Chapter 4
Before, Empress Rong occasionally experienced such pains during her pregnancy, but when the imperial physician was called to check her pulse, he said there was nothing serious, attributing it to the vigorous movements of the little prince in her womb.
Empress Rong initially thought this time would be the same, so she grasped the hand of the maid beside her, panting, preparing to wait for the pain to pass.
However, to her surprise, the abdominal pain not only did not diminish but became increasingly intense.
In just a short moment, Empress Rong was already feeling unsteady on her feet.
This was by no means a normal sign of childbirth.
Because Duke Zhen Guo, Wei Guang, had a total of one wife and two concubines, and had fathered seven children in total, among whom Empress Rong was the only daughter and legitimate daughter, naturally she was raised with great favor and indulgence, thus cultivating such a domineering temperament.
Since Empress Rong became pregnant, the lady of Duke Zhen Guo had spared no effort to send two experienced midwives, fearing that her firstborn daughter lacked experience and afraid that something might go wrong.
In the end, despite all precautions, they couldn't prevent it.
Just by seeing Empress Rong's current condition, the two midwives knew something was wrong.
They were renowned midwives from their hometown, knowledgeable in medical principles and specializing in obstetrics. They had seen countless expectant mothers and naturally knew what a normal childbirth looked like.
Seeing Empress Rong's current appearance, the two of them immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
If Empress Rong and the little prince in her abdomen had any problems, their lives would be in jeopardy.
The two midwives were already nervous, and Empress Rong's maid's words made their hearts tremble even more.
"There's blood, there's blood."
The two midwives looked sharply at Empress Rong's dress.
It's important to note that bleeding in women is not a good sign.
Fortunately, there was only a slight hint of redness on the dress, still within the normal range, so the two midwives breathed a sigh of relief.
Soon, the two of them began to calmly instruct, "You two, hurry to the hospital and invite the imperial physician. Xiao Shunzi, you go and inform the midwife, tell the palace people to prepare quickly, and..."
The midwife wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Empress Rong's painful cry.
Everyone's hearts tightened, Empress Rong's pain distorted her features, and her usual elegance was completely lost. "The child, the child is coming out!"
And at this moment, she had only been pregnant for nine months.
Clearly not full term, yet for some reason, the little prince was so eager to come out.
Before, Empress Rong was somewhat displeased with the arrival of this child. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have to endure such torture.
But now that it had come to this, she began to panic.
She feared that something might be wrong with the child in her womb.
Empress Rong regretted a bit. Today, she shouldn't have walked so far in a fit of anger after arguing with Emperor Jingwen. With her pregnancy-induced restlessness, coupled with the constant harassment from the queen, by the time she came to her senses, she was already in the Imperial Garden.
Approaching labor, in fact, a little movement was also fine, and it even helped with childbirth, but she never expected that such an accident would happen.
As a pregnant woman, she felt it most accurately.
Even with the experience of the two midwives, they couldn't match Empress Rong's understanding of her own condition at this moment.
As soon as they heard her say this, the two midwives didn't feel relieved, but rather became even more tense.
It was urgent, and actually, it would be best to find a nearby place to give birth, but because Empress Rong had many enemies in the palace, the other concubines who were playing in the Imperial Garden just now heard the commotion from this side and as soon as they heard it was the noble consort, they quickly avoided her, fearing trouble.
You see, when it comes to imperial heirs, it's probably the most troublesome thing in the palace.
"Xiao Dezhi, Xiao Luzhi, Xiao Fuzhi, Xiao Quanzhi, you four, try to see if you can send the noble consort back to Qiuwu Palace. It's closest to Zhao Chongrong's Shulan Studio. I'll go find Zhao Chongrong." Today, it was a matter of snatching, and she also wanted to snatch Shulan Studio.
Another maid beside Empress Rong, Su Yue, was the smartest and quickest to react.
After speaking, Su Yue ran away.
Fortunately, Empress Rong had many attendants on weekdays, so nothing major would happen for a while.
At the same time, the crown prince, with his attendants, came out of the Eastern Palace. His father summoned him for a discussion, and he didn't even take a nap at noon, so he hurriedly tidied up and came out.
Passing by the Imperial Garden, he heard a commotion not far away.
The crown prince didn't pay attention at first, until a maid turned a corner, and just like that, she entered his line of sight.
"Bold!"
"Which palace are you from to dare to rush towards His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Guards, arrest her!"
When Su Yue raised her head, she saw not far away that it was none other than the crown prince.
The maid was suddenly stared at by the crown prince's piercing gaze, and Su Yue's heart suddenly had a bad premonition.
The next moment, the crown prince's premonition was confirmed.
It was probably like seeking help in a desperate situation, and after Su Yue reacted, she knelt down with a "plop," "Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, please, save our mistress."
The crown prince had already recognized her by now; this maid was from Empress Rong's palace.
Among all the people in the palace, the one Empress Rong, who was pregnant, was the least willing to provoke. Even the queen was inferior to her. After all, due to his identity as the son of the former emperor, the queen only had respect for him.
This maid probably didn't even know that just over a month ago, she had conspired with the Grand Tutor to discuss killing her little mistress.
Now she was seeking help from him, which was tantamount to seeking skin from a tiger.
Thinking of this, the crown prince's expression couldn't help but become somewhat strange.
Su Yue, however, was unaware, just instinctively kowtowing.
The situation with her mistress was probably very urgent.
In less than a stick of incense's time, Su Yue's forehead was bleeding.
The atmosphere gradually became tense, and Su Yue dared not even breathe heavily.
Just as she was about to give up, after a moment of silence, the crown prince finally sighed, "Mo Yu, take my token and knock on Lady Zhao's door in Shulan Studio."
It wasn't out of kindness. If possible, the crown prince would prefer to delay until something happened
to the little prince.
But he knew he couldn't.
When Su Yue came to him for help, he couldn't ignore it.
But if anything happened to the little prince, it would be difficult for him to escape blame. If at that time the emperor blamed him, thinking that he was jealous and caused something to happen to the little prince, what would he do?
The little prince was a threat to him, this much he understood clearly, and naturally, the emperor would too.
The last thing the crown prince wanted to see was the disappointment of the emperor.
Even this maid, whether she had intentions or not.
Feeling the piercing gaze from the delivery room, Su Yue's heart was in turmoil, only now realizing how reckless her actions were.
"This matter is over for now; go to the punishment room and receive ten lashes."
In a hurry, there was still dignity in the Eastern Palace.
The moment the words fell, Su Yue's face turned pale.
Half a stick of incense's time later, when the door of Shulan Studio was knocked, Zhao Chongrong was extremely displeased.
Although her status was not high, and she had no offspring, she was still an old servant by Emperor Jingwen's side. The way Empress Rong behaved was indeed too arrogant.
Until she saw the token, she was immediately stunned.
How could even the Crown Prince be involved?
If the Crown Prince intervened, Zhao Chongrong naturally dared not to neglect, and even vacated the main hall.
Then came the breathless imperial physicians and midwives, as well as the busy palace servants.
To avoid suspicion, the Crown Prince didn't even enter the palace gates.
Due to the sudden situation, the palace servants in Shulan Studio had not received any training and quickly became chaotic.
Really couldn't stand it, the Crown Prince took a deep breath, somewhat powerless, and waved his hand to his attendant, "Forget it, Mo Shu, you help oversee things here."
Since he had come, what else could he do?
"Yes."
In the delivery room,
Just as Empress Rong lay down, the little prince's head soon emerged.
The two midwives beside her were dumbfounded.
Compared to difficult childbirth, a too-fast childbirth was also not a good thing and could also be life-threatening.
After calculating for a moment, the two midwives hurried to check Empress Rong's condition.
Soon, with the help of the midwife, the little prince came into the world.
One of the midwives checked him briefly and found that the little prince was perfect, with no defects, so she nodded at Empress Rong.
The tension in their hearts relaxed, and Empress Rong didn't even have time to look at the little prince before she passed out.
At this time, the hot water in Shulan Studio had just boiled halfway.
After waiting for a while, the fetal lard on the little prince's body was slowly cleaned off.
A soft cotton cloth dipped in water was rubbed on his skin, itching fiercely.
Gu Shao's last memory was still on the hospital's white ceiling, but now, what was going on?
The newborn's vision was almost zero, just barely able to see a faint light, but even with just that, he could already distinguish his current situation.
Since the midwife was also sent by Wei's lady, the two midwives were not on guard at all.
They did not notice the change in the midwife's eyes the moment she turned around with the child in her arms.
Sometimes, being too guarded against outsiders is not a good thing.
The entire delivery room, including Empress Rong, had only five people, and the servants of Shulan Studio they didn't dare to use, so they didn't even notice the midwife's change at this moment.
A red, mung bean-sized pill slipped from the midwife's sleeve, and noticing the splash of color in the midwife's hand, Gu Shao's alarm bells rang loudly.
What was this woman trying to do?
Just as the midwife was about to surreptitiously put the pill into the little prince's mouth, a voice suddenly sounded outside the door.
"What's going on? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent me to ask. Why is there suddenly no sound?"
It was Mo Shu, the Crown Prince's attendant.
Feeling the sudden silence inside the delivery room, the people outside were scared to death.
Gu Shao felt the sudden heaviness in his arms, and Mo Shu was completely dumbfounded.
Reacting quickly, Mo Shu quickly handed the swaddling clothes in his arms to his master.
Now it was the midwife's turn to panic.
She just wanted the attendant of the Crown Prince to check whether the prince was healthy, as a show of respect, but how did he end up taking the child away?
As smart as Mo Shu was, he was still just a teenager. When his head got hot, he would misunderstand.
Holding a prince who had become a hot potato in his hands, the Crown Prince's scalp was tingling with numbness.
And at this moment, Gu Shao happened to open his eyes.
As their eyes met, both sides almost held their breath.
The author has something to say: Gu Shao: I'm a new dad and I'm so young; isn't this illegal?
What should the Crown Prince do? I'm so scared; I'm afraid I'll accidentally kill this thing.