Xu Lingyi gazed coldly at the several matrons prostrated before him, a frigid smile crossing his lips.

“It seems none of you have any solution!” He instructed Hupo, “Go and fetch the head steward Bai. Have him escort the three who came from the palace back to the palace. Tell them that our Marquis Yongping household has no use for them.”

These women had come to serve under the Empress’s express command. To say the household had ‘no use for them’ — how was that any different from ‘arrogant insubordination’ in the ears of those noble persons of the palace?

The three matrons began trembling like sieves, shaking from head to toe.

What consequences awaited those who dared to swagger before the current National Uncle needed no elaboration. Even if Her Majesty the Empress chose not to pursue the matter, there were always those eager to flatter Marquis Yongping who would seek redress on his behalf.

Rather than face a fate worse than death later, it was better to stake everything on one desperate gamble now.

“My lord, we do have a method!” one of the midwives declared with the resolve of one who has burned her boats. “It is an unconventional remedy, and carries some danger — that is why we dared not suggest it!”

Had it been a method entirely without risk, the midwives would have employed it long ago. Why else would they have waited until this very moment to speak?

Xu Lingyi’s expression remained impassive.

The midwife had already spoken urgently: “We can massage the Madam — this will help the child come faster!”

Xu Lingyi looked toward the other midwives. He saw their faces etched with panic.

He then looked toward Nanny Wan.

Nanny Wan’s eyes shifted, revealing a trace of anxiety.

Which meant Nanny Wan was also aware of this method.

Xu Lingyi’s gaze locked onto Nanny Wan.

Nanny Wan’s heart was a tangle of conflicting feelings. She slowly knelt before Xu Lingyi.

“My lord!” Her voice trembled faintly. “This method is far too dangerous. It is only to be used when there is absolutely no other recourse. Because the child is forced out by pressure, more often than not the child would…” Her voice dropped low. “Before it can be born, it would…perish in the womb.”

Cracks formed in Xu Lingyi’s cold expression, revealing a flicker of alarm.

Nanny Wan lowered her head further still.

“No, no, no.” Eleventh Young Mistress, who had heard every word with perfect clarity, felt as though a knife were being carved through her heart. “There must be other methods…this one will not do, it cannot do…” As she spoke, her eyes grew moist again.

She had to bring this child into the world.

Xu Lingyi turned back, looking at his wife whose eyes swam with tears.

Those bright eyes, clear as spring water flowing through mountain ravines — like water that washes away sorrow — were eyes that made his own heart turn clear just by gazing into them.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her high, rounded abdomen.

Growing little by little under his caress, playing mischievous games with him, flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood…

A look of anguish crossed Xu Lingyi’s face. “Is there truly no other method?”

Nanny Tian hesitated for a moment.

But the prostrate midwife had caught the hesitation in Xu Lingyi’s voice.

At this juncture, to do nothing was certain death. To follow the Marquis’s heart and act might yet yield a path to survival.

Having made up her mind, she spoke softly: “There…there is one more method!”

Xu Lingyi’s eyes brightened.

“Use scissors to cut open…” the midwife murmured, “but then the Madam would…”

Xu Lingyi understood.

Between the mother and the child — only one could be saved.

Eleventh Young Mistress also understood.

She shuddered.

She had never imagined that in this lifetime, she would meet her end in such a wretched manner.

Eleventh Young Mistress smiled at herself in bitter self-mockery, her hand resting lightly on her abdomen.

A child without a mother would have a hard life — even if every material comfort were provided, there would always be a small hollow in the heart.

It was only a pity that her time as Xu Lingyi’s wife had been too brief. If it had been a little longer, the memories a little deeper — bearing in mind the bond of husband and wife, and that the child would lose its mother at such a young age — perhaps even when he took another wife and had other children, he would still extend greater tolerance toward this child.

Thinking on this, she could not help but gently stroke the child within her womb.

Given this child’s birth and station, if treated with excessive indulgence, he would likely grow into a pampered and willful nature; yet if treated too severely, he would probably become timid and cowardly, easily bullied by others. She needed to find a reliable person to stand by the child’s side.

Binju and Wan Daxian both had loyalty in abundance but lacked in shrewdness; Hupo was quite clever, but she had married into the steward’s family, making her a member of the Xu household proper — should Xu Lingyi take a new wife, she would have too many entanglements, and might not be the best choice. Zhuxiang was still young and small; without her here, Zhuxiang’s marriage would naturally be decided by Xu Lingyi or the Luo family, leaving her no say in the matter, her future still an unknown…

For a moment, there was not a single wholly suitable person to be found.

But it was better to have someone a little less clever than to choose one of those who were too quick-witted and calculating — people who read the shifting tides. Circumstances changed at any moment; who could say when such a person might have a change of heart.

She suddenly thought of Nanny Tao.

Back then, had First Young Mistress Yuan also faced the same dilemma and made the same choice as she now faced?

Eleventh Young Mistress started, then looked up to see Xu Lingyi walking slowly toward her.

His steps were not large, yet his stride was utterly resolute. A firm determination was written across his brow, lending his expression a certain gravity. It was plain to see he had already made his decision.

His smile when he learned of her pregnancy, his contentment as he stroked her belly, his joy when he felt the child’s movements in the womb — all of it flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern.

Why must people always face trials?

Could one not simply pass one’s life in a blooming, contented abundance?

Eleventh Young Mistress looked at Xu Lingyi as he sat down beside her, and said quietly: “I want the child.” Yet even as she spoke, sorrow rose from the depths of her heart, and tears fell like rain.

Xu Lingyi looked at his wife — just moments ago overcome with emotion, now suddenly grown still and silent upon hearing there was another method to save the child — silently weeping. He was not surprised. Only heartbroken beyond endurance.

He wiped the teardrops from her cheek.

“Eleventh!” Xu Lingyi’s gaze carried a distant quality as he looked at her, his tone tinged with bitterness. “You have always been reasonable…you heard what the midwife said just now…if we use the scissors, you will certainly…if we let the midwife perform the massage, the child might…” He paused briefly, then after a long silence spoke with great difficulty: “Let the midwife perform the massage.”

Eleventh Young Mistress stared at him wide-eyed.

Her heart was a chaos of feeling, not knowing what to make of it. The thought — “he wants to give up the child” — swept through her like a tide, washing away every other emotion.

“No, it will not do, it cannot do!” she cried out. “I have carried him for ten months…he already knows how to turn over; he plays games with us.” She reached out and gripped Xu Lingyi’s hand. “You don’t remember…you would rest your hand on the left side and he would kick to the right; you would place it on the right and he would kick to the left…you even said he had a lively disposition, clever and dear…”

Moisture flickered at the corner of Xu Lingyi’s eyes.

But Eleventh Young Mistress, wholly focused on persuading him, did not notice.

“My lord…” She gazed at him with earnest longing, hoping only that he might change his mind. “He is already full-term…”

The room was so quiet a falling needle could be heard. Everyone waited in trembling suspense.

Xu Lingyi leaned rather helplessly against the frame of the canopied bed, listening as the grandfather clock struck nine times.

He slowly rose and instructed the midwives: “Proceed.”

His voice was somewhat hoarse, yet his tone was utterly composed. His bearing was straight and upright as a pine, carrying with it a sense of absolute resolve.

“No!” Eleventh Young Mistress could no longer hold herself back. She struggled and grabbed hold of Xu Lingyi’s sleeve. “No, you cannot…”

Xu Lingyi sat back down and held her in his arms.

“Eleventh, listen to me.” Deep within his eyes lay a grief he could not conceal. “But if we let the midwife perform the massage, both you and the child may survive…if we use the scissors, there is only one outcome. Let us try — all right?”

Who does not wish to live?

In terms of probability, what Xu Lingyi had analyzed made very good sense.

But reason was one thing, and emotion quite another.

She dared not try — she could not bear the other possible outcome.

“No, no!” Eleventh Young Mistress clung to Xu Lingyi’s arm and began weeping softly. “I cannot…I cannot bear it…”

Hupo covered her mouth and wept. Nanny Wan turned her face away.

Eleventh Young Mistress must be terrified.

Men were not permitted to enter the birthing chamber — but since he had already broken that rule, the other conventions might as well be set aside entirely.

“Eleventh!” Xu Lingyi called her name with solemn gravity.

Eleventh Young Mistress could not help but look up.

“I will stay with you!” Xu Lingyi met her gaze with steady calm. “We will face this together.” He gripped her hand tightly. “You must trust me.”

Eleventh Young Mistress stared at him in a daze.

“I have weathered countless storms of blood and battle.” Xu Lingyi drew her to rest against his chest and held her shoulders close. “The monk Faze once told my fortune, saying I was the reincarnation of the Star of Military Might — that even demons and monsters must give way before me…” His tone was firm and unhurried. “With me here beside you, nothing will happen to you.” So saying, he nodded to the midwife who had proposed the method.

The midwife steeled herself, rolled up her sleeves, and came forward.

“The Fourth has entered the birthing chamber!” The Grand Dowager heard this and froze.

“Yes!” Nanny Du murmured softly. “No one could stop him…”

The Grand Dowager could no longer remain seated. She took the nanmu wood prayer beads from her wrist and began to turn them, yet still felt uneasy at heart. She simply stood up. “Come, let us go to the ancestral hall.”

To pray to the ancestors for their protection against misfortune — that was the only thing to do now.

The midwife’s hands were heavy. After only a few strokes, Eleventh Young Mistress already regretted it.

She grabbed the midwife’s hand: “This will not do — this will injure the child!”

The midwife looked at Xu Lingyi with some difficulty.

Xu Lingyi remained silent.

The midwife averted her gaze from Eleventh Young Mistress, lowered her head, and continued to press firmly at her abdomen.

Eleventh Young Mistress’s heart lurched. She looked up toward Xu Lingyi.

His jaw was clenched tight, his lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze fixed straight ahead in a distant stare, not seeming to look at anything at all.

Eleventh Young Mistress instinctively gripped Xu Lingyi’s hand.

His hand — with its distinct knuckles, broad and warm — was now trembling uncontrollably, like leaves in an autumn wind.

“My lord!” She burst into sobbing.

Xu Lingyi startled, coming back to himself. He embraced her and pressed his face to hers, soothing her gently: “Don’t cry — if you exhaust yourself, you won’t have the strength later and the child won’t be able to come, and that will be very dangerous for you too!”

Using the scissors, the child would be born without any risk. Using this method, the child might perish, and the mother might die of exhaustion as well. Comparing the two, the former was clearly the wiser choice.

She had never understood Xu Lingyi’s intentions as clearly as she did in this moment.

He was doing this for no other reason than to preserve her life.

She was the child’s mother; he was the child’s father.

Having to make such a choice, she was grief-stricken to the point of despair — and he was no less tortured by it.

“Xu Lingyi!” She gazed at him through her tears. “I want something to eat!”

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

Eleventh Young Mistress already continued: “If I eat something, I will have the strength.”