Chapter 460: Expected Date of Childbirth
Unknowingly, the expected date of childbirth arrived. She admitted herself into the hospital in advance.
Her body condition was still not good, and the doctor suggested that she choose a cesarean.
However, Xia Ling refused to listen as she heard that natural childbirth was better and would rather endure the pain to deliver her child naturally. Pei Ziheng initially objected to normal delivery. He did not care about the child's health at all and only cared if her life was in danger.
However, Chu Chen said to him, "Actually, it's not bad if madam chooses normal childbirth. After that, her body will recover quickly, and you can have another child with her very soon."
What he said corresponded with Pei Ziheng's thoughts.
Thus, he agreed to Xia Ling's request for natural childbirth.
On this night, Xia Ling, who was in the ward, felt a faint pain in her lower abdomen. She was very uncomfortable. Guessing that she was about to go into labor, she pushed the nurse who was beside her and asked her to look for someone.
The nurse hurriedly looked for a doctor and reported it to Pei Ziheng.
The doctor did a check for Xia Ling and said, "Your birth canal is not open yet, so you will continue to wait in the ward. It's still too early for your child to be born." He also instructed her not to yell and try to save her strength until it was time for the actual childbirth.
Xia Ling listened to the doctor very seriously and endured the pain.
The doctor went out.
In the VIP ward, only her and the nurse who was accompanying her remained.
Pei Ziheng did not come. This was not his child, so he did not care. In fact, he hoped that this child died in the process of birth. It was also better that he did not come. Otherwise, Xia Ling would worry about Pei Ziheng murdering her child when she was in painful labor.
Bursts of pain struck her one after another, and she gradually lost her ability to think as if she were left alone in this world with an enormous burden of pain. She was consciously holding the amulet that she secretly carried around in her hand. The amulet that was made of paulownia wood turned warm because of her grip, and the birth chart written in an ancient language seemed to give her strength.
It was like Li Lei was beside her and her son.
Twilight slowly approached.
Pei Ziheng received a call from the nurse at night. Initially, he did not intend to go to the hospital to see Xia Ling. However, after he hung up the phone, he was unable to sleep soundly the entire night. Once he closed his eyes, she consumed his entire mind.
He was annoyed. He got up very early in the morning and instructed the chauffeur to send him to the hospital.
He looked at Xia Ling through a hospital window far away and asked the doctor, "How is her condition?"
The doctor said, "Looking at her situation, I don't think she can give birth soon. I'm afraid that she might only go into labor tonight or tomorrow." Women who gave birth either had a smooth process or a troublesome and lengthy one.
Pei Ziheng looked at her painful expression through the glass. It was strange. The child was not his, and it was obvious that this was her own undoing, but why did his heart hurt so much?
Looking at his expression, the doctor carefully asked, "Mr. Pei, are you going in to see Mrs. Pei?" Other husbands were very nervous when their wives were going through childbirth, especially before they went into labor. They really could not wait to accompany their wives and give them strength. However, Mr. Pei seemed too calm. Although he came to the ward, he did not even go in to say something encouraging to his wife.
Pei Ziheng heard the doctor's question and hesitated for a while.
He did not know what sort of attitude he should use to face her in the ward. Should he go in and encourage her to safely give birth to a child that was not his? He admitted to himself that he could not be so open-minded.
Xia Ling was enduring more and more pain in the ward. There was another wave of intense pain, and she felt like her entire body was being pulled apart. She was now in a trance-like state and subconsciously clenched the amulet in her hand.
Would she die here?
She vaguely thought. No, with Li Lei's amulet, she would not die. She would definitely live on to give birth to her child and protect him.
"Mr. Pei, go in and take a look." The doctor said. "Women are very vulnerable at this time. They really need the comfort and support of their husbands. I have seen the relationship of couples change because of childbirth. Many wives resent their husbands if they do not care about them at this time. There were also many meticulous husbands who were considerate of their wives during this time, causing their wives to be even more dedicated to them."
What he said moved Pei Ziheng slightly.
Although he did not care about the child, he cared about whether Xiao Ling would be dedicated to him. Seeing her face turn pale from the pain, he pushed the ward door open and walked in.
"Mr. Pei." The nurse saw him, quickly got up, and respectfully gave up her position next to the bed.
"Madam, Mr. Pei is here to see you." She said to Xia Ling who was in a semi-coma in bed.
Xia Ling was vaguely aware that Pei Ziheng was here, but she did not have the strength to care. All of her energy was being used to tolerate the searing pain. She had always been afraid of pain. In the past, she would even cry in front of her lover and throw a tantrum when she was pricked by a rose.
However, now, she could only withstand the pain herself no matter how bad it was.
She ignored Pei Ziheng and continued to focus on tolerating the pain.
"How many... inches... has my cervix dilated..." She asked breathlessly.
The nurse looked at her and said, "It's still early. I don't even think it has dilated 1cm." This nurse had given birth to a child before and knew that she could only be sent to the delivery room when her cervix had dilated 10cm. She said to Xia Ling, "Madam, you have to tolerate this a little more. All women have to go through this."
Xia Ling did not have the strength to reply. Beads of sweat were dripping from her forehead.
Pei Ziheng took a white towel and wiped her sweat off. He gently said to her, "Don't worry. I'm here."
However, Xia Ling slightly cowered.
After she saw that he was here, she felt even more uneasy. Now that she could not move on the bed, she was completely helpless if he wanted to harm her child. She did not dare to say what she was worried about as she was afraid that it would anger him. Her face became ashen.
Pei Ziheng only thought that she was in pain, so he held her hand.
"If you're in pain, just shout it out." He said. "It's ok." As he did not care about the child, he did not do any research on childbirth and did not know that the doctor instructed her not to scream now as it would waste her energy.
Listening to what he said, Xia Ling was even more convinced that he wanted to murder her child. She became tenser as she held the amulet tighter and prayed for the amulet to give her strength to get past this hurdle smoothly and safely.
Pei Ziheng suspected that she was holding on to something in her hand as she tightly clenched her fist. He could not help but force it open to see what was inside. He was stronger than her, so he easily opened her fist without much effort. At once, his face was discolored. It turned out to be the amulet that Li Lei gave her!