Chapter 453

Strategies of a Concubine’s Daughter: Chapter 460 – Peril (Part 2)

The Dowager Madame knelt on the crimson cushion embroidered with clouds and dragons cradling the longevity character, offering incense and kowtowing reverently before the ancestral tablets of the Xu family.

Madam Du stepped forward to support her.

"How are things progressing?" the Dowager Madame asked as she steadied herself.

Not daring to speak plainly, Madam Du whispered, "The imperial physician has administered a labor-inducing tonic."

Yet the Dowager Madame understood perfectly.

Had the tonic been effective, the child would have been born by now.

She knew the physician's methods well.

When tonics failed, only potent drugs remained... Whether mother or child survived would rest in heaven's hands.

At this thought, her eyes grew moist, her gaze drifting to her late daughter's memorial tablet.

You spared no effort to bring Eleventh Lady into this household, and now she clings to life. If your spirit watches over us, grant her safe passage—if not for her sake, then for Zhun'er's!

"You want to eat?" Xu Lingyi was both relieved and eager. His greatest fear had been Eleventh Lady's refusal to cooperate. "What shall I have Wan Mama prepare for you?"

"Anything!" Who could think of food now? She only feared losing strength when it mattered most.

Eleventh Lady thought of her unborn child enduring such strain, its condition unknown. But hesitation now would doom them both... She steeled herself, adjusting her posture to aid the midwives... Yet her heart twisted like a knife, tears spilling uncontrollably.

The midwife exhaled in relief. "Let Madam hold a ginseng slice to boost her energy. Or perhaps some sweetened ginger water?"

Ginseng was preferable, of course.

But it strengthened the robust, not the frail.

Xu Lingyi turned to Amber. "Ask the physician if ginseng is safe in her condition."

Amber returned swiftly. "The physician recommends ginseng slices."

Everything was ready at hand.

Nanny Tian, who had rushed over, immediately placed a ginseng slice in Eleventh Lady's mouth.

The other midwife gained confidence—one assisting while the other monitored Eleventh Lady's responses.

As daylight faded, attendants lit the lamps.

Eleventh Lady lay limp in Xu Lingyi's arms, panting weakly. The two midwives massaging her abdomen were drenched in sweat.

He took Amber's handkerchief to wipe her brow.

If a grown woman was spent, how could an unborn child endure?

"This can't continue," Eleventh Lady stifled her tears. "Have the physician prepare the tonic—I'll have no strength left."

When ginseng failed, only one option remained.

"Rest awhile," he said, returning the handkerchief and gripping her hand. "We'll use the tonic only if necessary."

"I'm at my limit..." she murmured—when suddenly the midwife cried out: "My lady, you're fully dilated!"

Lady Eleven and Lord Xu both brightened at the news. Lady Eleven even tried to prop herself up on her elbows to sit, alarming the midwife who quickly pressed her back down. "Lie still, lie still!"

The other midwives gathered around. One suspended a white silk ribbon from the bed frame to give Lady Eleven something to grip, another placed clean cotton cloth beneath her, while a third arranged a thick bolster behind her back. Lord Xu, seated nearby, now seemed only to be in the way.

He moved aside to give space.

Tian Ma took the opportunity to sit by the bed, first slipping a ginseng slice into Lady Eleven's mouth, then instructing her on how to push.

What followed was surprisingly smooth compared to the earlier ordeal.

In no more than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the midwives saw the baby's head. Aside from a brief moment when the shoulders lodged, there were no further complications.

Amid the joyful cries of "It's born, it's born," Lady Eleven felt her body lighten.

She remembered the umbilical cord and urgently reminded Amber, "Scissors, scissors..."

Amber hurriedly fetched the scissors.

The midwife dared not refuse. Taking the scissors, she cut the cord, then lifted the baby by its feet and gave a brisk slap to its bottom. Only when the baby's loud cries filled the air did her anxious heart finally settle.

Holding the baby, still covered in birth matter, she presented it to Lord Xu. "Congratulations, my lord! A son—a male heir!"

Lord Xu gazed at the soiled, wailing little creature with profound emotion.

Unable to resist, he touched the baby's damp yet thick black hair, then turned to Lady Eleven. "A boy."

Lady Eleven felt as though she had endured a trial beyond her strength. Though her body seemed broken, even lifting a finger an effort, her spirit remained exhilarated. She stretched out her arms. "Let me see!"

"Don't move, madam!" The attending midwife chuckled. "The placenta hasn't passed yet."

Lord Xu tensed. "Is there danger?"

"No, no," the midwife reassured. "It's coming now."

It was a safe delivery for both mother and child. Lord Xu's face relaxed into a smile.

The room's earlier tension dissolved into joyous celebration, every face alight with happiness.

A young maid rushed to inform the elder madam, the second madam, and the fifth madam.

Wan Mama and Amber attended to Lady Eleven, while Tian Ma and the midwives took the baby aside to wash it.

Exhausted yet restless, Lady Eleven questioned Tian Ma: "They said the shoulders lodged—check his arms." Then, not hearing cries, she tried rising again. "Why isn't he crying?"

Seeing her pallor, Lord Xu pressed her shoulder down. "Focus on your recovery. Tian Ma will care for him."

Tian Ma quickly added, "The young master is perfectly well, madam. He stopped crying during his bath—just gazes about with bright black eyes!" She admired, "Such lustrous hair, sparkling eyes, and rosy skin! Newborns with pale skin often darken; ruddy ones grow fairer." Glancing at Lord Xu, she noted, "His features favor my lord, but his hair and complexion take after you, madam." Another midwife nodded. "Indeed. In all my years, I've never seen a babe open its eyes at birth. This child has remarkable vitality—he'll surely become a great general like his father."

Though flattered by the praise, Lady Eleven smiled most at knowing her son was healthy. As warm cloths cleansed her, she drifted into sleep.

She awoke at midnight.

Distant watch drums echoed. In the lamplight, Lord Xu's tall frame paced the room, cradling their child, occasionally pausing to smile at the swaddled bundle. Heart swelling, Lady Eleven curved her lips and softly called, "My lord. Where are the attendants?"

"You're awake!" He brought the baby to her bedside. "Are you hungry?" At his words, she realized her emptiness, but the crimson swaddling cloth adorned with the Three Star Gods leading a deer captivated her. Struggling up, she pleaded, "Let me see!" Her limbs felt leaden.

"Rest!" Lord Xu insisted. "The physician warned your constitution is frail. This ordeal demands months of careful recuperation." As he spoke, he lowered the baby. The child slept peacefully, its face rosy, features still soft—though the high nose clearly mirrored Lord Xu's. Its hair, jet black, fulfilled Tian Ma's description: "lustrous as ink."

Here is the edited translation incorporating all expert suggestions:

---

It was this little fellow who had given her such a hard time! Lady Eleven thought, without the slightest displeasure, only feeling sweet and joyful.

She couldn’t help but lean down and carefully touch his cheek with the tip of her nose.

Suddenly disturbed in his sleep, even though it was by his own mother, the child still frowned slightly in protest, pouted his tiny lips, rubbed his head against the swaddling clothes, and then fell back into deep sleep.

Lady Eleven’s heart softened, overflowing with tenderness.

"Isn’t he adorable?" Lord Xu said with a smile, watching Lady Eleven’s gentle expression. "He just blew a bubble at me." He pointed to the right corner of the child’s mouth. "Right here—tiny, about the size of a grain of rice."

Babies usually blow bubbles when there’s leftover milk or water around their lips after feeding.

Lady Eleven quickly asked, "Has he eaten anything?"

Before the child was born, she had considered several wet nurses, but since colostrum is best, she wanted to find one whose delivery date was closest to hers, so she hadn’t settled on one yet.

"No!" Lord Xu looked somewhat worried. "He’s been sleeping the whole time. The three wet nurses we tried earlier all attempted to feed him, but he refused. Tian Ma said he might not be hungry yet. So they just gave him some water, and he gulped it right down. I think maybe he just doesn’t like these wet nurses. I’ve already given orders to find a few more from the Imperial Wet Nurse Bureau *(a government office for wet nurses)* tomorrow morning to try again." He added, "You ought to rest. The midwife said you have injuries and shouldn’t move around too much!"

At his words, Lady Eleven remembered the maids who should be tending to her.

Lord Xu smiled. "I noticed the maids who usually keep watch at night in your room sleep in the antechamber. I was afraid they might disturb you, so I had them stay outside."

Only then did Lady Eleven realize that Lord Xu’s footsteps had been unusually light earlier—she hadn’t heard a sound.

As she pondered, Lord Xu had already called out, "Tian Ma," and said, "The mistress is awake!" Then he turned back to Lady Eleven. "Mother, Second Sister-in-law, and Fifth Sister-in-law all came to see you. They didn’t wake you since you were asleep and said they’d visit again tomorrow morning. Chun Ge and Jie Ge also came to see their little brother." He chuckled. "They were both so taken with him they begged if they could sleep with him."

Thinking of the two brothers, Lady Eleven smiled faintly. "Are they doing well?"

"Very well," Lord Xu replied with a smile. "The two of them go to school together every day, come home together, play the flute together, make lanterns together... Who knew Jie Ge and Chun Ge would get along so well?" He sounded quite touched.