In the hall, there was an eight-immortal table. On a chair at one side sat a person. Jax was a little surprised to see it was Minnie.
She had changed her clothes. On top, she wore a light pink shirt embroidered with orchids. Her skirt was a pleated moon-white long skirt.
Around her waist was tied a lake-green silk ribbon. Minnie's skin was fair, and the clothes made her look even softer and more delicate.
Jax noticed the fabric was smooth and soft, unlike ordinary cloth. He guessed the clothes were probably looted by the Phoenix Mountain group.
Sure enough, when asked, Minnie said the clothes got dirty when helping Erina deliver her baby. So Erina asked someone to find these clothes for her, saying she didn't need them anymore.
"How is the Second Master?" Jax asked.
"The mother and child are safe. She is in good spirits."
As soon as Minnie left Erina's room, a group of men watched her. She felt uneasy and came to find Jax. Following him, Minnie felt safer.
"What is this?"
Minnie opened a wooden box in her hand. "It's from the Second Master…" She didn't know how to call that man, so she just left it vague. "They gave it as a thank-you gift."
Minnie looked at the two heavy, bright gold bracelets inside the box. She felt troubled. "I've never received such expensive thanks before…"
Jax smiled at her troubled look. "This is what you deserve. If you don't accept it, the Second Master might be upset."
He thought about the gold and silver treasures on Phoenix Mountain. As the Second Master, Erina would have plenty of wealth. The two gold bracelets were precious but only a small part of her wealth.
Besides, this was a happy occasion. It was proper for Minnie to accept the gift.
"Such ignorance, just two bracelets…" Sanruwi sneered. Before finishing, Minnie took out several more boxes from a strange package near her feet.
"These are also from the Second Master's men. Each gave one."
Minnie's heart beat faster looking at the boxes. "They are all very precious!"
The other four boxes contained phoenix gold hairpins, jade hairpins set with rubies, a pearl necklace, and a pair of moist jade earrings. With such wealth, Minnie was now a small rich woman.
Is delivering babies really so profitable? Minnie wondered deeply.
Usually, people gave midwives gold, silver, or cloth. But Erina's status on Phoenix Mountain was high. This was her first child, so everyone cared more.
Erina's husbands thought giving gold or silver was too common. They worried marked gold or silver might bring trouble to Minnie. So they chose jewelry instead.
Jax looked at the five boxes with a strange expression. Sanruwi showed contempt on his face.
"If everyone gave gifts, you should accept. It's to bring good luck." Jax said slowly.
"Good luck?" Minnie did not understand.
Jax tilted his face slightly. "Yes, everyone hopes to be the child's father… It's a kind intention. You should accept it."
Minnie thought about Erina having six men. Such a situation could happen. Her face reddened and she didn't ask more. She just obediently kept the gifts.
Seeing this, Jax relaxed a little. If Minnie kept asking, he wouldn't know what to say.
Talking about Erina's bedroom matters was not like his usual style. But Minnie looked at him with wide, expectant eyes. He could not refuse to answer.
Ah, Second Master, you have really failed. You don't even know who your child's father is.
There were many men but fewer women in the world. Women's status was high because they could bear heirs. Having children, or whose child it was, depended on the woman's choice.
If a man did not want his family line to die out, he had to please his wife. She had to want to bear him at least one daughter or son.
If the woman did not want a child, she would take a pill made from the free flower after intercourse. This would prevent pregnancy.
The free flower was not a flower but a tree. Its leaves looked like flowers, hence the name. No one knew when it was discovered, but every family planted one at home.
If a family had a girl, they hung branches of the free flower outside the door. Neighbors would then know they had a daughter.
Usually, proper families had the main wife give birth to the heir first. Whether secondary husbands could have children depended on whether the wife favored them.
Some families had no heir but favored the secondary husbands. Such families were often laughed at behind their backs.
But if a child was born, most women knew who the father was. Few were as clueless as Erina, who let several husbands tip the midwife freely.
The tips had rules. Usually, the family gave a small tip, but the child's father gave a heavy tip. This was his great joy.
No matter what, Jax still thought Erina's way was excessive. The wife's authority was weak. How could she gain respect from the husbands?
But this was Phoenix Mountain. Erina was not just a woman but the second master. Who dared gossip behind her back?
If it were his wife… Jax sighed quietly.
"Fifth Brother!" someone came in.
Jax stood up, smiling happily. "Kai, how have you been these days?"
Minnie looked curiously at the young man walking in quickly. He was about seventeen or eighteen. How was he Jax's brother-in-law? Too early to marry!
"Fifth Brother, I'm fine. It's just that the thorn fruit I finally brought for Yiying from Yue Country was taken by them," Kai said angrily.
"That thorn fruit," Jax cleared his throat. "Forget it."
"How can I forget it?" Kai's eyes widened. "If it weren't for the thorn fruit, I wouldn't have been stuck on the mountain these days. I promised Yiying to bring her the thorn fruit before I left."
Their escort trip had gone smoothly until they met people from Phoenix Mountain. Since they usually got along, a little reward was enough for the others to let them pass.
But this time, Boss Hayes came down himself. For some reason, he wanted the thorn fruit. Kai refused, Boss Hayes insisted and they fought.
Kai was no match for Boss Hayes. Along with the thorn fruit and some goods, he was taken to the mountain.
Boss Hayes still gave face to the Changfeng Escort Bureau and let the others go.
Jax met the bureau people nearby. After hearing what happened, he let them deliver the goods first and took the matter on himself.
Everyone knew Jax's connection with the young escort leader. They trusted Jax's ability and left without worry.
"Yiying isn't that quick to anger." Jax shook his head. "You go back first. Your father is already getting sick from worry. Do you really want to stay on the mountain for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"My father?" Kai was startled. "Is he okay?" His father might be the ruler, but Kai was his only son and deeply valued by him.
"You still don't know your own father's health?" Jax replied with clear irritation.
Kai looked a bit discouraged. His father's health had been weak since an old injury. Before he left on this mission, his father repeatedly told him not to be impulsive and to act carefully.
But he still couldn't help falling back into old habits.
"Third master," Jax called out.
It was Rhett who came in, and with him were Erina's eldest son, Xiren, and another man.
"Young Master Jax, the boss said we'll escort Captain Kai down the mountain after dinner."
Jax was overjoyed. "Thanks so much."
Kai whispered, "Fifth brother, I'll go down the mountain with you."
"I've got something to handle here. You go down first. It's best if you head back early."
Kai's eyes moved around, and he spotted Minnie watching them curiously. Could it be that fifth brother was finally making a move?
He had always said that fifth brother should find someone new…
Kai looked at Minnie, who had a strange smile on her face, and suddenly met Sanruwi's cold gaze. The smile instantly froze on his face.
Damn it, how did he not notice that guy sitting right next to Minnie?
Kai didn't know Sanruwi very well, but Jax and Sanruwi were close friends. Kai often visited the Jax family, so he ended up knowing Sanruwi too.
He quickly lowered his head and walked over politely, smiling. "Brother Sanruwi, you're here too."
Sanruwi raised his eyebrow and said coldly, "All of this is thanks to you."
Kai froze on the spot. After a moment, he figured out what Sanruwi meant and nearly burst into tears. He had the sudden urge to just run straight down the mountain.
Ugh, life was about to get very hard for him.
While Sanruwi was talking to Kai, Jax was chatting with Rhett and the other two. After a round of introductions, Jax found out the man named Xiren had grown up with Erina since they were children, nothing unusual there.
The other was Erina's sixth son, Kyron. He was from a prestigious family, the son of the famous sword-fighting couple from Xuzhou, Old Madam Wu and Mister Shanmei.
Jax and Kyron were both young talents known in the martial world. They had heard of each other but never met.
They were both surprised by the encounter. After just a few words, they felt they really got along, and soon warmed up to each other.
"Come on, let's eat and talk," Rhett called everyone to the table.
Because Minnie was a woman, she was given special treatment and sat at her own table. Sanruwi sat with Jax, Kai sat with Kyron, and Rhett with Xiren.
Kyron took out a box and handed it to Minnie. She was surprised. Xiren explained, "This is my sixth brother. He just came back after going down the mountain to get a midwife for Erina."
"If it weren't for Miss Minnie, I wouldn't have made it in time," Kyron said. "I rushed back as fast as I could, and the midwife fainted as soon as she got off the horse. Even if Erina had waited for her, it wouldn't have worked."
The midwife fainted the moment she got off the horse? Minnie quickly understood that the journey had been too rough. The midwife must have been jolted too much by the ride.
She couldn't help feeling sympathy for this woman she had never even met.
"I just went to see the baby. Haha, he looks exactly like me when I was little," Kyron said proudly. "Miss Minnie, this is my gift of thanks. Please don't think it's too modest. Take it."
Another gift? Minnie had already received so many today that her hands were full, and her heart was even more overwhelmed.
These gifts were just too valuable. She was just an ordinary city girl. She really couldn't handle it.
"Thank you," Minnie said as she took the box and added it to the other five in her backpack. Was she dreaming?
It had to be a sweet dream. Tomorrow when she woke up, would all these beautiful, expensive trinkets still be there?