Chapter 1093: Childbirth

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Every time Yu Youyao finished walking, she was panting, as if she had been squeezed dry.

In her eighth month of pregnancy, Yu Youyao’s stomach became bigger and bigger. Yu Youyao walked a little longer every day than before. No matter how hard it was, she endured it.

Yin Huaixi felt the same way. He felt his insides burning. He hugged her weak body and said in a hoa.r.s.e voice, “No matter if this child is a boy or a girl, I won’t let you give birth again in the future.”

The Ruoshui Mountain Courtyard was quite successful. All the women of the Great Zhao Dynasty were proud to be able to study and read. Even the children of poor families would be sent to the cottage, the library, and the school to learn how to read. The enlightened image of the Northern Song Dynasty reappeared in the Great Zhao Dynasty. The Empress was no exception.

The million soldiers in her hands were not to be trifled with.

Yu Youyao took a deep breath, feeling terrible. “Okay.”

In the blink of an eye, Yu Youyao was nine months pregnant. Auntie Xu calculated the time when she would give birth. At the end of March, the palace was on guard and began to prepare for childbirth.

Everyone in the court was also paying attention to this matter.

The Empress had been in the palace for more than three years and had never given birth. She was finally pregnant this year, but she was pregnant with a one-in-a-million double child.

If there were two boys, one of them had to be killed.

It was fine not to kill one of them, but the two of them would be deprived of their right to the inheritance.

If it were two girls, it would be most difficult to give birth to two children. No one knew if the Empress could survive.

The best case scenario was a boy and a girl, a dragon and phoenix.

However, it was difficult to raise two children to begin with. It would be fine if both children were at peace, but if the dragon died and the phoenix survived… The Empress would probably be too ashamed to face the world.

On the eighth of March, Yu Youyao bled when she got up to change. Yin Huaixi was in the morning court. Xia Tao quickly reported it to Eunuch Li, who was shocked and quickly went to the golden hall to report.

Yin Huaixi was shocked. He couldn’t care less about the court officials and rushed to the Chenggan Palace. Yu Youyao acted as if nothing had happened and leaned against the bed to drink soup.

The entire Chenggan Palace was under full martial law.

“Are you about to give birth?” Yin Huaixi pursed his lips tightly, his face filled with anxiety. He looked even more nervous than her.

Yu Youyao burst out laughing. “It’s just bleeding, so it won’t start so quickly. Auntie Xu said that it takes strength to give birth and asked me to eat more to replenish my strength. At this moment, she’s already ordered someone to set up the delivery room. The imperial physicians and the medical maids in charge of delivering the child are already waiting in the delivery room. Don’t be nervous.”

Yin Huaixi’s heart was still in turmoil. He held her hand and realized that it was wet and cold. Upon closer inspection, he realized that her forehead and the tip of her nose were covered in sweat. “Why are you sweating so much?”

Yu Youyao did not notice at all. She raised her hand and touched it, feeling a little enlightened. “Perhaps I’m about to give birth. I’m not feeling unwell anywhere now.”

Just as Yin Huaixi was about to speak again, Yu Youyao said, “I won’t give birth so quickly. Go back to the morning court session quickly. It’s not good to leave the court officials hanging in the royal court.”

“No.” Yin Huaixi refused firmly. “I’ll accompany you.”

Seeing that she couldn’t persuade him, Yu Youyao let him be.

After that, every two hours, Auntie Xu would bring over a bowl of brown sugar bird’s nest, brown sugar eggs, red dates, snow fungus, and so on to replenish her strength.

Perhaps it was because she was about to give birth, but Yu Youyao still felt her stomach drop. She sweated more and more, and her appet.i.te was not good. She did not want to eat anything. It was Yin Huaixi who coaxed her and fed her everything.

They waited until 7pm.

Yu Youyao was not in good spirits. She was coaxed by Yin Huaixi. After taking a nap on the couch for a while, she was suddenly woken up by a chill of sweat. Immediately after, she felt a wetness on her thigh, and her face turned pale.

“What’s wrong? Are you giving birth?” Yin Huaixi had been looking at her well. Seeing that she was suddenly sweating, his heart couldn’t help but tighten.

“I— I think I’m about to give birth.”

As soon as Yu Youyao finished speaking, Yin Huaixi shouted, “Someone.”

Auntie Xu quickly came out of the delivery room in the side hall. She saw that Yu Youyao’s face was pale and she was sweating profusely. Even her pants were wet. “The amniotic fluid is broken. Go and send the Empress to the delivery room first.”

With that, she was about to help Yu Youyao up when Yin Huaixi beat her to it. He picked her up and strode towards the delivery room.

In the delivery room, the Imperial Physician waited in the outer room. Meanwhile, in the inner room, four female physicians in charge of delivering the child were already prepared. In addition, there were two nannies and four main palace maids who served at the side. The rest of the people were waiting outside the hall. They were not allowed to enter.

The Empress was pregnant with two children, so it was not easy to give birth to them to begin with. It was not a good sign that her amniotic fluid had broken so early.

Auntie Xu felt a little uneasy, but she looked very calm on the surface. She instructed Chun Xiao and the others to prepare hot water and food. The female doctors seemed to have gained a backbone, and none of them showed any abnormality.

After the amniotic fluid broke, Yu Youyao’s stomach began to hurt and swell, and her face turned pale.

Imperial Physician Hu came in to take the Empress’s pulse. “Her Majesty’s body is fine. Just give birth normally.”

After taking his pulse, Imperial Physician Hu saw that the emperor was still sitting by the bed, as if he had no intention of leaving. He quickly said, “The delivery room is a dirty place. Your Majesty, please wait in the outer hall.”

Yin Huaixi frowned. “How sacred is it for a woman to have children? How can this be filthy? This is simply ridiculous.”

Imperial Physician Hu wanted to persuade him again.

Yu Youyao was already in so much pain that she couldn’t help but moan. Yin Huaixi’s heart immediately fell on her. He quickly held her hand. “I’ll accompany you.”

Yu Youyao wanted to persuade him to leave, but there was another pain in her stomach. When she opened her mouth, there was another pain. She couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Yin Huaixi’s hand, not wanting him to leave.

Imperial Physician Hu could only leave the outer hall.

At first, there was a contraction every hour. Later, the pain became more and more intense. Every fifteen minutes, there was a contraction, and the pain became more and more intense.

When it was 1am, the labor pain was endless. Yu Youyao was in so much pain that she tossed and turned. Her entire face was pale, and bean-sized beads of sweat kept rolling down her forehead. She had just changed into dry clothes, but not long after, she was drenched in sweat again.

Auntie Xu was very anxious.

The Empress’s figure was slender, and it was not easy to give birth to begin with. Furthermore, she was pregnant with two children. She had been in pain for most of the night, but her cervix had only opened twice. If this continued, she would be in danger.

However, although Auntie Xu was anxious, she looked calm. From time to time, she would feed Yu Youyao something and even comfort her. “Eat more and conserve some strength before you have the strength to give birth.”

She turned around and gave Chun Xiao a look. Then, the two of them left the inner room one after another.

After leaving the delivery room, Auntie Xu instructed Chun Xiao. “Some time ago, the Persians sent a batch of incense. This incense can also nourish the Qi and blood, and it can also be used for pain and blood vertigo after delivery. Go and get some over. Don’t let the Empress know.”

Chun Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly went down to prepare.