Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 259 Daughter of Gold
The air inside the meditation room seemed to freeze.

The flickering candlelight illuminated everyone's deathly pale faces. None of the maids had any experience in delivering babies, and they were in a state of panic and chaos.

Xue Yuechen's intermittent cries of pain were truly chilling.

The mountain wind grew stronger, and the leaden-gray clouds pressed down heavily, turning the eaves of Shuiyue Temple into a vast expanse of desolation.

"Your Highness... Has Your Highness not arrived yet?"

The cold sweat on Xue Yuechen's forehead soaked the pillowcase. She gripped the mattress tightly with her ten fingers, like a butterfly struggling in its death throes.

"Your Highness, please hold on, please hold on." Emerald knelt by the bed, wiping away her sweat, her voice trembling.

"I have already sent someone to inform the back mountain, but the mountain path is probably difficult to travel due to the snow, which has caused some delay..."

Li Huan came to visit Shuiyue Nunnery but could not stay overnight, so he took his guards to Qingyun Temple in the back mountain.

Judging by the time, it should be time for them to arrive.

As Xue Sui listened to Xue Yuechen's suppressed groans, a barely perceptible tension swept through his heart.

Although she was skilled in medicine, she had never delivered a baby before, and a thin layer of sweat quietly seeped from her palms.

"Has the midwife not arrived yet?"

The group looked at each other and shook their heads.

The howling north wind made the paper windows of the meditation room rustle.

The room was filled with the smell of herbs and blood, making it feel even colder and more oppressive.

Xue Yuechen dug her fingernails deep into the brocade quilt.

"Waaah...Sixth Sister..."

Perhaps the pain was too unbearable, Xue Yuechen suddenly smashed the teacup beside her pillow to the ground.

Xue Sui glanced at the shards scattered on the floor, signaling the maid to clean them up. Then, she bent down deftly, her gaze sweeping indifferently over Xue Yuechen's pained and contorted face, and said in a deep voice:
"You chose this arduous struggle for survival in this bloody water. The line between life and death is thin; if you want to survive, save your energy!"

"Sixth Sister, aren't you a skilled doctor? Please help me, please help me..." Xue Yuechen struggled to get up, the quilt slipped down, revealing her high, protruding belly, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards the door.

"This is... the eldest son of the Prince Duan's family, he cannot be lost. Sixth sister, you must protect your sister's child..."

"If you want to save the child, don't waste your energy anymore." Xue Sui interrupted her, pulled the blankets that were soaked with amniotic fluid and blood, and frowned again as he checked her wrist pulse.

"Xiao Zhao, go and stand guard at the mountain gate. As soon as the midwife arrives, bring her over quickly..."

Xiao Zhao responded and went out.

About half a cup of tea's time later, a report came from the corridor.

Li Huan, wrapped in a dark sable fur coat, strode over.

"How is the princess?"

Guo Yunrong stood before the screen, anxiously curtsying.

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort has suddenly gone into labor. The midwife hasn't arrived yet, and Sister Xue is inside assisting with the delivery..."

Li Huan nodded slightly.

He glanced at the half-closed curtain and listened to Xue Yue's suppressed moans from inside.

Tell her that I am guarding outside.

These words reached the inner room, and Xue Yuechen felt as if she had found a lifeline. Her cries of pain became even more intense than before, and tears mixed with sweat slid down her face, wetting the hair at her temples.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, save me... It hurts so much... It hurts so much..."

Li Huan stared at the thin curtain, his Adam's apple bobbing heavily.

"Princess, do not be afraid, I am right outside."

Li Huan's arrival brought some relief to everyone.

The maid served him tea and invited him to rest in the guest room, but he waved her hand and refused, pacing back and forth in the corridor.

A moment later, Xiao Zhao came running back, panting.

"Young lady, something terrible has happened..."

Li Huan stood under the eaves and asked her in a deep voice, "What's the matter that's causing your panic?"

Xiao Zhao glanced at him, and only after catching her breath did she step forward to bow.

"Your Highness, a woodcutter just brought word that avalanches have occurred on half the mountain, and the roads are completely buried by fallen snow and rocks... It seems unlikely that a midwife can be found anytime soon..."

"Is an avalanche blocking the road?"

Li Huan suddenly retorted, his brows furrowed with icy coldness, his expression sharp and incisive.

The crowd looked at each other speechlessly, their faces ashen.

Without a midwife, the princess's pregnancy is in grave danger...

Guo Yunrong also became anxious.
"When I came here today, I saw that the snow on the mountain was very thick. I didn't expect that the snow layer would suddenly break up and block the road completely..."

Li Huan turned his head and gave a deep, instructing order to Xiang Yang.

"Gather all the guards and set off into the mountains to clear a path!"

"It's too late—" The curtain in the inner room was suddenly lifted, and Xue Sui came out, stood by the threshold, and looked at Li Huan.

"She's dilated to five centimeters, but the princess is breech and the bleeding is uncontrollable..."

Li Huan's pupils contracted sharply, and his fingertips tightened around the jade belt at his waist.

Xue Sui looked at him, paused for a moment, and then said, "Your Highness needs to prepare for the worst."
-
Basins of blood were carried out of the meditation room, and Xue Yuechen's screams, mixed with the mountain wind, made people's hearts tighten.

Outside the meditation room, Li Huan paced back and forth.

His cloak was lifted by the wind and then slammed down, but he was completely unaware.

Behind him, Xiangyang whispered, "Your Highness, it's freezing cold. Why don't you go to the guest room and warm yourself by the fire?"

"No need."

Before he could finish speaking, Xue Yuechen’s shrill screams of pain suddenly came from the meditation room, repeatedly calling out “Your Highness” in a piercing and terrifying way… In this light, Xue Sui’s voice sounded exceptionally calm.

"Push harder! Put in more effort!"

Li Huan was jolted and rushed to the door.

"Ping An, how is she?"

Jinshu opened the door a crack and bowed to Li Huan, saying, "Your Highness, the blood of a woman giving birth is very strong. You are of noble birth and should not be near her. Please sit comfortably in the guest room and wait."

Looking at the dark red bloodstains on her sleeve, Li Huan felt as if his heart was being squeezed by a hand.

After an unknown amount of time, the cries of pain from inside gradually faded away...

Xue Yuechen's face was pale, and half of her body seemed to be soaked in a pool of blood.

In her hazy state, she grabbed Xue Sui's sleeve.

"Save the child...Sixth Sister, you must save my legitimate son..."

Xue Sui knew the importance of this child and what it meant to Xue Yuechen.

Her fingertips trembled slightly, but she didn't speak.

"Nonsense! The mother's health is paramount! Protect the mother!" Li Huan shouted sternly from outside the door.

His voice was as deep as ice, yet it couldn't hide his subtle anxiety.

"No... I want my child..."

Xue Yuechen exerted all her strength, her vision went black, and she fainted from the pain.

"princess!"

Xue Sui took off his gray outer robe, revealing only a plain white inner garment, with the cuffs rolled up high, exposing the hideous old scar on his wrist.

She touched Xue Yuechen's sweaty forehead; it was burning hot to the touch.

"Ruyi, bring me my silver needles!"

The silver needles had already gleamed from being soaked in strong liquor.

Ruyi trembled as she handed over the needle case. Xue Sui calmly picked up the silver needle and pierced Xue Yuechen's Baihui acupoint as fast as a shooting star.

"Your Highness, wake up! Don't sleep, the baby is waiting for you to open your eyes and see him..."

Under the stimulation of acupuncture, Xue Yuechen slowly woke up. Looking at Xue Sui in front of her, large tears fell onto the pillow.

"Sixth sister... I have nothing... except this child... I beg you..."

She gripped Xue Sui's hand tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh.

Xue Sui frowned slightly, pulled her hand away, and threw the blood-stained handkerchief into the copper basin.

"Get some ginseng slices! Bring some hot wine! And fetch a jar of acacia honey from my room..."

The blood-stained handkerchief was dipped into the copper basin, and the clear water instantly turned crimson...

Xue Sui looked at the basin of bloody water.

Suddenly, I remembered being dragged out of the Xue mansion when I was eight years old, the trail of blood on the ground...

"Sixth Sister... save my child..." Xue Yuechen's breath was weak, and her fingertips gripped the brocade quilt and convulsed.

"Inhale—" Fine beads of sweat appeared on Xue Sui's forehead.

The moment the silver needle pierced the Tanzhong acupoint, Xue Yue let out a scream from her throat.

"Your Highness... Your Highness... Save our son..."

Li Huan stared at the swaying curtain of the meditation room, his fist clenching slightly.

In her ears, Guo Yunrong's chanting suddenly rose in pitch, mixing with the howling cold wind and intensifying the stench of blood.

"Almost there, I can see the child!" Xue Sui looked up, and the candlelight ignited two golden flames in her eyes.

"Your Highness, calm yourself down, follow me, push harder, use a little more strength..."

"Push harder!!"

Xue Yuechen bit her cork lips, letting out a painful sob, her tears mingling with sweat and soaking the pillow.

From noon to dusk, and then to midnight...

"Wow--"

A faint yet clear cry of a newborn broke the silence of Shuiyue Nunnery.

Exhausted, Xue Yuechen loosened the torn handkerchief she had bitten and fainted again.

Xue Sui turned around and met Fei Cui's instantly stiff expression. She took the crying baby to the copper basin, washed it clean, and wrapped it in swaddling clothes.

Upon hearing the child's cries, Li Huan rushed to the door almost instantly.

The door was pushed open from the inside, and Xue Sui walked out. The front of his plain white inner robe was stained with large patches of blood, and cold sweat clung to his cheeks, yet he still kept his back straight.

She glanced at Li Huan, her voice hoarse.

"Congratulations, Your Highness, it's a daughter. Mother and daughter are safe and sound."

Li Huan took the swaddling clothes in a daze, cradling the bluish-purple infant, but there was no joy in his eyes, only a complex and unreadable expression.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ping An."

"Your Highness, it is the Princess who has worked hard."

After speaking, Xue Sui turned and went inside, his tall and straight back carrying a hint of coldness.

Li Huan held the swaddling clothes, speechless with astonishment.

　I'm not feeling well today, so I'll only post one chapter. See you tomorrow, muah!

　　(End of this chapter)