Chapter 525 - 303: Gave Birth

Chapter 525: Chapter 303: Gave Birth

"How audacious! How dare you defy my command?" the Empress Dowager snarled, slamming her hand on the table.

Zhang Maoquan’s heart trembled, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow. ’Where the hell is that bastard Meng Jiuchang? I can’t hold out on my own for much longer.’

But he had to hold out, whether he could or not. If he dared to let Nanny Yao in and something happened to Song Zhaoyi, he wouldn’t even need the Empress Dowager to deal with him—the Emperor would peel his skin off when he returned.

"I wouldn’t dare. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager," Zhang Maoquan replied with a deep bow, but he didn’t move an inch to let her pass. "I am merely following orders."

Whose orders?

Everyone present knew the answer.

The Empress Dowager hadn’t expected the Emperor to be so wary of her. Her fury boiling over, she commanded, "Guards! Drag this insolent dog, who doesn’t know his place, away from my sight!"

"Wait!"

Lady Shufei swept in with Feng Yunjin, Han Jinyi, and the others. In their formal robes, their presence was commanding. She led the group forward to bow to the Empress Dowager. "This concubine greets the Empress Dowager."

Han Jinyi and the others followed suit, offering their greetings.

The Empress Dowager frowned at Consort Shu. "Consort Shu, what do you think you’re doing?"

Consort Shu had always had a cool relationship with the Empress Dowager. Seeing that the Empress Dowager didn’t bid her to rise, Consort Shu, not one to suffer indignity, stood up on her own and smiled. "This concubine was just thinking that Zhang Maoquan is the Emperor’s personal steward. If the Empress Dowager punishes him like this, it might be difficult to explain when the Emperor returns. Besides, Song Zhaoyi is inside risking her life to give birth. How can the Empress Dowager be making such a violent commotion out here? Won’t that prevent Song Zhaoyi from delivering her baby in peace?"

Without waiting to see the Empress Dowager’s ugly expression, Consort Shu turned directly to Zhang Maoquan. "What are you waiting for? Thank the Empress Dowager. When the Emperor returns, you can go and ask for Your Majesty’s punishment yourself. For the sake of Song Zhaoyi’s delivery today, you are temporarily spared."

Zhang Maoquan immediately and respectfully complied. ’Lady Shufei’s tongue has certainly gotten sharper,’ he thought. ’If she had been this formidable before, Song Zhaoyi might have suffered quite a bit at her hands.’

Consort Shu nonchalantly found a seat and sat down. Then she looked at Feng Yunjin and the others. "Don’t just stand there like wooden posts, being an eyesore to the Empress Dowager. Take a seat. Do you need a personal invitation?"

Feng Yunjin and the others suppressed their smiles, sitting down with expressions of feigned terror. Inwardly, however, they breathed a sigh of relief. ’Lady Shufei’s presence is so powerful today.’

The Empress Dowager’s expression grew uglier and uglier, but Consort Shu simply ignored it.

She was, after all, one of the highest-ranking concubines in the harem. The other, Princess Consort Wan, didn’t involve herself in palace affairs. And with her father being the Right Minister, she had more than enough confidence from both her family background and her own rank.

When facing the Empress Dowager, she truly had nothing to fear.

The main reason was that she had no desire to curry favor with the Empress Dowager, so she was naturally fearless.

Before the Empress Dowager’s expression could soften, the other concubines who had gotten the news arrived one after another. Wang Zhaorong and Qin Wan Yi came in, one after the other, followed by a whole group of people whose names Consort Shu couldn’t recall offhand. As more people arrived, the hall started to feel crowded.

Qin Wan Yi’s eyes kept darting toward the delivery room. She could faintly hear sounds coming from that direction, but they were muffled and unclear.

’I wonder how it’s going.’

Princess Consort Wan was the last to arrive, looking unwell. After paying her respects to the Empress Dowager, she said, "I caught a bit of a cold these past few days and fell asleep after taking my medicine. This concubine has arrived late. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand for her to sit, smiling at Princess Consort Wan with great warmth. "Since you are unwell, why did you even come? Look, this hall is full of people. We’re not missing you. Your health is what’s most important."

Hearing this, Princess Consort Wan knew the Empress Dowager’s words held a hidden meaning. She furrowed her brow slightly, not wanting to get involved, and said softly, "The Emperor is not here. It is this concubine’s duty to watch over Song Zhaoyi. Otherwise, how could I face the Emperor when he returns to the palace?"

Although Princess Consort Wan didn’t involve herself in affairs, she was, after all, one of the two concubines with the highest rank. If something truly happened to Song Yunzhao, she and Consort Shu would be the first to face the consequences.

She found it all very troublesome, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Consort Shu was amused hearing Princess Consort Wan’s words. Looking at the Empress Dowager’s face, she felt a sense of satisfaction. ’The Empress Dowager’s way of thinking is just like my old self,’ she mused. ’I don’t know what she’s thinking, trying to sow discord at a time like this. She didn’t even consider Princess Consort Wan’s cowardly, self-preserving nature. It would be a miracle if she agreed to go along with her.’

Unhappy, the Empress Dowager fell silent, pursing her lips as she sat in the seat of honor. The hall quieted down.

Consort Shu just hoped Song Yunzhao would give birth quickly. The Empress Dowager’s composure was so steady it made her feel a little uneasy.

Inside the delivery room, Nanny Yu had no time to worry about the situation outside. Her eyes were filled with anxiety. ’Why is it taking so long?’

Nanny Fan placed a hand on Song Zhaoyi’s abdomen, her expression growing slightly grim.

Nanny Qiao said from the side, "The birth canal hasn’t opened yet. If this continues, I’m afraid both mother and child will be in danger."

The Medical Woman glanced at Nanny Qiao. "The labor-inducing soup has already been prepared."

Song Yunzhao had never imagined childbirth would be so painful and difficult. She was already showing signs of exhaustion. She even started to wonder, ’It can’t be that just because the female lead can’t compete with me, the world of this book is going to make me die in childbirth to make way for her, right?’

’In her dreams.’

Holding back a surge of defiance, Song Yunzhao asked Nanny Yu for something to eat. If she didn’t eat, where would she get the strength to give birth?

Even if something were to happen to her, she would not fall on this delivery bed.

Basins of bloody water were carried out, and basins of hot water were carried in. The situation in the delivery room was heart-wrenching to imagine. As the sun gradually shifted west, even Consort Shu was starting to feel restless.

The Empress Dowager, however, was perfectly quiet, her expression relaxed.

Qin Xiyue sat in a seat below Wang Zhaorong. The two had once been in the same camp, and their relationship had naturally been harmonious. But ever since the Wang Family’s fall from grace, Wang Zhaorong had grown closer to Song Yunzhao, and the two of them had naturally drifted apart.

Qin Xiyue didn’t say a single word in front of Wang Zhaorong, terrified of revealing her true feelings.

Wang Zhaorong had no time to pay attention to Qin Xiyue right now. Their positions were different now. She had no desire to recall the schemes they had plotted and the things they had done together in the past.

Feng Yunjin’s palms were sweating. She exchanged an anxious look with Han Jinyi. They were both incredibly worried, but with the Empress Dowager on one side and Consort Shu on the other, both as steady as mountains, they were just minor concubines with no influence. All they could do was pray in their hearts for Yun Zhao to have a safe delivery for both mother and child.

Consort Shu was actually extremely anxious, but seeing the Empress Dowager’s composure, she felt she couldn’t lose in terms of presence, even if she was worried. She couldn’t show weakness. So she too maintained a stern expression.

Princess Consort Wan was feeling unwell today and couldn’t be bothered with any of this. But seeing the standoff between these two powerful women, the others dared not speak. The hall was so quiet that the only audible sounds were the faint, muffled noises coming from the delivery room.

A little over half an hour passed. Just as Consort Shu couldn’t bear it any longer and was about to send someone in to check, a loud, clear baby’s cry suddenly rang out.

’She’s given birth?’

Consort Shu let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing that no one had come out of the delivery room with bad news, she figured Song Zhaoyi must be fine as well.

Almost instinctively, Consort Shu immediately turned her head to look at the Empress Dowager and caught the fleeting shadow of gloom that crossed her face. She sneered inwardly but put on a huge smile. "Congratulations, Empress Dowager. It seems Song Zhaoyi has had a safe delivery for both mother and child. This is truly a joyous occasion."

Although she didn’t know if it was a prince or a princess, Consort Shu said whatever she knew would twist the knife in the Empress Dowager’s heart the most. It felt immensely satisfying.

’Song Yunzhao had better have given birth to a little prince,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, after clashing with the Empress Dowager like this today, I’ll feel like I’ve come out on the losing end.’