Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2735: Birth of Zhongguo’s Abomination

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Zhongguo, Liaodong Province, Shuntian Prefecture, Shenyang City, Imperial Palace

”Your Majesty, the 13th Concubine is about to go into labor!” A palace maid rushed into the Empress’s quarters and dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the floor in a hurried kowtow. Only after receiving the Empress’s calm permission did she dare to lift her head and relay the news properly, ”The imperial physicians have been summoned, and the midwives are preparing.”

”What’s the point of all this?” one of the Empress’s close companions muttered dismissively. ”They’re going to kill that freak she is giving birth to anyway.”

”My husband took women from powerful families and great clans across the world as his consorts,” the Empress said with a faint scoff, her fingers circling the rim of her teacup. ”He believed that by gathering talent from every corner of the continent, he could strengthen the imperial bloodline.”

Her lips curved slightly, though there was no amusement in her eyes. ”And yet, all he has produced are half-breeds... and now this, a freak with two bodies with conjoined heads.”

She set her cup down with quiet precision. Her disapproval of her husband’s choices was unmistakable as she addressed her tea companions.

When the Thirteenth Concubine’s pregnancy entered its second trimester, one of the senior midwives used her martial spirit to examine the child within her womb. What she discovered sent ripples through the inner court. The fetus was not singular. It was a set of twins... but their heads were conjoined.

Under imperial law, any child deemed a deformity was to be quietly erased to preserve the purity and reputation of the imperial bloodline. The Thirteenth Concubine would normally have been ordered to undergo an abortion, and the court would announce to the empire that she had suffered a miscarriage.

However, the imperial physicians soon determined that terminating the pregnancy at this stage would likely cost the concubine her life. Abortion was no longer a viable option.

And so a different solution was devised.

An official decree announced that the Thirteenth Concubine had miscarried and was in fragile health, requiring isolation and prolonged recovery. She was removed from public view entirely, hidden within the depths of the palace to carry the pregnancy to term in secret.

The child would be allowed to be born and then it would be killed immediately to safeguard the honor of the imperial bloodline.

”Your Majesty, I heard that the Thirteenth Concubine’s elder brother has arrived from the Far West,” one of the Empress’s tea companions wearing a lavender dapi said in a lowered voice. ”He came to petition His Majesty to spare... that child.”

She paused briefly before continuing, carefully measuring her words. ”They met in private in the emperor’s chambers last night. From what I’ve heard, his face was unsightly when he left.”

”Thirteenth Concubine’s elder brother once saved the Emperor’s life in an ancient vestige when they were young. They are good friends,” the Empress defended the Emperor’s decision to meet with the Thirteenth Concubine’s elder brother in his chambers.

”My father mentioned the same,” another of the Empress’s tea companions in beige dapi added smoothly. ”When His Majesty permitted their family to use our section of the Silk Route tax-free, along with the additional trade concessions, it was already an extraordinary gesture.”

She adjusted her sleeve, her expression calm but cutting. ”His Majesty has repaid whatever obligation he once owed them a hundredfold. Yet they continue to demand more.”

Her gaze sharpened slightly as she commended his majesty’s decision, ”It may well be time for His Majesty to put an end to their exploitation of his generosity.”

”Unfortunately, His Majesty does not share that view,” the Empress said after releasing a measured sigh. ”He has agreed to spare that... abomination.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around her teacup before she continued. ”The Thirteenth Concubine’s elder brother presented him with a letter from her. I do not know what was written in it, but His Majesty was visibly shaken afterward. He left the palace that very night to go on a midnight hunt with the brother, presumably to cool his temper.”

A brief silence followed her words.

”How magnanimous,” the same tea companion who had spoken earlier, wearing beige dapi, said with a graceful incline of her head. ”Once again, His Majesty proves that his generosity knows no bounds.”

”I wonder what His Majesty intends to do with that freak,” the noble lady in lavender asked anxiously. ”Surely it cannot be allowed to reside within the imperial palace, can it, Your Highness?”

Her voice carried an edge of near panic, as though the mere presence of such a birth within the palace walls would herald catastrophe.

The Empress offered no immediate reply. She simply lifted her teacup and took a slow, composed sip, her silence far more telling than any words.

Another noble lady leaned forward slightly and added, ”Granting it the title of princess would be a stain upon the imperial lineage. It would be an insult to the other princes and princesses... especially the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess. To grow up being treated the same as it I don’t know about your highness but I feel it’s unfair to the other princess and princess.”

The statement lingered in the air, sharp and deliberate.

The noblewoman had been deliberate in her choice of words. By specifically mentioning the Emperor’s son and daughter, the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess, she struck precisely where it mattered.

For the first time that afternoon, the Empress reacted.

Her hand trembled ever so slightly, the tea within her porcelain cup rippling dangerously close to the rim before she steadied it. The movement was subtle, but in a court where every breath was observed, it did not go unnoticed.

She could remain silent regarding the Emperor’s decisions about the Thirteenth Concubine and her child. She could endure that humiliation without protest.

But when it concerned her own children, she would never bow.

”I do apologize, ladies,” the Empress said with practiced serenity. ”I have a prior engagement and must take my leave. Please, continue without me.”

With that, she rose gracefully from her seat. Without another glance behind her, she exited the pavilion and made her way toward the Emperor’s quarters.