"What do we do now?"
"Everyone go home and get some sleep." Xiao Man took off her blood-stained outer coat, threw it on the ground, and strode away. Du Gu Mingyu nodded at Nangong Yu and followed.
Yan Yuqing, on the other hand, looked at Dongfang Wei, who was holding his waist, with schadenfreude. "Young man, a bad waist has a big impact."
Dongfang Wei gritted his teeth, thinking that he, the young master of the Martial Alliance, was actually being ridiculed by a crooked path practitioner. How could he tolerate it? He wanted to kick him, but his waist hurt terribly, so he could only bare his teeth at Yan Yuqing.
Seeing this, Yan Yuqing's expression became even more smug. He swaggered past the two of them. Little did he know, as soon as he reached them, Du Gu Luo threw a punch, hitting Yan Yuqing squarely in the waist, sending him flying and crashing into the wall with a pained scream.
Prince Chu did not return to his mansion until dawn. The butler rushed to greet him.
"Your Highness, you're finally back." The butler's face was ashen. "Something has happened to the Princess Consort."
"Something happened? What happened? How is the child?" Nangong Yan asked immediately. The child was almost full-term, so even if it came early, it would be easy to raise.
"The Princess Consort went into labor prematurely. It's a difficult birth," the butler stammered.
"Difficult birth?" Nangong Yan strode towards the back courtyard. "How is the child? Was it born safely?"
"It was born. It's a young prince," the butler said with his head bowed.
"Good, good. This prince has a son now." Nangong Yan was overjoyed, but his wounds pulled, and he couldn't help but cough twice.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
"This prince is fine. The Princess Consort has given this prince a precious son, and everyone in the mansion will be rewarded." Prince Chu was in high spirits and walked faster. "This prince will go and see his precious son first."
The butler followed behind, hesitating to speak: "Your Highness..."
"Is there something else?"
"That... the Princess Consort she..."
"This prince knows the Princess Consort worked hard to give birth. Have the maids and wet nurses serve her well." Nangong Yan interrupted, "This prince can't wait to see what his child looks like."
The butler had no choice but to close his mouth and lead the Prince of Chu to see the child. When they arrived, the wet nurse had just fed the child, and the child was sleeping. Nangong Yan looked at the wrinkled, rosy little infant and frowned at the butler: "Is this this prince's child?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, this is the young prince."
"Why is he so ugly?" Nangong Yan found it hard to accept. He was handsome and graceful, and the Princess Consort was gentle and lovely, so how could their child be so ugly?
"Your Highness, all newborn babies are like this. After a few days, when his little face has grown, he will be handsome," the wet nurse quickly explained. "Look at the young prince's appearance. When he grows up, he will surely be as handsome as Your Highness."
Nangong Yan reached out to touch him, hesitated for a long time, and then withdrew his hand. "Take good care of the young prince. This prince will go and see the Princess Consort."
The butler's face changed, and he quickly lowered his head and led the way. When they reached the corner door, Nangong Yan saw the butler walking in another direction and immediately scolded, "You dog slave, have you even forgotten the Princess Consort's courtyard?"
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort is this way." The butler pointed to the side hall.
"The Princess Consort just gave birth to a young prince. Why is she in the side hall instead of resting well?" Nangong Yan asked, confused.
"Your Highness... the Princess Consort she... the Princess Consort she..."
"Why are you stammering? What happened to the Princess Consort?" Nangong Yan suppressed his anger. He had suffered a great loss last night and was already unhappy. He was initially happy to hear that the Princess Consort had given him a son, but after seeing how ugly the child was, his happiness instantly vanished.
"The Princess Consort had a difficult birth and passed away." The butler, hunched over, dared not look at Prince Chu's expression, fearing that Prince Chu would be enraged and have his head removed.
"The Princess Consort is gone?" Nangong Yan was also somewhat surprised.
"Yes, the Princess Consort had a difficult birth, the position was breech. The midwife and the imperial physician were helpless. By the time Mr. Xiao was invited, the Princess Consort was bleeding heavily and was close to death." The butler secretly glanced at Nangong Yan's face. "Mr. Xiao stopped the bleeding for the Princess Consort, but the amniotic fluid dried up, and the child was still not born. If this continued, both the Princess Consort and the young prince would be in danger, and Your Highness had not returned..."
"So?"
"Mr. Xiao said that only one could be saved and asked whom to save. The Princess Consort decided to save the prince." The butler's voice grew softer. In his opinion, saving the child was the right thing to do. With Your Highness's status, what kind of woman couldn't he have? The first child of Your Highness was so precious, how could something happen to him?
Nangong Yan's brow furrowed: "Have you notified the Duke of Chen's mansion?"
"When Your Highness returned, we just sent someone to notify them."
Nangong Yan took a deep breath. This was not his fault, but he had to deal with the Duke and Duchess of Chen properly.
"Prepare mourning clothes for this prince." Nangong Yan said quickly. "The Princess Consort has passed away, and as her husband, this prince will naturally wear mourning clothes for her. The young prince will too."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As soon as the Duke and Duchess of Chen woke up, they received the news of their daughter's death during childbirth. The couple cried all the way here. The news of the Princess Chu's death quickly spread, and nobles from all walks of life came to offer condolences.
Prince Chu, in mourning clothes, held the child and sat by the coffin, his face pale, his eyes red and swollen, as if heartbroken.
The Duke and Duchess of Chen cried uncontrollably, yet they had to endure their grief and comfort Prince Chu. After all, childbirth was a gate of hell, and many women had fallen at this hurdle.
"Your Highness Prince Chu, please bear your grief. Qianyun certainly would not want you to be so sad for her," the Duke of Chen choked out.
Nangong Yan looked haggard, holding the child in his arms, and looked ahead blankly. "How could she leave this prince? It's all this child's fault!"
Saying that, Nangong Yan was about to throw the child in his arms to the ground. The Duke and Duchess of Chen were startled and quickly reached out to catch the child. The child was frightened and cried loudly. The Duke of Chen supported Prince Chu, while the Duchess of Chen coaxed her crying grandson.
"If it weren't for giving birth to a child for this prince, Qianyun wouldn't have lost her life." Nangong Yan cried with a sob. "This prince would rather not have a child than have her be in danger."
"Your Highness, it's done now. Please bear your grief. This child was born by the Princess Consort at the cost of her life. It is her last thought for you. You must protect him well," the Duchess of Chen said, still shaken. If they hadn't caught the child just now, she couldn't imagine a child this young falling to the ground, how could he possibly survive?
"Father-in-law, this prince wants Qianyun, this prince wants Qianyun!"
The Duke of Chen felt a pang of sadness and looked at his daughter lying quietly in the coffin. To have such a husband, you can be considered to have no regrets in this life. Your child, your parents will take care of him for you.