After all, Madam Zhao was her mother, and Ye Jiu called out instinctively. Although Ye Qingzhi followed suit, her small face remained icy, demonstrating a certain coldness despite her young age.
Even though she had been nurtured back to good health recently, she still seemed excessively indifferent when facing others, especially those she wasn’t familiar with.
On normal days, when encouraged to go out and play with other children, she would refuse. If it were not for Lin Songhan at home, Ye Jiu would have worried that she might have developed autism.
Childbirth varies greatly among women, some deliver easily—barely feeling pain before the child emerges—while others endure an experience akin to traversing the gates of hell, like Madam Zhao at present.
When Ye Jiu and He Shi arrived, they saw basin after basin of bloody water being carried out, and the once forceful cries of Madam Zhao had become weak and feeble.
There were indeed many grandchildren in the Ye Family, and it was not Ye Jiu’s first time witnessing childbirth, but she still felt distressed every time, as if she were the one in pain.
He Shi, unable to concern herself with anything else at the moment, pushed past Ye Gaoshui, who was pacing anxiously nearby, and entered the delivery room.
The wait was excruciating, and Ye Jiu could clearly feel Ye Qingzhi’s small body trembling with fear.
Ye Jiu gently stroked her back to console her and said, "Don’t be afraid, Qingzhi. Let’s go wait in Sister Qinghua’s room."
As the youngest child in the family, Ye Qingzhi was witnessing such a scene for the first time. Her fear was inevitable, and Ye Jiu understood.
Ye Qingzhi didn’t resist and let Ye Jiu lead her to Ye Qinghua’s quarters.
Zhang Shi had also entered the delivery room, and Ye Gaoshi, who had been in the house, quickly stood up and left upon seeing Ye Jiu and Ye Qingzhi enter, affording the three some private time together.
"Auntie, do you think it’s always this painful to give birth?" Ye Qingzhi suddenly asked.
"Probably," Ye Jiu answered, having never experienced it herself. She had heard that the pain of natural childbirth was akin to enduring ten broken ribs at once—such agony was beyond her imagination.
But she knew all too well how unbearable it was even to scrape a bit of skin on her hand.
"If it’s that painful, then why bother having children?" Ye Qingzhi couldn’t understand. Surely, if it was neither liked nor wanted, why endure such pain to bring someone into the world?
Ye Qingzhi’s voice was so soft, and with both Ye Jiu and Ye Qinghua distracted by Madam Zhao’s cries outside, no one heard her words, and her turmoil went unnoticed.
The delay lasted until dusk when finally a baby’s distinct cry echoed from outside.
"Auntie, congratulations, congratulations, it’s a grandson!"
The joyful exclamation from outside gave Ye Jiu a sigh of relief.
It was good that it was a son!
Ye Jiu thought this not because she valued males over females, but because, although Madam Zhao might not be a qualified mother, she was decent to her son, at the very least not abusive. Ye Jiu certainly did not wish to see another Ye Qingzhi in the family.
It was still very cold, and the newborn could obviously not be brought outside, so after waiting for nearly a day, Ye Jiu still hadn’t seen what the child looked like.
When He Shi came out, the other midwife who had helped deliver the child reminded Ye Gaoshui, "This sturdy little boy looks so strong, you should quickly send news to his grandmother’s house!"
"Ah, yes, right away, right away..." Ye Gaoshui was so excited he hardly knew what to do with himself, and he started running off at once.