"Your Majesty, you must conserve your energy now. When it's time to give birth, you must listen to my instructions and push hard," the midwife repeatedly reminded Jiang Yu as she checked the dilation of her cervix.
"I know." Jiang Yu endured the pain and finished a bowl of ginseng tea. "Neither I nor Granny Ling are experts in childbirth, so we'll listen to you from now on."
The midwife almost knelt down before Jiang Yu after hearing this. She was the best midwife in the capital. When she was summoned to the palace, she was genuinely worried that the noble ladies might have their own fathers' ideas during childbirth, especially the Empress Dowager, who was of the highest rank and status.
But the midwife was clearly celebrating too soon.
"Granny, where is Pei Zhi?"
Jiang Yu grabbed Ling Mama's hand, "Call Pei Zhi over. With her here, I'll feel more at ease."
Ling Mama was also unsure of Jiang Yu's true intentions, so she hurriedly called Pei Zhi in. When Pei Zhi saw Jiang Yu, who was drenched in sweat, she paused in her tracks and said, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Was her mother like this when she gave birth to her?
"Azhi." Jiang Yu gripped Jiang Zhi's hand tightly. "Is there any way to slow down my incision process?"
Upon hearing this, the midwife nearly collapsed to the ground, her legs giving way. Did the Empress Dowager want the dilation process to be slower? Every moment of delay meant more pain.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Pei Zhi steadied herself and said, "Your Majesty, this might affect the baby in your womb."
Jiang Yu forced a helpless smile. "I heard everything Mei Chu said outside. I need to wait for my brother to return and cure the poison, otherwise..."
"The Marquis is on his way."
Ling Mama's eyes were already welling up with tears. "The Marquis arrived in Dayu territory yesterday. Judging by the time, he should be back soon. He will definitely make it in time."
Seeing this, Pei Zhi quickly inserted silver needles into several acupoints on Jiang Yu's body, then pursed her lips and said, "Your Majesty, I'll go and brew some medicine for you."
After saying that, Pei Zhi quickly walked towards the outside. When she passed Gu Qingyan, she paused for a moment. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Emperor Emeritus, you can go in and talk to the Empress Dowager to distract her."
Half an incense stick later, seeing that Jiang Yu's cervix was dilating much slower, the midwife slowly withdrew from the room, leaving the space to the most distinguished family of three in the world.
"I...I had a dream, a dream about Ayan from my past life."
Jiang Yu's voice trembled slightly, "He said it was time for the baby in my belly to come out, and then when I woke up, my stomach started to hurt."
Upon hearing this, a look of shock flashed in Gu Qingyan's eyes. "My past life?"
“He must have sensed that I was in danger, so he appeared in my dream to help me.” Jiang Yu looked at Gu Qingyan with deep affection in her eyes. “So this time, I will definitely give birth to the child smoothly.”
"Ayu, did he say anything else?"
Gu Lin's voice was so soft that Jiang Yu could barely hear it.
Jiang Yu couldn't help but groan in pain, and Gu Lin immediately grasped her hand. "He didn't mention it, perhaps he was waiting to enter your dreams."
"Then I'll wait for him."
......
Although Pei Zhi was there to help, Jiang Yu's cervix still dilated to seven fingers.
At this moment, Bai Qian also arrived at Zhaoning Palace. She glanced at Gu Lin and Gu Qingyan, who had been driven out of the house, and went inside without saying anything more.
"Madam Hou, Miss Pei, judging from Her Highness's condition, she will probably give birth in less than half an hour." The midwife trembled slightly. "If she doesn't give birth soon, the baby may be at risk of suffocation."
"Half an hour?"
Bai Qian stared intently at the midwife, wondering if the Marquis would be able to return in half an hour.
"It's because I launched the attack earlier than planned, and my brother was unaware of it." Jiang Yu's voice was weak at this moment. "Let's wait half an hour and see if my brother will return."
"good."
And so, almost everyone waited in Zhaoning Palace, waiting for Jiang He to return with the mother Gu.
When the fingertips were almost fully dilated, Jiang Yu could no longer bear the pain, and screams of agony echoed from inside the room.
At this moment, Gu Lin and Gu Qingyan in the courtyard felt as if their legs were filled with lead and could not move at all. Their pale faces were comparable to Jiang Yu's.
"We can't wait any longer, Her Majesty's cervix is fully dilated."
The midwife spoke anxiously, "If we wait any longer, the young master will suffocate."
“But if we don’t lure out the mother Gu first, even if the child is born, it will be infected with the Gu poison and won’t live for more than a few days.” Mei Chu’s voice rang out from outside the house, and the whole air seemed to freeze.
"Continue...continue waiting..."
Jiang Yu's voice rang out, "Wait for my brother to return."
At this moment, Jiang Yu's opinion was absolutely paramount. No matter how much others worried, they could only wait with Jiang Yu for Jiang He to return.
Gu Lin's eyes were bloodshot as he pounded his legs to regain feeling. Then, he vanished from the courtyard in a flash, clearly heading to find Jiang He.
Meanwhile, Jiang He had already met up with Ying Zhi and the others, and rode his horse across the city gates of the capital, galloping towards Zhaoning Palace.
On the way, they ran into Gu Lin. Gu Lin and Jiang He exchanged a glance, and Jiang He immediately understood what was going on. She ran desperately toward Zhaoning Palace.
"It hurts so much..." Jiang Yu's mind was starting to wander, her hands gripping the corner of the blanket tightly as she tried to stay awake.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't fall asleep!" the midwife exclaimed in alarm. "Quickly, pinch Your Majesty's philtrum!"
It is important to know that when a woman falls into a coma during childbirth, it is the most dangerous thing, because she cannot exert any strength, and it is most likely to result in the death of both mother and child during childbirth.
In the last moment before Jiang Yu regained consciousness, she seemed to hear shouts coming from outside, as if saying... her brother had returned.
Jiang He's hands trembled as he took out the box containing the mother Gu. Mei Chu glanced at Pei Zhi and said, "I'm entrusting this to Miss Pei."
Without the slightest hesitation, Pei Zhi took the box and went into the house according to the method she remembered, and performed bloodletting at the acupoints that Jiang Yu had designated.
In an instant, the veins on Jiang Yu's neck began to bulge, and it took a full incense stick's time for the worm to crawl out from the bleeding site.
Pei Zhi quickly put the Gu worm into the box, then pinched Jiang Yu's philtrum hard until Jiang Yu was forced to wake up again. Pei Zhi shouted at the midwife, "Quick, don't let the Empress fall asleep again."
The midwife was so shocked by the scene of the venomous insects being drawn out that she was somewhat stunned.
It wasn't until Granny Ling tugged at the midwife's sleeve that Jiang Yu realized what was happening and quickly began guiding her to push.
As night gradually fell outside, everyone's anxiety grew even stronger.
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