Everyone gazed at the white, chubby egg with delight. Was there really a child inside?
"Can we touch it?" Caleb Miles quickly looked up at Madam Jin to ask, voicing the question everyone wanted to ask.
"Quickly, then! The baby can't get chilled." Seeing the seven men so ridiculously happy, Madam Jin was touched by the atmosphere despite herself. At first, when she learned she would be delivering for the imperial consort, she'd assumed it was just another noblewoman. But after seeing so many men, she started to wonder what kind of woman could attract this many followers—and even more shockingly, the emperor himself was totally fine with sharing her, not minding at all.
Later, when they went to the battlefield, the soldiers all said the consort's ideas were things they'd never imagined, especially seeing her fight on the front lines while pregnant.
At that moment, Madam Jin realized this woman was truly extraordinary—smart, decisive, and practically psychic. No wonder so many exceptional men followed her.
Hearing this, Ethan Chu was the first to touch the egg, instantly gasping, "It moved!"
Seeing this, Lucian Vane quickly placed his hand on the egg too, immediately feeling something inside sliding around—a very bizarre sensation.
"Hurry up, let us touch it too!" Butterfly Rogue was getting desperate. Seeing this, Ethan Chu and Lucian Vane quickly made way for the others.
Everyone took turns touching the egg, each one curious and wide-eyed. The sensation was so weird they couldn't even describe it—because you could really feel something wriggling around inside.
Seeing this, Ivy Shen rolled her eyes at them and snarked, "Are you guys seeing things? Please! The egg hardens instantly after it's laid. How could you possibly feel it moving?"
"Heh." Madam Jin couldn't help but laugh—these first-time dads were a riot.
"We really can feel it!" everyone chorused. Sure, the egg was hard, but if you focused, you could sense something inside.
"You're all hallucinating." Watching these guys get so hyped up they were seeing things, Ivy Shen yawned—she was seriously exhausted. This whole ordeal had left her feeling like she'd been run over by a truck.
"So slippery!" Nina Xu touched the egg, her face full of delight but her eyes a bit complicated. Was this really a child? She'd seen pregnant women before, but never one right after giving birth—and definitely never an actual egg.
"Her Ladyship is exhausted. Tonight, she really needs to rest. We'll stay and serve her." Madam Jin quickly said. It was already late—everyone should get some sleep.
"We're staying," the seven husbands chimed in. Now that the baby was born, of course they had to stay and take care of her.
"Uh..." Madam Jin glanced at the emperor, who had already spoken. Naturally, she didn't dare object.
Ivy Shen waved her hand lazily. "Let them take care of me. They wouldn't sleep if they went back anyway." She knew their personalities—better to let them stay here, so at least they'd be at ease.
"Understood." Madam Jin then quickly went over all the precautions: the brazier must stay lit, keep an eye on the baby's temperature, take care of the mother—basically, be super careful about everything.
"Don't worry, I'm a doctor," Lucian Vane said quickly.
Seeing this, the three palace midwives bowed. "We'll take our leave now, Your Ladyship. We'll be back first thing in the morning to look after you."
"Mm." Ethan Chu waved them off, signaling they could go.
"Sis, you should rest too. With all of them serving me, I'll be fine." Ivy Shen looked apologetically at Yvonne Li—she'd squeezed her hand so hard during labor that she'd left a mark.
"I'm fine, Sis," Yvonne Li smiled, though sweat was still dripping from her forehead—she looked like she'd just gone through labor herself.
"Don't touch!" Butterfly Rogue yelled, stopping Lanny and Pinkie's mischievous hands.
"We want to touch it too," the two men pouted. They hadn't gotten a turn yet.
"The baby can't get chilled!" Eli Crane said calmly, but his tone made it clear he wouldn't tolerate any argument.
"Sis, you really should rest," Ivy Shen urged again. Her big sister had been exhausted by the night's ordeal.
"She's right, Big Sis! Go get some sleep—we'll take good care of Her Ladyship!" Liam Willow said, his face beaming with happiness.
Seeing this, Yvonne Li nodded. She knew everything would be fine with them here—and besides, they probably had a lot to talk about. So she took the disappointed Lanny and Pinkie, who hadn't gotten to touch the egg, and went back to her tent to rest.
"Xin'er!" Once the room cleared out, everyone called out to her at once.
"What is it?" Ivy Shen smiled, seeing all their loving, affectionate gazes.
"You worked so hard," the seven husbands chorused.
Hearing this, Ivy Shen felt a little embarrassed.
"You must be starving after giving birth, Xin'er. I'll make you some porridge," Liam Willow said quickly.
"I'll help too," Caleb Miles chimed in.
Ivy Shen smiled and nodded—after all that effort, she really was hungry.
Meanwhile, Ethan Chu took over Madam Yin's spot, sitting beside Ivy and wrapping her in his arms so she could lean against him.
The others busied themselves with stoking the brazier and piling extra straw around the tent to keep it warm. They refused any help from servants, insisting on doing everything themselves because they believed only their own hands could do it right.
"Xin'er, get some sleep. When the porridge is ready, I'll wake you," Eli Crane said, tucking thick blankets around her tail so it wouldn't get cold.