Chapter 82.2 Eighteenth Kiss

***********************

Sure enough, as Yu Yuan had said, Yan Mu could feel the tension among the common people over the next few days.

Now it was hard to see pedestrians on the once bustling streets, and when there was the occasional person, they were only coming out to stock up on food supplies.

For safety, Yan Mu moved back to the Second Prince’s residence.

Both Green River Bookstore and Pear Blossom Pavilion had already closed.

Advertisements

Yan Mu hadn’t seen Yu Yuan for a long time.

She sighed a little despondently, and listlessly played five-in-a-row with Ah Yu.

“Yan jiejie, I won again,” Ah Yu said, but there was no joy in his voice.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Twy Vkdt oyvnble vblx rzyu nblpp cu vbl pkel, yzps zssjkdt zkpvzlpp.

“Zswa Zyd fklfkl kp osaakle ycswv Nsae Zw. Ohld kq pbl rzyup y bwdeale tyxlp okvb usw, pbl’zz pvkzz zspl,” Twy Vkdt pyke, obkzl bszekdt y byde oyaxla.

“Twy Vkdt, yald’v usw yzps osaakle ycswv Ck Oa?” Zyd Yw pktble.

Twy Vkdt qsanle y pxkzl.

Tla clzzu oyp rlaqlnvzu aswde, alhlyzkdt vbyv pbl oyp yzalyeu zyvl kd bla raltdydnu.

Fbl xktbv’hl tsvvld raltdydv clqsal xyaakytl, cwv qsavwdyvlzu, vbl rlsrzl kd vbkp lay olal xsal srld-xkdele, ps vblu’e fwpv dllele vs bsze y oleekdt nlalxsdu vs xyjl wr qsa kv.

Gzvbswtb Twy Vkdt bye clld xyaakle qsa sdzu qswa vs qkhl xsdvbp, bla clzzu oyp ps bwtl vbyv kv zssjle zkjl pbl nswze tkhl ckavb ydu eyu dso.

Tsolhla, Twy Vkdt kdpkpvle vbyv pbl oyp sdzu plhld xsdvbp raltdydv, yde pvkzz qya qasx vbl elzkhlau eyvl.

“Don’t worry too much. The Emperor’s health has been poor these days, and all the imperial physicians have been summoned to the palace,” Yan Mu sighed.

Advertisements

“Mmm,” Hua Ping nodded, somewhat absent-mindedly.

“Yan jiejie, will you and Yu Yuan have kids in the future?” Ah Yu asked all of a sudden.

“Huh?”

Yan Mu was caught off guard by Ah Yu’s question, and her face turned red.

Fortunately, Father Yan’s room was near the flower nursery. Otherwise, if he’d heard, she would’ve had to endure his nagging.

Hearing Ah Yu’s question, Hua Ping’s mood seemed to improve, and her eyes sparkled with gossip.

“It’s still early.” Yan Mu covered her face, “We’ll only be married after the New Year.”

“Let me tell you, you have to be careful with men.” Hua Ping suddenly leaned over and whispered, “Actually, I didn’t plan to get married so early, but I accidentally…… you mustn’t be like me.”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t seen Yu Yuan for a long time, so there won’t be a baby appearing out of nowhere,” Yan Mu laughed and said. “If we do have children in the future, I’ll definitely let you be their godmother.”

Ah Yu, being a mischievous child, immediately caught onto the main point, “What about me? What about me?”

“Ah Yu will be the baby’s godbrother,” Yan Mu tapped Ah Yu’s little nose.

Ah Yu instantly laughed happily.

Advertisements

“But it’s really hard for me to imagine that the cold-faced Lord Yu actually has a fiancée,” Hua Ping sighed, “No matter how I look at him, I still think Lord Yu is very fierce.”

Yan Mu thought back for a moment, then shared a few interesting anecdotes with Hua Ping.

Hua Ping laughed as she listened, and exclaimed that Yu Yuan had two different faces, one in public and one in private.

However, as she laughed, her face suddenly turned pale.

“Stomach…… my stomach……” A cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

“But aren’t you only seven months along?” Yan Mu sent Ah Yu away and lifted Hua Ping’s skirt to check.

The hem of Hua Ping’s skirt was wet. It didn’t look like blood, but more likely amniotic fluid.

“I don’t know. Yan Mu, it hurts so bad……” Hua Ping and Qi Er were both first-time parents, so they didn’t know much about these things.

She was in so much pain that her voice sounded like she was crying.

“You.” Yan Mu pointed at the stunned maidservant beside them and said seriously, “Go invite the maidservants and older maidservants in the residence who are experienced in childbirth, and have someone prepare several buckets of hot water.”

The young maidservant trembled with fear and quickly nodded before running outside.

There was another maidservant standing helplessly by the side. Yan Mu asked her to gather some people to look for a physician and midwife outside.

Advertisements

However, due to the chaotic court situation, many shops on the streets were closed, and even with the name of the Second Prince’s Residence, it was uncertain whether they could find a physician and midwife.

Moreover, Hua Ping was going into labor prematurely, so the young couple was totally unprepared.

“Yan Mu, do you think I’ll die?” Hua Ping’s face had turned pale from the pain.

“No, you won’t. I remember seeing the women in the village giving birth when I was young, and they all experienced pain at the beginning,” Yan Mu reassured her.

She’d never had a baby either, but she had learned some physiology knowledge before.

Yan Mu knew that before giving birth, the cervix would need to dilate before the actual delivery process began.

Yan Mu tried her best to remember what she knew.

Hua Ping was in so much pain that she wanted to lie down on the bed, but Yan Mu stopped her.

“You need to walk around for a while,” Yan Mu said patiently, as she supported Hua Ping.

Despite the intense pain, Hua Ping still did as she was told out of her trust in Yan Mu.

Thankfully the expecting woman was cooperative.

Yan Mu also took a plate of pastries to Hua Ping.

Advertisements

“There should still be some time before you give birth, so you need to eat something to keep up your strength,” Yan Mu said.

Hua Ping followed her instructions.

She ate two full plates.

After finishing them, the young maidservant returned with the others.

Yan Mu estimated that it was about time for Hua Ping to stop walking. After all, she was only an “unskilled midwife,” and she didn’t want anything to go wrong at such a critical moment. So she helped Hua Ping onto her own bed.

“Wuu, wuu, wuu, isn’t it bad luck for me to give birth on your bed……” Hua Ping said.

“What nonsense are you talking about? That’s all feudal superstition,” Yan Mu didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. “Besides, I’m the baby’s aunt. I’ll just consider it as them rolling on my bed in advance.”

The older maidservants and maids took turns assessing Hua Ping’s condition, and all said it didn’t look good.

“Miss Yan, the fetus is too big, it’s better to have a physician and midwife present,” an older maidservant said as she wiped her sweat.

Just then, another maid hurried back.

“Miss Yan, none of the shops on the streets were open. I knocked on their doors with the guards, and even mentioned that we were from the Second Prince’s residence, but no one responded,” the young maidservant was on the verge of tears.

Yan Mu was also anxious.

She hesitated repeatedly, then finally said with gritted teeth, “Go and prepare, I will enter the palace now.”

Since they couldn’t find a physician or midwife from outside, she had no choice but to invite a physician from the palace.

The Empress was clear-headed on matters of importance, so considering that it was Chu Cong’s trusted subordinate’s wife who was giving birth, she probably wouldn’t ignore it.

“Yan Mu!” Hua Ping exclaimed in surprise.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll bring an imperial physician here to see you as soon as I can,” Yan Mu struggled to put on a smile.

“B-but the Eldest Prince……” Hua Ping was slightly gasping from pain as she spoke, “Yan Mu, don’t go.”

“……”

Yan Mu was silent for a while, then she went forward to hold Hua Ping’s hand.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Yan Mu said as she put on her coat. “I’m the child’s aunt. Once the baby is born, I’ll give him a hard smack on the butt for tormenting his mother in the womb.”

Hua Ping couldn’t help but feel amused by Yan Mu’s teasing, but she was too worried about Yan Mu’s safety and couldn’t laugh.

In the end, she could only watch Yan Mu leave.

**************************

Yan Mu’s entry into the palace was quite smooth.

Just as she had expected, once the Empress heard that it was Chu Cong’s trusted subordinate’s wife, she appointed an imperial physician for her.

The Empress even assigned more than ten guards to protect Yan Mu.

The physician assigned to Yan Mu by the Empress was none other than Imperial Physician Liu.

Yan Mu hurriedly led Imperial Physician Liu towards the Second Prince’s residence.

“Imperial Physician Liu, you know the Eldest Prince’s Side Imperial Consort, don’t you?” Yan Mu suddenly asked.

“You’re very clever.” Imperial Physician Liu didn’t deny it, “Her Highness the Side Imperial Consort is my daughter. Her real name is Liu¹ Tian².”

“And that string of beads, you were the one who took it, right?” Yan Mu had already guessed Imperial Physician Liu’s answer.

“It was me,” Imperial Physician Liu sighed and said, “Back then, I only hoped for mother and son to be reunited. Who would’ve known that Tiantian³, that child……”

“Tiantian was born in our later years. My wife and I spoiled her since she was young, so she had been undisciplined and out of control from a young age.” Imperial Physician Liu seemed to be immersed in a certain memory, “That day, she said she wanted to go on a spring outing and snuck out. But then, there was no more news of her. Back then, my wife was so worried that she became bedridden and passed away not long after.”

“After a long time, Tiantian finally came back. She told me everything and used my connections to enter the Eldest Prince’s mansion. However, since last time, things have been strained between us.” Imperial Physician Liu sighed and said, “It was then that I found out that she hadn’t used her medical skills on the right path……”

“Let’s not talk about this.” Imperial Physician Liu’s mood seemed a little low. “Don’t worry, I never get involved in factional disputes, I won’t harm your friend.”

Yan Mu nodded.

She believed his final words. After all, the Empress wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. If Imperial Physician Liu had any collusion with the Eldest Prince, the Empress would have discovered it long ago.

Silence fell inside the carriage, until it came to a sudden stop.

Yan Mu and Imperial Physician Liu hurriedly grabbed onto the carriage wall to steady themselves.