Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan had known the child’s gender ten days ago.
Skilled Chinese medicine practitioners could determine a child’s gender from the pulse, something the imperial physicians tacitly understood but rarely spoke of openly, instead deflecting with various excuses.
Setting aside the various derived reasons, their fundamental reason for not speaking was uniform: to reduce karmic harm.
Some people didn’t want to have daughters, some didn’t want to have sons, or some didn’t want pregnant women to give birth to daughters, some didn’t want pregnant women to give birth to sons.
So to ensure the safety of pregnant women and children, silence was the greatest kindness.
But this point was unnecessary with Zhao Hanzhang.
As emperor, and moreover a female emperor, whether she gave birth to a girl or a boy, she would raise them well.
So after she had been pregnant for six full months, the imperial physician diagnosed the gender and told her on the spot.
That’s right, Zhao Hanzhang had been pregnant for six months. The outside world thought she was only about four months along. Besides Fu Tinghan and the imperial physicians, only Ting He knew the exact timeframe; even Wang Shi didn’t know.
At this point, she had to thank the currently fashionable clothing styles. Zhao Hanzhang had many options to choose from. Apart from the practical clothing she wore for martial arts practice and outings, her court robes and casual wear in the palace were all predominantly loose-fitting. The former were elaborate, the latter light and flowing, all concealing her belly.
Moreover, her belly wasn’t very large.
Zhao Hanzhang had even worried in the middle period, thinking why her belly wasn’t growing. At four months, her belly had only protruded a small amount, like she’d eaten an extra barbecue meal at night. Who knew that entering the fifth month, her belly would start growing like an inflating balloon. Only then did Zhao Hanzhang announce the news.
She was very cautious. She trusted Ji Yuan and Ming Yu, believed in Zhao Ming and Zu Ti and others, believed in Zhao Erlang and Beigong Chun, believed in the civil and military officials, but…
She was also suspicious. Even with Fu Tinghan, she could entrust her back to him, but she wouldn’t deliberately test human nature.
So she would prepare for contingencies, show a trusting attitude, but always keep a space for herself in her heart.
After eight months of pregnancy, with the outside world guessing six months, Zhao Hanzhang began reducing the frequency of court sessions. Grand court assemblies changed from once every ten days to once a month. Small court sessions changed from daily to once every five days, with concentrated reporting of matters.
Zhao Hanzhang temporarily established a Council Chamber, composed of the chief and deputy officials of the Central Secretariat and Palace Secretariat, and the six ministers of the Department of State Affairs. Political matters would be discussed by them before providing handling opinions, with major issues then reported to Zhao Hanzhang.
Actually, after the Council Chamber was established, work efficiency improved.
Zhao Hanzhang was very satisfied with this. Fu Tinghan also reduced his outings, spending most of his time in the palace handling Department of State Affairs business while also helping her handle some governmental affairs.
In practice, this meant that when she couldn’t sit for long periods, he would read the submitted documents to her, write down her handling opinions after she gave them, and occasionally offer some suggestions himself.
Zhao Hanzhang calculated the due date when changing the small court session schedule. She was quite fortunate—the ninth day of the ninth month was the Double Ninth Festival, with court holiday until the twelfth of the ninth month, so the small court session was postponed to the fifteenth of the ninth month. She began having contractions on the tenth of the ninth month and started labor.
The imperial physicians had long been prepared. Zhao Hanzhang walked into the delivery room by herself.
Fu Tinghan also changed into clean clothes to follow her in. While she circled around the delivery room, she instructed Zeng Yue, who was listening for orders outside the window, “Don’t make too much commotion, just maintain the curfew.”
Zeng Yue asked, “Should we deploy troops from the four camps to enter the palace for defense?”
Zhao Hanzhang refused, “The Southern Camp and Eastern Camp are not far away; reinforcements can arrive in an hour. There’s no need to panic.”
Fu Tinghan saw that while she verbally reassured others and relaxed her hand in patting her belly, he still sensed her tension. He reached out to grasp her hand, “Take a deep breath?”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled at him and had Zeng Yue make the arrangements, then pulled Fu Tinghan’s hand back and forth.
Both their palms were a bit sweaty. Fu Tinghan’s palms were sweating more than hers. It was clear—he was truly nervous.
Zhao Hanzhang was also nervous, but she told herself in her heart to treat it like a battle. There was no battle in the world she couldn’t win.
She said to Fu Tinghan, “I’ll win this time too,” wanting to gain Fu Tinghan’s affirmation to add some confidence.
Fu Tinghan nodded, “All the imperial physicians have come. We’ve prepared many medicines and invited military doctors skilled in surgery. Even in the worst-case scenario, we can handle it.”
Zhao Hanzhang’s confidence swelled.
Wang Shi had temporarily gone to the ancestral hall to light incense, asking her father-in-law and husband to bless her daughter with smooth delivery, then hurried over.
But she had just entered the courtyard when she was stopped. Fan Ying said softly, “Madam, His Majesty needs to concentrate on childbirth. Why don’t you rest in the side hall and await good news?”
Wang Shi said, “No, I must stay by Sanniang’s side.”
Zhao Hanzhang heard her voice and pushed open the window, “Mother, please wait in the side hall. If you’re here, I’ll be distracted.”
Fu Tinghan also said, “Rest assured, I’m here with Hanzhang.”
Wang Shi saw Fu Tinghan in the delivery room and her eyes widened. She wanted to say something, but thinking that her daughter was the emperor, what was wrong with Fu Tinghan accompanying her daughter in childbirth?
Childbirth was so painful—as the imperial consort, wasn’t it natural for him to stay by his daughter’s side?
So Wang Shi forcibly swallowed her words, continuously suppressing her deep-rooted thoughts in her mind. After a moment, she felt righteous and justified, nodding, “Then I’ll wait in the side hall. Sanniang, if you need anything, call me. I’ve given birth to two children and have a lot of experience.”
Forget it—her experience had no learning value for Zhao Hanzhang. She had been completely clueless from childbirth to child-rearing, with no experience to speak of.
However, Zhao Hanzhang still smiled and nodded, agreeing.
Currently, the contractions came in waves. Zhao Hanzhang’s pain tolerance was high, so she didn’t take this level of pain seriously.
She believed she was only afraid of medical accidents during the delivery process, not afraid of labor pain.
Now her weight was appropriate, her abdominal circumference was appropriate, both the imperial physician and midwife had felt her belly, the fetal position was correct, and the baby’s size was suitable. Her heart rate and pulse diagnosis results were all healthy, so what did she have to fear?
Just the pain of childbirth—she had been cut by swords, stabbed by blades, and shot by arrows. She had experienced many kinds of pain.
Then that evening, Zhao Hanzhang was in so much pain her face turned white. Gripping Fu Tinghan’s hand, she couldn’t say a single word from the pain. She didn’t even cry out.
Fu Tinghan knelt behind her supporting her, one arm wrapped around her front, letting her grip it tightly.
Zhao Hanzhang’s nails had been trimmed, but gripping his arm now, she still drew blood. Fu Tinghan felt the pain, but his mind wasn’t on it at all. He looked at her face, his own complexion as white as hers, sweat falling like rain, anxiously looking toward the imperial physician and midwife.
The imperial physician was covered in sweat. This was his first time entering a delivery room at the start of labor. The emperor was truly an emperor, and the imperial consort was truly an imperial consort.
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