Chapter 137: The weather is getting colder, and Yinzhen finally returns from the frontier...

As the weather got colder, Yinzhen finally returned from the frontier. Before he had spent a few days with Qi Buchen, Kangxi ordered him to accompany him on an inspection tour of river works. He would only bring three other princes with him, which was a good sign, so Yinzhen finally went.

Fortunately, this place is close to the capital, and I was able to return in just over half a month.

At this time, there was still about a month before Qi Buchen's due date.

The weather was getting colder and colder. Even before the light snow came, snow flakes had already fallen in Beijing several times.

On the day of Xiaoxue, the sky was clear, which was rare.

Yinzhen woke up from his light sleep and heard Qi Buchen groaning softly as he lay on his side. He asked hurriedly, "What's wrong? Are you having a cramp?"

But Qi Buchen didn't answer. He looked over and found her eyes tightly shut, indicating she wasn't awake at all. Yinzhen was reluctant to wake her to ask. The closer her due date got, the more uncomfortable she felt, often unable to sleep well. Now that she had finally fallen asleep, he thought it best not to wake her.

Based on his previous experience, Yinzhen began to massage Fu Jin's legs, arms, and waist. He tried everywhere, but Fu Jin's humming not only did not disappear, but became louder.

This wouldn't do. No matter how reluctant Yinzhen was, he had no choice but to shake the man awake: "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

Qi Buchen woke up in a daze, and instantly felt his stomach throbbing with pain: "My stomach...my stomach hurts."

"What?!" Yinzhen was horrified and stood up hurriedly to call for help. "Come! Come quickly! Fu Jin has a stomachache! Go and call the imperial physician!"

Everyone in the main courtyard was suddenly awakened. A month ago, one of the side rooms in the main courtyard had been converted into a delivery room. Nanny Yue and the others had been staying there to prevent the main courtyard from being staffed by only a few inexperienced young ladies. Hearing Yinzhen's voice, Nanny Yue quickly got up; she had been lying in bed fully clothed, and went straight to the main room to examine Qi Buchen.

After confirming her suspicions, Nanny Yue finally settled down and began to review the situation. "Don't panic, Concubine Fu is about to give birth. Baozhu, send someone to bring the midwife over, then clean up the delivery room and disinfect it according to Concubine Fu's earlier instructions. Lanhui, take someone to the kitchen to oversee Concubine Fu's meals. Ruixiang, go to the front yard and notify someone to call in Imperial Physician Fu..."

"Master." After arranging everyone, Nanny Yue looked at Yinzhen, who had been standing beside her blankly, and said politely, "I will have someone help you change your clothes. Then, would you please go to the small study and rest for a while?"

Yinzhen seemed to have just woken up from a dream. He ignored Nanny Yue and went straight to Qi Buchen, who was curled up in pain on the bed. "Fujin, Fujin, how are you? Is it painful? No, the imperial physician will be here soon. It will stop hurting soon. Fujin, say something. Don't scare me..."

He spoke incoherently, his hands moving around, but he didn't dare touch Qi Buchen.

Nanny Yue stepped forward helplessly: "Master, it is normal for women to feel pain during childbirth. Fu Jin has already gone into labor, and we servants need to help Fu Jin prepare. It is not appropriate for you to be here."

Yinzhen just ignored her words and continued to pay close attention to Qi Buchen.

Qi Buchen felt the pain for a while, and then he found that the pain was much less. He then had the energy to comfort Yinzhen, who was obviously confused: "It's okay, it's okay, I don't feel any pain anymore."

To prove it, she tried to sit up. Yinzhen was so scared that he wanted to push her back, but Nanny Yue reached out and helped Qi Buchen up.

Yinzhen glared at him: "You?..."

Nanny Yue remained calm and said, "Master, this is normal for the Concubine. Now that she's in labor, she can't just lie there. She needs to get up and move around. It'll be better soon. These servants have been trained long ago, so you don't have to worry. Just stay outside and watch."

In short, we are professionals in these matters, so please don't make trouble here and go somewhere cooler.

Looking at Yinzhen's sullen face, even though his stomach still ached, Qi Buchen couldn't help but laugh: "Madam Yue is right. You don't understand these things. Just let them handle it. Hurry up and put on your clothes and go outside to take charge of the situation."

Seeing that his wife also disliked him for causing trouble, Yinzhen went outside reluctantly.

The midwife arrived soon and Qi Buchen was transferred to the delivery room. From then on, Yinzhen was completely isolated from the outside world.

He stood in the yard, listening to the occasional snoring sounds coming from the delivery room, his heart in a mess, not knowing what to do.

It was so cold tonight that even if one wore warm clothes, one would lose warmth after standing outside for a while. Su Peisheng tried to persuade him, but Yinzhen remained unmoved. He stood in the yard until dawn, his face pale from the cold.

Su Peisheng was still trying to persuade him earnestly, "Master, it's useless for you to stand here. Didn't Nanny just say that Fu Jin is still a long way from dying? If you stand any longer, Imperial Physician Fu will have to see you first."

Yinzhen didn't even give him a glance, his eyes staring blankly in the direction where Qi Buchen was.

Lan Hui hurried over from the kitchen with her men carrying food boxes, glanced at Yinzhen standing in the yard, and went into the delivery room.

The pain was becoming more and more intense. Qi Buchen felt that he didn't even have the strength to chew food. He could only eat a mouthful or not.

Lan Hui, who was feeding her, looked anxious and could only say something else to attract her attention: "Fujin, the master has been standing outside all night and his face is frozen white. Su Peisheng's persuasion is useless. I think you must speak first."

Um?

Qi Buchen immediately perked up and said weakly, "Then go out quickly and tell him I told him not to stand outside. Go back to the house to warm up and remember to drink the ginger soup."

Lan Hui looked embarrassed. "I'm afraid Master won't believe me. After all, even Eunuch Su can't do it. How about you finish eating quickly, stand by the window, and tell Master in person?"

Qi Buchen thought about it and realized that Yinzhen was also a stubborn person. These people might not be able to persuade him. With a goal in mind, she immediately cheered up and ate all the food that Lanhui fed her. She needed strength, otherwise how could she go to the window and let Yinzhen hear her voice.

Lan Hui carried the food box out of the delivery room and walked up to Yinzhen and bowed, "Master, Fu Jin has something to tell you. Please go to the window over there."

Yinzhen's eyes moved, as if a statue that had stood for a thousand years suddenly came to life. He was even a little unsteady when he took his first step, but he quickly gained control of his body. He took two steps at a time and walked to the window that Lan Hui pointed to. He called out cautiously, "Fujin?" His voice was hoarse.

A new round of contractions came, and Qi Buchen's voice was filled with uncontrollable pain. She could only say simply, "Go wait in the room, drink some ginger soup, and don't let me worry about you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he let out a cry of pain.

Yinzhen was immediately very anxious: "Fujin! What happened to Fujin?"

It was Nanny Yue who responded: "Master, Fu Jin is fine, she's just about to give birth and can't be distracted. Master, please go back to your room and wait."

"Yes, Master." Su Peisheng chimed in, "After Fu Jin, everyone else will rely on you. You can't get into trouble."

Yinzhen was extremely anxious, but his wife had spoken personally, so he could not let her worry anymore. He could only look back every few steps and return to the main courtyard to drink the ginger soup sent by the kitchen.

After staying in the room for an hour, Yinzhen couldn't stand it any longer and finally ran to the door of the delivery room and asked, "Why hasn't the baby been born yet?!"

The delivery room was busy, it was a critical moment, so there was no time to pay attention to him.

Yinzhen could only hold his anger and walk around in circles outside.

At a certain moment, the sounds in the delivery room suddenly became rhythmic.

"Fujin, listen to me. Inhale! Use force! Inhale! Use force!"

Su Peisheng's face lit up with joy, and he said hurriedly, "Listen, Master, the concubine is giving birth."

After so much trouble, the baby finally started to grow.

Instead of feeling relieved, Yinzhen's heart became even more anxious. He couldn't help but think of the news of difficult births and the death of both mother and child. The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. The more he warned himself not to think about it, the more examples popped up in his mind.

What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? Buddha bless me, Bodhisattva bless me, no matter which gods or immortals, please bless Fu Jin to be safe...

When Yinzhen was young, he was somewhat religious because of his habits and the influence of people in the palace. However, under the influence of Qi Buchen over the years, he kept a respectful distance from these things. He had respect for them, but he was not blindly superstitious.

Now, facing the panic in his heart, the first thing he did was to pray for these things.

Perhaps it was some god who appeared. After Qi Buchen had been working hard for less than half an hour, he felt his stomach lighten, as if a ten-pound burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"It's born, it's a prince!"

"Fujin, you gave birth to a prince!"

"Fujin gave birth to a prince!"

There was a noisy sound of joy and celebration in his ears. After Qi Buchen knew what baby he had given birth to, he relaxed and fell asleep.

Her falling asleep scared everyone inside and outside. Yinzhen almost rushed into the delivery room. Fortunately, he quickly checked that she was asleep, so Yinzhen gave up the idea of ​​entering the delivery room.

Doctor Fu couldn't get in either, so he could only check the newborn prince's pulse and found that everything was normal.

Qi Buchen woke up again and found that the delivery room had been cleaned up. However, because the windows could not be opened for ventilation, there was still a faint smell of blood in the room.

"Fujin, you're awake!" Baozhu said excitedly, and Lanhui ran out immediately to report the news.

I have been waiting for news in the main house.

"Well, how long have I slept?" Qi Buchen asked, and at the same time he tried to move, and he hissed in pain.

Baozhu hurriedly said, "Fujin, please don't move. Madam said your wound hasn't healed yet. What do you want to do? I'll help you." Then she answered her question, "You've slept for almost seven hours. It's already the second day."

Qi Buchen didn't dare to act rashly again: "Give me a glass of water. Where is the baby? Has the imperial physician examined it?" She had gone through so many troubles during her pregnancy. What she was most worried about was that the baby would be affected in the womb and suffer from congenital diseases.

Baozhu brought her a cup of warm water and fed her a drink. She replied, "Imperial Physician Fu has examined my prince. Although he is a little underweight, he is in good health. He said there is nothing to worry about. My prince has been taken away by the wet nurse to be fed."

Qi Buchen nodded. As for the matter of the wet nurse, she was also troubled at first. After all, there were many children in history who were close to their wet nurses but had a bad relationship with their mothers. But later she figured it out. The bad relationship between those children and their mothers was not entirely due to the wet nurse. It was more because the mothers themselves did not care enough about the children, or in other words, their care was not pure enough.

Having learned from previous experiences, she, who had received modern education, would not have fallen to such a state. The wet nurse was just a tool to feed her when it was inconvenient for her. She would definitely take care of the child herself.

Besides, she had already arranged the people around her son. Nanny Yue was transferred there as the general manager, so she wouldn't ask the wet nanny to do anything cunning.

After the child was fed, he was brought to Qi Buchen to see.

Qi Buchen looked at his son's tightly closed eyes, small nose, light eyebrows, and his mouth as big as his knuckles still sucking habitually. He felt his heart melt and tears filled his eyes.

Fortunately, the tears did not fall in the end, otherwise Baozhu and others would have repeated the same words to persuade her again.

She reached out and gently rubbed her son's face, then asked, "Has Grandpa given him a name?"

Baozhu smiled and said, "Fujin, you forgot that the prince's name must be reported to the emperor for his approval."

Qi Buchen certainly hadn't forgotten, he just said: "No, I haven't forgotten, can't we give him a nickname? Otherwise, calling him "Brother" would sound strange."

It’s fine if Baozhu and the others call her that, but as her mother, she doesn’t want to be called that.

"Okay, I'll go right away and report to you, sir, please give the prince a nickname." Lan Hui ran out again.

At the same time, Yinzhen was in his small study, looking at the paper filled with words with regret. He really wanted to give his son a name, but he wanted his son to be given a name by the emperor even more. Otherwise, his brothers' sons were all given names by the emperor, but his son did not, which made him seem inferior.

"Take it? Burn it." Yinzhen ordered listlessly.