The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

That year was the first year of the Hongwu reign.

Zhu Yuanzhang had just ascended the throne in Yingtian Prefecture.

That same year, Ma Xiuying unexpectedly became pregnant with Zhu Ming.

However, she was already thirty-six years old at the time, even by today's standards of advanced medical technology.

At the age of thirty-six, she can still be considered an elderly mother.

Moreover, this was especially true in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, when medical care was scarce and people relied entirely on their physical constitution to endure the illness.

And that doesn't even take into account Ma Xiuying's physical condition at the time.

After all, she wasn't some pampered young lady raised in the palace, living a life of luxury and indulgence.

The first half of her life was spent following Zhu Yuanzhang as he crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

In their early years in Haozhou, the couple were extremely poor and had no food reserves at all.

At that time, Zhu Chongba was locked up and not given food.

She felt sorry for her husband and secretly put the freshly baked pancakes in her bosom and brought them inside.

The scalding hot pancake burned her chest, but she didn't utter a sound, preferring to go hungry herself so that her husband could have a full meal.

Later, she followed the army to fight everywhere, sleeping wherever she went, and never had a peaceful day due to her constant wandering.

In winter, without thick blankets, they could only endure hunger and cold to make do for the night, while in summer they had to travel long distances under the scorching sun.

She even had to worry about all sorts of trivial matters, big and small, in the military camp for her husband.

The journey was fraught with chaos and danger.

Several times, she almost lost her life, narrowly escaping death.

Later, as the war gradually subsided and life slowly improved, she gave birth to seven more children for Zhu Chongba.

Years of hunger, exhaustion, and constant worry, coupled with the depletion of her vital energy from frequent childbirth, have left Ma Xiuying with countless old, hidden injuries.

So she was only three months pregnant at the time.

He had become extremely thin, his face was pale and ashen, he could not eat, and he could not sleep at night.

At that time, all the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital were kneeling and pleading with the Empress, saying that given her physical condition, she was simply unable to support the pregnancy, and that it could very well result in the death of both mother and child.

Even Zhu Chongba came over to persuade her to give up the child.

You should know that he was the happiest person when Ma Xiuying got pregnant.

He had just ascended the throne when the empress became pregnant with his son.

In his view, this was clearly a sign that Heaven recognized him and acknowledged the Ming Dynasty as the legitimate dynasty, and that Heaven had sent down an auspicious omen.

But he never expected that in just three months, he would have tormented his beloved girl to this extent.

Even if he's just guessing, and even if it really is some auspicious dragon fetus bestowed by heaven, it absolutely cannot be kept!

Everyone advised Ma Xiuying to give up.

But she alone refused.

At that moment, as she stroked her slightly protruding belly, a gentle yet dazzling radiance suddenly burst forth from her originally thin and haggard face.

"This is my child."

"I can't bear to part with it!"

"Even if it costs me my life, I will give birth to him!"

After all, everyone else can give up on him, but she, as his mother, cannot!

Therefore, when she insisted on giving birth to this child, she was already prepared to die.

Unexpectedly, an accident occurred.

The child in Ma Xiuying's womb seemed to sense everything outside and understood that if it continued to grow, it would only keep absorbing its mother's life force, gradually exhausting her life.

So, from that day on, Ma Xiuying's deteriorating health suddenly stopped declining and even began to recover.

The previously depleted blood and energy slowly began to recover, and the haggard and withered complexion gradually became rosy again.

Simply put, my back doesn't hurt anymore, my legs don't ache anymore, and I even have more energy when I walk.

At first, the imperial physicians thought it was a temporary resurgence of lucidity, but after repeatedly examining her pulse, they found that the Empress's health had indeed improved.

Even the hidden injuries that had accumulated in her body for many years were quietly improving.

No one could explain the reason, but it was believed that the founding of the nation was blessed by the heavens and that the Empress's love for her son moved the heavens.

However, only Ma Xiuying vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Even when she was bedridden and depleted of energy, she could still sense the vibrant life force within her.

This is also the thought that sustains her and prevents her from giving up.

But ever since my health inexplicably improved, that familiar flutter of emotion has disappeared.

She summoned the imperial physician to examine her, but the physician told her to rest assured that it was the Empress's sincere and loving motherly heart that had moved Heaven, and Heaven had bestowed blessings upon her...

In short, everything is fine.

Tell her not to worry.

Ma Xiuying believed it.

Although she didn't believe it was some kind of divine mercy,

But since the imperial physicians said there was nothing wrong, she was willing to trust these professionals.

However, a sense of unease lingered in her heart.

Until the child was born, the unease that had lingered in her heart for so long finally shattered her hopes.

When the child was born, he was small and weak, his skin was an abnormal bluish-purple, and his breath was so faint that it was almost nonexistent.

When it was born, it couldn't even utter a proper cry, and just lay there, barely alive, curled up in its swaddling clothes.

Despite being born after ten months of pregnancy, the child is like a premature baby, no, even worse than a premature baby.

The moment Ma Xiuying saw her child, she instantly understood why her health had suddenly improved.

All that talk about divine mercy and special blessings is utter bullshit.

That was clearly given to her by her child, who couldn't bear to see his mother suffer, at the cost of his own life.

After Ma Xiuying learned all this...

I almost went crazy.

She had already sensed that something was wrong.

But she didn't do anything.

Even deep down, a thought she didn't want to admit herself, was that she somewhat longed for that peaceful time.

Freed from the torment of aches and pains day and night, I can now enjoy a healthy and pain-free life with abundant energy and blood!

But when she thinks about how this comfort came at the cost of her child's life and health, she realizes it's all for naught.

Ma Xiuying felt as if she were overwhelmed by boundless regret, and her heart ached repeatedly, as if someone was repeatedly cutting her with a dull knife.

From that time on, Zhu Ming became the apple of Empress Ma's eye. Whenever Zhu Ming suffered the slightest grievance or discomfort, she would be heartbroken for a long time, wishing she could bear all the suffering for her child.

There was even a saying that circulated in the palace.

It is said that only Zhu Ming is Ma Xiuying's son, and the other children are just royal offspring under the guise of Empress Ma.

Even Zhu Biao, who was hailed as the most stable crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, was far less important to Ma Xiuying than her youngest son, Zhu Ming.

"Mother, why are you crying?"

"I was wrong, please don't be angry. I will never do it again."

A soft, childlike voice, tinged with a sob, rang out.

This immediately snapped Ma Xiuying out of her past guilt, and she looked up.

Zhu Ming's eyes were already red and swollen, his small hands nervously clutching the hem of his clothes. He stood timidly in front of her, his whole being exuding unease, as if he had committed a terrible crime.

Ma Xiuying felt a pang of pain in her heart. She hurriedly wiped away her tears with her hands, forced a smile, and softly comforted Zhu Ming:

"Mother is fine. Mother is not angry with you. Mother is just worried about your safety."

"Really?"

Little Zhu Ming mustered his courage, raised his little hand, and gently wiped away the tears that had not yet dried on his mother's cheeks, again and again.

Looking at the sensible child in front of her, which was so heartbreaking, Ma Xiuying felt a lump in her throat again, and tears almost welled up in her eyes. She could only bite her lower lip tightly.

"Good boy, be good and don't move around. Mommy will pick you up and put you down."