After Zhulan finished speaking, she felt her pants were a little wet. Ignoring the cramping in her stomach, she froze. Had her water broken?

Xue Han repeated blankly, “Mother is going to give birth?”

Everyone in the hall was stunned. Madam Liu was dumbfounded. She really hadn’t expected Yang Shi to have a premature birth. Even with her brows furrowed, it wasn’t exactly premature; she was already over nine months along. Now she regretted coming to the Zhou residence.

Liu Ya was more reliable. “Madam, let’s go to the delivery room.”

The delivery room—ever since Zhao Shi’s premature birth, Zhulan had also been afraid she would have a premature birth, so the delivery room had been prepared long ago.

Zhulan felt contractions, but thankfully she could still bear it. Using Liu Ya’s strength, she stood up and said to Madam Liu, “It’s just a coincidence today; this child is in a hurry to come out.”

She paused, then called to Steward Ding, and then said to Xue Han, “Send Shuren out for Mother.”

Madam Liu pursed her lips, unsure whether to leave or stay. If she left, news of Yang Shi’s delivery would spread, and everyone would think she was the reason for Yang Shi’s premature birth. If she said it had nothing to do with her, no one would believe her. If she stayed, she would face Zhou Daren’s wrath.

It was precisely because she knew so much about Yang Shi that she had been so polite to her. Madam Liu’s heart tightened. Zhou Daren truly cared for Yang Shi, and given Yang Shi’s age, premature birth meant greater danger during delivery. Even if it had nothing to do with her, Zhou Daren would hold a grudge against the Min family.

At this critical juncture, with the Min family in danger, they couldn’t afford any conflict with Zhou Daren.

Seeing her mother slowly walk away, Xuehan felt anxious. She pinched herself to calm herself and walked up to Liu Shuren. “Shuren, please.”

Madam Liu’s gaze deepened. She had witnessed the Zhou family’s young lady’s transformation from panic to composure. It was not easy for someone so young to achieve this, especially considering the Zhou family’s scholarly and farming background. Madam Liu sighed inwardly. It was a pity the girl was already engaged. After weighing the options, Madam Liu decided it was best to leave to avoid further angering Zhou Daren. “Alright.”

Zhulan had already sent the steward to fetch a doctor, and the midwife in the manor was ready. Zhulan felt much more at ease.

At the yamen, Zhou Shuren had people keeping an eye on the backyard, fearing something might happen. When Zhulan was about to give birth, a servant came to report. Zhou Shuren stood up abruptly and left.

Min Daren’s face darkened. He had been there for a long time, and Zhou Shuren had been circling around him. What, now he was just leaving him behind?

Zhou Shuren stopped at the door, his tone extremely stern. “My wife is in premature labor, Min Daren. I won’t keep you company any longer.”

Zhou Shuren gritted his teeth, convinced that Zhulan’s delivery was related to Madam Liu. If Madam Liu hadn’t come today, Zhulan wouldn’t have gone into premature labor!

Min Daren was stunned. He no longer needed to maintain his stern expression; he was terribly annoyed. His wife was incredibly clever, never making a mistake in all these years. Today, for the sake of the marriage alliance, she would definitely not anger Yang Shi. So, it could only be explained as a coincidence. He hated these damned coincidences. Judging from Zhou Shuren’s tone, he clearly believed it was related to his wife.

Min Daren wanted to explain, but all he saw was Zhou Shuren running away without a care for appearances, moving incredibly fast, unlike someone in his forties.

Zhulan arrived at the delivery room, her belly still contracting rhythmically. Zhulan found it strange; now that she was about to give birth, she was remarkably calm, even having the time to count the frequency of her contractions.

It would have been even better if one ignored the sweat on her forehead caused by the pain.

Song Momo and the midwife came in; everything for childbirth was ready.

Song Momo checked for a while and breathed a sigh of relief. She was truly afraid that her mistress would suffer a premature and difficult labor like Zhao Shi. Fortunately, her mistress was doing well. She thought to herself, “Having given birth to six is ​​different; she’s very experienced. Some newlywed wives would have already wasted their energy shouting.”

Zhulan had just counted to five hundred when she heard the door being opened forcefully. She opened her eyes and was stunned. “How did you get in?”

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan’s hand. Heaven knows how flustered he was when he rushed back. “I… I was worried about you.”

Zhulan chuckled. It was the first time she had heard Zhou Shuren stutter. Enduring the pain, she tried her best to show Zhou Shuren her best side and said confidently, “I’m perfectly fine, and the baby is very well-behaved.”

Zhou Shuren carefully observed Zhulan. Apart from a few beads of sweat on her forehead, Zhulan was indeed telling the truth. Zhou Shuren’s heart, which had been in his throat, was at ease. “He will definitely be a good child.”

Zhulan nodded. “Yes, he’s always been very good. I haven’t suffered much since I got pregnant with him. He loves me. Now I’m over nine months pregnant, and he was worried that I’d be under too much pressure, so he came out early.”

Zhou Shuren stroked Zhulan’s high belly, his eyes filled with tenderness. “Little one, don’t let your mother suffer; come out quickly.”

Zhou Shuren paused. “Otherwise, Daddy will be angry, very angry.”

Zhulan, “…”

Don’t scare him; you’ll scare him so he won’t come out!

Outside the delivery room, Zhou’s children were all waiting in the yard; no one dared to go in and pull their father out.

Zhulan had another contraction. She knew the contractions would become more frequent, so she let go of Zhou Shuren’s hand. “You go out and wait first. I feel pressured if you’re here.”

She was really scared, afraid that Zhou Shuren would faint from excitement. Look, she only frowned slightly during the contraction, but Zhou Shuren’s grip on her hand really hurt.

Zhou Shuren calmed down. He wanted to stay with Zhulan, so he pursed his lips and remained silent.

Song Momo’s lips twitched. She knew her master wasn’t averse to such things, but he was truly in the way. She took a deep breath. “Master, with you here, the midwife dares not move. Please wait outside.”

Zhou Shuren glanced at the midwife, whose face paled instantly. Zhou Shuren hesitated for a moment before finally standing up. “Alright, I’ll wait outside.”

He wouldn’t have gone out if he wasn’t worried about the midwife becoming unprofessional.

Zhou Shuren was extremely displeased; his professional skills were still lacking—he’d actually been frightened!

After Zhou Shuren left, glancing back every few steps, Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief. Finally gone! She didn’t have to hold back her expression anymore; that contraction had really hurt.

Outside the door, Eldest Master Zhou saw his father emerge with a dark face and forced himself to approach. Li Shi quickly followed. The couple was in sync, silently chanting, “Don’t be afraid, Dad. Don’t be afraid, Dad.”

Unfortunately, they were a step too late. Xuehan, the youngest and most favored, cried out, “Father, Father, how is Mother?”

Seeing the worry on his children’s faces, Zhou Shuren’s expression softened slightly. “She’s alright.”

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief; their biggest fear was that their mother’s age would negatively affect her.

Inside the delivery room, Zhulan didn’t know how much time had passed. She only knew that her clothes were soaked with sweat. She only heard the midwife say that the birth canal was dilated. Following Song Momo’s instructions, she inhaled and exhaled. Zhulan wanted to curse; it hurt too much. Finally, she couldn’t help but cry out.

Zhulan had overestimated her strength. The pain was unbearable, and she still had to follow instructions to push.

Zhulan felt like she was going to suffocate; her mind went blank. With one last push, she heard a “waaaaa.” Zhulan was old; even with her strength restored, she couldn’t hold on any longer and fainted.

Song Momo quickly checked and smiled. “She’s exhausted and asleep.”

The midwife was relieved; she had been terrified and didn’t want to face Zhou Daren. She then grinned and said, “It’s a boy, and quite a big baby.”

(End of Chapter)

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