Only upon hearing the infant’s cry again did Shen Xiaoyan truly relax.
The midwife also let out a sigh of relief, smiling at Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei. "Madam has great fortune, giving birth to triplets at once. Now you have both sons and daughters."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Zheng Wei asked, confused.
"The first two children were boys, and the last one born was indeed a girl, so you have both sons and daughters," the midwife said obsequiously.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei hadn't had time to ask about the genders earlier, and now that they knew, they were filled with joy.
There was no preference for sons. As long as they were her children, she loved them all. Having both sons and daughters was probably what every woman hoped for.
As the two midwives spoke, their hands were busy. They skillfully cleaned Shen Xiaoyan and helped her change into a new set of clothes. Zheng Wei then carried her, wrapped in a large cotton quilt, back to the east wing room of the main house.
The cotton quilt on the heated brick bed in the east wing room had already been changed. Zheng Wei carefully placed Shen Xiaoyan on the bed, covered her with the quilt, and then softly asked, "Mimi, are you hungry? Aunt Qu has prepared brown sugar eggs for you, saying they're good for your recovery."
Shen Xiaoyan nodded. She was indeed hungry, but more importantly, she wanted to see her babies.
"Are the babies ready? Why haven't they been brought yet?"
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan's eagerness to see the children, Zheng Wei called out, and Huo Fen quickly entered. She had been waiting outside.
"Go and ask the midwife to bring the babies here, and then go to the kitchen to bring the brown sugar eggs your mother prepared," Zheng Wei instructed.
Huo Fen agreed and hurried out.
As soon as Huo Fen left, Yue Qingxin, with her pregnant belly, entered. Sima Han did not follow her in, as it was not appropriate for him to be there immediately after Shen Xiaoyan's childbirth.
"Sister, how are you?" Yue Qingxin asked anxiously as soon as she entered the room.
"I'm fine, Sister. Don't worry. Do I look like anything is wrong?" Shen Xiaoyan smiled.
"Pah, pah, pah! What are you talking about?" Yue Qingxin saw that Shen Xiaoyan's spirit was good and her worries eased. She then joked with Shen Xiaoyan. "Where are the babies? Hurry and let me see them. You're truly amazing, giving birth to three at once."
"I want to see them too. They should be bringing them over now," Shen Xiaoyan said, glancing towards the door.
A thick curtain hung by the door. It was lifted from outside, and then two midwives and Qu Shi walked in, each holding a baby.
The swaddling clothes of the three babies were of different colors, so there was no fear of mixing them up.
"Red is the eldest, yellow is the second, and pink is the youngest," Zheng Wei explained to Shen Xiaoyan, pointing to the swaddling clothes in their hands.
Zheng Wei had been with Shen Xiaoyan the entire time. Shen Xiaoyan hadn't heard him ask about the babies' sizes, and since the midwives didn't object to his statement now, it meant he had paid close attention when they were swaddling the babies.
"What Elder Brother said is actually all correct. It's amazing," Qu Shi praised.
"Bring them here for Madam to see," Zheng Wei said to the three women.
The three women approached one by one and placed the babies beside Shen Xiaoyan for her to see.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the three babies and found that they really looked alike, or perhaps, all newborn babies looked alike.
Yue Qingxin also leaned in to examine the babies closely, marveling. Then she remembered something and asked the midwife, "How much do the three babies weigh? Has Doctor Fan examined them?"
Qu Shi quickly replied, "Replying to Madam Yue, all three babies weigh four catties. Doctor Fan has already examined them and said they are healthy."
Yue Qingxin nodded upon hearing this and continued to examine the babies.
All three had red skin, their features not yet fully developed, so it was difficult to tell what they looked like.
However, the midwife said that the redder a baby's skin was at birth, the fairer they would be in the future. Shen Xiaoyan just smiled at this.
The three babies were sleeping soundly, so Shen Xiaoyan asked them to take the babies to the study outside. Both rooms were kept very warm, so there was no worry about the babies getting cold.
After Shen Xiaoyan ate the bowl of brown sugar eggs brought by Huo Fen, she fell asleep.
Seeing that Shen Xiaoyan was asleep, Yue Qingxin also left. She watched the babies in the study with Sima Han for a while longer before they returned to the west wing room together.
Shen Xiaoyan woke up at noon, and it happened that the three babies were also hungry.
Due to the sudden childbirth, the wet nurses hadn't arrived yet, so Shen Xiaoyan had to feed the three babies herself for now.
It was also thanks to her good health from the immortal spring water that her milk came in immediately after childbirth, and her breasts were now feeling slightly painful from fullness.
Shen Xiaoyan couldn't get up, so she could only lie on her side and let the babies lie beside her to nurse. This posture made Shen Xiaoyan a bit uncomfortable, but watching the tiny beings swallow and make sucking sounds made her feel incredibly happy.
After the three babies finished feeding, they closed their eyes and began to sleep soundly again.
Shen Xiaoyan's lunch was a confinement meal that she and Zheng Wei had discussed and planned earlier, prepared by Qu Shi and Zhou Shi.
When Shen Xiaoyan’s younger brother, Shen Xiaoming, arrived, he heard from Huo Cheng that Shen Xiaoyan had already given birth, to two sons and one daughter, which startled him. He immediately rushed towards the main house.
Before he even entered the room, he bumped into Zheng Wei, who was coming out.
"Brother-in-law, how is my elder sister?"
"Your elder sister has just eaten and is asleep. Don't wake her up," Zheng Wei said in a low voice.
Shen Xiaoming immediately covered his mouth and nodded at Zheng Wei, afraid of making any noise that would wake Shen Xiaoyan.
Zheng Wei found Shen Xiaoming's reaction amusing. He said softly, "You don't need to worry. Your elder sister is very well, just a little tired. I've been with her the whole time."
"Mm-hmm. With brother-in-law here, I'm not worried," Shen Xiaoming said with a smile. "Can I see my little nephew and nieces?"
"Of course. Come," Zheng Wei said, leading Shen Xiaoming into the east wing room.
Seeing the three babies lying side by side on the heated brick bed, Shen Xiaoming's eyes sparkled. He was so happy he didn't know what to do.
He bent down and carefully looked at each baby for a while, then asked about their genders. He also said that when they grew up, he would teach them to read and write, and to ride horses and shoot arrows.
However, after saying this, Shen Xiaoming smiled sheepishly. "Speaking of which, Brother-in-law, you're much better than me. I've learned everything from you, brother-in-law."
"If you want to teach them, that's your intention, and it has nothing to do with anyone else," Zheng Wei said, patting Shen Xiaoming's shoulder. "However, you need to study hard. Otherwise, what will you do if you're not capable of teaching them in the future?"
"Yes, I understand, Brother-in-law. I will study hard. Please rest assured," Shen Xiaoming said with a firm expression, puffing out his small chest.
Zheng Wei smiled understandingly and patted Shen Xiaoming's shoulder encouragingly.
After looking at the babies for a while, Shen Xiaoming went back to the study. Zheng Wei stayed by the three babies.
Although he had already sent Huo Si to fetch the three wet nurses by carriage, Zheng Wei thought they should still buy more people.
When Shen Xiaoyan woke up in the evening to feed the three babies, Zheng Wei shared his plan.
"I was thinking, we should buy more people. Several children need to be taken care of all the time, and household chores need to be done. When Yue Qingxin gives birth, there will also be a need for people to help care for the children. So, why don't we buy more people?"
Shen Xiaoyan agreed with Zheng Wei's words and nodded. "You're right. I was thinking the same thing. Once we bring people back, we need to assign household matters specifically. We can't continue like this."
Although there was no instance of anyone slacking off, Shen Xiaoyan still felt that it would greatly improve efficiency if everyone knew their responsibilities clearly.
After discussing this matter, Shen Xiaoyan then asked, "What should the babies' names be? Have you thought of any?"
They had also considered names for the children. Previously, they only knew it was a multiple birth and didn't know the genders, so they had prepared both boy and girl names. Now, they only needed to finalize them.
"I was thinking, the eldest can be named Zheng Jiang, the second Zheng He, and the daughter Zheng Run. Her nickname will be Ruan Ruan."
Shen Xiaoyan smiled upon hearing this. It seemed Zheng Wei still favored his daughter.
The two sons didn't have nicknames, only the daughter did, which showed how partial he was.
However, she had to admit that she really liked this partiality.
"Okay, I'll go with your suggestions," Shen Xiaoyan nodded.
These names were what they had discussed earlier, so she naturally had no objections.