Chapter Fifty: The Empress Has a Difficult Labor

Upon hearing Qingman's report, Tang Yurong lifted her head slightly, her gaze falling upon the book of scriptures. In a tranquil tone, she commanded, "Bring it here for me to see."

Tang Yurong cast a casual glance over the pages. The handwriting was neat, elegant, and the strokes were firm and clear. Indeed, the scriptures carefully and earnestly copied by Wei Yanqiao were far more pleasing to the eye than those hastily and carelessly scribbled.

Suddenly, Tang Yurong's attention was caught by several red spots on the scriptures. Leaning in for a closer look, she realized to her astonishment that they were a few drops of dried blood! "What is the meaning of this?"

Qingman feigned an expression of equal shock. After a moment of hesitation, she ventured a guess, "Perhaps... these are drops of blood that accidentally fell onto the paper when Miss Wei was being punished a few days ago while transcribing the scriptures?" Then, wearing a sudden look of dread, she murmured anxiously, "Your Majesty, blood staining the sacred texts is an ominous sign indeed..."

A wave of intense revulsion surged through Tang Yurong's heart. Without the slightest hesitation, she reached out, grabbed the blood-stained pages, and hurled them fiercely onto the floor, snapping harshly, "How utterly inauspicious! Quickly rid my sight of these filthy things!"

"At once, Your Majesty!" Qingman hastily acknowledged. She quickly crouched down to gather the fallen papers from the floor and carefully carried them out.

Time slipped away swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

On this particular night, the atmosphere within the entire Jiaofang Palace abruptly turned tense and anxious—the Empress was about to give birth!

Tang Yurong's face was as pale as paper, and beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down continuously, drenching her glossy, raven hair. She struggled in agony upon the bed, letting out occasional moans of pain.

Huiyu, half-mad with anxiety, shouted out urgent commands, "Where is the imperial physician? Summon Physician Zhu immediately!"

Standing nearby, Qingman did not dare to delay for even a split second. "I will go at once!" she replied, before darting away like an arrow released from a taut bow.

Turning back, Huiyu raised her voice in frantic desperation, "Where are the midwives? Why are they not here yet?"

Three or four midwives rushed hurriedly into the chamber, trotting all the way to the bedside.

"You women, go quickly and prepare more hot water!" Huiyu directed the attendants, her breathing coming in ragged gasps.

Zhu Yun arrived in hurried steps. Knowing all too well that a woman's first childbirth was often the most perilous and difficult, he dared not lower his guard. Just in case, he swiftly withdrew a packet of medicine from his tunic, handed it to Qingman, and instructed earnestly, "Hurry and brew a bowl of labor-inducing decoction for Her Majesty. Remember, it must be brewed thick before you bring it over."

Receiving the medicinal packet with both hands, Qingman felt as though her heart was about to leap out of her throat, hammering violently against her ribs. Ever since she had received her assignment from Wei Yanqiao, a full half-month had elapsed, yet she had never found a suitable opportunity to strike. The bowl of labor-inducing medicine before her was undoubtedly her final chance to fulfill her mission—she could not afford to miss it!

When the medicine was finally brewed, Qingman cast a cautious glance around her. Making certain that no one was near, she swiftly fished a small, pre-prepared packet of medicinal powder from her sleeve. With slightly trembling hands, she carefully opened the small parcel and emptied every last grain of the powder into the labor-inducing broth.

Having finished this deed, Qingman pressed a hand tightly against her chest, trying to calm her wildly racing heart, which hammered from tension and fear. After a brief moment to steady her nerves, she picked up the tainted bowl of medicine and walked briskly away.

Inside and outside the bedchamber, people bustled to and fro. Maids and eunuchs hurried about, every single one of them wearing a grave and expectant expression. From within the delivery room came waves of agonizing groans, plunging those waiting outside into an even deeper state of anxious turmoil.

Qingman carefully carried the steaming bowl of medicine to the bedside. "Senior Attendant Huiyu, the labor-inducing decoction that Physician Zhu ordered for Her Majesty is ready!"

Huiyu hurriedly reached out to take the bowl from Qingman's hands, while Qingman offered a look of acute anxiety, urging, "Senior Attendant Huiyu, you must feed this to Her Majesty quickly! Physician Zhu gave strict instructions that Her Majesty must drink this immediately. Once she takes it, she will soon be able to safely deliver the young prince!"

From the moment Huiyu took the bowl of soup from her hands, Qingman's eyes never left it once. Her eyes wide, she stared fixedly at the vessel as her heart thudded like a war drum. Her hands clenched unconsciously into tight fists, her palms breaking out in a cold sweat, terrified beyond measure that Huiyu might inspect the ingredients of the medicine.

At that moment, Huiyu's sole desire was for Tang Yurong to safely deliver her child as swiftly as possible; she had no spare attention for anything else. Upon seeing Tang Yurong's pale, bloodless, and utterly exhausted face, a pang of deep distress and urgency clutched at her heart. Without the slightest hesitation, she brought the bowl of medicine to Tang Yurong's lips and coaxed gently, "Your Majesty, this is the labor-inducing medicine. Physician Zhu said that once you drink it, the little prince will soon be born."

Perhaps the agonizing process of labor had worn down her resistance, but Tang Yurong clenched her teeth, endured the pain, and drained the entire bowl of medicine to the very last drop.

As the final drop of the liquid slid down her throat, Tang Yurong collapsed limply onto the bed, as if every ounce of strength had been drained from her body. She closed her eyes tightly, her brows furrowed deeply, while beads of sweat continued to roll down from her forehead to soak the pillow. At this moment, she was not only utterly exhausted in body, but also being tortured to the brink of death by the relentless, violent cramps tearing through her abdomen.

Qingman, who had been watching anxiously from the side throughout Tang Yurong's ingestion of the medicine, felt a heavy weight lift from her chest once the bowl was emptied. Even so, she dared not lower her guard or show the slightest carelessness. To ensure absolute perfection and eliminate any future trouble, she needed to find a way to properly dispose of the bowl that had held the drug as soon as possible.

Seeing that Tang Yurong had finished drinking with great difficulty, Huiyu casually set the empty bowl back onto the tray held in Qingman's hands.

Without lingering for a single second, Qingman turned and hurried out the door.

She made her way swiftly to a deserted corner, smashed the bowl, and tossed the fragments into a pond. Then, she returned to the kitchen, retrieved a brand-new bowl from the cupboard, and walked over to where the medicinal pot sat. Opening the lid, she emptied the leftover herbal dregs from inside into the new bowl. In this way, at a casual glance, this fresh bowl looked precisely like the one Tang Yurong had just used.

Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, Qingman returned to the bedchamber.

The moment she stepped across the threshold, she was greeted by the sound of Tang Yurong's escalating, piercing screams. The cries were heart-rending and horrifying, enough to make one's hair stand on end.

Hearing such dreadful sounds, the imperial physicians waiting outside turned pale. Exchanging glances, they all understood the grim reality: judging by the current situation, Tang Yurong was facing a difficult labor!

Zhu Yun's face filled with panic, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "How can this be? Her Majesty's pregnancy has been under my personal care the entire time! During every previous pulse diagnosis, the fetal position was extremely proper, the prenatal Qi was robust, and this is a full-term natural delivery. By all rights, a difficult labor should never occur!"

Driven to the edge of panic, Zhu Yun raised his voice and roared, "Has the Empress's labor-inducing soup not been prepared yet?!"

Hearing this, Huiyu hurried to reply, "That labor-inducing soup was given to Her Majesty to drink an hour ago!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yun's expression darkened further. "So much time has passed—by all logic, the medicine should have taken effect by now!" His brow furrowing deeply, he made a prompt decision and commanded, "No, time is critical! Hurry and fetch another bowl!"

Receiving the order, Qingman did not dare to stall. She trotted away immediately to ladle out a fresh bowl of the labor-inducing decoction. This time, walking openly and without the slightest concealment, she strode right past Zhu Yun.

Sure enough, Zhu Yun stopped her without hesitation, inspected the medicine in the bowl thoroughly, and nodded with reassurance only after confirming everything was in order. "Very well, this is indeed the correct medicine. Take it inside to Her Majesty at once."

Granted permission, Qingman quickened her pace into the inner chamber, handing the steaming bowl of medicine to Huiyu.

Huiyu took the broth and once more fed it to Tang Yurong.

By this time, Tang Yurong had been tortured to the point of utter exhaustion by the pain, her limbs so limp and weak that she no longer had any energy left to struggle. Meanwhile, the midwives inside the delivery room, realizing the direness of the situation, scurried about like ants on a hot pan, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Your Majesty, you must muster your strength! Push, you must push now!"

Watching Tang Yurong's face, twisted and rendered hideous by agony, Qingman’s eyes welled up with tears. Overcome with sudden grief, she wailed aloud, "Oh, Your Majesty, surely you are suffering from a bloody calamity! A few days ago, when this humble maid happened to lay eyes on that blood-stained book of scriptures, a premonition of misfortune stirred in my heart. It is all my fault—I should never, ever have presented those blood-stained scriptures for Your Majesty to inspect a few days ago! It must be because of my transgression that Your Majesty has met with this terrible tribulation and brought down this dreadful bloody disaster upon yourself!"

Though Tang Yurong was currently being tormented to the brink of death by excruciating pain and had reached the limit of her endurance, every single word spoken by Qingman rang out clearly in her ears. Hearing Qingman bring up the blood-stained scriptures, Tang Yurong involuntarily recalled the sight of them when they were first presented to her. Could it be that those scriptures had truly summoned such a catastrophic disaster upon her, exactly as Qingman claimed?

She clenched her fists tightly. She had to deliver the child safely! Once her baby was born, she would make Wei Yanqiao pay dearly!

Huiyu, overhearing these remarks, arched her brows in fury and snapped harshly, "Cease this wild and reckless babbling! Could it be that you are actually wishing misfortune upon Her Majesty? Get out of here immediately and slap your own face as punishment!"

Trembling from head to foot with fright, Qingman stammered submissively, "Yes..."

She then scurried out into the courtyard, dropped to her knees, and began relentlessly slapping her own face with sharp, crisp smacks.

Inside the delivery room, the midwives were in a state of utter chaos, panicked like ants on a hot pan, as they shrieked at the top of their lungs, "This is bad! Her Majesty has lost her strength!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yun ordered urgently, "Quick, quick, quick! Hurry and force a bowl of ginseng soup down Her Majesty's throat so she can barely hang onto her breath and maintain a glimmer of spirit!"

At that precise moment, a high-pitched shout rang out from the entrance: "His Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone inside the room scrambled to drop to their knees in unison, paying homage and offering greetings to the hurriedly approaching Xiao Ceyun.

With an anxious expression, Xiao Ceyun demanded urgently, "What is the situation inside? Has the Empress delivered safely yet?"

This was the first child he had longed for so desperately. He cherished this impending little life beyond measure, and since it was born of the Empress, he could lavish his boundless affection upon the child completely without reservation or restraint. At this moment, his heart was filled with fierce anticipation as he silently prayed for the Empress to safely bring his very firstborn into the world.