The capital, Prince Qing's Estate.
For the past two days, the entire estate had been in chaos because Leng Ruoshuang was about to give birth.
"Ah—"
"It hurts so much!!!"
"Ah—"
"Why hasn't this wicked spawn been born yet!"
Leng Ruoshuang's pained cries continuously echoed from the room.
"Consort Leng, can you quiet down a bit and save your strength for the delivery?" the midwife said helplessly.
"But it hurts so much! It really hurts!"
Leng Ruoshuang was already drenched in sweat, her clothes soaked, yet the baby's head was nowhere in sight.
Meanwhile, Prince Qing was not showing the usual eagerness of an expectant father. He had ordered servants to bring a long couch, cradled a concubine in each arm, and sat in Leng Ruoshuang's courtyard, flirting and laughing with them.
"Your Highness, Consort Leng has been in labor for two days, why hasn't the baby been born yet?" the concubine on Prince Qing's left casually asked.
"Alas, I haven't given birth before, how would I know!" Prince Qing replied dismissively.
"Xiao Ting, why are you asking His Highness such a question? His Highness is a man, how would he know about childbirth? Your Highness, am I right?" the concubine on the right giggled.
"Your Highness, I didn't mean anything else, I was just asking casually."
The concubine on the left saw Prince Qing's expression darken and became nervous.
"Heh heh! I don't blame you."
Prince Qing gave a sinister smile.
The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.
"Your Majesty, this servant has sent someone to gather news, and Leng Ruoshuang has not yet given birth," Eunuch Li said, bowing deeply to report to the Emperor.
"Hmm!"
"I am aware."
Then, as if remembering something else, he asked, "What's happening with the Empress?"
"Since the Empress's confinement was lifted, it's been about ten days. She hasn't left Fengqi Palace even half a step. She still cannot accept that she has become half-blind and half-crippled," Eunuch Li reported the Empress's current condition truthfully.
"Hmph! It's already fortunate I spared her life without abolishing her position as Empress," the Emperor said with a sinister expression.
His deep black eyes seemed like a bottomless pit, making him impossible to fathom.
In fact, the Emperor himself had blinded the Empress's eye and crippled her leg. The reason he kept her alive was his apprehension towards the Empress's second brother, Lin Zhenfan, who might rebel.
This Lin Zhenfan controlled one-third of the Tianwu Kingdom's military forces, and he harbored even greater ambitions than the Empress and Duke Lin. Therefore, to prevent the suffering of the Tianwu Kingdom's citizens, he would endure for now.
—
Fengqi Palace. 138 Reading Network.
"Empress, the eunuch sent to Prince Qing's Estate has returned," Xiao Anzi reported to the Empress, trembling.
Although Fengqi Palace's confinement had been lifted, it no longer possessed its former glory and liveliness.
After the Emperor discovered the Empress's affair with another man, he had only left Xiao Anzi and two junior palace maids to attend to Fengqi Palace. All other wet nurses, palace maids, and eunuchs had been secretly executed by the Emperor.
"Let him in!"
The Empress said in a low voice.
Afterward, Xiao Anzi called in the eunuch who had been assigned to inquire about Prince Qing.
"This servant pays his respects to Her Majesty the Empress, wishing Her Majesty ten thousand years of life!" The eunuch bowed respectfully, performing several grand salutes.
"Rise! Tell me, has Consort Leng of Prince Qing given birth yet?" the Empress asked indifferently.
"Your Majesty, Consort Leng has not given birth yet," the eunuch said cautiously.
"Go and inquire again!" the Empress ordered the eunuch.
The eunuch then retreated.
—
Meanwhile, at the entrance of Prince Qing's Estate.
Liu Ruyi and Aman, who had disappeared for a while, suddenly appeared at the entrance of Prince Qing's Estate.
Today was the day her daughter, Leng Ruoshuang, was due to give birth.
Liu Ruyi, with a worried expression, tried to enter Prince Qing's Estate with Aman to see her daughter, but was repeatedly stopped by the guards at the entrance.
"Sirs, please do us a favor and let my mistress go in to see the second miss." Aman pleaded softly.
"Impossible. Our Prince has already ordered that this woman, Liu Ruyi, be forbidden from setting foot in Prince Qing's Estate." one of the guards at the gate flatly refused.
"Sirs, why is this? My mistress is Consort Leng's mother. Consort Leng is in labor and urgently needs the company of her loved ones. Can't you even let her see her own daughter?"
Aman's face turned grim, his eyes sharp and filled with a strong killing intent.
"No!"
Despite feeling her killing intent, the guards resolutely rejected her request.
"Aman! Come back quickly! Take this jade pendant and go to Duke Lin's Estate to deliver it personally to Duke Lin, Lin Zhenfei." Liu Ruyi narrowed her eyes, a hint of coldness flashing within them.
"Yes! Mistress."
Aman took the jade pendant from Liu Ruyi and rushed towards Duke Lin's Estate.
But at this very moment, a woman's scream and a baby's cry broke through the sky from within Prince Qing's Estate.
"Your Highness, Consort Leng has given birth! She's given birth!" the midwife exclaimed excitedly from Leng Ruoshuang's delivery room.
After a scream, Leng Ruoshuang completely fainted from the pain.
Upon hearing the baby's cries, Prince Qing pushed away the two concubines beside him, jumped up abruptly, and ran towards the delivery room door.
"She's born, finally born! Midwife, quickly tell me, what did she give birth to?" Prince Qing asked impatiently.
"Your Highness, it's a small... no, it's a female... neither..." The midwife, after carefully examining the baby's gender, was filled with astonishment.
"Midwife, what exactly did Leng Ruoshuang give birth to? Can't you even tell the difference between a boy and a girl?" Prince Qing berated.
Hearing this, the midwife quickly cut the umbilical cord, wrapped the baby in a small quilt, opened the door, and carried it out to Prince Qing.
"Your Highness, please see for yourself."
Having been a midwife for over twenty years and delivered countless infants, this was the first time she had encountered an infant whose gender she couldn't discern.
Prince Qing stared at the midwife, bewildered. He was truly puzzled that the most renowned midwife in the capital couldn't even determine the baby's gender.
Then, Prince Qing gently lifted the baby's quilt to get a closer look.
Instantly, he froze as if struck by a hammer.
After a long while, Prince Qing finally came to his senses.
"Midwife, is this child a boy or a girl?"
The midwife shook her head.
"Someone, throw this infant into the lake and drown it! I will not have such an unsexed monster! And throw the woman in the room into the woodshed in the backyard. No one is allowed to bring her food," Prince Qing said cruelly.
He then directly handed the baby in his hands to a nearby servant and stormed off.