Lady Fenggong watched anxiously as her niece was dragged away by the guards. "Your Majesty, this is your uncle's only daughter. How could you be so heartless? Please spare her this time."
Zhou Hongsheng remained unmoved by what Lady Fenggong said. "If the Empress weren't giving birth inside, and bloodshed is considered unlucky, it wouldn't be just a matter of 30 strokes of the cane. I've already spared her life."
Standing to the side, Eunuch Li nodded silently in his heart. Yes, he spared her life, but this kind of bloodless beating had rotted all the flesh inside without bleeding. She would never be able to stand up for the rest of her life.
While Tang Baozhu was giving birth inside, she had already heard the commotion outside. Moreover, she possessed divine sense, and with a single glance, she knew exactly what Lady Fenggong was planning.
She just feels old, so she wants to send her son a young, tender girl.
She quickly ordered a palace maid waiting nearby to bring a mirror. The maid was stunned. The Empress had given up having children, yet she still wanted a mirror.
"Your Majesty, please take the photos after you give birth. Although you sweated a little, it did not diminish your beauty at all. Your Majesty is as beautiful as ever."
The palace maids were worried that if the Empress wasn't in a hurry, it would be difficult for the little princess in her womb to be born, and they couldn't bear the responsibility if something went wrong.
Tang Baozhu wasn't worried at all. Before giving birth, she took a pill, and once she was fully dilated, she could just pretend to push and the baby would come out quickly.
"Just take it when I tell you to. Why are you asking so many questions?"
The palace maid had no choice but to go to the side and get a small mirror.
Tang Baozhu looked at herself in the mirror and realized that she looked like an 18-year-old girl, not at all like the old woman that the emperor's so-called cousin had described.
It seems she was jealous of me. She handed the mirror to the palace maid next to her, and overheard the old women on the street saying that her fingers were fully dilated and the little princess was about to be born.
She quickly pretended to be in pain and gave birth to the child with all her might. After giving birth, she glanced at her little princess, then quickly had them wrapped up to prevent her from catching a chill. She took her out to show the emperor one last time and then hurried back.
When Zhou Hongsheng heard his daughter's cries, he became extremely anxious. At first, there was no sound, and he thought his daughter was suffering, enduring so much pain so as not to waste her energy.
Soon I heard the baby crying, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the baby had been born.
After all, in ancient times, childbirth was like a life-or-death ordeal for a woman. Even though his maid had experience, he was still worried.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Empress has given birth to a little princess. Please take a look, Your Majesty. I will take her back in a little while, so she won't catch a cold outside."
The midwife who brought out the baby had a big smile on her face. She thought that since the emperor had so few children, even a princess would be very precious.
Thinking about the reward he would receive later, his face beamed with joy.
Zhou Hongsheng didn't understand either, so he could only listen to the midwife. He thought that after seeing his daughter, he would quickly have the midwife take her inside so that he wouldn't have to worry about her catching a cold.
"Good, good, good! The little princess looks exactly like the empress, she's so adorable! Little Li, each of the midwives will be rewarded with ten taels of gold, each of the empress's attendants with ten taels of silver, and everyone else in the palace will be rewarded with three months' worth of their monthly allowance."
"We thank Your Majesty for your reward."
"Your servant obeys the decree."
Zhou Hongsheng glanced at his little princess one more time, then quickly told the midwife to take her inside so she wouldn't catch a cold from the wind. Once such a young child gets sick and catches a cold, it's very difficult for her to recover.
Even the young prince next to him, who wanted to catch a glimpse of his younger sister, was only allowed a fleeting glance before being ignored.
Then I couldn't wait to take it home.
This made Xiao Bao feel particularly regretful, as his younger sister definitely didn't see him clearly, and he didn't know if she even remembered him.
"Father, I haven't even seen my sister clearly yet."
Zhou Hongsheng rubbed Xiaobao's head and explained to him softly, "Your little sister is still too young to stay outside for too long. She can easily get sick if the wind blows too gently. You can take a good look at her after she turns one month old, and then you won't have to worry about the wind being too strong outside."
The little prince nodded, knowing that his younger sister was still too young to come out, so he stopped making a fuss about wanting to see her.
After calming his son down, Zhou Hongsheng called out directly inside, "Has the Empress finished preparing? May I come in and see her?"
Tang Baozhu was looking at her little girl in her arms when she heard the uncle calling from outside. She thought that she was all ready now, so it wouldn't hurt to come in.
She didn't believe in the idea that men couldn't enter the delivery room, and the emperor himself didn't care either. He was so worried about not seeing his maid that he didn't care about following the rules.
The palace maid quickly placed a screen in the middle so that there would be no need to worry about the wind coming in when the door was opened.
Tang Baozhu glanced at the thoughtful palace maid, who seemed to be named Chun Ya. She came to serve her and never thought of changing her name.
At this moment, she remembered this little palace maid named Chun Ya. Such a thoughtful palace maid could be placed by her daughter's side, so she wouldn't have to worry about the wet nurses and nannies mistreating her little darling.
After Chun Ya placed the screen in place, she opened the door and let the Emperor in.
Zhou Hongsheng looked at the screen in front of him, then walked around it and went behind it, looking at the girl lying on the bed and the child in her arms.
She has very rich emotions; her nose tingles, and it feels like she's about to cry.
“Girl, you’ve suffered. We won’t have any more children. Having the Crown Prince and the Little Princess is already very good. I don’t want you to suffer anymore.”
Tang Baozhu nodded. She didn't care whether or not to have another child; it all depended on the Emperor's wishes. Although he liked children, she didn't like taking care of them herself.
Tang Baozhu preferred children over three years old, finding them particularly fun. She didn't want to take care of children aged one or two. It was better if there were servants to help, but if she had to take care of them alone, she wouldn't even consider having children.
"Listen to Uncle, as long as Uncle doesn't feel it's a pity."
Zhou Hongsheng shook his head. He didn't feel sorry at all. Before he found a girl, he thought he would just stay single and let the problem of succession be solved by adopting a collateral branch.
He is already very satisfied with having a son and a daughter.
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