Chapter 6 Auspicious Omens from Heaven

Her pregnancy was premature, and the premature birth was caused by the stimulation of spices. Therefore, she endured the labor from noon until late morning before finally receiving the midwife's words—"It's okay, it's okay, you can start giving birth now!"

Xuexin, who had been watching over him, ran outside like a rabbit as soon as she heard the words.

Outside the study.

Su Peisheng was dozing off against a pillar outside the hall when a series of hurried footsteps approaching from afar jolted him awake. He squinted and looked into the distance.

"Hey? Isn't this Xuexin from Consort Lü's side? Why are you here so late, and in such a hurry?" A young eunuch beside him muttered to himself.

Su Peisheng's mind raced. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. He took two quick steps to meet Xue Xin.

Before he could even ask, Xuexin suddenly knelt down in front of him, startling Su Peisheng so much that he took two steps back.

"Miss Xuexin, this is..."

"Please inform the Prince as soon as possible, my princess has gone into premature labor! Please ask the Prince to come and take a look!" Xuexin was just a young girl after all. Seeing her mistress struggling all afternoon and her breath becoming weak, she was so scared that she couldn't stop crying.

Seeing her crying like this, Su Peisheng inwardly knew something was wrong. Everyone in the household knew that Lü Gege's pregnancy had been troubled ever since the last incident. Now, she had given birth prematurely, and he feared...

Without time to think, he helped Xuexin up and turned to walk into the study.

Inside the study, Yinzhen was holding a memorial and flipping through it. He didn't even look up when he heard Su Peisheng enter.

"Your Highness, Consort Lü is about to give birth. You see...why don't you go and take a look?" Su Peisheng lowered his voice and casually took away the tea that had already gone cold.

"She's about to give birth?" Yinzhen frowned as he looked up from the memorial, his tone questioning. "Isn't she only seven or eight months along?"

“Indeed, it’s probably premature. I saw Xuexin crying outside, I’m afraid it’s…” Su Peisheng said, glancing up at the prince’s face. He saw that the prince was frowning and hadn’t put down the memorial in his hand. He then continued.

"This Lady Lü has always been in good health. Even Your Highness said before that her child would definitely be healthy. But after what happened last time, alas, Lady Lü suffered a lot."

After pondering for a while, Yinzhen put down the memorial in his hand, rubbed his temples, and said, "Fine, then let's go take a look."

——

"Madam, the woman in the Jade Hall is about to give birth."

In the dim candlelight, Jianqiu's voice, lowered, carried a hint of triumph.

Yixiu, who had already removed the disassembled clothes, sat in front of the mirror, absentmindedly fiddling with the strands of hair in her hands. Upon hearing this, she paused, turned to look at Jianqiu, and asked, "Is she about to give birth?"

Although it was a question, his face showed an undisguised smile. "Have you taken care of everything?"

Jianqiu nodded – “Don’t worry, Madam, it’s all been burned, there’s no trace left.”

"That's good." Yi Xiu sat up straight and looked at the person in the mirror. "Then let's do our makeup. It doesn't have to be too complicated. Let's go see this Lady Lü as soon as possible."

"Yes." Jianqiu smiled as she took the comb and walked behind Yixiu.

Yixiu led everyone to the Jade Hall and rushed over, only to find the prince already sitting outside the hall.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

"It's late and the dew is heavy, thank you for arriving on time." Yinzhen glanced at Yixiu's simple double bun hairstyle and said with great satisfaction.

With a wave of his hand, Su Peisheng moved an embroidered stool over and placed it beside him.

Yi Xiu sat down with a smile and said gently, "Sister Lü's attack was sudden, and we were all a little worried, so we rushed over to see if there was anything we could do to help."

Yinzhen nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly noticed a figure in rose red in the crowd.

"Shilan just recovered from her illness a few days ago, please have a seat."

Nian Shilan was having her sweet dream disturbed and was dragged over to watch someone give birth. She was full of resentment, but upon hearing this, her face instantly lit up with a bright smile, and her eyes revealed a hint of girlish pride as she looked at Yinzhen—"Thank you for remembering me, Your Highness."

Yixiu remained outwardly calm, but as she turned her head, the hand gripping the handkerchief tightened even more.

Time ticked by, and basin after basin of bloody water was carried out. The cries of pain coming from inside the house grew hoarse and weaker, but the child still didn't come out.

Seeing that the sky was gradually brightening, Su Peisheng calculated the time in his mind. Yixiu spoke first, saying, "Your Highness has also waited here all night, which is already a blessing for Consort Lü. It's almost time for court, so why don't you go back and rest for a while?"

Yinzhen, who had been resting with his eyes closed while fiddling with his prayer beads, looked out at the sky upon hearing his wife speak. It was already getting light. Seeing that there was still no news from inside, he hesitated for a moment before standing up.

His legs were a little numb from sitting for so long, so Su Peisheng cleverly used the act of helping the prince tidy his clothes to allow him to stand up and rest for a while.

Just as they were about to take the first step, the midwife's joyful voice made everyone pause.

"It's born! The baby's out!"

What followed was an extremely loud cry from a newborn baby.

The child had already been born, so Yinzhen wasn't in a hurry to leave. Everyone had been waiting all night for the child, and they all gathered around.

The midwife quickly cleaned and wrapped the baby up tightly. As soon as she stepped out, she beamed and said to the prince and his wife, "Congratulations, Your Highness and Your Highness, it's a girl, and she's very healthy."

Yinzhen's face, which had been contorted with worry all night, now showed a hint of a smile. His daughter was truly beautiful; she wasn't at all the frailty of a premature baby, looking like she'd been born full-term, with fair and delicate skin.

"A girl is fine as long as she's healthy." He couldn't help but touch her chubby little cheek, which elicited a soft hum from the baby, making him smile even more.

Although Yixiu was unwilling, she was a daughter after all and couldn't cause any trouble. At this moment, she also chimed in, saying, "This child looks like she's destined for good fortune. She's really beautiful."

Everyone crowded around the baby to look at him, but Yinzhen was unwilling to stay any longer. He gave a few instructions and was about to go to court, but he was stopped again before he could take that step.

"Oh no!" another midwife's voice suddenly came, accompanied by Lü Yingfeng's cry of pain.

Everyone is already worried that things will go wrong after the birth, and that...

"I'm afraid she's had a hemorrhage!" Consort Li exclaimed in surprise. The room fell silent. Perhaps sensing the strange looks from everyone, Li Jingyan silently shut her mouth.

She was the one who blurted out what everyone else was guessing, and she said it so loudly.

"What's going on?" Finally, it was Yinzhen who spoke with a stern face.

"Your Highness, Consort Lü is pregnant again! She hasn't given birth yet!" The midwife's voice trembled uncontrollably.

These words were like a giant wave, upsetting the emotions of everyone in the room.

"Really?!" Yinzhen withdrew his foot from the door and strolled back into the house. He could not hide the surprise on his face, even though he was usually very composed.

Equally undeniable were Yixiu's almost broken fingernails and Nian Shilan's teeth that seemed about to be crushed.

"How could she possibly deserve such good fortune!" This was the sentiment of almost everyone present.

But instead of the midwife's response, they were met with an even louder cry.

"Wow--"

The second one was born much faster than the first.

Before Yinzhen could even feel joy, he heard Su Peisheng's somewhat panicked voice in his ear.

"Your Highness, look outside!"

His voice was not quiet, and everyone looked out in his direction. They saw that the sky, which had just turned a pale white, was now suddenly filled with a bright glow, faintly turning into seven colors. Under the auspicious clouds, flocks of golden birds hovered on the horizon, lingering for a long time.