Early winter, the piercing cold wind had been blowing for half a day, the weather was gloomy, and the first snow of the winter afternoon started to float down generously.
The snow was flying all over the sky, accompanied by a cold wind, and the entire street turned a blank white in no time.
"Ah…Hmm…"
In the emperor's sleeping chamber in the palace, two bodies were tightly intertwined on the dragon bed. The man continued to demand tirelessly from the woman in his arms, time and again.
The woman gave a charming smile, her face turned towards the bed, revealing a breathtaking beauty.
"Your Majesty…"
The eunuch waiting outside softly called.
Hearing the call, the emperor slowly got up from the woman, responding, "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, the Noble Consort is having difficulty giving birth…"
The eunuch reported cautiously.
"I see."
The emperor replied indifferently, then embraced the beauty in his arms and lay on the bed to rest, without making a sound.
"Your Majesty, the child of Noble Consort is precious too, shouldn’t we pay a visit? I believe, it's about time…"
The woman rested in the emperor's arms, panting slightly. She looked even more charming and delicate after their intimate moment.
"Do you really have the confidence to help her deliver the child?"
The Emperor, as handsome as jade, lazily asked her.
"What's so difficult about it? The child cannot go through the pressure of birth. If she does so, she's no use anymore. We have to cut her out of the womb alive for her to be useful."
Her words, so chillingly casual about such a brutal act, made the Emperor lean in to kiss the corner of her lips.
He was enamored by this decisive and cruel woman, willingly sinking deep into this covert liaison, despite his status as Emperor. His fondness for her surpassed that of any beauty in his harem.
"Alright, let's see."
The Emperor stood, dressed himself without calling for the palace maids. He picked up the woman who was still on the bed, picked up the clothes scattered all over the floor, and dressed her one by one.
The woman sat on the bed, motionless, enjoying his service. Every time she was bestowed upon by the Emperor, he would personally help her dress. It was his favorite thing to do and her most prideful matter.
In the Imperial Consort's palace, the piercing screams reverberated.
"Oh gods... Save me, mama... Ah..."
Caught in the chaos, Shen Su heard the scream and was immediately alarmed, instinctively wanting to leave this eerie and frightening place.
She had no time to think about how she ended up here, and first tried to move her body, only to find herself in a pitch-black, confined space.
She was pushed around, feeling suffocated, unable to speak or move her hands. She was somewhat at a loss, disoriented. What was happening?
She tried several times to touch her surroundings, only to find that she couldn't move at all, as if her limbs were out of her control.
Just then, she heard a piercing call, as if it was coming from a distance, almost bursting her eardrums.
"Consort, push harder! One more time..."
Shen Su listened to the voice that was so close. Suddenly, she felt herself uncontrollably pushed out by a great strength. At this moment, she was unable to breathe, her body was briskly shoved forward, as if bursting through the darkness towards dawn.
At this moment, she suddenly felt an external force blocking and shoving her back. The wish she had worked so hard to rush out had fallen short once again.
"Your Highness, push harder, this is not working."
It was the same voice again. As soon as this voice fell, Shen Su felt herself pushed out again, just to be blocked once more.
In the darkness, she suddenly understood, she was not dead. Not only did she bizarrely find herself in another time, but she even crossed into a yet-to-be-born baby's body, still inside someone else's belly, preparing for birth...
She wished she could just suffocate and die in this stomach, reincarnate, and cross time once again. This was clearly those two midwives' meddling, intentionally preventing her birth, torturing her and the birthing woman to death.
In the Yihe Palace, Concubine Qin Yuyu lay on the Phoenix couch, her hands clutching her stomach, screaming at the top of her voice. Palace maidens and wet nurses came and went, carrying in buckets of hot water and carrying out buckets of bloody water.
The two midwives repeatedly instructed Qin Yuyu to push. Every time she pushed, it hurt so much that she felt as if she was about to die, already numb from the pain. Yet, the child still wasn't out.
Sweat had soaked the beddings on the sleeping couch, and under the mattress, a mix of blood and sweat was dripping down from under the couch, running all the way to the palace entrance.
"Your Highness, push hard, make an extra effort..."
A wet nurse teases her waist, encouraging the woman on the couch who has already been tortured beyond recognition.
"Ah..."
A series of earth-shaking screams followed. With the screaming, Qin Yuyu exuded some more strength, pushing with all her might for the last time. At this time, she had a belief deep in her heart: she needed to give birth to this child no matter what, or her death would be in vain.
This time, she used all her strength, then felt light. It seemed like the baby was coming out, but the wet nurse still pressed on her waist. She suddenly lost her strength, genuinely feeling the baby retracting back to her stomach.
"Your Highness, the Emperor has arrived..."
A palace maid ran in crying, kneeling down before her, speaking in surprise and joy.
A wave of cheers resounded outside the palace gates, all the palace ladies knelt down and paid respect. The Emperor said lightly, "Rise."
At this moment, Qin Yuer was on the verge of fainting, unable to muster any more strength. But upon hearing the Emperor's arrival, a spark of clarity momentarily flashed in her mind, and she strained to open her eyes towards the incoming figure.
"Your Majesty, this is a birthing chamber. It would be best for you not to enter, lest you are tainted by impure airs."
Reaching the door, the eunuch who followed him gently advised.
"Yeah, good idea. Let Rong'er go in instead."
The Emperor, Shangguan Qingmo, stood at the entrance, his hands clasped behind him, with eyes only for the woman beside him.
He gently acknowledged her with a nod, showing no concern for the person or situation inside.
Adjusting her dress, with steps as light as a lotus flower, Qiu Rong slowly advanced towards the hall.
At this moment all the palace ladies quietly lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze, fearful of catching her eye.
Any who were spotted by her would be quietly dealt with by the Emperor, hence nobody had known about her secret liaisons with the Emperor despite her frequent visits to the palace.
The palace ladies never dared to utter her name, and even when they spoke of her, they did it in trembling fear.
"How do you feel, Noble consort?”
Approaching her, Qiu Rong lightly parted her red lips, asking slowly with an air of coldness.
"Rong... Sister Rong, save me, please save me...."
Qin Yuer was in a delirium at this point, the pain of childbirth causing her to discard all sense of decorum, morality, integrity, and modesty. Against the pain she was experiencing right now, these were insignificant.
"Alright, I'll save you now."
Autumn Rong spoke as she procured a small knife from her sleeve – thin as a willow leaf, its blade was sharp. Upon closer inspection, it looked almost identical to a modern-day scalpel.
Holding the knife, she moved before Qin Yuer, while a midwife helped to hold her limbs down. Then, she gently cut across Qin Yuer's belly.
"Ah... no, don't...”
The pain was intense, causing Qin Yuer to shake her head violently from side to side. She had never imagined that Autumn Rong could resort to such brutality.
Using the knife, she sliced open Qin Yuer's belly, causing pain so severe that it momentarily rejuvenated her senses. Her limbs spasmed, writhing uncontrollably...
The two maids holding her down were also drenched in sweat, their bodies trembling intensely. Compared to Autumn Rong's actions, their earlier treachery felt juvenile.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?"
Qin Yuer cried in torment. Despite considering Autumn Rong a confidante, she managed to utter these words.
"Because you are having a difficult labor. I need your child, but without anesthetics, the only way is through a cesarean section."
Having making the incision, Autumn Rong started pressing down on her belly. Her skilled technique was almost as if she had done it many times before. As she pressed down, she turned to the maids, “Quick, take the child out..."
With that, she grabbed the hand of one of the maids, pushing it inside Qin Yuer's stomach. Having delivered babies all her life, the maid had never seen such a method.
This unfamiliar scene left her numb with shock. In a daze, she followed Autumn Rong's direction, slipping her hand into Qin Yuer's belly, only to palpate a soft, sticky mass.
Instinctively, she gripped and retrieved her hand – she was holding a bloody newborn baby.
At this moment, Shen Su desperately wished she could strike down the woman before her and the two malicious midwives. They had put her through such torment within her mother's womb and had tortured her mother to this state...
But, despite her capabilities, she was trapped in this infant's body, and was powerless to act...
"Ah..."
Suddenly, the midwife who was holding her body, let out a shrill scream. She instantly loosened her grip, and Shen Su felt herself rapidly plummeting towards the ground.
Alarmed, she immediately closed her eyes, but heard a "plop" sound, as if she had fallen into water.
Autumn Rong skillfully caught her with the basin of water by her side. As soon as Shen Su fell into the water, she immediately started to flail her short limbs vigorously in the water, rolling a few times.
"No, Sister Rong, what are you doing?"
In pain and numbness, Qin Yuer, seeing her baby being thrown into the water basin right after birth, cried out in agony.
Autumn Rong ignored her. Noticing that her belly still seemed to have some movement, she gasped softly, reaching into her belly again, and after a moment, another child was pulled out.
"Twins, huh... Hmph..."
She snorted lightly, noticing the other child was a boy, she frowned slightly and threw the boy into the water basin as well.
Finally, Shen Su understood why she had felt so cramped while in the belly. So, besides her, there was another little one. However, it seemed like today, both of them could not avoid their fate.
"No... Autumn Rong, you're so heartless, why are you doing this?"
Seeing Autumn Rong's actions, Qin Yuer knew that she had ulterior motives. However, remembering that she had been so kind to her on regular days, why would she be treated like this?
"Because, you stood in my way, those who block my path, must die..."
After saying this, she didn't give another glance at Qin Yuer lying in her own blood.
When Qiu Rong saw that the blood was almost cleaned from the child's body, she grabbed Shen Su and threw him into a pot filled with medicinal broth, instructing, "Take this to His Highness."
A figure floated in, responded with a nod, quickly covered the pot, and then left, leaving the male infant alone struggling in the water before slowly sinking to the bottom of the basin.
"Take it out and discard it."
Qiu Rong coldly commanded the palace maid by her side. She didn't even look at the male infant again, disgustedly handed the basin to the palace maid as if it was something foul.
Scared witless, the palace maid didn't dare to utter a word, trembling as she responded and took the basin out.
