Chapter 346 The Child Has a Congenital Disability
Su Tingwan was determined to protect this child, which was her elder brother's child and nominally Xie Shang's. Only by protecting the child could they make their plans, and they had been waiting for it.
The next moment, Su Tingwan suddenly knelt down in front of Jiang Fenghua and kowtowed to her, "This lowly servant Su Tingwan begs the Crown Princess to have mercy and save Concubine Ye Liang's child."
She slapped herself twice. "As long as the Crown Princess calms down, I'll do anything you ask."
"You really do care about Ye Liang's child, Su Tingwan. When have you ever been so kind? This unusual behavior is probably because you have ulterior motives!" Jiang Fenghua said directly.
Su Tingwan paused, feeling that Jiang Fenghua knew something.
"I'm sending you to help her give birth, you can just stay here," Jiang Fenghua said again. "Wang Mama, please invite the midwife in, prepare to deliver Concubine Ye's baby."
They were just waiting for the midwives to file in.
At this moment, Lianye brought a soft chair for Jiang Fenghua, saying, "Please sit down, Your Highness. It may take a long time for Consort Ye to give birth, and standing will be tiring."
This soft chair was brought from the East Palace by Lianye, just in case there was nowhere to sit when we got to the Cold Palace.
After Jiang Fenghua sat down calmly, Lianye handed her a hand warmer, saying, "Don't get cold."
Su Tingwan could only watch helplessly as all of this unfolded. The servants who had been serving in the Cold Palace had all been driven out and were no longer in the room; it was now filled with Jiang Fenghua's people.
To avoid the bloodshed, Granny Wang brought over a screen. Only after everything was ready did she allow the midwife to check if Ye Susu was about to give birth. However, after the examination, Ye Susu only had abdominal pain, and her cervix was not dilated at all.
Jiang Fenghua then sent someone to invite Physician Wang.
After examining her, Imperial Physician Wang said in a deep voice, "It seems that this pregnancy will not be easy for Lady Ye."
At this moment, Ye Susu's heart-wrenching screams came from behind the screen again, "I will definitely give birth, Doctor Wang, prepare labor-inducing medicine for me."
It must be that her acupuncture needles weren't inserted properly, but she had already started fetal movement. If she didn't give birth now, it would be even more dangerous. The only option was to force-feed her labor-inducing drugs to open her cervix, but that was also very dangerous and could easily cause severe bleeding. She was gambling with her life, gambling that God wouldn't take her life.
Jiang Fenghua thought Ye Susu had gone mad. Her due date was clearly not yet, yet she was forcibly inducing labor. She said in a deep voice, "What about the plan that Physician Wang gave?"
"Your Majesty, I also suggest inducing labor. In this situation, the longer the fetus stays in the mother's womb, the more likely it is to suffocate," said Imperial Physician Mei.
At this moment, Empress Cheng, having heard the news, also rushed over. "How could he suffocate? Imperial Physician Wang must do whatever it takes to protect the imperial heir."
Upon seeing Empress Cheng arrive, Jiang Fenghua quickly stood up from her seat and said, "Your daughter-in-law greets Your Majesty."
Su Tingwan and Ye Susu's eyes lit up; their savior had arrived.
Su Tingwan quickly clung to Empress Cheng's leg, "Your Majesty..."
Empress Cheng's eyes flashed with icy light as she kicked her, saying, "Where did this lowly slave come from? She's disgusting."
"This servant is Su Tingwan. Jiang Fenghua wants to kill Ye Liangfei's imperial heir..."
"Granny Xi!" Empress Cheng shouted coldly.
Granny Xi hurriedly brought people over, and Empress Cheng ordered, "Those who have no manners, drag them out and slap them for me."
"Yes." A cold glint flashed in Granny Xi's eyes. She ordered someone to take her away, and then a series of slaps rang out. "That'll teach you to be so foul-mouthed and slander the Crown Princess."
Empress Cheng no longer dared to cause trouble for Jiang Fenghua. During this time, she had been taking care of the Emperor, and her relationship with Shang'er had returned to normal.
She asked Jiang Fenghua, "When did the Crown Princess arrive?"
“My daughter-in-law has been here for quite a while. She knew that Consort Ye was about to give birth, so she came to check on her. That’s why she asked Physician Wang to examine the young lady,” Jiang Fenghua explained gently.
"Your Highness is so kind. Don't worry, Ruanruan, your mother won't believe Su Tingwan's words." Empress Cheng also feigned affection on her face. "Ruanruan and I share the same concern for the imperial heir."
“Yes, that’s what I think too. Our Crown Princess has been pregnant one after another, and now Concubine Ye is about to give birth.” Jiang Fenghua then said to the Imperial Physician Wang, “No matter what method we use, we must save both mother and child.”
The imperial physician was also in a dilemma, saying, "Your humble servant will certainly do his utmost."
Thus, Jiang Fenghua and Empress Cheng waited together for Ye Susu to give birth.
Soon, Physician Wang also gave Ye Susu several large bowls of labor-inducing medicine, and her cervix finally loosened up a bit.
Several hours later, Ye Susu was almost exhausted and fainted. In the end, she gave birth to a weak baby boy. Due to Ye Susu's forced labor, she suffered uterine bleeding.
Imperial Physician Wang personally intervened to save Ye Susu's life, but her uterus was damaged, meaning she would never be able to be a woman again, let alone have children.
Over here, the midwife was washing the baby when suddenly a scream rang out, leaving them speechless.
Empress Cheng asked, "What happened?"
The midwife glanced at Granny Wang, then knelt on the ground and hurriedly said, "Perhaps I made a mistake. Please ask Physician Wang to come and take a look."
Only then did Empress Cheng examine the child closely. "He looks so small and weak." She had clearly ordered him to be well-fed and cared for and sent to the Cold Palace.
Granny Wang also said, "Indeed, it doesn't look like a full-term baby, and its eyebrows and eyes don't resemble His Highness the Crown Prince at all!"
Empress Cheng also came over to take a closer look. It was indeed not like Shang'er when she was a child. However, it is normal that a newborn baby cannot be seen clearly. But why does she look premature? She is obviously past her due date.
At this point, after examining the child, Physician Wang was also terrified, his face turning pale and breaking out in a cold sweat. He didn't believe his diagnosis and examined the child again. The child's cries were very weak, as if he were very frail, but this was not the most serious problem. Malnutrition could be managed with proper care later.
However, the most serious problem is...
Jiang Fenghua was also puzzled, "Besides the child's weak health, is there any other problem?"
"Your Majesty, Crown Princess, the imperial heir is clearly a boy, but I couldn't feel his scrotum. However, it's normal that some babies can't feel it until one or two months later," he quickly added.
"What do you mean? Explain yourself. This concerns the imperial heir. Imperial Physician Wang, you should know the consequences of lying," the Empress said coldly.
"Your Majesty, I have diagnosed that although this child has male characteristics, he is not born to be a man. He was born with a congenital disability because he did not fully develop in the womb," Physician Wang said directly.
Empress Cheng was also terrified upon hearing this, exclaiming, "How could this be?"
"There could be many reasons..." Physician Wang explained one by one.
Jiang Fenghua seemed to understand that Ye Susu had manipulated her body in the early stages so that the imperial physicians could not determine the exact month of delivery. Later, she tried to speed up the delivery of her child, which resulted in the child being born prematurely and becoming physically weak.
The reason this child turned out this way is twofold: firstly, the Su family committed too many sins, and the retribution fell upon the child; secondly, Ye Susu herself caused her child's tragic fate.
Jiang Fenghua's mind raced. "Mother, this matter must not be spread. If word gets out that the imperial heir is ill, it could damage the royal family's reputation! If someone with ulterior motives were to spread the word that the Crown Prince passed the disease to the child, well... perhaps we should keep the child's condition a secret for now."
Empress Cheng's eyes were filled with anger. "It's clearly Ye Susu's own problem. What does it have to do with Shang'er? Ruan Ruan, the two imperial heirs you gave birth to are healthy, cute, and clever. Whoever dares to spread rumors about the Crown Prince, I will never forgive them." She really felt it was too unlucky. She had been looking forward to Ye Susu's child with all her heart. When the Imperial Physician Wang said it might be a boy, she was even happier.
She was saying this to everyone present.
Everyone began to express their loyalty, saying, "We will absolutely keep our mouths shut, Your Majesty, please spare us."
Jiang Fenghua said, "It has nothing to do with the midwife that Consort Ye gave birth to such a child. Besides, Physician Wang said that it might be fine in a month or two. No one is allowed to discuss the imperial heir, or they will be severely punished."
“Yes, we wouldn’t dare. We promise to keep this to ourselves,” the others added.
In the end, the Empress simply ignored it all and left the Cold Palace with her entourage. She had originally thought that the child could be brought to Kunning Palace after birth, but now she had no interest in it at all.
She left only one sentence: "Ruan Ruan, make the arrangements! I still need to take care of your father."
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