"Wah..." [Oh no. Oh, gods, no. I think I just peed.] [I-I really did it. How mortifying. I don't want to live.] A spreading warmth beneath her bottom sent a wave of shame through Su Mengyao so intense she wished a hole would open in the floor and swallow her whole. A loud cry escaped her lips before she could stop it. Just as quickly as it began, her wailing ceased, replaced by a bewildered stillness. [Why did I cry? Could this get any more embarrassing?] Lady Su paused for a moment before deftly reaching for a clean diaper and beginning to change her. "Hush now, little one, don't cry," she murmured. "It's nothing to fuss about. Mommy will have you in a fresh one in just a moment." [...] Su Mengyao was now certain: being reincarnated with your memories intact was not the wonderful experience one might imagine. Being forced to endure things one could only face with the blissful ignorance of an infant was, in a word, excruciating. With a soft creak, the door swung open just as Lady Su finished with the new diaper. A burly figure, coated in the dust of the road, strode into the room. It was Duke An, Yun Zheng. He had rushed back from the army camp the moment a servant boy had brought him the news. Shrugging off the heavy cloak he wore against the cold, he crossed to Lady Su’s side and took her hand, his voice a low, urgent rumble of concern. "My lady, you've delivered. How are you? Are you well?" Lady Su offered him a gentle smile. "I'm fine, husband. Don't worry." Yun Zheng’s eyes scanned her face, and seeing that she truly did seem well, the knot of worry in his chest finally loosened. "Military matters were pressing, and I couldn't get away until now. To have not been by your side through your labor… I have wronged you." "What are you saying?" Lady Su gave him a soft, understanding look. "The labor came suddenly. You have important duties and cannot be in two places at once. You didn't mean to be away. I am not wronged in the slightest." "Alas." Yun Zheng sighed, pulling her into a gentle embrace. "The more understanding you are, my lady, the more I feel I've failed you. But I'm grateful you are safe. You don't know… when I heard you were due, I was frightened to death." No matter how he'd rushed, he was still too late. He and Ye’er were at the barracks, Seventh was away with Chen’er seeking treatment for his leg, and Yao’er was at the girls’ academy. Aside from the servants and the ill-intentioned Qiao Manrou, Lady Su had been all alone in the mansion. He couldn’t bear to imagine what might have happened if there had been complications. The thought was terrifying. [Oh, so this must be my dad. When did he get back?] [Mom and Dad have such a good relationship. I ship this CP so hard. Who else gets it? Oh, right. Just me.] [So sweet, so sweet. I'm getting cavities.] [Uh oh, I almost forgot. I don't have teeth yet.] [Not important, not important. What's important is that I'm totally swooning. This is amazing!] Lady Su stiffened. She had almost forgotten about this little infant of hers, the one with memories of a past life and knowledge of their fates. Yun Zheng flinched. "???" His powerful frame went rigid, his eyes flashing with a sudden, sharp light. Who was speaking? And calling him Dad? What in the world was "shipping CP"? Suddenly, Lady Su pushed him away, a blush dusting her cheeks as she picked up the small bundle and presented it to him. "Husband, this is our child. A daughter. Come, hold her." A daughter? This was the child his wife had borne today? Yun Zheng was taken aback for a second before he carefully took the infant into his arms. He looked down and met a pair of impossibly bright, starry eyes. [Wow, my dad is so handsome! The sword-sharp eyebrows, the starry eyes… he's gorgeous. Ah! He and Mom look so perfect together, like a pair of celestial beings.] [No wonder Qiao Manrou is always thinking about my dad. He's this good-looking!] Yun Zheng froze. "..." What was this child in his arms? How could she possibly know that Qiao Manrou fancied him? She clearly couldn't speak, so why could he hear her voice so clearly? Could it be… was he hearing her inner thoughts? Was he the one who was special, or was it this baby? Yun Zheng stole a glance at Lady Su, but her expression was placid. He let out a quiet breath of relief. It seemed he was the only one who could hear the child's thoughts. Otherwise, his wife would never be so calm after hearing that Qiao Manrou had feelings for him. Lady Su, seeing him so composed, dismissed her own suspicion that he might also be able to hear their daughter. He definitely couldn't. If he could, he would not be this calm. It seemed it was a gift shared only between mother and daughter. [Besides being handsome, Dad's skills in combat and leadership are top-tier.] [He was on the battlefield at thirteen, fighting our enemies and making a name for himself. He raised our declining aristocratic family up from the ashes, relying solely on his military exploits to win the late Emperor's favor.] [The late Emperor himself praised him as the Heavenly Strategy General of Da Wu Country and conferred upon him the title of Duke An. He's loyal to the country, loves the people, and dotes on his wife and younger siblings. He's basically invincible!] Hearing his daughter's stream of praise filled Yun Zheng with a quiet pleasure. The corners of his lips began to curl upwards as he savored the compliments, but then, his daughter's thoughts took a turn, and it was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. [Alas, what a pity. Such a perfect dad isn't the protagonist. He's stuck with a cannon fodder script.] [After Mom is killed by Qiao Manrou, Dad will be lost in grief. He'll stop caring about the intrigues of the court. Later, when my big brother and sister offend the female protagonist, she'll collude with the great villain in a fit of rage and have Dad killed.] [They'll disregard the lives of his soldiers, secretly cut off his supply lines, and bribe insiders to orchestrate his defeat. They'll even arrange for him to be captured by the enemy.] [Dad, the undefeated Heavenly Strategy General, the Duke of Da Wu Country who earned his title through valor, will end his life as a captive.] [In the end, he'll die tragically under an enemy's blade, his head hung on the city wall for three months as a taunt to all of Da Wu Country.] [His lifelong honor will be extinguished. That label, 'captive,' will cling to him after death like a maggot on a corpse, a stain that can never be washed away.] [No one will remember how much blood he shed or how many wounds he suffered to earn his titles.] [When people speak of my dad in the future, it will only be to mock him as the first trophy in the history of Da Wu Country to have his head paraded on an enemy's walls as a warning.] [A lifetime of military service, a great hero who protected his country and its people, only to be spat upon after death by those he defended… The heavens must be blind.] [...] The baby's inner voice rambled on, but Yun Zheng could no longer make out the words. His entire body trembled, and his handsome face was suddenly pale, drained of all color. Only one phrase echoed in his mind: Mom is killed by Qiao Manrou! His wife would be killed? No. No, he would never allow it. He would absolutely never allow it! Qiao Manrou… It seemed that woman could not be allowed to remain. A dark glint flashed in Yun Zheng’s eyes. Lady Su was not faring any better. She was biting her lip so hard she had drawn blood, a sharp, piercing pain that she barely registered. She had always known she would take her own life to preserve the reputation of the Duke's Mansion and her husband. But she had never imagined that after her death, her husband would suffer such a horrifying fate. And in her daughter's telling, who was this "female protagonist" who would collude with a "great villain" to kill her husband?

Chapter 3: An excruciating new beginning