The firstborn child was arriving nearly half a month earlier than expected, impatient to enter the world.
Given Pei You'an's cautious nature, he had naturally considered this possibility since he wouldn't be by her side. The day after he left for Suyeh City, an experienced midwife who had delivered babies for half her life arrived in town and had been staying nearby these days, ready for any eventuality.
The news of the mistress going into labor immediately spread through Tanxiang's shouts, disrupting the normally tranquil wilderness that had just been celebrating news of a military victory. The atmosphere grew tense as everyone rushed over. The midwife and Ding Mo prepared the birthing bed while Cui Yinshui and Muxiang hurried to boil water. Yang Yun mounted Snow Treader—now one year old and lightning-fast—to ride to Suyeh City and inform Pei You'an of the news. Strangely enough, though Snow Treader was notoriously temperamental and usually allowed no one but Pei You'an and Jiafu near him, and even when Pei You'an rode him alone without his mistress, the horse would buck and resist before reluctantly submitting—today, he seemed almost enlightened. After watching Jiafu clutch her belly as she was helped inside, when Yang Yun cautiously approached, the horse remained unusually docile, allowing him to saddle up. With a whinny, Snow Treader shot off toward Suyeh City, leaping over the ten-foot-high fodder yard gate without waiting for Lao Ding to open it, vanishing into a distant speck along the wild path.
Before the birth, as the child in her womb grew day by day, Jiafu sometimes wondered whether their firstborn would be a boy or a girl.
She hoped for a son like Pei You'an first. She knew that with a father like him, their eldest son would grow like a young pine tree—even if rooted in snowy cliffs and battered by storms, he would stretch toward the sky and thrive.
She also knew that when she later gave her husband the precious daughter he secretly longed for, this son would be a good elder brother, helping his parents love and protect his little sister.
Amid these hopes and dreams, like all expectant mothers, she couldn't help feeling occasional pangs of nervousness as the due date approached.
She had heard that childbirth was like crossing the gates of hell. This anxiety had crept into her heart more often these past few days with Pei You'an away, especially when she felt the baby move inside her alone.
But now, knowing the child was about to be born, her mind cleared of distractions, and the lingering tension dissipated completely.
Whether a boy or a girl, this was Pei You'an's flesh and blood nurtured within her. She would deliver them safely. Imagining the moment her husband would meet their child filled her heart with tenderness and strength.
At first, the contractions came intermittently, not too painful. Gradually, they grew more frequent and intense. Jiafu clenched a soft cork between her teeth, enduring waves of pain that first numbed her before slicing through her flesh like knives. Following the midwife's instructions, she pushed with all her might, again and again, striving to bring their child into the world.
By now, a full night and day had passed since her labor pains began the previous evening.The window turned white, then gradually darkened. Pei You'an had been standing guard outside the door for an entire day and night.
By dusk the next day, the midwife detected that the cervix had finally fully dilated, but it still seemed insufficient for the baby's head to emerge. This had persisted for some time now. After a full day and night of labor pains, the exhausted mother was drenched as if pulled from water and could no longer eat. The midwife herself had few options left—she could only instruct Ding Mo beside her to feed the woman some sugar water while massaging her abdomen to assist the delivery.
The softwood block bearing deep teeth marks was pulled from Jiafu's mouth as another wave of pain struck, drawing an involuntary cry of agony from her lips that pierced through the doors and windows.
"Husband—"
After a full day and night, this was her first cry that reached Pei You'an's ears.
He still wore the battle armor he hadn't had time to remove, its plates stained with long-dried blood.
Just yesterday evening, amidst the cheering crowds lining the streets of Suye welcoming his return, he had barely entered the city when Yang Yun found him with news that Jiafu was going into labor. Immediately abandoning everything, he mounted Snow Treader and raced home.
A night and a full day of waiting had passed without any news of her safety.
This was the longest, most excruciating day and night Pei You'an had ever experienced in his life.
Once a brilliant young minister, once a pillar of the court who governed the world—even now, demoted to this place and reduced to a mere fodder yard keeper, in the eyes of the border town's soldiers and civilians, he remained their revered, unyielding pillar. Yet none knew he was neither transcendent nor steel-hearted. In his decades of mortal life, he too had known moments of soul-devouring darkness.
Life had never been his desire, nor did death hold any ties for him.
It was this willful girl who insisted on calling him "Big Cousin" who, running into his embrace that night, gave his existence meaning and joy.
Another basin of bloodied water used to wipe her body was carried out from the room, its crimson contents splashing away. Tanxiang, her face pale, hurried back inside with a fresh basin of newly boiled clean water.
The joy and excitement Pei You'an felt upon his return last night had completely vanished. His face was ashen, his lips long drained of color. Despite the bitter cold, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His fingers clutched the doorframe so tightly the veins on his hands bulged, yet still they trembled faintly.
Behind him, Cui Yinshui had long lost all color in his face, his legs giving way as he collapsed to his knees, kowtowing wildly toward the front while muttering soundless words—who knew what deity this eunuch was praying to or what incantations he chanted.
Pei You'an could endure no more. Pushing open the door, he tore off his armor and cast it aside, his eyes bloodshot as he rushed toward the woman on the bed.
"Fu'er! Fu'er! I'm here!"
The man dropped to one knee, gripping her cold, sweat-drenched hand tightly and pressing it to his lips, as if trying to warm it with his own body heat.
A full day and night of pain had drained her strength bit by bit, tormenting her to this moment.
Jiafu was nearly spent, sustained only by the single thought in her heart—to bring this child safely into the world.She didn't even have the strength to open her eyes anymore, but she could feel the firm grip of the hand holding hers and hear his voice calling to her by her ear.
She couldn't let him down. How fortunate she had been in this life to marry such a man.
Nor could she let their child down. How much she had longed for its arrival.
They were both waiting for her.
Clenching her teeth, she mustered all her strength and pushed again.
"The head's out! The head's out! Push harder, madam, just a little more and the baby will be born!" The midwife cried out in excitement.
Jiafu's body trembled uncontrollably, but her small hand tightened inch by inch around the man's large one, their fingers entwining tightly.
Jiafu could feel the little life inside her, as if it too was striving alongside her.
With every ounce of effort, she helped her child inch its way into the world.
It was an agonizingly long process, yet one filled with hope.
"It's out! It's out! A big, healthy boy!"
Amidst the loud cry of a newborn, the midwife's joyful voice suddenly rang in her ears.
The pain that had tormented her for so long vanished in an instant, leaving Jiafu completely drained.
She wanted to open her eyes, to see what her newborn looked like, and even more, to see the joy that must be on Pei You'an's face at this moment. But she had no strength left.
The hand that had been tightly clasping the man's slowly loosened, and her consciousness began to drift.
Amidst the baby's cries, she thought she could still hear Pei You'an calling her name.
She wanted to respond, but her eyes wouldn't open. All she could manage was a faint smile at the corner of her lips.
She wanted Pei You'an to see her smile. If he saw it, he would know she was fine, that he needn't worry. She was just a little tired and wanted to sleep.
It was as if she had been pulled into a dream.
In the dream, her body grew light as a feather, slowly lifting into the air. Surprised, she opened her eyes effortlessly, only to find herself still lying on the birthing bed, her head slightly tilted, her face strewn with sweat-drenched hair, her eyes closed, and a faint smile on her lips. Beneath her, what seemed like blood slowly spread, while the man knelt by the bed, holding her tightly, desperately patting her face, calling her name over and over.
His silhouette was filled with terror.
Jiafu's heart ached. Though she knew she would wake, she couldn't bear to see him so afraid. She wanted to return immediately, to open her eyes and smile at him, but her body was too light—she couldn't control it. As she drifted, all sounds gradually faded away.
Jiafu was enveloped in overwhelming darkness and sweetness. She slept a long, deep sleep, unaware of how much time had passed. Finally, fully rested, she knew it was time to return—otherwise, Pei You'an would come looking for her. But for a moment, she couldn't find her way back.
Worried that Pei You'an wouldn't find her and afraid she had lost her way home, she drifted aimlessly in panic. Then, she realized she had returned to the final moments of her past life—sealed inside that ornate coffin in the Underground Palace.
The darkness underground was bitterly cold. Shivering, she clawed desperately at the heavy wooden lid above her, trying to escape, but to no avail.Just as she was once again deeply engulfed by that familiar despair and the terror of impending death, a shimmer of light appeared before her eyes. She saw the loving face of her father, but in the glimmer of her tears, he vanished. Then, another young man emerged from the depths of the distant darkness, walking toward her.
His sleeves fluttered gracefully, his demeanor unparalleled, and with a gentle smile, he came to stand before her.
"Fu'er, come home."
He reached out his hand to her, took hers, and intertwined their fingers, clasping them tightly together.
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