The Crown Prince waved his hand, and Wei Hong, Fu Liu, and the others withdrew, leaving only Song Xibai, the Crown Prince, Ding Xiang, and Song Siyuan.
Without outsiders around, Song Siyuan didn't relax at all; instead, her expression became even more tense.
Seeing her father like this, Song Xibai couldn't help but say something to him.
"Father, just say what you mean! This attitude only makes me more nervous and worried. It's all the same whether you stick your neck out or not, so what are you hesitating for?"
Song Siyuan instinctively wanted to glare at her, but instead only sighed.
"Xixi! Do you still remember how your mother passed away?"
Song Xibai didn't know why her father brought this up, but she still nodded and said, "I know, my mother developed an illness after giving birth to me, and it hasn't been cured even after several years of treatment."
This kind of illness is the most difficult to treat. It's a problem of the body's constitution, with no specific lesions. It can only be managed by using various expensive medicinal herbs. But even so, it can only provide temporary relief.
Song Xibai was reborn as a baby and had memories from birth. In her memories, her mother was always sickly. Occasionally, when she was feeling better, she would play with her, cook for her, and teach her two older brothers to recognize characters and recite poems.
As for the specific cause of her mother's illness, Song Xibai asked many times, but Song Siyuan only said that it was a lingering illness from childbirth, and refused to say anything more.
Is there some hidden story behind this?
Song Xibai thought and thought but still couldn't figure it out.
Song Siyuan took a breath, lowered his eyes slightly, and began to talk about what happened back then.
“When your mother was pregnant with you, she was in a good position at first and didn’t feel any discomfort. On the contrary, she had a big appetite and ate a lot in the first three months, but her belly didn’t grow. At the time, I thought that your mother had already given birth twice, so there shouldn’t be any problems with this pregnancy, so I didn’t think much of it.”
At that time, Song Siyuan was very busy at the Imperial Hospital. He was often kept in the palace every few days. After returning, he had to keep an eye on his two sons and study medicine. He did not pay as much attention to his wife as he did during the previous two pregnancies.
Even so, he would take his wife's pulse every five days.
At first, there was nothing unusual about her pulse. But when she was four or five months pregnant, Song Xibai's mother suddenly lost her appetite. Her belly grew very large, but she lost weight rapidly.
By the time she was seven months pregnant, her belly was huge, but her limbs were very thin, and she needed help to walk, which made people feel scared.
One day, an elderly physician from the Imperial Medical Academy, who had retired from official duties, came to visit the Song family. He was shocked to see Madam Song in such a state.
He was a veteran imperial physician who had worked for many years. Even after leaving the Imperial Hospital and returning to his hometown, he did not give up his medical skills and specialized in treating obstetric and gynecological diseases. He could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Madam Song.
After repeated requests, Song Siyuan agreed to let him take his wife's pulse. However, what the old doctor said stunned Song Siyuan and his wife.
"Your mother was pregnant with twins!"
Song Siyuan's words left Song Xibai completely stunned.
"Twins? But... but I didn't have any brothers or sisters when I was born!"
How is that possible?
Song Siyuan raised his hand to cover his face, his voice filled with pain.
"That child died in the womb long ago."
Everyone present was shocked. Dingxiang looked horrified and cried out.
"Twins? One died long ago, how could the other still be alive?"
I've never heard of that before!
As Song Xibai thought about her origins, her body suddenly grew cold.
Her mother was pregnant with twins; one died, but she survived and even gave birth successfully… Was it possible that both children actually died initially? Because she was a soul from another world, she brought life to this body, allowing her to live for a few more months and eventually give birth?
“I don’t know what happened either. The old doctor said he had never seen anything like it before. He could only say that the baby in the womb had an extremely strong will to live. But because the other baby had already died, the baby had been in your mother’s womb for several months and could no longer bear it.”
"Seven months was your mother's limit. So, on the old doctor's advice, your mother gave birth prematurely a few days later."
Song Siyuan did not recount the harrowing events of that time in detail, only saying that...
“You were almost eight months pregnant then. When you were born, apart from being a little small, there were no problems. That stillborn baby was just beginning to form; it was a boy, so tiny…”
At this point, Song Siyuan couldn't continue.
This is also the root cause of Song Xibai's mother's early death.
Song Xibai hugged her arms, her eyes suddenly filling with tears.
"So, I killed my mother?"
"Qingqing!"
The crown prince gave a low rebuke and quickly put his arm around her shoulder.
"You didn't kill your mother, so don't talk nonsense."
The Crown Prince turned Song Xibai's face around, and the next moment, two lines of tears uncontrollably streamed down Song Xibai's face, and she couldn't stop them no matter what she did.
"But if I hadn't been in Mother's womb all this time, she would have noticed something was wrong long ago, and if she had had an induced labor then, Mother wouldn't have..."
Song Xibai's mind was in complete chaos.
She had always believed that her rebirth was a gift from God.
But if this blessing comes at the cost of someone else's life, then what kind of blessing is it?
A look of bewilderment crossed Song Xibai's eyes.
Dingxiang bit her nail in frustration and hurriedly reminded Song Siyuan.
"Uncle Song! Speak up!"
Song Siyuan was startled out of his thoughts and saw Song Xibai's appearance, which made his heart tremble.
"Xixi, don't overthink it. This has nothing to do with you. It's my fault for neglecting your mother."
Song Siyuan quickly offered words of comfort.
"I shouldn't be alive in this world..."
Song Xibai muttered to herself, ignoring everyone else's words.
She wasn't even from this world!
The Crown Prince felt heartbroken seeing her like this, so he pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back.
"No one is not meant to live. Everyone has their own destiny. Although your mother passed away early, I believe she did not regret giving birth to you."
Song Siyuan added, "Your Highness is absolutely right. Your mother always wanted a daughter. After you were born, she was always in a good mood whenever she saw you. Once she sighed that perhaps it was because she wanted a daughter so much that her body involuntarily protected you and kept you alive."
Even if you had known this would be the outcome, your mother would still have chosen to keep you.
The image of that gentle woman from his memories flashed through Song Xibai's mind, and he could no longer hold back, bursting into tears.
The prince held her, letting her tears soak his front, his heart aching so much he wished he could bear it all for her.
After a long while, Song Xibai finally stopped crying.
She composed herself and lifted her head from the prince's embrace.
"Father, you're not just telling me about Mother's death, are you? Is there anything else you haven't said?"
Song Siyuan sighed.
“Xixi, your current situation is just like your mother’s back then.”
Song Xibai's body tensed up suddenly, and she subconsciously touched her lower abdomen.
The crown prince also looked nervously at her belly.
"You mean, Qingqing is also pregnant with one, one..."
The prince couldn't utter the words "stillborn" for a long time.
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