bag of medicine. As soon as she entered the living room, she was greeted with the sight of Madam Xu sitting on the couch and having a conversation with Mrs. Gu. Both of them quickly stood up at the sight of An Xiaoning’s arrival.
“Madam Xu has been waiting for you for a long time. I tried to call you but your mobile phone was switched off.” Noticing the bag of medicine in her hands, Mrs. Gu asked worriedly, “Are you feeling unwell? Why did you buy so much medicine?”