Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent! Chapter 1448: Premature Birth

The young servant said, "No wonder the eldest son wants to beat you up."

Being frugal by nature, the second son tolerated the pain for Miss Yu Die, which greatly irritated the eldest son and made his teeth itch with anger.

The completion of the autumn harvest alleviated Zhou Shuren’s pressure on food and fodder, but the reduction in grain production also caused the Emperor’s face to be full of worries.

As autumn rains ca and went, the weather cooled significantly.

In the evening, Zhulan curled up in her quilt and said, "My elder brother wrote that everything is fine, his only regret being that Wu Chun and Wu He didn’t get to kill any enemies."

Zhou Shuren’s hand-rubbing gesture paused, "The Yang family will not advance any further in the Northwest; this defense has already said it all—not just because of , but also due to Yang Wen’s influence in the Navy."

One could only choose one side, and evidently, the Yang family chose the Navy, resigning Wu Chun to this as his lot in life.

Zhulan understood; the Emperor did not wish the Zhou family to have military power, the Yang family was destined not to rise high, and later, when the Yang family sent children to the Navy, they had to choose between land and sea, which is why no one from the Yang family achieved battlefield rit this ti.

Zhulan changed the subject, "The temperature has dropped noticeably this year; who knows when the battle on both fronts will end."

Zhou Shuren said, "Dongbei is already clearing the battlefield, with so remnant Dongbei tribes surrendering or being killed; they have no strength left to resist."

"What about the battlefield on the grasslands?"

"The grasslands are too vast; so remaining groups have hidden away, but it doesn’t matter, they can be cleared out slowly, the military forces in the Northwest are reconvening."

Zhulan exhaled, "It’s finally coming to an end."

Zhou Shuren said, "Don’t be too happy too soon, there are many issues to follow up on, after clearing out the tribal leaders, we have to gather the tribal lands and people, there’s a lot of work to be done."

The next day, the Emperor did not attend the morning court, and the Crown Prince presided instead. Zhou Shuren and others exchanged glances; without major issues, the Emperor would not miss the morning court—the only significant matter in the palace was the Empress giving birth.

In the harem, the Empress had a premature birth, and it was no small feat for her to hold on until now, having started labor the previous night with an already weak constitution, the delivery was not going smoothly.

The Emperor sat in silence; he had already sent the concubines away, and as he listened to the cries, his heart sank. The Imperial Physician was shaking like a leaf, signaling that the Empress was in grave danger during this childbirth.

The Empress was already sowhat delirious, lacking even the strength to cry out.

The news of the Empress’s difficult labor spread out, and Prince Liang Residence was very quiet. Princess Liang knelt before Buddha praying for the Empress, hoping for a smooth delivery. Although Prince Liang’s Residence was protected by military rits, the misfortune befalling the Empress remained a thorn in the Emperor’s heart.

When Zhulan heard the news, she thought of Xue Han, who had suffered from frequent miscarriages, and she wondered if Xue Han would have a smooth delivery.

The entire capital awaited news from within the palace; if the Empress were to pass away, it would present a significant opportunity for the Concubines of the harem...

Approaching noon, news finally ca from within the palace: the Empress had given birth to a princess, and no other details were provided.

In the empress sleeping quarters, the Empress had a severe postpartum hemorrhage, and although she was saved, it further affected her lifespan; this pregnancy and delivery had damaged her vitals.

The baby princess was also frail, and the Imperial Physician handled her with the utmost care, fearing any mishaps.

The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief; as long as the Empress was safe, that was what mattered, for the nation needed the Empress, the Crown Prince and the little princess needed their mother’s protection, and he himself needed the Empress to stabilize the harem. With the Empress ensuring peace in the harem, her absence would cause upheaval in both the harem and the imperial court.

The Emperor held the Empress’s hand; she was his wife, yet he had to consider court affairs first. He seed to see the image of the Empress marrying him, his hand shaking with the handkerchief, before finally gripping his wife’s hand tightly.

The next day, Zhulan, being well-inford, heard from Xue Han, who had returned from the palace, saying in a soft voice, "The Empress has not woken up."

Zhulan asked, "What does the Imperial Physician say?"

"The Imperial Physician thinks the Empress is just too tired; she should naturally wake up after enough rest. I heard from my mother that the Emperor watched over the Empress all night."

"The Emperor does have feelings for the Empress."

Xue Han also believed that, "But those feelings are secondary to the country."

The rest of the sentence went unsaid; Xue Han’s own father, the forr Emperor, had deeper feelings for her mother than the current Emperor for the Empress, yet what was the outco? Even before her father had stepped down, her mother had suffered quite a bit of grievance.

Zhulan sighed, "That’s considered quite all right."

Xue Han added, "I went to see the little princess, her cries are just like a kitten’s, the Imperial Physician is trembling with fear."

If the princess, the one the Empress fought desperately to keep alive, were to pass away, the Empress wouldn’t be able to bear it.

"I heard that Granny Wen from the Wen family entered the capital yesterday."

"Yeah, she is still staying in the palace."

"She’s waiting for the Empress to wake up."

"Hmm."

Zhulan asked again, "How do you feel?"

Touching her belly, Xue Han replied, "I’m feeling quite well. Ever since I returned to the capital, there has always been an Imperial Physician looking after , and I’ve been well taken care of."

In Zhangzhou Province, Liufeng is resting at ho, and even in his leisure, he is not idle, flipping through books on dicinal herbs. Yushuang ca in with a cup of tea, "You’ve been staring at books since the morning. Co, rest your eyes for a bit."

Liufeng stood up, "Ah, the autumn harvest has ended, but the lives of the people remain difficult."

"Hasn’t the county governnt already decided to open fields in the villages to cultivate dicinal herbs for next year?"

"That’s for next year, but presently we need to get through this winter. After handing over the harvest as tax, the people have little grain left, it’s going to be hard to endure the winter."

The silver earned from selling the dicinal herbs planted by the villages went into the county coffers, and the profits were decent. Having little silver to spare himself, he dared not use it, as there were many uses for silver in the county governnt.

Yushuang said, "Don’t worry too much, changing the status quo isn’t sothing that can be achieved overnight."

"I know."

With a smile, Yushuang said, "There’s pork rib and kelp soup for dinner tonight, your favorite."

The pork ribs were purchased, and the kelp was sent by his parents.

Liufeng laughed, "Well, that’s wonderful."

He had never eaten any seafood before he was formally engaged and only tasted it after staying at the Zhou family residence. He grew to like it from the first sip.

He considered whether so affordable dried seafood could be bought in the na of the county governnt and distributed to the villages when there was a shortage of grain.

The first snowfall of winter ca earlier than in previous years, and since its arrival, the snow had scarcely stopped. This winter was colder than the last.

The hostilities in Dongbei had ceased, yet Prince Liang didn’t return to the capital. The majority of the troops remained in Dongbei, stationed in the newly acquired territory.

Within the palace, the little princess survived. They didn’t hold the cleansing ceremony at three days of age, nor the full month celebration.

Zhulan visited the Empress once in the palace. The Empress was recuperating well, with a bit more color returning to her face.

As Xue Han’s belly grew larger day by day, all of Zhulan’s concern was focused on her, failing to notice the oddity in Liu Jia’s behavior,

Lady Li was even more careless and wouldn’t notice the little wife sighing from ti to ti while rubbing her belly.

One day, while Xue Han was visiting her parental ho, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her belly. Zhulan knocked over the tea in her hand, "Quick, clean up the room, go back to Qin Prince Residence to fetch the midwife, send soone to inform Prince Qin, and call for the Imperial Physician."

She was prepared for her daughter to give birth prematurely, but she didn’t expect it to happen at her maternal ho.

The room was quickly tidied. In this situation, they couldn’t send Xue Han back to the Qin Prince Residence; Zhulan followed her daughter into the room.

Xue Han felt an extraordinary pain; it was more intense than her previous two childbirths.