Chapter 176: Please Guide Me in the Future
After five months, the cubs became more and more obvious.
It was the beginning of spring. An Ruyi specially ordered the embroiderers to make the widest robes for Wei Wanlan.
Wei Wanlan was originally tiny. After getting pregnant, only his belly grew; everywhere else remained very slender. Wearing larger robes could cover the increasingly bulging belly more tightly.
But actually, the Emperor carrying cubs had become a matter that the entire court knew tacitly but absolutely dared not discuss publicly.
Mainly because, on the day Su Jingzhi brought Wei Wanlan back to the Prince’s Manor, he had considered this matterâtheir relationship had to be made public more widely. Otherwise, even if Wanwan gave birth to the children, perhaps someone would still suspect the children’s origins. Lightly speaking, it would affect the children’s psychology; heavily speaking, it would shake the imperial power.
That the children were Wanwan’s bloodline should become an unquestionable fact.
But as for… how to explain that Wanwan, as a male, could conceive children…
The Regent indicated it was still those few words:
âThe ones in high positions are without fault.
Whether searching for classics or fabricating some “Interaction between Heaven and Man” or “Auspicious Signs in the Human World,” the goal was only one: to package the matter of the Emperor personally conceiving Imperial Princes as an inspiring auspicious omen, the kind found only in heaven and not on earth.
Just do it.
Su Jingzhi gave the order. The one who had the hardest time was Prime Minister Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji felt he was about to explode. What kind of bastard was Su Yan? Giving down pressure just like that???
However, the Regent wouldn’t listen to his complaints.
Xiao Ji could only bite the bullet and really find excuses for the Little Emperorâs pregnancy. Xiao Ji was worthy of being Xiao Ji, a great talent; he actually pulled it off.
Ever read the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’?
Yu the Great tamed the floods. Yu’s father was called Gun. Gun gave birth to Yu. The generational Emperor Yu was born of a father.
Today, our Great Wei monarch is not only able to govern the country and bring peace to the world, but is even willing to give birth to emperors as wise and virtuous as himself for the sake of past and future generations. What a character of dedication!
See, the logic flowed.
Good old Xiao Ji, he practically applauded his own explanation.
Drafting it into a decree and announcing it to the world, the acceptance among the common people was quite high. After all, there were already legends like “Wei Wanlan commands swords to settle the border” in the folk tales. Wei Wanlan giving birth to a child… err, wasn’t that rare either.
As for who the children’s other father was, the decree didn’t say, but in the court, no one was unaware.
Everyone knew.
And everyone felt that the Regent being the children’s father was a pretty good development. The Su family had defended the country for six generations. Su Jingzhi had been an iron tree that didn’t bloom for so many years; there were quite a few people secretly anxious for him.
Now the seventh generation of general’s bloodlineâwasn’t it continued?
When the cubs grew to the ninth month, it was midsummer again.
At this time, Wei Wanlan had already survived the intense discomfort of early pregnancy. The morning sickness reaction was greatly alleviated; now he basically didn’t vomit and could eat quite a bit. He could show off his appetite at every meal.
Compared to when he first started carrying the cubs, after several months of careful nursing and care, the cubs no longer showed signs of instability. Fetal movement was obvious, and the cubs were growing very strongly.
Doctors like Imperial Physician Fang and Hao Da were all very happy to have personally nursed two children with weak vitality back to health.
As the man who had saved His Majesty and the Regent twice, Hao Da successfully joined the Imperial Medical Office. He also restrained that feigned arrogant temper. His professional future was back on track; he wanted to continue the lineage of the National Doctor Hao Tongming and create brilliance again on the righteous path of medicine.
To give birth to these two children, Wei Wanlan definitely had to have his belly cut open. Every doctor said so.
But for a little delicate ghost like Wei Wanlan, who would feel sorry for himself for half a day if he broke the skin on his finger, asking him to take a knife… he was extremely afraid. With two months still left until the day of giving birth, Wei Wanlan pulled at Su Jingzhiâs sleeve every day, shaking Su Jingzhiâs shoulders:
“Regent, will something happen to Zhen QAQ”
“Save the adult.”
“Woo, the cubs have to be rescued too.”
“Don’t let your thoughts run wild.”
Su Jingzhi was very good at soothing Wei Wanlanâs emotions. He knew Wei Wanlanâs unease and knew that Wei Wanlan was now far along; it was destined that the children couldn’t be removed. Little Wan had to face the pain of giving birth, and being afraid was normal.
Su Jingzhi would secretly blame himself.
…If he had known earlier that Little Wan could give birth to cubs, he would definitely have taken precautions from the start. As for whether to have two children in the future, he would have let Little Wan consider it early on.
Clearly his name was Wanwan (Late), but he had babies early.
Mn.
In the future, I must treat Wanwan and the babies well, forever.
By the end of the cubs’ ninth month, early autumn, it was almost time for birth. It was also the most active time for them in Wei Wanlanâs belly.
Except for when they slept, the cubs would have strong or weak fetal movements all day long.
Sometimes they fussed lightly, like two little fish swimming around in the stomach. Wei Wanlan would have a very strange physical sensation. He poked his belly, interacting with the cubs.
But there were also times when they fussed severely.
In early autumn, rare floods appeared in the Jiangnan region. Many fertile fields and commoners were soaked in water. Wei Wanlan consumed a bit too much physical energy dealing with state affairs, and at the same time, he was very worried about the living beings in the disaster area. He felt tired.
The cubs might have been a bit tired too. Because Wei Wanlan didn’t sleep, they couldn’t sleep peacefully either, so a group protest appeared. Two little cubs urged Wei Wanlan to sleep from inside his belly.
That night they fussed fiercely; the belly would bulge here and there. It scared Wei Wanlan into thinking something had happened. He hurriedly urged An Ruyi to go to the Ministry of War to call back the Regent and to the Imperial Medical Office to summon the Imperial Physicians.
The result of the Imperial Physician’s diagnosis was just fetal movement, slightly intense, and he needed to pay attention to rest.
Only then did Wei Wanlan lean half-back against the embroidered cushions on the dragon bed, breathing a sigh of relief quietly. “It felt so painful just now QAQ.”
And then, because of this “so painful,” a certain Regentâs gaze narrowed slightly. After coaxing Little Wan, he began to do psychological counseling for the little cubs again.
“Little Wan is the Emperor, the ruler of a country. He has his own things to do.”
“The Jiangnan floods concern the safety of millions of people. Even if you wish for Imperial Father to sleep with you, you shouldn’t hurt him recklessly like this.”
“Be obedient. Only if you come out will Father Prince play with you more.”
“Understood?”
Su Jingzhi pressed his rough hand against the dragon belly, reasoning with them while stroking.
Miraculously, his cubs could actually understand him.
Different reactions appeared on both sides of Wei Wanlanâs belly. One hummed shallowly inside, while the other knocked on the belly, really responding to the Regent.
Wei Wanlan felt the communication between father and sons and found it more and more interesting. Now he wasn’t too afraid of the cubs making a fuss in his belly anymore; instead, he felt his family’s two babies were quite cute.
Su Jingzhi traced the curve under Wei Wanlanâs skin and analyzed warmly, “The children have different personalities.”
He tapped the left side of Wei Wanlanâs belly:
“Look, this one is very steady.”
Then he tapped the right side, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly:
“The other one is very flamboyant.”
But he did not express an evaluation of the pros and cons of the two children’s personalities.
Su Jingzhiâs inclusiveness in education gave Wei Wanlan the illusion that maybe Mr. Regent had also traveled back from the modern era.
Wei Wanlan lay half-sideways on the bed and said sincerely, “Your Highness, actually Zhen really thought you would be that kind of fierce dad who would grab the little darlings and beat them up if they were disobedient.”
Nowadays, Su Jingzhi was no longer surprised by the one or two cross-era terms that often popped out of Wei Wanlanâs speech. He was even long accustomed to translating them in his mind into meanings he could understand, answering Wei Wanlan freely.
“It was hard work for Wanwan to give birth to them; I won’t bear to hit them.”
“…”
Now that Wei Wanlanâs body was heavy, hearing such mushy words, he couldn’t quickly bury his head like an ostrich.
He could only blink his eyes, turning his head away not to look at the Regent, feeling his own body temperature rising within the bedding, his face thoroughly hot.
Then he heard Su Jingzhi add a sentence to make up for it:
“However, if the children do something wrong and refuse to change despite repeated instruction, this Prince will also punish them.”
“Then you’ll be the bad guy in the future?”
“Yes. Don’t feel distressed. I won’t punish too harshly.”
A burst of stinging itchiness on the surface of his bellyâhe was being touched by the Regent again. The little cubs just heard they would definitely be loved, but might also be punished. They swam and swam in Wei Wanlanâs body, as if constantly expressing words they couldn’t speak:
Don’t worry.
We will be good~
The swimming sensation became more and more obvious. Then Wei Wanlanâs stomach had a little cramping pain. For the first few times, he didn’t take it seriously and was still chatting with the Regent about the future.
But that cramping sensation didn’t alleviate for a long time. On the contrary, after an hour passed, the situation became even more severe.
Wei Wanlan suddenly clutched the Regent nervously:
“Stomach… uncomfortable QAQ.”
“Woo.”
Beneath the skin, the fetal pulse became more and more obvious.
The children couldn’t stay inside anymore; they were about to be born.
Su Jingzhi rose abruptly. “Summon the Imperial Physicians quickly!”
Because Wei Wanlan gave birth about ten days earlier than the expected date, the Imperial Physicians were also a bit surprised. The Purple Tuan Hall fell into chaos for several consecutive hours.
To gather qi, the sleeping hall wasn’t too big to begin with. Inside the room, there were people carrying water, sterilizing tools, washing handkerchiefs, handing handkerchiefs… there were already too many people, not even counting the attending doctors delivering the babies.
Wei Wanlan was covered in cold sweat. His deer-like eyes were soaked, eyelashes stained with tears, appearing very pitiful and scared.
That expression made Su Jingzhiâs heart ache terribly. He wanted to sit by the delivery bed to accompany him, smoothing over Wei Wanlanâs dragon claws, kneading and soothing him tirelessly.
But Wei Wanlan blinked his eyes, seemingly slowly losing consciousness. Scared, Su Jingzhi hurriedly shouted, “What is wrong with His Majesty?”
Hao Da had just administered general anesthesia to Wei Wanlan. He showed him the hemp packet. “Mafeisan. The dosage is controlled; His Majesty just fell asleep.”
Imperial Physician Fang revealed a scalpel blade like a willow leaf. Just as he was waiting to retrieve the cubs, he saw the Regent’s eyes become extremely vigilant. Imperial Physician Fang’s hand holding the knife trembled violently; how could he dare to operate?
“Your Highness…”
“Your Highness, there are so many doctors in this room protecting His Majesty. Please don’t watch anymore. If you keep watching, everyone here has to look out for you and can’t do anything. You can’t help with this matter.”
An Ruyi quickly got up to smooth things over, coaxing and persuading, hurriedly trying to invite this great deity out.
Su Jingzhiâs knuckles bent slightly. He hooked Wei Wanlanâs hand tenderly until the distance was too great and their clasped hands separated. Wei Wanlanâs palm fell back onto the bed surface. He looked like he had lost his soul, constantly looking back at Wei Wanlan.
“Wanwan…”
“It will be fine! It will be fine! This slave guarantees with his head, His Majesty will absolutely not have any issues. General Tang, you must guard the door well. Do not let anyone in, the Prince cannot enter either!”
As the first person in the military to discover the existence of the little darlings, Tang Tuan had long secretly crowned himself the Old Uncle of the little darlings in his heart.
He quickly blocked the door. He was worried too, but during this time he observed the Regent’s expression. In Su Jingzhiâs face, he saw a panic never seen before.
Tang Tuan could only guard the door more strictly. “Boss, subordinate also guarantees with his head, His Majesty has absolutely no problem. Please calm down, you are about to become a father.” He paused and added, “If you feel happy that the little darlings are born, I beg a reward of two months’ monthly money.”
With this change of topic, Su Jingzhi finally glanced at him and said, “If they can be born safely, I reward you two years of salary. The funds will come from the Prince’s Manor.”
Just let his Wanwan suffer a little less torture…
Wanwan is afraid of pain.
Why use such a thin, sharp blade to cut Wanwan? Better to come at this Prince instead.
At this moment, Su Jingzhi was completely unaware that even if they cut him open, they couldn’t take anything out. His left hand clenched into a fist, knuckles turning white, thin lips trembling lightly.
Tang Tuan knelt directly at the doorway:
“Subordinate guarantees, subordinate will count to three, and the children will definitely be born. Otherwise, subordinate will run laps doing handstands on the drill ground!”
“One!”
Inside was still a mess of busyness.
A bean-sized bead of sweat rolled down Tang Tuanâs forehead. He bit the bullet and continued to divert the Regent’s attention. “Two!”
There was no change in the delivery room either. It was still noisy. Listening to it for too long made one’s heart increasingly messy.
That bead of Tang Tuanâs sweat had flowed along his temple to his chin. He raised his eyebrows, bracing himself to continue counting down.
A person walked slowly from the end of the corridor. Breeze blew gently, the figure was graceful, holding a book scroll. He took over Tang Tuanâs heavy responsibility. Xiao Ji cupped his hands and asked, “Reporting to Your Highness, the Hanlin scholars have drafted several names. According to etiquette, Imperial Princes should be bestowed names upon birth. Please look over them, Your Highness.”
“His Majesty should choose.”
“His Majesty let you choose,” Xiao Ji said, opening the entire scroll. The names on the scroll were divided into upper and lower rows. The top row all started with the character Wei, crowned with the national surname. The bottom row started with the character Su.
“His Majesty said his love for the children makes no distinction between high and low, but one child should count as the Su family’s bloodline. The selected child’s title will be slightly lower than the Crown Prince. In the future, they will be raised together to avoid the accident of brothers fighting against each other.”
Wei Wanlan was born into a very happy family. He didn’t like intrigue. To be able to consider this, one had to say, it was very thorough.
Only then did Su Jingzhi pick up the scroll and scan it. His gaze landed on two names he liked, and he pointed. “Then choose these.”
“This official receives the order.”
The scroll was closed.
Inside the delivery room, two loud cries rang out: “Wahâ” “Wuwu…” Two little babies were born.
“Three!!!” Tang Tuan rejoiced, his voice not much different from the children’s cries, eyes full of expectation. “Boss, two years, two years! The children are born!!!”
Su Jingzhi nodded.
The delivery room opened. Eunuch An wiped the sweat all over his head. The two little darlings were quickly cleaned, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and held by the steadiest senior palace maids.
An Ruyi said, “Your Highness, the children are born…”
“Can this Prince go in?”
He didn’t look at the children; he wanted to go in to see Little Wan. Wei Wanlan lay on the dragon bed, completely exhausted. His small face was white to begin with; now it was a pale white covered in a layer of cold sweat. Wrapped in the quilt, unconscious and insensate, he appeared very tired and very obedient.
Su Jingzhi kissed Wei Wanlanâs forehead with heartache.
He raised his eyes and asked, “Is there any follow-up work that this Prince can do? Feeding water, feeding medicine, or helping him massage and turn over?”
He wanted to perform every service for Wei Wanlan, even if Wei Wanlan couldn’t feel it right now.
He also wanted to treat the children equally, saying in a deep voice, “If they need care, this Prince can also do it. I can read memorials too… neither will be delayed.”
Such a Regent would definitely never be secretly called Yama King again.
An Ruyi shook his head and laughed. “Your Highness, so many people in the Imperial Palace are looking after the children. This slave guarantees with his head again, they will be taken care of well.”
He knew no one could snatch away the Regent’s task of caring for the Little Emperor. The Prince’s eyes revealed a warmth that wanted to completely wrap up and protect His Majesty.
An Ruyi suggested, “Your Highness, you won’t see them for eight or nine days. Hug them first.”
The two senior maids handed the children over.
Two cubs appeared in front of Su Jingzhi. Neither of the two little guys had opened their eyes yet. They arched in the swaddling clothes. One had cried enough and wanted to reach out to hug someone. The other was still crying loudly, very attention-grabbing.
Hugging either one first wasn’t quite appropriate; it could easily be used as leverage by the other cub in the future.
Su Jingzhi decided not to choose. He used both hands to scoop them up, holding both at the same time. The two little cubs were soft and seemed hot to the touch.
He held them very cautiously, gathering the children into his arms, terrified that using too much strength would hurt one. He sighed with heartfelt emotion:
“Very small.”
Very small Little Wan gave birth to two small cubs. Very cute.
The Regent, a father for the first time, involuntarily lightened even his breathing.
The two children seemed to sense that the person hugging them was the one outside the belly who always communicated with them, always spoke to them, and read stories to them. They each quieted down, humming and whining as they sought him out. Their clingy appearance was actually seventy or eighty percent like Wei Wanlan.
An Ruyi: “Let’s take them down first. Just born and haven’t eaten yet; the wet nurses are waiting outside. When His Majesty wakes up, bring them to the Prince and His Majesty to look at the children properly.”
With that, the two senior maids carried the children away.
The delivery room instantly quieted down.
An Ruyi finally closed the door.
Tang Tuanâs face was full of joy. having just received two years of salary, he spoke to Prime Minister Xiao, hooking arms with him familiarly. “The Prime Minister came at just the right time. This general made a small fortune; I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Suddenly grabbed by the neck, Xiao Ji looked as complex as if he had run into a blocking foolish dog.
…
Wei Wanlan didn’t wake up until the latter half of the night.
After the anesthetic wore off, the incision on his lower abdomen began to throb with fine, dense pain. He was afraid of pain and dared not move, so he seemed glued to the bed, simply aggrieved beyond measure.
“Wuwuwuwu Regent QAQ.”
His fingers gently touched his stomach. The mountain-high belly had already gone flat. His brow twitched; he knew he had given birth.
But he didn’t hear the cubs crying. Wei Wanlan was looking.
“Where are the little friends?”
“They need to be nursed for a few days. It’s inconvenient to see you now, and you have to recuperate well too.”
Su Jingzhiâs hard knuckles wiped away Wei Wanlanâs tears and brushed aside his sweat-dampened bangs.
“Does it hurt?”
“Mn. Hurts to death…”
Because of his reply, Su Jingzhiâs hand soothing him trembled.
It was hard to imagine how terrified and helpless Wei Wanlan was at that time. He could only kiss Wei Wanlanâs forehead again, saying softly, “It doesn’t hurt. If it hurts, bite me. Bite hard.”
“What kind of request is that?”
Wei Wanlan caught his breath on the bed. Being stroked gently on the head by Su Jingzhi, his thoughts went blank for a moment.
So magical.
From the muddled ignorance when he first transmigrated, to now having a sweetheart and giving birth to babies, time had passed so quickly, like a dream.
He would continue to stay here, be together with Su Jingzhi forever. Two people guarding the mountains and rivers named Great Wei, walking through the long three meals and four seasons, watching their babies grow up.
“We are a family of four now.”
“Thank you, Little Wan. Little Wan has worked hard.”
“Regent, please look after me in the future too~”
…
âMain Story Endâ
T/n: This cute story has now ended~ Iâm satisfied and happy. Side stories will follow~ Please visit the author, and show your support!Â
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