Mid-May.

"ah!!!"

"Bilian, I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts so much!"

Guan Zhiyue was originally walking around in the courtyard, supported by palace servants.

A sudden feeling of heaviness in her lower abdomen caused her to fall to the ground.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

"Go and inform the Emperor immediately!"

"Find the imperial physician."

"The Empress is about to give birth. Quickly, fetch the midwife."

"Cuijuan, quickly get people to boil water."

"You should also hurry up and prepare clothes for the children."

"Quickly vacate the delivery room."

"And close all the rooms now. Come and have a few eunuchs help carry the Empress into the room."

Bilian's voice trembled slightly with nervousness, but she had to pretend to be calm.

After all, she is now the head maidservant by the Empress's side, which is a very powerful position.

Amidst the chaotic footsteps of soldiers, everyone sprang into action, and soon the entire Cold Palace was mobilized. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire palace was in turmoil.

Everyone knows that the Queen is about to give birth.

The Empress Dowager stood up from her seat with some delight, turning the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.

With the help of Granny Jin and Granny Fan, he quickly got up and headed towards the Cold Palace.

Upon hearing the news, Li Qiji abandoned all his ministers and used his lightness skill to leap towards the Cold Palace.

Just as he was about to enter the house, the midwife stopped him.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't go in. It's bad luck for you to go in when a woman is giving birth!"

"How dare you! The person inside is the heir of a nation. What bad luck is this?"

"Since I see you are the midwife who delivered Yue'er, I won't say anything to you."

"Get out of my way." Li Qiji arrogantly lifted the curtain and walked in from the outside with his head down.

As soon as I entered, I smelled a strong, unpleasant stench of blood.

"Yue'er, are you alright?"

"How are you? Does it still hurt?"

Li Qiji rushed to Guan Zhiyue in one stride.

He looked very worried, reached out and took Guan Zhiyue's hand, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Guan Zhiyue looked at Li Qiji coming over and said shyly, "You should go out. Giving birth is ugly."

"No, I want to stay with you. My woman is mine no matter what." Li Qiji shook his head.

His brand-new dragon robe, now wrinkled, was kneeling before Guan Zhiyue's bed.

He held Guan Zhiyue's hand in one hand and placed the other on her forehead.

Gently wipe her sweat and smooth her disheveled hair.

The beaded curtain on the dragon crown swayed back and forth in front of his forehead, which annoyed him so much that he ripped off the dragon crown from his head and threw it aside casually.

Guan Zhiyue's stomach began to cramp, and she couldn't help but clench Li Qiji's hand, letting out a loud cry that was almost unbearable.

"ah!!!"

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Hearing this, the midwife quickly stopped her, saying, "Your Highness, please bear with it for a while. You can push later. You're only one centimeter dilated now. You can push more when you give birth later!"

Li Qiji glared at him with a murderous look.

The midwife instantly knelt on the ground, trembling.

Guan Zhiyue, after hearing the midwife's words, suppressed her screams, gripped Li Qiji's hand tighter and tighter, and finally bit down on Li Qiji's arm.

Li Qiji acted as if he didn't feel any pain, still worried about whether Guan Zhiyue's tooth was okay.

What if my arm is too hard and I accidentally bump her teeth?

After about half an hour, Guan Zhiyue's cervix finally dilated.

Fortunately, the baby's position was normal, and Rosamund Kwan was not obese, so the delivery was not difficult.

The only thing that caused her pain was that her cervix dilated too slowly, which tormented her for a long time.

Rosamund Kwan gave birth after only nine months of pregnancy, less than ten months into the pregnancy.

The midwife's exclamation made everyone in the delivery room tense.

"Quick, the baby's head is out."

Everyone was on high alert, some taking scissors, some carrying fire, and some taking clothes.

The midwife deftly reached out and caught the baby's head. With Guan Zhiyue's push,

The first baby was born safely. The midwife quickly picked up a pair of scissors and cut the umbilical cord connecting the two babies.

She quickly and neatly tied a knot, then gently turned the baby over and patted his bottom lightly.

"Wow, woohoo~"

A loud cry then burst from the child's mouth.

The midwife quickly smiled and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! It's a little prince!"

She handed it to another midwife nearby, who quickly went to wash and then wrap the baby in swaddling clothes.

Guan Zhiyue was pregnant again, and it took quite a while before the baby started moving.

Guan Zhiyue was almost out of strength, feeling weak, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.

Even the mattress underneath was soaked through.

Li Qiji remained kneeling by the bed, placing his arm in Guan Zhiyue's mouth and letting her bite it, without uttering a sound from beginning to end.

"Quickly bring some ginseng slices, Her Majesty the Empress is exhausted."

The midwife looked at Guan Zhiyue's pale face and quickly gave instructions to the person beside her.

A young maidservant carried a bowl of ginseng soup and walked in from outside, lifting the curtain. There were also several slices of ginseng next to her.

The courtyard outside was already packed with people; the Empress Dowager had arrived.

The ministers were already waiting at the gate of the Cold Palace; many of them were visiting the Cold Palace for the first time.

Even before entering, one could already sense the splendor of the Cold Palace.

Everyone says the empress was banished to the cold palace, but look at the decor, it doesn't look like a cold palace at all, it's a magnificent palace.

"ah!!!"

"Almost there, Your Majesty, just a little more effort! I can already see the baby's head."

Guan Zhiyue shook her head; she had no strength left, feeling as if all the blood in her body was being drained.

"Your Majesty, you can't stop! The child is just one step away from completion!"

"Push harder!" the midwife's voice came again.

Guan Zhiyue took a deep breath and strained.

Finally, the baby was born, but she herself fainted due to exhaustion.

"Imperial Physician, Imperial Physician."

Li Qiji looked at Guan Zhiyue, who had suddenly closed her eyes, and called out anxiously.

The imperial physician rushed in from outside, but before he could even bow, Li Qiji scolded him, "Quickly come and see the Empress."

After a trembling examination, the imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief and reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress is unharmed."

She simply collapsed from exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she was perfectly fine.

"This old minister will prescribe some more tonic medicine for Your Majesty. She will feel better after taking it."

Li Qiji waved his hand, instructing the palace maid to wash Guan Zhiyue's body.

He then walked to the side and looked at the two little ones in the swaddling clothes. They were chubby and wrinkled, looking like an ugly cat.

"You're so ugly! I and Yue'er are both quite good-looking, how could we have given birth to such ugly children like you?"

Upon hearing this, the midwife standing nearby twitched her lips and quickly said, "Your Majesty, all newborn babies look like this. They'll look better after a few days when they open up."

"Oh, both of them are princes?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, congratulations! The Empress has given birth to two healthy princes for you."

"Alright, everyone will be rewarded." Li Qiji was very happy and gave the order loudly.

Upon hearing this, the midwife immediately grinned, and auspicious blessings poured out as if they were free.

After taking a look, Li Qiji had someone carry her out so that people outside could see her. He wanted to stay with Yue'er and move her to a different room later.

The next day, the whole country was in an uproar. The reason was simple: the Empress had given birth to two princes, and the Emperor was going to grant a general amnesty to bring good fortune to the two princes.

This is the first major piece of news. The other is that a prince will be allowed to assist in government affairs, while the emperor will be taking care of the empress during her postpartum period. This is utterly ridiculous!

From then on, a saying circulated among the common people: "The spring night is too short and the sun rises high; from then on, the emperor no longer holds morning court!"