Tough Love

Chapter 3 : What Makes Women Scarier

Chapter 3 : What Makes Women Scarier

If people thought that Lady Nie Shuai was a scary woman when she'd first married into the Nie Clan... they knew she was downright terrifying when her pregnancy mood swings started acting up. The first time they struck, she'd been watching her husband training the disciples, when suddenly she got irritated at one tiny mistake that a disciple made... which was enough to cause her to stand up, storm over, and start beating the man into the ground.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO WHAT YOU'RE BEING TOLD?!?!" Said man of course was taking the abuse, actually having a wife himself, and knew just how bad things got for a woman even so early in a first pregnancy. After a few minutes, Shuai had stopped mid-kick and had fallen to her knees and asked the poor soul to forgive her while tears threatened to fall from her puffy eyes. Mingjue, seeing a moment to step in and collect the woman, scooped her up into his arms and carried her to a plush seat where she could eat comfortably while dismissing training that morning.

The food was another symptom of her pregnancy that all of Nie witnessed as Shuai grew with her child. At first, it was several bowls of pomegranates decked on ice cream which was a treat Mingjue would have to specially get in another sect town, and then it was a Yunmeng Jiang special rich in spices that Shuai normally disliked. Her favorite comment whenever her husband would watch her eat was, "Are you sure you don't like this stuff, Ming? Your kid certainly does, and it will be the death of me." Few brave Cultivators from the four clans commented how her new take to spicy foods was only seconded to Wei Wuxian's love for his home's cooking.

One day, the expecting couple were spending some time together alone in a small villa when, to Shuai's surprise, she felt a little jab deep in her belly. Her eyes widened, knowing the movement belonged to her baby's first kicks, and she sneakily grabbed her husband's hand and moved it over that spot, knowing that he'd wake up immediately once it happened again. The fluttering in her womb did indeed gain Mingjue's attention, kneeling on the ground in front of her so that he could rest his cheek against her stomach. "Ming, do you feel that?"

"I do... our child will grow to be a force reckoned with!" Mingjue said, a prideful smile on his face as he continually kneeled in front of where his son or daughter kicked against his face from inside Shuai. In his mind, he could see himself with Shuai teaching him or her the art of the sword... bringing them along on their first Night Hunt.... Everything a parent could think of. He had been waiting for months to be able to feel their child's kicks, and it was every bit as wonderful a moment as other parents had described it to be.

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Nie Huaisang was excited to finally be back in Qinghe after a few months at the Cloud Recesses, and the only thing he wanted to do was find his brother and his sister-in-law to congratulate them on the baby. Even as he ran, he was singing in his head, 'I'm gonna be an uncle! I'm gonna be an uncle!!'

When he finally got home and found his brother, he was surprised to see that the large man was kneeling with his head on his wife's rounded belly, and he was instantly curious about what they were doing... even as he was internally hopping up and down at the happy look on his older brother's face. "A-Mingjue, A-Shuai! I'm home!"

"A-Sang! Welcome back," the young woman said warmly, smiling at her brother-in-law, while Mingjue reluctantly pulled away from her belly to look at his brother. It was almost hilarious how Mingjue tried putting back on his serious expression in front of his brother after Huaisang had seen him so... relaxed just moments ago. "Well? Aren't you going to come over, or are you gonna just stand there like an antisocial statue?" Her words were laced with a teasing smile as she ushered him to join the duo for some tea.