Xiao Fuzi crawled and scrambled to her feet, not daring to be negligent as she raced madly toward Tong Hua Terrace.
Yun Shan held the shivering Song Zhao, who was in so much pain that her body trembled, tightly in her arms.
At this time, Xiao Jingheng, sober from the wine, realized that he had made a big mistake. He quickly picked Song Zhao up and carried her horizontally, comforting her while quickly walking toward Tong Hua Terrace.
Fortunately, Tong Hua Terrace was not far from Chang Le Palace.
By the time Xiao Jingheng carried Song Zhao back to Tong Hua Terrace, the sedan chair was already prepared. He put her in and repeatedly ordered the palace maid to walk faster.
All the way, Xiao Jingheng tightly held Song Zhao’s hand, speaking in a low voice to comfort her,
"Zhao'er, don't be afraid, I am with you, I won't let anything happen to you!"
He was also very flustered, and felt remorseful for his rash actions just now,
"It's all my fault, to make you suffer so much..."
"Your Majesty..."
Song Zhao wanted to say something, but the severe pain did not allow her to utter a complete sentence.
She could only shake her head with great effort, gripping Xiao Jingheng's hand tightly,
Her armor had been removed by Yun Shan earlier. At this moment, her fingers, slender as scallions, were almost embedded in the flesh on the back of Xiao Jingheng's hand.
Only by making Xiao Jingheng feel the pain could she share a moment of empathy with Song Zhao.
After rushing back to Chang Le Palace, the midwives and imperial doctors were already waiting outside the hall.
As Song Zhao was already close to labor, everything needed for childbirth had been prepared in Chang Le Palace.
Xiao Jingheng carried Song Zhao all the way back to the inner bedroom and placed her on the couch extremely gently.
The midwife immediately surrounded her and persuaded him, "Your Majesty, the delivery room is bloody, it would be inappropriate for you to stay here. Please go to the main hall first to wait."
Xiao Jingheng leaned over and lightly kissed Song Zhao's sweaty forehead, saying solemnly,
"I'll be right outside waiting for you. You and our child will definitely be safe!"
Song Zhao gritted her teeth and nodded slightly in response.
As Xiao Jingheng left the inner bedroom, Song Zhao heard him sternly instructing the imperial doctors waiting outside the door,
"No matter what, you must ensure the safety of Imperial Concubine Yi."
Then the door of the inner bedroom was closed heavily, blocking the sounds from outside.
The four midwives surrounded Song Zhao, took off her lower garments, and began to assist her in childbirth.
She was lying flat on the couch, her legs pried apart by the midwives, and two pillows were padded under her buttocks to facilitate her pushing.
They were like annoying flies, chattering incessantly in Song Zhao's ears, asking her to push.
But she only felt unbearable pain coming in waves, like being hit by something heavy in the lower abdomen, pounding her and drenching her in sweat. She couldn't help screaming in agony.
The harder she pushed, the more the pain increased, tormenting her until even breathing hurt badly.
Fortunately, Yun Shan was by her side accompanying her.
Yun Shan let Song Zhao grasp her hand tightly. Only by squeezing it hard could Song Zhao exert a little more force.
"Lady, please hang in there!"
It was the little girl's first time seeing such a scene. She really felt distressed seeing Song Zhao in such pain and involuntarily choked up.
The chief midwife, Li Mama, said to her:
"Miss, you should go and wait outside. Your crying will make it difficult for Her Ladyship to concentrate on giving birth."
Yun Shan wiped away her tears to stop her crying, but she would not move an inch.
Song Zhao had instructed her beforehand that no matter who told her to leave when she was in labor, even if it was Xiao Jingheng, she could not take half a step away.
Now that Xiao Fuzi could not attend by Song Zhao’s side, only Yun Shan could stay with her all the time.
She had to keep a close eye on things at all times without the slightest negligence.
After a while, seeing that Yun Shan remained stiffly unmoving, Li Mama said again: "Girl, go quickly and urge them to bring hot water for this old servant to clean Her Ladyship’s privates."
Song Zhao was exerting all her energy on giving birth and had no time for anything else.
Yun Shan first shouted loudly at the door, "Bring hot water quickly!"
Then she said solemnly to Li Mama: "Granny, concentrate on doing your job well, don't bother ordering me around. If you get distracted and something happens to my lady, we will all suffer for it!"
Seeing Yun Shan so gutsy, Li Mama was rather surprised. She did not expect this young girl could be so fierce.
So she said nothing more and continued to focus on assisting Song Zhao’s delivery.
After an unknown period of time,
Accompanied by Song Zhao’s repeated hoarse screams through gritted teeth, the child was finally delivered safely.
The midwives' first glance was to check the baby's sex.
They then happily announced the good news to Song Zhao:
"Congratulations, My Lady! A little prince is born!"
Song Zhao heaved a long sigh of relief as the tension in her nerves finally eased a little.
Li Mama took the opportunity to reach into a tray next to her for scissors, about to cut the umbilical cord. But Yun Shan noticed something wrong.
All the items needed for Song Zhao's delivery were prepared by Yun Shan herself. Although the scissors Li Mama was holding looked very similar to the one she had prepared, Yun Shan still keenly sensed subtle differences.
Her heart tightened. She immediately shouted, "Wait!"
Taking advantage of Li Mama's confusion, Yun Shan snatched the scissors from her hand. Without taking her eyes off Li Mama, she backed away to the dressing table drawer, took out a pair of scissors used for cutting thread and cloth.
Yun Shan's actions were very agile. She first coated the blades with rice wine, passed them over a flame, then handed the sterilized scissors to another midwife to cut the umbilical cord.
After the umbilical cord was cut, the midwife patted the little prince’s snow-white bottom a few times.
The little prince immediately cried out, loud and crisp, reassuring to hear.
After simply cleaning up the vernix on the child, the midwife carried the baby for Song Zhao to take a look,
"My Lady, look, the little prince is so handsome!"
Song Zhao looked at this unfamiliar little one.
His skin was snow white, his eyebrows light-colored but shapely, his eyelids deeply creased like Xiao Jingheng’s peach blossom eyes.
But his exquisite, straight nose and slightly upturned lips were exactly like Song Zhao’s.
She was naturally delighted in her heart, but for a moment she doubted if this cute little thing really crawled out of her belly?
After a long daze, she finally smiled and said,
"Take him out for His Majesty to see too."
When the midwives went out happily to announce the good news, Yun Shan still did not leave Song Zhao’s side for a moment.
She wiped the sweat from Song Zhao's face compassionately and choked up,
"Her Ladyship has really suffered."
Song Zhao smiled weakly and whispered back,
"I have to suffer this one time, so that the days to come will get better and better."
