Ch. 441Bonus story: Childbirth 2
Key plot points and events
- During her pregnancy, Crown Princess Jian Ruonan receives a “Suffering Transfer Device” and transfers all pregnancy discomfort to the Empress Dowager. She still carries the baby, but feels perfectly well and spends her time playing mahjong.
- When labor begins, Ruonan predicts she has six hours before delivery and insists on continuing the game. She even calls for a Hanlin Grand Academician to record a near-win in the Imperial Daily Records.
- The device’s real target becomes Emperor Deyuan, who had once claimed childbirth was painless. He endures Ruonan’s labor pains while the Imperial Medical Academy monitors his contractions.
- Ruonan eats noodles and complains about missing vinegar while Deyuan suffers. She reminds him of his old boast and asks whether to save the mother or baby if complications arise; he firmly chooses the mother.
- After six hours of labor and a painful delivery, Ruonan gives birth to a son. Deyuan holds the child and comes to understand how difficult childbirth is.
- His ordeal continues through postpartum recovery, including pain, sweating, and milk production. He takes leave from governing, leaving the Crown Prince to oversee state affairs. The official record documents the absurd event, which later generations find unbelievable.
Character developments and interactions
- Jian Ruonan remains playful, practical, and mercilessly teasing. She treats childbirth casually, uses Deyuan’s own words against him, and turns his suffering into a lesson.
- Emperor Deyuan goes from dismissing childbirth as painless to experiencing its full physical toll. His suffering gives him empathy for women who give birth, though his joke about having more children alarms the Empress Dowager.
- The Empress Dowager is relieved the device has not made her suffer and later dreads the prospect of Ruonan having more children.
- Dantai Mo anxiously checks on Ruonan, but she is far more concerned with her food than with labor.
- Commandery Princess Jiarou, Wang Defa, and Teng react to Ruonan’s insistence on continuing mahjong; Jiarou prioritizes the baby, while Teng recognizes Ruonan’s mischievous plan.
Significant themes
- Empathy through shared suffering: Deyuan learns firsthand that childbirth is not “child’s play.”
- Consequences and accountability: Ruonan uses Deyuan’s past dismissive remark to make him experience what he mocked.
- Satire of power and gender roles: The emperor’s authority cannot protect him from bodily pain, and the reversal of who gives birth exposes the hardship women endure.
- Humor and absurdity: Palace protocol, medical seriousness, and official history collide with mahjong, noodles, and the emperor’s bizarre postpartum confinement.