C168 New Year
C168 New Year
The weather grew colder and colder a few days ago, and the dragons in the house burned vigorously. They didn't go out at all, and even at the beginning they were restricted from going out. They only allowed her to play in the room.
All this was fine, but they still had to attend the palace banquet together on New Year's Eve.
Duke Yuan ordered for the carriage to be filled with ideas, held the furnace for Shen Qi, and then entered the palace safely.
The empress dowager sighed and said that the number of people in the palace was still too few. "Fortunately, the election that is held once every three years is about to be held, so we can get a new batch of people."
These words caused all the concubines' hearts to churn. The empress was already old, and even if she didn't join the newlyweds, she still wouldn't be of much concern. The emperor's love for her at this moment really wasn't that important.
Although seventeen or eighteen years old, they had been in the palace for three years after all. If they became a new disciple and had girls that were as tender and beautiful as flowers, would the Emperor still remember them?
But even if they felt uncomfortable inside, it was still limited. They couldn't help but look at Imperial Consort, and say that what they felt the most was not because they originally did not have much pets, Imperial Consort should care even more about it.
When they thought about how the emperor had only favored the Imperial Consort recently, the other concubines couldn't help but think maliciously that if another group of new disciples joined them, they might really be able to receive her favor. Even if they were a little inferior in terms of looks and talent, they might not lose out to the Imperial Consort at all.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look forward to the upcoming talent show.
Qin Xiang was calm as well. She had already seen through everything, but she did not expect the emperor to pay attention to her again. She did not dare to expect the emperor to continue spoiling her, so it was the same even if she did not join the ranks of the newcomers.
She only wanted to take care of her child and not ask him for a future. As long as she was safe and healthy, it would be fine. After all, it wasn't easy to get this child.
She had always known that the Emperor did not plan to let her have a child in the beginning. This was a gift she received after being poisoned, and she should have thanked Wan-fei for it. If it wasn't for her, perhaps she wouldn't have had a child in her entire life.
Thinking of the Emperor's change in attitude towards her, she lowered her head, covering the mockery in her eyes. Should she be thankful that he hadn't completely abandoned her? She was actually soft-hearted enough to give her a child!
Seeing Imperial Consort's expression, everyone thought that she was depressed and directly revealed an expression of schadenfreude.
Qin Xiang did not care about them and allowed them to think that she was sad.
When the palace banquet was about to begin, everyone gathered at the banquet table. The empress dowager was naturally the last to arrive. After someone paid their respects, the emperor announced the start of the banquet.
Perhaps because too many things had happened this year, the entire banquet felt a little dull. Shen Qi had a heavy body during this month, so the moment the banquet ended, Duke Xiang had directly brought the person back to the Palace.
Originally, he wanted to let Shen Qi rest in the palace, but after thinking about the assassination time from before and the various emotions that Shen Qi had against the Imperial Palace, he decided to return to his residence in the end.
After that, Shen Qi did not walk outside anymore, and only gave her a gift. Everyone knew that Queen's Consort was very heavy, and understood her actions.
It was even more impossible for Shen Qi, whose body was even heavier after the new year, to leave his home. The weather started to warm up after February, but Shen Qi still did not take off her winter clothes.
It was March, the best season of the year, and her due date, but the strange thing was that her stomach showed no sign of starting.
Shen Qi patiently waiting, waiting for her to say that she was going to be born, and then she could immediately start, so these few days, everyone's nerves had been stretched taut, they did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.
If she had to delay it for a day or two, Shen Qi would think that it would be alright. She would be able to sit still even if she delayed for four or five days.
Is this really normal? She started to worry.
The imperial doctor said that she was in good health and that her fetus was good as well, but there were no indications that she was going to give birth. Shen Qi started to feel nervous.
Either she didn't believe the Imperial Physician's words, or at that critical moment, she could not help but worry.
Of course, King Xian could feel the change in her mood. He had also taken a few days off from work to accompany her within the mansion.
The emperor knew that the Queen's Consort would be producing in the next few days, so he happily approved of Duke Xian's shift.
With the Prince accompanying him, Shen Qi felt some comfort in his heart. However, after so many days, this comfort still did not have any signs of movement, and already seemed so insignificant.
She was anxious, and so was King Duan. However, she was afraid that Shen Qi was worried, so he didn't express it. She just secretly went around to check if anyone else had similar situations, and then found a balance in herself.
Since Shen Qi became pregnant, the empress dowager's eyes had been focused on her stomach. She wanted to know whether or not the baby was male or female, which was a huge question whether or not Duke Xian had a future.
Before the expected birth, the empress dowager had sent someone to ask about the situation, and when she found out that everything was normal, she consoled herself by saying that she had waited ten days. She couldn't sit still any longer in the palace.
It was as if she was going against everyone, the child only started moving on the eleventh day. Shen Qi immediately ordered Forge to call for the stable woman the moment she felt pain, she had a premonition that this time, she was really going to give birth.
stable woman had been in a state of readiness for some time, and almost as soon as he heard the commotion, the people from the other side rushed over. They ordered the imperial concubine to be carried into the delivery room, while also instructing the servants to heat up the water, in addition, they had to prepare ginseng and soup.
After delaying it for so long, they weren't sure if anything had happened, so they had to prepare in advance to not panic.
With his first production experience, Wang Ma led his men to make food for Shen Qi. Under the support of King Duanren, Shen Qi walked two rounds around the room, only stopping after she was covered in sweat.
stable woman said that the production path had not completely opened up, so there was still a long way to go before production. He needed to take this opportunity to let Shen Qi eat something to store her strength.
As he was in a state of panic, he momentarily forgot about the beginning. Shen Qi was also waiting for his mind to calm down for a while before he anxiously asked Duke Xian, "Prince, where's the beginning?"
Duke Xian had also forgotten about this matter. Only when he heard Shen Qi talk about it, did he finally remember. At this time, he started to get angry at himself, what would he do if he scared her.
So after she calmed Shen Qi's emotions, she said: "Don't worry, I'll go look for her. It's fine."
Shen Qi nodded, "Go quickly and tell her not to be afraid!"
King Di nodded and strode away.
At the beginning, she was indeed a little scared, but fortunately, there was the wet nurse and Xi Shi by her side. When King Duanren saw her, she was nestled in his wet nurse's embrace with a panicked expression.
Seeing her like this, King Xian cursed himself even more in his heart. 'I deserve to die, how can I forget my daughter?'
He didn't wait for her to come over before quickly walking over to her. After that, he carried her in his arms, waved at the wet nurse and Xi Shi, who were about to greet him, not to mention there was no need to be overly courteous. Then, he hugged the wet nurse to comfort her.
"Daddy, it's not right. You shouldn't forget the beginning. Don't be afraid, Daddy is here."
"Where's mother?" She was a little frightened by Shen Qi, so she asked carefully at this time.
Prince Xian's heart was in great pain as he kissed her little face. "Mother is fine. Mother gave birth to a new baby brother. At the beginning, you and Father were waiting outside for you, alright?"
Hearing this, he immediately became happy, "Brother?" His eyes lit up. After waiting for so long, his little brother was finally coming.
King Xian nodded. "Younger brother, first time, you should obediently wait outside with your father. Soon, little brother will be here to play with you."
Chu Feng nodded, "En, good girl, let's wait for brother."
Seeing that she had completely recovered, Duke Xian couldn't help but calm down. However, just as he relaxed, he thought of Shen Qi in the delivery room. His heart was still in suspense.