At midnight, the whole sky was filled with heavy rain and thunder roared constantly.

The drizzling rain beat against the crisp tiles, making a tinkling sound that only amplified the loneliness of the night.

In a secluded courtyard of an old mansion, a dim oil lamp flickered.

A woman leaned against the headboard, her face slightly pale. Though pale, she was strikingly beautiful, even more so in sickness. She was as captivating as Xishi during her illness.

There was a boy about the same age standing next to him, holding a newborn baby in his arms.

"Grandma, please bring the child over here so I can have a look."

Qing was unable to hold back her tears, her face streaming with them. "Madam, you should not look at this child anymore. He is just a babe. Your lord wouldn't have minded his birth in the first place."

When she heard this, the woman glared fiercely at Qing Wei. “Nonsense! Just because he doesn’t care, does that mean I can disregard my own child? What if it's a boy? Even Tian Shuang’s son would be hundreds of times stronger than those boys!”

"My lady, it was I who spoke wrongly. Please do not be angry, you have just given birth to the second young miss, and you should rest more."

Qing hadn't seen him get angry before, so he quickly apologized and admitted his fault. He held the baby and walked to the bedside.

Tianshuang glanced at the peaceful sleeping face of the baby, feeling a surge of emotions. She had never imagined that after marrying into the Ji family, she would end up in such a miserable state. What angered her the most was that her own father, for the sake of family interests, had been willing to sacrifice...

Even though she knew Qi Dongming had no feelings for her, she still married into the Qi family. He was willing to marry her as his legitimate wife only because of the business interests between their families. This allowed them to continue holding the position of the leading pharmaceutical merchant in the imperial court of Siyu country.

His gaze shifted from the infant back to the room. Tianshuang glanced around, then asked softly, "Qingwei, where's Ruyin?"

"Madam, the young miss is waiting outside. The midwife has already gone to inform the master. If the master knows that this child is another girl, he probably won't come... what do you think..."

Tianshuang let out a cold snort, interrupting Qingwei's words, "Whether he comes or not is of no concern to me. Go get Ruyan; I have something to tell her."

My lower abdomen sent a wave of warmth, followed by more pain.

The smell of blood filled the air.

Tian Shuang came from a renowned pharmacy family, though knowledgeable about medicinal herbs, she couldn't pursue medicine due to her child.

After childbirth, a large amount of
will be produced, more than anyone else's. It is feared that after childbirth, one might collapse, even with the imperial physician present at this time, there would be no way to save her life.

"Yes, this servant will go and call the young mistress."

Qing did not place the baby next to the madam's bed, and then lightly walked to the door, opened it, and saw Ji Ruoyan standing beside the door.

The child, only six years old, was huddled with others. His arms seemed to be holding something, round and plump. But it was too dark to see what it was.

As soon as she heard a noise at the door, her little face turned in that direction and she immediately looked at Qing Wei. With surprise, she called out, “Qing Grandma, is my mother awake?”

"Miss, please come in! Your mistress wants to see you."

Qing Wei walked in, worriedly pulling him inside. Only when she saw that his clothes were soaked through by the rain did she feel a pang of heartache. "Miss, how long have you been standing outside? Why didn't you change into some dry clothes? If you catch a cold because of this, what will we do?"

"Shh! Granny, speak softly. Don't let Mother hear you, otherwise she'll nag me again. I'm fine!"

Ji Ruyan's youthful face was mischievous and playful, yet it carried something that didn't belong to her age.