The Prince Pingxi’s estate had long prepared four midwives.

They were all the most skilled midwives in the capital, brought to the estate two months in advance.

These four had been living in the estate for two months, bored to death every day. Tonight, when Yun Chu went into labor, the four finally had a chance to put their skills to use.

“Princess Consort, don’t be afraid. The baby is full-term and has the strength to come out on its own.”

“As long as the Princess Consort uses our methods to push, mother and child will certainly be safe.”

“Come, first breathe in, then slowly exhale this breath…”

“Why has His Highness come in!”

Just as the midwives were teaching Yun Chu how to breathe and push, a tall figure pushed open the door and entered, then closed it behind him. He lifted the gauze curtains by the bed, walked straight to Yun Chu’s side, sat on the edge of the bed, and grasped her hand.

“Your Highness, absolutely not!” the midwife exclaimed in alarm. “The birthing room is an unclean place that will affect a man’s fortune. Your Highness, please leave immediately and wait outside.”

Chu Yi tightly held Yun Chu’s hand, his low voice suppressing tension: “Every man is born in such a place. If it truly affected one’s fortune, it would have been affected from the moment of birth.”

The midwife was left speechless.

“This Prince will only say this once.” Chu Yi’s cold gaze swept over the four women. “If mother and child are safe, you four will receive tremendous wealth. If there is even the slightest mistake, you four had better watch out…”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

Yun Chu pressed down on his hand. Taking advantage of a break between contractions, she said: “Don’t say such things.”

It was inauspicious, to say nothing else.

More importantly, it added psychological pressure on the midwives.

She was about to say a few more words when the next round of contractions suddenly struck. Her belly instantly tightened, severe pain spreading, and her spine aching to the extreme as well.

One midwife immediately taught her to take deep breaths.

One fed her chicken soup to maintain her strength.

Two observed at the bedside to check how dilated her cervix was.

A roomful of maidservants each performed their duties—some brought hot water, some prepared the baby’s clothes, some continuously brought chicken soup or ginseng soup…

Chu Yi didn’t know what he could do. He instinctively held her hand, constantly giving her strength.

This wasn’t Yun Chu’s first time giving birth.

She distinctly felt that this time was different from the last.

That premature birth over six years ago—the baby had no strength at all, relying entirely on her efforts alone. In the end, it was a difficult birth and she hemorrhaged severely.

But this time, the baby was full-term. When she pushed, the baby pushed along with her.

“It’s coming out, I can see the head!”

“Princess Consort, push harder!”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. Wait for the next contraction to push again. Drink the ginseng soup first.”

Tingfeng tremblingly passed the ginseng soup to the midwife.

The midwife didn’t care whether Yun Chu could drink it or not and fed it to her directly. Yun Chu could only instinctively swallow.

When the next contraction came, she suppressed a cry from her throat. She only felt a warmth below, and her abdomen immediately relaxed.

“Waaah—”

The baby’s cry rang out in the birthing room.

Yun Chu was covered in sweat, soaking wet all over, lying on the bed as if drained of strength, gazing at the palm-sized baby. The corners of her lips slowly curved into a smile.

“Princess Consort, push once more. The placenta hasn’t come out yet.”

The most dangerous moment in the birthing room had passed. The pace slowed down as they slowly dealt with the placenta and slowly cleaned the baby…

Inside the room things were leisurely, but the two children waiting outside were nearly going mad with anxiety.

“Brother, I heard the baby cry.” Chu Changsheng grabbed Chu Hongyu’s hand. “Mother and little sister are both fine, right!”

Chu Hongyu’s fingers were trembling: “They’re fine, definitely fine!”

The two children tried to rush in several times but were blocked by Tingshuang waiting at the door.

Ever since Tingshuang’s child was weaned, she had returned to serve at Yun Chu’s side, becoming the head matron of Yun Chu’s courtyard.

The other maidservants and servants simply couldn’t stop the Young Lord and Young County Princess. With Tingshuang standing there, the two children didn’t dare act rashly and could only wait obediently.

“Young Lord, County Princess, don’t worry. The Princess Consort and baby are both fine.” Luwei came out of the birthing room. “Once everything is cleaned up, the two young masters can go in.”

Hearing that both were safe, Chu Hongyu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked: “Is it a little sister?”

Luwei paused. She actually hadn’t noticed whether it was a boy or girl just now. The Prince and Princess Consort hadn’t asked, and the midwives hadn’t had a chance to say.

“Father! Father!” Chu Hongyu called out loudly.

Inside the room, Chu Yi was covered in sweat. He didn’t know how to hold the baby or what to do, and was just thinking of going out for some fresh air.

He walked out and said in a low voice: “Your mother just gave birth and needs to rest. Keep your voices down.”

“Father!” Chu Changsheng came forward. “Is it a little brother or little sister?”

Chu Yi was stumped by the question. After ensuring that both mother and child were safe, he hadn’t thought to ask about this at all.

A midwife came out of the room, smiling: “It’s a young master, a plump and fair young master. You can tell at a glance he’ll be blessed.”

“Ah? It’s a little brother?” Chu Hongyu’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t like little brothers.”

“Boys are the noisiest.” Chu Changsheng was also somewhat resistant. “Wasn’t it supposed to be a little sister?”

The midwife silently lowered her eyes.

From what she knew, some busybodies in the marketplace had opened gambling houses, betting on whether Prince Pingxi’s Princess Consort would have a boy or girl this time, and also betting on whether, if it was a legitimate son, he would replace the current heir apparent.

It seemed now that the Young Lord of Prince Pingxi was quite resistant to the Princess Consort giving birth to a son. After all, the Young Lord’s birth mother was of unclear origins, while the Princess Consort’s child was a properly legitimate bloodline. According to the rules, only legitimate children were qualified to be named heir apparent and inherit the title…

The Prince Pingxi’s estate was probably going to be in turmoil.

The midwife was from the imperial palace and knew well which things could be said and which could not. She silently went about her own business.

The two children had no idea what was on the adults’ minds.

They simply felt that little sisters would be fragrant and soft, very well-behaved and obedient, so they instinctively rejected having a little brother.

However, when they were allowed to enter, when they saw the fair and tender infant nestled in Yun Chu’s arms, when the infant’s five fingers instinctively grasped their fingers, the resistance and rejection in Chu Hongyu and Chu Changsheng’s hearts instantly vanished into thin air.

“Wow, little brother is so cute.”

“Little brother is so fair, his face has so much baby fat. Mother, can I pinch it?”

Without waiting for Yun Chu to nod, Chu Hongyu directly reached out and pinched the little infant’s face.

“Waaah!”

The baby immediately burst into loud crying.

“Brother, you went too far!” Chu Changsheng glared with her round, big eyes. “I won’t let you get close to little brother anymore, hmph!”

Chu Hongyu hastily grasped the little infant’s foot, saying gently: “Little brother, big brother didn’t mean to. Don’t cry, don’t cry, okay? I was wrong. I’ll never do it again.”

The newborn infant couldn’t understand human speech at all and cried even more frighteningly.

“Young Lord, County Princess, the second young master is hungry.” Tingshuang said with a smile. “This servant will carry him to the wet nurse to feed.”

The wet nurse had been waiting on the side all along. Once the milk was stuffed into his mouth, the little one instantly quieted down.