As the predicted due date by the imperial physician drew closer, Emperor Jingcheng became increasingly anxious, unable to sleep for nights on end, constantly staring at the sleeping Azi beside him. He would occasionally massage her legs and touch her belly, then warn the little one inside to behave. Sometimes the baby would kick him in dissatisfaction, making his palms itch.
Azi woke up in the middle of the night to find someone talking on top of her, looking nervous and somewhat helpless as he glanced at the tent ceiling, not wanting to disturb her. It wasn't until she tried to turn over that she raised her hand and pushed him away.
Di Jingcheng immediately looked up, smiling as he helped her turn over, and massaged her legs at the same time. Azi lay on her side, feeling the just-right pressure of the massage, and found it very comfortable. She lazily said, "Acheng, the imperial physician said there are still about ten days until the delivery. You've been up for almost half a month without closing your eyes like this, I'm worried!"
Azi had said it many times: she was afraid he would collapse before the baby was even born. But the man seemed to have no sleep, staying by her side day and night; she was very worried too!
Di Jingcheng leaned in and kissed her: "It's nothing, I just can't sleep. I need to keep an eye on you and the baby to feel at ease."
"Sleep, baby. You're already tired enough carrying this baby. Don't worry about me." He carefully pulled the thin blanket up for her, brought her some warm water, gave her a couple of sips, and coaxed her to sleep.
Ah Zi was indeed extremely sleepy and immediately fell asleep again. Di Jingcheng chuckled foolishly as he watched his sleeping baby, occasionally talking to the one in his belly, but he wasn't sleepy at all.
When Qinghe brought in breakfast, the Emperor had already gotten up. Seeing him smiling at the Empress with a gentle, indulgent expression, like a fool, with noticeable dark circles under his eyes, she knew it. The Emperor hadn't slept all night again.
"Your Majesty, breakfast is ready." She lowered her voice, afraid of waking the still-asleep Empress.
"Go out and let the imperial physician wait outside."
"yes."
Azi slowly woke up, stared blankly at Di Jingcheng for a while, then got up with the man's help. He then took care of her again. When her mind was fully clear, she was already sitting at the dining table enjoying the man's feeding.
Today there are many fresh, sweet and sour fruits to whet your appetite: large, red strawberries, translucent green grapes, tempting green dates, as well as dragon fruit, guava, mango, and more. You can try them all, but don't eat too much.
Looking at the colorful fruits, Azi's appetite increased, and she felt full of energy. She directed the man to feed her a few strawberries and some mango, feeling incredibly comfortable.
After breakfast, Emperor Jingcheng took her for a walk in the garden to aid digestion, and Zheng San came over with a group of palace servants.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor and Your Majesty the Empress!" the crowd bowed in unison.
Azi looked at the tray in the palace servant's hands. There were exquisite jewelry, magnificent brocade phoenix robes, embroidered shoes inlaid with large pink pearls, children's toys, clothes and so on. She stepped forward with curiosity and picked up a pair of delicate jade bracelets. They were of excellent quality and smooth and translucent. "Acheng, there were already so many new ones last time. Why are there so many again this time?"
Di Jingcheng helped her put on the jade bracelet. Her slender, fair wrists made the bracelet look even more vibrant and beautiful. He held Azi's hand and looked at her from head to toe, his eyes filled with love. His Azi was indeed beautiful in every way.
"They're so beautiful. And these pieces of jewelry have unique designs, including camellias!"
"Your Majesty, these designs were all personally created by His Majesty and made by others," Zheng He said with a smile.
Azi became even more excited, picking up the jewelry piece by piece to admire it carefully, praising it endlessly: "My husband is so wonderful! I love it!" She picked up a dragon and phoenix robe with the same design and held it up against the man.
"Standing for too long is tiring, let them take it inside to look at, okay?" Seeing her excited look, Di Jingcheng felt that all his efforts were worthwhile.
Emperor Jingcheng then rewarded the palace servants, making the Clothing Bureau incredibly prestigious.
Time flew by, and Azi's due date was approaching, which made her a little scared. After all, she was still young and it was her first time giving birth. She had heard from others that childbirth could take half her life, and she was afraid of the pain!
As a result, Emperor Jingcheng, who was already extremely nervous and anxious, became even more at a loss, and had to forcefully suppress his panic to comfort Azi. Fortunately, the midwives and imperial physicians were there, keeping an eye on the Emperor and Empress, and Qinghe and the others also learned a lot from them and took good care of them.
The imperial physician said that Azi would give birth tomorrow or the day after. Di Jingcheng finally managed to coax her to sleep, but he was filled with boundless fear. He dared not close his eyes, because every time he did, he saw the horrific scene from his previous life: Azi and her unborn child dying, her body covered in blood. It was enough to kill him.
He needed to make sure Azi was within his sight at all times, breathing normally, before he could feel a little at ease. Even so, he still felt that everything before him was unreal, and he was afraid that when he fell asleep and woke up, it would all be a dream. His breathing was a little heavy, but he was afraid of disturbing the person next to him, so he tried to control himself and take deep breaths.
Azi slept very well that night and didn't have any strange dreams. When she woke up in the morning, she got up as usual, ate breakfast under the man's tender care, and sat on his lap. She felt a faint dampness between her thighs, as if she was about to give birth.
She suddenly realized that when that moment arrived, she didn't seem to have much energy to be afraid; she was so calm that it frightened her. Almost momentarily stunned, she gently tugged at the man's sleeve and calmly tossed a sentence to the anxious Di Jingcheng: "It seems like she's about to give birth."
Upon hearing this, Di Jingcheng's breathing quickened instantly. He shouted for help and had the person brought into the pre-prepared delivery room. Azi hadn't even started having contractions yet, her mind was blank, when she was taken into the delivery room.
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