Chapter 702: Labour (2)
Once He Changdi passed the privacy screen, he saw Chu Lian’s wretched appearance as she laid in the bed.
Right now, the midwife and Physician Li were encouraging her to push harder. She cried out once more, and lost all her strength again.
When Physician Li saw that she was about to pass out again, her face paled along with Chu Lian’s, “Madam, Madam, wake up! We can see the baby’s head now! You have to push a little harder!”
Chu Lian swallowed the saliva that had gathered in her mouth. Her voice had gotten hoarse from her screaming, “I don’t have any more strength left… I can’t do it…”
He Changdi ignored the shocked looks sent his way from the senior servants. He came right over to the bed and pulled Chu Lian’s hand away from clutching tightly at the blankets.
“Lian’er, Lian’er, I’m here now. Wake up!”
Hearing the voice of the person she had been waiting for, Chu Lian’s mind finally cleared a little. When she turned and looked at He Changdi, a sense of grievance fell upon her.
“He Changdi, I can’t… I can’t give birth to our child… I don’t have any strength left…”
That frail tone from his wife was like a hand squeezing hard on He Changdi’s heart. All of his emotions were laid bare on his cool and handsome as he reached out to stroke Chu Lian’s sweat-covered face, “Lian’er, don’t give up! I’ll stay by your side and watch as our child is born! Once he comes out, I’ll scold him for you, okay?”
For some people, when they were suffering, their loved ones’ reassurance might bring tears instead.
Chu Lian was one of those. When she saw that He Changdi had come to her side, the melancholy stored in her heart all came flooding out at once. Tears streaked uncontrollably down her cheeks.
“He Changdi… But… It hurts, it hurts like I’m about to di-”
Before she could finish her words, He Changdi pressed two fingers to her lips, “Lian’er, don’t say that. What did you promise me last time? You said that you would be with me forever, have you forgotten already?”
Chu Lian pressed her lips together, enduring the immense pain her body was in to focus her gaze on the man before her.
He Changdi didn’t wait for her reply and put his arm in front of Chu Lian’s lips, “Lian’er, be good for me. Listen to the midwife. If it hurts, just bite me.”
As if He Changdi’s sudden arrival had returned her courage, Chu Lian shut her eyes briefly and had a short break. Finally, she complied with the midwife’s instructions and pushed even harder. Even so, the birth was hard. Under the protection of Physician Li, Chu Lian still fainted once more. After that, they gave her the medicinal soup that Great Doctor Miao had already prepared.
After going through a whole night of hellish torture, when the first tendrils of daylight showed over the horizon, the little baby in Chu Lian’s belly safely arrived in the world.
The moment she heard the baby’s hearty cries, Chu Lian finally drifted off to sleep out of exhaustion.
Senior Servants Gui and Zhong both rejoiced inwardly upon seeing the lower half of the newborn baby.
It was a young master!
The midwife quickly brought the newborn over to a basin nearby and washed him clean, before bundling him into a large red blanket. When all was done, she handed over the little fellow to Senior Servant Gui to hold.
Wenqing had already gone out to report the good news.
Senior Servant Gui brought their young master over to He Changdi, who was still sitting by the bedside, and exclaimed happily, “Master, it’s a young heir! Congratulations, Master!”
The midwife and maidservants in the room chimed in with their own congratulations.
However, He Changdi was still watching the sound asleep Chu Lian with a dark expression. There were still strands of hair stuck to her sweaty face, so he lovingly helped her to tuck them back behind her ear.
His response to Senior Servant’s Gui was a cold one, “Bring the child out to his nursemaid. Get Great Doctor Miao to come in and look after Lian’er.”
The midwife had helped plenty of noblewomen give birth. This was her very first time seeing a father who only cared for his wife and didn’t even glance at their child.
Furthermore, the child was a boy! If it had been any other man, they would have been elated beyond belief.
Senior Servants Gui and Zhong muttered inwardly to themselves. Their young heir was so cute, but his father didn’t even want to look at him! He didn’t have any taste at all. However, they didn’t’ dare to disobey orders in front of He Changdi.
The two senior servants could only carry the new heir out to find his nursemaid.
He Changdi watched as Great Doctor Miao took Chu Lian’s pulse. The moment the doctor put down Chu Lian’s wrist, he hurriedly asked, “Uncle Miao, how is Lian’er’s body?”
Great Doctor Miao had seen how He Changdi only had eyes for Chu Lian and her health, he hadn’t even glanced at his own child after becoming a father for the first time. Since he was satisfied with He Changdi’s attitude, he didn’t try to scare him.
“Rest assured, Marquis. She’s only sleeping because she used up too much strength. There won’t be any negative effects from this, especially if she eats a few rounds of my special medicine. However, since she’s so young and her body suffered a bout of ill health previously, I’m afraid she won’t be able to feed the child normally.”
Great Doctor Miao’s meaning was clear. Chu Lian wasn’t allowed to breastfeed her child. However, since they had hired two nursemaids, they wouldn’t have to worry about the heir going hungry.
He Changdi stood up to see Great Doctor Miao out of the room. When Great Doctor Miao got up, he caught sight of He Changdi’s rolled up sleeve which exposed the bites covering his forearm. The bites were so deep that they were bleeding. It was clear that those had been made by Chu Lian during the birth.
