The medicine was quite expensive, and within the last two months alone, taking it had consumed most of the family’s Silver Coin. If her in-laws were not afraid of being accused of denying their daughter-in-law medical treatment, they definitely would not have agreed to spend that money on her health.
Because she had caused the family to spend so much money, she had endured countless scornful glances from her in-laws and her husband, Changyi. Thankfully, her belly was cooperating, and she was pregnant again!
Now, with her pregnancy, her status in the family soared.
As long as this child was a son, a son who would survive and grow, then she would truly have secured her place in this household.
She still hated An Jing and Xiao Changyi!
She had been kicked so hard by Xiao Changyi that she vomited blood, and neither Xiao Changyi nor An Jing would compensate her with money. She really wanted to take them to court.
Although her husband Pan Shuangquan had explained why they couldn’t take the matter to court after returning from Xiao Changyi’s place that day, she just couldn’t swallow her pride.
Even though Changyi had said that if his child were to die in her womb, he would kill her entire family, she found it increasingly unbelievable the more she thought about it. So, unable to let go of her grudge, she made two cloth dolls, pretending they were An Jing’s unborn children, and stabbed them.
She stabbed them viciously.
Now, the two cloth doll figures were covered in needles.
She was determined to curse An Jing’s twin babies to death in her womb to vent her anger!
"I will stab you two little bitches to death!" Mrs. Pan Fan’s face twisted with malice as she jabbed needles into the dolls, muttering curses, "Why didn’t you choose a better life, to be born to someone else? You deserve this! I will stab you dead!"
With each cruel stab, Mrs. Pan Fan’s face would break into an ecstatic smile, as if she had already avenged herself by killing An Jing’s children inside of her.
Time passed quickly, and before long, it was the end of April. But as the month drew to a close, the weather grew increasingly hot, making people irritable and restless.
An Jing was pregnant, already more than eight months along, and could hardly bear the heat. Fortunately, Xiao Changyi always fanned her to make her feel a bit better.
But as May came, the weather turned even hotter. Last year’s June and July were not as scorching as this May. An Jing did not understand what was happening with the weather; she just knew she was unbearably hot, especially at night when the heat kept her awake.
"Husband, I’m so hot," she would say to Changyi, her husband, whenever she felt uncomfortable, even though he was fanning her and she couldn’t sleep.
Seeing An Jing in such distress, Xiao Changyi felt uneasy himself. While continuing to fan her, he soothed her in a gentle voice, "Just bear with it a little longer. I have asked Meng Zhuqing to buy ice from the county town. It should be delivered soon."
There were no ice cellars in Sixteen Town, but there was one in Hecheng County. If one wanted ice, it had to be purchased there.
Meng Zhuqing delivered the ice at the time of the Pig, a cart full of ice wrapped in quilts and barely melted.
Xiao Changyi didn’t ask Meng Zhuqing to move the ice into the inner chamber. Instead, he carried it himself.
In the inner chamber, several wooden tubs and buckets had been placed.
Xiao Changyi put all the ice in the tubs and buckets. As the ice slowly melted, the temperature in the inner chamber gradually fell, and An Jing began to feel less uncomfortable.
Meng Zhuqing had already left, and Xiao Changyi returned to the bed.
Xiao Changyi didn’t lie down; he just sat beside An Jing, watched her, and asked with concern, "Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
An Jing was lying on her side on the bed, and upon hearing Xiao Changyi’s question, she immediately shook her head with a smile, "With the ice, it’s different. I’m not hot at all now."