Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 226 Extra: The Third Prince (1) Put the child back in!
The rain poured down, and large raindrops pounded on the glazed tiles of Ning'an Palace, splashing water droplets on the bluestone slabs.

On the corridor, palace servants rushed back and forth carrying hot water. Inside the Ning'an Palace, chaos reigned as palace servants carried in clean water and brought out bloody water.

Inside the side hall, steam rose from the hot water in the copper basins. The midwives, their sleeves rolled up, had hands covered in blood. Palace maids used plain white handkerchiefs to wipe the midwives' sweat, each performing their assigned duties.

The Empress's cries of pain mingled with the sound of rain, echoing out one after another.

"Push harder, Your Highness!" A plump midwife gripped the Consort Xian's hand, her coarse cloth skirt already soaked with blood. She had a kind face and was the most experienced midwife of the day. Her surname was Sun, and even the most favored concubine had to respectfully call her Granny Sun, since the life-or-death matter of childbirth was in her hands.

"Oh no, why are the feet coming out first?" A thin midwife, her face pale, exclaimed as she looked at Granny Sun. If anything were to happen to Consort Xian and the baby in her womb, they would have several heads to lose!

"Foot presentation! This is going to be a difficult labor!" Grandma Sun squinted her bloodshot eyes, staring intently at the bluish-purple little foot protruding between the mother's legs—foot presentation! Grandma Sun's heart sank. She thought to herself, "This is bad." With foot presentation, the baby will inevitably get stuck, and both mother and child are in great danger! It's truly a brush with death!

"Quick! Quick, summon the imperial physician! Quickly, find someone to report to the Emperor!" the thin midwife shouted in a panic.

"No, it's too late! Everyone except the imperial physician, come and help!" Granny Sun's eyes were fixed on Consort Xian, but she kept giving orders, "Quickly prepare more hemostatic herbs and hot water, we... put the child back in!"

"Huh? Put it back in?" The thin midwife turned pale and trembled like a leaf.

"Yes, that's it! Put the baby back in, then turn the fetus around with your hands, making sure the head comes out first! There's no time to explain... Help me grab Consort Xian!" Granny Sun decisively grabbed the baby's little feet, which were already turning purple from suffocation.

"But……"

"What else?! If we don't come back, we'll all die!" Granny Sun roared. "Aren't you going to help?"

The crowd quickly subdued Consort Xian.

The candlelight flickered in the delivery room. The Empress's sweat-dampened hair clung to her pale face, and broken sobs escaped her throat. She was in so much pain that she was about to faint!
"Quick! Get a silk handkerchief soaked in warm wine!" She snatched the soft cloth from the maid, her fingertips trembling slightly from the strong wine. The delivery bed shook violently, and Consort Xian suddenly let out a shrill scream. Her legs instinctively curled up, and her small foot, which was not yet fully delivered, slid out another half inch.

Granny Sun abruptly rolled up her sleeves. She took a deep breath, leaned close to Consort Xian's ear, and whispered, "Your Highness, please bear with it. I will escort the young master back to his place soon. Everything depends on this! You must hold on!"

Before he finished speaking, his hand, soaked in strong liquor, had already plunged into the warm mixture of blood and amniotic fluid.

Consort Xian instantly tensed up, her nails digging deep into her palms, the sheets beneath her were already a mess, and blood seeped from her palms.

When Grandma Sun's fingertips touched the baby's slender ankles, her pupils suddenly contracted. This child was too big!

Holding her breath and focusing her attention, she used her thirty years of experience in midwifery to sense the baby's position. With her other hand, she pressed on Consort Xian's swollen abdomen through her clothes. With each contraction, she precisely used the momentum to gently push the baby's little feet back into the birth canal. Finally, amidst Consort Xian's near-fainting screams, she successfully pushed the tiny limb back into the birth canal!
But the real danger was just beginning. Granny Sun stood up, bent over, and forcefully twisted her hands on Consort Xian's stomach, like practicing Tai Chi. All the maids in the room dared not breathe, only hearing Consort Xian's rapid breathing gradually calm down.

Immediately afterwards, Grandma Sun's wrinkled face relaxed a little—she touched the baby's furry head!

At 3:45 AM, a cry echoed throughout the Ning'an Palace.

Mother and child are safe!

"It's a prince, Your Highness!" Granny Sun carried the blood-covered infant to the bedside. A smile appeared on the pale face of the Consort Xian, but she fainted as soon as her head lolled to the side. "Quick, quick, call the imperial physician!"

The side hall door creaked open, revealing a figure dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe—the current emperor!
The emperor lifted his foot, about to enter, but saw that the room was in a mess, with bloodstains everywhere. Without making a sound, he covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve and withdrew his raised foot.

The quick-witted Eunuch Li immediately understood and stepped forward to advise, "Your Majesty, childbirth is like passing through the gates of hell for a woman; it is extremely dangerous. Now that the imperial physicians have examined her, she should be fine. The room is a mess right now; let the servants clean it up before Your Majesty goes to see Consort Xian. Otherwise, it will offend your eyes!"

Eunuch Li's words were exactly what the Emperor wanted to hear, and the Emperor nodded and immediately turned to leave.

"Your Majesty, this young prince has not yet been given a name!" Eunuch Li cautiously reminded him.

The Emperor glanced at the jade pendant at his waist and casually said, "Let him be named Heng! Return to the palace!"

The gates of Ning'an Palace were locked, and a thunderclap boomed outside the window, startling the little prince in his wet nurse's arms, who cried even louder.

The crying at Ning'an Palace gradually subsided, and the day's commotion finally came to an end, but Consort Shu's palace was in an uproar.

The palace of Consort Shu was brightly lit, but the servants dared not utter a sound.

Consort Shu gripped her handkerchief tightly, then swept the fruits and vegetables off the table. "Before, that wretched woman and I were pregnant at the same time, and I was only a few hours later! But she got what she deserved—she became Empress because of her son, and her son was made Crown Prince! We both came from the Prince's residence together, so why is she so unfair! That's bad enough, but His Majesty is so biased. When I gave birth, he only went to see her son, while he didn't even glance at my precious son until the third day when he bestowed upon him a name! Now, this Consort Xian has also given birth to a prince, so Wei'er has another rival!"

"Your Highness, be careful what you say!" The old nanny beside Consort Shu looked worried and tried to stop her, but to no avail.

"If you want to see my methods, just go and pass on the message!" Consort Shu kicked over the embroidered stool at her feet, and the sandalwood and jade ornament crashed onto the blue bricks with a "bang." She pointed at the row of palace servants kneeling in the hall and cursed.

Consort Shu stood up and paced back and forth: "No, I can't just sit here and wait to die. I have to think of a good way!"

The old nanny leaned close to Consort Shu's ear and whispered, "Your Highness, this old servant has a plan!"