1 JIN(Catty) = 600 gram(1.32277 pound)
...
The heir to the Williams family had finally been born—an exhilarating piece of news that spread across the entire county in no time.
The people were overjoyed. They truly felt happy for their beloved Count and Countess. After all, the birth of an heir had everything to do with them as well. To put it bluntly, if the Count had never had a successor and something happened to him, who could say what kind of changes would sweep through Sardinson County? The peace and stability they currently enjoyed might have been shattered—and no one wanted that.
Now that the Count had a son, no one needed to worry about the future of Sardinson anymore. And they were also happy for the Countess, whose status was now unshakably secure after giving birth to an heir. There was nothing left that could threaten her position as Countess.
Of course, the most exciting part was the Count's grand gesture to celebrate the birth of his son: a massive county-wide celebration. The event was scheduled for next month, on June 1st. On that day, ten different locations across Sardinson County would host open banquets. Anyone who came and offered their blessings could sit down and enjoy a feast prepared by specially hired chefs—no invitation necessary!
According to rumors, this was a tradition from the Countess's homeland—some wondrous Eastern kingdom where people celebrated a child's one-month milestone with a grand "Full-Moon Banquet."
A celebration where you could eat and drink for free just by offering your blessings? Naturally, the commoners were thrilled. Still, they weren't so shameless as to come empty-handed. Everyone knew the etiquette: if you attended someone's banquet, you brought a gift—even if it was just a single egg, it was better than arriving empty-handed.
Back at the castle, Felix was personally writing letters to inform all friends and relatives of the joyous news. He was also inviting all acquaintances, nobles, and business partners to attend the full-moon celebration. While the open banquets were held across the county, a formal banquet would also be hosted at the castle on the same day. As many neighboring nobles had hoped, this would be Sardinson's first major event of the year, and all who had ties to the Williams family would be invited.
But before the full-moon banquet, there would be a more intimate event: the baby's baptism—or more accurately, the naming ceremony—with only the closest friends and family in attendance. Felix planned to hold it in the baby's fourth week, just a day or two before the full-moon feast. This way, the guests could remain at the castle and await the celebration.
The officiant for the naming ceremony would naturally be Father Matthew. As for the role of godfather, Felix was in the middle of writing to his good friend Allen to formally ask him.
Felix believed Allen was the perfect choice for his son's godfather. They had discussed this topic before, and Allen had once said that if he ever had a child, he would want Felix to be the godfather. In return, Felix had long planned to ask Allen to do the same. They had already exchanged letters on the subject—this was more of a formality to confirm Allen hadn't changed his mind and to urge him to come to Sardinson for the naming ceremony.
While Felix was busy writing invitations, Wei Wei remained in the lady's chamber, nestled in bed for her postpartum recovery. Or rather—playing idly while "taking care of the baby."
Postpartum confinement wasn't a European tradition. Their constitutions allowed them to get out of bed and move about right after giving birth without worrying about "postpartum illness" caused by cold or wind. But Wei Wei was different. She was from the East. Even though her body was an in-game construct and extraordinarily robust, she wasn't going to gamble with her health. There was no need to suffer unnecessarily.
So, the moment she gave birth, she obediently stayed in bed. She decided she'd lie down for at least three or four days to allow her body some recovery before moving again. For two weeks, she planned not to go outside at all, just to avoid catching a chill.
Of course, bathing and washing her hair during this period weren't easy. To avoid getting her hair wet and having it remain damp for too long—which might lead to illness—Wei Wei accepted that she wouldn't wash her hair for a while. As for bathing, as long as she stayed warm and didn't get chilled, she could manage a sponge bath after about a week. Even without a full bath, wiping down her body was essential. She was in a weakened state, and maintaining hygiene was important to prevent infection or illness.
By now, the unpleasant, bloody scent that had lingered in the air after the birth had completely vanished. The room now carried a gentle fruit fragrance from the platter of fresh fruit nearby. Half-sitting, half-lying in bed, Wei Wei turned her head to look at the baby beside her. For the most part, she rested with her eyes closed, just like the infant. But an adult didn't need nearly as much sleep as a newborn, so when she was bored, she would "read" in her mind by closing her eyes. Occasionally, she'd wake to feed or play with the baby—and time passed in a slow, peaceful rhythm.
She planned to stay in this room for at least a week before deciding whether to return to the master bedroom to continue her recovery.
The baby hadn't been named yet. Felix was so tense that he wouldn't even reveal a nickname. So Wei Wei could only call him "baby, baby" and privately grumble that Felix was going way overboard.
He was acting like a complete doting fool.
By the time Wei Wei could get out of bed for short walks and start doing some postpartum stretches, the baby's red and wrinkled skin had faded. No longer looking like a swollen dumpling, his features began to emerge, already showing signs of the refined beauty typical of mixed heritage. Wei Wei could even start to tell which parts of his face resembled Felix and which took after herself.
Overall, the baby had inherited Felix's handsome features. His facial structure was strikingly similar to his father's, though the fine details revealed traces of Wei Wei. The fusion created a unique charm that perfectly embodied both parents' best traits. If nothing went wrong, this child was bound to grow up to be an exceptionally handsome young man.
What's more, he was incredibly quiet. Most of the day he spent sleeping, only making soft noises when he needed something. He rarely cried—so long as he stayed with Wei Wei. The moment someone else tried to carry him away, however, he would start crying loudly and persistently. No one could calm him down except by returning him to his mother. Even though his eyes were not yet fully open, the baby could already identify his mother by her scent and voice—and he had no intention of being separated from her.
This meant that, aside from Wei Wei, he refused to feed anyone else. The noble custom of hiring wet nurses turned out to be completely useless. The women who had been brought in were politely given gifts and sent home.
Fortunately, Wei Wei's milk supply was plentiful thanks to a carefully prepared postpartum diet, and the baby's appetite was average. There was no risk of him going hungry.
This quiet, easy-to-care-for baby quickly became the darling of the Williams household. Everyone with permission to see him found excuses to visit the lady's chamber every day, even if it was just to sneak a peek from afar. Only members of the Williams family, Butler Barton, and his wife, and a few female maids had this privilege. Male servants, of course, weren't allowed in the lady's quarters. Most people had to settle for hearing the maids gush daily about how adorable and beautiful the young master was—though they never got to see him themselves, since he had not left his mother's side.
Wei Wei remained in the lady's chamber for a full week and eventually decided to stay until her confinement ended—not because her recovery was poor, but because, even with sponge baths, she couldn't wash her hair. She began to feel uncomfortably grimy. There was no way she was going to share a room with Felix in that state. Even if Felix didn't mind her scent, she did.
So until her confinement was complete, Felix had to continue enduring the loneliness of an empty bed. Whenever he visited his wife and child, he would look at Wei Wei with increasingly pitiful eyes—only to be met with her cold indifference, unmoved by his plight.
Fortunately, the separation came to an end in the third week. After twenty days of postpartum care, Wei Wei could no longer stand her dirty hair. On a sunny, windless afternoon, she asked the maids to prepare hot water. She thoroughly washed herself, while the maids carefully dried her hair with soft cotton towels, ensuring not a drop of moisture remained.
After that, a clean and refreshed Wei Wei returned to the master bedroom. Felix, now finally allowed to sleep beside his wife again, no longer wore the face of a resentful widower.
The master bedroom, which hadn't been occupied by the lady of the house for three weeks, had undergone some changes. Fragile and breakable items had been removed. Furniture like tables and cabinets were wrapped in thick blankets, and the wool rugs on the floor had been layered to make the flooring even softer. Although the baby was still very young, precautions were already being taken for the day when he'd begin crawling and exploring.
The biggest change, however, was the addition of a delicate cradle beside Wei Wei's usual side of the bed. Every rail of the cradle had been sanded smooth, the interior lined with soft cotton bedding, and beside it sat an assortment of washed and disinfected toys—some familiar ones Wei Wei had seen Caroline play with, and others that were new, likely hand-sewn by Dolores based on the stitching.
Wei Wei personally placed the baby into the cradle. The moment he left his mother's arms and was placed in this unfamiliar new space, the little one grew uneasy. His now-soft and refined features twisted into an almost cry, and his blue eyes—still only capable of blurry vision—instinctively sought out his mother. His tiny hands reached toward her, little lips babbling as if pleading to be picked up again.
Wei Wei bent down, letting him grasp her finger as she gently pushed the cradle. As it began to sway, the baby clutched her finger tighter, and that little rocking motion caught his attention. Within moments, a delighted giggle escaped him. The clear sound of a baby's laughter echoed through the room, warming it like sunshine.
Felix stood beside Wei Wei, his arm around her waist, playing with their child together. They had done this many times before, but this was the first time doing it in the master bedroom. A new chapter had begun.
As they amused their child, the couple also began catching up on everything that had happened lately.
From the eighth month of Wei Wei's pregnancy until now, Felix had handled all affairs of the county single-handedly. Castle affairs had been delegated to Butler Barton, Qin, and others. Everyone had done their best to keep trouble away from Wei Wei so she could focus on preparing for childbirth in peace.
But now that she had mostly recovered, Wei Wei naturally resumed asking about external matters.
As it turned out, there had been quite a few major developments over the past few months, which Felix recounted to her in full detail.
The first major issue was the bandit-clearing operation led by Kingsley and Billus. They had captured the group early on and confirmed that they were mercenaries by background. However, the mercenaries refused to admit they had been hired; they claimed they had turned to banditry because they couldn't survive otherwise.
That part was partially true. These men had dark pasts—even back when they worked as mercenaries, they were known to betray and kill employers to steal their belongings. In one case, they slaughtered an entire merchant party. Because the merchant had been a commoner without much influence, no one pursued justice. Worse, the mercenaries had backing, so the crime was swept under the rug.
However, their reputation in the mercenary world had been ruined. Other mercs resented them for ruining the profession's credibility, and they spread stories of their crimes everywhere. Word reached enough merchants that nobody wanted to hire them anymore. With their options dwindling, the group truly had been forced into banditry.
Of course, that was their version of the story. Kingsley and Billus believed much of it was true—but they were also sure some parts were being left out.
"If they just turned to banditry on their own," Billus said, "there's no way they'd only target caravans from Sardinson."
The road they occupied was a major trade route between Sardinson and the capital. Merchants on this route traveled to many regions—not just Sardinson. Neighboring counties had also developed and attracted traders, yet somehow, only those heading to Sardinson were attacked. That made the motive clear—this was targeted sabotage.
And the precision of these attacks suggested the bandits were receiving tips—intel only someone with inside information could provide. There was no way this was a coincidence. Someone was orchestrating things behind the scenes.
At that point, Billus had a chance to put his increasingly creative interrogation methods to use. Inspired by some of the terrifying punishments he'd learned about from Wei Wei's homeland, he'd been experimenting with new torture techniques—methods so chilling that even his fellow knights privately speculated he might be going a little mad. His eerie grins and obsession with pain had started to make others wary of him.
Now, with a group of captured bandits in hand, Billus had the perfect test subjects.
After driving several of them half-mad, they finally got the answers they wanted. The mercenaries admitted they had indeed fallen into banditry—but soon after, someone had approached them with money and instructions to target only Sardinson caravans. They were explicitly told not to kill unless necessary. The goal was to create fear, spread rumors, and destabilize the region, not spark outright war.
The moment those confessions came out, anyone who had witnessed Billus's interrogations started reflexively flinching whenever he entered a room. As for Billus, he looked disappointed—hoping for more victims to "experiment" on.
The remaining bandits, thoroughly broken, huddled like frightened chicks, swearing up and down that they had told everything they knew.
Unfortunately, they truly didn't know who had hired them. The person had always worn a hooded black cloak and a mask, disguising even their voice. They had only met in person once; all other communications were done through anonymous messages left at specific spots in the forest.
Those messages were marked with a red ribbon tied to a tree branch. They would appear silently, always at night, and never in the same place twice. The bandits simply followed the signals and executed the instructions left behind.
Kingsley had tried to ambush the message dropper by hiding men in the forest, but after the bandits were captured, no more ribbons appeared. The person behind it had caught wind of the operation and cut off all activity.
As for the stolen goods, most of the valuables had already been sold off or spent in taverns and brothels. What remained was a pitiful stash, hidden in their cave hideout. It was recovered, along with the captured bandits, and brought back to Sardinson. Felix ordered public notices posted, informing those who had been robbed that they could now claim partial compensation. It wasn't everything, but for merchants who had feared they'd lost everything, it was still a small comfort.
Initially, Felix had planned to send the bandits to work as forced labor. But once they confessed to past crimes—including the massacre of an entire village—he changed his mind. Without hesitation, he had them all hanged publicly.
Scum like that, he said, was a waste of resources.
"We still don't know exactly who's targeting us," Felix told Wei Wei, "but since they made a move once, they'll likely try again. We just have to stay alert. Sooner or later, we'll catch them."
The second major event related not to Sardinson directly but to Slot County.
Their people had recently brought back a group of foreign serfs from Pradi's western border and resettled them in Slot.
Previously, Wei Wei had learned that several countries to the west of Pradi had been at war. One of them had been completely conquered. Its citizens, desperate to avoid being enslaved or killed, fled across borders to survive. A number of them came to Pradi—but the border nobles refused to let them in. Anyone who crossed was captured, enslaved, or even executed.
Yet because Pradi was one of the larger and stronger countries in the region, its mere presence offered the refugees some protection. Other nations didn't dare chase them across the line for fear of provoking war. So the refugees camped at the border and refused to leave.
At first, their numbers were small, and local lords tolerated their presence. But over time, their population ballooned. It became impossible to ignore. Even the king began to worry that such a large, idle group could become a threat.
It was during this time that Felix had traveled to the capital. Seeing the opportunity, someone handed the problem over to him—tasking him with resettling the refugees.
Felix sent Kingsley to handle it. Kingsley had experience and a silver tongue, but these refugees had just survived war, displacement, and near-enslavement. They had no trust in nobles or knights. Most rejected his recruitment outright.
Only a few—those too desperate to continue—finally agreed to go with him, essentially selling themselves into slavery just to survive.