Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

These words were meant to comfort Li Xiang, but weren't they also Li Ji comforting himself?

For Li Ji, Liu Bei's great undertaking was important, but the family he had with Cai Zhaoji held just as much weight.

Zhaoji's intellectual gentleness, Li Xiang's sensible and precocious nature...

These were all existences that Li Ji found impossible to part with.

As Cai Zhaoji's first cry of pain rang out, the cries that followed came almost continuously.

Each time one sounded, even though Li Ji could maintain a basic composure on his face, his heart was constantly being tugged at.

For a time, Li Ji, who had been eagerly anticipating the birth of his daughter, felt a tinge of regret and uneasiness, fearing that Zhaoji would suffer some misfortune.

Time continued to pass, and Li Ji stood outside waiting for good news from inside the room, occasionally sending Li Qin and Li Shu in to check on Zhaoji's condition.

However, the situation did not seem to be going smoothly, which caused Li Ji's expression to tighten involuntarily.

Just then, Zhang Zhongjing, who had been hastily summoned, finally arrived.

Appearing with him were Liu Bei, Xiahou Bo, and Cai Yong, who had come upon hearing the news.

"Zikun, how is the situation?" Liu Bei asked with concern.

"Thank you for your concern, my lord, but there is still no good news," Li Ji replied.

Li Ji quickly bowed to Liu Bei and Cai Yong before pulling Zhang Zhongjing aside to explain the situation.

At this moment, Li Ji already had a premonition that things were not going well.

Therefore, the first thing Li Ji said to Zhang Zhongjing was that he must do everything possible to preserve Zhaoji's life, and everything else was secondary.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhongjing naturally understood the hidden meaning in Li Ji's words.

Immediately, Zhang Zhongjing personally went to understand Zhaoji's current condition and comforted him, saying.

"Marquis Guoshi, please do not worry. Currently, the madam has not experienced any critical symptoms such as excessive bleeding. The reason for the delay in childbirth should be due to a malpositioned fetus."

This made Li Ji relax slightly, and he asked, "Does Master Zhongjing have a solution?"

This was Li Ji's consistent way of addressing Zhang Zhongjing, respecting his medical skills and ethics.

Perhaps Zhang Zhongjing was somewhat obsessed with officialdom, but it was undeniable that Zhang Zhongjing's initial intention in studying medicine was to alleviate the suffering of the world from illness and pain.

Therefore, even though Zhang Zhongjing was a member of a prominent family, he still took the initiative to devote his energy to researching medicine, all for the sake of benefiting the people.

Zhang Zhongjing had always been quite grateful for Li Ji's attention and support over the years, and then he hesitated and said.

"I have a technique that can be used to try to correct the fetus's position. After I tell the midwife how to correct the fetus and restore its position, I imagine there will be no problem."

Although the customs of the Han Dynasty were not considered conservative, unlike the strictness of later generations, there was still the saying that men and women should not touch each other casually.

In addition, Cai Zhaoji was the wife of the Marquis Guoshi, so even if Zhang Zhongjing knew that Li Ji was definitely not such a pedantic person, he would naturally still be careful.

However, almost as soon as Zhang Zhongjing finished speaking, Li Ji directly said, "Please, Master Zhongjing, take action personally so that Zhaoji can suffer less pain. I am extremely grateful."

At this critical moment of life and death, Li Ji was not a pedantic or ignorant person. How could he wait for Zhang Zhongjing to verbally instruct the midwife to manually correct the fetus's position?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhongjing hesitated slightly, then nodded in agreement, saying.

"Then please have a servant cover the madam's belly with a layer of gauze and apply some oil for lubrication."

Li Ji knew that in terms of internal medicine standards at the time, Zhang Zhongjing was the ceiling, so he didn't hesitate at all and immediately sent someone to prepare according to Zhang Zhongjing's instructions.

Gauze was easy to find, but oil had to be fetched from the kitchen.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei even had Xiahou Bo, who was the fastest, personally go to the mansion's kitchen to fetch some oil.

Soon, the items Zhang Zhongjing requested were prepared, and then he entered the room to correct the fetus's position.

At this moment, Cai Yong and Li Ji's tension was almost palpable, and Li Xiang was constantly tugging at Li Ji's clothes, staring intently at the room.

Several more cries of pain, seemingly hoarse, rang out from Cai Zhaoji, and then, in Li Ji's somewhat delighted gaze, a loud baby's cry rang out from the room.

This relaxed Li Ji so much that he almost felt his legs go weak. Liu Bei reacted the fastest and supported Li Ji in time, preventing him from losing his composure in public.

This scene, seen in Liu Bei's eyes, caused his gaze to flicker slightly.

For Liu Bei, who adhered to the principle of "wives are like clothes, brothers are like limbs," the weight of wives and concubines in Liu Bei's heart was far less than that of Li Ji, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others.

However, Liu Bei had not really noticed before that Cai Zhaoji actually had such a position in Li Ji's heart, even causing Li Ji, who was always calm and composed when facing thousands of troops, to lose his composure in such a way.

Li Ji's emphasis naturally made Liu Bei add several levels of importance to Cai Zhaoji as well.

Immediately, after steadying Li Ji, Liu Bei called Xiahou Bo over and reported a series of rare tonics and medicinal herbs, instructing Xiahou Bo to quickly fetch them from the mansion's private treasury.

After the baby's cry rang out in the room, Zhang Zhongjing quickly walked out of the room first, but his expression was somewhat unsightly, and he said with shame.

"I have failed to live up to the Marquis Guoshi's trust. Mother and daughter are safe, but this time the madam's vitality has been greatly damaged. I'm afraid the possibility of continuing to conceive in the future is somewhat low."

Zhang Zhongjing put it euphemistically, but with Zhang Zhongjing's level, such a judgment was almost a determination that Zhaoji was almost impossible to conceive.

It was precisely because of this that Zhang Zhongjing appeared quite ashamed, even feeling that he had failed to live up to Li Ji's courtesy and appreciation over the years.

"It's fine, it's fine, this is a minor matter," Li Ji said.

However, for Li Ji, who already had a son and a daughter, he didn't care about such a trivial matter at all, and even felt that this might not be a bad thing.

Zhaoji's childbirth this time was so dangerous that Li Ji was quite afraid and had already made up his mind not to let Zhaoji get pregnant again.

Therefore, even without this incident, Li Ji was prepared to have Zhang Zhongjing concoct drugs that could prevent pregnancy in the future.

However, Zhang Zhongjing, feeling guilty in his heart, only felt that this was Li Ji's comforting words, and his face revealed an obvious look of shame.

Immediately, Li Ji said a few words of thanks to Zhang Zhongjing, and then asked his servants to arrange for Zhang Zhongjing to rest for a while before hurrying into the room.

At this moment, the midwives and maids had initially cleaned up some of the blood and dirt for Zhaoji, who had just given birth.

However, as Li Ji and Cai Yong quickly walked to Cai Zhaoji's side, they found that Cai Zhaoji, who was always intellectual and elegant, was now unable to stop shedding tears, with a face full of sorrow.

Upon seeing Li Ji, the tears flowed even more torrentially, as if a dam had burst.

"Zhaoji, what's wrong?" Li Ji quickly stepped forward and asked with concern.

Cai Zhaoji said with a crying voice, choking with sobs.

"This concubine has let down her husband. Just now, Master Zhongjing told this concubine that she may no longer be able to conceive her husband's children in the future. This concubine... is ashamed of her husband..."

This was the first time in the many years since Li Ji and Cai Zhaoji had been married that Cai Zhaoji had shown herself to be so fragile and helpless, causing Li Ji to feel a strong sense of pity in his heart, and he said softly.

"It's fine, it's fine, I already have a son and a daughter, I have no regrets in this life."

Hearing these words, Cai Zhaoji was also moved beyond words, feeling the warmth from Li Ji's hand wiping away her tears, and said with great concern.

"This... how can this be? Your husband only has one son. If something unexpected happens to Xiang'er, wouldn't your husband be without an heir?"

It just so happened that Li Xiang, with his short legs, ran into the room at this moment. Hearing these words, he was stunned in place, and a big question mark appeared on his head.

Ah?

Is my dear mother cursing me just now?

And in my mother's eyes, my existence is only to prevent my father from being without an heir?

At this moment, Li Xiang couldn't help but doubt his life, and even wondered if he was just a byproduct of the love between his father and mother.

Apart from Li Xiang, Cai Yong, who had followed in, originally had a worried and concerned expression, but now there was a faint hint of green.

It should be known that Cai Yong only had two daughters in his life and no sons at all.

What a filial daughter!

Is this implying that I am infertile?

So in the eyes of my great filial daughter, I am already without an heir?

However, seeing Cai Zhaoji's tearful appearance, Cai Yong didn't scold her, but began to think about whether there were any descendants among his cousins who could be adopted into his family.

This great filial daughter cannot be kept for long...

At this moment, Li Ji and Cai Zhaoji, who only had each other in their eyes, did not notice Cai Yong, who was accidentally affected.

Under Li Ji's gentle comfort, it took a long time for Cai Zhaoji to barely stop her tears and refocus her attention on the newborn daughter.

However, unlike Li Ji's joy, Zhaoji couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she had given birth to a daughter this time.

But even though the newborn baby still looked wrinkled, Li Ji was still filled with joy as he looked at her.

Li Xiang, who had suffered a series of blows, also quietly approached the edge of the bed and, after seeing his younger sister's appearance, blurted out, "So ugly."

The next moment, Li Ji slapped the back of Li Xiang's head, causing Li Xiang to stagger, and said.

"If you talk nonsense again, I will throw you out."

This scene broke Liu Bei's heart, who had walked in unhurriedly.

Liu Bei really liked Li Xiang, and even secretly gave Li Xiang the highest evaluation: This child is like Zikun.

However, Li Ji had no time to pay attention to Li Xiang's somewhat aggrieved expression. After playing with his daughter for a moment, he spoke.

“Zhaoji, what do you think of the name Li Xi?”

“I defer to my husband's judgment entirely,” Cai Zhaoji nodded in response.

“Good!”

Li Ji, with a face full of joy, held Li Xi in his arms and said with delight,

“Little Xi'er has descended into the world, and this Marquis is extremely happy. The entire household will be rewarded, and in the name of Little Xi'er, sweets will be distributed widely in the city, to share the joy with the people.”

(End of Chapter)