Suddenly, Xiao Heng took a big stride forward and took the child into his embrace.
The midwife smiled as she congratulated: “Congratulations, third Master. Look how good the Little Young Master looks! Just when he was born, the room seemed to be engulfed by a bright red light. In the future, Little Young Master will surely grow into a remarkable person!”
Actually, the midwife didn’t see the red light too clearly. She merely felt a bright red glow in front of her eyes for a moment before it disappeared in a flash. Although she couldn’t open her eyes at that time, it did not prevent her from boasting about it in front of Xiao Heng.
But who would have imagined that as soon as she said this, Xiao Heng shot her a quick glance.
That glance was so cold and sharp that it made her tremble all over uncontrollably.
Amitabha. How could this be the gaze of someone who just became a father?
Xiao Heng ignored the midwife who spouted nonsense and he lowered his head to look at the little person in his arms.
He had seen his brother’s children not long after they were born. They neither had any hair nor any eyelashes, but this little one had moist, jet-black fetal hair and a few eyelashes which hid his eyes from view.
His snow white skin was covered with the characteristic pinkish red flush on newborn babies. His cheeks were round and bulging. He seemed to be pouting slightly with his tiny mouth, looking exactly like a little red fruit.
At present, his eyes were closed as he slept, his small and chubby face as soft as glutinous rice and as serene as if Buddha had descended into the human world in the form of a baby.
Xiao Heng looked at this delicate little child in his arms. He couldn’t fathom how someone could be so adorable. The more he looked at the baby, the more he liked him and the more he liked him, the more he was reluctant to let go of him.
The joy of being a father leaped up in his heart for the first time. No matter how lonely he was in the past, now, happiness emerged in his eyes before he could conceal it.
At this moment, the third Prince came over from the side and looked at the little baby in Xiao Heng’s arms.
He narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, “Really resembles me in my childhood.”
[T/N: Argh!! Go away already, you pest! Don’t disturb the bond formation between the father-son! @#$%]
Hearing that, Xiao Heng’s gaze immediately turned into sharp swords as he glanced at the other person fiercely. Then hugged the little baby in his arms tightly, intending to step into the delivery room.
Obviously, he didn’t want this man to see his child.
However, the third Prince followed him: “I was like this in my childhood!”
In order to not frighten his newborn who had just stepped into this world, Xiao Heng resisted the urge to kick him out directly and go in.
The third Prince still wanted to follow him in but the Old Madam, the Madam and the Young Masters had already come over.
The eldest Young Master was instructed by his mother to stop him and try to talk it out responsibly: “Third Prince, we should discuss it thoroughly if you have something to say. Let’s go to the front hall so that we can talk it out there.”
The second Young Master stood in front of him to block his steps directly: “Third Prince, this is the delivery room of this subject’s brother’s concubine. Your Highness’ body is noble and precious. You must not get infected by bad luck.”
However, the third Prince was not appeased ah. He felt that this child was the fruit of his short-lived relationship with Gu Sui’er that night. Moreover, the child looked so similar to him when he was a child ah!
He still wanted to come over and take a closer look.
But at this moment, a group of people rushed inside the yard, announcing they had an Imperial decree.
“Third Prince, receive the decree.”
The third Prince looked at the closed door of the delivery room, and then at the decree issued by the Emperor. In the end, he had no alternative but to receive the latter first.
Since this decree began with the same general words ‘With God’s grace, the Emperor hereby commands that…’1With God’s grace, the Emperor hereby commands that[奉天承运皇帝诏曰] – This is what you generally see in C-dramas and movies where the eunuchs come and read from a long piece of paper to relay the Emperor’s message., the cumbersome beginning will be discarded. The content of the decree was very simple, that is, he was instructed to enter the Palace to meet the Emperor because His Majesty had something to talk to him.
If it were just eunuchs and guards who came over to call him, he could still ignore them.
But now they had brought along an actual Imperial decree. If he didn’t obey the decree, he’d be in deep trouble.
The third Prince had no choice but to look at the closed door of the delivery room, and leave while gnashing his teeth.
************************
Xiao Heng carried the child into the delivery room, only to find that it was quite hot and stuffy inside. Moreover, the whole room was reeking of blood. When he walked over, he saw the thin and weak face lying on the bed under the quilt. Her skin was as white as jade; there was no flush of red on her face.
With a glance, it seemed that the person would never wake up again.
He frowned and asked the nanny in a hoarse voice, “What’s wrong with her?”
The nanny hurriedly said in a respectful tone: “Third Master, Young Mistress was exhausted so she fell asleep. She will wake up in some time, or else… should I wake her up?”
Xiao Heng shook his head and murmured, “No need.”
While he was talking, he looked down at the adorable little baby in his arms. His eyes were still closed tenderly but little eyelashes were becoming more and more noticeable. The tiny red mouth was puckered up as he slept soundly.
He turned around and went out, only to see the Old Madam and the Madam waiting anxiously outside the room. He stepped forward and delivered the child to the Old Madam’s arms.
As soon as the Old Madam took the child, the Madam and the two Young Madams swarmed around her to see him.
When everyone finally saw him, they could not help but exclaim in admiration.
It must be said that a newborn child inevitably looked a bit weird. Their faces were quite puffy and red. They had a few hairs on their head, making them look like a mangy dog.
[T/N: I don’t know if I should say that this comparison is a bit over the top or normal…. Sigh.]
But this little baby was different from the others. Although his chubby little cheeks were red, it was a kind of tender pinkish red that could be called ruddy. His snow white skin was also red, but it was different from the dark reddish skin of other infants.
He was a clear and ruddy little one attracting everyone’s attention and making them love him.
The Old Madam held the newborn baby very carefully as she gawked at his pink jade-like skin that was as tender as a newly peeled chicken egg. With his small eyebrows and eyes that seemed to be like an exquisite painting, he was indeed an extraordinary child.
“Good-looking, really good-looking. This child will be an incredibly handsome man in the future. Even more handsome than Ah Heng!”
Needless to say, all of the Madams beside her already had children of their own. As a result, they liked this child even more and gathered to look at him closely, gasping in surprise repeatedly.
“Old Madam, look at his little mouth. His lips are thin and red, so beautiful!”
“His nose is also quite straight. It is rare for a child to have such a good-looking nose.”
And in the middle of the admiration of these women, the little one finally opened his eyes unhurriedly.
He was born with slender and narrow eyes. Now that he opened them slightly, his moist and curled eyelashes looked even more eye-catching. His pupils moved slightly, as if he was looking at the few people in front of him.
That expression, that imposing manner, slightly cold and indifferent were remarkably similar to Xiao Heng’s. He was just like a miniature version of him.
The women couldn’t help laughing: “He and Ah Heng are indeed exactly the same ah!”
If one were to say that there were still some doubts about his paternity with the sudden appearance of the third Prince, now, it was undoubtedly confirmed.
He was clearly Ah Heng’s flesh and blood. How could it be someone else’s!
While they were talking and laughing, the little baby unexpectedly opened his mouth wide, revealing the tender red gums inside.
His little mouth opened so unbelievably wide that the little nose on the chubby little face stood further up.
The women stared at this delicate little baby as he yawned majestically and then closed his eyes lazily, as if shooting them a contemptuous glance before going back to sleep.
At first, the Old Madam was taken aback by the little baby’s huge yawn but after seeing his unperturbed gaze, she couldn’t help being dumbfounded.
After that, she looked at her daughter-in-law and granddaughters-in-law blankly.
In the end, everyone burst out laughing.
“This little one is really interesting!”
“Yes ah… If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this little one understood what we said!”
“Little guy ah!” The old lady couldn’t help but rub his little nose lovingly; “You’re really a clever little spirit!”
****************************
In the delivery room, Gu Sui’er, who was completely drained of energy and fatigued the extreme, finally opened her eyes slowly.
She remembered that before she fell asleep, she seemed to hear the cry of a baby. It was young and tender yet sharp and clear. In other words, it was full of vigor.
That fierce eruption reminded her of the strength her little tadpole used when he kicked in her belly.
Did he finally decide to come out after deciding that he had tormented his mother enough?
Gu Sui’er, who opened her eyes, felt as if she was not quite the same as before.
It was a different feeling when the child was in her womb.
Now that he was born, she felt that there was one more person in the world who was connected to her by blood.
This was a very unusual feeling.
When she woke up after a nap, there was one more person in this world.
The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was to look for the child. She wanted to see her little tadpole, to see what he looked like.
But the first person she saw was Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng sat by the bed, staring at her quietly but fixedly.
After going through the intense pain of labor, she felt as if they were separated by a lifetime since the time she saw him.
He was very good-looking; his eyes and brows were all very beautiful. In the past, whenever she looked at him, she felt that this person was too cold; as cold as the snow on the mountain.
But seeing him now, she fell in a trance, thinking that he was not at all frigid.
He was merely like that, that’s all.
No laughter, no anger, looking at everything around him calmly.
It’s just that if one didn’t know him, they would certainly think he was a cold person.
Noticing her waking up, Xiao Heng frowned as his voice stretched taut slightly: “Does it hurt very much?”
Gu Sui’er blinked, nodded lightly, and then shook her head after thinking about something.
She had been a frail, gentle and obedient person; whatever she thought of was reflected in her moist eyes.
Xiao Heng knew what she meant. She was saying that even though it hurt a lot before, it didn’t hurt as much now.
He lifted his finger.
“Have some congee first.” He said hoarsely while those slender fingers caressed her cheek gently.
“En…” She replied softly.
Soon the nanny brought her food. It was a millet, red dates and edible bird’s nest congee2Millet, red dates and edible bird’s nest congee [小米红枣燕窝粥] – Kind of looks like this: that was already instructed to be cooked on a slow fire till it was all pulpy and thick.
Xiao Heng took the bowl to feed her personally.
Gu Sui’er obediently opened her mouth.
He scooped out a spoonful and delivered it to her mouth before she chewed it slowly.
This millet congee had clearly been simmered for a long time. The sweet aroma of red dates had already melted into the congee, and even the unique fishy smell of the bird’s nest was covered by the aroma of the millet. The soft and glutinous millet porridge could melt in the mouth. It was a different kind of sweetness and was the most suitable for women who had just given birth.
After taking a few mouthfuls of the congee, Gu Sui’er felt that she had recovered her strength and energy. So she turned her head around slightly, looking left and right.
Feeling she was being mischievous, Xiao Heng stretched out his big hand and grabbed her head, fixed it in one place and telling her she was not allowed to move and drink the congee obediently.
She hummed softly in protest, not drinking the congee that was held in front of her mouth with a spoon.
Feeling helpless, Xiao Heng raised his eyebrows and inquired, “Eh?”
Gu Sui’er looked at him and asked in a low voice, “Where is the little tadpole…”
Her little tadpole ah. Where was the little tadpole she gave birth to after so much effort?
Xiao Heng raised his brows, feeling a little amused as he caught the anticipation in her eyes. After waiting for a while with the bowl in his hand, he finally instructed the nanny standing by the bed, “Bring him in.”
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