Reflections

•Transmigration and Child Birth•

"She's not waking up!"

"Get more water!"

"Ah there's so much blood!"

"Why hasn't anyone called Qinwang[1] yet?"

"This Yatou[2] did...but he refused to come and see Qinwangfei[3]."

Floating in endless darkness, Li Bai tried to make sense of what she just heard. Just from feeling her surroundings, she could tell something was very wrong. There was immense pain in her stomach and groin and warm, sticky, blood would not stop flowing from her body.

The room was hot, certainly not the air conditioned bedroom she and Gu Cheng shared in their condo. The bed beneath her had silk sheets rather than the cotton ones Gu Cheng liked. And through the thick smell of blood, medicinal herbs, and perspiration, Li Bai was able to catch a faint whiff of Tibetan healing incense and...oleander?

That's not right. She could understand the Tibetan incense as it would have a positive effect on a wounded or sick person, but oleander is poisonous. She remembered clearly how Gu Cheng bought a bouquet of them for her. She came home from work to find him fainted in the kitchen. His exposure wasn't long enough to cause death, but she remembered reading up on it and learning every part of the pretty and fragrant oleander is poisonous. Even when burned, it is still deadly.

"At this rate, the child won't make it!"

Child...? So far, Li Bai's body had been unresponsive. But after hearing that word, something odd stirred within her. The burning heat, the pain, the feel of blood loss all faded away till she was unnaturally aware of the little person angrily moving in her stomach.

"T-The...child..." She choked out.

"Qinwangfei are you awake?!" A sad feminine voice called out. "Madam please wake up or the little master and you will surely die!"

Li Bai wanted to tell her not to yell at a sick person, but for some reason every bit of her was concentrating on the child, its tiny fists and feet beating on the inner part of her stomach. An unknown warmth filled Li Bai and from the deepest corner of her mind, an unknown voice weakly spoke; Please live...my little Prince...

Li Bai's eyes shot open, darting all around as her body was assaulted with the pain of child birth all over again. "Qinwangfei is awake!"

"Qinwangfei please take a deep breath and push!" The doctor ordered.

Li Bai couldn't breathe. It hurt! It hurt so fucking much she wished to faint, but her body didn't let her. While gasping and pushing as the doctor instructed, she grabbed the collar of the servant girl who begged her to wake up and demanded through gritted teeth. "The—ughh! The incense sticks...poisoned! Get them out now!"

The girl, Sun Ning, blinked, staring at her mistress with an unreadable expression. How...How did Qinwangfei know? Concubine Heng assured Sun Ning the poison was completely undetectable. "M-Madam you're being hysterical." The servant girl soothed. "These are high class medicinal incense this servant personally bought from the Heavenly apothecary. They're good for you and the little Prince."

Li Bai looked into the servant girl's eyes. Stammering, excuses, delay in breathing, excessive petting, unnecessary commentary. She's lying. Li Bai shoved the girl away and forced herself into a seating position despite the immediate opposition her body gave. "D-Doctor the incense..."

"Why are you letting Qinwangfei get up?!" The doctor scolded the servant girls. They rushed forward to make Li Bai lie down but the woman was shockingly strong for someone in the middle of labor.