Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Prince Jing had made it clear, both openly and behind closed doors.

The palace was unstable now, and since the last sacrificial incident, several princes and imperial sons had been getting restless and scheming.

His household had no legitimate heir worth mentioning, making it the easiest target for anyone looking to cause trouble.

This time, none of the pregnant women could afford a single mishap—they all had to deliver safely!

Otherwise, Prince Jing might truly end up without an heir.

The Princess Consort and Prince Jing were completely on the same page in this regard, so naturally, her concern was a lot more genuine because of it.

No matter how terrifying the infighting in the household was, it was nothing compared to the power struggles at court.

The more critical the situation got, the more the Princess Consort had to keep Prince Jing's household stable.

Xie Run got up and looked around, but Prince Jing was nowhere to be seen.

But she figured it out in an instant.

When a Shu Fei was giving birth, it wasn't exactly appropriate for the prince to stay up all night, was it?

The Princess Consort read Xie Run's mind at a glance.

She'd been up all night, and you could see the exhaustion between her brows: "The prince cares more about heirs than anything. He stayed until dawn."

"This morning, he said there was a big blowup at court, and after the morning court session, His Majesty called him into the palace. He probably won't be back for a while."

Xie Run frowned too. "I just hope Sister Fang can give birth before the prince gets back."

Even though Xie Run had never given birth herself, she knew the longer labor dragged on, the more dangerous it got.

Especially in ancient times when medical technology was so primitive.

The Princess Consort nodded. "That's what I was thinking too."

"She's already in premature labor. If it drags on too long, she'll run out of strength, and both mother and child could be in danger."

Just as she finished speaking, a miserable scream came from Fang Yuaner in the delivery room.

Xie Run jumped and instinctively grabbed Dan Tao's hand.

Seeing this, the Princess Consort immediately said, "Bring a cup of tea over—don't scare Shufei Xie."

Xie Run dipped her head slightly. "Thank you, Princess Consort."

Only then did Xie Run get a chance to look around and see quite a few people waiting in the main hall.

Everyone had shown up, except Shiqie An and Cefei Jiang, who was under house arrest.

As for Shiqie An, the Princess Consort had probably told her not to come.

Within moments, Xie Run heard Fang Yuaner scream several more times.

She looked confused. "Has Sister Fang been screaming like this all night?"

For a normal person, forget all night—half a night would be enough to lose your voice.

Shiqie Lu said quietly, "She hasn't been screaming all night."

"She was quiet all evening. It was only this morning that the pain probably got too much, and she started screaming."

Xie Run took the tea from the maid, gently sliding the lid across the rim of the cup as she asked slowly, "I rushed over—I still don't know how Sister Fang went into early labor."

When the others heard Xie Run ask this, they all had different looks on their faces.

Shufei Li said in a casual, indifferent tone, "I heard Shiqie Wan ran into Shufei Fang and caused her to go into early labor."

Xie Run gathered her thoughts and asked, confused, "In the middle of the night, how did Shiqie Wan end up at Xiachi Court and run into Sister Fang?"

Shufei Li hid a hint of mockery at the corner of her mouth with her handkerchief. "Exactly. I'm pretty curious about that myself."

"But the prince said he'd look into it after Sister Fang delivers safely."

Everyone there outranked Shiqie Lu, so even if she had an opinion, she didn't dare speak up.

As they waited, Fang Yuaner's personal maid, Qiu Xiang, came in.

"This servant greets all the ladies."

The Princess Consort gave her a calm look. "How is your mistress doing?"

Qiu Xiang's brows were furrowed with worry and anxiety. "The imperial physician examined her and used acupuncture, but for some reason, the baby just won't come out."

"My mistress also says the pain is unbearable—the longer she labors, the more it hurts..."

The Princess Consort said calmly, "In that case, shouldn't they have prepared the labor-inducing medicine?"

When Xie Run heard about the labor-inducing medicine, her brow furrowed slightly.

Qiu Xiang could only taste bitterness in her mouth. "The medicine's already been given to her."

The Princess Consort sighed.

Just then, another maid, Qiu Kui, came running in and knelt right in front of Xie Run. "Please, Shufei Xie, save my mistress!"

With that, she began kowtowing repeatedly.

Xie Run frowned, her expression perfectly calm. "First tell me what's going on. Coming to me begging for help without any context—"

"I don't know medicine, and I'm no immortal. I have no way to make your mistress deliver the baby directly."

Qiu Kui looked up with tear-filled eyes. "My mistress is afraid... She only begs that Shufei Xie come keep her company."

"She says just seeing Shufei Xie puts her at ease."

Xie Run: "..."

Since when were she and Fang Yuaner on such good terms?!

At a critical moment like a difficult labor, she had to be there for the birth to happen?

Xie Run found it almost too absurd for words.

Qiu Kui was fighting for her mistress, but Dan Tao was equally determined to protect Xie Run.

"Absolutely not!" Dan Tao said sharply. "The delivery room is full of blood and danger. What if my mistress is harmed by it?!"

"My mistress, eight months pregnant, has come to accompany Shufei Fang through childbirth, out of consideration for their usual friendship."

"Now, if she enters the delivery room and is frightened, who will take responsibility if something goes wrong?!"

Dan Tao was truly furious.

Her mistress rarely had contact with Shufei Fang on ordinary days, so why did Shufei Fang have to insist on her mistress being there?!

Shufei Fang had her own agenda, but she didn't care whether her mistress lived or died.

With that, Dan Tao knelt before the Princess Consort as well, "I beg the Princess Consort to do right by my mistress."

"Shufei Fang's labor is certainly dangerous, but my mistress, being pregnant herself, faces just as much danger in the delivery room... Let alone being startled or frightened—even if she got bumped or jostled by all the coming and going, what would happen then?"

"One premature birth has already occurred—are we to have another in this manor?!"

Her tearful plea left Qiu Kui speechless.

Qiu Kui could hardly blurt out that her mistress feared someone was out to harm her, trusted no one but Shufei Xie, and insisted that only Shufei Xie's presence could guarantee a safe delivery—could she really say that?

Even leaving everyone else aside, Qiu Kui herself couldn't understand her mistress.

The Princess Consort frowned deeply, "What Shufei Fang needs for her labor is doctors and midwives, not Shufei Xie."

That was an outright refusal.

Fang Yuaner's request struck everyone present as absurd.

The Princess Consort turned her gaze to Xie Run, "But regardless, we should still ask Shufei Xie's opinion."

Since Dan Tao had gone all out for her, Xie Run naturally wouldn't play the nice guy at a time like this and let her own people down.

Besides, she truly dreaded seeing the sight of childbirth.

Xie Run lowered her head, forcing herself to stay calm, yet a flicker of fear showed in her eyes.

"I beg the Princess Consort's pardon, but I'm truly too nervous to witness a childbirth..."

Shiqie Lu quietly chimed in from the side, "With basins of bloody water being carried out of the birthing room, let alone Shufei Xie who's pregnant—even us servants who aren't... couldn't handle such a scare."

Seeing things go south, and remembering her mistress's face twisted in pain during labor, Qiu Kui gritted her teeth and kowtowed to Xie Run.

She banged her head on the floor with loud thuds, crying pitifully, "I beg Lady Xie to save my mistress's life!"

"I beg Lady Xie to save my mistress's life!"

Within moments, Qiu Kui's forehead was already red and swollen.

It was clear she meant business.

Xie Run frowned, "Someone stop her!"

"Don't let Sister Fang's situation be fine over there, only for blood to be shed here!"

Xie Run wasn't particularly intimidated by Qiu Kui's guilt-tripping.

After all, if she simply refused to go in, who could point a finger at her and blame her?