Chapter 72 p2
After the New Year, it was spring, and the weather also became warmer day by day. In February, the various inns in the capital were also filled with scholars who had come from other places, and the capital became more and more lively.
It was the triennial spring examination.
Lu Ze and Wei Yan were sitting in the Linjiang Tower, watching the scholars below scratching their heads over a question. Wei Yan was leaning against the window and couldn’t help but laugh. “The provincial examination is about to start again. I wonder who will be the Tanhualang this year.”
Lu Ze glanced at him and shelled dried fruits for him. Hearing this, he glanced at the bottom and said slowly, “Whoever it is, it has nothing to do with you, Marquis.”
Wei Yan’s eyes turned, and he moved closer to him. “Are you jealous?”
Lu Ze looked up, stuffed the shelled dried fruit into his mouth, and said softly, “How would I dare, this subject?”
Wei Yan bit his finger and wouldn’t let go. He stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked it gently, his eyes slightly curved. “Don’t worry, husband. in my heart, no one can compare to you, husband. Even if it’s a Tanhualang, I won’t look at him again.”
Lu Ze snorted and laughed, obviously not falling for his sweet words.
Wei Yan stuck to him again and dawdled for a long time before he suddenly let out a soft “ah.”
Lu Ze quickly looked back, and his hand subconsciously rested on his abdomen. “What’s wrong, did he kick you again?”
A hint of pride flashed in Wei Yan’s eyes, but his face was aggrieved. “He’s been getting more and more naughty recently. It hurts when he kicks.”
How could Lu Ze not understand what was going on when he saw his appearance? But he still couldn’t hide his heartache. He carefully touched his round abdomen and said, “I’ll teach him (her) a lesson for you when he (she) comes out.”
Wei Yan hummed a few more times and turned his head to look at him. “Are you willing to hit him?”
Lu Ze lowered his head and kissed him, and said helplessly, “If you’re not willing, then I’ll have to be the strict father.”
Wei Yan smiled. “What’s there for me to not be willing? He’s been tormenting me for so long.”
Lu Ze just looked at him with a smile and didn’t speak.
…
Wei Yan’s due date was at the end of March. In order to accompany him, Lu Ze had moved all his official business to his home half a month in advance. If there was anything, he would just have his subordinates come to the door, and he would rarely go out himself.
On this day, after dinner as usual, Lu Ze supported him and took a walk outside. He noticed that Wei Yan’s brows were slightly furrowed and his posture was a bit strange. Lu Ze asked him what was wrong, but he just said that the baby had kicked him again.
Lu Ze felt that it was not that simple. Seeing that he was deliberately hiding it, he didn’t ask any more questions and just thought that he was a little nervous before giving birth, so he tried to find ways to make him relax. Wei Yan indeed smiled, and his state seemed to have improved a lot.
The two embraced and fell asleep, but in the middle of the night, Lu Ze suddenly heard a slight gasp from the side. He half-sat up, and one hand slid down, and he asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? Is it a leg cramp?”
But Wei Yan shook his head. “No.”
Lu Ze couldn’t help but be a little nervous. “Then is it a stomachache? Is it starting?”
Wei Yan took a deep breath and said, “No.”
Lu Ze was a little anxious. “What’s going on? Should I call for Imperial Physician Xu to come and have a look?”
As he spoke, he was about to get out of bed, but Wei Yan quickly grabbed him and said with a red face, “No need!”
The moonlight outside the window was hazy. Lu Ze’s action paused. He looked back and saw that Wei Yan’s expression was a little embarrassed, and he was biting his lower lip and not speaking.
His expression softened. He lowered his head and kissed his forehead, and coaxed him in a soft voice, “What’s wrong? If you don’t say it, I’ll be worried here. We are husband and wife. What can’t we say?”
Wei Yan turned his head away, as if he were a little embarrassed.
Lu Ze saw that his two arms were slightly gathered in front of him, as if it were a posture to protect his chest. A thought moved in his mind, and his hand slowly rested on it. “Is it here?”
Wei Yan let out a hum, and his face suddenly turned red, and he said shyly and angrily, “Don’t touch it.”
“I am your husband. What can’t I touch?” Lu Ze softened his voice and moved a little again. “Is it… feeling tight?”
After Wei Yan got pregnant, Lu Ze had learned about the medicine here, especially the physical structure of a ger and matters related to pregnancy.
Even if a ger gave birth, he would not have milk like a woman, but due to pregnancy, especially before giving birth, there would be a feeling of tightness and pain in the chest.
Wei Yan bit his lower lip and didn’t speak.
Lu Ze knew that he was embarrassed and said in a gentle voice, “Have you asked the imperial physician if there’s any serious problem?”
Wei Yan shook his head and said in a muffled voice, “He just said it’s a normal situation and that I should just bear with it.”
Lu Ze paused, and his hand moved slightly. He moved closer to his ear and said in a low voice, “I’ve read in a medical book that rubbing it might make it better.” He used a little more force. “How does it feel?”
Wei Yan’s face was so red it could bleed. He pulled over the blanket on the side and covered his face, and nodded randomly.
His vision was dark. He had originally thought that he could just bear with it for a while, but he didn’t expect to be suddenly enveloped by a warm and moist sensation. Wei Yan’s body couldn’t help but tremble, and Lu Ze’s voice sounded in his ear, “…This should also make you feel a little better.”
Wei Yan gripped the bedding. It was clearly the middle of the night, but he felt that there was a white light in front of his eyes.
…
Imperial Physician Xu and the experienced nanny from the palace both thought that Wei Yan would go into labor in his twenties. For those few days, the whole mansion was on high alert, but they didn’t expect that by the end of the month, Wei Yan was still safe and sound, and there was no sign of him going into labor at all.
Wei Yan himself was also a little anxious and couldn’t help but pat his stomach. “Why are you so lazy? You’re not even coming out at the appointed time.”
Lu Ze couldn’t help but laugh. He held him and said, “Your body is good, and the child is also well-nourished. Maybe he’s just reluctant to come out.”
Although he said so, Lu Ze was also a little worried. In modern society, if the due date was exceeded for too long, there would also be risks.
Fortunately, the baby was still sensible and didn’t make Lu Ze worry for too long. On a sunny and beautiful noon, after lunch, Wei Yan went into labor.
The delivery room and equipment had already been prepared. Lu Ze hurriedly carried him to the room, his face uncontrollably pale.
The nanny wanted to drive him out and let Lu Ze wait outside, but Lu Ze was unwilling. He cleaned himself up and stubbornly stayed by Wei Yan’s bed.
Wei Yan was still in pain, and he was also persuading him, “You go out…”
“Don’t talk,” Lu Ze said in a hoarse voice. “Be good, don’t talk. Save your strength.”
He lowered his head, and his lips caressed his hand. “I’ll be by your side. Be good.”
Wei Yan glanced at him again, then finally turned his head away, closed his head, and endured the waves of pain.
People were coming in and out of the room. Wei Yan had been on the battlefield countless times and had been injured countless times, but he had never been in so much pain as now.
He followed the midwife’s guidance and adjusted his breathing again and again, one hand holding Lu Ze’s hand tightly. Lu Ze kept wiping his sweat and said in his ear again and again, “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here.”
He put his finger in his mouth. “Don’t bite yourself. If it hurts, bite me.”
Wei Yan glanced at him. Before he could say anything, he continued to exert himself.
From when the sun was high in the sky to when the night was just falling, for a full three hours, with a loud cry, Wei Yan suddenly lost his strength and collapsed on the bed, covered in sweat.
“Congratulations, Marquis. Congratulations, Marquis! It’s a ger! It’s a ger!”
Lu Ze’s heart also suddenly relaxed. He had no time to think about the midwife’s congratulations. He just picked up a handkerchief and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, held his hand tightly, and said with a trembling voice, “A Yan, A Yan, it’s a ger.”
Wei Yan took a moment to recover before he slowly opened his eyes. His face was pale and weak, and he said softly, “I know.”
His fingers moved slightly, and his voice was soft and weak. “Go and see the child. Is he good-looking?”
“Hmm, hmm, I know.” Lu Ze didn’t move at all and casually replied, “Our child is definitely good-looking.”
Wei Yan smiled a little helplessly. The next moment, he saw Lu Ze bend down slightly and plant a cherished kiss on his forehead, and he murmured, “A Yan, you’ve worked hard.”
“And, I love you.”
Wei Yan paused, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. With the “I love you too” that he silently recited in his heart, his eyelids gradually became heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep.