Page 385

Liu Xi looked into the room from time to time, sharing in the master’s urgency.

Inside the Hehuan Hall, the lights were blazing.

The noise of voices was chaotic.

The clearest of all was the shriek of a woman, heart-wrenching to hear.

Concubine Xu and Lady Tao, having received the news, hurried over after hurriedly dressing.

As soon as they stepped into the Hehuan Hall, they saw His Highness pacing back and forth at the doorway.

Both women bowed to His Highness, "Your Highness."

Xiao Jinyan could hardly attend to them; his gaze was fixed on the tightly closed door, and he listened to the heartrending cries of Chuwei, wishing he could rush in right then.

Concubine Xu saw Chun Xi running over with a small handkerchief, grabbed Chun Xi who was about to enter, "How is Lady Shen now?"

Chun Xi had red eyes with urgency, "Concubine Xu, my young master is still giving birth. The midwife says it’s difficult to deliver twins."

Lady Tao was equally desperate, "Then let the midwife think of something, right? The longer the labor, the more suffering."

Concubine Xu glanced several times at the tightly closed door and could see nothing through the Carved Flower Door panels.

"What are the three midwives and three Imperial Doctors inside doing? Lady Shen is in such pain."

Concubine Xue, having heard the news, also came in the middle of the night to see for herself. Before even entering the Hehuan Hall, she heard the heartrending cries of a woman, and knew without guessing that they came from Lady Shen.

It seemed the childbirth was not going smoothly.

Upon entering, she first bowed to Xiao Jinyan, "Your Highness."

Xiao Jinyan did not respond to Concubine Xue, pacing back and forth trying to calm himself. But without seeing the situation firsthand, he simply couldn’t calm down at all.

It’s inherently harder to deliver twins naturally, especially with Shen Chuwei’s slight figure, which increased the difficulty even further.

The Empress wiped the large sweat beads on Shen Chuwei’s forehead with a wet towel handed by Chun Xi, understanding from her own experience the difficulties of childbearing.

"Lady Shen, let’s muster a bit more strength. After giving birth, we can have hot pot, grilled fish, and barbecue, how about that?"

Shen Chuwei’s cheeks were flushed with effort. Hearing about hot pot and grilled fish... she clenched her teeth, and suddenly with a ’waah’, the loud cry of the newborn baby resounded throughout the East Palace.

The midwife held the just-born baby and, seeing it was a boy, immediately reported the good news seriously, "Congratulations to the Empress, a young prince has been born."

Upon hearing the news, the Empress hurriedly instructed, "Quick, bring him here, let me have a look."

The midwife wrapped the prince in a small blanket and brought him to the Empress, smiling, "Empress, look how loudly the young prince is crying."

A newborn’s loud crying indicated a strong and healthy constitution.

By the light of the candles, the Empress saw the baby crying with its mouth wide open and was overjoyed, "My little prince."

After looking for a good while, the Empress turned towards Shen Chuwei, seeing her lying exhausted on the bed, and continued to cheer her on, "Lady Shen, it’s a little prince. Let’s keep it up."

Outside the room at that moment, Xiao Jinyan heard the baby’s loud cry and stood petrified, his gaze fixed on the light spilling from the Carved Flower Door, unresponsive for quite some time.

Concubine Xu excitedly grabbed Lady Tao’s hand, "Born, born, finally born."

Lady Tao was equally thrilled, "Yes, finally born."

Just then, the door was pulled open from the inside, and Chun Xi ran out to congratulate Xiao Jinyan, "Congratulations, Your Highness, the first to come out is a little prince."

Concubine Xu was so happy she nearly jumped for joy, "I guessed right, it’s a prince. Lady Shen is so meritorious."

Xiao Jinyan, upon hearing it was a prince, showed joy beyond words. Now, he truly was a father.

After the joy came worry again.

"How is Lady Shen now?"

Thinking of Shen Chuwei’s disheveled state, Chun Xi couldn’t bring herself to smile, "Your Highness, the young master is exhausted, almost out of strength."

Xiao Jinyan could imagine even without seeing how difficult it must have been for Chuwei, with her delicate body, to go through childbirth.

He suddenly thought of chocolate.

"Then give her something to eat. Isn’t it said that chocolate can restore energy? Feed her a few pieces," he suggested.

Chun Xi had also heard about chocolate and hurried back inside.

Concubine Xue hadn’t imagined that a prince would really be born, and looking at His Highness’s elated manner, what fortune had Lady Shen stumbled upon?

At that moment, Shen Chuwei was so hungry she didn’t even have the strength to shout, while the midwife kept urging, "Push hard, Lady Shen!"

Chun Xi took several pieces of chocolate from the cabinet beside the bed, unwrapped them, and fed them to Shen Chuwei.