Chapter 32: Chapter 32 Delicate Palace Maid VS Cold-hearted Emperor 32
Several days after Shen Xingzhi’s grabbing ceremony came to an end, Su Zhiruan, following the advice of Emperor Shen Qi and the Empress Dowager, reduced her activities. Midwives and elderly nannies were always on standby at Kunning Palace.
The Imperial Physician still came daily to check for a peaceful pulse. The palace was quiet, everyone dreading any accidents that might disturb Su Zhiruan.
One ordinary morning, Su Zhiruan felt waves of pain in her belly, a warning ache that ebbed after a while, then the sensation gradually weakened considerably.
This was her second childbirth, and she was familiar with the process. By her side, Shen Qi almost instantly noticed her discomfort, seeing her look toward her belly he immediately grew tense, “Ruanruan, is it time to give birth?”
“Yes, could you please ask the midwives to come?” Su Zhiruan lay on her side on the bed, her voice seemingly steady, but Shen Qi perceived it as her feigning composure.
Straight after, Shen Qi quickly donned his outer robe and got up to call the servants, “Some of you go call the midwives, some of you go inform the Empress Dowager, Little Fuzi go summon all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital.”
The palace attendants, upon hearing this, knew that Su Zhiruan was going to give birth! They immediately set about their duties.
Upon hearing the news, the Empress Dowager had the nanny carry the Little Crown Prince in the palanquin to rush over quickly.
Little Shen Xingzhi was still young, but his temperament was already not unlike that of Shen Qi. Being carried over, he simply looked around quietly. Once the Empress Dowager and her party arrived at Kunning Palace, and Little Xingzhi saw his father Emperor, he stretched out his little hands wanting an embrace, “Father… Father Emperor!”
“How is Ruanruan doing now? Has she gone into labor? Have the Imperial Physician and the nannies arrived?” the Empress Dowager asked as she picked up the Little Crown Prince, looking over at Shen Qi.
Shen Qi took Little Shen Xingzhi from the arms of the Empress Dowager, “The nannies have arrived, and the Imperial Physician is waiting outside the palace.”
“May heaven bless us, pray that Ruanruan has a smooth delivery,” the Empress Dowager prayed devoutly, clasping her hands together.
Su Zhiruan’s childbirth went very smoothly, with the aid of the System Newbie Gift Package, she felt no pain. All she needed to do was push. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and the nannies cheered her on.
Amidst the cacophony of the nannies’ voices, she heard,
“Lady! Push! We can see the baby’s head now—it’s a Prince!”
“The second baby has come out too! It’s also a Prince! Great joy for the Lady!”
“Wait, there’s another child—”
The midwives turned around in unison, originally thinking that Noble Consort Su carried twins, but they didn’t expect it to be triplets!!
“Lady! Please push again! There is still one more child in your womb!”
“Great joy, Lady! Great joy indeed!”
“This is an extremely joyful occasion! Hurry, go report to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager!”
After knowing that all three children were born safely, the burden Su Zhiruan had carried for ten months was finally completely lifted. By then, she was too exhausted to speak and quickly fell into a deep sleep. In a daze, she felt Shen Qi’s large hand tightly clutching hers and he did not let go for a long time.
The joy on the Empress Dowager and Shen Qi’s faces was beyond words when they found out about the triplets.
“Triplets?! I thought Ruanruan was having twins; I never expected such an auspicious sign today!” The Empress Dowager was so surprised she couldn’t close her mouth. She looked over the three children again and again, “Are these three children Princes or Princesses?”
“Replying to the Empress Dowager! Great joy! All three children are little Princes!” one of the three nannies said.
Three Princes! Su Zhiruan had given birth to three Princes at once!
At this moment, the Empress Dowager and the servants had already acknowledged her as the Mandate of Heaven for the Wang Dynasty, a blessed star shining bright.
Shen Qi, now, sat beside Su Zhiruan’s bed, gazing at her deep sleeping countenance and the beads of sweat on her forehead. He didn’t want to look away for a moment. He held Su Zhiruan’s hand, having completely forgotten that he was the Emperor; he forgot who he was, his entire heart concerned for the girl before him who had just borne him three children.
For the first time in over twenty years, he experienced such sweetness and complexity, a mix of love and anxiety. At this moment, his entire heart had been wholly given to his Ruanruan before him.
Had someone told him beforehand that one day his entire emotional being would be tied to a woman, he certainly would not have believed it.
Yet now, he was immensely grateful to his past self for choosing to keep her by his side, to give his entire being, his whole heart to her.
If she were to suddenly vanish at this moment, Shen Qi did not even dare to imagine how maddened he would become.
The Empress Dowager, being a woman herself, deeply understood the difficulties of pregnancy and knew that Su Zhiruan, having birthed three children, was surely exhausted.
She stood outside the bedroom, watching her son holding the hand of his beloved girl, the mighty Emperor with tears welling in his eyes, falling drop by drop onto the silk quilt. She nodded her head in satisfaction, then silently retreated, leaving the gifts she had thoughtfully prepared for Su Zhiruan with her palace maid.
Her son, having found his love and having children, changed the most.
The Emperor, who used to be cold and immersed in bureaucratic affairs daily, and who even became estranged from her because of her nagging about the issue of heirs, had become much kinder and more humane after having Su Zhiruan and the children. His relationship with her, his mother, had also improved a lot.
She was very grateful to Su Zhiruan. Without her, Shen Qi would have been a cold and ruthless loner today, lacking love and becoming capricious, which was the last thing she, as a mother, wanted to see.
As a mother, what she most wanted was for her children to be safe and joyful, not just lofty and high above without happiness, without emotion.
Now, she and the late Emperor had failed to be good parents, but Qiqi was blessed by Heaven. He found the person he cherished and had become the happy person she wanted him to be.
The news that Imperial Concubine Moon had given birth to triplet Princes spread throughout the entire Wang Dynasty as if it were pieces of paper carried by the wind.
The common folks marveled at her as a Goddess, and some couples who had prayed to Fertility Guanyin for children even went to worship Su Zhiruan after completing their prayers.
The court ministers who had been dissatisfied with Shen Qi for disbanding the harem had nothing to say at this point. They had wished to send their daughters into the palace to garner favors for themselves, using the lack of heirs under the Emperor’s knees as an excuse. Now that Su Zhiruan had given birth to three little Princes, the ministers had absolutely nothing to say. Some even felt that their previous criticisms were embarrassing and simply chose to shut themselves in their homes.
There were some stubborn ministers, however, who still insisted on saying the opposite — that the Emperor’s progeny was not meager, but such an abundance of Princes would inevitably lead to battles for succession later on.
After Shen Qi learned of this, he didn’t say anything but quietly ordered the Hidden Guards to trip up these few ministers who were making irreverent comments so that their families would have affairs to deal with, distracting them from wagging their tongues recklessly.
Su Zhiruan’s parents entered the palace to see her and brought many fresh novelties and several Peace Fortunes embroidered by her mother.
Su Zhiruan’s recovery time this round was longer than the last, and while the system could have restored her health immediately, doing so overtly would certainly have aroused suspicion, so she stayed in Kunning Palace for close to two months.
The Empress Dowager, concerned for her health, let her rest at ease. She and the elderly nanny took care of the children.