When Kangxi arrived at Yanxi Palace and entered the outer hall of the delivery room, he could faintly see Fang He still moving about on the floor through the folding screen.
Kangxi asked, “Wasn’t it said the labor had started?”
Li Momo from Shangqin, who had been called in to supervise the midwife, replied, “Your Majesty, the palace lady’s cervix hasn’t opened yet. Walking around can help it dilate faster.”
Kangxi, trained in martial arts with sharper-than-average hearing, could hear Fang He’s particularly heavy breathing and stumbling footsteps—signs of pain.
Apart from that, there was no other movement inside.
Thinking back to what Liang Jiugong said last time about how noisy Fang He’s childbirth would be, Kangxi felt an inexplicable restlessness.
Fang He’s shouting didn’t surprise him.
In the past, he had personally overseen births for consorts who cried and screamed loudly, even before active labor.
They kept calling out to him nonstop.
So why was it that now, when he came, Guoguo was so quiet?
After a brief moment, Kangxi couldn’t help but walk up to the folding screen and gently asked, “Guoguo, are you alright?”
Fang He still remained silent.
Kangxi frowned and lifted his foot, about to enter.
Li Momo hurriedly stopped him, “Your Majesty, you absolutely cannot enter when this woman is giving birth. Seeing blood is inauspicious!”
Inside, Fang He’s belly ached so fiercely it made her head bounce painfully, and in her heart, she cursed loudly, ‘Damn this nonsense!’
If she weren’t a woman, she wouldn’t be seeing blood.
If they had the guts, they could chop off the offending parts and then everything would be auspicious from then on.
Kangxi shot Li Momo a cold glance, “How dare you! I’m not afraid of that!”
He had seen plenty of blood when he led the Imperial Guards to the battlefront against the Dzungars.
He brushed past Li Momo and entered the inner hall directly, immediately spotting Fang He struggling to pace in circles.
The fox who usually flaunted her claws and acted tough now looked utterly miserable, sweat streaming down her forehead, her disheveled black hair clinging to her temples, and her lips bitten nearly to the point of breaking.
Kangxi’s heart tightened at once.
He stepped forward, and with Cui Wei’s help, half supported, half carried Fang He, turning his head to ask rapidly—
“How much longer will it take?”
“Where’s the Imperial Physician?”
“Is there any way to ease Consort’s pain?”
Fang He still bit her lip tightly, refusing to speak.
Zhang Ziqin, who had almost become Yanxi Palace’s exclusive Imperial Physician, knelt outside and spoke helplessly.
“Your Majesty, there’s no avoiding the pain at this point, unless she drinks labor-inducing medicine to speed the baby’s descent… but now the time is ripe. Labor medicine would still harm her body.”
The midwife also said, “The cervix just dilated to three fingers. Based on my experience, it will take at least an hour or two to give birth. Walking can help speed things up. If the palace lady can endure the pain, it would be better for her to eat something first.”
Kangxi took a cotton towel from Cui Wei to wipe the sweat off Fang He’s face.
Seeing the blood at the corners of her bitten lips was like a hornet’s sting directly piercing his heart, making him even more anxious.
“Guoguo, talk to me. Do you want to eat something first?”
Just then, another contraction struck, and Fang He gasped, gripping Kangxi’s wrist tightly, her eyes complicated as she looked at him.
Kangxi asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Seeing Fang He remain silent, he called out to the Imperial Physician, “Come and check Consort’s pulse. She can’t speak anymore!”
He then prepared to lift Fang He.
He felt as if every step she took was on a knife’s edge and couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
The midwives, Li Momo and the others, could only helplessly advise that she must walk more, pain or no pain.
Kangxi’s face darkened, on the verge of losing patience with the midwives’ nonsense.
Fang He grabbed his arm to stop him from lifting her to check her pulse, finally biting her lip and speaking, “It’s not that I can’t speak.”
She glanced around at the many palace maids and midwives in the room, restraining her urge to curse, trying to speak politely.
“Your Majesty, please leave first. If I see you any more, I’m afraid I’ll curse you.”
Though it was her child to give birth to, one could enjoy it and be done, but carrying it for ten months and enduring such pain was so unfair that Fang He felt justified in cursing even his eight generations of ancestors.
Everyone: “……”
Kangxi:”……”
Li Momo quickly stepped forward to support Fang He, whispering, “Your Majesty, please leave quickly. Your presence will only make the palace lady’s pain worse.”
This wasn’t a lie.
Without the Emperor present, the consort could still cry out and be distracted by their conversation.
But with the Emperor there, she had to maintain appearances, meaning she could only endure silently, which made the pain worse.
Though Kangxi was worried, he knew he was only in the way and reluctantly left, taking a seat on a soft couch outside, restless and anxious.
Even if he returned to Qianqing Palace now, he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything.
With him there, everyone had to tread carefully and serve more cautiously.
Even if anyone had ulterior motives, they would think twice about it, lest their entire clan be punished.
Indeed, the midwives, Imperial Physicians, and female medical attendants from the Imperial Household Department present all held their breath and tightened their attention.
No one dared show the slightest carelessness.
No one dared any ill thoughts—they were all suppressed deep down.
Inside the delivery room and the adjoining small kitchen, dozens of palace maids and eunuchs remained so quiet that it seemed only Fang He’s breathing could be heard.
Meanwhile, at the back courtyard of the Eldest Prince’s residence, the scene was the complete opposite.
Though Fuqin went into labor after Fang He, her cervix opened early, and palace maids and midwives bustled in and out of the delivery room as if at war, making the whole area lively and noisy.
“Fuqin, push hard! Listen to me, push! The head is visible!”
“Quick, bring a basin of hot water!”
“Stupid clumsy foot, why are you standing here? Go get the ginseng soup!”
With Fuqin’s cries of pain, one basin of bloody water was taken out after another, and another basin of hot water brought in endlessly.
Yinzhi paced nervously outside the door.
Consort Hui impatiently scolded him, “Stop pacing! You’re making everyone dizzy!”
“It’s just childbirth! This is already fast. When your mother gave birth to you, she was in pain all day before lying down. It was much harder, yet she still delivered you fine!”
Even though she said this, Yinzhi felt a strange panic inside.
According to the dates, his Fuqin was due at the end of March.
It was only early March now.
Though only half a dose of labor medicine had been given, the Irgen Jueluo’s body was weak, and he regretted following Empress Dowager’s advice.
The cries from Fuqin grew fainter, but Yinzhi’s regret grew stronger.
He couldn’t help but peek into the delivery room again.
Consort Hui sat nearby calmly, eyes closed in meditation.
Out of sight, out of mind.
The Imperial Physicians said the fetus looked fine and that it was almost nine months along, so slightly early wasn’t harmful to the heir’s health.
She noticed the sharp point of her daughter-in-law’s belly and guessed it must be a little prince—the first legitimate grandson of the royal family—who would surely overshadow the Crown Prince’s presence.
If the Fuqin could give birth before Fang He, even if that wretched woman bore a son, her grandson would be superior.
At this thought, Consort Hui exchanged a meaningful glance with Dujuan.
If Fuqin still couldn’t deliver, they’d give her the remaining half dose of labor medicine to force it out ahead of Fang He.
As for the Irgen Jueluo, she could just sit a double confinement and recover.
Dujuan slipped away from the nervous Eldest Prince, heading silently to fetch more medicine from the side room.
But just two steps away, she heard a sharp cry from Fuqin inside the delivery room, followed by the weak wails of a newborn.
Yinzhi and Consort Hui’s eyes brightened instantly, and they hurried to the door, asking in unison, “How is Fuqin?”
“Is it a little prince?”
There was a moment of silence inside before the midwife’s voice trembled slightly.
“Congratulations to Consort Hui and the Eldest Prince—it’s a little princess.”
Upon hearing the first two words, Consort Hui’s face lit up with joy.
But the last three crushed her like a hammer, sending her into despair.
Her vision darkened, and her body shook uncontrollably.
‘Impossible! Impossible!’
‘Her belly was pointed, and the physicians had said the pulse suggested a little prince. How could it be a girl?’
Yinzhi didn’t notice Consort Hui’s change and only asked, “How is Fuqin?”
Dujuan hurried over to steady her mistress.
Consort Hui recovered somewhat and, seeing her son only ask about the useless daughter-in-law and nearly letting her fall, grew furious.
“She’s fine! Even if she dies from anger, she’s still fine, but her belly won’t cooperate and she’ll make our mother and son the laughingstock of the entire palace. She might as well be dead!”
“Mother, be careful with your words!” Yinzhi frowned and helplessly reminded her.
“The Irgen Jueluo is a marriage arranged by Father. If your words get out, how would Father think?”
Consort Hui sneered, too disappointed and angry to care about the consequences.
Even if it spread, the Emperor wouldn’t order her death, right?
Before she could argue, a panic-stricken voice came from the midwife inside—
“It’s bad, Fuqin is hemorrhaging!”
“Quick! Call the Imperial Physicians!”
The physicians rushed in with their medicine boxes as the curtains inside were drawn.
Yinzhi’s face instantly turned pale, and he dashed into the delivery room.
Since childhood, as a son born to a concubine, he had endured countless slights and swallowed many grievances, secretly vowing to produce a legitimate heir.
After marriage, even though other ladies served him, he never visited their rooms.
But he felt no deep affection for the Irgen Jueluo.
Previously, she had given birth to two daughters, and he had grumbled, but since she was always gentle and quiet and didn’t cause trouble, he was somewhat satisfied.
Now he realized that he had unknowingly fallen deeply in love with her.
If he only wanted a legitimate son, he could have his other consorts serve him and take birth control.
Why focus solely on his Fuqin’s chambers?
Though hot-tempered and less favored than the Crown Prince, she had never once complained.
Irgen Jueluo had always treated him with gentle care and patience, something even his mother couldn’t do.
The thought of losing her filled Yinzhi with panic.
He even had a fleeting thought: if he couldn’t have a legitimate son, he wouldn’t compete with the Crown Prince.
He only wanted Irgen Jueluo!
“Yinzhi!” Consort Hui’s sharp shout snapped him back from his dark thoughts.
“You’re mad! The delivery room is filthy; how could you enter?”
“Did Irgen Jueluo drug you to make you forget your manners?”
Hearing Consort Hui’s harsh scolding, Yinzhi had no energy to reply and silently stood at the door, staring at the faintly moving heads inside.
Listening to the urgent instructions from the Imperial Physicians and the continuous calls of the palace maids, Yinzhi found his mother’s voice harsher than ever.
He weakly said, “Mother—”
Looking up, Yinzhi saw his three-year-old eldest daughter, pulled along by the Imperial Consort’s Wet Nurse, stubbornly clinging to the door without letting go, her eyes full of hatred.
Though the Eldest Princess was a girl, she was the first royal grandchild in the palace and was especially doted on both outside and inside the Eldest Prince’s residence.
The wet nurse dared not stop her entirely and let her come forward.
Yinzhi’s mind went blank as if he couldn’t hear anything.
He only saw his beloved eldest daughter looking at his Fuqin like an enemy, and the child hated him.
Even his mother thought he was useless.
After years of striving upward, he wondered—what was it all for?
“Mother!” Yinzhi suddenly shouted, cutting off Consort Hui’s ongoing scolding.
With a grim face, he knelt before her.
“The Irgen Jueluo is ill-fated and undeserving of your scorn, and I am unworthy of your deep love. Please return to the palace.”
Consort Hui was stunned when her son stopped her with those words.
Her anger only deepened.
But when she looked down and saw Yinzhi’s cold and resolute eyes, her heart shuddered violently.
All her scheming was for this son.
If even her son turned away from her heart, what was the point?
Bitterly glancing toward the delivery room, she swallowed the curses on her tongue, stifling the metallic taste in her throat, and turned away with a dark face.
Yinzhi stepped forward and lifted the Eldest Princess, and the two silently escorted Consort Hui out.
After Consort Hui left, the Eldest Princess struggled to get down and ran to the delivery room door, finally crying out—
“Mother! Mother… don’t abandon Fengshengge! Wuwu… Mother, don’t leave!”
Yinzhi’s eyes burned with tears.
He could no longer hold back and carried the Eldest Princess into the delivery room.
Inside, Fuqin had been given an injection by the medical attendants and regained consciousness.
The bleeding had stopped.
Hearing the voices, she turned to look and saw her daughter, face wet with tears, and her own tears followed.
Yinzhi coughed lightly, swallowing the lump in his throat, and called softly.
“Fuqin…”
But she seemed not to hear him, not even glancing his way.
Since drinking the tonic sent from the front courtyard, she had been in pain, with her water broken, and she could no longer hold the boy in her heart.
She reached out only to the Eldest Princess, weakly soothing the frightened child.
The Imperial Physician quietly reported, ” Fuqin’s hemorrhaging has stopped. With some care, she should recover. It won’t affect her longevity.”
But Yinzhi’s heart felt like a hole had been torn open.
He knew he had lost the most important thing, pain blurring his vision.
Only after the news from the Eldest Prince’s residence reached Kangxi did Fang He, having endured the pain, finish eating her chicken broth noodles and lie down.