In a small yet intricate courtyard, there was a room with its curtains drawn. Inside the room, a female servant was looking at a woman with a pale complexion lying on the bed. The former wore an urgent expression as she said, "Mistress, please have some food. The midwife says you could be due at any moment now, but you haven"t eaten for so many days; things can"t continue like this."Miranda lay on the bed with her bulging stomach, looking as if she really were about to give birth at any moment. However, her swollen face was extremely pale, and she opened her eyes in a feeble manner to glance at the bowl of porridge that the servant was holding. Just the sight of the porridge was enough to make her heave and dry-wretch violently, and she closed her eyes again as she shook her head. "I can"t eat anything. Take it away."
She knew that she had to eat for her child, but she simply couldn"t do so.
No matter what she ate, as soon as it entered her mouth, she would begin vomiting until there was nothing left in her stomach, and she couldn"t even stomach a single mouthful of white porridge.
Nothing like this had ever happened before, not even back when she had Angus.
Thinking back to her perilous delivery of Angus, the midwife had told her that she couldn"t ever have another child again. Otherwise, it would be the death of her.
However, she didn"t tell Gjerj about this. She wanted to give him a daughter even if it meant giving up her own life in exchange.
"But…" The servant wanted to say something else.
Right at this moment, Miranda"s stomach belly suddenly churned, and a painful expression on her face as she huddled over like a prawn. She grasped the bedframe with all her might to keep herself from unintentionally hurting the child in her stomach through her violent convulsions, and she moaned with agony as cold sweat poured down her deathly pale face.
"Mistress!" The servant hurriedly set the bowl of porridge aside before hurrying over to Miranda"s aid. However, she was at a complete loss for what to do, and she could only scream, "Help! Our mistress is about to give birth!"
The doors of the room were quickly flung open from the outside, and a pair of elderly women strode into the room. One of them grasped onto Miranda"s hand with one of her own while using her other hand to gently stroke Miranda"s stomach.
The churning in Miranda"s belly gradually died down, and her painful expression eased significantly. However, following that ordeal, her face had paled even further, and she was truly in a bad condition.
The two midwives looked at Miranda, and then glanced at one another before heaving a collective forlorn sigh and leaving the room.
There were many people gathered outside the door. Parber was holding tightly onto Parmer"s hand, while Angus was bawling in the arms of a female servant. All of the family servants had gathered in collective prayer for their kind and benevolent mistress.
Gjerj"s father, Old Man Williams, wore a grim expression on his face. Some of the important figures in the Williams Family were also present, and as the midwives emerged from the room, he immediately hurried over to them with a concerned expression. "Has the child been delivered?"
"Not yet, Master. Her womb is contracting, which means the child is about to be born, but…" The midwife"s voice trailed off mid-reply.
"What is it?" Old Man Williams asked.
The midwife hesitated momentarily before replying, "The mistress"s is much larger than that of the average woman at this point during pregnancy, so this child is most likely going to be larger than the average child. The problem is that the mistress is very feeble right now, and this is her fourth childbirth, so it"s most likely going to be very difficult for her to have a safe delivery…"
All of the expressions on the faces of the people in the courtyard changed upon hearing this. Everyone knew that Miranda"s pregnancy had been quite a rough one on this occasion. Back when she had given birth to Angus last time, she had almost died as a result, but it appeared that this pregnancy was going to be even more perilous than her last one.
"What are you trying to say?" Old Man Williams already knew the answer to this question, but he was still desperately grasping at straws, trying to find a glimmer of hope.
The other midwife wore a grave expression as she replied, "Master, at this point, it won"t do anyone any good if I sugarcoat my words. In her current condition, there is no chance that both the mistress and her child will survive this childbirth. Prior to her next womb contraction, we have to make the decision to save the parent or the child."
Everyone turned their attention to Old Man Williams. This was an extremely cruel decision for anyone to have to make, and everyone around him wore sympathetic expressions on their faces.
"Mother!" Tears immediately welled up in Parmer"s eyes.
"Big Brother, is Mother going to give birth to a little sister for us?" Parber asked as he looked up at Parmer with antic.i.p.ation in his eyes.
Parmer looked down at Parber, and he forcibly suppressed his own sobs as he nodded, and replied, "Yes, Mother is going to… she"s going to give birth to a little sister for us…"
"That"s great! I"d love a little sister!" An elated smile appeared on Parber"s face, but the smile quickly faded as a perplexed expression appeared on his face. "But… why are you crying, Big Brother?"
Old Man Williams stumbled back, and only managed to keep himself upright by holding onto a nearby tree. He turned toward the room that Miranda was in, and his eyes were filled with pain and indecision. He looked around before flaring up with rage. "Where the h.e.l.l is Gjerj? Where did he go?"
"The… The young master said he was going out for a bit, but he didn"t say where he was going…" the butler replied.
The midwife urged, "Master, we have to make a decision right now. If we keep delaying like this, both the mistress and her child will be in danger!"
"I… I… If I make this decision, Gjerj will hate me for the rest of his life…" Old Man Williams sighed heavily as he rammed a fist into the tree beside him.
Some of the younger servants in the courtyard had already burst into sobs. Miranda was so kind and warm, and she treated them like family.
The grief seemed to be contagious, and soon even Angus was bawling at the top of his lungs.
Old Man Williams hung his head like a broken man, unable to make a decision.
No one else dared to say anything, and they could only heave forlorn sighs at this misfortune.
The two midwives were unconsciously bobbing up and down with urgent expressions as they awaited Old Man Williams" decision. They had been midwives for several decades, and they"d encountered such situations in the past. Under such dire circ.u.mstances, a choice had to be made. If a verdict was delivered too late, both the mother and the child could die together.
Just as courtyard had descended into complete silence, Miranda"s feeble yet determined voice sounded from within the room. "S… save the child! Father… You must save the child… I can sense that this is a daughter; Gjerj has always wanted a daughter."
The women in the courtyard were unable to control themselves any longer as they burst into sobs, and even the men were wiping away tears as they turned their faces away.
"Mother! Don"t abandon us! Mother…" Parmer released Parber"s hand as he rushed over fell over at the entrance of the room, bawling with all his might.
"Sigh…" Old Man Wiliams heaved a heavy sigh and punched the coa.r.s.e bark of the tree until there was blood flowing from his knuckles. He looked up at the midwife, and croaked, "Save the chi—"
"Even if we can only save one, we have to save Miranda!"
A loud voice suddenly erupted outside like a clap of thunder. Gjerj"s forehead was pouring with sweat as he barged into the courtyard with his portly body. There was a large earthenware urn in his hands as he strode toward the room, and he yelled, "Open the door, Parmer!"
"Father!" An elated look appeared on Parmer"s face, and he scrambled to his feet before flinging open the doors with all his might.
Gjerj rushed into the room with the earthenware pot in his arms before appraising the semi-unconscious Miranda with a pained yet loving expression on his face. "I"m back, Miranda!"