At first, Liu Daqing glanced at it casually. The moment she took a clear look, her eyes widened. She reached for her reading glasses, put them on, and scrutinized it carefully, reading it over two or three times.

Upon observing Liu Daqing’s expression change, Yan Xixi felt butterflies in her stomach.

It figured. Who wouldn’t be stunned by such news? Especially mothers-in-law; they worried more than anyone about the family line ending. Never mind prominent wealthy families; even ordinary, well-off families these days had bizarre requirements, insisting a woman be pregnant before marriage. Some even demanded she bear a son before officially joining the family.

She recalled the peculiar posts she’d encountered while searching for infertility remedies. One was from a woman from Chaoshan who said she’d had three daughters, but her husband’s family refused to finalize their marriage registration. The condition was that she had to bear a son before they would register the marriage. Yan Xixi kept wondering, what if that woman never bore a son? Would she remain unmarried her entire life? Or would the man simply discard her and find another woman to continue trying for a son—thus perpetuating the cycle, endlessly?

As Liu Daqing flipped through the medical report again and again, Yan Xixi watched her, her heart pounding with terror and anxiety.

The reason Empress Dowager Liu was the Empress Dowager was surely because she desired a Crown Prince more urgently than the Emperor himself... Wan Donglin might not be in a hurry, but she certainly was. With her, it was an absolute veto. That was why Yan Xixi had shown her the report first—after years of struggling with Mother Huang, she had ultimately failed. She knew clearly that if she couldn’t pass Empress Dowager Liu’s inspection, then there was truly no way forward for her. This time, she was prepared to stake everything.

Finally, Liu Daqing put the report down. However, she didn’t speak. Instead, she paced with her hands clasped behind her back. The flower garden wasn’t large; she walked its length twice before stopping.

This made Yan Xixi even more anxious. Silence was more agonizing than any scolding. She watched as Liu Daqing sometimes frowned, sometimes seemed lost in thought. What on earth was going through her mind? Yan Xixi wondered.

Suddenly, Yan Xixi couldn’t bear it anymore. She quietly prepared to stand. Enough was enough. It felt like Liu Daqing was already implicitly dismissing her; it was time to go. What was the point of staying here, being picked apart and scrutinized like this? It was demeaning.

Just as she began to rise, Liu Daqing spoke, "Yan Xixi, is this what you’ve been agonizing over all this time?"

Yan Xixi was stunned.

"And here I thought it was something serious," Liu Daqing remarked. "Turns out, it’s nothing much."

This isn’t a big deal? Then what is? A nuclear explosion? The missing airplane found? World War Three breaking out? Are those the only things considered monumental catastrophes?

"I’ve read it. It only says it’s difficult for you to conceive, not that you can’t."

Is there a difference?

"Don’t you know there’s a medical procedure called in vitro fertilization?"

Yan Xixi’s jaw dropped.

"Several of my old friends’ daughters-in-law have undergone this procedure. However, they didn’t do it because of infertility, but because they wanted to have a son. One of them even had triplets—all boys. Just recently, I saw on the news that a sixty-year-old woman gave birth to twin daughters through in vitro fertilization..." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Liu Daqing stated coldly, "If a sixty-year-old woman can manage it, why can’t you?"

...

Well... Yan Xixi was utterly overwhelmed.

She stared dumbfoundedly at Liu Daqing. This old lady seemed like she was from Mars.

"Actually, I don’t really approve of in vitro fertilization. How should I put it... I always feel it somewhat goes against the laws of nature. But then again, modern medical science is ultimately for the benefit of humanity, isn’t it?"