April 18th, the ninth year of Zhenggan.

In all matters, there are no taboos!

Today, the Southern Kingdom is peaceful and harmonious. The new policies introduced by Li Qiji have been implemented throughout the country and have received a great response.

The people of Nanding are all singing that the current emperor is a wise ruler, a rare and good man!

Everywhere you can see that the people have spontaneously organized to build shrines for Li Qiji and Guan Zhiyue, and they also make offerings to them every year.

The people of Nanding were overjoyed, for they never saw anything like it again in Nanding.

There are also people who are hungry, all thanks to Guan Zhiyue's high-yield grain.

This brought prosperity and wealth to the entire Southern Kingdom.

Every family had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear; there were no cases of children being sold.

There haven't even been any cases of missing children.

People these days are extremely cautious; they'll be wary of anyone who tries to take pictures of others.

They are now brave enough to stand up and punch and kick them, no longer indifferent and cold-eyed like before.

----

The Cold Palace of the Capital.

"Ah! I can't take it anymore."

"Granny Jin, quick! My water has broken! Come quick!"

Guan Zhiyue slumped back in the wicker chair, the area beneath her still damp, water flowing down the chair and onto the floor.

Before long, the area under the rattan chair was already soaking wet.

Guan Zhiyue felt it instantly; her stomach was in excruciating pain, which turned her face deathly pale.

Hearing the noise, Granny Jin ran out of the house and hurriedly called out, "Someone come quickly! Go and prepare hot water and find the midwife!"

"Send someone to inform the Emperor."

Granny Jin, with methodical ease, instructed people to carry Guan Zhiyue to the delivery room that had already been prepared.

Then he took out his handkerchief and kept wiping the sweat off Guan Zhiyue's face.

She was sent to the Cold Palace by Empress Dowager Xin, mainly because of Bilian, Bitao, and others.

Not long after getting married, Guan Zhiyue gave all her head maids a day off.

She kept only third-class and second-class maids by her side.

Empress Dowager Xin saw that this was not working, so she sent Granny Jin to serve Guan Zhiyue for a while. But she had only been there a short time when she went into labor.

"Your Majesty, you must hold back!"

"You need to save your energy now, because you'll need a lot of energy to give birth later."

"You have to be patient a little longer!" Granny Jin held Guan Zhiyue's hand with one hand and wiped her sweat with the other.

Looking towards the doorway, I saw two midwives who had been called over and were cleaning and disinfecting themselves in a basin of water.

After washing their hands, the two respectfully approached Guan Zhiyue's bedside, bowed, and then looked at Guan Zhiyue.

After reaching out and touching Guan Zhiyue's belly, one of the midwives said, "Your Majesty,"

You need to hold on a little longer; your cervix isn't even three feet wide open yet.

"Yes, it's only just begun, you'll have to be patient."

The other midwife chimed in.

Hearing what the two were saying, Guan Zhiyue just wanted to faint.

She's in so much pain right now, her whole body is spasming, and they're telling her she can't give birth yet!

Good heavens, just give her a good whack!

Upon receiving the news, Li Qiji rushed over, carrying a brocade box in his hands.

Without saying a word, he lifted the curtain and went straight into the delivery room.

The people inside were startled and quickly stepped forward to bow and shoo them away.

Then he said, "Oh dear, Your Majesty, you can't come in now. This is the birthing room..."

"Your Majesty, how could you come to such a place? This place is unclean, please leave immediately!"

Granny Jin chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty, the midwife is right!"

Li Qiji gave them a cold glance, then strode up to Guan Zhiyue.

He knelt down beside her bed, took her hand, and gently wiped the sweat from her face.

He said softly, "The Empress and I are not so particular. Today, I will accompany the Empress during childbirth."

"Just do your own thing and pretend I don't exist."

Li Qiji's words were cold and arrogant, yet carried a hint of intimidation. The two midwives and Granny Jin exchanged a glance.

There was nothing more to say, so they all went back to their posts and waited for Guan Zhiyue to make her move.

Guan Zhiyue looked at the brocade box in Li Qiji's hand and asked in a trembling voice, "What, what is this?"

Li Qiji quickly handed the brocade box to Granny Jin, then explained to Guan Zhiyue, "The ginseng you gave me last time..."

I thought you'd definitely need it after you give birth, so I brought it along.

Guan Zhiyue was speechless. If she needed ginseng, she had plenty in her space. Why bother him to bring it over?

But thinking about it, it makes sense. She's in labor right now; if she suddenly took a fresh ginseng from her spatial storage...

Not only would she scare the people in the room to death, but they might also mistake her for a monster and demand that the emperor burn her alive!

The two joked around for a while longer, with Li Qiji trying to tell funny stories.

In an attempt to distract Guan Zhiyue from her labor pains, about half an hour later...

Guan Zhiyue felt the pain again; this time, she was truly about to give birth.

There was already some blood seeping from my lower body, and I was experiencing waves of pain in my abdomen.

It seemed to come even more violently than before, which made Guan Zhiyue shout out involuntarily.

It was simply unbearable for her.

She grabbed Li Qiji's hand and squeezed it hard, as if she wanted to crush it.

But Li Qiji remained completely calm and continued to offer words of comfort.

He gestured for Guan Zhiyue to relax, assuring her that he was right beside her and would stay with her until their child was born.

"Oh no! My stomach hurts so much!"

"ah!!!"

"Li Qiji, my stomach hurts so much."

"Oh no, it hurts so much!"

Guan Zhiyue's voice grew louder and louder, but the child still didn't appear, as if it were just a game.

Even inside Guan Zhiyue's belly, they were playing and frolicking, as if vying for the right of first place, neither willing to give way to the other.

When Granny Jin heard Guan Zhiyue shouting so loudly and forcefully,

Before the baby's head had even appeared, she quickly called out to stop her, "Oh dear, Your Majesty, please be careful!"

"You need to conserve your energy, otherwise how will we produce later!"

Guan Zhiyue felt hungry, so she squeezed Li Qiji's hand and called out to Granny Jin, "Granny, give me something to eat, I'm hungry."

Granny Jin: My goodness, you're giving birth right now!

She was speechless. He was shouting so energetically just now, and now he wants food.

Giving birth is like playing a game!

Guan Zhiyue was really hungry now, and her stomach hurt. Those two brats were still inside her, doing who knows what.

The fact that she couldn't come out left her feeling both pained and hungry, and utterly helpless!

Li Qiji also spoke up, ordering, "Hurry up and bring the food over to the Empress."

Granny Jin hurriedly ran off to have food prepared, while Guan Zhiyue was still howling in bed.

The baby in her belly just wouldn't show itself, as if it were a game, tormenting Guan Zhiyue.