The Crown Princess had been in labour for a whole night, and the midwife shoved a ginseng slice into her mouth for the fifth time, and shouted into her ear, “Use some force, Your Highness, push harder, just a little more!”
The Crown Princess’s consciousness was already getting fuzzy, she couldn’t even shout. Her head swayed slightly and from the looks of it, she was about to pass out.
If she really fainted, the two unborn children would suffocate to death, and the mother’s life might be in danger. The midwife was so distressed that she did not dare to say anything. She turned to look at Song Momo while applying a lot of force to press on the Crown Princess’s stomach.
“Come here and say something to your master to help her stay awake. If she really faints everyone in this room all would be…” She made a gesture on her neck.
Song Momo immediately stepped forward to wipe her master’s sweat. She racked her brains to think of what to say such as ‘His Highness, the Crown Prince, is waiting for you outside.’, ‘His Majesty has been looking forward to this for a long time’, ‘If something happens to you, wouldn’t it pain the ones close to you and joy to your enemies?’ and so on. However, the Crown Princess was unresponsive and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Song Momo suddenly had an epiphany and shouted, “Your highness, do you remember the ‘Dragon and Phoenix’ Qian[1] Miss Xiang’er drew? She said the deities are blessing you with her hands. We are now in Baiyun temple. Maybe the Taoist ancestor[2] is watching over us! Bamboo turns into a dragon and phoenix soaring in the sky, and the Taoist rays of light illuminate all evils and disperses them. With the blessing of the Taoist Ancestor, no evil can harm you, you and the two little imperial grandchildren will be safe and sound! It’s the will of the heavens, the will of heavens! Your highness, if you put in a little more effort, the little imperial grandson will be out in a moment!”
At first, the Crown Princess’s eyelids were still drooping. However, when she heard the last few lines, her eyes suddenly widened and she started to chew the ginseng slices in her mouth, swallowed the ginseng juice, screamed and exerted herself. In the most desperate times, people always prayed for help from the Deities and Buddhas they believe in, and the Crown Princess was no exception. With the implied meaning from what was on the Qian, she suddenly felt a surge of infinite hope and strength, actually coming back to life at the brink of death, striving for her future.
It was dawn, and the Crown Prince had stood on the porch all night.
The drizzle had stopped at some point, leaving only the azure-coloured smog covering the entire mountain top. And in the distance, the majestic and steep mountain peaks loomed within the fog and clouds. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.
Suddenly, a gap emerged from the thick layers of clouds, and rays of golden light poured down from between the gap and casting itself on the mountain’s peak. The multi coloured halo of light dissolved in layers, making the azure-coloured mountains come alive.
The brilliant light was so dazzling that it caused a few Dragon Scale guards to turn and admire, all of them had on a stunned expression.
At this moment, a shrill scream scream was heard inside the delivery room, followed by two resonant cries, one after another. There were people constantly shouting ‘they have been born, they have been born’, their voices were filled with intense emotions, and crying tears of joy.
The Crown Prince strode to the door only to see Song Momo holding a small baby, wrapped in a cloth towel, in each of her left and right arms. She cried and smiled at the same time, “Congratulations, Your Highness. This is the Little Prince and this is the Little Princess. Your Highness, take a look at them. All is well with the Crown Princess, please rest assured” She leaned over, revealing the two small red faces in her arms.
The Crown Prince stretched out his hand and really couldn’t decide which one to hold first. The big stone that was hanging high in his heart suddenly fell to the ground making him dizzy.
However, at this moment, countless tiny halos rendered open, enveloping the entire Baiyun temple in a multicoloured divine light. Several Dragon Scale guards pointed to a nearby mountain surrounded by a circular rainbow and shouted, “The Taoist ray is shining everywhere and the Heavens have shown an auspicious sign. This is the chosen one descending!”
Everyone looked up and was mesmerized by this wonderful sight of nature and the words “the Taoist rays illuminate everywhere’ echoed in their minds. Song Momo snapped out of her trance and hurriedly knelt down carefully with the children in her arms. She shouted, “Thank you, Taoist Ancestor, for blessing Your highness and two imperial grandsons. Thank you Taoist Ancestor!”
When she said those words to encourage the Crown Princess, her heart was also racing at the same time. However, currently, she was enraptured to see these glorious and splendid Taoist rays that she almost cried. These two children were spiritual children blessed by the Taoist Ancestor, and they would surely be extraordinary in the future!
The Crown Prince bent down and took the child. He slowly walked out of the eaves to let them completely bathe in the Taoist rays. With the baptism of the divine light, all calamities would finally be far away from them.
The Dragon Scale Guards knelt down one after another and shouted words, such as ‘Congratulations to the Crown Prince, the heavens have shown an auspicious sign’.
The so-called Taoist rays were nothing more than a circular rainbow formed by the refraction and diffuse reflection of light from clouds and mist. However, in the eyes of the ignorant ancient people, this was indeed a miracle.
In the delivery room, the midwife lifted open the window to reveal a tiny gap and supported the Crown Princess up to let her admire the once-in-a-century spectacle. She whispered, “Your highness, the luminescence from the Taoist rays dispersing the evils. Now the person behind the crime would be hopping and wringing his wrist. You can sleep in peace now.”
The Crown Princess laughed heartily and closed her eyes and went to sleep. Although the pain on her lower body was as if she was being torn apart, it was the sweetest sleep she had ever had since she became pregnant. With the blessing of Taoist Ancestor, she was finally safe.
After the news was reported back to the capital, the Emperor was overjoyed. He issued several urgent edicts ordering the Crown Prince to quickly escort the Crown Princess and his two imperial grandchildren back. With how happy he was, it was equivalent to his hatred for the persons behind the scenes. He secretly ordered Yu Pin Yan to investigate this matter thoroughly, and he would rather kill the wrong person than letting them let them off. Yu Pin Yan then used the opportunity to report his suspicion that Shen Miao Qi had blood connection to the Marquis manor. As expected, the Emperor didn’t care and said that he could take her away if she was cleared of suspicion and he would pretend he didn’t know anything.
Yu Pin Yan gladly accepted the orders.