Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 890 - 865: Childbirth
This year passed quite smoothly, with frequent good news from major clans in the Capital City, be it marriages or the joyous birth of sons. Even this year’s snow in the Capital City was lighter than in previous years. The major clans gradually submitted to Xie Xun’s rule, although lacking the influence of the Yuwen Dynasty, their foundational power remained unshaken, a unique influence no emperor in any dynasty could easily unsettle.
Xie Xun and Xie Jue understood the principle of extremities leading to reversals and did not continue to oppress the clans; instead, they began to favor them gradually. Thus, harmony reigned in the previous dynasty, and Beining remained very stable, except for the Twelfth States, which entered a period of disorder and hardship. After the year, the Beiman settlers entirely migrated into the Twelfth States, bringing with them a deep-seated hatred towards them.
Since over half of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry soldiers hailed from the Twelfth States, over the years, to resist the Beiman, the Twelfth States had seen the loss of countless men—fathers, sons, or the most cherished grandsons—resulting in almost empty homes. Without male heirs, bloodlines ended, and once prosperous Twelfth States occasionally became ghost towns, cultivating an intense animosity among Twelfth States’ populace towards the Beiman settlers.
Yet with a million Beiman settling in Beining, apart from the Twelfth States and newly surrendered Sannan, there’s practically no place for them to settle down and thrive.
The wealthiest southeast of Beining, controlled by clans, with thriving cities and populous areas, is nearly impossible for Beiman settlers to enter without causing chaos. So the Beiman can only move into the Twelfth States, ensuring they are not too close to Ningzhou to prevent unforeseen events, avoiding concentration in one or two cities. The arrangement of Beiman settlers was an issue troubling both the cabinet and Xie Xun.
Although some could indeed be placed in Sannan following its surrender, Sannan, originally rich, had an annually decreasing land per capita due to overpopulation, making it less suitable for Beiman settlers. After much consideration, only the Twelfth States seemed most fitting.
The Twelfth States, vast and resourceful, ravaged by years of war, now full of barren land needing cultivation, lacking manpower, required a large inflow of populace to fill the void caused by war. Therefore, Beiman settlers were placed in the Twelfth States. These people, accustomed to ice and snow, were vigorous and determined, making the cabinet and Xie Xun confident in the Twelfth States’ eventual prosperity; the only remaining issue was addressing the ferocity of local customs leading to conflicts and chaos, with a significant upheaval occurring before the year due to native resentment and aroused hostilities. The court dispatched envoys to mediate these issues, and during the Beiman settlement into the Twelfth States, the cabinet sent individuals to people across districts to influence public sentiment.
In the Capital City, a civil official undertaking such sentiment work was injured by townsfolk, putting him on bedrest for three months and almost costing him his life. Consequently, the court later implemented many favorable policies for the Twelfth States, including tax reductions, expanding personal land cultivation, without direct monetary subsidies, but promising dividend-sharing from Beiman-mined resources, where from ten gemstones extracted, one would be equally distributed to the Twelfth States.
The unrest from earlier was finally quelled, yet after the year, the Beiman gradually banded together. Taking West State City as an example, where native inhabitants were often brigands, very bold and straightforward, the land best there, housing around eight thousand people. Fengyu made considerable improvements to this previously barren ghost town.
Although West State originally could house eighty thousand people, with nearly twenty thousand Beiman settlers now settled, huge conflicts erupted between natives and Beiman settlers as the latter’s numbers nearly overwhelmed the natives, with resources markedly leaning towards the settlers. Fengyu wrote to Nangong Heng for public sentiment engagement, though results were not significant, as the conflicts seemed inevitable. Thus, Xie Xun dispatched many generals from Ningzhou to West State, attempting negotiation and preventing too much Beiman arrogance from sparking major chaos.
Even with these actions, Xie Xun received urgent reports from generals, leading him to dispatch brothers of Prince Jingbei, formerly Beiman royal men, to the Twelfth States, as Beiman soldiers showed some obedience to royalty, allowing situations to slightly improve, though a few violent incidents were recorded.
The unrest seemed enduring, continuously requiring generational perseverance for resolution.
In contrast to the northwest chaos, the southeast remained extremely stable, with harmonious governance, good weather, and celebratory events in the Capital City overshadowing the bloody nature of the Twelfth States.
In early March’s spring, the snow in the Capital City had already melted, ushering in a warm bloom, yet the entire palace remained on high alert; the Imperial Hospital stayed on call throughout nights, with the delivery room in Changshou Palace well-prepared. Fengyu could give birth at any moment, causing Xie Xun distraction even during official court meetings, his heart solely focused on Fengyu.
All court ministers anticipated Fengyu’s childbirth; it could be said awaiting a wife’s childbirth never saw such concern. The Beining clans highly valued lineage, and the Xie family lacked a rightful heir. Although everyone knew Xie Xun intended to establish Ruyi as Crown Prince, they all hoped the Empress would give birth to a Prince for Xie Xun. Even the Lin Family shared this sentiment. While Ruyi and Fengyu’s unborn child both bore bloodline importance, they leaned toward supporting a rightful heir. Although Xie Xun usually shielded Ruyi from gossip, the hearts of the people were not swayed by one person’s will alone.
One day during Xie Xun’s court assembly, Nanny Chang from Changshou Palace sent word that the Empress was in pain and had entered the delivery room, prompting Xie Xun to abandon the meeting and rush to Changshou Palace.
Recalling seeing a woman give birth during a snow disaster in the Capital City years ago, under urgent and terrifying circumstances, his face turned pale as he hurried back to Changshou Palace, yet did not hear Fengyu’s cries. Just as he was about to enter the delivery room, he was stopped by Nanny Chang, as it is often taboo for men to accompany during childbirth due to impurity and inauspiciousness, possibly clashing with men. However, Xie Xun ignored the inner officials blocking him and entered the room regardless.
Fengyu was half-lying, being fed sweet water by Qiuxiang. The Imperial Kitchen specially made snacks the size of thumbs, ideal for replenishing energy during childbirth. With each bite, Fengyu was makeup-free, her hair damp with sweat, sticking to her cheeks continuously, her face entirely devoid of color, appearing extremely exhausted, covered by a thick red blanket with two experienced midwives attending beside her. As Xie Xun entered, Fengyu nearly choked, "What are you doing here?"
"Ayu, does it hurt? How are you feeling?" Fengyu’s lower back was hidden under the red blanket, nearly invisible. Xie Xun grasped her cold hand as if attempting to transmit his strength to her.
"Leave now!" Fengyu pushed him away, only feeling herself looking wretched, not wanting to face the king. Her labor pains had just passed, awaiting the next wave of pain. The midwife mentioned her first childbirth was far from true delivery, with prolonged pain expected to intensify, the first wave already becoming unbearable. If it worsened, she would be extremely wretched, entirely opposing Xie Xun’s presence.
"I won’t leave, I’ll stay here with you." Xie Xun’s eyes were solely on her, "I possess dragon qi protecting me, it will surely ensure safety for both you and our daughter."
Fengyu: "..."
