The King's Mate - Part 1: Banyue

Chapter 33

no cw this time lol

enjoy xD

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"Xie Lian, I will tell you everything that happened, okay? I assume you don't remember much from... when you tried to give birth, is that right?"

"That's right", Xie Lian confirmed, though he was starting to get a very bad feeling about this whole situation.

"Okay. Well, to be honest... the whole thing was pretty messy, so it's probably for the best that you don't remember it. You lost a lot of blood... you were in pretty critical condition, actually. It's why you're still feeling so weak, even though it's been almost two weeks since then."

"I slept for almost two weeks?", Xie Lian asked, feeling rather shocked at hearing that. However, if he had already been in critical condition, then what about his baby?!

"No, not sleeping. You were in a coma. I-... His Majesty wanted me to prioritise your well-being over your baby's, but you went feral when you heard his decision, which, well, complicated things even more than they already had been. His Majesty had to restrain you", Shi QingXuan explained and shivered at the memory. "I never realised how scarily strong your husband is. Either way, I'll spare you the details, but we managed to deliver the baby. It was in the wrong position the whole time and was really stubborn about coming out.

"And when it did, well, the cord was around its neck. But somehow it was alive. Just very tiny and weak. The nurses made sure to swaddle it up extra warm and I managed to get your bleeding under control after you passed out. The thrashing around really didn't help, you know", the doctor said in a chiding tone, before he sighed and continued.

"Anyway, His Majesty was... well. He didn't take well to your state of unconsciousness, I... to be honest, I think he's pretty traumatised by what happened there. He-... he refused to take the baby, but he- he did name it. I-... I can't imagine you'll be particularly happy with the name, but...", Shi QingXuan stopped and bit his lip.

Honestly, Xie Lian was just beyond relieved that his baby was seemingly okay. It didn't matter if it was tiny or weak. Xie Lian could protect it until it was bigger and stronger. Feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Xie Lian smiled before asking the obvious question.

"What did he name it?"

"Right, first of all, it's a little baby boy you got there. His name is, well... E'ming. Using... these characters", Shi QingXuan said, and pulled a small piece of paper out of his robe to show him the meaning of his son's name.

Xie Lian lost his smile once he read the characters. Especially the first one wasn't something he'd ever thought he'd see in a name. Certainly not for his own son. It meant all sorts of negative things. Putting the two characters together didn't help matters either; his name just meant 'doom'. Why would Hua Cheng do such a thing?!

"Why?", he couldn't help but ask, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

"I think it's because he's blaming the baby for putting you in such a critical condition. And we all know that His Majesty doesn't forgive easily. I have to admit I'm a bit shocked he doesn't even have mercy for his own son", Shi QingXuan mumbled. "Anyway, His Majesty refuses to see little E'ming, so we had to put him in the same room with the other abandoned babies we have in our nursery."

"What!?", Xie Lian sat up, much more quickly than he should have, but he didn't care about feeling dizzy right now. He was absolutely livid. "E'ming is not an abandoned baby. Bring him to me right this instant", Xie Lian demanded sharply.