Song Jiaren, who had been doing nothing since she got pregnant, ate rich and nutritious meals every day under Gu Zhen's nose, then lay on the couch to sleep, and then went for a walk in the garden, living a life similar to raising pigs.
As a result, during the Ghost Festival in August, her belly was like a ball and she needed help to walk. Her body became bloated and her face became bigger.
One night, Song Jiaren had a nightmare and woke up crying loudly. Gu Zhen was so scared that he lit a candle and hugged her to comfort her. However, she cried for a while and fell asleep again. Gu Zhen had to go out with dark circles under his eyes the next day.
The situation continued until the third night, when Song Jiaren woke up crying again. Gu Zhen realized the seriousness of the matter and simply hugged her and asked her carefully. She then said, "I dreamed that I became ugly, fat, and it was painful to give birth." There were no painkillers, no caesarean sections, and no anti-inflammatory drugs. It was all thanks to luck.
Gu Zhen gently caressed her belly, feeling the little life inside, with infinite anticipation and longing. "Giving birth is indeed very hard. I can't share the burden with you, but I will always be with you. Don't be afraid."
"Do you want to accompany me during the birth?" In ancient times, men were not allowed to enter the delivery room.
Gu Zhen nodded as a matter of course. "Of course, if you have no strength left, I will persuade you to hold on. If it hurts too much, you can bite me. I won't leave you alone."
With Gu Zhen accompanying her, she probably wouldn't be so scared. She might have some prenatal depression and no confidence in ancient medical technology, which was why she was so uneasy and anxious.
The mansion has become lively again recently. Song Jiaren often goes out to visit Yue Nu and the children. She also asks a carpenter to make a small wooden horse, a toy car like this, and a Luban lock.
When the toy car model was made, Gu Zhen was amazed for a long time, and then he asked her not to tell anyone about it, saying that it was a product ahead of its time and he was afraid that she would be in danger.
Song Jiaren was pregnant and was afraid of encountering danger. She was not as flexible as before and was afraid that something might happen to the child, so she said it was something she dreamed of. She didn't know what it was called, and she just made it for the child to play with. In the end, the model of the car was placed under the box, and the carpenter was asked to make a model of a carriage.
Every night Gu Zhen slept on the outside, fearing that Song Jiaren would not sleep well and fall when turning over. He did not mind her getting up frequently to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. As soon as she woke up, Gu Zhen would notice and help her get up. At first, he wanted to accompany her to the toilet, but she refused to let him go, so he had to put the urinal behind the screen, help her over and let her go by herself.
Now her belly is getting bigger and bigger. Every time I lift up her clothes and see one side of her snow-white belly bulging, or the baby inside turning, I look at it for a long time with curiosity, and even gently stroke it for a while, with tenderness in my eyes.
Sometimes he could even resist touching her even though he had some thoughts, which made Song Jiaren suspect that he had someone else. She also asked him about it for a long time. Finally, his eyes were blurred and he said with some annoyance, "I am considerate of your health and have endured it to this extent. It seems that you have recovered recently. I won't be polite then." Then he lowered his head and grabbed her rosy lips.
Gu Shen and Su Su, who were far away in the capital, received a letter from Gu Zhen saying that Song Jiaren was pregnant, so they sent someone to deliver a generous reward. They wanted to send a few more midwives and wet nurses, but then they thought this might not be appropriate, fearing that someone would think he was planting spies around Gu Zhen, so they simply added a few boxes of rare toys that were tributed from other countries to entertain Song Jiaren.
A month later, Song Jiaren looked at the boxes that were moved in. Inside were everything from silk, jewelry, and children's clothes and diapers. There were also several boxes of rare items from various countries, pocket watches, nesting dolls, Western dresses, and various gems. With her big belly, Song Jiaren searched through the boxes for the items she liked.
Suddenly, she felt a slight pain in her stomach. The delivery room and the midwife were already prepared. When they heard that she had a stomachache, they quickly helped her to lie down in the delivery room. "Don't be afraid, Madam. It should be time to give birth. Lie down and rest for a while to save your energy."
She was in so much pain just now that she couldn't straighten her back, but now she's feeling better. She asked the midwife to help her sit up and said, "You can't just lie there and not move. Help me walk slowly in the yard. As long as you move around well, it will be easier to give birth."
Gu Zhen was originally in the study when a servant came to tell him that his wife had a stomachache and had moved to the delivery room. He immediately got up and rushed over, and saw the woman being helped by a midwife and about to get off the bed.
"But she's going to give birth?"
The midwife replied respectfully, "That's right, Madam said she wanted to take a walk in the yard."
Gu Zhen took Song Jiaren and said, "Go down and get ready." Then he personally helped her walk slowly.
Song Jiaren felt his warm and strong hands, and her panicked heart calmed down a little. It was not until she had endured the waves of pain and experienced continuous and intense reactions that she returned to the delivery room to wait for delivery.
Seeing that Gu Zhen still hadn't left, the midwife urged him, "Please wait outside."
"Yes, this is not a place for men to stay. It will cause bloodshed and will not be good for you." Another midwife who was helping also tried to persuade him.
When Song Jiaren heard this, tears fell from her eyes. She was afraid that he would really abandon her, so she held his hand tightly. Although she didn't say it out loud, Gu Zhen knew that she didn't want him to leave.
He wiped away the sweat from her forehead with concern and held her sweaty hand.
"Don't be afraid, I won't leave. I'll always be with you."
Turning around, he said to the midwives in a cold tone, "Stop talking nonsense. Talking about bloody disasters is nonsense. The fact that Madam is giving birth is a good thing, a happy occasion. Just make good preparations. If anything goes wrong, you can imagine the consequences."
The midwives were helpless and dared not say anything more. They could only start preparing hot water and things for delivery.
Soon Song Jiaren felt her stomach contract violently. The pain made her sweat profusely and she bit the cloth ball at the corner of her mouth.
"Ma'am, when you feel your stomach contract, push, and when it doesn't contract, don't push."
Seeing her in so much pain, Gu Zhen's heart was in a knot. He kept wiping her sweat with the handkerchief at hand and kissed her forehead distressedly, "Don't be afraid."
When the next wave of violent contractions came, Song Jiaren felt a wave of pain in her lower body. She held Gu Zhen's hand tightly with all her strength, her fingertips digging into his arm and leaving bloody marks. Gu Zhen didn't care at all, just stared at her with a frown.
Song Jiaren fainted for a while, but was soon awakened by the pain. The delivery took a long time and she felt a little weak. She opened her eyes with difficulty and saw Gu Zhen's face full of anxiety, a firm expression, and a tightly pursed mouth.
"Don't sleep, hold on a little longer."
Gu Zhen's eyes were bloodshot, hiding suppressed fear.
Seeing him so worried and heartbroken, Song Jiaren was no longer afraid. Her little face turned pale with pain, and she forced a not-so-nice smile, "Don't worry, it's okay."
Another familiar contraction came, she took a deep breath, tried her best to use all her strength, and screamed "Ah..."
"It's almost out, ma'am, push harder, the baby will be born soon." The midwife shouted in surprise.
Song Jiaren bit the cloth ball at the corner of her mouth, exerted force again, and felt her body relax.
I heard the midwife's congratulations, "It's born, it's born."
Song Jiaren felt relaxed and fell into darkness with exhaustion.
When she woke up again, the room was dimly lit by candlelight. Beside her was Gu Zhen, who was guarding her. Seeing her wake up, his eyes, which had just been ashen, instantly lit up. He hugged her excitedly but cautiously, "You are finally awake."
Song Jiaren felt a little uncomfortable and had no strength in her body. "Where is the baby?" Is it a boy or a girl? Does it look good? Is it healthy?
Gu Zhen's voice was low and hoarse, with a strong sense of heartache. "The child is sleeping in the crib. It's a boy."
Looking back on the birthing process, it was a nightmare for him. He almost thought she couldn't hold on. It was hard for him to imagine the fear at that time. He even wondered what he would do if she died. There was a moment when he regretted letting her give birth. If he had known earlier, he would rather have no offspring than let her take such a big risk.
"I will never let you suffer this kind of pain again. This one child is enough for me. I will never have another one. Just having you by my side is enough for me."
Song Jiaren's eyes were slightly red with emotion, but when she thought about not being able to cry during the confinement period, she forced herself to hold back her tears and said, "Well, we all have to be fine."
Gu Zhen brought the curled-up baby from the crib to her side. His skin was red and a little twitchy, and his hair was thick. He didn't make a fuss when he woke up, but just looked at her with his big black eyes. Her heart softened and she wanted to cry.
If he was a little overwhelmed by this sudden arrival of little life before, now he is deeply in love with his child and no one can surpass him, not even Gu Zhen.
The baby was awake for only a short while before falling asleep again. Song Jiaren or Gu Zhen took him back, put him on the couch, hugged him, and watched him sleep.
"This... didn't you say to make this crib for him to sleep on his own?" Gu Zhen felt a little jealous. She had said it so nicely at that time, saying that the child should develop independence from an early age and not rely on his parents. Now she had completely forgotten it.
Song Jia glanced guiltily at the crib built by the carpenter, still unwilling to let him go back. "Let's talk about it in two days. He is still too young and needs his mother's breath to feel safe."
Gu Zhen snorted, but there was nothing he could do. He could only wait until late at night when Song Jiaren and the child fell asleep, and then go to the study to sleep alone.
Gu Shen and Su Su, who were far away in the capital, sent another big gift. All the officials on the border wanted to come and congratulate them, but when they thought that the flattery of the prefect was against the horse's leg, they gave up the useless thought and only asked the housekeeper at home to send the gift as a token of their gratitude. They did not dare to send any other visiting cards.
Ever since the prefect offended the prince, he hasn't received any lucrative jobs and no one wants to associate with him anymore. The officials who used to hang out with him now regard him as a monster.
During this period, Steward Lin was very busy, guarding a small hall at the back door every day. The masters did not accept visiting cards, but it was difficult for him to refuse the stewards of the various mansions. So after accepting the gifts, he chatted with them in the small hall for a few more words so as not to let others think that the stewards of the prince's mansion were difficult to approach.
In the evening, Song Jiaren heard about these things and asked someone to send a reward to the housekeeper to express her condolences for his hard work recently. However, she had no sympathy for the prefect's affairs. She was a kind-hearted person. If someone wanted to place another woman in her house, it would be a challenge to her. Of course, she had to show no mercy.
Gu Zhen carried the child back to the crib, hugged her slender waist comfortably, and slid his fingers into her neatly. "You should at least compensate me."
Song Jiaren giggled twice and put her arms around his neck gently, "Yes, sir." Her Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
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