Chapter 325 Narcissus Gives Birth to a Daughter! He said: I'm waiting for you.
In the Palace of Rites.
Imperial physicians hurried about carrying their medicine chests, while the midwives' hurried footsteps echoed inside and outside the hall, and palace maids carried hot water in and out.
The delivery room door was tightly closed, and suppressed moans of pain could be heard from inside, each one more urgent and more painful than the last.
Emperor Zhaoheng stood outside the door, his hands clenched into fists. Unbeknownst to him, his nails were digging deep into his palms, but he was completely oblivious, staring intently at the door.
"Your Majesty, exert more strength! Give it your all!"
The midwife's voice came through the door.
Then came the narcissus's painful cry as it shattered, trembling with all its might.
Emperor Zhaoheng trembled and was about to rush into the delivery room.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
Two elderly nannies hurriedly knelt down to block the doorway, crying out, "The birthing room is a place stained with blood, how dare you offend the Emperor! The ancestral rules cannot be violated, Your Majesty!"
"Get out of my way!"
Emperor Zhaoheng's eyes were bloodshot. "I want to go in!"
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Feng Shunxiang also knelt down, saying, "Her Majesty is at a critical moment. If you go in and disturb her, it will be bad!"
Shui Xiu was on duty tonight. Upon hearing the news, she rushed over, and her face turned pale when she saw the scene.
"Sister...how is sister?"
Emperor Zhaoheng did not answer, but stared intently at the palace gate.
The midwife's urgent voice came from inside again: "The baby is not in the correct position... Your Highness, please adjust your breathing and push in rhythm with me!"
Unsure what had happened inside, Narcissus's groans turned into suppressed screams.
The sound was like a dull knife, repeatedly cutting into Emperor Zhaoheng's heart.
The commotion inside the delivery room was becoming increasingly alarming.
Narcissus's voice gradually faded, but the midwife's cries grew more urgent: "Your Highness! Don't sleep! Push harder!"
"He's bleeding! Quick, get some hemostatic powder!"
"Ginseng soup! Feed Her Majesty ginseng soup to keep her strength up!"
Emperor Zhaoheng could no longer contain himself. "I command you all, at all costs, to protect the Empress for me!"
His voice echoed in the silent palace, "The child can be forsaken, but the Empress must be safe! Do you hear me?!"
Upon hearing this, all the palace servants looked up in shock.
The Emperor actually said... that the child could be abandoned?
Inside the delivery room, a midwife's terrified voice rang out: "Something terrible has happened! Her Majesty has fainted from exhaustion! Imperial Physician, quick!"
Emperor Zhaoheng could no longer contain himself.
He shoved aside the kneeling nanny in front of him. Feng Shunxiang tried to stop him again, but Emperor Zhaoheng didn't even look at her and kicked the palace door hard!
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
"Blood from the delivery room is impacting the emperor's body!"
The people kneeling on the ground screamed and cried out, but Emperor Zhaoheng ignored them and rushed in.
Inside the delivery room, a strong stench of blood filled the air.
The candlelight flickered, casting a jumble of shadows.
Narcissus lay on the delivery bed, her face pale, her hair soaked with sweat and stuck to her cheeks and neck, looking as if she had been pulled out of the water.
Her eyes were closed, her chest heaving slightly, and the bedding beneath her was soaked in blood, a horrifying sight.
The imperial physician was frantically trying to stop the bleeding with acupuncture, while the midwife held a bowl of medicine and tried to feed her ginseng soup. However, Shui Xian clenched her teeth, and the soup dripped down the corner of her mouth.
Everyone who saw Emperor Zhaoheng burst in exclaimed in surprise, "Your Majesty!"
Emperor Zhaoheng didn't even look at them. He rushed to the bedside and grabbed Shuixian's cold hand.
Her hands were as cold as ice.
Emperor Zhaoheng was trembling all over. He leaned down and whispered in Narcissus's ear.
"Xian'er! Look at me! Open your eyes and look at me!"
The narcissus showed no reaction.
Emperor Zhaoheng felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly, the pain almost suffocating him.
He gripped her hand tightly, pressed it against his face, and continued to call out persistently:
"I won't let you sleep! Do you hear me? Narcissus, I won't let you die!"
He seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and began to speak rapidly.
"You say you want freedom, fine! I'll give it to you! Once you're better, you can go wherever you want! The sandstorms of the north, the sunsets on the grasslands... you can see whatever you want!"
He stared intently at Narcissus's pale face, and finally, tears welled up in the emperor's eyes, mingling with the sweat on his face, and dripping onto their clasped hands.
"I'll keep the Empress's position for you; it will always be yours! You can take the children with you if you want, or you can keep them in the palace and raise them well. Tell them that their mother is the most remarkable woman in the world!"
"I'll agree to anything you want... I'll give you anything..."
He lowered his head, his forehead pressed against the back of her hand, his voice broken, yet filled with an unprecedented humility.
"I just want you to live. Narcissus, can you hear me? I, Xiao Yiheng... beg you to live."
"As long as you live, I'll agree to anything you ask."
The delivery room was still in chaos. Both the midwives and the imperial physicians were shocked, but they moved even faster, afraid that their mistakes would really cause something to happen to the Empress.
I don't know how much time passed.
Emperor Zhaoheng felt the icy hand in his palm move very slightly.
He suddenly looked up!
Narcissus's long eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened them.
Her gaze was unfocused and unfocused, yet she managed to turn with difficulty toward Emperor Zhaoheng.
His lips parted slightly, his breath barely a whisper, almost silent.
Emperor Zhaoheng quickly leaned down and put his ear close to her lips.
She uttered a few broken syllables: "Yiheng..."
Emperor Zhaoheng's eyes instantly reddened.
"Quick! Her Majesty is conscious! Ginseng soup! Continue the hemostatic injection!"
Pei Jichuan was the first to react and shouted excitedly.
The midwife also came to her senses and quickly stepped forward to assist: "Your Highness, follow my rhythm and push!"
Perhaps it was Emperor Zhaoheng's words that rekindled her will to live, or perhaps it was the imperial physician's emergency treatment that finally took effect. Shuixian began to cooperate with the midwife's instructions. Although each effort seemed to exhaust her, she held on.
Emperor Zhaoheng knelt by the bedside, holding her hand tightly, never letting go for a moment.
He watched her struggle in pain, watched her sweat profusely, watched her bite her lip until it bled, and his heart felt like it was being repeatedly roasted on a fire.
But he couldn't take her pain away; all he could do was stay by her side.
Time passed little by little.
finally!
"It's out! The head's out! Your Majesty, give it your all!"
"Almost there!"
Immediately afterwards, a loud baby's cry shattered the tense silence in the room.
The midwife, her hands trembling, cradled a tiny infant covered in blood. "It's a little princess! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Highness! Her Highness is well!"
Emperor Zhaoheng didn't even glance at the child; his gaze was fixed on Shui Xian's face.
The moment the baby cried, Narcissus felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she went completely limp.
The imperial physician rushed forward to take her pulse, and after a moment, he breathed a long sigh of relief: "Her Majesty has fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion. Although her pulse is weak, it has stabilized! Her life is out of danger!"
Emperor Zhaoheng's tense nerves finally relaxed.
He staggered, almost falling to his knees, but still held Narcissus's hand tightly, and slowly sat down on the footstool by the bed.
He sat there, holding her hand, without moving.
The palace servants quietly cleaned the delivery room, changed the bedding for Narcissus, and washed the baby princess's swaddling clothes.
No one dared to disturb him.
He seemed to have lived a lifetime overnight; his eyes were bruised, and his robes were stained with blood from the delivery room, making him look utterly disheveled.
But he was completely unaware.
He simply held her hand and quietly gazed at her sleeping face, as if only in this way could he confirm her existence.
Three days later.
After a long slumber, the narcissus finally awoke slowly.
As consciousness returned, she struggled to open her eyes, her vision blurry for a moment before gradually clearing.
What came into view was the familiar tent top, and a figure lying by the bed.
Emperor Zhaoheng fell asleep with his head resting on the edge of the bed.
Even in his sleep, his brows were furrowed, and he held her hand tightly with one hand, so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Narcissus looked at him quietly, a complex and indescribable bitterness welling up in her heart.
She moved her fingers slightly.
Emperor Zhaoheng woke up almost instantly, and looked up sharply: "Xian'er?"
The lingering fear in his eyes slowly faded when he saw that she had her eyes open, turning into a bottomless weariness, and a hint of cautious light.
"You're awake..."
His voice was terribly hoarse, and he quickly stood up. "Is anything bothering you? Would you like some water? I'll call someone..."
Where are the children?
Narcissus interrupted him.
Emperor Zhaoheng was taken aback, then quickly said, "The child is fine, a healthy little princess. The wet nurse is holding her; I'll have someone bring her over right away..."
No rush.
Narcissus gently shook her head, her gaze falling on his haggard face. "You... have been here all this time?"
Emperor Zhaoheng paused for a moment, then nodded: "Mm."
Narcissus stopped talking and just looked at him.
Emperor Zhaoheng seemed to have made up his mind.
He took out two bright yellow scrolls from his bosom and gently placed them beside Narcissus's pillow.
"This is……"
Narcissus's eyes flickered slightly.
"Imperial edict."
Emperor Zhaoheng said calmly, “The first decree is to bestow the title of ‘Princess Yong’an’ upon our youngest daughter, meaning eternal peace and well-being. I wish her a life of peace and joy.”
As Narcissus looked at the imperial edict, tears welled up in her eyes.
Emperor Zhaoheng picked up the second dish, slowly unfolded it, but did not read it aloud. He simply handed it to her and let her see it for herself.
Narcissus took it and read it line by line.
"The imperial edict reads: Empress Shuixian, gentle and kind-hearted, a paragon of virtue... Now, having given birth to a princess, her health is failing, requiring prolonged rest. Therefore, the Empress is granted permission to move to the Hot Spring Palace on the outskirts of the capital to recuperate peacefully..."
Narcissus's fingers trembled slightly.
She never imagined that Emperor Zhaoheng could go to such lengths!
This imperial edict gave her ample dignity and also gave her plenty of leeway.
To the outside world, they only said that the Empress was weak after childbirth and needed to rest for a long time. No one would know that she had left, and her reputation and status were all preserved.
Emperor Zhaoheng looked at her trembling fingers and spoke slowly.
"Go see the world you want to see, do the things you want to do."
"When you're tired, weary, or missing the children, come back anytime."
He paused, then looked deeply into her eyes.
"I am right here, waiting for you."
"I'd wait my whole life."
"From now on, you are no longer the Empress of Daqi, you are just Narcissus."
He reached out and gently took her hand, pressing it against his heart.
"And I am just Xiao Yiheng waiting for you to come home."
He didn't say "朕" (the imperial "I"), he only said "我" (I).
The narcissus finally shed tears.
She looked at the man in front of her, and with a trembling hand, she gently stroked his thin cheek, her fingertips tracing his dark stubble and his sunken eye sockets.
“Yiheng…”
Emperor Zhaoheng slightly curved his thin lips, "A ruler's word is law, and heaven and earth bear witness. Xian'er, I, Xiao Yiheng, will never betray you in this life."
He bent down and carefully pulled her, blanket and all, into his arms.
The narcissus did not resist.
She buried her face in his shoulder, letting her tears soak his dragon robe, and slowly raised her hands to wrap around his lean waist.
Emperor Zhaoheng froze, then hugged her even tighter.
At that moment, he let go completely.
Yet, I felt closer to her than ever before...
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