On the third day of June, An Jing’s belly was already showing signs of impending labor, with feelings of tightness and a sensation of weight dropping, coupled with occasional intense pains, and both the midwives and Doctor Jiang had been summoned by Xiao Changyi to stand by.
There were two midwives.
An Jing’s belly was truly massive, as though the child within was on the verge of bursting through her skin. Even though these two midwives had delivered many babies and were exceptionally experienced, they could not help but break into a cold sweat for An Jing upon seeing the sheer size of her abdomen.
They had never seen a pregnant woman with such an enormous belly before.
Fearing that An Jing could go into sudden labor, Changyi also had Meng Zhuqing hire two quick-handed matrons to keep boiling hot water constantly, ensuring an ample supply was available at all times.
Because An Jing was about to give birth, Changyi was both anxious and worried, dreading any accident befalling An Jing or the child, and as time dragged on, even his firm composure and cool demeanor began to fray.
Just then, the Emperor of Xiyun’s secret agent arrived, looking for Changyi.
Upon learning that the Emperor of Xiyun had heeded Su Chengyu’s advice and actually bestowed a 7th-grade officer’s title upon An Jing, Changyi was even more infuriated. His wife was heavily pregnant, on the verge of delivery, and that shameless father and son pair were still scheming against his wife? Outrageous!
Xiao Changyi summoned the secret agent to a place out of An Jing’s sight, and then, he unleashed a vicious beating on the agent.
The secret agent, who was beaten yet didn’t dare to fight back: "..." Who have I offended?
Meng Zhuqing, witnessing the scene: "..." The master of their house is much harsher when he strikes than my brother... Surely, my brother has been holding back every time he beats me... I need to treat my brother even better from now on...
The problem was, although Changyi had given the secret agent a thorough beating, he had not caused a single drop of blood to be spilled.
The secret agent: "..." All my injuries are internal, okay!
Meng Zhuqing: "..." I know all your injuries are internal, you don’t have to look at me like that, I truly empathize.
The secret agent: "..."
After kicking the stuffing out of the secret agent, Changyi felt much better and, without paying any more mind to the agent who could barely stand, went to wash his hands before returning to the inner chamber to continue watching over his wife.
In the inner chamber, An Jing lay on her side in bed, looking at the imperial edict that the secret agent had brought, naming Xiao Changyi as Prince Yi.
If it weren’t for Changyi’s desire to keep his identity as a Prince concealed, how could the Emperor of Xiyun have casually allowed the secret agent to bring the edict? The Emperor would definitely have made a big spectacle of sending someone to announce the decree and confer the title to Changyi.
As soon as An Jing saw Changyi enter, she immediately stopped looking at the edict and turned to him with a beaming smile.
Changyi walked to the bedside, took the edict from An Jing’s hands, and without even glancing at it, threw it into a chest to sit at the very bottom.
An Jing immediately laughed: "My lord, other people would enshrine such a thing."
Changyi replied, "Just not burning it is already giving him enough face."
An Jing laughed even harder at Changyi’s words. When Changyi sat down beside the bed and held one of her hands in his, she said, "My lord, you are now a Prince. That would make me a Princess."
Changyi said, "You are still a farmer official."
Feeling his deep dissatisfaction with the Emperor of Xiyun’s decision, An Jing chuckled: "What, you don’t want me to take office?"
Changyi didn’t say whether he wanted that or not, only commenting, "They are scheming against you." Seeing her talent, they greedily want her to do more for Xiyun.