Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Childbirth (2) [Main Story Complete]

Inside the birthing room, a patterned curtain separated the chaos. Everything the Empress had ordered was inspected by the imperial physicians before being brought in. By now, Yun Si’s face was drained of all color, her forehead slick with sweat, her strength entirely spent.

Seeing her condition, the midwife no longer dared to insist, saying, “Her Highness has made thorough preparations, Your Ladyship should first take some food.”

A tray of steaming dishes was brought in, but Yun Si had no appetite, nor the mood to eat. The pain radiating from her lower body made her wish she could simply faint, but she knew she had to eat. At this point, she would do anything that might aid the birth.

She forced food into her mouth, tasting nothing, swallowing it down in large gulps while tears streamed continuously.

Tan Yuanchu was still inside the birthing room. Seeing her so tormented and restless, his expression remained dark, making the midwives too tense to even breathe loudly. Every move they made had to be in consideration of the consort’s comfort.
Thankfully, she cooperated in everything, which allowed them to let out a quiet sigh of relief.

When Yun Si finally lay back on the bed, she felt as if half her life had been drained away. Her head buzzed from the pain, her thoughts muddled; she gripped the Emperor’s sleeve with one hand and began to sob softly.

Even her teeth were chattering.

For those who had never gone through this ordeal, no amount of hearsay could truly prepare them.

When the time seemed near, the midwives exchanged glances, hesitant, but finally one stepped forward and stammered,
“Your Majesty, the Ladyship is about to give birth… it is time for you to step outside.”

It was considered taboo for a man to be in the birthing room, especially once there was blood, it was thought to bring ill fortune. They dared not let him remain inside.

Covered in a sheen of sweat, Yun Si faintly heard the midwife asking the Emperor to leave. With what little clarity remained to her, she loosened her hold on his sleeve.

She lay there in disarray, the path ahead unknown. Just beyond the curtain, Xu Shunfu also heard the midwife’s words and quickly urged the Emperor to step out.

Sweeping his gaze across the midwives’ anxious faces, Tan Yuanchu understood that his presence would only increase their pressure and might not be for the best.

Taking her hand, he bent down to wipe the cold sweat from her brow, his voice brooking no argument.
“I want Xi Xiurong and the child to be safe.”

The room fell abruptly silent, save for Yun Si’s muffled cries of pain. After a long moment, the midwife replied respectfully,
“This servant will do everything in her power.”

At last, Tan Yuanchu left the birthing room. Before stepping out, he glanced back, she was lying on the bed, almond eyes reddened with tears, gazing toward him. Through the mist of distance and pain, he could still see the fear in her eyes.

Instinctively, he was about to turn back when Xu Shunfu stopped him.
“Your Majesty, you mustn’t!”

The door of the birthing room opened and closed again.
The moment Tan Yuanchu stepped outside, the chill of the night wind sent a shiver down his back, and only then did he realize he had broken out in a cold sweat without knowing when.

The courtyard was filled with concubines, but with the Empress presiding, there was no disorder. When they saw the Emperor standing there, brows knitted as if wishing to rush back inside, they remained utterly silent.

They had long grown accustomed to his deep favor for Xi Xiurong.
This scene no longer surprised them.

No matter how bitter they felt, nothing they did could change the reality.

The Empress approached him, the cold air triggering a cough. She softly offered reassurance,
“Xi Xiurong is blessed. She will be fine.”

Tan Yuanchu barely came back to himself, his lips pressed into a hard line, his usual air of nonchalance gone.

He stood under the covered walkway, the closest possible spot to the birthing room, unmoving.

Chairs had been set out in the courtyard, but he did not so much as glance at them, perhaps he hadn’t even noticed.

Inside, the midwives bustled without pause, wiping Yun Si’s sweat, monitoring her strength, bringing hot water and clean cloths. Outside the curtain, the Imperial Physicians waited on standby.

Still drenched in sweat, Yun Si heard the midwives’ instructions clearly, but she could no longer make her body obey.

In the haze of her consciousness, she heard the call, her waters had broken, and she was to push.

She clutched the brocade quilt beneath her, her fingertips pale, the veins standing out on her slender neck as her head tipped back again and again.

Teeth clenched, burning tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. The tearing pain in her lower body was unbearable, wrenching sobs from her throat.

She knew crying only wasted strength, but she could not stop.

From outside came the constant sound of her weeping, mingled with the midwives’ urgent exhortations. Qiu Yuan knelt beside her mistress, eyes locked on the midwives’ every move, not daring to relax for an instant.

She feared someone might try to tamper with the process.

She would not let her guard down, but as she watched the consort endure such torment, her brows furrowed tightly.

The midwife was shouting so urgently her head was slick with sweat. She knew that Her Ladyship was probably too pained to remain fully conscious, and called out,

“Your Ladyship, the baby’s position is perfectly aligned, please, just a bit more strength!”

The scene in the birthing room was not one for the faint of heart. The brocade quilt covered only the upper half of the woman’s body; her lower half was fully exposed. Her legs were weak with pain, yet she had to keep them propped apart, blood flowing steadily down. A midwife gripped her legs, watching closely.

It was enough to make anyone flinch.

Yun Si did not know how long it had been. She vaguely remembered someone placing a slice of ginseng between her teeth, instructing her to bite down tightly so she wouldn’t bite her own tongue from the pain. The tearing agony below made her dizzy, and then came the midwife’s startled cry of joy.

She assumed it was over and instinctively let her whole body go slack.

The moment she relaxed, she went completely limp.

“Your Ladyship?!” the midwife cried in alarm.

Qiu Yuan, too, was shocked.

She had only just heard the midwife say she could see the crown of the little prince’s head, and now her mistress had lost all strength. Forgetting rank, she patted Yun Si’s cheek in panic.

“Your Ladyship, wake up!”

Fear flickered across the midwives’ faces as they exchanged glances.

At last, one whispered, “Send someone to ask His Majesty… if it comes to it, which one should be saved.”

Qiu Yuan’s head snapped up to glare at the speaker. Who didn’t know that in the imperial household, when that question was asked, there was never truly a second choice?

The midwife thus addressed could only wear a bitter expression, there was nothing else she could do.

From outside came the sound of sudden confusion inside the birthing room. Tán Yuanchu’s face instantly changed.
Then someone stumbled out, barely steady before they dropped to their knees before him.

Standing behind the Emperor, the Empress saw everything clearly, the man before her seemed for a moment to waver on his feet.

The servant’s voice shook with fear, halting and hesitant,

“Your Majesty, the midwife sent me to ask… if there’s an emergency, should we save Her Ladyship or the heir?”

Almost before the words had fully left her mouth, the birthing room door banged open.

When the servant looked up in confusion, the Emperor was already gone, only the Empress remained in sight.

The Empress, as though expecting it, said quietly,
“Get up.”

No one had imagined the Emperor would charge inside without a second thought. Cold air clung to him as he entered; he didn’t look at anyone else. Two strides took him to the side of his barely-conscious consort, and he called her name.

His voice was low and taut.

With his back to everyone, his expression was hidden.

A bowl of medicinal broth was brought in. Tan Yuanchu seized her jaw, forcing her mouth open. As the liquid threatened to spill out, he bent and sealed her lips with his, heedless of where they were. All could hear the faint tremor in his voice,

“A’Si, wake up!”

A pregnant woman was not to be touched by cold water, but now that rule was forgotten. A cloth soaked in cool water was pressed to her face, and under the chill, the woman on the bed slowly, laboriously opened her eyes.

Yun Si had indeed heard Tan Yuanchu calling her.

The moment she recognized his voice, a dread rose within her.

What could have happened for him to abandon all propriety and barge into the birthing room at such a moment?

She didn’t dare to imagine.

She only wanted to wake up, she mustn’t fall asleep!

She fought desperately to open her eyes, but no matter how she tried, she could not. Though still unconscious, her tears surged forth ahead of her awareness.

Then, when a sudden coolness swept over her, it was as if she glimpsed a sliver of light. Using that faint clarity, she forced her eyes open, and the first thing she saw was the man’s face. At the moment she looked at him, he lowered his head.

But Yun Si saw it clearly, there was a trace of red at the corners of his eyes.

The medicine began to take effect; Yun Si’s limbs slowly regained a measure of strength. She heard Tan Yuanchu say,

“…A’Si, pull yourself together…”

His voice caught in his throat, then he told her,
“If… if… there is still the Eldest Son of the Emperor…”

It was the first time in his life that certain words had been so hard to speak.

He had longed for the child in her womb, treasured even the Eldest Prince greatly, but the moment he stepped into the birthing room, his choice had already been made clear.

He longed for the child because it was hers.

Faced with choosing one or the other—

He would choose the woman.

It was a long time before Tan Yuanchu seemed to find his voice again. As before she had entered the birthing room, he gave her his word,

“A’Si, don’t be afraid. You will be fine.”

Yun Si understood his meaning. Her eyes burned, and emotions she could neither name nor quell surged up, sending tears spilling endlessly down her cheeks.
She wept and shook her head at him.

But for the first time, Tan Yuanchu turned a deaf ear to her plea.

The pain below did not relent; suddenly, Yun Si’s body found a surge of strength, not allowing her even a moment’s slack. She knew there was no retreat, if she truly came to harm, even if she were to wake again, she could never accept the outcome.

Someone gripped her hand. Through her tears, she cursed him,

“…You… bastard…”

She knew he was forcing her hand.

He knew full well how much she valued the child she carried, how could he bear to speak such words?

It was the first time she had ever cursed Tan Yuanchu, yet he acted as though he had not heard. Bending his head, he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

“Then think me cruel.”

The agony dragged on and on, so long Yun Si felt it might never end, until suddenly, a wrenching, tearing pain gripped her lower body, draining all color from her face. She cried out involuntarily, but after the wave of pain passed, there came a fleeting lightness.

This time, she dared not relax, not until the midwife’s delighted cry rang out:

“It’s out!”

“Born! Born! Her Ladyship has given birth to a prince!”

At once, a baby’s wail filled the room, urgent and loud, as if pent up for too long.

Everyone rejoiced at the prince’s birth.

But in one corner of the birthing room, someone had never let down his guard. Only when the crying reached his ears did he seem to come back to himself, swaying slightly, until another hand caught his, anchoring his reason.

In that instant, he steadied.

Her palm still held the clammy dampness of sweat, and Tan Yuanchu could not help but grip her hand tightly.

Yun Si saw him and quickly caught hold of him.

Her voice was hoarse and choked, “…You frightened me.”

Tears and sweat mingled on her face, leaving her disheveled, but he saw none of it, only leaned down to kiss her in pity. His voice, too, was low and rough:

“It was my fault.”

He apologized, as if admitting that his earlier words had only been to scare her.

But they both knew, Tan Yuanchu had meant every word at that moment.

She did not know if he had long been prepared. It had been more than half a year since Consort De’s death, and she had once wondered why, when the little princess had been provided for, the Emperor seemed to have forgotten the Eldest Prince.

Only now did she understand, he had always been keeping a way out for her.

In Yun Si’s heart, emotions still churned in a way she could not name, making her nose sting without pause. She shut her eyes, hiding her feelings from view.

Exhaustion swept through her, irresistible. She said to him, “I’m so tired… I want to sleep for a while.”

He brushed aside her damp, loosened hair and said softly,

“Sleep. I’ll keep watch over you.”

At that moment, the sky in the distance was already growing light. The warm sun finally broke through layers of cloud, streaming through the carved window frames into the hall.

It dispelled much of the gloom, spilling over the woman’s body, and over the two hands intertwined together.

—————— End of Main Story ——————

Author’s Note:

[The main text ends here! There will definitely be follow-ups later, conferment ceremonies and such will come afterwards, but I feel stopping the main story here works well. Little Tan’s feelings are already very clear, and the female lead is somewhat aware of them, so it’s the perfect place to pause.]

[Next, I’ll write about the conferment, the continuation, and Little Tan and the female lead’s happily-ever-after daily life.]

[Thank you, sisters, for accompanying me all the way! Love you all. The main story is complete]
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Translator’s Note – That was a long ride!
We’ll be saying goodbye to Yun Si, Little Tan, our every funny An Cairen, the pitiable Empress, ruthless Consort De, Qi Guipin, the ever stupid Su Jieyu and the others.

This novel isn’t the best out there, but it was very good for me, I loved it, some might say Yun Si isn’t to their liking and too inferior but It’s realistic for me, she isn’t a transmigrator, nor did she reborn but a real ancient person who is an orphan, almost got sold to a brothel but became a maid, without no backing she’s meant to act cautious.

It’s a 10/10 for me, Support the original author through Jjwxc if you can, do leave a review on NU concerning the author’s work and also the translation.

Thank you’ll for being here from chapter 1 till 129.
The translation wasn’t excellent, I’m aware I made mistakes but it was of good quality.

As for the extras? When I’ve saved enough, I would purchase and translate it.
If you like the translations and would like to support me to continue bringing captivating novels to you, consider buying me a Ko-fi, every little bit matters! ♥(✿ฺ´∀`✿ฺ)ﾉ Thank you!!