Chapter 381: First Time Being a Father, Two Princes

The first year of the Tang Dynasty, the beginning of November.

The beginning of winter has passed, and the Jinling Imperial City is covered with dark clouds and cold winds. The first snow in Jinling in the first year of the Tang Dynasty is coming soon.

In and out of the Kunning Palace where Empress Liu Shujun lives, there are endless eunuchs and palace maids coming and going, and from time to time, there are imperial doctors carrying medicine boxes in the palace rushing through.

The same scene is also staged in the Fengyi Palace where Imperial Concubine Yue Qiluo lives.

The cold wind cannot blow away the enthusiasm in the palace. The palace maids and eunuchs in the harem, as well as the soldiers of the Imperial Guards on duty, are immersed in a solemn and tense atmosphere.

Because Empress Liu Shujun and Imperial Concubine Yue Qiluo will both give birth today and tomorrow, and the second generation of the ruler of the Tang Dynasty will also be born today and tomorrow.

The palace is brightly lit and warm like spring, which forms a sharp contrast with the coldness of early winter outside.

Both Kunning Palace and Fengyi Palace had been carefully decorated by palace maids and eunuchs in advance to be solemn and warm under the order of Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, adding a bit of solemnity and expectation for the upcoming sacred moment.

In Kunning Palace, Empress Liu Shujun lay on a phoenix couch made of golden nanmu, covered with brocade quilts embroidered with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes;

Under the candlelight in the palace, Liu Shujun's beautiful face was exhausted, but her bright eyes were shining with the brilliance of motherhood;

There was both tension in facing the unknown challenges of childbirth and the expectation of becoming a mother.

Two experienced midwives and several palace maids were busy around Empress Liu Shujun in a tense and orderly manner. Some were responsible for wiping the sweat off the Empress's forehead, and some were responsible for gently fanning the wind. The two midwives accompanied the Empress on the left and right, whispering words of encouragement.

In Fengyi Palace, candlelight flickered, illuminating every inch of the palace. The magnificent decorations looked more luxurious and solemn under the candlelight. Imperial Concubine Yue Qiluo was placed on a special delivery bed made of golden nanmu wood.

At this time, Imperial Concubine Yue Qiluo, who was about to give birth, looked slightly pale, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead, but her deep blue eyes revealed an indescribable tenacity and maternal radiance.

Yue Qiluo held the midwife's hand tightly, and every breath seemed to be accumulating the power of childbirth, preparing for the upcoming challenges of childbirth.

Beside her, there was also a group of busy palace maids, each of whom performed their duties, just waiting for the arrival of the new life in the imperial concubine's belly.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived--"

Suddenly, accompanied by a sharp announcement from an old eunuch, the Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun came to Kunning Palace in person. The eunuchs and palace maids present all knelt down to greet her, and shouted for the Empress Dowager's good luck.

Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, who was not yet 50 years old, wore a bright red phoenix robe and a mink coat, and her luxurious temperament as the mother of the country came to her face.

She immediately called the eunuch Cai He, who was in charge of the imperial eunuchs, and asked: "Eunuch Cai, what's the situation with the Empress Dowager now?"

The old eunuch Cai He replied respectfully: "Report to the Empress Dowager, the midwife has been in for three hours, and the Empress Dowager is still in labor;"

"The imperial doctors of the Imperial Hospital are waiting outside Kunning Palace, ready to respond to emergencies at any time!"

Yes!

Hearing this, Xu Ruoyun frowned slightly and asked again: "What about the Imperial Concubine in Fengyi Palace?"

Cai He replied without hesitation: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, the eunuch just reported a cup of tea ago, and the Imperial Concubine is still in labor;"

"If there is any news, the eunuchs who stayed in Fengyi Palace will come to report it as soon as possible!"

Yes!

Xu Ruoyun nodded again, but her nervous mood was not relieved at all.

Now, the two daughters-in-law are about to give birth, but her son Chen Huaian is still on the way back to Beijing. In the huge palace, everything has to be handled by Xu Ruoyun alone;

This nervous feeling even makes Xu Ruoyun feel that when she gave birth to Chen Huaian and Chen Longxiang, she was not as worried as she is now.

Can't help but remind her that when she gave birth to Chen Huaian, the late emperor Chen Polu was also fighting outside and was not with her.

Hey——

These girls Shujun and Qiluo are both miserable children!

Xu Ruoyun sighed in her heart.

At this time, Luo Yucheng, the deputy commander of the Dragon City Internal Guard and the Wuping Marquis of the Tang Dynasty, who stayed in the capital, came hurriedly and knelt down to pay his respects to the Queen Mother Xu Ruoyun;

Then he asked respectfully: "Queen Mother, are you looking for me?"

Yes!

Xu Ruoyun nodded and asked Luo Yucheng: "Wuping Hou, where is the emperor now? Can he return to the capital in one or two days?"

Uh——

Hearing this, Luo Yucheng hesitated for a moment and replied: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, the last time the emperor contacted the court was three days ago. The emperor just arrived in Chang'an Prefecture and is inspecting the construction of the new imperial city;"

"According to this time, unless the emperor does not eat or drink and rushes to the capital day and night;"

"Otherwise, he will never be able to return to the capital in one or two days!"

Ah——

After getting the affirmative answer from Wuping Hou Luo Yucheng, the Queen Mother Xu Ruoyun finally couldn't help but sigh.

At this moment, the painful wail of Empress Liu Shujun suddenly came from Kunning Palace, and then a midwife hurriedly pushed the door out of Kunning Palace and shouted loudly to the outside: "Imperial Physician, Imperial Physician——"

Swish!

These calls of the Imperial Physician made Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, who was anxiously waiting outside, feel her heart in her throat, and she hurried to Kunning Palace;

In the end, she stopped her hand when she was about to push the door, and listened anxiously to the movement in Kunning Palace.

Almost at the same time, the first snow of the first year of Zhaowu finally came over the gloomy sky of Jinling City.

Flakes of snow as big as goose feathers fell on the streets and alleys of Jinling City.

Go, go, go!

Outside Jinling City, in the dark night, several fast horses raised their hooves and rushed forward. The masters on horseback were still knocking the horses' bellies, urging the horses under their crotch to speed up and speed up again.

Until the last bit of the horses' physical strength was squeezed out!

Soon, this team of people and horses galloping in the dark night arrived outside Jinling City.

At this time, the gates of Jinling City had been closed, and the hundred households on duty on the tower discovered the team of uninvited guests outside the city at the first time;

While ordering the soldiers on duty on the tower to cheer up, he also shouted to the uninvited guests under the city: "Who is under the city, how dare to break into the city gate at night?"

"I am the commander of the Jinwu Guard, the loyal and righteous Marquis Xiao Po, open the city gate quickly!"

Outside the city, Xiao Po, dressed in black, rode forward and threw the token in his hand onto the city wall.

Seeing this, the centurion on duty quickly reached out to catch the token thrown by Xiao Po, and found that it was the waist badge of Xiao Po, the leader of the Jinwu Guard.

The Jinwu Guard is the emperor's personal guard, and its identity and status are even higher than the imperial guards.

And the leader of the Jinwu Guard can enter and exit any city of the Tang Dynasty at any time, including the palace, with the token.

Although the leader of the Jinwu Guard is only a second-rank minister of the court;

But, standing behind him is the current emperor, who is truly heard by the emperor;

It is no exaggeration to say that once you leave the palace, the leader of the Jinwu Guard can represent the emperor.

So, when the centurion on duty on the city wall saw Xiao Po's token, he immediately ordered the soldiers guarding the city to open the city gate, and after presenting the token with both hands, he respectfully watched the team of black-clothed men riding horses into Jinling City.

Indistinctly, the centurion seemed to see the figure of the current emperor among the team of black-clothed men.

I couldn't help but secretly smack my lips and said: My dear mother, what kind of big event happened in this imperial city that could make the current emperor who was on an expedition to the Western Regions return to the palace overnight?

Half an hour later, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian, who had been rushing back to Jinling City from Chang'an Prefecture day and night, finally rode into the palace.

He didn't stop at all and continued to ride straight to Kunning Palace.

It was midnight.

With a clear and loud cry coming from Kunning Palace, the hearts of the people waiting outside Kunning Palace finally fell back into their stomachs.

A moment later, the midwife pushed open the door of Kunning Palace with a smile on her face, and announced the good news to the Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun who had been waiting outside for a long time: "Report to the Empress Dowager, it's a little prince!"

"Empress, mother and child are safe!"

Almost at the same time, a loud announcement came from outside Kunning Palace: "The emperor has arrived--"

Chen Huaian, dressed in a black nightgown, came in with a dragon-like step, with the joy of being a father for the first time on his dusty face, and said anxiously: "Shu Jun, I, I'm back!"

As soon as the voice fell, a sharp announcement from a little eunuch came from outside the corridor of Kunning Palace: "Report to the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Concubine has successfully given birth to a little prince for the emperor!"

"The Imperial Concubine, mother and child are safe!"