FID – Chapter 873

Chapter 873: Don’t Let Him Break In

Over all these days, the old matron had clearly seen the Empress Dowager’s concern for the Princess Consort. Though she was scolded and dared not speak again, the worry and anxiety in her eyes and face were still obvious.

She also liked that clever and perceptive woman.

People have feelings. When they spend time together, emotions naturally grow.

“Your Majesty, I will go down and inquire further. If anything happens, I will return immediately to report!”

The Empress Dowager clenched her fingers tightly, her complex gaze shifting several times. After a while, she said, “Go and take out the old ginseng stored in the cabinet, and bring along the baby clothes I have prepared recently. We… are going to the King’s Manor!”

“Your Majesty?” The old matron was surprised, eyes wide open.

She knew the Empress Dowager’s inner conflict, but never imagined she would be willing to step into the King’s Manor.

“Hurry!”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’m going immediately!” As she walked to the inner chamber, a slight smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

While the King’s Manor and the palace were in chaos, at the dock in the outskirts of the capital, a passenger boat was docking.

“We’ve arrived! Hurry up and get ashore. Once we enter the city and find a carriage, we can be at the King’s Manor within half an hour!” Before the boat even stopped properly, Liu Dalin had already climbed out of the cabin, eager to get ashore.

“See, you’re so anxious!” Grandpa Liu and Grandma Liu also climbed out, scolding him, but they were just as worried.

Chen Xiulan was also anxious, “We don’t even know if the baby has started coming yet. If it weren’t for the boat trouble halfway through, we would have arrived much earlier.”

The boat ran into some minor trouble halfway through the journey and had to dock for repairs for two days.

They couldn’t switch to another boat because taking a different one would only slow down their arrival in the capital.

“Don’t worry, with Axiu and Xiao Feng’er here, even if the baby starts coming, nothing will happen. Maybe by the time we get to the manor, we’ll already see the little grandson. Wouldn’t that be even better?” Du Juan could only comfort herself this way.

It was already too late, and regrets were useless.

They hurried ashore to rush to the King’s Manor.

The capital city was vast, and even after getting a carriage at the city gate, it took at least half an hour to reach the inner ring. 

The whole family rushed anxiously, and when they got off at the King’s Manor, they ran straight into the Empress Dowager, who had also arrived in a hurry.

Surprisingly, the gatehouse guards weren’t there at the moment, and the noisy commotion inside could be heard even from the entrance.

“Your Majesty, what’s going on?” Grandma Liu hurriedly asked.

“Don’t ask so many questions. Nannan is about to give birth. Hurry inside.” The Empress Dowager was truly anxious and didn’t bother to Liu Yusheng her title and simply called her Nannan.

Everyone from the Liu family turned pale and immediately rushed inside.

Behind them, Liu Zhiqiu and his father were relatively calm and hadn’t forgotten to bring all the bags and packages.

“It’s better to arrive at the right time than to be early. As soon as we arrived, the baby started coming. Maybe by the time we get inside, the baby will already have been born…”

“Enough chatter, hurry up!” Liu Erlin gave him a palm strike and sprinted forward carrying a bundle of packages.

Luckily, luckily, they made it in time, or else his father and mother would have been full of regrets.

After getting hit, Liu Zhiqiu didn’t even cry out, grinning, “Little nephew, your uncle is here!”

At the main bedroom door of Yuqing Courtyard inside the residence, a crowd had gathered.

Feng Qingbai, Xue Qinglian, Qian Wanjin, Shi Xianrou, Feng Mohan, and all the imperial doctors from the Imperial Medical Academy stood lined up in the courtyard, while a group of maids stood on both sides ready to assist at any moment.

From the side room, occasional muffled groans of a woman enduring extreme pain could be heard. Outside the room, everyone looked tense and stiff, their faces growing pale one by one.

Feng Qingbai looked especially bad.

His face was pale with a bluish tint, cold sweat trickling down his temples. His whole body was so stiff that if anyone poked him, he would immediately topple to the side.

“How is it? How’s Nannan?” The entire Liu family surged forward, crowding in front of the side room door. Liu Dalin’s face was as pale as Feng Qingbai’s, no better to look at.

Grandma Liu, along with Chen Xiulan, Du Juan, and Liu Muqiu, pushed open the door and slipped inside, then quickly closed the door behind them.

The Empress Dowager did not follow in. Standing a little behind the crowd, she clenched the silk handkerchief tightly in her hands, almost tearing it apart.

“Nannan, Nannan! Grandma is here! How are you? How long has it been? Do you still have any strength?” Grandma Liu asked in succession as she walked toward the pear blossom wooden bed.

Seeing her little granddaughter in such pain and distress on the bed, their hearts twisted in agony.

Chen Xiulan’s eyes instantly reddened. Their Nannan had been pampered since childhood and had never been in such pain before.

But childbirth was a process every mother must go through, and no matter how much they felt for her, they couldn’t bear the pain for her.

On the bed, Liu Yusheng bit down on a folded handkerchief, her pale face drained of color from the pain. Large beads of sweat had already dampened her black hair at the forehead.

The sharp pains in her lower abdomen kept surging upward without pause.

Suddenly seeing her family enter the room, her pale little face brightened a bit, though she couldn’t even speak.

“Don’t worry about us, just focus on giving birth. We can talk later,” Chen Xiulan said, stepping forward to hold her hand and kneeling by the bed to accompany her.

A few midwives stood at the bedside and, seeing this, did not stop them. Knowing that these were the Princess Consort’s family members, they did not dare offend them by driving them away.

One of them quietly explained to Grandma Liu and the others, “The consort’s birth canal is nearly fully dilated. If she can endure just a little longer, she will soon deliver a fine child. We’ve all examined her, and it will be a natural birth with no expected complications.”

Grandma Liu, Chen Xiulan, and Du Juan all nodded when they heard this. Their hearts ached so much they could hardly think of thanking anyone.

Liu Muqiu remained calmer and said to the midwives, “Her Highness is in labor; several of you will need to work hard to care for her. Once the little prince is born, His Highness will surely reward you handsomely.”

“As we should, as we should.”

With her family nearby, Liu Yusheng felt a bit more at ease, and some strength returned to her. She took the handkerchief from her mouth and said, “Grandma, mother, watch Feng Qingbai carefully. Don’t let him… break in…”

“At a time like this, you’re still thinking about that!”

“Ah—!” The sudden, intense pain overwhelmed Liu Yusheng, and she cried out involuntarily.

The door suddenly slammed as someone kicked it from outside. Several midwives hurried over and pressed the door shut.

“Your Highness, please endure this. The Princess Consort is in labor. There’s a strong smell of blood inside. Men are not allowed in!”

Outside the door, Xue Qinglian and Qian Wanjin restrained Feng Qingbai, calling inside, “Lucky Nannan, hurry and give birth! Feng Qingbai is losing his mind!”

This guy was completely out of control, his face shifting from pale to bluish. It was as if he himself was the one in labor. He hadn’t said a word even after standing outside for so long. All his emotions were concentrated in his eyes, red and unsettling.

“Let go!” he growled through clenched teeth, his voice stiff and strained.

“Let go my ass! Lucky Nannan isn’t even that far along yet, look at yourself! Your hands are like they just came out of an ice cellar! Can you chill out a bit?” Qian Wanjin snapped angrily.

Who wasn’t worried? But childbirth for a woman was just like that—worrying didn’t help. If he could take on that kind of pain, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But could he?