Marrying the Crown Prince

The midwife replied, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Empress Dowager! The Empress has given birth to a prince, and both mother and child are safe and sound."

At this moment, the Empress Dowager stood up, and Li Ziyan followed closely behind and went inside.

Stepping into the delivery room, the smell of blood mingled with other odors, which was not pleasant.

Li Ziyan frowned immediately, then ran to the bedside and looked at Zhou Zhou pitifully.

The bed sheets and blankets have all been changed to clean sets, and the clothes Zhou Zhou wore during childbirth have also been changed.

Her hair was all piled up, and she wore a fluffy otter fur headband with a jewel in the center, making her look elegant and noble.

Forehead bands are commonly used in winter. Both men and women can use them to block and protect themselves from the wind. However, men's forehead bands are more simple and elegant, while women's forehead bands are more often embroidered or adorned with jewels.

Of course, women are weak after childbirth and should not be exposed to the wind easily, so wearing a forehead band during the postpartum period is to prevent catching a headache.

Zhou Zhou's body had been wiped clean with hot water, and she was now dry and comfortable, but her face was still a little pale, which showed that giving birth had indeed taken a lot of her energy.

She looked at the person beside the bed, saw his teary eyes, and almost laughed.

Have you seen the child?

Of course I haven't seen it.

However, Li Ziyan was afraid that if he said that, Zhou Zhou would think that he didn't care about the child, so he didn't even think before he spoke, "I've seen him, he's quite good-looking, his nose looks like yours, and his mouth looks like mine."

Empress Dowager Chu and Grand Empress Dowager: "..."

Because he had exhausted a lot of energy, Zhou Zhou talked to him for a few more minutes, and then a look of weariness appeared on his face.

"You've been busy all day, go to sleep," Li Ziyan said gently with concern.

Zhou Zhou didn't force herself; she yawned and closed her eyes.

At this time, Li Ziyan went to see the Empress Dowager of Chu to see what her son looked like.

Then I saw a wrinkled, red... ugly, ugly little child.

"This is so ugly." Li Ziyan spoke very softly, afraid of disturbing Zhou Zhou, but her voice still reached everyone's ears accurately.

Empress Dowager Chu hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help herself and explained, "Newborns are all like this. They'll become fair and clean after a couple of days of care."

Just as Li Ziyan was about to say something more, Empress Dowager Chu added, "When you were first born, you were even uglier than this."

Li Ziyan: "..."

In any case, the baby was born safely and without any complications.

The imperial physician also came in to examine Zhou Zhou and the young prince, and said that both adults and children were in good health.

"Good, reward him!" Li Ziyan finally said the words that pleased all the palace servants and imperial physicians present.

Even though it was still wartime, the national treasury's silver was still being used sparingly. But Li Ziyan knew that if a palace servant did a good job, he should be rewarded with silver; otherwise, who would be willing to risk their life for him in the future?

More importantly, given the turmoil at the border, his cancellation of the palace banquet was already unusual; if he were to further reduce the palace staff's rewards now, wouldn't that be sending a message to everyone—

It is said that the Chen Kingdom's royal family is all show and no substance. They are already on the verge of collapse after such a short time. They can't even afford to pay a few hundred taels of silver as a reward?

However, the birth of the empress's son should not be publicized or spent extravagantly, otherwise what would the soldiers on the border who are constantly on the verge of death think?

In short, just follow the usual procedures.

No, there are differences.

Li Ziyan used his private treasury to set up a soup kitchen outside the capital in the names of the Empress and the Crown Prince, to provide food for refugees and the poor.

This is considered a way to pray for Zhou Zhou and her child, and to accumulate merit.

Zhou Zhou slept until dawn, only to be woken up by the baby's crying.

The wet nurse skillfully picked up the baby, removed the diaper pad from underneath him, replaced it with a clean one, and then carried the baby around the room, gently stroking his back.

The child quickly stopped crying and fell into a deep sleep.

Zhou Zhou exclaimed in amazement—truly, everyone has their own expertise; if he had done it himself, he would have been completely overwhelmed.

Jufang put down what she was holding and came over. "Your Highness, is it time for your meal?"

"What time is it?" Zhou Zhou asked.

She can't stand the wind right now, so the doors and windows of the delivery room are all tightly closed, and she can't see how high the sun is outside.

“It’s just noon,” Jufang replied.

Zhou Zhou fell silent. So, he slept from midnight until noon? And afterwards, he didn't even feel hungry…

"Prepare the meal," she ordered.

Even though I'm not hungry, I still can't go without eating.

When the food was served, Zhou Zhou realized that she wasn't actually not hungry, but rather so hungry that she couldn't feel it anymore.

The food is all light and easy to digest.

Of course, it's not a purely vegetarian dish, but rather a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, with minimal oil, salt, and spices.

Chicken soup is made from a three-month-old hen that has not yet laid eggs.

At this time of year, the chicken soup isn't particularly flavorful, but the meat is at its sweetest, especially when topped with two eggs.

It was incredibly delicious after eating it.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Donghe dressed Zhou Zhou in layer upon layer of clothes, and then several palace servants put up cloaks and surrounded Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

Honestly, this scene really resembles the scene in the storybooks where various gods besiege and kill countless demons, and I am that demon.

They left the house in a large group and went to the next room.

That's right. In the delivery room, although everything that needed to be changed was changed and everything that needed to be washed was washed, the smell was still not pleasant because the doors and windows were not opened.

Therefore, Li Ziyan ordered the palace servants of Fengyi Palace to prepare a room next to the delivery room and moved Zhou Zhou there.

The days of postpartum confinement are leisurely, after all, you are waited on hand and foot, and you don't have to hold or take care of the baby yourself. Occasionally when you are bored, you can pick up the baby to play with, and when you are tired of playing, you can hand the baby over to the wet nurse.

As for the child's name, Li Ziyan said she hadn't thought of one yet, so she had chosen a nickname for now.

In the midst of war, everyone's wish is for the war to end as soon as possible, for the people to no longer suffer the pain of displacement, and for everything to return to normal—peace and prosperity for the people.

Therefore, Zhou Zhou answered in an instant, "Is the character 'Ning' acceptable?"

"Okay." Li Ziyan nodded.

The winter snow fell heavier and heavier, with large snowflakes drifting down like goose feathers.

"A timely snowfall promises a bumper harvest; this is a good omen," Li Ziyan said.

Zhou Zhou glanced at the sealed window and said, "I can't see how much snow fell, and you don't need to tell me."

You can't blame her for being so resentful. After being locked up in this room for so long, Zhou Zhou felt like she was about to mold.

"It will be fine in two more days," Li Ziyan comforted her.

We can't just open the window and let her go out and have fun right now, can we? If she develops some kind of health problem, it will be a lifelong pain.