Chapter 104 Over Time...

After a long while, he saw Xue Lanyi utter three words: "I don't like it."

Although it was silent, Wei Zhang's soul felt as if it had been struck, his mind went blank, and his raised fingertips stiffened and curled up behind his back.

This answer was actually expected.

If she had even the slightest bit of affection for him after nine months, she wouldn't refuse to call him her husband.

They would certainly not strongly disagree with holding a second wedding.

If you already know the answer, why listen to it?

Wei Zhang found himself somewhat ridiculous, chuckled awkwardly, but didn't look away, still trying to catch something.

The two people in the distance were still talking.

Xue Lanyi spoke very quickly and said a lot, which was difficult to read.

Ultimately, he failed to grasp the meaning of the word "like".

Wei Zhang looked away, lost in thought for a long time.

When all was quiet in the distance, he spoke, "What did you just say?"

"The poison in the bowl of chicken soup delivered to the lady was added by a maid in the imperial kitchen. I have followed the clues and found out that this maid was the wet nurse who took care of His Majesty since childhood."

Ying Qi scoffed, the scar on his brow bone grotesque. "His Majesty is becoming increasingly arrogant. It's one thing for him to trip me up in court, but he even wants to harm my offspring. He's got a death wish!"

Xue Lanyi's nine-month pregnancy was not as peaceful as it seemed on the surface.

In the harem, many people who had received Mu Qinghong's favor tried one after another to harm Xue Lanyi's unborn child.

They poison me today, release a snake tomorrow, they just don't want me to have any descendants.

The chicken soup that was served to the lady yesterday, if the master hadn't tasted it himself, would have been fooled by the imperial physician who tested for poison and the kitchen maid.

You should know that this is probably the only bloodline I have in this lifetime.

Ying Qi shuddered at the thought, and bowed to report, "All those involved have been executed on the spot, and as for the Emperor..."

"He cannot be allowed to live." Wei Zhang's eyes gradually turned icy.

Mu Qinghong was even more restless than he had imagined, so he had no choice but to send him to his death.

But what about Xue Lanyi...?

After a moment's thought, his expression softened again. "Let's wait until Madam has given birth before we proceed."

He killed her cousin, so he owes her an explanation.

But Xue Lanyi is about to give birth, and if he offends her, she will get angry.

Although she is much healthier now, she has become more delicate and temperamental. She is easily angered, sensitive to cold, heat, and pain, and cannot tolerate any stimulation.

A hint of a smile appeared on Wei Zhang's disappointed face, but behind the smile was a trace of worry.

I've heard that the pain of childbirth is comparable to bones shattering inch by inch; I wonder if she can endure it.

"Are the licorice root slices and royal jelly ready?"

"I just asked about that the day before yesterday."

"Have you checked all the midwives? You need to check three generations of their family."

"Master, I just asked about it yesterday." Yingqi scratched his head.

Why is my memory worse than his lately?

Yingqi took out the walnuts that she had already peeled but hadn't had time to present yet from her sleeve. "Master, eat more walnuts, they're good for your brain."

“…” Wei Zhang frowned.

Yingqi swallowed hard. "It nourishes the brain, invigorates qi, and strengthens yang."

The cold glint in Wei Zhang's eyes faded slightly.

The master and servant exchanged a puzzled look.

The air was quiet for a moment, then a dull thud came from behind.

"Blood, blood!"

"Madam slipped! Madam slipped!"

Not far away, screams from the maids could be heard.

Ying Qi, holding his sword, looked towards the center of the bustling crowd, when a dark shadow flashed past his eyes.

Wei Zhang rushed into the crowd and ran to Xue Lanyi.

At that moment, Xue Lanyi collapsed to the ground, clutching her waist, her face pale and sweat beading on her temples.

Red beans were scattered all over the ground at her feet.

"Yiyi just took some red beans, saying she wanted to sift them to make red bean cakes, but she didn't expect the red beans to spill on the ground..."

"Alright."

Wei Zhang interrupted Zhou Yu in a deep voice, "Summon the imperial physician, summon the midwife, and prepare the delivery room!"

Wei Zhang had no time to listen to anything else; he only saw a patch of crimson seeping from under the girl's yellow dress.

His eyes turned red as he picked up Xue Lanyi and headed towards Xi Cui Palace.

As he walked around the corridor and the red wall, he felt the dampness in his palms getting heavier and heavier, as if some scalding liquid was constantly flowing out from between his fingers.

He dared not look down, but he could clearly feel the person in his arms breathing more and more rapidly, and a painful sob coming from their throat.

"Yiyi, it's alright, it's alright," he repeated.

In fact, Xue Lanyi couldn't hear it at all.

The intense contractions left her with only a buzzing sound in her ears and her mind blank.

All she knew was that his body was warm and firm. She grabbed his arm and desperately tried to burrow into his embrace.

Never before had she needed him so much.

But he felt no joy, only bewilderment.

She still has almost a month until her due date, and her body is so weak that even a normal delivery will be difficult.

She tripped and fell on a rock...

Wei Zhang quickened his pace unconsciously and carried the person straight into the delivery room.

Zhou Yu and the other imperial physicians gathered around.

Zhou Yu, still in a state of panic, took Xue Lanyi's pulse with trembling hands. "Yiyi, Yiyi's health wasn't good to begin with. She hasn't recovered yet, and rushing to get pregnant is not a safe move. Trying to save the pregnancy now will only harm the mother's body more..."

"Then it's not guaranteed."

A breath caught in Wei Zhang's throat, his chest heaving beneath his python robe. "Just tell me what to do, how to make the lady suffer less."

The process of getting pregnant was far more difficult than Wei Zhang had imagined.

He witnessed firsthand how she vomited everything she ate, how her legs and feet were swollen, and how her back ached so much that she couldn't sleep night after night.

He regretted it.

He remembered that when she was Princess Zhaoyang, she was healthy and could climb mountains and trees, jump up and down, and do everything.

During her nine-month pregnancy, he witnessed firsthand just how severely her body was depleted.

Otherwise, she would have been left unattended for the past six years.

If it wasn't him...

Wei Zhang closed his eyes briefly. "There's no need to say anything else. The most important thing is to protect the lady."

His voice was calm and composed, leaving no room for argument.

Zhou Yu and the imperial physician faced each other, their eyes conveying the same meaning.

"Let's induce labor," Zhou Yu said. "Yiyi is weak and needs the help of the midwife to induce labor so that the mother can recover after the burden is lifted. As for the child..." let's leave it to fate.

The delivery room was completely silent.

Without much thought, Wei Zhang grunted in response, then gave everyone a wink before glancing at the midwife waiting outside the beaded curtain.

The meaning was clear: everyone withdrew, and he was to be present during the delivery.

"Your Excellency, you must not! The delivery room is filthy; men should not linger there!" Physician Wu stepped forward to advise.

This time, before Wei Zhang could speak, Zhou Yu stopped the imperial physicians.

Zhou Yu glanced at Xue Lanyi, who was half-conscious.

What Xue Lanyi is about to do is to test Wei Zhang's bottom line.

Ultimately, if Wei Zhang were to witness her childbirth, he might show her more pity in the future.

"Gentlemen, please step back. We shouldn't delay the Duchess's delivery," Zhou Yu said.

The imperial physicians wanted to say something more, but Wei Zhang sat solemnly by the bed, and no one dared to utter another word.

Everyone hesitated, then withdrew.

"Shadow Seven".

Wei Zhang's gaze remained fixed on Xue Lanyi from beginning to end. He paused for a moment, then uttered a solemn voice, "Today, there is good news in the Eastern Palace."

Wei Zhang knew very well that Xue Lanyi was not a clumsy person; she wouldn't spill red beans on the ground for no reason.

Someone must have tampered with it, causing the red bean to fall and making Xue Lanyi slip.

Today, regardless of whether Xue Lanyi's child survives or not, Mu Qinghong will not have an easy time, and Yue Niang will definitely give birth to an heir today.

If Xue Lanyi's unborn child survives, Mu Qinghong's child will have to serve as a stepping stone for his son.

If they fail to save him, Mu Qinghong's child will have to be buried with him.

Wei Zhang's movements as he wiped Xue Lanyi's sweat were gentle, yet his aura was as sharp as a glacier.

Beyond the beaded curtain, Zhou Yu glanced back at the somber, dark-clad figure, paused thoughtfully for a moment, then, carrying his medicine chest, quietly made his way to Empress Yue's Zhongcui Palace...

In the room, in the moment when Wei Zhang was distracted by talking, Xue Lanyi suddenly broke free from his embrace and slammed her forehead into the sharp corner of the pillowcase.

"Yiyi!"

Wei Zhang instantly pounced on the bed, wrapped his arms around her chest, and pulled her back into his lap.

His arms were held very tightly.

The girl leaned halfway back in his arms, her face contorted and scrunched up, muttering to herself.

"Yiyi, it's alright, it'll be alright soon..." Wei Zhang was still shaken as he tucked her wet hair behind her ear, his fingertips trembling.

Xue Lanyi couldn't hear it; tears welled up in her eyes like a spring, flowing silently and endlessly.

"Some women can't handle pain. They can't bear the pain of childbirth and even want to commit suicide..." The midwife wanted to step forward and appease her.

The mention of the word "suicide" added an even chill to the already cold and austere room.

Wei Zhang exuded a dark and oppressive aura, and the midwife was so frightened by just seeing his dark figure that she was speechless.

The surroundings were completely silent, except for the soft moans that Xue Lanyi couldn't help but let out.

The head nanny, being experienced, glanced at the increasingly vivid blood beneath Xue Lanyi's skirt and knew in her heart that this was a sign of impending hemorrhage.

Xue Lanyi was already on the verge of death.

The head maid had no choice but to step forward, forcing a smile, and said, "Women are destined to go through this. Once you get through this, everything will be fine! Don't worry, Your Highness."

After saying that, he took a white cloth and wrapped it around Xue Lanyi's flailing wrists.

Her hands were so slender, yet when the old woman's rough claws grabbed and bound them, red marks appeared.

But she was completely unaware, letting them tie her up tightly and hang her hands from the headboard.

"Get out." Wei Zhang stared intently at her disheveled state and uttered a single word.

These words were naturally a reward for the nanny.

The Duke of Wei was the head of the civil officials and the eldest son of a prominent family. Even when he was angry, he never scolded his subordinates.

This time, the head matron had obtained this lucky charm, so how could she not be flustered? She didn't know whether to tie the birthing rope in her hand or not.

"My lord, I am only doing this for the sake of the duchess. The labor will be painful later. If the duchess can't bear it and hurts herself, how can we bear the consequences?"

"..."

A sense of helplessness welled up in Wei Zhang's heart.

He believed there was nothing he couldn't do, and even if she disliked or hated him, he was confident he would wait for the future.

Now, he is at a loss about how to handle this matter.

The more he tries to stop her, the longer he will prolong her suffering.

Wei Zhang ultimately said nothing more, stood up and took a half step back, letting the midwife do as she pleased. His deep eyes remained fixed on the ever-increasing blood on the bed, his hands clenched tightly behind his back.

Under such heavy gazes, the old women dared not continue to tie Xue Lanyi's wrists with the rope.

Four old women held down Xue Lanyi's legs and feet, preventing her from moving.

Xue Lanyi's hands were forced to be pressed above her head, and her legs were forcibly spread apart. The midwife, finding this inconvenient, removed Xue Lanyi's outer garment.

She lay on the couch, her long hair disheveled, struggling desperately but unable to move, wearing only an undergarment, leaving her most private parts exposed to all.

She was the prettiest and most stubborn girl, yet in the delivery room, she had no dignity whatsoever, her screams accompanied by sobs filling the air.

Wei Zhang vaguely felt that this desperate voice sounded familiar.

Did she once suffer this much pain beneath him?

This was the first time Wei Zhang had ever been away from her and witnessed her struggle, her pain, her despair as she looked up, tears streaming down her face.

As the past scenes resurfaced, Wei Zhang's heart felt as if it were being peeled away layer by layer, and the pain made it hard for him to breathe.

He subconsciously took another step forward and walked to the edge of the tatami mat.

The head maid assumed that the Duke was going to stop them from undressing the lady, so she quickly explained, "Your Excellency, we are about to break the lady's water. If we take off these clothes, the lady will be more comfortable, and we can be more efficient so that the lady will suffer less."

Wei Zhang ignored her and simply waved away the nanny who was holding Xue Lanyi's hand.

He knelt on the outside of her body, bent down, and placed his arms on either side of Xue Lanyi's head, letting Xue Lanyi hold onto his shoulders for support.

He was tall and his loose-fitting cloak concealed her body, preventing her from being exposed to others.

He could also keep her company.

The man's fingertips gently brushed away the tear tracks that had gathered at the corners of her eyes. "Sweetie, if it hurts, just let it out. You don't have to hold it in..."

She seems to have gotten used to enduring, to bearing pain, hatred, and heartbreak.

His hoarse voice coaxed, "Say it out, Yi Yi."

"ah!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xue Lanyi screamed.

It hurts so much, it's become unbearable.

The midwife then began to induce labor during a contraction.

Out of the corner of his eye, Wei Zhang saw the old woman kneading her round belly like she was rolling out dough.

She was petite, which made her belly appear large. Even the slightest touch, or even Wei Zhang's occasional touch, would make her feel that he was being too rough, and she would wrinkle her nose and tell him to get lost.

How painful must it be to receive such a vigorous massage?

And another old woman had to reach out and break the amniotic sac with her fingers. How painful was that?

Wei Zhang couldn't imagine it. All he could do was hold her tightly and whisper in her ear again and again, "Yiyi, don't be afraid, Yiyi, don't be afraid."

Xue Lanyi's head was spinning, and she kept banging her head against Wei Zhang's chest in pain, crying out, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault! It's all your fault!"

"Wei Zhang, you'll die a horrible death! You'll die a horrible death!" she cursed repeatedly, causing blood to seep from his chest and making him cough incessantly.

Perhaps it was the anger and resentment that relieved the pain, but she felt a sense of pleasure.

At the peak of the pain, she bit down hard on Wei Zhang's neck, her teeth embedding into his flesh.

She vented all the resentment, hatred, anger, and pain she had felt towards Wei Zhang over the years.

Blood trickled down Wei Zhang's neck, flowing from his Adam's apple into his clothes.

Instead of avoiding it, he lifted the back of her head to make it easier for her to exert force.

His lips brushed against her ear, and though he was breathing heavily from the pain, his voice carried a gentle, comforting tone, "Yiyi is right, I'll die a horrible death. I haven't choked to death on a steamed bun, haven't been bitten by a poisonous snake, haven't fallen to my death from the Star-Picking Tower..."

"There are many ways to die. You have to make it through so you can see how I die." He patted her back gently, holding her and rocking her softly, as if telling a story to a child, and laughed, "I've bullied Yiyi so many times, wouldn't you be missing out if you didn't watch me die?"

These are Xue Lanyi's original words.

Nine months ago, when she was suddenly diagnosed with pregnancy, she found it very difficult to accept.

She was still immersed in the depression of losing the sun and was not ready to embrace a new life with another man.

He seemed like a different person, with a smile always on his face.

When she ate, he would always snatch her food and take a bite first, and she would scold him: "You'll choke to death sooner or later."

He dug up the soil and planted a yard full of lilies for her, but she wasn't in the mood to look at them. She pushed him away: "There are poisonous snakes in the flower field. Be careful they don't poison you!"

He took her to the Star-Picking Tower to make a wish, and she put her hands together and solemnly made a wish in front of him: that Wei Zhang would one day fall off the Star-Picking Tower.

She was the kind and bright Princess Zhaoyang, who uttered the most vicious words of her life to him.

But why would he put down his pen to write comments every night and squat down in front of her bed to massage and wash her feet?

Why is it that every day, after finishing his official duties at the third watch and returning home late at night, before even taking off his official robes, he would press his belly against his stomach and repeatedly ask his kicking baby, "Did you fuss over your mother today? Did you make your mother angry? Did you... miss your father?"

When he asked his last question, he would always look up at her, as if trying to hear something from her.

She would often reply to him, "I wish you would die sooner!"

He patted her head and laughed, "The saying goes that evil lives on for a thousand years, so you'll have to live to be a hundred to see it happen before you get what you want."

She scolded him, so why was he still so smug?

Later, Xue Lanyi realized that he must have wanted the child in her womb to think that his mother was a fierce and wicked woman, and his father was a pitiful wretch who was always being scolded.

He's very cunning.

Xue Lanyi would not let him succeed!

Later, she stopped scolding him.

She must live well, love her children well, and hold on to this home, which is not warm but is still stable and unshakable by wind and rain.

She wanted to see how long Wei Zhang could keep up the act...

In the delivery room, Xue Lanyi's teeth gradually loosened their grip on his neck, and she rested her chin on his shoulder.

She was being held by him.

Perhaps he had vented his emotions, or perhaps his shoulders were very strong, and the pain gradually subsided...

As the sun rose and set, Xue Lanyi was awakened by the cry of a baby in the courtyard.

She struggled to open her eyelids.

A ray of morning light shone into the palace, and the beaded curtains inside the green gauze wardrobe rustled crisply in the breeze.

The house was quiet and deserted.

Xue Lanyi sat up with difficulty, her gaze fixed on the bronze mirror five steps away.

In the mirror, she had changed into a new dress, wore a windproof headband, and her long black hair was tied into two low buns that hung down on her shoulders. She looked very ugly.

But the advantage lies in the fact that all the stray hairs were meticulously combed into the bun, making it neat and refreshing, with a faint sandalwood fragrance.

Granny Liu said that new mothers cannot wash their hair for a month, otherwise their hair will become oily, which is quite a worry for her.

Who washed her hair?

Xue Lanyi subconsciously reached out to touch the two meatballs, only to find that her hand was covered by a large palm.

Wei Zhang fell asleep by the bed.

Unlike Xue Lanyi, who was clean and tidy, he was still wearing the cloak that she had crumpled up, his hair was loose and disheveled, and he had a bluish stubble on his chin.

The long, slender, fair index finger knuckle had red burn marks and some remaining sandalwood ash.

He had clearly washed her hair last night and dried it quickly with a steamer.

Xue Lanyi felt a surge of emotions she couldn't quite grasp, and her hand unconsciously reached for the blisters on the man's fingertips.

Wei Zhang opened his eyes in an instant, his expression one of instinctive defensiveness and sharpness.

But then a yellow robe caught his eye, and his gaze faltered for a moment. He opened his mouth, but then hesitated, unsure what to say.

"how?"

After a long pause, he uttered a calm, weary voice from his thin lips.

During the day, he appeared indifferent, his face showing little emotion, but Xue Lanyi still noticed a hint of red creeping up at the corner of his eye.

Xue Lanyi felt a little awkward as she reached out her hand; she didn't even know what she was about to do.

It couldn't be that she wanted to touch him, could it?

Xue Lanyi's fingertips curled slightly, her mouth opened and closed, unable to think of a word for a moment.

Wei Zhang turned around, poured a cup of tea, and placed it on her dangling hand.

Xue Lanyi was bewildered.

Wei Zhang was also puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he took the cup back, sat down next to her, and directly brought the tea to Xue Lanyi's lips.

During her pregnancy, Xue Lanyi would often crave tea at night and, half-asleep, would nudge the man on the outside of the bed.

Sometimes she'll be lazy and just talk without doing anything.

Wei Zhang then pulled her into his arms with one hand and fed her water with the other.

So when she reached out to him earlier, he didn't think anything of it and simply assumed she wanted some tea.

That's good, then Xue Lanyi won't have to rack her brains for an explanation.

She drank her tea from his hand.

Last night, I cried myself to sleep and my throat was very dry. I sipped water very slowly, taking tiny sips.

Wei Zhang remained silent and watched her drink.

His gaze was both gentle and intense, like layers of thin gauze covering her, enveloping her completely.

Xue Lanyi was a little flustered, "What...what are you looking at?"