~4 months passed in a blink of an eye~
Throughout the palace there were fast footsteps echoing for quite some time. It was Mo-Chou's footsteps echoing throughout the palace. Mo-Chou's face was squished from running and carrying a rectangular basket with bamboo etched into the front of the box. She slowed down before arriving at her destination. Mo-Chou took a big deep breath in and out while brushing off her dress to get the dust from running around off before waking her miss.
The door creaked as Mo-Chou entered, She tipped toed inside ever so gently after stepping inside she placed the box onto a table with a jug of fresh water. Mo-Chou went over to a sleeping silhouette to wake up.
"Miss, it's time to wake up, the birds are already chirping, the sun also came out to start the day." Mo-Chou whispered as she bent down to lightly shake her sleeping Miss.
There was groaning and Lian mumbled something under her breath as she stretched.
"I'm sorry, Miss I did not catch what you said." Mo-Chou said while pouring a glass of water.
"I was asking for some water, there's no need to apologize Mo-Mo. You have been a big help while I am pregnant, I really appreciate all your help." Lian vocalized while receiving Mo-Chou's help to get out of her bed and sit her at the table with the cup of water waiting for Li-lian to quench for thirst.
Lian took a long gulp before catching her breath to ask where her husband was. When Mo-Chou answered, Li-lian signaled to get dressed and go on a walk. Mo-Chou helped Lian get dressed in her tea green han-fu which she accompanied with a white shawl accented with bamboo on each end of the shawl. Mo-Chou also arranged Lian's hair into a nice loose side braid updo compliments with her bamboo hair ornaments her husband gifted her when he found out his wife was pregnant. Mo-Chou stepped back after she put the let hair ornament in her hair to appreciate her miss's overall beauty. Mo-Chou felt a wave of emotions wash over her, tears started to take over her eyes causing tear drops to drip down her cheek before Lian used her handkerchief to wipe her cheeks.
"What's wrong, Mo-Chou? Lian asked while wiping Mo-Chou's cheek with a sweet and concerned smile.
"I just started to think about the time we spent together and now you're about to become a mother, time really passed by for the better, right?" Mo-Chou said while kneeling down on the ground to rest her head on Lian's lap. Lian stroked Mo-Chou''s hair while reassuring her that there will be more years to come for them to still be together. It took some time for Mo-Chou to calm down.
"Mo-Chou, what even brought on these tears? besides the fact you were reminiscing? Is there something else that's bothering you?" Lian asked with a worried face with her hands holding Mo-Chou's hands.
"I overheard the older women at the food stalls chatting about how one of their son's wives just gave birth to a healthy boy, but the birthing process was atrocious and hard, almost costing the mother her life! After I overheard their conversation, I just had to run out without finishing my food. I couldn't bear to hear the rest, just imagining that made my stomach queasy!" Mo-Chou said while wiping her tears with the handkerchief with her head hanging down.
"Calm down, Mo-Chou, everything will go smoothly. The Imperial mother has a midwife that is supposed to be the best in the country. I'm sure nothing should go wrong with the birth of my child." Lian's voice was stable and calm. Mo-Chou had no choice but to believe what Li-lian told her.
"Yes, Miss." Mo-Chou voiced as she was helping Lian up from the chair and onto her feet.
While the two took a walk, there was someone else hiding behind a tree writing down something. As if Lian noticed someone watching her, she whipped around to stare at the tree. Lian moved her glance back to Mo-Chou since she thought nothing of it. They continued to enjoy their walk. The breeze whispered throughout their hair, making them enjoy the fresh, cool air for a change.
While walking Mo-chou spotted beautiful flowers overflowing both sides of the sidewalk, she held onto Li-lian's arm to help stabilize her while they jogged to the flowers to take in their beauty. Both Li-lian and Mo-chou smiled while they stood over the flowers gazing at their beauty.
"Miss, what type of flowers are these?" She asked Li-lian while poking the glittering blue-ivory flowers as they waved as the breeze blew the flowers.
"I think they are called treaglek, they are known for beauty and their medicinal properties such as bewitching another person, it was mostly used by the demon sects for these purposes. But in medicine they were used to numb a certain area of the body when applied, it was mostly used for big surgeries, amputating in the war and a lot of other things." Li-lian said while clipping a few flower stems. She wrapped the dozen flowers in a silk cloth to preserve their life force, and placed them inside her special pouch.
"Mo-chou, take some flowers with you. When we get back to the house I'll teach you how to make the cream for later purposes." Li-lian said as she stood up grabbing her back.
"Yes, miss. Thank you" Mo-chou plucked the same amount as her miss, and wrapped in the fabric Li-lian gave to Mo-chou. Mo-chou smiled as she accepted the fabric from her miss. She has always been interested in making medicine, potions, chi pills. She always watched over Li-lian's shoulder when she was getting lessons from her teacher. As Mo-chou stood up she carefully placed the flowers in her little satchel and dusted the dirt from her pants to grab a hold of Li-lian's arm to finish their walk back to Li-lian's bed chamber. They giggled the whole way back.