"Congratulations, His Majesty, it's a little prince."
Zhou Beichen didn't pay special attention to the child. His eyes were fixed on Shen Nian'an for a long time.
After a long while, he spoke slowly.
"Rewards! All those who serve today will be rewarded handsomely."
The midwife was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. During the whole process, Zhou Beichen's attention was on Shen Nian'an, which made the midwife mourn for the future little prince.
Alas, maybe I won’t be able to compare with my mother, or my brothers and sisters in the future.
"An An, does it still hurt? If you are tired, just take a rest. Now, don't worry about anything. I have arranged everything for you."
Shen Nian'an was weak, but still nodded, and her pale lips finally had some color. The palace maid came over and changed her into clean and soft clothes. Soon, Shen Nian'an fell asleep in a daze.
Zhou Zhaonuan stood at the back with red eyes. She felt sorry for herself who would have to give birth to a child in the future, and she felt even more sorry for her current mother.
"Bring the child here and let me see him."
Seeing Shen Nian fall asleep with his own eyes, Zhou Beichen seemed to want to die, and he had another son.
The midwife hurriedly came forward with the child in her arms. The wet nurse was already prepared, intending to take the child away to feed him after Zhou Beichen had finished examining him.
Out of curiosity, Zhou Zhaonuan moved forward. It would have been fine if she hadn't looked, but once she did, her whole face wrinkled instantly. The look on her brother's face completely destroyed all her good impression of him.
It just so happened that the midwife was a talkative woman. She held the baby and kept muttering to herself.
"The little prince is so adorable. Look at his forehead, how much it resembles the emperor's. His eyebrows are practically carved from the same mold as the empress's. If you look closely, he also looks a lot like Princess Chang'an."
Feelings are cultivated slowly, Zhou Zhaonuan stretched his neck, glared at the midwife, and couldn't help but say.
"He's wrinkled and ugly, like a little monkey. He doesn't look like me at all. What's more, he doesn't even have eyebrows. How dare you lie with your eyes open?"
Midwife: “…”
Oh no, the flattery was unsuccessful. Feeling the temperature around her getting colder, the midwife knelt down hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, it's my fault. I spoke too much."
On such a good day, it was not appropriate for a bloody disaster to happen in the palace. Zhou Beichen was in a very good mood and did not care about this matter at all. He raised his hand and signaled the midwife to get up.
"Your good words may not necessarily deceive the emperor. Stand up, and don't do it again."
The midwife was overjoyed and followed Zhou Beichen's instructions. She took the child to the inner room and handed him over to the wet nurse to feed.
Looking at his daughter who still had a worried look on her face, Zhou Beichen patted her shoulder gently and said, "Your mother is fine. Just take a rest and she'll be fine soon. Don't worry too much, Nuannuan."
Zhou Zhaonuan nodded sullenly, and suddenly buried her head in Zhou Beichen's arms, rubbing against him, and said sullenly.
"Daddy, Mommy will only give birth to this one, and please don't have any more. Mommy is in too much pain, and Nuannuan can't bear to let her go."
Zhou Zhaonuan's voice was choked with sobs. Zhou Beichen patted her shoulders again and again. When he spoke, his voice was a little hoarse.
"Okay, from now on, we won't let your mother give birth. That's fine too."
Zhou Zhaonuan was smiling, but when her eyes inadvertently slid to the person lying on the bed who looked limp as if he had lost all his strength, the smile on her face disappeared in an instant. Therefore, when Zhou Beichen went out, Zhou Zhaonuan stubbornly stayed in the bedroom. She wanted to watch over her mother until she woke up.
The empress dowager was so delighted to hear that she had another grandson that she immediately put down what she was doing and came to the Pepper Room with great fanfare.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother. May you live a thousand years!"
When the old figure got closer and closer, and finally came into sight, the concubines with all kinds of thoughts in mind knelt down in unison.
"Well, get up. How is Concubine Hui?"
The concubines were choked with emotion. Concubine Liang cursed in her heart, wondering why such a great thing happened to Shen Nian'an and not to her. With a smile as light as the breeze on her face, she was the first to walk out and answered the empress dowager's questions in a friendly manner.
"Your Majesty, the midwife just came out to report that Noble Concubine Hui was simply too tired and fell asleep. However, the Empress Dowager's grandson is plump and fair, and very cute."
How could a newborn baby be white and chubby? The Queen Mother did not want to expose the princess from a foreign country. After all, the diplomatic relations were there and she could not destroy them and cause trouble for her son.
"That's good!"
The empress dowager walked past the concubines and went straight to the main seat. She looked around but did not see Zhou Beichen. The empress dowager was confused and asked.
"Where's the Emperor?"
Upon hearing this, the concubines in the hall immediately became obedient. If the empress dowager knew that the emperor had gone in personally because Shen Nian'an was crying out in pain, she would probably be furious to death. None of the concubines wanted to encounter this bad luck.
However, many concubines did not think so. Since the empress dowager was averse to this, she would only think that Shen Nian'an was ignorant. Wouldn't this just make the empress dowager dislike Shen Nian'an?
The first one to come forward was still Concubine Liang. She slowly walked out of the crowd and came in front of the Queen Mother. After bowing, she had an indescribable expression, which was also very understanding of Shen Nian'an's magnanimity.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor was originally with us concubines, but when Concubine Hui was giving birth, she kept crying out in pain, each one louder than the last. The Emperor could no longer bear to watch, so he went inside."
Sure enough, the empress dowager's expression suddenly changed. When he was young, the late emperor had never set foot in the delivery room even though he was worried when he gave birth to a child. This Shen Nian'an was so bold that she actually dared to let the emperor, the ruler of a country, go in to accompany her.
The Queen Mother slammed her hand heavily on the table, her eyes carrying a strong sense of oppression as she slowly swept across the concubines and Deshun.
"It is the duty of the concubines in the harem to advise the emperor and keep his master happy. Why didn't any of you stop him when he was about to go in? And, Deshun, you have been by the emperor's side for many years, how can you be so ignorant of the seriousness of the matter? This is simply nonsense."
When Deshun heard this, his whole body shuddered. Only he knew the pain of his knee hitting the ground. It was so painful.
The empress dowager seemed to be very angry, and her chest was breathing slightly. Everyone saw that something was wrong. Concubine Ying was the first to rush to the empress dowager, glared at Concubine Liang, pushed Concubine Liang away who was about to pat the empress dowager's chest, and patted the empress dowager's chest diligently.
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, the concubines all tried to persuade her, as did Eunuch Deshun. For this, the Emperor kicked them and they couldn't get up. As for Sister Hui crying out in pain, it was because giving birth was too painful, and the midwives couldn't gag her."
After patting the empress dowager's chest, Concubine Ying began to massage her shoulders attentively. Even after saying this, the empress dowager's anger remained undiminished.
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