Chapter 48 Finally, in June, the baby was almost full-term...
In June, with the baby nearing full term, everyone in the West Front Yard was on edge. Cheng Qianyue herself felt anxious, wondering when labor would begin.
Grandma Shang and the others noticed that she had been feeling troubled lately, so they told her stories, mostly about how efficient women in other families were during childbirth and how quickly their babies came out.
Grandma Shang said, "A woman in my alley couldn't control her eating during her pregnancy and her belly became very round. As her due date approached, they sent word that they needed my help to deliver the baby. When I saw the woman, I thought the baby was too big and I was worried she would have a hard time giving birth. But one night, they sent word that the woman had gone into labor. I rushed over, and guess what? In no time at all, the baby had engaged in the pelvis, and in less than half an hour, the baby was born, crying so loudly that the whole alley could hear it."
Grandma Cai, who was standing nearby, immediately took over and reassured her, "Don't worry, Princess. Think about it, if you could have such a smooth delivery with such a big belly, your delivery will definitely be smooth too."
Cheng Qianyue didn't know if they were just trying to comfort her or if it was true, so she wanted to know more details. She asked softly, "Has that woman given birth before? What does she look like? Is she strong?"
Grandma Shang paused for a moment and said, "That woman has given birth twice. As for her figure, she is not very tall, but her waist and hips are big. Everyone who has seen her says she has a lucky face."
That must be true. I've heard that people with big hips have big pelvises, which makes childbirth easier. Plus, that woman had given birth before, so it's reasonable that her third childbirth was faster.
As Cheng Qianyue thought this, she couldn't help but examine her own waist and hips. With her small frame, she felt that the example she had just heard didn't seem to be of much use to her.
Grandma Cai and Grandma Shang exchanged a glance and quickly said, "I do know a family. The woman is about the same age as the princess. Her family is poor, and even when she was pregnant, she didn't get to eat much good food. Her belly was a little smaller than the princess's, but not much different. When I went to deliver the baby, I knew that this woman wouldn't suffer. I was even thinking that the child in her belly would probably be a skinny monkey that would be hard to raise in the future."
Wow, this seems like a very useful reference.
Cheng Qianyue immediately perked up and hurriedly asked, "And then what happened?"
Grandma Cai smiled, and the lines on her face became particularly clear when she smiled, making her look especially kind. "Of course, both mother and child are safe and sound. And the child is quite strong, not at all as weak as I thought. His baby hair is black and shiny. That child is three years old this year. I saw him playing in the alley before he went to the palace."
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but smile when she heard her say that, as if hearing too many stories about how lucky other people's children were meant to bring her good fortune.
Grandma Shang breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her expression had relaxed, and said gently, "Princess, you've been sitting for a while now, why don't you get up and walk around?"
Cheng Qianyue nodded and agreed, then was helped up. She walked around the room holding her belly, glancing outside when she reached the door.
Just then, two eunuchs came over, each carrying an ice basin containing today's ice. They had broken it up in the adjacent room and brought it over. The basins were full of ice, and as the eunuchs walked, one or two pieces fell out.
Then Cheng Qianyue watched as one of the eunuchs stepped on a block of ice and slipped. He fell, knocking down the other eunuch as well. The ice basins they were carrying immediately flew away, the ice chunks shooting into the air and then crashing down like hail. Fortunately, neither the basins nor the ice chunks hit anyone.
Cheng Qianyue witnessed this scene: ......
Lin Quan'an, who was guarding the door, also saw it. His eyebrows shot up, and he stormed out. Cheng Qianyue quickly said, "The spilled ice is a minor matter. Don't punish them for it. Ask them if they fell or hurt themselves."
Lin Quan'an responded and quickly went over, lifting one of the eunuchs off the ground with each hand. The eunuchs groaned and limped to their knees, begging for forgiveness. Lin Quan'an saw that they had fallen quite badly, but didn't scold them much. He said in a deep voice, "I told you not to be careful when you walk, you fell down. Where did you fall? Can you still move?"
The two eunuchs helped each other to their feet and hurriedly said, "Yes, you can move! You can move!"
Lin Quan'an rolled his eyes at them. "Then hurry up and clean up. Luckily, you didn't startle the princess, or I would have given you a good spanking." After he finished speaking, he turned around and went back to the main room to report. He said with a smile, "It's hot, so the little rascals are bound to be restless and clumsy. But it's alright, they didn't fall too badly. I'll find some ointments for them later."
After a while, two eunuchs carried an ice basin into the room. Cheng Qianyue noticed that they were walking a little unsteadily, but otherwise seemed fine, so she didn't ask any questions. However, after they left, Cheng Qianyue was delighted.
She remembered the two eunuchs sprawled on the ground, looking like a giant pile of turtles. The thought made her laugh. And the more she laughed, the funnier it became; she covered her mouth but couldn't stop the giggling. Finally, she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, and then she laughed so hard she peed herself—she really peed herself.
Cheng Qianyue: ?!
She froze for a moment, suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed. Just then, Grandma Shang quickly said, "Gege, you're in labor!" Only after she said that did Cheng Qianyue realize that she had burst her amniotic sac while laughing.
Grandma Cai hurriedly called for a chair, on which a soft cushion was placed. Grandma Shang helped Cheng Qianyue sit down, then directed Lin Quan'an and the others to quickly carry her to the delivery room in the east wing.
The east wing had been tidied up half a month ago, and Grandma Shang and the others would come in to check it every day, changing the bedding daily. Cheng Qianyue lay on her back on the bed, wondering if she was about to give birth; it was all so sudden. She felt a slight pain in her stomach, but couldn't tell if it was from laughing or from the contractions she would experience during childbirth.
Grandma Shang came over and touched her belly, while Grandma Cai quickly directed her female disciples to bring over hot water, scissors, and cotton cloth. These were all readily available, and the hot water was prepared every day; in no time, all these things were brought over.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't laugh at all right now, because she was in real pain. Her stomach was cramping in waves, almost like having her bones and muscles being pulled apart. She had never experienced such pain before, and she was grimacing in agony. Grandma Shang was still telling her not to shout and to save her energy for childbirth.
Cheng Qianyue felt utterly wronged. She was in excruciating pain and couldn't even cry out; it was utterly inhumane. However, in ancient times, there were no options for episiotomy or cesarean section. If she lost her strength, it would surely result in the death of both mother and child. In the end, Cheng Qianyue could only furrow her brow and silently curse Yinreng a few times to feel a little better.
Yinreng, you bastard, you big idiot, go to hell!
She was cursing inwardly when she heard Granny Shang say, "Your birth canal is halfway open. Hold on a little longer, and when it's fully open and the grandson starts to descend, then push harder."
Cheng Qianyue gritted her teeth and said "Okay." She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard Grandma Shang tell her to push harder. Now, she didn't even have time to curse, because all her focus was on giving birth.
Lin Quan'an scrambled out of the hospital gate as soon as Cheng Qianyue entered the delivery room. They needed to report that their princess had gone into labor. He walked quickly along the wall, reaching the main courtyard in the blink of an eye.
The Crown Princess was praying when she heard Granny Shuang come in to report. She quickly got up and then called Lin Quan'an in to ask, "Has Consort Cheng gone into labor?"
Lin Quan'an lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Replying to the Crown Princess, just now, our princess has entered the delivery room."
The Crown Princess breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, go and report to the Crown Prince." She then instructed Granny Shuang to fetch the imperial physician as a precaution. After giving these instructions, the Crown Princess turned and knelt down in the Buddhist hall. Looking at the Buddha statue above, she thought to herself that it had been a long time since such good news had been heard in the Crown Prince's palace. She hoped that Lady Cheng Jia would give birth to a grandson smoothly this time.
Lin Quan'an left Xiefang Palace with lightning speed, rushing straight towards Yuqing Palace. If there were a walking competition, he probably would have won first place. After passing the arrow pavilion and reaching the outer courtyard of Yuqing Palace, he heard from the eunuchs on duty that the Crown Prince was still in Qianqing Palace and hadn't returned. Lin Quan'an was extremely anxious and restless, pacing back and forth like a fly.
The Crown Prince must have had important political matters to attend to at the Qianqing Palace, so he dared not report them there!
After a long while, Lin Quan'an was almost in tears, finally seeing the Crown Prince return. He hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects.
Yinreng was deep in thought when he saw him arrive. His heart skipped a beat, his brows furrowed immediately, and he asked sternly, "Is something wrong with your Master Cheng?"
Lin Quan'an hurriedly replied, "Your Highness, our master has launched his attack!" No sooner had he spoken than he saw the Crown Prince rushing towards the Xiefang Palace. He scrambled to his feet and hurriedly followed behind.
Yinreng rushed to Xiefang Palace, and before he even entered the courtyard, he heard a series of suppressed cries coming from the east wing. He stopped in his tracks, almost tripping over the threshold. Once inside the courtyard, he saw two imperial physicians standing guard under the eaves, while palace maids carried copper basins in and out.
He was about to ask the imperial physician and palace maids how things were going inside when a loud cry came from the delivery room. Yinreng looked over abruptly, his face immediately lighting up with joy.
Cheng Qianyue was exhausted. She had just exerted all her strength when she felt something slippery go out, and then she felt as if a piece of her stomach had emptied. Grandma Shang quickly picked up the baby and gently patted its back; the baby's wailing immediately filled the room. Grandma Cai brought over a basin of water to help wash the baby, then wrapped it in swaddling clothes.
Grandma Shang said happily to Cheng Qianyue, "Great news, Princess! You have given birth to a little prince."
Cheng Qianyue was covered in sweat, panting heavily as if she had just run a 10,000-meter marathon. Her eyes were blurry with sleep as she thought, "Even if I gave birth to a prince, or even a Nezha, please don't bother me at this time."
She was exhausted and just wanted to get some sleep.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
