Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

Chapter 613 Premature birth

Emperor Shenwu and Lan Qingwu walked and played, stopping from time to time. Emperor Shenwu also took the opportunity to investigate the people's conditions and took Lan Qingwu to appreciate the beautiful scenery in the east of Dasheng.

They walked along the long street, experiencing different customs and cultures, and experiencing the scenery and food that were different from those in the imperial city and the border.

The most famous things in the East are the exquisite murals left over from ancient times. Legend has it that they are real and important events that happened in ancient times, which were carved by immortals using magic.

Lan Qingwu looked at these stunning murals, one of which was the mural of Empress Zhaoyan ending the "No Sun" disaster.

Emperor Shenwu explained to Lan Qingwu, "Don't you love Empress Zhaoyan's story the most? Look at this mural, it's lifelike, vivid, and exquisite. This is Empress Zhaoyan offering her three souls and seven spirits."

"This is the Human Emperor battling the Four-Horned Demonic Dragon. Look at this demonic dragon, standing tall and reaching into the clouds, lying horizontally like a mountain range. It's about to transform into a demonic dragon, wreaking havoc on the land. Every time it wakes up from a nap, it spews poisonous mist, causing great harm to the people around it. Within a radius of thousands of miles, there is no one living. The Human Emperor battled the Four-Horned Demonic Dragon, and after destroying it, he released one of the nine dragons that had been suppressed deep underground by the demonic dragon. He then used the Flower of Life to transform the demonic land that the demonic dragon had plagued into a blessed land with lush mountains and clear waters, suitable for human habitation!"

Emperor Shenwu explained to Lan Qingwu every mural he saw.

Lan Qingwu looked at the murals for several days with great interest, and then they came to the huge stone statue.

The stone statue is about six hundred feet tall. It is a man dressed in complicated white and blue clothes. He is noble and elegant, with gentle eyes. Wherever his eyes go, one can feel his gentle gaze.

Emperor Shenwu looked up at the stone statue and slowly bowed to show his respect.

"Legend has it that this is a stone statue transformed from a real person, solely to suppress the eye of the storm, which was conjured up by an ancient demonic beast!"

Lan Qingwu looked at the stone statue in surprise, then looked at Emperor Shenwu.

The Shenwu Emperor looked at the stone statue with an unfathomable expression. "From time to time, strong winds and even tornadoes emerged from the illusory eye of the storm. The eye grew larger and larger, and more and more people died. At that time, the human world was falling apart. Apart from the orthodox Yuan Dynasty, the human world was divided into more than a dozen small vassal states. These vassal states also produced extraordinary talents. This stone statue is the prince of one of these vassal states. It is said that he is good at selecting people, practicing benevolence and righteousness, and has a noble character. He is a rare opponent with opposing views that the Human Emperor respected! What a pity! At that time, the three realms were in chaos. Relying solely on benevolence and morality without flexibility could not end the chaos!"

"Because of his excessive benevolence and blind obedience to his tyrannical, suspicious, and ambitious father, the eye of the storm took root in his country. In a single night, countless civilians were killed and injured! Overwhelmed by the intense shock and guilt, the prince used forbidden techniques to transform himself into an immortal stone statue, completely suppressing the eye of the storm! After the storm subsided, he saved countless people, but his country was forever destroyed!"

The two men turned to the back of the stone statue, where there was a stone wall with the prince's life story and past achievements written on it.

Lan Qingwu looked at the Divine Martial Emperor and said softly, "I think he made that decision just to save more people. As for his country, he should have expected that the Human Emperor would eventually reunite the various vassal states!"

The Shenwu Emperor smiled and said, "You are right! The Human Emperor, grateful for his sacrifice, had his statue protected and did not mind the people offering him tributes! Many years later, the Human Emperor lived up to everyone's expectations and unified the entire human world!"

The two of them walked and stopped, and rested for a few days when they were tired. The seventh prince and the seventh princess looked at these ancient ruins in amazement.

The Seventh Prince sighed, "I want to draw this for my Crown Prince. It's such a shame that he can't come!"

The Seventh Princess also nodded: "Brother Crown Prince has definitely never seen the murals here. These stories are so interesting!"

Lan Qingwu and Emperor Shenwu stayed here for quite some time. As the weather grew colder, Emperor Shenwu prepared to slowly head towards the imperial city. The prince's first child was due in December, and they, as the father and the mother, had to be in the palace. After all, it would not be right for the emperor to be away at the end of the year.

He and Lan Qingwu made an appointment to travel out of the palace again when the spring came and the flowers bloomed.

Fortunately, they were hurrying towards the imperial city. When they had slowly traveled more than half of the way, Emperor Shenwu and Lan Qingwu received a secret letter from the prince. The letter said that the princess had given birth prematurely. It was a premature birth with a difficult labor. She suffered for two days and three nights before giving birth to a weak seven-month-old little grandson!

The Emperor Shenwu immediately ordered his men to hasten their journey. Lan Qingwu frowned deeply, wondering if the Crown Princess had been plotted against. That shouldn't be the case. There were only a few people in Dongde Palace, and the Crown Princess held a firm grip on power in the harem. The Crown Prince had always valued his eldest son and had made many arrangements.

Lan Qingwu made many guesses. A few days later, they hurried to the imperial city with carriages and horses running non-stop. When they entered the main gate of the palace, the prince was already standing there waiting, but his expression was really not looking good.

The Crown Prince quickly stepped forward and saluted. "Your son greets Father, the Emperor, and Mother, the Empress. Did you have a smooth journey? Mother, how is your health?"

Emperor Shenwu extended his hand to support him: "We are all fine. What happened to the Crown Princess?"

Lan Qingwu said, "Your Majesty, let's go and see it ourselves! We'll feel more at ease!"

The prince looked at Lan Qingwu and said, "Mother, don't you need to rest?"

Lan Qingwu shook his head: "No need, take me and your father to Dongde Palace first!"

Lan Qingwu went directly to Liangxu Palace to visit the Crown Princess, and Emperor Shenwu was welcomed into his main hall by the Crown Prince, who told him in detail about the Crown Princess's premature birth.

The seventh prince followed Emperor Shenwu directly, while the seventh princess followed Lan Qingwu to Liangxu Palace.

The Crown Princess of Liangxu Palace was still unable to move, having fallen into a deep sleep due to exhaustion. Lan Qingwu took a few glances at her and asked about her health. She learned that she had suffered a lot and needed to take good care of herself. Lan Qingwu frowned slightly and sighed in her heart. Being a royal daughter-in-law was not an easy job. She instructed the Crown Princess's wet nurse, "Just tell me what medicinal herbs you need. Let the Crown Princess take good care of herself. You don't need to worry about anything else!"

The Crown Princess's personal nanny quickly agreed, and Lan Qingwu said, "Take me to see the child."

There was chaos in the little prince's room. The doors and windows of the palace were closed tightly, not a breath of wind could get in. The premature baby didn't even have the strength to cry, and could only hum continuously. When Lan Qingwu walked in, the three or four imperial doctors who were surrounding him were whispering about something. They had heavy expressions, and it was clear that the situation was not optimistic.

Lan Qingwu walked in. The people in the room wanted to greet her, but she waved her hand. Her face was not looking good. The child was born prematurely, and perhaps even his internal organs were not mature yet. Lan Qingwu looked around and asked, "Doctor, do you have any good ideas?"

Several imperial doctors looked at each other, and one of them said, "Reporting to the Empress, we have to take good care of him! We have to find a way to make the little prince drink milk, otherwise..."

Lan Qingwu walked forward to look at the child. His limbs were extremely thin, and only his belly was slightly bulging. However, the skin on his belly was almost transparent, and clear blue blood vessels could be seen. Looking further inside...

Lan Qingwu quickly averted her gaze. She glanced at the imperial physician, realizing that even he might not have a good solution. She pondered for a moment before ordering, "Only two wet nurses should remain in the room. Everyone else should leave to let the child breathe some fresh air! The imperial physician should stay in the outer room and be available to see the patient at any time. Open all the windows to allow for air circulation!"

The Crown Princess's nanny, who came with Lan Qingwu, hesitated and said, "Empress, the child can't be exposed to the wind!"

Lan Qingwu glanced at her and said, "Do as I say. The window isn't facing the child. Find a few people to light a few more stoves around the inner room to ensure the temperature is higher. The adults won't feel cold, but the premature baby didn't stay in the mother's womb long enough, so he will feel cold. Now the child can't eat milk and has no strength to suck. Find the smallest spoon and feed him drop by drop! The four wet nurses will be divided into two groups and watch over the little grandson twelve hours a day according to my method. I will report to His Majesty and transfer four more wet nurses to take turns to take care of the child. Special circumstances require special treatment! Doctors, do you have any good suggestions or methods? Please let me know!"

The imperial doctors were worried. These few days were a critical period. Even if the child was born alive, it would be extremely difficult to raise him. A gust of wind, a few drops of rain, could kill him! If anything happened to the little grandson, they would be held responsible. Now that the Empress had laid out the specific rules, they felt they were feasible and bowed respectfully, saying, "That's great! As long as the little grandson can eat, we will keep an eye on him and see how he performs."

The Crown Princess's nanny's eyes turned red when she heard this. Looking at what happened afterwards, that meant...

Lan Qingwu nodded, "Then do it as soon as possible! The child is quite fragile, so let him stay in bed. The wet nurse doesn't need to worry about etiquette or anything like that. Just stay on the bed and watch over the child. Everything should be based on the little grandson! When the little grandson has the strength to nurse, don't worry, just feed him while he lies on the bed!"

"Imperial Physician, could the wet nurse possibly drink some tonic to strengthen her body? And turn it into milk for the little grandson to drink?"

The imperial physician's eyes lit up: "This method is good! It works!"

Lan Qingwu said, "Then please ask the imperial physicians to quickly come up with a tonic prescription suitable for the wet nurse. Hurry!"

The imperial doctors quickly responded.

Lan Qingwu also instructed on some details, such as sprinkling some wood ash in the corner and scalding all the child's personal items, especially clothing, with boiling water and drying them in the sun before use! This also included the wet nurses who were close to the little emperor's grandson. This was because the child had no natural resistance, and Lan Qingwu tried to educate them as much as possible, creating a relatively warm and sterile environment for the little emperor.

At more than seven months old, it is not too young. We have all the top resources, including imperial physicians, wet nurses, and medicinal materials. It just depends on whether this child can survive.

Lan Qingwu looked at how the palace had returned to order and everyone knew what they had to do, so he turned and left for the main hall of Dongde Palace.

Only after Lan Qingwu had seen the Crown Princess and her son did he have time to find out what had happened.

Lan Qingwu was speechless after hearing the prince's retelling. Actually, the story wasn't that complicated. The prince had simply become interested and taken Concubine Ma to the racecourse. The princess was bored staying in her own palace, so she begged the prince to take her along, saying she would stay on the platform and just watch the prince ride. The prince then brought Concubine Jiang, who was just three months pregnant, along as well. The two of them were indeed bored staying in the palace every day to protect the fetus.

Normally, the Crown Princess and Concubine Jiang would not leave the stage and just watch, so there would be no danger whatsoever. However, a horse was startled on the racecourse that day. The horse ran around recklessly, smashing into some stables, hurdles and other buildings on the racecourse, causing terrible damage. In particular, a wooden house built at the southernmost end of the racecourse collapsed with a loud bang due to the crazy horse!

Of course, the crazy horse was quickly subdued by the Xuanyu Guards. The prince immediately ordered people to investigate what was going on with the crazy horse. He had just been thankful that there were no casualties, but the princess on the platform was shocked and frightened. She was so nervous that she had abdominal pain and then her amniotic fluid broke.

The Crown Prince frowned tightly. "My son didn't expect this. The Crown Princess is supposed to be more than seven months pregnant, and the fetus is stable. The mad horse was eight feet away from her, and she was surrounded by a bunch of servants. How could she..."

The prince's face darkened every time he thought of her. How could she be so inexperienced? The imperial physician said it was because the princess was too concerned about the baby in her belly and was too nervous and frightened. The prince had to comfort the pale princess in a gentle manner, but in fact, he was in a very gloomy mood.

"What's more, there was Concubine Jiang, who was just three months pregnant, standing next to her. Concubine Jiang's child was safe and sound, and nothing happened to her at all. The shock from the mad horse wasn't as great as the one the Crown Princess had suffered from the miscarriage! When the Crown Princess saw that things were not going well, Concubine Jiang, who was standing next to her, was terrified. She was afraid that her son would suspect her, so she quickly took a few steps back and kept asking her son for forgiveness afterwards! I..."

The prince didn’t know what to say. How could he feel better?

Lan Qingwu didn't know what else to say, so she could only repeat her instructions for the arrangements for the little prince. The prince listened carefully and nodded hurriedly, "Thank you for your hard work, mother! I've remembered everything."

Lan Qingwu comforted the prince, "Since the child has already been born, we should do our best to keep him alive! Don't overthink it. The Crown Princess usually handles everything well. This time, she's just too concerned about the child in her belly and has become a little timid. It's not a big deal. Treat her well, and you should comfort her!"

The prince nodded in agreement.

Emperor Shenwu spoke at this time: "Empress, Concubine Jiang has also suffered an unexpected disaster. Please go and comfort her! Xiaoqi, Yueyue, you stay with your mother!"

Lan Qingwu thought about it and stood up again. Concubine Jiang must be feeling very worried at this moment. The Crown Princess had such an accident, but her child was safe and sound in her belly. She was most afraid of comparison in everything. If something happened to the Crown Princess's legitimate son, while Concubine Jiang's own child was born safe and healthy in the future, the Crown Princess would probably hate Concubine Jiang to death!

Even if this matter had nothing to do with Concubine Jiang, that was human nature! Furthermore, in the imperial palace, where class divisions were strictly enforced, if the mistress constantly held a grudge against her, how could Concubine Jiang have a good life?

After Lan Qingwu left, the Shenwu Emperor looked at the somewhat exhausted Crown Prince and began to instruct him, "My son, don't worry too much. Just let this child live well. We will do our best! The Crown Princess has already given birth to your eldest legitimate son as a son born with an incomplete womb. That's all we can do. Just take good care of him! This only proves that he is not the heir to the throne with the bloodline of the Human Emperor! Whether other concubines become pregnant later, or whether the Crown Princess becomes pregnant, don't be obsessed! In short, you can't have only him as your child! If you really want a legitimate son, wait until the Crown Princess recovers. Only when the mother is healthy can the child be healthy!"

The Crown Prince's expression brightened considerably. "Father, what I'm saying is that I expected too much from this eldest son. That's why I couldn't accept this kind of thing! Now that I understand, it's just like Uncle An. He's also the eldest son, but he's not good enough! He doesn't have the bloodline or talent of the Human Emperor!"

Emperor Shenwu nodded, and the prince's previous gloom was swept away, and his heart felt much more relaxed!