boyutpedia Chapter 257 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 11
Chapter 257 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 11
Song's pregnancy was not well taken care of, and she had to call the family doctor every few days.
The physician informed them that Lady Song was quite old and needed careful care. The Fujin (principal wife) was always virtuous and kind, so she excused Lady Song from the formal greetings.
However, with two princesses pregnant at the same time, to avoid favoritism, Fang Nanxi, taking advantage of Princess Song's pregnancy, stopped visiting the main courtyard to pay her respects after five months of pregnancy. In total, she only paid her respects for three months.
In February, just after the funeral of the Second Prince was held in the mansion, Madam Song suddenly went into premature labor. She was only eight months pregnant at the time.
Upon receiving the news, Fang Nanxi immediately packed her things and headed to Guilan Courtyard. When she arrived, the Fujin (principal wife) had already arrived.
The princess frowned, looking at Fang Nanxi's protruding belly, who was almost seven months pregnant.
After Fang Nanxi bowed to the Fujin and Li Shi, the Fujin said directly, "Alright, Fang Shi, you're feeling unwell, go back now."
Li looked exhausted; after all, losing a son is something no one can easily accept. Recently, Li has refrained from causing trouble.
Xingluo carefully helped Fang Nanxi up, and Fang Nanxi gently thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Madam."
After expressing her gratitude, Fang Nanxi ignored Song Shi's painful cries from inside Guilan Courtyard and turned to leave.
Xingluo didn't understand at all and muttered, "Princess, you shouldn't have come at all. You're so pregnant, even if you didn't come, the Princess Consort wouldn't have said anything."
"Don't talk nonsense. Even if the Princess Consort is kind, the proper etiquette cannot be neglected, otherwise people in the mansion will gossip." Fang Nanxi scolded Xingluo in a low voice.
Xiao Lengzi and Xiao Linzi led the way, Qiu Zhu followed behind Fang Nanxi, and Xing Luo supported Fang Nanxi. This was the first time Fang Nanxi had brought so many people on a trip.
After returning to Shaoguang Courtyard, Fang Nanxi didn't pay much attention to Song's premature birth and instructed Qiushuang to fetch lunch.
Song's childbirth process was extremely difficult, lasting a full day and night before she finally gave birth to a sickly little princess.
According to Xiao Lengzi's inquiries, the imperial physician concluded that the child would be difficult to raise. After returning to the manor, the Fourth Prince immediately went to visit Madam Song and instructed the imperial physician to do everything possible to save her.
The next day, the Fourth Prince came to Shaoguang Courtyard. Looking at Fang Nanxi, he looked somewhat downcast and said with emotion, "Third Princess is too weak. Nanxi, you must take good care of yourself during your pregnancy and give me a healthy child."
Fang Nanxi rolled her eyes where the Fourth Prince couldn't see, inwardly complaining that he only came to her for comfort. But on the surface, she still said worriedly, "Don't be too sad, Your Highness. With the imperial physician taking care of her, the Third Princess will definitely get better."
"I hope so." Fourth Master didn't have much hope for Third Princess.
This was not the first time he had lost a child. The eldest princess born to Song, Hongpan and Hongyun born to Li, Honghui born to Fujin, and many other children who could not be born safely all caused him great pain.
Fang Nanxi quickly changed the subject; she didn't want Fourth Master to keep thinking about Song Shi and let it affect his mood.
Fourth Master spent the afternoon at Shaoguang Courtyard, and returned to the front courtyard at night.
In mid-February, the Third Princess passed away due to her frail health. Apart from Madam Song and the Fourth Prince, who were somewhat saddened, the other women in the inner quarters did not seem to care about the matter.
After that, Fourth Master often came to Fang Nanxi's place for comfort during the day, and Fang Nanxi also hoped that Fourth Master would come to Shaoguang Courtyard more often, since a child's growth cannot be separated from the company of his father.
In mid-April, Fang Nanxi and her fetus were both healthy and did not have premature births like the other women in the mansion.
When the due date arrived, the Fourth Prince was a little worried. In the past, most women in the manor gave birth after eight or nine months. It was extremely rare for Fang Nanxi to be pregnant for nearly ten months. Even the Third Prince was born after more than nine months.
The Fourth Prince specially invited the imperial physician to examine Fang Nanxi's pulse, and the reply was that everything was normal and Fang Nanxi was in good health.
That day, before lunchtime, Fang Nanxi felt a bloating in her abdomen, so she instructed Xingluo to boil water in preparation for a bath. In ancient times, women were not allowed to bathe during postpartum confinement, and she simply couldn't bear it.
Fang Nanxi's water broke right after she finished bathing. She frowned and said to Xingluo, "Xingluo, I'm afraid I'm going into labor."
Although this was Xingluo's first time experiencing something like this, Fang Nanxi had given her relevant training beforehand. Xingluo panicked for a moment, but then calmly made arrangements. She first sent Xiao Lengzi to inform the Fujin (principal wife).
Xingluo helped Fang Nanxi to the delivery room, but the midwife had not yet arrived. Fang Nanxi endured the pain and slowly moved around in the delivery room.
After the midwife arrived and examined Fang Nanxi, she was taken into the delivery room and lay down. The midwife looked at Fang Nanxi in surprise. She had thought that this princess, who was giving birth for the first time, would know nothing about childbirth, but she was surprised to find that Fang Nanxi was quite knowledgeable and was already five centimeters dilated.
Fang Nanxi asked Xingluo to bring her some food; she needed to replenish her strength, otherwise she wouldn't have the power to give birth. Taking advantage of the obstruction of her view while Xingluo was carrying the bowl, she ate a pill for a smooth delivery.
Fang Nanxi glanced at the two midwives. According to custom, two midwives would be arranged for a princess to give birth.
"Once I safely give birth to the little prince, I will reward you handsomely. If anything goes wrong..." Although Fang Nanxi had met these two before, she hadn't given them any loyalty pills and didn't know what they were thinking.
"Yes, I will do my best," the midwife replied, bowing her head.
Fang Nanxi didn't dare to completely trust them, so she had Qiu Shuang and Xing Luo keep an eye on them.
In the main courtyard, just as the Princess Consort finished her Buddhist prayers, Lanxin rushed to her and hurriedly said, "Princess Consort, Princess Fang is about to give birth."
The Princess Consort wasn't surprised, after all, Princess Fang was almost ten months pregnant. She asked Zhuying to quickly help her get ready, and then hurried to Shaoguang Courtyard.
Everything in Shaoguang Courtyard was in perfect order. The Fujin (principal wife) arrived first, as Shaoguang Courtyard was very close to the main courtyard. Before long, the other women from the back courtyard also arrived one after another.
Li remained calm, while Song still looked resentful and bitter; her third princess had only lived for half a month before dying.
Wu Xinyue's eyes were filled with jealousy. Last year, the Fourth Prince took her to Changchun Garden, and they spent five or six days together each month, but she still couldn't get pregnant. At this moment, she wished that Fang Nanxi would give birth to a sickly little princess like Song Shi.
The Princess Consort sat in the middle of the courtyard of Shaoguang Courtyard, turning the Buddhist prayer beads incessantly in her hand. The women in the mansion each had their own thoughts, but on the surface they all pretended to be worried.
After finishing his business, the Fourth Prince also came to Shaoguang Courtyard. Seeing a group of beautifully dressed women in the courtyard, he frowned. The women of the manor all bowed to him.
"Get up." Fourth Master walked straight to the chair in front and sat down.
"How is Fang Shi?" the Fourth Prince asked his wife.
"My lord, Fang has been in the delivery room for almost an hour." The Fujin said softly, turning her prayer beads. Clearly, this was not the first time she had watched over a concubine give birth.
Inside the delivery room, Fang Nanxi heard the sounds outside and knew that Fourth Master had arrived.
"Princess, you're fully dilated, you can start giving birth now," the midwife said.
Following the midwife's instructions, Fang Nanxi began to push. Perhaps the assisted delivery pill was working, because in less than half an hour, Fang Nanxi felt something slide out of her lower body.
The midwife quickly tidied up the baby prince and brought him to Fang Nanxi, saying happily, "Congratulations, Princess! Congratulations on the safe delivery of your baby prince!"
Fang Nanxi glanced at the child, who was wrinkled and somewhat ugly. She said in a hoarse voice, "Let's take him out and show him to Fourth Master."
After saying that, Fang Nanxi fell asleep peacefully.
The commotion in the delivery room gradually subsided, and Fourth Master stared intently at the door with a solemn expression. Soon after, the sound of a baby crying rang out, and Fourth Master's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. Judging from the cry, the baby seemed to be very healthy.
"Congratulations, Fourth Prince! Congratulations, Princess Consort! Consort Fang has safely given birth to a baby prince. Both mother and child are safe and sound." The midwife came out carrying the baby.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the child, a slight smile playing on his lips, and ordered the imperial physician to examine the young prince.
"Your Highness, the young prince is in good health," Physician Chen said happily. For imperial physicians, nothing is more gratifying than seeing a healthy child.
"Good, a generous reward! The midwife will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver, and the entire Shaoguang Courtyard will receive three months' wages." Fourth Master was overjoyed; he finally had another healthy child.