Chapter 70 "Daily Life During Pregnancy (Part 2)"...

==Chapter Seventy: Pregnancy (Part Two)==

Steam filled the air, the hot spring water was at a comfortable temperature, and a layer of roses covered the clear, translucent water, concealing the enchanting scene.

With a satisfied look in his eyes, Xiao Yu pressed his forehead against his wife's, his long, slender fingers running through her dark hair, and chuckled in a hoarse voice, "Still so shy."

Su Wanyue turned her head away, biting her lip lightly, "No, I didn't."

"Is Wanwan feeling unwell?" She denied it outright, which made Xiao Yu chuckle. Xiao Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and asked.

Su Wanyue pursed her lips, her voice slightly muffled, "It was my husband who started it first."

Xiao Yu chuckled, “Wanwan is right, I was deliberately bullying Wanwan.”

"If it's bullying, then I should be able to bully you even more without any consequences, right?"

Xiao Yu was just teasing his wife in his arms. In fact, his hand was stroking his wife's thin back, and he was careful not to hurt her in the slightest.

Su Wanyue was startled. She frowned and reminded him, "There's a child too."

She tensed up and shrank back slightly. The veins on the back of Xiao Yu's hand, which was around her waist, stood out. He pressed her slender body closer to him. "I know my limits. Just relax, Wanwan."

They blended seamlessly, exploring little by little, smoothing out the wrinkles inside.

The spring water flows gently, the temperature is just right, and it's very comfortable to soak in it.

Considering his wife's feelings, Xiao Yu gently touched the fine sweat on her temples and asked, "Are you still feeling unwell?"

The flush on Su Wanyue's face gradually faded. She clutched Xiao Yu's collar and gently shook her head. "I don't feel uncomfortable anymore."

"That's all?" Xiao Yu kissed her trembling eyelashes and asked in a low voice.

Su Wanyue gave him a reproachful look with her gentle, spring-like eyes, then bit her lip. "Thank you, my husband."

"I thought Wanwan was going to abandon me after taking advantage of me." Xiao Yu grasped her wrist, kissed the back of her fair hand, then dried his wife and picked her up in his arms.

On the huanghuali wood coffee table was a bowl of longan and red date soup. Xiao Yu picked it up and personally fed it to his wife. A few days ago, Su Wanyue couldn't sleep for half a day because she was feeling unwell. Tonight, she simply couldn't sleep. She looked at the man and asked him if he wanted to play chess. "If Wanwan is willing, I will gladly play."

So the two faced each other and played chess, one with black pieces and the other with white pieces. Xiao Yuzheng said he would give her three pieces, but the woman spoke first: "I will give my husband a three-piece handicap."

Xiao Yu glanced at her, smiled, and made three moves first. Su Wanyue followed with her move. Instead of thinking about how to surround him, she placed a piece on the very edge according to her own idea. Xiao Yu glanced at it and placed a piece in the center. In the end, the black pieces were almost surrounded by the white pieces. The man slowly said, "Wanwan wins."

He was deliberately letting her win...

Su Wanyue felt that her victory was unfair and asked for another round. Xiao Yu readily agreed, but after several more rounds, Su Wanyue still won. After three rounds in a row, the woman didn't want to play anymore because she was sleepy.

But once she lay down on the canopy bed, she couldn't fall asleep. Su Wanyue turned over and lay on her side. Xiao Yu pulled her, blanket and all, into his arms from behind. "How about I tell you a story?"

Hearing him say he was going to tell a story, Su Wanyue felt a chill run down her spine. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she asked him earnestly, "Husband, are you going to talk about the art of governing a country again?"

Xiao Yu paused for a moment. His wife had been looking at military books these past few days, and he had assumed she was interested in the art of war. "Then I think the book 'The Crown Prince's Pampered Crown Princess' is quite good."

He was referring to the storybook that the Seventh Princess had brought over today, the one that Su Wanyue had casually put down.

Now it was Su Wanyue's turn to fall silent. She quickly closed her eyes and said, "Then my husband should talk about the way of governing the country."

"Alright." Xiao Yu picked up a history book, his tone calm and gentle, "During the reign of the Holy Ancestor..."

As Su Wanyue listened, she began to feel drowsy. Before falling asleep, Su Wanyue was thinking that if her child were born in the future, she could use this method to lull the child to sleep. As she listened, the woman unconsciously rubbed her ears.

Once his wife's breathing had become steady and even, Xiao Yu put the historical records aside and kissed her small earlobe.

Since Su Wanyue became pregnant, Imperial Physician Zhang had been staying at Prince Cheng's residence, coming every day to check Su Wanyue's pulse. Today, because Su Wanyue got up a little late, Imperial Physician Zhang finished taking her pulse and went back, just as he bumped into Prince Xiao returning from court. Imperial Physician Zhang quickly bowed and said, "This humble official greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"How is the Crown Princess?" Xiao Yu raised his hand, his tone calm.

Imperial Physician Zhang immediately replied, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess's pulse is stable, and everything is fine. However, to ensure a smooth delivery for the Crown Princess, Her Highness should still go out and move around more."

Pregnancy is one hurdle for a woman, and childbirth is another. Especially since the child in the Crown Princess's womb carries the blood of the royal families of Nanqiong and Beili, his status is extremely noble. Imperial Physician Zhang dared not be careless in the slightest. If he were careless, would he still have his official hat? Imperial Physician Zhang had staked his life on this.

Especially now that the Crown Prince controls the court and the Emperor is unwell, no matter whether the Crown Princess gives birth to a young prince or a young princess, they are not to be underestimated.

Physician Zhang had said this before. Xiao Yu put his hands behind his back. He wanted to have a child with his wife to keep her, so that she wouldn't be distracted and wouldn't always think about her former fiancé. But thinking about the suffering his wife had endured during her pregnancy, he didn't really want the child. Xiao Yu rubbed his forehead.

Seeing that His Highness the Crown Prince stood with his hands behind his back, not saying a word, Imperial Physician Zhang secretly glanced at him. He saw that His Highness's narrow phoenix eyes were dark. Imperial Physician Zhang was startled and quickly said, "However, Your Highness, please rest assured that the Crown Princess's pulse is stable and she is in good health. She will definitely be able to give birth to an heir smoothly."

Xiao Yu nodded slightly and walked slowly to the Zixia Palace. Qin'er and a group of maids greeted Xiao Yu, "Your Highness."

Su Wanyue was having breakfast when she noticed that his complexion seemed rather unwell. She asked with concern, "What's wrong, my husband?"

Seeing the worry in her eyes, Xiao Yu raised his hand to dismiss everyone, then pulled her into his arms, his voice low and deep, "Once Wanwan's baby is born, let's not have any more children."

He didn't want her to suffer any further danger.

Noticing that his embrace was tightening, Su Wanyue hesitated before hugging him back. "What's wrong, my husband?"

He seemed to be afraid of something, but the word "afraid" didn't seem to fit him.

Xiao Yu's gaze was deep as he sighed, "I was just thinking that if the child in Wanwan's belly is naughty, I'll give it a good beating after it's born."

Su Wanyue: "Then I'll take the child back to Nanqiong, and my husband can live alone."

Xiao Yu smiled and kissed her lips. "I will be a good father."

So, Wanwan, I hope you stay safe and sound.

***

In mid-May of the sixth year of the Dingyuan era, Xie Mo'er, the eldest daughter of the Xie State Duke's Mansion, married Mu Ziyi, the young master of the Dingguo General's Mansion. As it was a marriage between a powerful family and a military family, the scene was extremely lively. Everyone knew that Xie Cheng, the eldest son of the Xie State Duke's Mansion, was a friend of the Crown Prince and had made meritorious contributions in suppressing the rebellion of the eldest prince. When the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, the Xie State Duke's Mansion would be highly sought after. Therefore, everyone wanted to curry favor with the Xie State Duke's Mansion, and early on, the gate of the Xie State Duke's Mansion was full of carriages.

And coincidentally, Princess Huiyang arrived. No sooner had Princess Huiyang arrived than the Right Chancellor Yan Chenzhou arrived half an hour later. Everyone knew that the Right Chancellor had come with Princess Huiyang, but Princess Huiyang didn't pay much attention to the Right Chancellor. Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. In their youth, the Right Chancellor ignored Princess Huiyang, but now it seemed that the situation had reversed.

But what surprised everyone the most was that the steward rushed in from outside the main hall, smiling and saying, "Madam, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Princess have arrived."

The presence of His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Princess is a great honor for the Xie family. Madam Xie was overjoyed and, holding Cui'er's hand, said, "Come on, let's go and pay our respects to His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Princess."

The crowd followed. At the entrance of the Xie State Duke's mansion, Xie Cheng and Xie State Duke were entertaining guests. As soon as the Crown Prince's carriage arrived, the father and son went to greet him, saying, "Your subject greets Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Crown Princess."

Xiao Yu got off the carriage first, then carefully carried his wife down from the carriage. Su Wanyue was not used to being so intimate in front of others, so she shook her head at him.

Xiao Yu put her down and squeezed her soft fingers. The Xie family father and son pretended not to see it. The Xie family father smiled and said, "It is an honor for the Xie family to have Your Highness and the Crown Princess come. Your Highness and the Crown Princess, please go in."

When Madam Xie saw Su Wanyue, her eyes lit up. She smiled, patted Su Wanyue's hand, and served her a cup of tea. "Your Highness the Crown Princess must be about five months pregnant."

She noticed that the woman's skin was delicate and her complexion was even more radiant than before, indicating that she was being well taken care of. No wonder people said that she and the Crown Prince were destined to be together. Before the Crown Prince married, he was never this attentive and gentle. Which member of the royal family wasn't cold-hearted? Only their Crown Prince was an exception.

Su Wanyue smiled and nodded.

"That's wonderful. The child in the Crown Princess's belly is extraordinary. It's a fusion of the bloodlines of the Southern Qiong and Northern Li royal families. It's bound to be a clever one in the future." Madam Xie couldn't help but cover her mouth and smile.

With a father who is the future emperor, a mother who is the future empress and the princess of Nanqiong, a grandfather who is the emperor, a grandmother who is a favored concubine in the six palaces, a maternal grandfather who is the Prince of Nanqiong, and an uncle who is the crown prince of Nanqiong, how could this child's status not be noble?

The other ladies also agreed, but they didn't know whether the Crown Princess was carrying a boy or a girl. Otherwise, they could have taken the lead and arranged a marriage for their children if the Crown Princess took a liking to them.

However, they also knew that such a thing was just a thought, the ladies thought to themselves.

***

In July of the sixth year of the Dingyuan era, the Emperor announced his abdication and became the Retired Emperor during the morning court session. Crown Prince Xiao Yu ascended the throne as Emperor, changing the country's name to Chengxi. Su Wanyue was made Empress, sharing the same status as the Emperor.

Because Su Wanyue was made empress, she had a new group of servants. On this day, a newly arrived maid went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation with Chunzhi to pick up some things. On the way, she asked, "Miss Chunzhi, when will Her Majesty the Empress return to the Jiaofang Palace?"

Chunzhi was somewhat surprised, "Why do you ask this?"

Emerald panicked immediately and hurriedly waved her hand, saying that she didn't say it. "Isn't it just that people in the palace are talking about it? They're saying that it's not proper for Her Majesty to stay in the Hall of Mental Cultivation every day. His Majesty is busy with many affairs of state, and His Majesty would probably be distracted if she stayed there."

Chunzhi smiled and said, "This is His Majesty's decree. If anyone is going to discuss it, they can come and see His Majesty."

Emerald scratched her head and followed Chunzhi to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Then they went around to the Emperor's bedroom. Before they even entered, they heard the voices of His Majesty and the Empress.