Chapter 135
The moment Lu Hanzhi heard this, he immediately said, “What? He’s about to give birth? I—”
He sprang to his feet and ran straight toward the room, only to lose one of his shoes in his haste. He had to turn back to put it on, then gave Mu Qingtong an awkward smile.
After putting his shoes back on, he turned and went back into the room, quickly packed up his belongings, and instructed He Ming to have the carriage prepared so they could hurry back.
He also ordered Zai Yu to transport the cabinet of fierce-fire oil he had previously prepared back and place it around Prince An’s residence.
They had agreed long ago that when Second Sister-in-law went into labor, he would give birth at Prince An’s residence.
With guards from both sides protecting the same area, it would be much safer.
At this moment, however, Prince Min likely had no time to pay attention to matters at Prince An’s residence. His grand rebellion was at a critical stage, and he was probably unable to spare any attention elsewhere.
Lu Hanzhi was extremely anxious. The one about to be born was his own nephew—his own blood-related nephew—how could he not be worried?
Speaking of which, Second Sister-in-law’s child was quite a peculiar case.
The child was both his nephew and his nephew-in-law.
Ancient ethical concepts were, in fact, rather peculiar. Cousins on the maternal side could marry, since they were not considered direct blood relatives and thus did not count as incest.
However, cousins on the paternal side could not, as they were regarded as direct blood relatives and such a union violated moral norms.
If Prince Chu had not married his second brother, then the child he bore could have become even more closely related to Lu Hanzhi.
But since Prince Chue had now married his second brother, the child he bore could only be a full sibling to Ah Chan.
For example, Princess Zhaoyun had been the Crown Prince’s maternal cousin, and yet they had married.
This clashed greatly with Lu Hanzhi’s own values, because in his view, only scientific evidence should determine whether two people could marry.
Fortunately, the child born to Zhaoyun and the Crown Prince had been healthy. Otherwise, the matter would truly have been troublesome.
But in the end, it was merely a matter of probability. Since the likelihood of genetic diseases was not high, even close-kin marriages in ancient times rarely resulted in serious issues for the offspring.
After packing up, Lu Hanzhi wrapped his Browning pistol in oil paper, discreetly tucked it into the back waistband of his inner robe, and concealed it there. Then the group headed back to Prince An’s residence.
As soon as Lu Hanzhi entered, he saw the old steward of the household waiting at the gate.
Lu Hanzhi stepped forward and asked, “How is Wang Ye?”
The steward replied urgently, “Two physicians are waiting in the courtyard, and Mr. Lin has already gone inside. Wang Ye refuses to let the midwives enter the room, but the only male midwife in the capital passed away last year. His apprentices are too young and have never given birth themselves. This was my oversight—I didn’t expect His Highness to be so resistant to midwives.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “All right. I’ll handle it. Have everyone else disperse.”
The steward acknowledged the order. Lu Hanzhi told Luan Feng to take Ah Chan away, while he himself entered Prince Chu’s courtyard.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw maidservants and older women bustling in and out. The midwives were only giving instructions from the outer room—none of them dared to approach.
Lu Hanzhi lifted the door curtain and saw Lin Chongyun standing guard there, frowning at Yuwen Jue as he said, “I don’t know how to deliver a baby. Besides, I’m a man—how am I supposed to help you give birth?”
Yuwen Jue’s face was already deathly pale from the pain. He said, “I’m also a man. Why can’t you help me deliver?”
Lin Chongyun replied, “Yes, you’re a man! But… but you and I are different kinds of men! How could I possibly—”
Yuwen Jue said, “A physician has no gender. Didn’t you say that yourself?”
Lu Hanzhi was speechless. He stepped forward and said, “Stop arguing. I’ll do it.”
Seeing that Lu Hanzhi had returned, Lin Chongyun finally relaxed and said, “It’s better if Hanzhi does it. He has experience.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
To be honest, I don’t actually have experience—but at a critical moment like this, the system should be able to help me out, right?
Sure enough, the system prompt sounded: “Fetal position is normal, head-down. Natural delivery is possible.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Relax, Second Sister-in-law. Take deep breaths. Don’t be nervous.”
Yuwen Jue replied helplessly, “I’m not nervous. I know how to give birth.”
Sacred-Handed Lin had already left. Lu Hanzhi said, “Not nervous? Oh—did Second Sister-in-law read books about it?”
Yuwen Jue answered, “Yes. It just hurts a bit—I’m having trouble enduring it.”
Beads of sweat the size of beans seeped from Yuwen Jue’s forehead. Lu Hanzhi stepped forward and wiped them away, saying, “Shall I have Sacred-Hand Lin give you a couple of anesthetic needles?”
Yuwen Jue shook his head and said, “It’s fine. One has to go through this eventually.”
As he spoke, Yuwen Jue frowned again, likely as another wave of pain surged through his abdomen.
Lu Hanzhi said, “Second Sister-in-law, if you truly can’t bear it, I can give you a pain-relief injection.”
The medical resources within the system were extremely comprehensive, and under the system’s guidance, Lu Hanzhi never made mistakes.
He believed the system likely had authority over his body’s movements. Even the last time he performed a cesarean section, his incision and suturing had been exceptionally precise.
But Yuwen Jue waved his hand and said, “Even women can give birth. How could we not endure it?”
Lu Hanzhi did not insist. If someone could give birth naturally, it was best to do so without external intervention—it was the optimal way to deliver.
Yuwen Jue clenched the bedsheets beneath him and said, “It’s a pity… I didn’t manage to wait for your second brother to return. I already sent him a message by carrier pigeon. He probably won’t—”
At that moment, the rear window of the inner room suddenly shattered with a loud crash. A burly man in full armor burst in through the window.
Yuwen Jue was so startled that he momentarily forgot the pain and sat straight up in bed.
Lu Hanzhi recognized the man at first glance and immediately raised his head, calling to Lin Chongyun, “Brother Lin—guard the door!”
Yuwen Jue’s eyes instantly reddened as Lu Xuzhi swiftly stripped off his dirt-stained battle armor, leaving only a clean set of inner garments behind.
He stepped forward and pulled Yuwen Jue into his arms. His entire body was trembling.
Yuwen Jue finally failed to hold back his tears. They streamed down as he said hoarsely, “I… I’m not dreaming, am I?”
Lu Xuzhi cupped Yuwen Jue’s cheeks and said, “I rode two horses to death and galloped all the way back. I left Ah Min behind—he’ll probably only arrive in a couple of days.”
Yuwen Jue held onto Lu Xuzhi’s hand and said, “You came back just like this? Is that really all right?”
Lu Xuzhi shook his head and said, “I’m already a dead man. No one will notice me.”
Yuwen Jue said, “Even so, you must be cautious. If you were discovered, it wouldn’t be a small matter.”
Lu Xuzhi replied, “Don’t worry, Ah Jue. I disguised myself before entering the city. No one will discover me.”
Yuwen Jue nodded, just as another wave of pain surged through his abdomen.
He let out a low gasp. Lu Xuzhi tightly gripped his hand and said, “Come. I’ll stay with you. We’ll go through this together.”
As he spoke, Lu Xuzhi supported Yuwen Jue and let him lean against his chest. He gently held both of his hands and said, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be nervous. I’m here. I’ll stay with you the whole time.”
At that moment, Yuwen Jue’s heart finally settled completely.
To him, Lu Xuzhi possessed a miraculous calming effect. Even if he did nothing at all, simply being there was like an immovable mountain stabilizing his world.
Lu Hanzhi returned and said, “Second Brother, you came back at just the right time. If you’d been any later, my little nephew would already have been born.”
Lu Xuzhi said, “I knew. The moment the plan succeeded, Ah Min and I headed back. He still had to set up troop formations along the way, so I dumped all the work on him and rushed back first.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Let him stay busy—there’s nothing more important than Second Sister-in-law right now.”
Looking at Yuwen Jue leaning comfortably in Lu Xuzhi’s arms, Lu Hanzhi smiled and said, “Second Sister-in-law probably even forgot about the pain this time, didn’t you?”
Yuwen Jue replied, “…I… really did.”
Lu Hanzhi glanced over and said, “You really are—Second Sister-in-law! Push harder! My little nephew’s hair is already showing!”
About the time it took to brew a cup of tea, a clear and vigorous cry rang out from the room.
Lin Chongyun had the maidservants and midwives place everything outside, then personally carried warm water in to wash the infant clean and swaddle him.
Lu Hanzhi assisted from the side. The two of them were flustered and busy, but thankfully nothing went wrong.
Throughout the entire process, Lu Xuzhi never left Yuwen Jue’s side. He carried him to another clean bed, tucked in the blankets, arranged the pillows, and cared for him so meticulously that Lu Hanzhi couldn’t help feeling jealous.
If Yuwen Jue hadn’t been staring longingly at his child the whole time, Lu Xuzhi might almost have forgotten that his wife had just given birth.
When the freshly washed and swaddled baby was finally brought over, the corners of Yuwen Jue’s lips at last curved upward. He said, “Look at him—thick brows, bright eyes. He looks just like you.”
Lu Xuzhi nodded and said, “Thank you, Ah Jue. We have a child now.”
Yuwen Jue’s eyes were filled with happiness and fulfillment. Lu Hanzhi felt that even as someone who wasn’t single, he was still being force-fed affection.
Watching the two of them nestled together—whispering about the child’s looks one moment, murmuring about matters of the Western Frontier the next, then worrying softly about court politics—Lu Hanzhi could only feel envious to the point of tears.
He wanted a sweet romance too.
Unfortunately, from the moment he met Yuwen Min to the moment they confessed their feelings, their relationship had been accompanied by endless twists and turns.
System, please, just give me a proper romance storyline!
Watching others show off their affection every day—at least give me some benefits too.
Lu Hanzhi smiled faintly as he looked outside. Spring was warm, flowers were blooming, and peach and plum trees filled the courtyard.
Wisteria and ivy climbed up to the window, and a grasshopper hopped onto the window frame.
By calculation, it had almost been a year since he had transmigrated into the fictional world of Great Zhao.
Ah Chan would soon be turning one year old.
Beside him, Lu Xuzhi and Yuwen Jue were still discussing things quietly. At last, they arrived at the topic of the baby’s nickname.
Yuwen Jue said, “Our Lingyu—shouldn’t his nickname follow the same generational pattern as Ah Chan?”
Lu Xuzhi said, “Anything is fine. What does Ah Jue like?”
Yuwen Jue said, “I… can’t think of one. The insect generation… Ah Wo (snail)? Ah… Wa (frog)? Frogs croak, cicadas sing—would that work?”
Lu Xuzhi said, “Mm, it sounds good. Ah Wa sounds nice.”
Yuwen Jue shook his head again and said, “But would Ah Wa be too noisy? Look at him—he seems like the talkative type. What if he chatters in my ear all day, or constantly advises the Emperor? Wouldn’t that make him easy to punish?”
Lu Xuzhi: …His wife was thinking a bit too far ahead.
Still, he went along with it. “Why don’t you think a bit more, Ah Jue? Actually, any name is fine—it’s just a title. If he doesn’t like it, he can choose a courtesy name when he comes of age.”
Yuwen Jue smiled and said, “Then… Ah… Ah… Ah Zhu (spider)? Ah Zhu sounds nice! Spiders can weave webs.”
Lu Hanzhi’s face darkened instantly. “Second Sister-in-law, you’re too late. The one in my belly is already called Ah Zhu”
Yuwen Jue let out an “oh,” rubbing his temples with a slight headache. “Then… then let’s think again.”
At that moment, Lu Hanzhi noticed that the same grass-green grasshopper had hopped back again.
He raised his head and looked at the lush greenery filling Prince An’s residence and said, “Why not call him Ah Meng (grasshopper) instead?”
Ah Meng—likely another future fierce general of Great Zhao.
Tsk. Ah Chan, Ah Meng, Ah Zhu… At this rate, just as he had said, the Yuwen family really might end up producing an entire insect alliance.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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