It had been three months since the late emperor was buried in the imperial mausoleum. The enthronement of the new emperor was imminent. However, the quarrels in the court over who should be the new emperor still showed no sign of abating, and the regent seemed in no hurry to deal with the matter.
Shen Yuning sat at home, cradling her belly. She was about to give birth. Xuan Zhi had earlier brought over Princess Jiayang and Weirui, fearing that if Yuning suddenly went into labor, there would be no elder in the house to take charge.
Before long, Mrs. Shao and Bai Miaomiao also came together.
Shen Yuning was extremely surprised and quickly asked, "Mother, why are you here? Haven't you gone to the Zhu family to see Sister?"
Mrs. Shao averted her eyes for a moment and forced a smile. "I've been there. Your sister is doing well. I was worried about you, so I came to check on you."
Shen Yuning quickly said, "There's no need to check on me. Sister is also about to give birth. You should go and stay with her."
It was a sweltering day in June. There was ice in the room to make it bearable, but outside the sun was blazing. Mrs. Shao's forehead was still sweaty from the journey. She shook her head firmly. "No need. Your sister has Mrs. Zhu there. I've also asked your aunt from the Shao family to look after her. It's fine. But you can't be left alone."
Hearing this, Bai Miaomiao smiled gently. "Mrs. Xue, don't worry. The general knew that the princess was about to give birth and was afraid there would be no one to take care of her, so he sent me here to accompany her for a few days. And besides, there's also Princess Jiayang." Mrs. Xue, you should go to the Zhu family and stay with the eldest daughter."
Mrs. Shao murmured to herself. Princess Jiayang had never given birth before. How could she know anything about a woman giving birth? And...
Shen Yuning held Mrs. Shao's hand and looked at her seriously. "Mother, go to Sister quickly. Otherwise, I won't be able to rest easy."
Mrs. Shao looked up at her. A woman giving birth was like walking through the gates of hell. How many women didn't make it through? Even though there were imperial physicians and doctors in both mansions, childbirth was something that no doctor could control.
She was extremely anxious. Even though she usually treated Yuxin and Yuning equally, at this moment, she couldn't deceive herself. She wanted to be with Yuxin.
Shen Yuning understood her thoughts and urged her again, ordering someone to send her to the Zhu family. "I guess Sister's belly is bigger, so she might give birth earlier. Mother, you should go to Sister first. If anything happens to me, I'll definitely send someone to inform you immediately."
Mrs. Shao gave numerous instructions. With a guilty conscience, she got back in the carriage and headed for the Zhu family.
Princess Jiayang finally burst out laughing. "Your mother is really interesting. In this sweltering heat, running back and forth. Isn't she tired?"
Weirui looked up. "Before, my grandfather lived in the village. Every day, he would travel from the village to the town and never felt tired. I used to think walking was too hard, so he would carry me on his back and hold my younger brother in his arms. He said when going to see loved ones, no matter how hard or tired it was, he wasn't afraid."
Princess Jiayang raised her eyebrows and gently patted Weirui on the head.
Maybe Shen Yuning was wrong. She had just been joking with them, saying that Mrs. Shao had a motherly heart and wished she could split it in half. Since she wasn't Mrs. Shao's biological daughter, Mrs. Shao would always be a bit partial. What would Mrs. Shao do if she were her biological daughter?
The next moment, Shen Yuning clutched her belly and said she was in pain.
In an instant, it seemed as if she was having a hallucination. Why was Xuan Zhi, who should have been in the palace for a meeting, standing in front of her?
Yin Zidu strode forward. Without waiting for Lvtao and Bihuan to help Shen Yuning, he picked her up in his arms and carried her into the delivery room.
Only then did Shen Yuning realize that it wasn't a hallucination. It was real!
"Why are you here? You're so busy."
Yin Zidu kissed her on the forehead. "Your giving birth is the most important thing. Nothing else matters."
There were so many people around them. If Yin Zidu had made such an intimate gesture on a normal day, Shen Yuning would surely have blushed shyly and dodged away. But today, her belly was hurting terribly from time to time. She only felt that this kiss made her feel at ease. How could she feel the slightest bit of shyness?
Seeing Yin Zidu put Shen Yuning on the bed, Princess Jiayang urged him to leave. "Alright, alright. You go out and wait. The midwife will be here soon."
Yin Zidu refused to leave. He sat by the bed and held Shen Yuning's hand. "I'm not leaving. I'll stay with her."
Princess Jiayang was both angry and amused. "You're a man. What do you know? Go out quickly. Don't get in the way."
Yin Zidu still shook his head. "She's in so much pain. I must stay with her."
Since giving birth wasn't a quick process, Princess Jiayang couldn't persuade him, so she just ignored him and went with Bai Miaomiao to direct the midwives, maids, and servants to prepare for the princess's delivery.
They also had to inform the Xue and Zhu families.
Shen Yuning let out a groan. Seeing Princess Jiayang about to go out, she quickly shouted, "Princess, don't send a message to the Zhu family. My sister might also be about to give birth..."
If her sister knew that she was also about to give birth, she would surely let their mother come to accompany her.
Seeing that she was in great pain, Princess Jiayang waved her hand. "Alright, alright. I know. You stay here quietly."
Bai Miaomiao, being an experienced person, went to the kitchen herself and fetched the warmed chicken soup. She brought it to the bedside. During a moment when Shen Yuning's pain subsided, she quickly said, "Yuning, come. Drink some soup first. You'll need strength for the delivery later."
Shen Yuning didn't want to drink the soup. She leaned weakly against Xuan Zhi's side and complained pitifully, "It hurts..."
Yin Zidu looked extremely anxious. He waved his hand. "Take it away. If she doesn't want to drink, then forget it. Yuning, why are you in so much pain? Let's not have this baby. Okay?"
If Princess Jiayang had seen this, she would surely have scolded them severely. At this stage of labor, how could they just decide not to have the baby?
But Princess Jiayang wasn't there, and Bai Miaomiao beside them was a soft - spoken person. She explained in a low voice, "Your Highness, this won't do. A woman expends a great deal of energy during childbirth. We must find a way to get the princess to eat something."
The midwife beside her also nodded in agreement. "Yes, Your Highness. Judging from the princess's condition, it's unlikely that she'll give birth this afternoon. It might be until evening."
Yin Zidu looked up in horror. "It'll be until evening? Will she have to endure this pain until then?"
The midwife felt Shen Yuning's belly to feel the contractions and nodded again. "If it's fast, she'll give birth in the first half of the night. But since this is the princess's first child, it might not be that fast."
Yin Zidu was so shocked that he didn't know what to do. He just stared blankly at Shen Yuning.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bai Miaomiao pushed him aside a bit and persuaded Shen Yuning. In the end, Shen Yuning managed to drink some soup and eat two pieces of meat.
When it was really almost time to give birth in the evening, the midwife started to drive people away. "Your Highness, a woman giving birth is associated with blood and is considered inauspicious. Your Highness is of noble status and cannot be here..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Yin Zidu was already furious. "What do you mean by inauspicious? My wife is working so hard to have a child for me. How can that be inauspicious? When the child is born, it should be extremely auspicious. I'm not leaving. I'll stay here with her."
Several people tried to persuade him nicely, but they just couldn't get Yin Zidu to leave. Not only did he not leave, but he also held Shen Yuning's hand tightly. His forehead was sweating profusely, as if it was he, not Shen Yuning, who was giving birth.
However, this stubborn man was actually of no use when Shen Yuning was really giving birth.
Bai Miaomiao sat by the bed. She gently placed her hand on Shen Yuning's belly and stroked it in circles. She also spoke softly, telling stories about Yu Hanyu Xixi when they were children, as if they were bedtime stories for Shen Yuning.
Yin Zidu just sat there stupidly, holding Shen Yuning's hand, not knowing what to do and unable to utter a single word.
The maid fetched a handkerchief to wipe Shen Yuning's sweat. But she always had to go around Yin Zidu, who was standing there like a giant, which was really annoying. She didn't care about the rules anymore and urged, "Your Highness, if you're not going to leave, move over there... Oh, move a bit more."
So Yin Zidu stood at the head of the bed, looking as if he didn't belong there.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally heard the wailing cry of a baby.
The midwife said joyfully, "Congratulations, Your Highness. Congratulations, Princess. The princess has given birth to a young prince."
Here, a young prince was born, and at the Zhu family, it was also a young prince.
Xue Yuxin's child was born half an hour later than Shen Yuning's. She was very unhappy about this and thought that their mother should have gone to stay with Yuning first.
Hearing the message from Mrs. Shao, Shen Yuning said reproachfully, "When she's out of the confinement period, Mother should give her a spanking. It takes so much effort to travel in half an hour. Sister clearly wants to tire Mother out."
Mrs. Shao smiled brightly, holding her little grandson and cooing at him. "I think your child looks like the prince. He's cuter than your sister's child."
Shen Yuning then said, "Mother, you should go and tell Sister this right away. See if Sister gets angry with you."
Mrs. Shao laughed again. "She'll definitely get angry. When you were little, when I took you two out, people always praised you. Actually, I was quite unhappy in my heart. I thought my Yuxin was also a cute and well - behaved girl."
These memories were so long ago that Shen Yuning didn't remember them. It seemed that at that time, Mother had never been partial and had always been proud of her niece.
Perhaps, all of a mother's little thoughts were suppressed by the title of the eldest mistress of the Xue family.
After the regent's wife gave birth to a young prince, the voices in the court urging for the eldest prince to be crowned the new emperor became much quieter. Maybe they had resigned themselves to fate. After all, the regent had punished quite a few court officials one after another, as if he was going to rule with an iron fist.
However, after the mourning period for the late emperor ended, the court officials were shocked to find that it was actually the eldest prince who ascended the throne. And the regent remained the regent.
Shen Yuning lowered her head quietly, playing with the baby in her arms. This was her greatest contentment.
Princess Jiayang said beside her, "You were just a step away from the position of the queen. It's really a pity."
Speaking of the queen, Shen Yuning remembered the queen, that woman who always looked so listless and who had finally become so calculating.
Princess Jiayang added, "Although the eldest prince has ascended the throne, the former queen was not made the empress dowager. The regent sent her to the imperial nunnery and issued an edict that she was never allowed to return to the imperial city for the rest of her life."
Shen Yuning smiled faintly, and her smile gradually widened.