Hearing the surrounding noise, she felt somewhat disoriented. The fluid beneath her signaled that she was about to give birth. Di Jingcheng held her hand tightly, squatting beside the bed, his brow furrowed, his face full of worry and anxiety, repeatedly comforting Azi: "Azi, don't be afraid, I'm here, I've always been here..."

Azi glanced at him sideways, wondering who was really scared. Before she could think any further, a sudden wave of pain shot through her abdomen, one wave after another, growing stronger and stronger. She cried out uncontrollably, gripping the man's hand tightly. Her mind was no longer blank; she was fully aware of the excruciating pain of childbirth.

Fear surged through her. The midwife gently guided her, and her rapid breathing gradually turned into deep breaths. She felt less uncomfortable, but the pain still made her head throb. Di Jingcheng was terrified and tears streamed down his face. Helplessly, he held her hand, saying, "Azi, hang in there. I'm sorry, I won't let you feel pain anymore. My Azi, you can't be hurt..."

Azi was immersed in pain, the only sound around her being the midwife's booming voice. She drank the ginseng soup Qinghe fed her and began to push. The pain intensified. Azi had never known childbirth could be so painful. She glanced at the man, tears streaming down his face, crying like a child, and found a sliver of comfort in her heart.

"Your Highness, push! The baby's head is out! Give it your all!" The midwives encouraged her. Azi bit the cloth in her mouth and pushed hard, feeling as if she was using all the strength she had ever had in her life. The pain made her tears flow uncontrollably.

She was in excruciating pain and vowed never to give birth again: "It hurts so much, Cheng, I won't give birth anymore, I won't give birth anymore..." She shook her head in agony, sinking weakly into the bed, her body soaked with sweat, her hair sticking to her face and neck, her eyes glazed over, as if she were about to die at any moment.

Di Jingcheng took a handkerchief and wiped her sweat, holding her hand tightly: "Okay, okay, we won't have any more children, we won't have any more children, we won't have any more children..."

Seeing this, everyone thought the emperor seemed to have gone mad; the child was being born halfway through, and now he was stopping?

"Your Majesty, the Empress mustn't fall asleep, or she'll have a difficult labor!" the midwife warned loudly, boldly stepping forward to pinch Azi's philtrum. Upon hearing about the difficult labor, Emperor Jingcheng was startled and suddenly sat up before fainting.

Qinghe quickly stepped forward to support him: "Quickly wake up the Empress!"

Azi woke up twice after her philtrum was pinched. The pain in her lower body reminded her that the baby hadn't come out yet. She was desperate and grabbed the sheets tightly. After a while, she felt finally relieved. Something slipped off her, and she fell into a deep sleep.

The midwives breathed a sigh of relief, cleaned the little prince, changed him into new swaddling clothes, and handed him to Qinghe. Di Jingcheng was placed on a soft couch to the side, and the sound of the baby crying woke him up suddenly.

"Azi, how is my Azi?!" He staggered to the bedside, as if wailing at a funeral. Qinghe sighed helplessly and rubbed her forehead.

The imperial physician came in to examine the emperor and found his forehead covered in sweat. He had thought something had happened to the empress because the emperor was crying like this, but it turned out she had simply fallen into a deep sleep.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is just tired. She'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

Upon hearing this, Di Jingcheng nodded blankly, holding Azi's small hand and staring at her with a silly grin like a lovesick fool: "It's alright, it's alright..."