Early in the morning, An Sheng woke up the moment A Mei moved. In his arms, A Mei let out a soft whimper, her body curling up involuntarily.
An Sheng noticed her voice sounded off. He looked down and saw A Mei's face was pale, fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead. Her fingers tightly clutched the corner of his clothes, her knuckles faintly turning white. His heart suddenly clenched, as if a hand had fiercely gripped it, and his breathing grew heavy.
An Sheng immediately sat up. He touched A Mei's forehead and asked,
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
A Mei whimpered and opened her eyes to look at An Sheng pitifully. "Husband, my... my stomach hurts."
Stomach hurts? A flash of panic crossed An Sheng's eyes, but he quickly calmed down. "Did you eat something bad yesterday, or did you catch a cold last night? Bear with it for a moment, I will call a doctor for you right away."
Before An Sheng could stand up, his inner garment was tugged by A Mei. He turned his head and saw a blush of embarrassment floating on A Mei's face. She whispered, "Husband, there's no need to call a doctor. It's... it's my time of the month."
Time of the month? There were many women in the palace, so An Sheng understood immediately.
An Sheng suddenly remembered that since they got married, he had never encountered A Mei having her time of the month.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows did not unfurl. He asked A Mei, "When did it come last month?"
A Mei shook her head. "I didn't have it last month."
An Sheng frowned. "How could you not? I remember that women are supposed to have their time of the month once a month."
A Mei looked at her husband ignorantly and spoke honestly, "I don't know. In the past, my time of the month only came once every half a year. It seems closer this time. I didn't expect it to be so fast."
A Mei came from a poor background. As a village girl, she didn't eat well and had to do a lot of hard labor, so her health was naturally poor. She had only started having her menses in the last two years. A Mei's mother died early, and no one had ever explained these things to her. A young girl would be too embarrassed to ask others about such matters, so A Mei had always thought this was normal.
An Sheng seemed to have realized this as well. His face darkened, a flash of heartache and pity passing through his eyes. He placed his hand on A Mei's belly and began to rub it gently, asking calmly, "Does your stomach hurt every time?"
A Mei nodded and wrinkled her nose. As if she finally had someone to confide in, she felt aggrieved yet reliant. She spoke softly, "Mhm, it hurts so much, and it's getting worse."
The rubbing hand paused slightly before moving again. An Sheng was silent for a moment, then asked gently, "I don't know much about women's matters. Is there anything that needs to be prepared?"
A Mei's body was uncomfortable, and she was also a little shy to speak. She opened her mouth and whispered, "Husband, my undergarments are dirty and must be changed. I also need to use a menstrual belt."
An Sheng nodded solemnly, lowered his head, and kissed A Mei's cheek. "Be good, I will go prepare them for you right now. I'll be back soon."
A Mei was touched by her husband's kindness and hummed coquettishly. An Sheng got up and tucked her in, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, An Sheng's face turned gloomy. He called Hehua over and gave her some instructions, then said to Cheng Wu, "Go and invite a doctor who specializes in gynecology in this area for me."
"Yes!" Cheng Wu took the order and turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Cheng Wu turned back and heard Eunuch An say, "Also, find me an old woman who is experienced in women's matters."
"Yes, your subordinate obeys!"
In the past, when A Mei had her time of the month, she was also in extreme pain. But back then, she just had to endure it and force herself to do all the chores she was supposed to do. She never thought that now that her life was better and she didn't have to do this and that, she would still be lying in bed like this.
She shrank back in bed, feeling a little embarrassed, afraid that her husband would think she was too delicate and dislike her.
As soon as An Sheng entered the room from outside, he saw A Mei, who had been lying in bed, standing by the cabinet rummaging for clothes.
An Sheng took a few quick steps to A Mei's side, reached out, and picked her up horizontally, placing her on the bed. "Didn't I tell you to lie down properly? Why did you get up?"
A Mei's abdomen was uncomfortable. Being suddenly picked up, she only felt a warm current slip out from below. She was wearing thin clothes, and without looking, she knew that it must have leaked and stained her clothes red.
A Mei could not care less about the discomfort and shame. As soon as An Sheng placed her on the bed, she looked at her husband's hem. Sure enough, it was stained too.
A Mei's eyes widened. For a moment, she was both shy and embarrassed, stuttering, "Husband's... clothes, your clothes are dirty."
An Sheng followed A Mei's gaze and looked down, saying indifferently, "If the clothes are dirty, I'll just throw them away."
Saying so, he took out a menstrual belt from his clothes, brought over new clothes, and said calmly, "Take off your dirty clothes first. I will help you put on the menstrual belt. The kitchen is simmering bird's nest and brown sugar water right now. You can drink something hot later."
How could she let her husband change this kind of thing for her! A Mei was a little dumbfounded. Like a frightened bird, she snatched the menstrual belt from her husband's hand, blushing profusely. Then she shrank into the quilt and whispered, "I will change it myself."
An Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't your stomach hurt? What part of your body haven't I seen? What are you being shy about with me now?"
"No," A Mei said softly. "How can that be? I'll do it myself. Husband, turn around."
An Sheng stared at A Mei for a moment, then finally turned around.
Enduring the abdominal pain, A Mei took off her clothes, put on the menstrual belt, and changed into clean clothes.
"Husband, I'm done changing."
An Sheng turned around. Seeing that her face was still pale and she looked weak, a flash of worry passed through his eyes. He took the dirty clothes away, his gaze sweeping past the bloodstain, and then lifted the quilt to wrap A Mei up.
"I invited a doctor. He will come over to check your pulse in a while."
A Mei shook her head. Staring at her husband with watery eyes, she spoke delicately and weakly, "Why invite a doctor for this kind of thing?"
An Sheng cast a disapproving glance at A Mei, his voice softening. "It's definitely not normal for you to be in this much pain. I will only feel at ease if a doctor takes a look."
Her husband cared about her so much. A Mei felt both happy and touched in her heart, and she obediently hummed in agreement.
The doctor arrived very quickly. A Mei stretched out her hand through the bed curtains. The doctor had already known the identity of the noble person when he came. He concentrated his attention, carefully checked her pulse, and after careful consideration, wrote a prescription.
An Sheng took the prescription and handed it to Cheng Wu.
At this time, Hehua brought over the freshly boiled bird's nest and brown sugar water.
An Sheng glanced at Cheng Wu. "Escort the doctor to the parlor first. I'll be there in a moment."
"Yes!" Cheng Wu led the doctor away.
Hehua opened the bed curtains. An Sheng sat on the edge of the bed and helped A Mei up to lean against his chest. He took the boiled brown sugar water and coaxed gently,
"A Mei, they say that drinking this brown sugar water is good for a woman's abdominal pain. Be good and drink a little."
A Mei was completely listless at this moment. With her head lowered, she obediently drank it from An Sheng's hand.
Hehua, who was waiting upon them nearby, was usually only responsible for attending to the Madam's daily needs and was forbidden from entering private quarters such as the bedroom. Because of this, she rarely saw how Eunuch An and the Madam interacted with each other. In her mind, since Eunuch An was usually so sinister, ruthless, and temperamental, Madam An must certainly suffer in private. But looking at them now, she never expected Eunuch An to cherish and protect the Madam so deeply. Amidst her shock, a glimmer of envy flashed through her eyes. Perhaps her gaze was too obvious, for An Sheng shot a sharp look her way from the corner of his eye. Hehua gave a violent start and, terrified, lowered her head deeply, never daring to let her imagination run wild again.
