Chapter 193: Chapter 179: Wanwan Speaks, Naming the Baby (Part 2)
When realizing that Emperor Guangxi was standing right next to him, the smile at the corners of Song Wei’s lips gradually faded. He didn’t deliberately sit upright pretending to be obedient, nor did he nervously pick up his pen to feign thought.
He had already finished writing, and besides, the emperor had been standing there for quite a while, probably seeing all his absent-minded expressions. Now trying to make amends was futile, so he simply did nothing, acting oblivious.
Emperor Guangxi indeed stood there for a long time. He noticed Song Wei was daydreaming, but he didn’t say a word, intending to scare the brat a bit and see how he’d react after realizing he was the emperor.
As a result, there was none of the expected shock and surprise. Just as a few years ago, a few years later, this rascal remained the same, seeing the emperor as casually as seeing his own father, without even a change in breath.
Emperor Guangxi stood there questioning his life, doubting his own charm.
He originally wanted to call on Song Wei to ask a question, but seeing the kid’s reaction, Emperor Guangxi nearly had a heart attack. So he turned around and left without asking anything, the faint grunt clearly showing he was sulking.
Looking back, he comforted himself that speaking was not allowed in the examination hall; as an emperor, if he didn’t start the conversation, surely Song Wei couldn’t voluntarily say anything to him.
...
Song Wei found this emperor a bit inexplicable.
——
When Wen Wan awoke, she faintly heard voices from outside. She strained to listen for a while but didn’t catch much.
Her throat felt a bit fiery. Seeing a water jug on the bedside table, she wanted to pour herself a bowl of water. As she turned her head, she saw her son sleeping beside her.
The little guy was wrapped in swaddling clothes, only revealing a small head, his face reddened, eyes shut.
Wen Wan’s first reaction wasn’t to hold her son but to reach her hand under his tiny nose to check his breath.
After confirming he was fine, a smile gradually appeared on her face.
Even though he was wrinkly and not as cute as imagined, seeing the little guy, Wen Wan still felt a sense of closeness, and she couldn’t help but pick him up.
The little one was disturbed, struggled to open his eyes, seemed to realize it was his mother holding him, and lazily dropped his eyelids, falling back to sleep.
Granny Song came in, saw Wen Wan holding the baby, and asked why she didn’t sleep a little longer.
Wen Wan had been tossing and turning half the night last night. She was quite tired after giving birth but didn’t sleep well, often having bad dreams, dreaming that her husband got into trouble in the capital. She felt uneasy and couldn’t sleep.
Hearing her mother-in-law’s question, Wen Wan looked at the little one, tried to control her emotions, and shook her head.
While pouring warm water for her, Granny Song said, "I cooked some porridge on the stove. I’ll bring it to you later. You drink some water to soothe your throat first."
Speaking of her throat, Wen Wan seemed to realize something, her expression a bit blank.
She remembered, before falling into a deep sleep, it seemed she yelled out once.
"Mother..."
Wen Wan tentatively opened her mouth, unexpectedly able to make a sound, albeit her voice was so hoarse it didn’t sound pleasant.
Daughter-in-law had been in the family for three years, and it was the first time for Granny Song to hear her call her "mother," feeling quite excited, she sat down, "Third Son’s wife, call me again so I can hear it?"
Wen Wan couldn’t help but feel joy, opened her mouth, "Mother～"
This time, it was much more emotional than the last.
"Aye..." Granny Song responded with a smile, "I suspected you might have regained your voice from giving birth. I already asked your second sister-in-law to fetch a doctor from town. He’ll take a look at you later."
"I... can speak now?" Wen Wan touched her throat, coughed, feeling a slight vibration there.
Granny Song handed her the poured water, and Wen Wan drank a large bowl, chatting a bit with her mother-in-law, simply soothing her throat, her voice improved a lot.
Granny Song’s face was creased from smiling, "If Third Son knew, he’d surely be delighted."
Thinking of her husband, Wen Wan showed a bit of shyness, lowering her head.
After Wen Wan had some porridge, Granny Song let the doctor in to examine her. The old doctor asked a few questions about Wen Wan’s previous condition, learning that she had been treated with acupuncture and medicine a year ago but had to stop due to sudden pregnancy. He concluded, "Miss Song’s treatment a year ago should have been in the late stage, just short of the final push, but it was unfortunately delayed. This childbirth helped you fully regain your voice. You should rest during confinement, refrain from taking herbal medicine, but you can occasionally drink some honey water to soothe your throat. After confinement, we’ll decide whether to use medicine based on your recovery."
Granny Song paid the consultation fee, thanked the doctor profusely, and sent him off. She then came back to tell Wen Wan what to watch out for during confinement, suggesting she shouldn’t walk around much the next few days, keep the windows and doors shut to avoid drafts, and leave the cooking to her mother-in-law; she should just rest in bed.
Finally, they talked about naming the baby.
In the countryside, most children’s names were given by their grandparents.
The mother-in-law brought it up herself, and even though Wen Wan wanted her husband to name the child personally, she didn’t voice any objections.
Granny Song said, "My little grandson came with difficulty, he needs a sturdy name to grow up well."
Hearing the word "sturdy," Wen Wan felt a bit anxious.
There were plenty of sturdy names in the village, like Dashun, Fugui, Wangcai, Shuanzhu...
Indeed, they were as sturdy as could be.
Wen Wan glanced up and saw her mother-in-law ponder for a while, then firmly decided, "Since we have Yuanbao, let’s call this one Jinbao."
Song Jinbao.
Not unpleasant to hear, but just a bit awkward to call, not as smooth as Yuanbao.
Wen Wan was thinking about how her husband would react to this name when she heard her mother-in-law say, "Jinbao doesn’t sound as good as Jinbao, let’s change it to Jinbao. It’s catchy, Third Son’s wife, what do you think?"
"..."
Wen Wan didn’t think much of it.
It’s fine as a nickname, but as a full name, it feels a bit forced.