On the boundless Xuanhuang Continent, a mighty empire known as the Great Qin Dynasty stood in the Eastern Region.
Its capital, the Qin Capital, was imposing and magnificent, like an unshakable mountain.
At the heart of this city stood the world-renowned imperial palace, the Forbidden City.
At that moment, an unusually tense atmosphere permeated the palace, as though even the air had congealed.
Every corner was filled with suffocating pressure that made it difficult to breathe.
Half a month earlier, the skies above the Qin Capital had been clear for thousands of miles, but at some unknown point, a thin layer of dark clouds had begun to gather.
At first, those clouds brought only a light drizzle, lending the ancient city a hazy, poetic beauty.
As time passed, however, the drizzle gradually became a torrential downpour.
The clouds grew thicker and thicker, pressing down over the city like an enormous black curtain, their weight oppressive.
The sky suddenly became as dark as night. All its former brightness vanished, and darkness swallowed the entire city.
Fierce winds followed, sweeping through with the howls of a savage beast.
Bean-sized raindrops rode the gale, slamming into the ground like bullets.
The drops gathered into curtains of water pouring from the heavens, forming a watery veil that shrouded the entire city.
The rain thundered down with a deafening roar, as though the celestial river had burst its banks.
The wind whipped strands of rain against the windows like countless lashes, striking with sharp, relentless cracks.
Caught between the gale and the downpour, the windows shook precariously, seemingly ready to shatter at any moment.
Thunder boomed like an enraged dragon roaring in the sky.
Every thunderclap came with a dazzling bolt of lightning that tore through the dark heavens and illuminated the storm-ravaged city.
Rain surged down like a waterfall, pounding the ground and throwing up sheets of spray.
Water rose swiftly in the streets, covering people's ankles and even submerging some low-lying areas.
Even the great trees were not spared by the violent storm.
The raging winds tore them out by their roots and left them strewn across the ground.
Branches and leaves were shredded and scattered everywhere, as though the entire city were enduring a catastrophe.
Today was the day Empress Zhao was due to give birth, and the Eternal Spring Palace bustled with activity.
Numerous palace maids hurried through the palace gates carrying basins and towels, busy yet orderly.
Countless elite soldiers stood on both sides of the hall's entrance, bearing spears and swords. Heavy armor covered their entire bodies, leaving only their piercing eyes exposed; they resembled indestructible guards cast from steel.
The soldiers stood in neat ranks, clad in matching black-ice-colored armor. From a distance, they looked like rows of impregnable walls, inspiring awe.
Outside the hall, a powerfully built man in an ink-black imperial robe paced anxiously back and forth.
He was tall and imposing, but his brows were tightly knitted, his face full of worry.
This man was the reigning emperor. Ministers in crimson and purple official robes surrounded him, their solemn faces betraying their tension.
"Chief attendant,"
The man in imperial robes suddenly spoke, a trace of urgency in his voice.
"How long has the midwife been in there?"
A thin-faced eunuch in blue official robes standing nearby hastily bowed with his hands clasped and answered respectfully:
"Your Majesty, the midwife has been inside for more than six hours."
The eunuch paused, seemingly hoping to reassure the emperor, then continued:
"She was carefully selected from across the entire dynasty. No one has greater skill or experience."
Yet the man's worries did not lessen in the slightest upon hearing this.
Though he was revered as the wisest emperor of the age, his heart was now gripped by an emotion he had never experienced before.
Inside the Eternal Spring Palace, the empress was bringing this vast empire's first imperial prince into the world.
This was not merely the birth of a new life, but the hope and future of the entire nation.
For the man, this would be his first time becoming a father, and the feeling filled him with anticipation as well as tension and unease.
Although he had long since confirmed that the empress carried a prince and had made every preparation for the delivery,
He still could not control his anxiety and kept questioning the chief attendant beside him.
Time passed, moment by moment, and the atmosphere within the hall grew increasingly tense.
The empress's pained moans mingled with the cries of the midwife and maids, growing ever hoarser, as though the entire palace were trembling.
"Your Majesty, the child's head is too large, and he refuses to push his way out. You must push harder, or delivering the prince may prove difficult."
As the midwife's anxious voice rang out, she discreetly pushed the prince's barely emerging head back inside several times.
The midwife wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. A moment's carelessness had nearly left her unable to carry out the orders of a certain bastard who deserved a thousand cuts.
Someone held the lives of her entire clan-tens of thousands of young and old-in an iron grip. If she allowed this prince to be born safely today, her whole clan would be sent below to meet their ancestors!
"Hmm?!"
But the maneuver she thought so discreet was noticed by Empress Zhao's younger sister, who had been watching with her nerves stretched taut. She seized the midwife firmly by the throat.
"Take her away. Let no one find out!"
"Yes!"
Two female covert guards from the empress's natal family leaped down from the rafters and swiftly took the midwife away.
"You know what to do about what happened today, don't you?"
Empress Zhao's younger sister swept a murderous gaze over the maids and matrons, all of whom they had brought from their natal household.
"Princess Zhao, we saw nothing!"
The mass of maids and matrons hastily dropped to their knees and answered in hushed voices.
A little more time passed.
At last, as everyone waited in anticipation, a clear infant's cry broke the tense silence.
That cry was like heavenly music, instantly filling the entire hall with life and hope.
Cheers followed from within the hall, overflowing with joy.
A palace maid excitedly opened the doors and shouted, her face radiant:
"It is a prince! Mother and child are safe!"
Hearing this news, the man's heart finally settled. He let out a long breath, as though a great burden had been lifted.
Meanwhile, the thick layers of dark clouds overhead began to disperse. Sunlight spilled down like golden gauze, illuminating heaven and earth.
At that same moment, astonishing wonders surged forth like a tide.
A hundred birds paid homage to the phoenix, dancing around the hall as their melodious calls echoed through the air.
The birds were brilliantly colored, their feathers smooth as silk. Their graceful, lively flight seemed to display the vitality and beauty of life to the world.
Meanwhile, dazzling flowers suddenly blossomed throughout the empty air.
They resembled flowers from a dreamlike immortal realm, their petals soft as velvet and their colors vivid and striking: red as fire, pink as sunset clouds, purple as gemstones.
Every blossom exuded an enchanting fragrance that filled the air and intoxicated the senses.
More wondrous still, all manner of rare and marvelous manifestations appeared.
An enormous divine dragon rose in a spiral above the hall, its body powerful and vigorous, its scales shimmering with mysterious light.
The divine dragon's appearance lent the entire scene an air of majesty and solemnity.
In the sky, a phoenix soared freely. Its feathers burned like flames, and its tail was as brilliantly colored as a rainbow.
The phoenix flew with noble elegance, its presence inspiring a sense of sacred grandeur.
On the ground, lotuses bloomed with every step, each footfall bringing forth a pure white flower.
The lotuses were fresh and radiant, their layered petals as exquisite as carved jade.
It was as though the earth itself were rejoicing at the arrival of this new life, welcoming the moment in its own unique way.
Just as everyone was immersed in this wondrous atmosphere, a ball of fire streaked from the distance like a meteor, hurtling straight toward the hall.
Within the fire lay a mysterious weapon, radiating dazzling light.
Someone cried out in astonishment:
"It's a Natal Divine Artifact!"
The shout struck like thunder, stirring waves of amazement and cheers through the crowd.
At the sight, the emperor beamed, laughing with irrepressible joy:
"Heaven blesses Great Qin! Heaven blesses Great Qin!" His voice echoed amid the cheers, filled with confidence and anticipation for the future.
Among the crowd below, a smiling man in crimson robes slowly bowed with clasped hands to the emperor above and declared in a ringing voice:
"Your Majesty, even the pearl born beneath the Li Dragon's chin stands apart from all treasures in the mortal world.
This is a blessing for all the people under heaven! With so many wondrous manifestations appearing, these are truly auspicious signs.
In this humble minister's opinion, why not follow heaven's will and grant a general amnesty, allowing the common people to share in the blessings of this flourishing age?
Then all beneath heaven will surely celebrate, and the people will rejoice!"
Delighted by these words, the emperor nodded repeatedly in agreement and said:
"You speak most wisely, my minister!
Today, I shall follow your counsel and grant a general amnesty, proclaiming heaven's boundless grace.
I shall also bestow generous rewards upon all civil and military officials for their service, and hold a grand banquet to rejoice with the people.
Furthermore, every palace maid within and outside the Eternal Spring Palace shall be rewarded, demonstrating my benevolence.
As for Midwife Zhang, whose service in delivering the child deserves an even greater reward, I hereby confer upon her the title of 'Fourth-Rank Imperial Lady,'
And grant her a residence and ten cartloads of gold, silver, treasures, and spirit stones in recognition of her merit!"
As soon as the emperor issued his decree, everyone rejoiced. They knelt to thank him for his grace and shouted in unison:
"His Majesty is wise! His blessings reach all beneath heaven, and all the people revere him! Long live His Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand upon ten thousand years! Long live Her Majesty the Empress, a thousand years, a thousand upon a thousand years! Long live the imperial prince, a thousand years, a thousand upon a thousand years!"
For a time, a vast sea of people knelt, their ceaseless cries ringing through the clouds and lingering long afterward.