Chapter 906: The Demon King's Son

When Second Madam gave birth last time, Prince Pingxi Residence had prepared early as well.

But for First Madam’s delivery, the preparations were even more thorough.

It was not that the Residence treated the two women differently.

This was an enormous household, rich enough to be a true “local emperor.” It could organize logistics for armies numbering in the tens of thousands without confusion. There was no reason to suddenly become stingy or careless when one of its own consorts was giving birth.

The real difference lay in the mothers themselves.

Their temperaments were different.

The details each cared about were different.

Siniang had personally designed the delivery room and issued orders for every part of its arrangement.

Her instructions were detailed enough to specify what scent of perfume should be sprayed inside.

The midwives’ clothing.

The maids’ dress.

Even the paintings hung on the walls.

Everything followed Siniang’s preferences.

When Xiong Liqing gave birth, Siniang had only ensured her safety.

The other woman was the one giving birth.

Siniang had not been the person involved.

Naturally, she had not interfered too heavily.

It would hardly have been appropriate to seize control of everything on the mother’s behalf.

And if she had arranged every detail herself, it might even have made Xiong Liqing more nervous.

But this time... this was Siniang’s own childbirth.

Of course everything had to follow her tastes.

Outside Prince Pingxi Residence, preparations were underway as well.

As the Brocade-Clad personal guards resumed full defensive deployment, the monk and disciple from Gourd Temple outside the city were invited into the Residence again.

The repetition of all those familiar details made one thing obvious: another consort of Prince Pingxi was about to give birth.

The first child had been Big Girl.

The Prince himself had been delighted beyond measure.

He had turned completely into a daughter slave and now spent a large part of every day with his little girl.

Big Girl was truly her father’s little padded jacket.

She also gave him plenty of face.

No matter how sleepy she was, every time her father picked her up, she would still smile at him.

The soldiers and civilians of Fengxin City, however... had been worrying themselves sick!

How could their Prince not have a biological heir son of his own?

The first time, nobody had prepared for it.

The second time, word spread early.

And so... outside many households throughout Fengxin City, offering tables appeared.

People began praying for Prince Pingxi Residence.

Praying that their Prince would be blessed with an Heir Prince.

Most of them had never studied probability.

Still... they possessed a vague intuition.

They already had one “Princess.”

So the next one should probably be an Heir Prince, right?

After bathing, Zheng Fan intended to enter the delivery room and remain beside Siniang.

But at the entrance, Yuexin stopped him.

With an apologetic expression, she said:

“Your Highness, First Madam said Your Highness should wait until the child is born before entering. Before then, there is no need for Your Highness to go inside.”

The Prince blinked.

He had wanted to stay beside his wife while she gave birth.

Sit by the bed.

Hold her hand.

Praise her.

Comfort her.

Encourage her.

Welcome the new life together.

Siniang clearly had no intention of letting him do any of that.

Fine.

The Prince turned around and walked to the pavilion.

Tea and refreshments had already been prepared inside.

He sat down.

One sniff told him the tea was Daze Fragrant Tongue.

The pastries were all among his favorites.

Clearly...

Siniang had already arranged an excellent seat for her husband long ago.

Xue San had just finished sterilizing his surgical instruments.

As he came out, he happened to run into the Blind Man.

The two went to the pavilion together and sat down.

The first time, it had been the Sword Saint’s wife.

The second time, the Princess.

Now it was Siniang.

Third Master had prepared his Caesarean section tools again and again.

Not once had he needed to use them.

Naturally... that was for the best.

The Blind Man silently poured tea for everyone.

Then he began sipping his own cup slowly.

The corner of his mouth carried a smile that was both meaningful... and exceptionally punchable.

Third Master badly wanted to punch him in the face.

But after looking at Master beside them, who was obviously anxious, he restrained himself.

Not far away...

Monk Kongyuan and Liaofan, master and disciple, had already sat cross-legged.

Old monk and young monk began tapping their wooden fish.

The sound of wooden fish mixed with chanting, filling the courtyard with calm and peace.

After the previous incident, the standing of Gourd Temple’s master and disciple inside Prince Pingxi Residence had genuinely risen.

And they, in return, were doing everything within their ability to accumulate goodwill and karmic ties with the Residence.

Unfortunately, this Prince had no interest whatsoever in things like “baptism,” “blessing,” or “consecration.”

Otherwise, by now he should already have brought the little Princess to the temple, or invited the monks over to bless her and give her a consecrated protective charm.

But there was no helping it.

There were too many unclean things inside this household.

It truly was not suitable to invite “Bodhisattvas,” “gods,” “Buddhas,” and other such beings inside.

Not because anyone was afraid of them.

The problem was simply... the household was too dirty.

Something too clean would become an eyesore instead.

“Master need not worry. Mother and child will certainly be safe.”

The Blind Man comforted him while handing over tea.

In truth... he had already let something slip.

Zheng Fan put down the teacup without drinking.

The tea was precious, certainly.

It was even one of the few kinds of tea in this world he could recognize at a glance.

But he did not want to grow sleepy now.

His wife was inside preparing to give birth.

If he ended up snoring outside... what kind of damned husband would that make him?

As for the hint about the child’s sex hidden inside the Blind Man’s words...

Zheng Fan did not care.

He genuinely did not care whether Siniang carried a boy or a girl.

Even though he already had one daughter... if another daughter came... he would still be overjoyed.

People outside the Residence cared.

His subordinates cared.

Every major power across All Xia was watching the still-vacant position of Heir Prince Pingxi.

The Prince himself, by contrast... did not care.

Xiong Liqing had already completed her postpartum confinement and came over as well.

She left Big Girl in her own courtyard with the wet nurse.

When she saw her man sitting in the pavilion, she did not go over.

Instead, she sat beneath another eave with Liu Ruqing.

Tea had already been prepared there too.

Along with freshly roasted sunflower seeds.

“Ai.”

The Princess sighed, half laughing and half helpless.

“My elder sister can arrange even childbirth this precisely. Look. She even had my favorite sweet tea prepared.”

Liu Ruqing agreed.

“Sister Feng is not an ordinary person.”

Neither woman tried to push forward and “help.”

Everything was already proceeding in perfect order.

If they rushed over merely to show that they wanted to help, they would contribute nothing.

They might even make things more difficult.

There were rules inside Prince Pingxi Residence’s rear household.

But those rules lived in everyone’s heart.

All the hollow ceremony and tedious formal etiquette simply did not exist here.

There were only a handful of people in the household.

Why invent endless complicated rituals merely to make life miserable for themselves?

“It really must be an Heir Prince,” Xiong Liqing said.

Liu Ruqing glanced at her face.

“Yes.”

It was not only the soldiers and civilians outside who hoped for an heir son.

The women inside the household did as well.

A great household felt most stable when it possessed a legitimate son who could stand beneath the large tree and one day carry its shade onward.

Their own futures had long since become completely bound to Prince Pingxi Residence.

Naturally... they hoped the Residence would continue forever.

Tian Tian arrived holding Ji Chuanye’s hand.

The two children stood in one corner and watched the servants moving busily back and forth.

“Big Brother, do you think it’ll be a little brother?”

“I don’t know,” Tian Tian answered.

“I hope it’s a little brother,” Chuanye said. “That little sister doesn’t pay much attention to me. Maybe a little brother will be willing to play with me.”

Tian Tian reached out and rubbed Ji Chuanye’s head.

He hesitated.

In the end... he decided not to tell the truth.

Tian Tian himself did not care much about being a spirit child.

Zheng Fan had always protected him extremely well.

The Sword Saint had once wanted to accept him as a disciple, but Tian Tian had refused.

Beyond that... nobody spent all day surrounding him and shouting:

“Wow! As expected of a spirit child!”

“Whoa! So this is the talent of a spirit child!”

Because of that...

Tian Tian had never felt there was anything particularly strange about his constitution.

Among the companions he played with, only the Sword Maid possessed an aura that felt somewhat familiar.

After Big Girl was born, he sensed that same familiar feeling even more strongly from his little sister.

It was comfortable.

Very comfortable.

Most importantly...

Tian Tian knew perfectly well what kind of existence his First Mother actually was.

The child she gave birth to... barring something unexpected... would almost certainly possess an even stronger version of that familiar aura.

But that aura... did not exist at all on Little Brother Ji Chuanye.

Tian Tian thought about it.

Then decided he should probably keep that fact from Chuanye.

As the elder brother... he ought to protect his little brother.

Poor Crown Prince of Great Yan.

By ordinary logic, he should have been the single most exalted second-generation child beneath Heaven.

There should not even have been a close second.

Yet somehow... inside Prince Pingxi Residence... he had become the absolute bottom of the contempt chain.

What made it even more pitiful was that His Highness the Crown Prince was still sincerely looking forward to the birth of his hoped-for little brother...

At that moment...

Xiao Yibo led several women in colorful skirts into the courtyard.

Each carried a musical instrument.

They were the leading courtesan-artists from Fengxin City’s largest red-curtained establishment.

All were true performers who sold their arts rather than their bodies.

Siniang herself had personally instructed and trained them during idle moments.

With First Madam’s orders protecting them... nobody in Fengxin City dared rely on rank or status to force himself upon one of these women.

Large oiled-paper parasols were raised.

Pipa and guzheng were set in place.

The women began playing and singing.

The melody was pleasing.

The music bright and clear.

Not far away, the monk and disciple tapping wooden fish somehow followed their rhythm and achieved an unexpected harmony.

Perhaps... this was what genuine Buddhist affinity looked like.

Moistening all things without sound.

Xiong Liqing swallowed a mouthful of tea and could not help complaining with a laugh:

“Aiyo. Is my elder sister giving birth or hosting a banquet?”

Childbirth was unquestionably a passage through the gates of death for a woman.

Yet here Siniang was inside delivering a baby... and somehow still thinking about whether everyone outside had enough to eat, drink, and enjoy.

In the pavilion... the Prince badly wanted to wave those musicians away.

But this had been Siniang’s arrangement.

Who knew?

Perhaps she genuinely wanted to give birth while listening to music.

“Master, calm yourself. Calm yourself.”

The Blind Man could only continue soothing him.

Not long afterward...

A’Ming appeared in the courtyard carrying a jug of wine.

He had returned from Fan City some time ago as well.

Fan Li was the last to arrive.

The Sword Maid sat on his shoulders.

She looked around the courtyard.

Then reached down and pinched the muscle along the giant man’s neck.

“When I give birth one day, I want this kind of arrangement too.”

Fan Li answered:

“Is this arrangement grand?”

“Not grand. But generous.”

“Oh.”

Fan Li nodded.

Then... he looked toward the delivery room and muttered:

“She’s always been generous. Arranging this much still means she’s nervous too.”

“What did you say?” the Sword Maid asked.

She had not heard clearly.

Fan Li stopped speaking.

“Mm~ You want to have a child?”

A’Ming had heard their conversation.

“Pah.”

The Sword Maid spat lightly.

A’Ming said:

“If you want a child, someone will die.”

The Sword Maid’s cheeks immediately reddened.

This time... she had genuinely misunderstood him.

A’Ming meant that unless they found another Que Dan like the one Chu had previously sent the Princess, Demon Kings like them had no way to produce descendants.

But the cost of that Que Dan... was draining the mother dry.

The Sword Maid, however... had imagined something completely different.

Then... with absolutely no warning, no build-up, no report... maids began emerging from the delivery room carrying basins of bloody water.

The servants waiting outside with hot water and clean gauze immediately entered to replace them.

Everyone sitting throughout the courtyard was caught completely off guard.

“This... has it started?” Liu Ruqing asked in astonishment.

“Elder Sister doesn’t even cry out?” Xiong Liqing was startled too.

In the pavilion, the Prince rose and began pacing while taking deep breaths.

The woman inside was unimaginably strong.

But at a moment like this... the fact that she would not even cry out... that she simply lowered her head and gave birth in silence... made everyone outside even more anxious.

If she screamed, wave after wave... everyone outside could at least follow the rhythm in their hearts and cheer her onward.

But now... they had strength with nowhere to use it!

However... before the second group of maids carrying hot water could even enter... one midwife lifted the curtain.

Her expression trembled.

This was probably the fastest delivery she had ever attended in her entire life.

She had not even managed to shout:

“Madam, push harder!”

Her own body had barely warmed up from the work... and it was already over.

The midwife had not quite recovered from the shock.

But countless gazes instantly landed upon her.

She snapped back to herself.

Then shouted:

“Madam has given birth!”

With that... the midwife dropped to her knees toward the pavilion.

“Congratulations, Your Highness! Mother and son are safe! May the Prince endure ten thousand years! May Prince Pingxi Residence endure ten thousand years! May His Highness endure ten thousand years!”

Everyone in the courtyard froze.

That was it?

It was already done?

Was this giving birth... or casually plucking a handful of baby cabbages from the neighbor’s field on the walk home?

But almost immediately... everyone understood.

The maids were first to drop to their knees.

“Congratulations to Your Highness on the birth of an Heir Prince! May the Prince endure ten thousand years! May the Heir Prince endure ten thousand years!”

Then Xiong Liqing, Liu Ruqing, and the others knelt in congratulations as well.

One after another... the Demon Kings lowered themselves too.

“Congratulations, Master! We rejoice for Master!”

The Blind Man placed his left hand over his chest.

His expression was perfectly sincere.

Mother and son are safe.

Hahahaha.

Hahahahahahaha!

Inside... the Blind Man was laughing wildly.

You have a son.

You have a son.

The shaqima finally has an heir!

Of course, that was not all it meant.

The moment Prince Pingxi Residence possessed its own Heir Prince, the child would not even need to do anything.

The momentum among the people below for raising him onto a throne would only grow stronger and stronger.

It was already powerful now.

In the future... could it truly still be suppressed?

Third Master, by contrast, simply wore a broad smile.

Siniang’s child.

The child of all of them.

Heh-heh.

Not far away...

A’Ming had knelt as well.

His beloved wine had been casually tossed aside.

“For you... I will find the finest wine beneath Heaven.”

A simple, honest smile appeared on Fan Li’s face.

The Sword Maid, kneeling beside him, turned and saw it.

She could not help asking quietly:

“Big guy, do you like children that much?”

Fan Li shook his head.

Then nodded.

“Big Brother! Did you hear? It’s a little brother! A little brother!”

The Crown Prince clapped excitedly.

By now he had lived in Prince Pingxi Residence for long enough that taboo words like “ten thousand years” no longer affected him at all.

Tian Tian was delighted too.

In the future... he would bring the most beautiful things in the world to his little sister.

And the most precious things in the world... to his little brother.

Zheng Fan could no longer wait.

He was the first to rush into the delivery room.

At once... the Blind Man and the others stood.

The Blind Man made a gesture.

Then he followed inside.

The sound of a child crying came from the room.

Loud.

Powerful.

Proof that the baby’s body was strong.

Zheng Fan accepted the child from the midwife.

After spending so much time holding his daughter lately, he had plenty of practice.

Now that he held his newborn son... his movements were already skilled.

This time, Zheng Fan did not push the child aside and go look at Siniang first.

Subconsciously... between himself and Xiong Liqing there remained a layer of mutual courtesy.

With Siniang, however... they were completely their own people.

There was no need to put on a performance.

The Blind Man entered.

Immediately, he ordered:

“Everyone outside. Go collect your rewards!”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The midwives and maids left the room at once.

Suddenly... the delivery room became empty.

Then...

A’Ming and Xue San entered as well.

Fan Li stood alone at the door.

One man guarding the pass.

Ten thousand men unable to break through.

At this moment... whether Xiong Liqing and the other women, or Tian Tian and the children... none were permitted inside.

Zheng Fan’s entire attention remained on the baby.

The newborn was pink and tender.

Very cute.

“Ge... ge...”

The Prince teased his son while walking toward the delivery bed.

“Master, let me hold him,” Siniang said.

“All right.”

Siniang reached out and took the child.

Then...

Zheng Fan finally realized...

Siniang had already dressed herself.

And was now standing directly in front of him holding the baby!

“You...”

Siniang looked up at Zheng Fan.

She smiled.

“Master, this servant has no need for postpartum confinement. This little fellow finally came out, and I finally feel light again. These past months truly exhausted me.”

“Siniang... I think you should still show at least a little respect for the role you are currently playing.”

“This servant refuses. I feel wonderfully comfortable right now.”

A’Ming and the Blind Man moved closer to look at the child.

Third Master pulled out a rope.

He looped it over a roof beam, hung himself upside down, and peered at the baby from above.

Demon Child floated in circles over the newborn as well.

At that moment...

Zheng Fan noticed Fan Li blocking the doorway.

He laughed.

“Do you really need this much of a formation? It’s not as though I’ll refuse to let all of you hold him later.”

The Blind Man explained:

“Master, we only want to confirm first whether the child possesses any unusual abnormalities. If he does, we can prepare countermeasures early.”

“He’s still this small. Even if he is a spirit child, wouldn’t that have to wait until he grows up?”

Zheng Fan reached out and took his son back from Siniang.

He teased him again.

“You people are too nervous. Look at him. Such a cute little child. What could possibly be abnormal?”

The baby had already stopped crying.

His eyes opened.

He looked at his father.

And just as his father finished speaking... a flash of black light suddenly burst from the swaddled child’s body.

For a moment... the entire delivery room fell silent.

A long time passed.

Then...

“Master... this child has entered the grades.”

[End of Chapter 906]