Sending all the girls away was to avoid leaving them with psychological trauma. Yun Ye thought this was the proper thing to do, lest they develop a fear of childbirth in the future.

Xinyue’s cries were very loud. With each cry, Yun Ye’s heart tightened. Over an hour passed and she was still crying out. Obviously, her voice had weakened considerably. From his understanding of his wife over many days, Xinyue was exhausted. Three hours seemed to have drained all her energy. They say first births are difficult, but it shouldn’t be this difficult.

The midwife walked out. Yun Ye’s eyes were red. If the old woman dared to say something like asking whether to save the adult or the child, Yun Ye would definitely tear the old woman to shreds.

“Marquis, the mistress wants to see you.” The midwife didn’t dare look at Yun Ye and could only timidly relay the message.

Unable to care about anything else, he rushed into the birthing room in two or three steps. He saw Xinyue with her legs propped up, groaning weakly. Seeing Yun Ye enter, she opened her mouth and weakly said something. Without needing to hear it, Yun Ye knew those were the three words “save me.”

His heart felt like it was being cut with a knife. Yun Ye forced himself to calm down and pulled out a small porcelain bottle from his chest. Inside was ginseng powder, essence that Sun Simiao had refined from many ginseng roots. Ginseng hadn’t yet gained recognition in the Great Tang and was currently just a folk remedy from the Liaodong region. After obtaining ginseng and verifying its medicinal effects, Sun Simiao had been overjoyed. This was a non-toxic, highly nutritious medicinal material, truly a treasure among herbs.

Trying his best to wear a smile, after mixing the medicine in a small bowl, he said to Xinyue: “Being a mother isn’t easy. Suffering is unavoidable. Don’t worry—with me and Master Sun here, you won’t be in danger. Look, this is the good medicine I prepared for you long ago. Drink it and you’ll have the energy to kill even a tiger.”

Xinyue wanted to smile, but intense pain twisted her face. She struggled to open her mouth wide, wanting her husband to quickly pour the medicine into her.

Whether it was the medicine’s effect or psychological, Xinyue’s cries became forceful again.

“Mistress, put in more effort! I can see the baby’s head—the hair on top is dark. It must be a robust young master. Put in more effort, mistress!”

Seeing the mother-to-be had regained her spirits, the midwife immediately encouraged Xinyue. Xinyue also gripped Yun Ye’s hand forcefully, her nails digging deep into the back of his hand. Yun Ye still smiled encouragingly at Xinyue, as if that hand didn’t belong to him.

“The head is out! Xiao Yue, well done! It’ll be quick now. Very soon our child will be out!”

Even in her confused state of mind, Xinyue didn’t want Yun Ye to be exposed to too much inauspicious energy. She’d heard people say that women giving birth were unclean and would bring bad luck to men, so she gripped Yun Ye’s hand tightly, not letting him look behind.

Yun Ye used one hand to feed Xinyue a bit more ginseng soup and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief. He had no such notions about inauspicious energy. In the future world, men watching their wives give birth had become fashionable. How could a joyous event become inauspicious when it reached the Tang Dynasty?

The three midwives kept working busily at Xinyue’s hips. Yun Ye noticed many blood-stained linen cloths. His heart trembled. Just as he was about to question them, he heard all three midwives cry out in joy together: “It’s born!”

He saw one midwife holding a bundle of red, soft flesh. Another picked up scissors boiled in strong alcohol and cut the umbilical cord. The remaining midwife firmly tied up the section of umbilical cord still connected to the child with thin hemp rope. She even held Yun Ye’s son upside down and slapped his bottom.

A loud cry rang out. The baby’s mouth kept flowing with amniotic fluid. So holding them upside down to slap their bottom had this purpose! The displeasure that had just risen immediately vanished like smoke.

Never mind how the courtyard was celebrating—Xinyue lifted her head and nervously asked Yun Ye: “Is it a boy or girl?”

The midwife quickly answered with a smile: “Congratulations, mistress! Felicitations, mistress! You’ve given birth to an upstanding man. Look at this little member—how spirited!”

Xinyue let out a long breath. Looking at that bundle of red flesh, she said to Yun Ye with pursed lips: “So ugly.”

“The mistress doesn’t know—all newborns look like this. In a few days it’ll be fine.”

Though Xinyue said it was ugly, she opened her arms to hold her child, paying no attention to the mess of her lower body.

“Marquis, these old women need to clean the mistress. You should go out.” With the child safely delivered, the midwife’s confidence had increased considerably.

Yun Ye smiled and nodded, patted Xinyue’s face, then pushed open the door and went out.

The courtyard was in an uproar. The old matriarch was clinging to the doorframe, eager to see her little great-grandson. When the baby cried out for the first time, Xiao Qiu had already spread the news that the Yun family had added a young master.

Master Yushan was smugly accepting congratulations from Old Niu and Old Cheng. Cheng Chumo was carrying a huge gift box, grinning widely at Yun Ye. Behind Niu Jianhu were gifts piled like a small mountain.

Cheng Chumo tossed aside the box in his hands, stepped forward to embrace Yun Ye, and said loudly: “Ye Zi, well done! As your older brother, I congratulate the Yun family on its continuous lineage and eternal prosperity for ten thousand generations!”

Then he turned to Niu Jianhu and said: “Jianhu, your wives got pregnant at almost the same time. Ye Zi has scored a victory right from the start—his first is a son. Now it’s up to you.”

After congratulating him, Niu Jianhu said to Cheng Chumo: “I’ll naturally also produce one with the equipment. Even if it’s a daughter, I’ll tie with you. Besides, your wife is only fourteen this year. Ye Zi said that having children at this age isn’t giving birth—it’s risking one’s life. Among us three brothers, your eldest legitimate son will be the last to be born.”

With one sentence, Cheng Chumo was deflated. Such were the facts.

The masters from the academy all came one by one. Gongshu Mu personally crafted a baby carriage as a gift—extremely beautiful and bringing great face.

Lishi brought his aunt, whose belly had already swelled up, to congratulate them. Aunt seemed to have become more prosperous. As soon as she arrived, she burrowed into the birthing room to see her little great-nephew. These days, unless there was something going on at home, she generally wouldn’t visit.

Yiniang and her husband didn’t like living in Chang’an. She had a quiet temperament and couldn’t stand noisy environments. Moreover, Old Master Pei had taken a new concubine at every posting these years, and now the household was trending toward being overcrowded.

When those gossipy women lived together, the disputes were headache-inducing. Yiniang’s status was too high for those minor concubines to dare offend, but seeing Yiniang’s mountain of dowry, they inevitably came to her door crying poverty, asking for a few pieces of jewelry to gain some advantage. Naturally, Yiniang turned no one away. If someone fancied her jewelry, she immediately took it off and gave it away. After all, her favorite set that her brother gave her was kept in a chest where others couldn’t see it. Those she gave away were already intended for them anyway.

Seeing this couldn’t continue, Old Master Pei—losing face in his own household was one thing, but if word spread to the noble families, how could he still have the face to mix in official circles?—gritted his teeth and set up a separate home for the young couple at Yushan. He strictly forbade the minor concubines at home from visiting. Only Pei Yu’s mother came to stay from time to time. Their days were very comfortable.

Now that the little nephew was born, she was naturally full of joy. From the moment she received the news, she’d been waiting at home. Now she replaced Na Rimu in entertaining the womenfolk from all quarters. Na Rimu couldn’t yet handle such grand occasions.

Today was perhaps Old Qian’s most glorious day. In and out of this duke’s mansion and that duke’s mansion, extremely busy. Every household needed to be properly greeted, otherwise it would be very discourteous.

The birth of the Yun family’s eldest legitimate grandson was naturally the Yun family’s most important matter. Regardless of whether there had been unpleasantness in the past, now there was nothing but congratulations. Speaking contrary words at this time would create a blood feud. No one wanted to make enemies with a family like the Yun family that only brought benefits and no harm. The Yun family didn’t participate in court politics, so there was no such thing as political disagreement. What was wrong with offering congratulations at no cost?

He Shao, who shared common interests with the Yun family, received the news and was so happy that tears flowed down his face—even happier than when he himself had a son. A few days ago, his Nth minor concubine had given him another son. This fellow now had a full seven sons and three daughters. The legitimate wife’s little daughter was just one year old now. Having her marry the Yun family’s eldest son as the legitimate wife was probably not quite enough, but if she became a concubine, he was unwilling. His heart was quite conflicted. Regardless, the Yun family having an heir meant the He family could still count on the Yun family’s protection for decades. This was a great joyous occasion that must be celebrated grandly. Knowing the Yun family now had few servants, he brought a large troop of people with pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, advancing mightily toward the Yun household.

Li Chengqian brought over a dozen guards and rode horses, reaching the Yun household in half an hour. Seeing Yun Ye, without another word, he presented a yellow silk cord strung with two pearl beads the size of longan fruits. This greatly surprised Yun Ye, who was accustomed to seeing pearls and treasures, and he quickly declined.

“Crown Prince, this is the token you’ve worn since childhood. How can you give it to my son? My puppy is young and cannot bear it.”

“What is there that he cannot bear? If it weren’t because your Yun family doesn’t recognize godparent relationships, I would make this boy my godson. These mere moonlight pearls are truly not worth mentioning. I only hope that when this child grows up, he can inherit your mantle and add more bricks and tiles to our Great Tang’s prosperous age.”

“The moonlight pearls are extremely auspicious treasures. The Crown Prince has already come of age and naturally doesn’t need them anymore. Now giving them to Marquis Yun’s son is precisely putting things to their best use.”

A sour voice came from the side. It was Yuan Tiangang, just recovered from serious illness, with a handsome young Daoist beside him. However, his eyes seemed to have a problem—his eyeballs never stayed in one place for long. Even when not stealing, he looked like a thief. Without asking, it could only be Li Chunfeng. This fellow’s interest in mathematics exceeded his pursuit of Daoist arts. He often said he was preparing to command divine calculations to test the inconstant, preparing to break new ground by using the patterns of mathematics to calculate the development of affairs. Unfortunately, in Yun Ye’s presence, he always returned defeated.

So when he came to the Yun household, his only target was Yun Ye’s study.

“The thieving old Daoist has come to the house to swindle again. Today, if you don’t properly calculate my child’s birth date and time, that won’t do.”

“In all the Great Tang, you’re the only one who says this old Daoist swindles. A few days ago, who was it that cheated the old Daoist out of the ‘Yellow Court Classic’? Now thinking about it, my heart aches as if cut by a knife. Yet you instead say the old Daoist swindles. It’s because Marquis Yun exists in this world that black and white are reversed and there’s no justice anymore. Bring wine! This old Daoist won’t go home today until drunk.”