"No," Alaric shook his head firmly. "Actually, it is a magnificent sign. It means their bodies are fully formed, their spiritual roots are solidifying, and they are preparing to breathe the air of this world on their own."
"Then why do you and Nessa look like you’re preparing for a battle?" Lin Wan asked, catching the subtle, significant glance exchanged between the elder physician and his assistant. "Tell me the truth, Alaric."
The old physician let out a slow, heavy sigh, pulling his hands into his long sleeves.
"Your body has begun its final preparations, My Lady. The sinking weight you felt, the shifting energy, the subtle tightening—they are the subtle signals that the cradle is opening."
Lin Wan’s fingers tightened against the velvet fabric of the daybed.
"How long do I have?"
"That, no mortal physician can answer with absolute mathematical certainty," Alaric admitted honestly. "Childbirth is a doorway that opens according to its own divine timing."
"Give me an estimate. Days?"
"Possibly days."
"Weeks?"
"Unlikely to be weeks. A few days, perhaps even sooner if the spiritual energy continues to gather at this rate."
Lin Wan stared at him, her chest feeling tight.
"That’s not very specific."
Alaric let out a soft, warm chuckle, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Childbirth does not follow imperial decrees or military schedules, My Lady. It comes like the mountain tide." He stepped closer, his voice dropping into a gentle, fatherly tone. "What matters is not the exact hour, but that you are mentally and spiritually ready now. You must let go of your fear and trust your strength."
The sitting room fell into a deep, heavy quiet.
Lin Wan looked away, staring out the arched window at the distant, snow-capped mountain peaks towering over the Citadel. For months, this day had seemed like a distant storm hovering on the far horizon—something to prepare for, something to worry about in the future. But now, the storm had crossed the mountains and was resting directly over her head.
She took a slow, deep breath, feeling the air fill her lungs, steadying her trembling heart.
"Then prepare," she said, turning her dark eyes back to face all three physicians with quiet resolve.
Nessa nodded respectfully.
"We have already organized the primary medicinal herbs and sterile wraps, My Lady."
"No," Lin Wan said, her voice growing firmer, carrying a quiet authority that commanded the room. "I mean prepare everything completely. Move all the remaining supplies into the eastern wing birthing chamber today. Test the heating formations under the floor again. Double-check every tonic, every bandage, every needle."
She looked at Alaric, her gaze unwavering.
"Whatever you need, ask Ronan or Cassian for it immediately. Whatever these three babies will need to survive the birth safely, make sure it is in that room before nightfall."
Alaric bowed deeply, a look of profound respect on his old face.
"That is exactly what we shall do, My Lady. Rest assured, no detail will be overlooked."
That evening, as the golden light of dusk faded into a cold, deep violet sky, Wei Xiang arrived at the eastern wing.
He had been given special dispensation to walk the inner gardens near Lin Wan’s quarters during the evening hours, provided he remained within clear sight of the Shadow Guard sentries.
He found Lin Wan sitting alone on a low stone bench near the edge of the private courtyard garden. She was wrapped in a heavy, fox-fur-lined cloak to ward off the biting mountain chill, her small hands holding a hand-warmer as she stared down at a patch of dark soil where the early spring snow was slowly melting away beneath the roots of a pine tree.
Wei Xiang walked over slowly, his soft leather boots making almost no sound on the frost-covered stone path. He stopped a few feet away, taking in the serene, pale quiet of her profile against the twilight.
"You look terribly serious," he said softly, his deep voice cutting gently through the quiet rustle of the pine needles.
Lin Wan didn’t startle. She simply turned her head slightly, offering him a faint, tired glance.
"I was thinking."
Wei Xiang stepped closer, leaning his broad frame against the trunk of the nearby pine tree, resting his hands casually over his belt.
"Thinking can be a dangerous habit around here. It usually leads to trouble."
A small, genuine laugh escaped Lin Wan’s lips, warming the cold air between them.
"You’re completely ridiculous, Wei Xiang."
"I know," he replied with a soft smirk. "I’ve been told it’s one of my most charming qualities."
He walked over and sat down beside her on the cold stone bench, taking care to leave enough space for her heavy cloak and comfortable seating. He looked at her pale face, noticing the faint dark circles beneath her dark eyes.
"What happened today? I saw Physician Alaric rushing through the main courtyard earlier with three assistants behind him like a flock of nervous geese."
Lin Wan looked down at the hand-warmer in her lap, watching the faint wisps of heat rise from the brass vents.
"The physicians conducted a full examination. They said the babies’ spiritual energy is surging... they are almost ready."
Wei Xiang’s casual posture went still. His smirk vanished, replaced by a deep, sharp stillness.
"Almost ready?"
"They couldn’t give me an exact day or hour," she whispered, her breath forming a small white cloud in the freezing air. "It could be a couple of days. It could be sooner."
Wei Xiang shifted his gaze down toward her stomach, his dark eyes filled with a complex storm of emotions—awe, protective fierce instinct, and an underlying, razor-sharp anxiety.
"Are you afraid?" he asked quietly. He didn’t offer cheap platitudes or tell her to be brave. He simply asked for the truth.
Lin Wan looked at him, her dark eyes completely honest.
"Yes. I’m terrified, Wei Xiang. I’m afraid of the pain, I’m afraid of something going wrong... I’m afraid of failing them before they even open their eyes."
He didn’t try to dismiss her fear or tell her not to feel it. Instead, he leaned in slightly, his dark eyes locked onto hers with unwavering warmth.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked softly. "Tell me, and it’s done."
Lin Wan looked at his handsome, battle-scarred face, finding a deep sense of grounding comfort in his steady presence.
"Stay," she said softly.
"That’s all?"
"For now. Just stay nearby."
Wei Xiang gave a firm, unhesitating nod.
"I can do that easily. Cassian can post fifty guards around me, but I won’t leave this courtyard until I hear them cry."
Lin Wan offered him a soft, grateful smile. Then, as the darkness of night began to settle over the garden, her smile slowly faded into a quiet, thoughtful expression.
"Wei Xiang?"
"Hmm?"
"After they are born..." She hesitated, her voice dropping lower, testing the weight of the words. "...what happens then?"
Wei Xiang waited patiently, not pressing her, allowing her to gather her thoughts.
"You meant what you said to me before?" she continued, looking up into his eyes. "About wanting a place beside me? Beside us?"
Wei Xiang’s breath hitched slightly in his chest. His expression transformed into something fiercely earnest, stripped of all playfulness or sarcasm.
"I meant every single word I spoke to you, Lin Wan. Every syllable."
Lin Wan lowered her eyes, staring at her gloved fingers.
"I don’t know what our future will look like after this," she confessed softly. "I don’t know how the clans will react, I don’t know what Cassian will demand, and I don’t know what kind of world these three children will grow up in."
"Neither do I," Wei Xiang admitted honestly. "The future is a chaotic mess of shifting tides."
"But..." Lin Wan swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. "I know I don’t want to face it alone. I don’t want to carry all of this on my own anymore."
Wei Xiang’s expression softened into a look of profound, gentle tenderness. He leaned closer, his voice a low, steady promise against the night wind.
"You won’t face it alone. Never again."
Lin Wan looked up, meeting his gaze.
"Even if everything becomes impossibly difficult? Even if the entire world stands against us?"
"Especially then," he answered without a moment’s hesitation.
"Even if I change? Even if the stress and the pain turn me into someone bitter or cold?"
Wei Xiang let out a soft, breathtakingly warm smile that seemed to melt the surrounding chill.
"Then I will simply learn who you are all over again, every single day."
A thin veil of moisture gathered in the corners of Lin Wan’s eyes. She let out a quiet, shaky breath, shaking her head.
"You make grand promises far too easily, Wei Xiang."
"No," he said, shaking his head firmly. "I don’t make promises easily at all. I make them because I know what it feels like to stand in the cold and lose the only person who matters."
Lin Wan remained silent, her heart pounding with a profound, overwhelming warmth that banished the night cold.
Wei Xiang carefully held out his hand, palm up, offering it to her without forcing her to take it.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter