Childbirth

"Why hasn't it been born yet?"

Qi Lingheng was extremely anxious upon hearing Lin Yunwan's painful cries.

He frowned and said, "Didn't they say labor had started? Why hasn't the baby been born yet?"

Qi Lingheng rarely loses his temper like this.

Nanny Lü came over and said, "Your Prince, even if the labor goes smoothly, it will still take two or three hours..."

Qi Lingheng's expression was far from calm.

He asked Nanny Lü, "How much time has passed?"

"Half an hour..."

Seeing the Prince's worried expression, Nanny Lü dared not say a word.

Qi Lingheng, as expected, had no patience to wait and, ignoring all advice, went into the delivery room.

Afraid of frightening the midwife and female Physician if he were inside, he stood behind the screen like a tall, straight pine tree.

"Is... is it His Prince...?"

Lin Yunwan pain that she was sweating profusely when she saw a shadow appear behind the screen.

Cuiqin was trembling with fear, nodding and saying, "Yes... yes..."

Lin Yunwan suddenly felt a little more at ease.

When she was so tired she had no strength left, she turned around and saw Qi Lingheng standing there, motionless. She noticed that he had his hands hidden behind his back, clenched into fists.

She seemed to draw strength from his palm.

Throughout her life, she always had someone by her side, no matter what she did.

"Your Princess Consort, push! The baby's head is out!"

Lin Yunwan's vision went black, and after an unknown amount of time, she heard a baby cry and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

The midwife exclaimed, "Princess Consort, Your Prince! It's a Young Heir Apparent!"

The rewards given to the Heir Apparent and the princess are quite different!

The midwives, the nurses, and the maids Matron who were attending to them were all overjoyed.

Lin Yunwan listened to their laughter, a low, gentle voice suddenly appeared in her ear. "Yun Wan, you've worked hard."

She couldn't open her eyes, but she felt Qi Lingheng brush the hair off her forehead and tuck it behind her.

Lin Yunwan's delivery went smoothly.

On the third day, she regained her energy. Dong Shuangshuang came to see her, and the wet nurse brought the baby over.

"The Heir Apparent master is really handsome."

Dong Shuangshuang hugged the child and said to Lin Yunwan a smile, "Your Princess Consort, look, the Heir Apparent's skin is so fair."

Lin Yunwan hadn't seen many newborns, so she asked Dong Shuangshuang curiously, "Wasn't your son like this when he was first born?"

"Of course not. My son was born with a face full of wrinkles."

Lin Yunwan took the child and looked at him; he was indeed quite fair-skinned.

But both she and Qi Lingheng have fair skin, so their son must have been fair-skinned to begin with.

"Your Princess Consort, has the Heir Apparent Prince been named yet?"

Holding the infant in her arms, Lin Yunwan smiled and said, "Not yet. The Prince said Imperial Father will bestow a name upon him."

Qi Lingheng is back.

He's been returning frequently these past few days, and Dong Shuangshuang has been here for a while now, so she said to avoid suspicion, "Your Princess Consort, I'll come to see you another day."

"Cuiqin."

Lin Yunwan called a maid to see the guest out.

After Dong Shuangshuang left, Qi Lingheng came in to see Lin Yunwan and the child.

"Your Prince, when will Imperial Father bestow a name? We still don't know what to call this little one."

Qi Lingheng held her, looked at his son, paused, and said meaningfully, "... The journey is long, but we're almost there."

Lin Yunwan felt that this was more than just bestowing a name; she didn't know the Prince was keeping her in suspense.

A month later, the palace officials arrived in Jiangqian.

Not only did an imperial edict arrive, but there were also shocking rewards throughout Jiangqian: tens of thousands of bolts of silk, tens of thousands of fine horses, and several estates were given to Lin Yunwan.

"Your Princess Consort, so much silk!"

Cuiqin was dumbfounded; there were so many that they couldn't all fit in the Prince's mansion! They would have to find another place to store them.

Lin Yunwan was quite surprised when she looked at the thick booklet, which was full of gifts bestowed by the palace.

"Your Prince, isn't this too much?"

Lin Yunwan asked Qi Lingheng with a puzzled look.

Qi Lingheng laughed, "If you knew how much Imperial Father Empress loved you and my child, you wouldn't think it's too much."

Lin Yunwan gave a helpless laugh.

A lot of money had been spent on disaster relief, and some had been secretly returned to the Su Family, leaving them somewhat short of funds. So, a generous reward came from the palace.

"Cuiqin, take the men into the warehouse!"

"Yes."

The servants worked for several days before finally getting everything sorted out, which took several months.

That very night, after everything was over, Lin Yunwan was still marveling at how generous the Emperor and Empress had been.

Qi Lingheng buried his face in her chest, his voice low and hoarse. "You almost lost your life because of Qi Zaijun."

"Yun Wan, this is what you deserve."

Lin Yunwan has recovered and is calling for water again at night.

\

"Zaijun, grab one you like."

Qi Zaijun turned one year old, and Qi Lingheng and Lin Yunwan held a first birthday celebration for him.

The snow-white little dumpling looked curiously at the guests, then looked down at the things on the table, and finally grabbed at them but didn't pick anything up.

He was being held by his wet nurse, and he turned his head to grab Lin Yunwan's hair.

Qi Lingheng pinched his thin arm, frowned, and said, "You grabbed the wrong one."

Qi Zaijun, afraid of his father, withdrew his hand and stopped grabbing at anything. Finally, he bent down and grabbed the purse from Lin Yunwan's arms.

"Oh my, Your Princess Consort, what's in this purse?"

Lin Yunwan smiled and said, "It's just a seal."

"A seal is great..."

Even if the Heir Apparent of Prince Huan had just grabbed a blade of grass, some people would still say it was auspicious.

After the banquet ended, Lin Yunwan opened her purse, inside which was Qi Lingheng's private seal.

She said with lingering fear, "That child, Zaijun, his hands are so disobedient."

Qi Lingheng laughed and said, "What's wrong with grabbing my seal?"

Lin Yunwan glanced at him. "You should write to your Imperial Father Empress about his first birthday celebration. Even though they love you and Zaijun, they're afraid someone might have second thoughts."

After all, it was Prince's seal, a symbol of power.

Qi Lingheng didn't care much about this.

Lin Yunwan thought for a moment and then said, "I heard that the Crown Prince's condition has worsened, and the Crown Prince Consort seems to be showing signs of pregnancy."

She's had her baby for a year now, and she's gained a fairly good understanding of things within the royal family.

It was already known that the Crown Prince was seriously ill, but the Crown Prince Consort was pregnant. If the child was born, their son Qi Zaijun would have to behave himself from now on.

Qi Lingheng said calmly, "Let's talk about it after the baby is born."

When news of the baby's first birthday celebration reached the Capital, Emperor Jingshun was very pleased, and Empress Zhao was also happy.

The emperor and empress still bestowed many gifts upon them.

Lin Yunwan had gotten used to it by the end of the year.

Cuiqin proudly, "The Heir Apparent received a reward for his one-month celebration, another for his 100-day celebration, and yet another for his six-month celebration. The Emperor and Empress truly dote on our Heir Apparent."

Lin Yunwan smiled too.

The emperor and empress doted on this grandson they had never met.

Has A Fu come back yet?

Lin Yunwan's correspondence with her mother and younger brother is now managed by A Fu.

Yun Yi said he would come to visit Lin Yunwan waited for a long time, and it was almost the New Year, but there was still no news of Yun Yi's arrival.

She was a little worried.