Chapter 630

“Madam has given birth to a plump baby boy!”

Cuiguo’s excited voice rang out from inside the room.

“Cuiguo, hurry and bring my apprentice out so I can have a look.” Hearing the baby’s strong, vigorous cries, Kong Meng’er was overcome with excitement.

This was her beloved apprentice, after all.

“Miss Kong, stop dreaming.” Xu Heming’s face darkened. Why would his son need to become this brat’s apprentice?

“What are you shouting about? Do you think you get to decide? Big Sister has already agreed.” Kong Meng’er shot back unhappily.

“You two, could you stop arguing for now? Sister is giving birth in there!” Zhiya was worried that their loud voices might affect Li Zhiwei’s labor, so she reminded them.

“Hmph!”

“Hmph!”

The two of them snorted at the same time, neither willing to pay the other any attention.

Wen Xiu clutched Li Tingzhou’s hand tightly, looking somewhat frightened.

“It’s all right.” Li Tingzhou quickly comforted her. Wen Xiu was five months pregnant herself, and they could not risk frightening her.

“Xiu’er, you should sit down. Or perhaps have Zhiya take you downstairs to rest,” Li Tianyou said, finally remembering that his daughter-in-law was pregnant as well.

“Father, Husband, I’m fine.” Wen Xiu shook her head, but Li Tingzhou still hurriedly helped her sit down in a nearby chair.

Wen Xiu was indeed tired from standing, so she sat down.

Xu Heming took in the couple’s every movement, and a trace of regret surfaced in his eyes. How had Li Zhiwei gotten through her pregnancy?

He had not been by her side, and neither had any of her family.

When she felt ill, there had not even been anyone beside her to talk to.

The thought made Xu Heming ache terribly.

But for the moment, he said nothing.

“Bring a chair for Prince An,” Zhiya instructed a servant after seeing that everyone had quieted down.

When the chair was brought over, Xu Heming did not sit. He merely stared intently at the delivery room.

He ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍remembered that Li Zhiwei had been carrying twins, which meant there was still another child in her belly.

Inside the delivery room, Li Zhiwei stared at her red, wrinkled baby boy with some disdain.

“Mother, why is he so ugly?”

The baby was nothing like the adorable little one she had imagined.

He looked like a monkey, with wrinkled skin and not a trace of fairness about him. He certainly did not take after her.

To be this ugly, he must have gotten it from his father.

“You child, what nonsense are you talking about? Don’t all newborn babies look like this?” Lady Yao had been tense at first, but Li Zhiwei’s words made her laugh in spite of herself.

What kind of mother complained that her own child was ugly?

“Honestly, he must have taken after his father. He’s not good-looking at all.” Li Zhiwei looked disappointed.

She wondered whether she ought to wrap him up and send him back to his father.

“Waaah—waaah!”

As if he had understood his mother’s words, the baby began to wail loudly.

“Don’t cry, our Pingping. Don’t listen to your mother—she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. In a few days, you’ll look handsome, won’t you?” Lady Yao quickly picked up the elder child and began soothing him.

The twins’ names had been chosen long ago. The elder was called Pingping, and the younger An’an.

“You were even uglier when you were born. I honestly wondered how I could have given birth to such an ugly child,” Lady Yao said to Li Zhiwei while comforting the baby.

“Mother, don’t lie to me. Ah!” Li Zhiwei had only managed to say a few words when another wave of pain seized her belly.

“Madam, there is still another baby inside,” the midwife reminded her carefully.

Fortunately, she had known from the start that the woman she was assisting today was carrying twins.

Lady Yao looked at Li Zhiwei, hesitating. She wanted to tell her daughter that Xu Heming had arrived and was waiting outside, but she was afraid it would affect Li Zhiwei’s labor.

Li Zhiwei only felt that this birth was even more painful than the first.

Thinking that Xu Heming was the reason she had become pregnant, and that he had not even wanted the children, she could not help cursing him.

“Xu Heming, you bastard!”

Li Zhiwei’s voice seemed to pierce the roof, carrying clearly to everyone outside.

Xu Heming’s heart clenched.

“Waaah!”

Another baby’s cry rang out.

“They’re finally both born.” Li Tianyou let out a relieved sigh.

“Father, do you think my little sister gave birth to a girl?” Li Tingzhou asked curiously.

“Whether it’s a boy or a girl, they’re both the apple of our Li family’s eye.” Li Tianyou smiled.

Xu Heming felt terribly uncomfortable listening to this. What did they mean, the apple of the Li family’s eye? These were clearly the children of Prince An’s residence.

Still, he did not say it aloud. After all, he intended to take the children back to the prince’s residence.

“Miss, look! This is the Second Young Master.” Cuiguo excitedly carried the baby over to Li Zhiwei.

“I really am amazing. I actually gave birth to two children.”

Li Zhiwei looked at the younger child in Cuiguo’s arms, then at the elder child in Lady Yao’s arms. A warm feeling suddenly filled her heart.

“Pfft!”

The people in the room all burst into laughter.

“Goodness, why does my belly still hurt?” Li Zhiwei had only laughed a few times when a sharp pain suddenly surged through her abdomen.

“Miss, could there possibly be another baby in there?” Cuiguo asked uncertainly, staring at Li Zhiwei’s still-bulging belly.

“How could that be? Imperial Physician Zhou and Divine Physician Jun both examined her and diagnosed twins. Auntie Liu, could you please take a look and see what’s going on?” Lady Yao was worried as well, and quickly asked the midwife to examine her.

Auntie Liu hurriedly examined Li Zhiwei’s belly too.

But the longer she looked, the stranger her expression became.

“Auntie Liu, what is it?” Lady Yao asked, her heart tightening. After all, the midwife’s expression was clearly unusual.

“This old woman thinks… there may be another baby in the young lady’s belly,” Auntie Liu said uncertainly.

“Another one?” Lady Yao was stunned. Her daughter’s ability to bear twins was already unheard-of in the capital. And now she was about to give birth to three?

Cuiguo was stunned as well. Thinking of the supplies inside the delivery room, she realized she had only prepared two sets. She quickly carried the baby to the doorway and called out to Zhiya outside, “Second Miss, go get another swaddling cloth! There’s still one more baby in Miss’s belly!”

“What?” Zhiya wondered if she had misheard. Another one?

“Second Miss, hurry and bring it here!” Cuiguo said no more and returned to the inner chamber of the delivery room.

Fortunately, they had known from the beginning that Li Zhiwei was carrying twins, so they had prepared extra clothing and supplies for changing.

They only needed to bring over another set.

“Imperial Physician Zhou!” Xu Heming ground his teeth. They had said it was twins—so how had it suddenly become triplets?

“Your Highness, forgive me. At the time, when I examined the Princess Consort, she was still in the early months of her pregnancy. It’s understandable that I failed to detect the third child.”

Imperial Physician Zhou wiped the cold sweat from his brow, thinking to himself that Princess Consort An truly knew how to bear children.

Three in one pregnancy?

Not far away, Madam Jin was tugging Jun Mowen by the ear as she interrogated him. “Didn’t you say there were two?”

“Madam, let go! I—I’ve never encountered a pregnancy with triplets before!”