Chapter 718: Ugly Heir (1/2)

“Then…do you know why I’m giving birth prematurely? Will this have a bad effect on my child?” Although the child had yet to be born, as a mother, Xiaocao’s heart was full of worries for the child’s health.

[Melons fall when ripe, and you’ll naturally give birth when it’s time! As I told you, the child is fine, so stop overthinking and scaring yourself!] The little divine stone rolled its eyes at her.

Yu Xiaocao completely relaxed after hearing its words. However, she still grumbled in her heart, ‘Others are pregnant for ten months, but how come I’m ready for labor in just eight months?’

With the ‘painkiller’, the little divine stone, here, Xiaocao didn’t have to suffer much pain during the process. In order to not arouse the suspicion of the servants outside, Xiaocao pretended to groan every once in a while.

Zhu Junyang knelt on one knee beside the bed and held his wife’s hand. He had more sweat on his face than Xiaocao, who was in labor. From time to time, he would yell out, “Where’s the midwife? Why isn’t she here yet? Are you guys crawling over to fetch her?”

They had already found a midwife, and they planned on bringing her into the estate in the fifth month, to be on standby. Who would have thought that contractions would start so early for the princess consort. Fortunately, the midwife, who had a great reputation in the capital, didn’t get called to another household. Otherwise, it would be problematic!

The midwife, who was in her fifties, was basically carried over by Hou Xiaoliang. There was no choice because her bound feet made it difficult for her to walk. Hou Xiaoliang was afraid that his masters couldn’t wait for too long, so he half-dragged and half-carried her for most of the trip. Even so, he was still scolded by his master, “Are you a snail or a tortoise? How can you be so slow when you’re just going to fetch someone?!”

Hou Xiaoliang felt wronged in his heart. He drove the carriage at top speed all the way to the north side of city and dragged the midwife away without wasting any time. He was almost taken as a bandit and reported to the yamen. This was the fastest speed, okay? Another person may not even be as fast as him.

Fortunately, he was comforted by Wutong, “His Highness is worried about the princess consort. Even if you flew over, the prince would still think that you’re too slow. No matter who went on this trip, he would still be scolded. Take a sip of pear juice to moisten your throat. Look at all the sweat on your head!”

Hou Xiaoliang lowered his head and let Wutong wipe off the sweat on his face, enjoying the rare gentleness of his fiancée. He had originally wanted to set the wedding date in the second or third month, but Wutong insisted on waiting until her mistress gave birth and finished her post-natal confinement period before she was willing to marry him. Therefore, the date was set for autumn of this year.

Hou Xiaoliang and Wutong had reached a consensus that after they got married, it was up to her whether she wanted to enjoy her happiness at home or stay beside her mistress. He would respect her decision. Wutong intended to wait until her subordinating maidservants were capable of handling matters themselves, and then she would shift her attention to taking care of her family.

“Wahhhh——” A loud cry of the baby indicated that the young heir of the Imperial Prince Xu’s Estate was born.

Hou Xiaoliang hadn’t even finished drinking his cup of pear juice. He looked at Wutong with a dumbfounded expression and foolishly asked, “She gave birth so quickly? The midwife just went inside…”

“Shhh——don’t let His Highness hear what you just said. Otherwise, you’ll be thrown to the Xishan Barracks to train for half a year. What would you do then?!” Wutong glanced at the imperial prince who had been driven out by the midwife and pacing back and forth. At this time, the imperial prince must feel that time was passing very slowly. Who would dare to say the word ‘quick’ in front of him?

The door of the delivery room opened and Meixiang came out with a basin of bloody water. Zhu Junyang was alarmed, “Why is there so much blood? Is the princess consort alright?”

Meixiang reported the good news with a smile on her face, “Congratulations, Your Highness! The princess consort gave birth to a little heir. Both mother and son are safe…ay, ay, ay! You can’t go inside right now. We have to clean up before you can go in. Don’t worry, Her Highness is fine!”

Senior Servant Li came out with a tightly swaddled newborn in her arms. With a joyous expression, she said, “Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness! The young heir weighs 3.4 kilograms. His cry sounds very strong, and one wouldn’t be able to tell that he was born prematurely. Your Highness, look at his big eyes and tall nose. He will definitely be a beautiful young man when he grows up.”

Zhu Junyang looked over and couldn’t see the word ‘beautiful’ from the wrinkle-faced red monkey. He thought in his heart, ‘So ugly!’ But he said, “What’s the point in a boy being so beautiful? Such a waste!”

Senior Servant Li suddenly recalled that this prince hated when others complimented him on his looks. So she hastily changed the subject, “Your Highness, would you like to carry the little heir?”

“Uh…as the eldest son, he will inherit the household in the future, so we can’t spoil him.” The little baby was delicate, soft, and tiny. Zhu Junyang wouldn’t admit that he was afraid that he couldn’t control his strength and ended up hurting the child painstakingly birthed by his wife. Thus, he simply pretended to be a ‘strict father’.

Senior Servant Li thought, ‘How old is the little heir? He doesn’t know anything, so how would holding him be spoiling him?’ However, as a servant, she couldn’t refute the master’s words, and could only echo in agreement.

The midwife came out and informed them that they could enter the room. Before she had finished speaking, a figure had flashed past her, walked around the screen, and entered the inner room of the delivery room.