Chapter 108: Five Years Later: Pregnancy + Childbirth

In the twentieth year of Chengming, early June.

The hot summer air was steaming, the gold and the stone were melting, and the imperial palace surrounded by vermilion walls was like a huge steamer.

Yang Manyan was plump and afraid of heat, so after she became pregnant, she simply hid in the West Garden to escape the summer heat and take care of her baby. She was unwilling to return to the palace unless it was something urgent.

The buildings in the Western Garden are spacious and the trees are luxuriant. The Yingtai located in the center of the Taiye Lake is even more refreshing and pleasant, and naturally a hundred times more comfortable than the palace.

She is six months pregnant and her belly is bulging like a small watermelon.

It was her first pregnancy after five years. Xiao Yan was extremely nervous and wanted to keep a close eye on her all the time.

Fortunately, Yang Manyan had never suffered from morning sickness, her appetite was very good, and her pregnancy was relatively easy.

That afternoon, Xiao Yan was ordered to go to the Dali Temple to personally try a widespread imperial examination fraud case. The emperor, on the other hand, was leisurely staying in the West Garden playing chess with her.

In recent years, the emperor has been willing to delegate power and has let the prince run around outside every day.

The game of chess ended with Yang Manyan narrowly winning.

She couldn't hide the smile in her eyes, "Your Majesty now owes me another favor."

The emperor stared at her profile with deep eyes, "I won the game the day before yesterday. So, Yuan'er also owes me something?"

Yang Manyan's eyelids twitched, and he vaguely guessed what he wanted to say, "Forget it, let's call it even."

The emperor raised his eyebrows and pinched her chubby cheeks to tease her: "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. How can you let it go?"

Yang Manyan pouted and said, "I'm not a gentleman."

The emperor laughed angrily.

"You will move into Kunning Palace sooner or later, so what's the harm in doing it a few years earlier?" His voice was low and hoarse, like coaxing.

Coincidentally, Xiao Yan came back at this time.

He had just finished his work at the Dali Temple and returned on horseback at full speed. The sun was scorching outside and his handsome face was sunburned red.

But when he stepped into the hall, he was stunned.

Yang Manyan was playing chess with her father. Her lotus pink summer shirt was open, revealing her round pregnant belly...

Xiao Yan's breathing suddenly became heavy.

The emperor raised his eyelids and glanced at him, his eyes dark.

This kid really knows how to pick the time to come back.

Yang Manyan also looked at Xiao Yan, with trepidation in his eyes, but more of shyness, "Zi'an..."

There seemed to be a milky fragrance lingering in his nose, and Xiao Yan's Adam's apple rolled, "How could milk be produced so quickly? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

Ever since Yang Manyan diagnosed the pregnancy, he read a large number of medical books on women's pregnancy and consulted many imperial physicians.

Normally, a woman will secrete milk one or two days after giving birth. Now Yang Manyan is only six months pregnant and should not be producing milk.

Yang Manyan shook his head. "I don't know, it's just swollen..."

In fact, when she woke up in the morning, she vaguely felt some bloating and pain, but she didn't take it seriously.

Who would have thought that my milk would swell.

There were huge ice blocks like small hills everywhere in the hall, mist was lingering around the gilded Boshan furnace, and the faint scent of cedar mint was refreshing.

At this moment, Yang Manyan suddenly felt the fetus in her belly kicking her a few times.

Her eyes widened in shock, "…The baby kicked me!"

Xiao Yan and the emperor were both slightly startled.

In fact, Yang Manyan had gradually felt the fetal movement over the past month, but the baby in her belly was very well behaved and would just move slightly twice and then stop.

This was the first time she had experienced such an obvious kicking feeling.

Xiao Yan carefully placed his hand on Yang Manyan's belly.

His big hands were slender and well-proportioned with distinct joints, fair skin, and faint blue veins on the back of his hands.

The child kicked twice more.

The first time Xiao Yan truly felt the rhythm of the fetus, he inexplicably felt a little sad.

This is his and Yuanyuan's child, a flesh and blood that is a mixture of their blood.

In late autumn, Shangyi Yang gave birth to a son.

The emperor immediately appointed him as the crown prince and issued a general amnesty.

The prince also donated tens of thousands of silver coins to support local government-run orphanages and pray for this hard-earned child.

Yang Manyan had been in the palace for five years before she finally had this child. She selfishly did not want to go through the pain of pregnancy and childbirth again, so she naturally cherished this only child very much.

In fact, her pregnancy went smoothly and she didn't have much morning sickness, but after all, she had a belly as big as a small watermelon, so she didn't feel well either.

The prince had never known that pregnancy was so difficult for a woman, and he even regretted letting her get pregnant.

There are a lot of children among the royal family and princes, so the Xiao family has no shortage of heirs.

Now that he had finally waited for the child to be born safely, this child had stolen all of Yang Manyan's attention.

Ten months passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, just after the morning court session ended, Xiao Ke strode towards the East Palace.

Yang Manyan had not yet stood up, while Xiao Yan was walking in the yard with his ten-month-old son in his arms, and gently teaching him to call "Daddy".

The emperor's expression suddenly darkened, and he grabbed the fat boy and said, "Zi'an, no matter how you look at it, you must remember that Jia'er is the heir to my throne."

The prince smiled slightly.

The emperor rubbed the little fat boy's head skillfully.

Xiao Yan remained calm and said, "Recently, the Empress Dowager said that Jia'er looks exactly like me when I was a child."

The chubby little Xiao Jia looked left and right, with a confused look on his face.

Suddenly, he pursed his lips and said, "Humph! I want my mother, not you guys!"