vrcanaries Chapter 355: Difficult Birth
Chapter 355: Difficult Birth
Chapter 355: Difficult Childbirth
If a concubine in the palace was pregnant, she would live in a separate room and take good care of her pregnancy.
Looking at Qingyi sleeping soundly on the bed, Xiao An stroked her hair, his eyes full of doting affection. Qingyi slightly opened her eyes and said to Xiao An, "Your Majesty, did the Empress Dowager summon you again to discuss state affairs? You should be careful as your health is not good." Xiao An felt a sweet warmth in his heart upon hearing Qingyi's words. He gently touched her slightly protruding belly with his fingertips and said, "My mother told me to take good care of you and hopes that you will give me a prince this time."
He lied, but not wanting to put Qingyi in a difficult position, that was all she could say. Qingyi looked at Xiao An, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes, which she quickly concealed. She said, "Your Majesty is blessed with good fortune; this time, you will surely give birth to a prince." She stroked her swollen belly as she spoke. Xiao An kissed her forehead and sat beside her, comforting her until she slowly fell asleep.
Xiao An originally thought that since the Empress Dowager had spared Qingyi, she should at least think about the child in her womb. And so, he fell asleep on the edge of the bed.
When he woke up the next day, he found himself in his own palace. He got up and rubbed his temples, feeling a little dizzy. After thinking for a moment, he realized that the Empress Dowager hadn't come to urge him to attend the morning court session, so he went to bed, but then he heard the sound of the door being pushed open.
"Father, Father, wake up." Five-year-old Princess Xiangping grabbed Xiao An's face with her small hands, trying to wake him up. Xiao An opened his sleepy eyes, saw Princess Xiangping, and smiled gently.
He got out of bed, picked up Princess Xiangping, and said, "My little princess, what brings you here to see your father today? Why aren't you playing with the other princes?" As he spoke, he rubbed his face against hers. Princess Xiangping was too young to know how to respond, nor did she understand, so she simply tugged at Xiao An's collar.
"Father, Father, so many people, so many people are holding Mother, just like this, just like this." Princess Xiangping said, grabbing Xiao An's collar. Her eyes were pure and without a single flaw. Xiao An's originally happy smile froze on the spot, and his arms around Princess Xiangping became weak and powerless.
He put down Princess Xiangping and ran towards Qingyi's palace, falling down many times along the way. Princess Xiangping watched Xiao An run away, not knowing what had happened, but feeling uneasy.
"Father, Father, wait for me!" Princess Xiangping called out in her childish voice as she chased after Xiao An, who had already run far away. Seeing that Xiao An was running faster and faster, she did not stop and followed after him without stopping for a moment.
As Xiao An approached the main hall where Qingyi was, he saw a group of people kneeling at the hall's entrance—maids, eunuchs, and guards. They were all kneeling silently on the ground. Upon seeing this, Xiao An froze, his feet seemingly stopping in his tracks.
"Ah!" A woman's desperate scream came from inside the hall. Xiao An's heart skipped a beat when he heard the sound. He dared not think of anything else and rushed in.
The main hall was also full of people. Xiao An went directly to Qingyi's room. Maids and eunuchs knelt on the ground from inside her room all the way to the outside of the main hall.
As soon as Xiao An entered the room, he saw Qingyi lying on the bed, with a maid kneeling beside her wiping her sweat. The Empress Dowager stood nearby. Xiao An didn't know what had happened, so he hurriedly asked the Empress Dowager, "Mother, what's wrong with Qingyi?" Qingyi's forehead was covered in beads of sweat. When she saw Xiao An, her eyes shone, but she still didn't beg him to plead with the Empress Dowager to spare her life.
"I want her to give birth to the child in her womb today," the Empress Dowager said calmly as she looked at Xiao An, who had suddenly barged in. Xiao An looked at his birth mother, shook his head, and said in disbelief, "Mother, Mother, she's only nine months pregnant, and you're going to take her life!" He knelt on the ground as he spoke.
When the Empress Dowager saw Xiao An kneeling on the ground, she felt sorry for him, but there was nothing she could do. She said, "That depends on her fate." Seeing that she was determined to do so, Xiao An remained kneeling on the ground without saying a word or pleading for him.
"Everyone, step back." As the midwife prepared to deliver the baby, the Empress Dowager ordered everyone to leave, leaving only Xiao An, the Empress Dowager, and a maid in the room. They did not see Princess Xiangping, who had secretly slipped in.
Princess Xiangping crouched in the corner, looking into the room. She saw Qingyi lying on the bed, Xiao An kneeling on the ground, and the Empress Dowager standing there with a stern expression, curiously observing the people in the room. It was this curiosity that became her lifelong nightmare, turning the days that followed into torment.
The midwife began assisting Qingyi in giving birth, but the baby suddenly emerged feet first, head not yet, when the baby began to cry loudly. Hearing the baby's cries, Xiao An and the Empress Dowager were overjoyed, but upon hearing the midwife's words, they became anxious.
"Your Majesty, the amniotic sac has broken, and the baby is breech. There's a possibility of a difficult delivery. Should we save the mother or the baby?" The midwife hurriedly left the bedside and came to Xiao An's side, wiping her sweat with her sleeve as she spoke.
Xiao An looked at the midwife in disbelief, then at the woman in green lying on the bed. He walked over, seemingly ignoring the midwife, and shoved her aside. The sheets were stained red with blood, but the woman in green had her eyes open and was staring at the ceiling.
"Qingyi, Qingyi, hold on, we can give up the baby." Xiao An said, holding her hand as if afraid she would disappear at any moment.
Lying on the bed, Qingyi shifted her gaze to Xiao An's face, staring at him with infatuation, worried that she might not have another chance. As she looked at him, tears welled up in her eyes, and Xiao An wiped them away for her, smiling as he said, "Qingyi, let's have more children later. You have to give me a whole bunch of princes, and then they'll be all around you every day, so you won't have to worry about me not having time for you." As he spoke, he kissed Qingyi's hand.
Lying on the bed, Qingyi listened to Xiao An's words, her eyes welling up with tears that streamed down her face, soaking her clothes. She shook her head repeatedly and said in a weak voice, "Xiao An, thank you, really, it's so good to have met you. But... but I really don't have the right to stay by your side anymore, I'm... I'm sorry..." Her voice choked with emotion, and she turned her head away, unable to bear looking at Xiao An any longer.
She feared she would soften her heart and become attached to him. Having been sent to the palace, she was destined to be a spy and shouldn't have any feelings, yet she had fallen for the emperor and even borne him a child. She couldn't ruin Xiao An for her own sake; without Xiao An, she wouldn't want to live on. But thinking of Princess Xiangping, she decided that even in death, she would protect Xiao An.
"Qingyi, what nonsense are you talking about? How could you not have the right? You are the Empress." Xiao An held her hand tightly, speaking in a flustered manner. He was like a lamb that had been caught, with others having the right to kill him but no ability to resist.