The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 351: Midwife Lee Pt.2

Chapter 351: Midwife Lee Pt.2

*WARNING NON-CON is mentioned, not described*

**Thank you note from author at the bottom!!**

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It wasn’t just that they hadn’t missed him, they were glad he was gone.

Midwife Lee was the youngest of five children—three boys first, one girl, then him—and the most obedient and filial child. This was known by all their neighbors in Han Village and by all their relatives, both on his mother’s side of the family, and his father’s side.

Xu Feng couldn’t help but frown, not because he believed Midwife Lee was tarnished goods, and not only because of the sad way Midwife Lee was treated. These excuses were just that, excuses.

Even in ancient times in Dongmen (the modern world he came from), families would break away from tradition for those they loved. If the love was stronger than their need to fit into society, it would overcome all "shortcomings."

It was clear Midwife Lee’s family only saw him as something to bring honor to their family, and lessen their financial burdens. But, what Midwife Lee shared next cemented that.

Even as the room spun—it had been spinning for the better half of the story—and his stomach felt queasy, Xu Feng was determined to listen to everything the other ger was willing to share with him. He wanted to reassure Midwife Lee in some way.

The reverse Cinde*ella story continued:

Midwife Lee trudged wearily through the narrow path that led to his maiden home in Han village. The early morning darkness clung to the surroundings, accompanied by the chilly breeze that whispered tales of secrets and regrets.

The village was still waking up, and Midwife Lee, no more than 15 years old, carried the weight of both fatigue and a newfound burden and blessing.

His unsteady legs moved with hesitancy, the remnants of recent childbirth evident in his pacing and gait.

The village, while not exclusively a farming village, buzzed with activity as families began their day from within their individual courtyards. Midwife Lee’s heart initially swelled with excitement as he approached his family’s home, a place he hadn’t seen in a while.

However, fate had a cruel way of unveiling truths.

As he approached the entrance, he overheard a conversation between his mother and older sister—who had recently recruited a husband, before Midwife Lee’s scandal—both women who were supposed to welcome him home.

Instead, bitterness seeped through their words, and Midwife Lee felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

His crime, it seemed, was his talent as a midwife. He had surpassed his mother and sister, making a name for himself not only among working class families but also among those from third rate households in towns and cities.

His skills were recognized, and his services were sought after, even by ger concubines who entrusted him to deliver their eggs.

Talent, in the eyes of his mother and sister, became a source of resentment. The recognition and success he garnered were viewed as crimes, staining their family’s reputation—from prized women to a prized ger.

Midwife Lee, despite his skills, felt like an outcast in his own family.

The bitterness in their conversation, the disdain for his accomplishments, became a revelation. The incident with his "husband" wasn’t a twist of fate; it was orchestrated. His mother had paid the man to attack him, knowing he would return home alone after the egg’s birth (the ger he performed midwife services for that day).

The same man, his "husband" continued to torment him under her financial incentives. Midwife Lee was never allowed to touch his hard earned silver, yet now that silver was used to make his life a living hell.

His own family, the people who should have provided comfort and support, had orchestrated his suffering. In that moment, Midwife Lee felt a weight heavier than the back basket carrying his newly born egg.

It was the weight of betrayal, deceit, and a realization that he was unwanted in the very place that should have been his sanctuary.

With a heart heavy with the burden of his former family’s cruelty, Midwife Lee made a crucial decision. He turned around, his determination fueled by the realization that they didn’t want him.

In that moment, he released the burden that had weighed him down for far too long. They could keep their bitterness; he would forge a new path, unburdened by the chains of family that sought to pull him down.

He would make do with the new "family" he had, as best as he could.

Three years slipped away like grains of sand through Midwife Lee’s fingers. He endured the harsh reality of life in his new family, a place that offered no warmth, only a cold impartiality and patriarchal dominance.

Despite the hardships, the arrival of his second child, a ger—the three year old that was shyly playing with Xu Si out of earshot—brought another glimmer of joy. Life, though difficult, was cherished for the sake of his children.

However, fate took a cruel turn.

One day, his drunkard husband succumbed to the excesses of alcohol consumption and never woke up. Blame was unjustly thrust upon Midwife Lee—he, the outsider in the village, had somehow forced his husband to drink too much.

He didn’t even have time to be happy the punches would stop being showered on him and his daughter. His mother-in-law, quick to deflect blame, quickly kicked him out and his money losing goods (children)—he hadn’t birthed a son, and was just a drain of resources in her eyes.

In this village while he worked hard, he was still an outsider and no one would take his side.

Attempts to return to his maiden home were met with rejection. The damaged goods were unwelcome, and he found himself living on the outskirts of the village in an abandoned old hut with a small compound, a pariah shunned by those he once considered his own.

Registering his own household, Midwife Lee struggled to survive, attempting to make ends meet for his two young children, a few months after hatching and three years of age. He also had to pay taxes to the government.

Occasionally, he undertook shady midwifery deals for a meager fee, supplementing his income with foraged wild vegetables and the sporadic kindness of others.

Thin and malnourished, his children resembled the shadows of Si and San when Xu Feng first arrived at Nanshan Estate.

They were worse than Si and San had been, but the silver haired ger could tell that Midwife Lee was just happy they hadn’t starved to death, and had made it through the last three winters with all their limbs intact.

When Xuan Jian’s men made the offer, he agreed to come here, not to deliver Xu Feng’s eggs, but to tell him, he wasn’t suitable for such a noble young mistress to entrust such a task to him.

"Tarnished goods like me will corrupt your children’s potential."

His own survival instincts had led him to shamelessly eat, but he refused to let his perceived tarnish, tarnish the bright future of Xu Feng’s offspring.

The belief in his own words echoed with heartbreaking sincerity, a self imposed exile from opportunities he deemed beyond his reach. Fear didn’t grip him at the possibility of failing to deliver two eggs; it was the fear of staining the future of those he was supposed to nurture.

"I would be honored to have Midwife Lee deliver my eggs." Xu Feng barely got out before pausing to keep his breakfast down.

"I haven’t discussed with my husbands," he made sure to accentuate the word ’husbands,’ it was important for the other ger to understand their situation a bit better.

Xu Feng had a huge fatal flaw among the many other smaller ones, and that was his big heart. Cliché, yes, but Xu Feng always wanted to give others the benefit of the doubt.

He knew better than to invite an unmarried ger to stay in his home, and in close proximity to him, his husbands, and his children. It wasn’t unusual for widows to hop in married men’s beds in the stories he used to read.

Still, after hearing Midwife Lee’s story, he couldn’t just throw the ger and his children out on the streets—because that hut he was living in on the outskirts of Han Village might as well be the streets.

Instead, Xu Feng would rather the young ger in front of him know what he was getting himself and his children into if he chose to stay. His husbands wanted to keep these children a secret, but they weren’t heartless. "But I’m sure they’ll agree, but there will be rules."

Also, wouldn’t keeping Midwife Lee nearby be better for all of them?

"We can feed three more mouths, but you’ll have to work for us, and keep everything that happens within these walls, within these walls."

It was probably the baby hormones that made Xu Feng offer to keep Midwife Lee and his children in Nanshan Estate, but so be it. He was due to give birth at any moment, and knew nothing about childcare in general, and especially in this world.

If Xuan Jian thought he was trustworthy enough to keep in Nanshan, they would have a ready maid nanny, temporarily. Plus, they would eventually leave Nanshan and Dongzhou for good. Xu Feng would feel more comfortable if they could welcome more capable people to watch over their home.

Midwife Lee seemed trustworthy to him.