PNB Chapter 382 Divorce
Chapter 382 Divorce
Dongjun and Xihe naturally woke up as well. They quickly dressed and came over. Hearing their mother's cries of pain from inside, the two of them wept and cried softly.
Li Yuanke held one child in his arms, and the three of them squatted by the window, like three abandoned penguins shivering in the chilly night wind.
Li Yuanke felt that the waiting time was extremely agonizing. Every cry of pain from Shen Shixi felt like a knife cutting into his heart. He closed his eyes tightly. At this moment, the two children became his salvation.
Dongjun was terrified and asked, "Father, will Mother die?"
"No, don't be afraid!" Li Yuanke's voice was hoarse.
Xihe said, "Mother said that I will not die, and will live forever."
As soon as she spoke, tears streamed down her face, and she couldn't hold back her sobs. She threw herself into her father's arms, crying, "Dad, I'm scared!"
Li Yuanke thought to himself, "Even my father is afraid."
He held his daughter and said, "Xihe, don't be afraid. Your mother is very strong. You'll be alright."
Consort Xian and the others couldn't bear to watch. The Empress was giving birth, and the Emperor was so scared that he even shed tears. Did he have no imperial dignity left?
If this gets out, is that appropriate?
At this moment, Li Yuanke didn't care about anything else. As basins of bloody water were brought out, he felt as if he had been drained of all his energy. The fear was like a giant hand, tightly gripping his heart, making it difficult for him to breathe.
This was Shen Shixi's second pregnancy, which was easier than her first. After a little over an hour, she heard the midwife say that she could see the head of the baby. Under the midwife's guidance, she controlled her breathing rate, and with a final push, she felt something slip out of her body.
Then they heard the midwife calling out, "It's a prince! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The prince is healthy. There's another one. Your Majesty, please don't rush. Take your time. Come on, exhale, inhale..."
Shen Shixi disregarded her newborn child. Consort Shu took the baby and knelt before her bed, encouraging her, "Your Majesty, don't be afraid with me here!"
The second one was also nearing its end. As Shen Shixi used her last bit of strength, a cry was heard, slightly softer than the first. The midwife exclaimed, "Another prince!"
Li Yuange rushed in, shoved Consort Shu aside, and took her place by the bed. "Xi'er, Xi'er, how are you?"
Consort Shu was holding the eleventh prince when her head slammed heavily against the wall, the child held tightly in her arms.
"Oh dear, Consort Shu, are you alright?" Lan Ying quickly came over, took the child from her, handed the child to the midwife, and then helped Consort Shu up.
Consort Shu was furious. She glared fiercely at the Emperor's back, stomped her foot, and left.
She was afraid that if she stayed even a moment longer, she would be unable to resist stepping forward and kicking the emperor in the back a couple of times.
"How is the Empress? Huh? Are you all dead?" the Emperor shouted anxiously.
After examining her, the midwife quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Empress is simply exhausted; she is perfectly healthy, and both mother and child are safe!"
"Good, good, good!" The emperor, with tears in his eyes and his gaze fixed on the empress, said, "Reward Li Fude, a generous reward; the midwife, fifty taels of gold; the rest, one hundred taels of silver each, plus the monthly salary for the first and second half of the year from Zhaoyang Palace."
I thought it would be less, but to my surprise, it was the same as when I gave birth to the Crown Prince and Princess Xihe.
Although everyone came here for this reason, who wouldn't be happy to get paid?
The news that the Empress had given birth to twin princes spread throughout the court and the country in an instant. Some wealthy families in the capital bought fireworks to set off, and the entire capital was filled with joy.
At this time, Shen Shiwan returned to the capital with her third brother. She dressed as a man, and the carriage stopped in front of the Shen family. She went to the Shen family first.
Seeing her daughter return, the second wife was filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy. "Your second sister just gave birth to twin princes. The palace just sent someone to announce the good news, and you've come back just in time."
Upon learning that her daughter had not returned to the Marquis of Changning's residence, the Second Madam said, "Then she shouldn't go back."
At the end of last year, the eldest son of the Marquis of Changning was born, and later a daughter was born, the daughter of Chunxing and Chunliu's concubine. Although the Marquis's family tried their best to keep a low profile and hide it, how could they hide it?
Shen Shiwan had no intention of going back. After being away for two or three years, she realized how vast the world was, met many people, and understood that there are countless choices in life.
Back then, she relied on her family and second sister, choosing the safest path. But as it turns out, relying on herself is the strongest.
Jiang Zuibai followed the Shen siblings into the capital and moved into a three-courtyard house. The steward who had been inquiring about the Shen siblings' background returned. "Master, the Third Young Master Shen and the Third Miss Shen are both from the Grand Tutor Shen family. They are the Empress's elder brother and cousin."
Jiang Zuibai is twenty-five or twenty-six years old, unmarried, and the head of the Jiang family in Tongcheng.
He was originally destined to succeed through education, but his father committed suicide after his business went bankrupt, and the burden of the family fell on his shoulders. He was only fourteen years old that year.
With perseverance and an indomitable spirit, Jiang Zuibai not only paid off his debts but also surpassed his father's former glory. Today, Jiang Zuibai of Tongcheng is a shining example of success.
Jiang Zuibai, the head of the Jiang family, is a well-known figure in Jiangnan. When people talk about Young Master Jiang, they all feel a sense of respect.
When the Shen siblings went to Jiangnan to do business, they inevitably had to deal with the Jiang family. Jiang Zuibai recognized Shen Shiwan's true identity as a woman at first glance, but he never said anything about it.
Judging from her words and actions, she guessed that Shen San must come from a scholarly family and assumed that his experience was similar to her own, that they had fallen on hard times and were forced to show their faces in public. However, she did not expect that he was not from a scholarly family.
Jiang Zuibai thought to himself that he was probably like a toad trying to eat swan meat.
The steward added, "Miss Shen is still the wife of the Marquis of Changning, so I don't know why she would disguise herself as a man and go out to do business."
A noblewoman from a prominent family, a high-ranking wife—it's indeed a bit hard to imagine.
Jiang Zuibai was completely disheartened. He gave a self-deprecating laugh, "So that's how it is!"
It's not a case of a toad wanting to eat swan meat anymore; the swan meat is already in someone else's pot.
As a result, within two days, it was heard that the Empress had issued an imperial edict ordering the Marquis of Changning to divorce Lady Shen.
Jiang Zuibai was just about to leave the capital when he heard the news. He was overjoyed and felt that the Empress was like a fairy who had descended to earth to save him.
Previously, as soon as Shen Shiwan returned, she went to the palace to visit her four nephews, naturally giving them valuable gifts, wishing she could hold all four children in her arms and never let go.
Dongjun and Xihe also surrounded her, wanting to hear their aunt talk about the outside world. They were particularly excited to hear her talk about how she took shelter from the rain, almost encountered wolves that came out of the mountains to hunt for food, and met bandits. They found it thrilling and exciting and were quite fascinated by it.
Dongjun said, "Auntie, Tang Sanzang went through eighty-one tribulations to obtain the true scriptures. The more difficulties you encounter, the greater your gains will be."
Shen Shiwan was shocked. She cupped Dongjun's face in her hands and exclaimed, "Oh my, Dongjun, how can you understand so many things at such a young age?"
Dongjun was not embarrassed at all when praised, and was very calm. "It was Mother who said it. Father said that Mother's words are very reasonable and we should remember them well."
"Our Dongjun and Xihe are both so amazing! Auntie really admires you two, you're incredible!"
After the children went out to play, Shen Shixi asked, "What are your plans? You're not young anymore. If you want to be a mother, this is a good age to have a child."
Shen Shiwan then said, "Second sister, I want a divorce. I don't want to go back to the Changning Marquis's residence."