CHAPTER 467: CHAPTER 467 : XIE JIANYU’S DARK PAST (12)

Help.

HELP!!!

That was what he screamed in his head again and again the night of the birth.

As natural as it was for all male omegas to be cut open when giving birth to a baby, it did not make the process any less excruciating, any less painful.

"Your Majesty, it will be over soon," Mingyu said, struggling to hold the tears in her eyes at bay.

"Your Majesty, this servant is so sorry," his servants said as they restrained his limbs and averted his gaze.

"Your Majesty, please be brave..." Midwife Chen said before she made precise cuts across his abdomen.

The fight drained him. Screams turned to whimpers, his thrashing limbs stilled. Exhausted, he succumbed to the pain, a darkness swallowing him whole. It wasn’t peace, but an agonizing oblivion, as if the very air he desperately needed was an iron fist squeezing the life from him.

But it was necessary to give life to the child, so he bravely endured it.

When Xie Jianyu finally held his baby boy in his arms, a wave of emotion washed over him so powerful it took his breath away.

Regardless of the circumstances of his birth, he was nothing less than perfect.

The baby’s face, a canvas of smooth, downy skin, was punctuated by a button nose that wrinkled with each sniff. Tiny, perfect fingers, like wrinkled peas, grasped weakly at the air. The most captivating sight, however, were the baby’s lips. Delicately pink and impossibly small, they opened and closed in a silent yawn, revealing a glimpse of a rosy tongue. Each delicate inhale sent a soft puff of air against Xie Jianyu’s chest, a whisper of life that resonated deep within him.

With a reverence he’d never known before, Xie Jianyu reached out a tentative finger and brushed it against the baby’s cheek. The skin, impossibly soft and warm, seemed to melt under his touch. He traced the curve of the tiny ear, marveling at its delicate perfection. Each rise and fall of the baby’s chest, barely perceptible, sent a jolt of fierce protectiveness through Xie Jianyu. Deep within his heart, a love he never knew existed bloomed, a love as boundless and fierce as the ocean.

"Don’t cry, my baby," Xie Jianyu coaxed his son when he broke into a whimper. "Don’t cry..."

I am going to protect you.

I am going to make sure that you grow up big and strong.

You might not have your father’s love, but you will be smothered in your mother’s love.

I love you.

I love you, my baby...

The tender moment was but fleeting, for one of his guards tumbled into the delivery room to report a grave matter.

"Your... Your Majesty! The palace has been surrounded by the Longjing and Wuyang Palace’s army!"

The news slammed into Xie Jianyu like a gigantic tidal wave cresting over the serene seaside, leaving him breathless and disoriented. He could barely grasp what he was hearing.

What luck.

All omegas wanted the father of their child to be around when they gave birth, but Zhang Fengxi did not come to take a look at the baby.

No, he came to lay waste on Fuxi Palace.

Then again, omega or not, with or without baby, he was still Crown Prince Xie Jianyu, Fuxi Palace Master.

It was his job to strengthen the defense line of his palace.

Even if he must die during the confrontation, he must at least stall the fight long enough for his palace staff to escape.

And so, Xie Jianyu pressed a tender kiss against his baby’s forehead and handed him to Midwife Chen.

"Prepare my armor," he said, his voice stern and commanding. "I am going out to confront them."

His decision to face the enemies was met with a round of objection.

"Your Majesty, no!!!"

Mingyu threw herself at Xie Jianyu’s feet and sobbed hard.

"Your Majesty, you just gave birth. Your body is very weak at the moment. Please don’t go... please don’t go, alright? Let’s just escape through the secret tunnel..."

But how could he?

If he did that, everyone was going to die.

Mingyu, Head Servant Zhou, every single loyal subordinate of the dragon clan who served him from the day he took over the helm of the palace master, were going to perish in the most miserable way.

And his baby, too.

The baby he had just given birth to.

The baby he swore to protect.

His child.

No, if blood must spill today, then it had to be his.

Everyone else and the baby must survive...!

Xie Jianyu peeled Mingyu’s fingers off his feet one by one and then pulled the young maid to her feet with one swift movement.

"Take the baby," Xie Jianyu squeezed Mingyu’s upper arms. "Go with Midwife Chen. Take the baby far, far away from here. Go to the human realm if you must."

"No," Mingyu shook her head and cried even louder. "No, Your Majesty, you must come with us! You must!!!"

"I can’t!"

Xie Jianyu’s shook from head to toe. Not out of fear but out of a mixture of grief and rage.

"Do you presume to go against my order?!"

A suffocating silence descended upon the room. No one dared utter another word of dissent after the Crown Prince’s forceful pronouncement. Only the sharp wail of the little prince, startled by Xie Jianyu’s harsh tone, broke the oppressive quiet.

A crushing weight settled on Xie Jianyu’s heart as his son’s cries echoed in the air. The raw need in those tiny wails mirrored the well of tears threatening to spill from his own eyes. Yet, tears were a luxury he couldn’t afford. In this harsh reality, his strength had to be the dam holding back the flood.

"Take him away," Biting back a surge of pain, Xie Jianyu issued the order. Steeling himself, he donned his armor, hiding everything beneath its hard surface, before marching out of the palace.

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Author’s note :

I know, my dear readers...

*Hug all loyal readers tightly*

Please be brave and endure these painful Chapters, because they are necessarily to build the suspense to the last arc.

Ah, even this author procrastinated several days before writing the "Dark Past" because after 450-ish Chapters, I really could not bring myself to hurt Baby Jianyu again...

So please be strong for Baby Jianyu’s sake. Trust that I will definitely give you the happy ending you all wish for (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠).