Midnight

Screams were heard from the inner hall of Haitang Palace.

Aunt Peilan shuddered and rushed to the bedside. Looking at Concubine Li who was bleeding and screaming, she realized that something was wrong and her face changed suddenly.

She shouted towards the door, "Quick, go call the imperial physician and the midwife, Concubine Li is in premature labor!"

Upon hearing this, the palace maids and eunuchs rushed outside.

In less than half an hour, the entire harem knew that the favored Concubine Li had given birth a month early, and premature babies usually die young.

Most of the concubines in the harem were there to watch the fun, but no one dared to watch openly. If they angered His Majesty, it would be no good.

Emperor Gan came hurriedly with a gloomy look on his face.

If a baby is born prematurely and dies prematurely, how can the dead person's heart blood be used as medicine, his longevity elixir?

What a useless bitch, she can't even protect a child.

As we stepped into the yard, the screams became clearer and clearer.

Aunt Peilan saw the bright yellow and immediately knelt down to pay her respects, "This old servant greets your Majesty. Your Majesty..."

Emperor Gan frowned and interrupted: "Okay, stop talking nonsense and quickly tell us what happened. Why did Concubine Li give birth prematurely? And can the prince be saved?"

"If we can't keep it alive, how long can it live after it's born?"

"Well, Concubine Li went to the Imperial Garden this afternoon and accidentally... hit her stomach. She asked the imperial physician to see her and he said she was fine. She also took medicine to maintain her pregnancy, but she still had it."

"I'm going to ask the imperial physician whether the prince can be saved."

Emperor Gan waved his hand, somewhat impatiently: "Go and ask quickly. I must protect the prince no matter what method I use. How can he be born before he is full-term?"

Aunt Perrin's face was full of panic. She stumbled to open the door and went in. The smell of blood hit her in the face, making her feel a little nauseous.

"How is Doctor Wang? Is the prince alright?"

"...Oh, it's not good. I'm afraid she can't be saved. I can only give her medicine to induce labor and take good care of her from now on."

The imperial physician waved his hand and said, "Go, quickly prepare the medicine according to the prescription. I will use acupuncture to stop the bleeding first. You must be quick."

After asking, Aunt Peilan withdrew and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that the prince must be born and must be carefully cared for after birth. He may... be prone to being weak and sickly."

"Oh, so he won't die young."

I felt relieved a little. As long as the baby wasn't born dead, it would be fine. I could just take the blood from his heart while he was still alive and make enough longevity pills to last for three to five years.

Emperor Gan's expression eased considerably, and the pressure on him was no longer as strong. He said, "Go in and tell Concubine Li that she must give birth safely, otherwise... all nine generations of her family will be executed!"

Aunt Peilan's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, and her eyes were full of disbelief.

Not daring to say a word: "Yes!"

After entering the house, he looked at the dying Concubine Li, his heart aching and he felt a little uncomfortable. He sighed and whispered in her ear.

"My queen, you must give birth to the little prince, otherwise His Majesty will kill all nine generations of your family. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your family."

Concubine Li's eyes widened, her voice trembling, "No, it's impossible. Your Majesty cares so much about me, how could he say such cruel words to me? No way."

"I want to see His Majesty, go and call His Majesty down!"

Aunt Peilan sighed, "Your Majesty, His Majesty won't come in at all. In the past, when concubines in the harem gave birth, they also gave them various instructions. You will have to do the same."

"Only by giving birth to a prince successfully can we ensure the safety of our family. Don't gamble on people's hearts, especially the emperor's."

When Concubine Li heard this, she thought of the words of those crazy people in the cold palace. She smiled miserably and murmured, "Aunt, I understand what they said. So this is what they meant."

"A pregnancy in the harem is either a blessing or a disaster. Haha, it's ridiculous, really ridiculous..."

With a scream, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Aunt Peilan was startled and said worriedly, "My Lady, how are you? Hold on, I'll go call the imperial physician."

Concubine Li shook her head, and when the pain came, she used all her strength to feel her stomach relax. Then, in a daze, she heard a baby crying.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly and he said weakly: "Aunt, is it the prince?"

"Yes, your majesty is the little prince, you can sleep peacefully."

"……good."

The door opened with a creak.

Aunt Peilan held the swaddling baby in her arms, her head bowed. "Your Majesty, the little prince was born safely. Concubine Li has fainted. I wonder if the little prince has been handed over to the wet nurse."

Emperor Gan extended his hand and whispered, "Leave it to me."

"Oh, right, when Concubine Li wakes up, tell her that the prince died at birth. If anyone can't control their mouths, they will all be beaten to death. Do you understand?"

Everyone knelt on the ground and said tremblingly: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

As the people walked away, the feeling of oppression disappeared.

Aunt Peilan raised her head and looked at the receding figure. She bit her lip and stood up. She rushed into the house, fetched hot water, wiped the unconscious person clean, and sat by the bed to watch over him.

After an unknown amount of time, Concubine Li slowly woke up.

He opened his mouth but couldn't speak. After drinking a glass of warm water, he said hoarsely: "Child, where is my child?"

"Aunt, please say something. Did you take her to the wet nurse? Bring her here so I can take a look."

Peilan turned away, somewhat reluctantly, "Your Majesty, you are too weak now. You should wait a few days before seeing the little prince."

"The little prince was born prematurely and cannot be exposed to the wind. It's better not to see him for the time being. It won't be too late to see him when you are well again. Besides, you can rest assured that he will be under the care of the imperial physician."

Concubine Li was a little disappointed when she heard this, but then she thought it made sense and forced a smile: "Yes, I will listen to my aunt. As long as the little prince is well, it's all fine."

"Well, are you hungry, Madam? I'll bring you some food."

"Okay, I'll eat more. When I'm well, I'll go see the little prince. Aunt, does the little prince look more like me or more like His Majesty?"

Peilan lowered his eyes and whispered, "Like... Your Majesty!"

Concubine Li smiled bitterly, her nose a little sour. "Your Majesty is so cruel. In order to let me give birth to a little prince, he actually said that he would kill all nine generations of my family. How scary."

"Your Majesty, there were actually three concubines in the harem who died due to complications giving birth to the prince, and their families were also implicated."

"Aunt, what do you mean?"

"It's nothing special. I just want to say that your Majesty is lucky. Now that everything has settled, you can just live a good life in the future."

Peilan turned around after saying this, and when she came back, she was holding a bowl in her hand. She fed her rice porridge spoonful by spoonful, and said softly, "Your Majesty, finish eating and go back to sleep."

Concubine Li's face was pale and she looked a little exhausted: "Aunt, you really didn't hide anything from me, but why am I so confused? It's like someone is digging out my heart."

"...No, how could this old servant hide it from the Majesty?"

"Don't think too much, just sleep peacefully!"