The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

"Madam, I'm afraid things aren't going well with Princess Shijia. We need you to stay and oversee things, otherwise no one will feel confident."

When Muxiang found Qingwan, Qingwan was also heading to Yingyu's room.

Qingwan nodded slightly, quickening her pace; the lives before her were of greater importance.

As soon as I arrived at the door, the stench of blood hit me, and the basins of blood being carried out were far more frightening than what I had witnessed at Fu Ling's place.

"How is it?" Qingwan asked the imperial physician.

The imperial physician simply shook his head: "For now, we will do our best to save her, but the Princess Consort needs to make a decision."

The atmosphere suddenly fell into an eerie silence, broken only by Yingyu's increasingly loud cries of pain and the sound of her footsteps.

The imperial physician looked up and secretly observed Qingwan's expression, but could not discern anything.

After a long pause, Qingwan finally asked, "Whose case are we more likely to protect?"

"Well, in reply to the Lady, it is naturally more likely that the mother will be saved, as the young master is not yet eight months along and will be born through a difficult birth."

Even if it survives, its body will inevitably be weak; raising it to adulthood will require considerable effort.

The implication is that being born doesn't guarantee survival, surviving doesn't guarantee raising a child to adulthood, and even if a child is raised, their health may be poor.

"Protect them all if you can. If the time really comes, protect whoever you have the best chance of protecting."

"We don't quite understand what you mean, Madam." Neither the imperial physician nor the midwife wanted to be accused of acting presumptuously.

They understood what Qingwan meant, but they wanted to hear a decision stated clearly and explicitly.

“You understand what I mean, just do it. I said it, and I made the decision.”

Your sky won't fall; I'll handle anything.

Moreover, we are trapped inside and can only hear vague information about what's happening outside, but you outside know everything clearly. We are afraid we don't have the energy to investigate you.

You are a doctor; saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. I entrust the lives of this mother and child to you.

And so it is with the rest of you.

After Qingwan finished speaking, she let the imperial physician do what he was supposed to do and went into the inner room to see Yingyu.

The smell of blood was even stronger inside. Qingwan knew how painful childbirth was, and seeing her like this, she couldn't bear it, so she leaned close to her ear and whispered:

"I'm fine, and what you're worried about won't happen. After you give birth, I'll let you choose something as a reward for your dear mother, okay?"

Yingyu's eyes slowly focused: "Is what the Princess Consort said true? The Prince still has me."

"Of course, I assure you. If something happens to the master, then what will become of the imperial physician and midwife?" Qingwan promised her.

The midwife who delivered Yingyu's baby also spoke up.

"Why would the Fujin want me to give birth to this child?" Yingyu asked with some difficulty. It had only been a short while, but she already felt that giving birth was too tiring.

"Don't overthink it. If I didn't want you to have this child, you wouldn't be here today."

Qingwan sighed softly. She knew a little about Yingyu's family situation, so she was unusually patient.

"Really? Then I've met a good person." Yingyu smiled slightly. She had been very careful during her pregnancy and never expected to hear such words.

Which of her half-brothers and half-sisters didn't suffer many misfortunes?

"Just think about it. What will she do if she hears that something happened to you? You're her only child."

Yingyu had a difficult childbirth; she only heard the news of her child's birth a full day and night later.

"Didn't they say the baby was born? Why isn't it crying?"

The child was born a day and a night, and Qingwan stayed by his side for a day and a night as well, only taking a nap when she got tired.

Unlike Fu Ling's time, this time she was really persistent and refused to go back to her room to rest no matter how much they tried to persuade her.

It was already late at night, and Qingwan closed her eyes to rest for a while. She could still hear the midwife calling Yingyu's name and Yingyu's occasional cries of pain.

When she heard the baby was born, she instantly woke up, but didn't hear the baby cry.

Upon entering the delivery room, I saw the midwife patting the baby's bottom. The baby was thin and small, and there was no movement in the midwife's hands, which was heartbreaking.

Fortunately, after only two slaps, the child began to cry weakly, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Watching the midwife quickly clean and wrap the baby up before handing it to the wet nurse to breastfeed, she went up to look at the baby and said, "It looks like a kitten. How much care will it take to raise it to adulthood?"

Mu Xiang advised, "The palace has everything it needs; the baby can be raised. Your Highness has been on guard for so long; you should rest well today."

Everyone knew that these were just words of comfort; if it were really that easy, then so many children in the palace wouldn't have died prematurely.

But Qingwan really felt tired, so she said, "Okay, I'm tired too. Now I can get a good night's sleep."

The next day, when Qingwan woke up, it was already bright. She looked at Muxiang and said, "I feel that the room is much warmer today than it has been the past few days."

"Your Highness has forgotten that today is the first day of the tenth month, which is the Prince's birthday and also the day the Second Prince was born."

"Really?" Qingwan smiled. "I was so sleepy yesterday that I forgot to check the time."

Today is a good day; it's warm in the palace since today.

"Yes, I will. Besides, you're not sleepy, you just have too many things on your mind. The Second Prince was born at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

"It's just too small, I'm afraid." Mu Xiang shook her head as she said this.

Born prematurely, and with Yingyu taking many sedatives during her pregnancy, this child is unlikely to grow up.

"Why are you and your wife talking about this? The baby has already been born, which is a joyous occasion for us."

Let's deal with the future later. As for Princess Shijia, we've done what we could. Some things are simply beyond human control.

As soon as Chenxiang entered the room, she glared at Muxiang. Muxiang was not angry, but instead said, "You are right. I said the wrong thing in front of the Fujin."

"However, it was because my sister saw that the Fujin was still asleep early in the morning that she went to see the Second Prince first, which is why she said that."

Seeing their banter, Qingwan said, "Alright, I know you two well. You've both worked hard these past few days. Go back and get some rest these next couple of days."

I can't go out either, so nothing's wrong. I wonder if Zhang Chun has returned yet.

"Not yet. He didn't have time to come back yesterday. Everyone has already left, so I'm afraid he can't come back. I don't know where he went. This is the palace, after all," Mu Xiang replied.

Qingwan stood up: "Help me wash up first."

After washing up, Qingwan went straight to the courtyard gate: "Have your head guard come to see me, and I won't make things difficult for you."

Upon hearing the words "It's not difficult," whether true or false, the guards at the door breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to find the leading guard.

"This servant greets the Princess Consort."

A moment later, the leading guard, E, arrived. Qingwan had heard people talk about this guard E every day, but this was the first time she had ever met him.

"Get up. As you all know, we just got a second prince. I won't tell you what I need you to do, just take a message to the tenth princess."

"But His Majesty has ordered that the Princess Consort and others not to communicate with the outside world, nor to allow the Princess to come over."