Jun Mohan was stunned when he heard this, but he quickly recovered and hurriedly asked, "Doctor Yang, did you say the Consort is pregnant?"
"Yes, the Consort is pregnant!"
"Heavens, this is wonderful! I'm finally going to be a father."
Jun Mohan was so happy he could jump when he confirmed Leng Ruoli was truly pregnant.
Beside him, Ye Ying, Yin Chen, Xing'er, and Ling'er were also excitedly congratulating their Prince and Consort.
The four said in unison, "Congratulations to the Prince and Consort on the arrival of a new little master!"
"Excellent, excellent! Ye Ying, go inform the steward that to celebrate the Consort's pregnancy, everyone in the Cold King's mansion, from top to bottom, will receive a red envelope of two taels of silver." Jun Mohan said to Ye Ying with a beaming smile.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Ye Ying received Jun Mohan's order and immediately ran off to carry it out.
Leng Ruoli, standing beside him, saw Jun Mohan's ecstatic joy and felt a bit surprised herself. Her last period had only ended just over three days ago last month, so how could she be pregnant so quickly?
She was a doctor herself, yet she hadn't realized she was pregnant and only found out when someone else examined her. It was truly embarrassing.
However, what frustrated Leng Ruoli the most was that on the very night she discovered she was pregnant, news of her pregnancy had already reached the palace, General Leng's residence, the Xia mansion…
The next morning, the Emperor and Empress Dowager sent over piles of tonics. Xia Wan'er, Leng Jinyu, and the female members of the Xia family all came to the Cold King's mansion to fuss over her and share much pregnancy experience, which left Leng Ruoli feeling very helpless. Had these people forgotten that she was a physician?
Since she became pregnant, the Empress Dowager, worried about her frail health and the inconvenience of travel, did not allow her to enter the palace frequently. However, the Empress Dowager visited the Cold King's mansion every other day to see her, which also gave the Empress Dowager an excuse to leave the palace.
Xia Wan'er, concerned that Leng Ruoli might have a poor appetite during her pregnancy, devised various delicious dishes for her daily and sent them to the Cold King's mansion. Especially during the early stages of pregnancy when Leng Ruoli suffered severe morning sickness, Xia Wan'er put a lot of thought into helping Leng Ruoli alleviate her nausea and be able to eat. Every day, she had to research several dishes that suited her stomach.
It wasn't until Leng Ruoli was five months pregnant that her morning sickness disappeared, and Xia Wan'er no longer had to rack her brain for meals. However, she still continued to prepare nutritious meals for her in various ways.
But ever since Leng Ruoli became pregnant, Jun Mohan had become lazy about attending court, spending his days by his Consort's side. The Emperor even supported his actions, specifically distributing Jun Mohan's usual workload to Prince An, Prince Ji, and Prince Xian.
This move had truly burdened the three princes. Prince An was relatively better off, as he was naturally more steady in temperament. Although he usually paid little attention to court affairs and handled official duties less skillfully than Jun Mohan, his situation was still much better than Prince Ji and Prince Xian. Since receiving the tasks assigned to them by the Emperor, the latter two had been in misery.
However, time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, nine months had gone by. This morning, as soon as Leng Ruoli got out of bed, her stomach began to ache violently. Jun Mohan quickly sent for the midwife personally trained by Leng Ruoli to assist her in childbirth.
Immediately after, he sent word of Leng Ruoli's impending delivery to the palace and General Leng's mansion. Before long, the Emperor, Empress Dowager, Xia Wan'er, Leng Jinyu, and Leng Ruirui had all rushed to the Cold King's mansion.
A group of people waited anxiously outside Leng Ruoli's room for the entire day.
Finally, as dusk fell that evening, a loud baby's cry rang out from the room. Everyone present rejoiced upon hearing the infant's cry.
"She's given birth! She's given birth! She's given birth!"
"Li'er has finally given birth!"
"Thank heavens!"
Tears of joy flowed freely.
A few minutes later, the midwife carried out the baby for everyone to see and congratulated them:
"Congratulations to His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and Your Highness!"
"The Consort has given birth to a chubby baby boy!"
"Both mother and child are safe!"
Jun Mohan was immediately displeased upon hearing this.
"Midwife Liu, wasn't the Consort giving birth to a girl? Why has it become a boy?"
The midwife was utterly bewildered by Jun Mohan's words. She thought to herself: Normally, when she delivered a son for other wealthy families, the entire household rejoiced. Yet, this Cold King seemed unhappy about having a fat baby boy.
As a result, she held the baby for quite a while, but no one took him.
Later, the Emperor slapped Jun Mohan on the head and rebuked him angrily, "Jun Mohan, you rascal! What kind of father speaks like this? As long as Li'er gave birth, whether it's a boy or a girl, it is the apple of my eye, your Imperial Grandfather, and indeed, the heart of our entire Jun imperial family."
Jun Mohan: "..."
He hadn't actually said he disliked baby boys, had he? He just preferred girls a little more. After all, it would be even better if the Cold King's mansion had another smart, clever, adorable, and cute little girl like Leng Ruoli.
As he pondered, the Empress Dowager pulled Jun Mohan aside, and with a beaming smile, took the baby from the midwife's hands. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor showered the child with affection. The Emperor, Xia Wan'er, and Leng Jinyu also wanted to crowd around the Empress Dowager to hold the baby, but the Empress Dowager did not allow it.
But just then, a pained groan from Leng Ruoli echoed from within the room.
"Heavens, the Consort has another child in her belly!"
The midwife exclaimed loudly, shocking everyone outside the door.
"Huh? Didn't Li'er always say she was only carrying one fetus? How can there be another one in her belly?"
Everyone outside the door felt very confused.
But as everyone stood stunned, Leng Ruoli smoothly gave birth to another infant. Upon seeing it was a baby girl, the midwife joyfully exclaimed, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, Your Highness..."
"The Consort has given birth to a girl this time!"
"Both mother and daughter are safe!"
The people at the door became as happy as children upon hearing the midwife's words, especially Jun Mohan and the Emperor. The father and son were almost grinning like fools upon hearing that Leng Ruoli had given birth to a baby girl.
However, inside the room, the midwife and maids could see a white-haired elder sitting on a stool invisible to the naked eye. He had personally witnessed Leng Ruoli give birth to the pitiable girl he had brought, and he raised his hand, stroked the small tuft of beard under his chin, and said with a smile to the unconscious Leng Ruoli, "You must treat this girl well. This is what you once owed her!"
With that said, the white-haired elder's words instantly transformed into a strand of white smoke that flew into Leng Ruoli's head, and he vanished from the spot.
A month later, Jun Mohan celebrated the full moon of his twins by hosting a grand banquet, filling the entire mansion with joy. The Emperor, Empress Dowager, Xia Wan'er, Leng Jinyu, and others selected various exquisite treasures as gifts for the twins born to Leng Ruoli.
Looking at the pile of gifts for the two children in the room, Leng Ruoli sighed:
"Jun Mohan, it seems that being born into a good family is truly a skill. Look, Luo Luo (female) and Yan (male) are so rich already even at such a young age. But children from poor families might not earn even one percent of their income in their entire lives."
Jun Mohan smiled upon hearing this and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Since ancient times, there have been wealth disparities and distinctions between nobility and commoners. We currently lack the ability to change this situation."
"Yes!"
Leng Ruoli nodded after hearing this!
Finally, Leng Ruoli softly said to the two children in the cradle, "Jun Jingluo (female), Jun Jingyan (male), when you grow up, cherish everything you have, and work hard to benefit the people of this world."
Upon hearing Leng Ruoli's words, Jun Jingluo and Jun Jingyan suddenly parted their lips and smiled silently.
Subsequently, the Emperor, Empress Dowager, Leng Jinyu, and Xia Wan'er, along with a group of people, entered the room with smiles, immediately surrounded the two children, and pushed the Cold King couple to the side.
"Luo Luo, Yan Yan, your Imperial Grandmother and Imperial Grandfather, and your maternal grandparents are here to see you again, haha..."
"Oh, Mother, look, Luo Luo and Yan Yan are smiling at me."
The Emperor was overjoyed, looking at Luo Luo and Yan Yan.
"Emperor, move aside. They are clearly smiling at me, yet you insist they are smiling at you." The Empress Dowager said with dissatisfaction.
The Emperor felt speechless upon hearing this.
"Yes, yes, Mother is right. You gave them such beautiful names, they must be happily smiling at you."
The Cold King couple: "..."
Since having these two children, their status had instantly declined...
(End of Main Text)