On the third day of the fifth lunar month in the thirteenth year of the Kangxi reign, during the hour of the Si (9:00 AM – 11:00 AM), a series of urgent cries erupted from the delivery room. The faces of the midwives turned pale with terror. Only a moment ago, the Empress had seemed safe, but now, a massive amount of blood suddenly surged from her lower body. Experience told them a catastrophe was at hand. “Quickly! Help Her Imperial Majesty stop the bleeding! This is dire!”
At the midwife’s command, the servants in the delivery room descended into panic. Outside the room, Emperor Kangxi, who had been looking at his hard-won legitimate son, felt his expression shift. “What has happened to the Empress?”
Xuelian, the palace maid attending the Empress, forced herself to remain calm, though her voice betrayed a tremor of alarm: “Your Majesty, it is grave. Her Imperial Majesty is suffering from a post-partum hemorrhage!”
Hemorrhage!
What a terrifying term. For a woman who had just given birth, this was a disaster of the highest order. Since ancient times, few women who encountered a hemorrhage after childbirth ever lived to appear before the world again.
Kangxi’s face darkened instantly, his fists clenching. How could the Empress, who had been perfectly fine, suddenly be in peril? “Send the Imperial Physicians in at once to diagnose the Empress! If anything happens to her, I shall hold you personally accountable!”
Fearing for the Empress on her bed, Xuelian nodded frantically and retreated back inside in a hurry.
The Imperial Physicians arrived at the delivery room shortly after to diagnose the Empress, while the midwives exhausted every method they knew to stem the blood flow.
Amidst the cacophony, the newborn legitimate son suddenly began to cry even more piteously. Detecting the heavy scent of blood in the air, Kangxi’s hands trembled slightly. “Good child, your Imperial Mother will surely be fine.”
He and the Empress had been a couple since their youth. Although many confidantes had joined his side over the years, creating some distance between the royal couple, he absolutely did not wish for the Empress to pass away from a hemorrhage immediately after giving birth to the legitimate son they had anticipated for so long. Furthermore, the Great Qing Empire needed a Mother of the Nation; the death of an Empress would be an ill omen for the state.
Meanwhile, the consorts gathered around Kangxi, also awaiting news, experienced a quiet shift in demeanor. Secondary Consort Ula Nara maintained a steady expression, but her heart was beating like a drum with joy. It seemed Heaven was on her side after all. Although she had been irritated by the Empress’s pregnancy and successful delivery, what did it matter if the Empress gave birth to a legitimate son if she didn’t have the life left to enjoy the blessing?
Her son, Prince Baoqing, was currently the Emperor’s eldest son in all but name. There were few women in the harem with offspring; the importance of Baoqing in the Emperor’s heart was undeniable. But now that the Empress had a legitimate son, the Emperor’s focus would inevitably shift… Ula Nara narrowed her eyes. She would have to see if the Empress actually had the life to enjoy this immense fortune.
Her only regret was that the one in peril wasn’t the Empress’s legitimate son instead.
Anxious voices rang in Li Mu’s ears. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower body and a stabbing sensation in her head—the agony of memory transmission. Having just arrived in this body, the combination of physical and mental pain left her feeling as though she were in a dream. But she quickly realized this was no dream; she had truly arrived in the Qing Dynasty.
She had become the Empress of the Kangxi Emperor—the Hešeri Clan.
Li Mu bit her lower lip hard. The dizziness from blood loss and the immense pain made her face deathly pale. She was nearly speechless, feeling as if she might faint at any moment, and she could not clearly distinguish the frantic voices surrounding her.
Given the current situation, this was clearly the moment the original host suffered a hemorrhage after giving birth to her second legitimate son. To encounter such a dire scenario immediately upon arrival was unfortunate, but luckily, she had come prepared.
She forced herself to focus, chanting “Blood-Coagulating Pill” in her mind. This was her “Space”—a storage dimension that could manifest items based on her will. However, this manifestation was somewhat erratic; items appeared randomly within a one-meter radius. In any other setting, she would never risk using the Space for fear of discovery, but in this life-or-death moment, she couldn’t care about the consequences.
She was about to lose consciousness when the Blood-Coagulating Pill appeared within her reach. Li Mu sensed it and felt a surge of relief; it had appeared beneath her pillow, hidden from everyone’s sight. Her mouth opened slightly, her tongue pressing against the roof of her mouth as she struggled to speak.
Xuelian, sensing the Empress’s intent, stepped forward urgently. “Your Imperial Majesty, what do you wish to say?”
Li Mu’s vision was blurred, her voice weak: “Pillow—” She wanted to point, but she had no strength left.
As a trusted confidante who had been with the original host for years, Xuelian was exceptionally capable. Hearing the word “pillow,” she decisively reached under it. After a quick search, her hand closed around a small medicinal bottle. “Your Majesty, is this what you want?”
In the crisis, Xuelian instantly guessed the Empress’s intent. She looked at Li Mu with desperate hope. Li Mu gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Xuelian hurried to pour out the single pill, and with the help of others, brought tea to feed the medicine to Li Mu bit by bit.
The moment the pill reached her stomach, a warm sensation began to flow through her body. Li Mu closed her eyes; a faint color returned to her cheeks, her thoughts cleared, and she finally regained a spark of strength in her hands.
The midwife nearby cried out with joy, nearly in tears: “The bleeding has stopped! Her Majesty has finally stopped bleeding!”
Regardless of what that pill was, the Empress being out of danger was a blessing for everyone involved.
Li Mu flexed her fingers. The Blood-Coagulating Pill, as the name suggested, helped wounds clot. While it couldn’t restore her to perfect health instantly, it secured her life. As long as she could breathe, everything else could be managed.
She exhaled softly, and when she opened her eyes again, they were filled with clarity.
She was now Empress Hešeri. The original host’s destiny was to die today, leaving behind a son who would be named Crown Prince. Had history stopped there, the Empress might not have felt such resentment; even if her life was short, her son would have inherited the throne.
But the reality was far crueler. After death, the original host watched as her son was twice installed and twice deposed by his father, living a life of ruin. The throne did not go to her son, but to a concubine’s son. Seeing this, how could she not feel resentment? Heaven had taken her life in exchange for a son, only for that son to be discarded!
Thus, Li Mu had arrived. She was a transmigrator specialized in fulfilling the regrets of the resentful. Hešeri’s wish was to guard her son as he grew, see him ascend the throne, and ensure he never suffered a life of failure. Naturally, every transaction had a price; Hešeri possessed something Li Mu needed, which would only be hers once the wish was fulfilled.
From this moment on, Li Mu was Empress Hešeri.
Now, she needed to find the culprit—the one who had caused her such immense pain and nearly caused her to fail upon arrival. The original host’s constitution was excellent; it was impossible for her to suddenly hemorrhage after a safe delivery. Though the physicians might call it an “unfortunate accident,” the Empress had prepared extensively to prevent exactly this.
Furthermore, the original host had realized after death that her hemorrhage was no accident, but the result of dark undercurrents among various factions.
Li Mu’s eyes sharpened, though she maintained an air of extreme fragility. Xuelian, deeply worried, wished she could suffer in her mistress’s place. “Your Majesty, you have suffered so much. The Emperor was surely sick with worry. I must nourish your body well; you must see the Little Prince grow up.”
The Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Gong) had finally gained another prince. As the backbone of the palace, the Empress could not afford any mishaps.
Li Mu possessed eyes like shimmering water, and as she looked around, they seemed almost innocent. Xuelian looked at her, briefly feeling as though the Empress had changed, but then shook her head. How could that be? The Empress was right there in front of her.
However, Xuelian soon had no time for such thoughts. Li Mu’s next words chilled her to the bone.
“Xuelian… I seem to have caught the scent of an extremely faint fragrance just now.”
“Your Majesty!” Xuelian’s face transformed. Her eyes turned into sharp blades, piercing the servants and midwives present. As the Empress’s confidante, she understood perfectly. The Empress was implying that someone had intentionally harmed her; the hemorrhage was no accident!
Not only did Xuelian react, but every servant in the room turned pale. Nanny Zhou, an elderly governess who had served the Empress for a long time, swept her gaze over the midwives. She knew better than anyone—those with the best opportunity to act under her nose were the midwives!
Despite every precaution, the mastermind had still found a way!
Nanny Zhou’s expression was ice-cold. She stepped forward and pointed at the midwives. “Seize them and bind them at once!” She would rather punish a thousand innocents than let one culprit escape.
Eunuchs swarmed in immediately. The midwives’ faces were ashen. “Nanny Zhou, what is the meaning of this! Her Imperial Majesty has just turned the corner from danger; we are all relieved! We want nothing more than for the Empress to be safe so we can receive our rewards. Why would we ever harm her?”
Indeed, if the Empress was safe, the midwives would be well-rewarded. There seemed to be no logical reason for them to act.
The servants present were almost swayed by their words, though none dared to disobey Nanny Zhou’s order.
Suddenly, a thunderous voice rang out: “What is going on here!”
A handsome man of magnificent bearing entered the room. Having waited too long, Kangxi was desperate to see the Empress. Although a delivery room was considered “unclean” for a man, upon hearing the news that the Empress was out of danger, he could no longer stay away. Ignoring the protests of his servants, he forced his way in.
But the scene before him left him stunned and suspicious.
What crime had these midwives committed?