Feng Jin, clutching her swollen belly, her body weakening and slumping downwards. Fortunately, Chu Chenyi caught her.
"How are you? I'll send you back now."
"I... I..."
Before she could finish her words, Feng Jin felt a warm current flow out. She immediately understood what was happening. Her water had broken. Could this child sense his father was in trouble and was eager to come out?
"Find a room, and quickly summon a midwife."
Feng Jin endured the abdominal pain, forcing herself to calm down.
"Alright!" Chu Chenyi responded quickly, then sternly ordered those beside him, "Hurry up!"
"Can you still walk?"
Feng Jin nodded, "Yes, help me up."
Just as Chu Chenyi helped Feng Jin to her feet, he heard the sound of approaching horse hooves.
"Go investigate."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Feng Jin, suppressing her pain, handed the sleeve dart from her sleeve to Chu Chenyi. "This is a sleeve dart, keep it with you for protection. If the enemy really attacks and you can't win, you... you abandon me and leave quickly. I... I'm a pregnant woman, no matter how despicable they are, they won't... won't do anything to me."
"Enough, shut up. I won't let anything happen to you."
Chu Chenyi silenced Feng Jin, and the sound of horse hooves drew nearer. Chu Chenyi immediately became alert, gripping his sword, ready for a fight.
...
"Young General, there's a group of people ahead."
Ling Mohan, seated on his horse, his clothes stained with blood, the blood on his sword already dried. He tightened his legs on the horse's belly, and the steed surged forward.
As he passed through the alley ahead, Ling Mohan finally saw who it was. Upon seeing Feng Jin's figure,
Ling Mohan's heart tightened. He swiftly spurred his horse forward, jumped down, and ran quickly to Feng Jin's side. He pushed aside Chu Chenyi standing beside her and embraced Feng Jin tightly.
The moment she saw Ling Mohan, Feng Jin's tears fell like a broken string of pearls. Burying her head in Ling Mohan's embrace, her shoulders shook with sobs. Feng Jin's voice was choked, "Ling... Ling Mohan, you... you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Feng Jin lost consciousness and fainted.
"Feng Jin!" Ling Mohan cried out with heart-wrenching anguish, lifting the woman directly in his arms and walking away.
Chu Chenyi stood there with a bewildered expression, feeling awkward. It was as if he had just been used and discarded like a handkerchief.
He had been roused from his sleep in the middle of the night, and now, as soon as these two met, they completely ignored him.
"Your Highness, should we return to the Prince's estate?"
"Return to the Prince's estate? Follow them and see."
Chu Chenyi reprimanded sharply, then leaped onto his horse and followed.
"Ling Mohan... you... slow down... the pain is unbearable!"
Feng Jin leaned into Ling Mohan's embrace. It was unclear if she was awakened by the jolting or the pain.
Wave after wave of contractions left her with no strength to even speak. Her hands tightly grasped Ling Mohan's collar.
Ling Mohan, having never experienced such a situation, became helpless, unsure of what to do.
"I can't hold on until we get back to the estate... find an inn, and then find a midwife to help with the delivery..."
She repeated the same words for the second time without complaint. At this point, Feng Jin had lost the strength to speak, leaning peacefully against Ling Mohan's chest, waiting for the next contraction.
Ling Mohan quickly had someone find an inn and placed Feng Jin gently on the bed.
Another contraction arrived, causing Feng Jin to curl up her entire body in pain. She tightly gripped the bedding beneath her. The pain lasted for about a minute before subsiding, and Feng Jin breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Ling Mohan watched Feng Jin writhe in agony, completely at a loss. For the first time, he felt a sense of defeat, this powerless and helpless feeling like a pair of hands strangling his neck, making even breathing painful.
"It hurts..." Feng Jin cried out in pain, "Ling... Ling Mohan, the midwife you found... where is she!"
How long had it been? Not even a midwife could be found.
Ling Mohan appeared even more anxious than Feng Jin. He tightly clasped Feng Jin's pale, weak hand. "I've already sent people to look for her. Just endure a little longer, she'll be here soon. If the pain is too much, bite my hand hard."
Feng Jin panted heavily, opening her mouth wide. "Ling Mohan, I... I can't anymore..."
She truly had no strength left to persist.
"Hold on a bit longer, the midwife..."
Ling Mohan was consumed by anxiety. Why hadn't the midwife arrived yet? He shouted towards the outside, "Have the people sent to find the midwife returned!"
"Reporting to the Young General, they have not yet..."
"They're back, they're back... the midwife has been found!"
"Quickly let them in!" Ling Mohan shouted to the outside, then turned his gaze to Feng Jin, reaching out to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "The midwife is here, hold on a little longer."
After the midwife entered, she quickly examined Feng Jin's condition, her expression suddenly changing. "Madam, madam is expecting twins, and it's a premature birth. The situation is perilous, and I have little confidence. It would be best to have a doctor present."
"I... I am a doctor. You just focus on assisting with the delivery. Whether it's life or death, I... I will never implicate you!"
Feng Jin's voice was weak. She tightly grasped the midwife's sleeve, "Help me deliver!" The words were almost squeezed from her lips.
"Yes, Madam."
As the midwife was about to begin the delivery, she remembered the person standing beside her. "Adult, the delivery room is filled with blood and is inauspicious. To avoid any ill fortune, please wait outside!"
"My wife is risking her life to give birth to my child, and you're asking me to leave..."
"Ling Mohan, if you don't want me to die, then... then quickly get out, hurry!"
Feng Jin pushed herself up, her face contorted with pain, glaring at Feng Jin and driving him out.
"Alright, alright, I'll go out. Don't be angry, I'll wait outside the door. Call me quickly if anything happens."
After Ling Mohan went out, his heart remained tightly bound to the situation inside. He occasionally pressed his ear to the door and window, wanting to know what was happening within.
Every time Feng Jin made a sound, Ling Mohan would become anxious, as if he were the one giving birth inside.
A woman giving birth is already a perilous matter, especially twins, which is even more difficult.
Ling Mohan grew more worried about the situation inside, and several times he had the urge to break down the door, but he managed to suppress it.
"You sit down and rest for a bit. Don't worry, it won't be that fast."
"Rest? How can I rest when it's not your wife giving birth inside? Naturally, you can rest easy."
"Pretend I said nothing. You continue, continue."