[Painless Physique: During childbirth, your pain will be reduced, feeling only as much as a needle prick.]
[Post-traumatic Disappearance Technique: After giving birth, you just need to rest for a while, and the system will take care of all the aftereffects for you! You'll look exactly the same as you did before pregnancy!]
[Pregnancy Joy Capsule: While you are pregnant, you will not experience any discomfort, no morning sickness, your figure will not change, and it will not become distorted.]
[Peerless Beauty: You will forever remain young and beautiful, with lush, black hair, and no hair loss!]
[All of the above are permanent items, as long as the host is in the Small World, every childbirth will be like this!]
Su Zhiruan's anxious heart finally settled down.
With these items, giving birth would be like not giving birth at all, no morning sickness, no discomfort, painless during labor, and no aftereffects postpartum. If it really were like this, who would be afraid of having children!
"What's my identity in this world?"
Su Zhiruan sneaked a peek at the Emperor seated at the highest place, but as soon as she saw the leader's dark boots, she did not dare to look any longer and lowered her head to inquire with the system in her mind.
[Just a moment, I'll give you the storyline right away.]
The next second, Su Zhiruan felt her mind being stuffed with a plethora of information, all the plots pertaining to this Small World.
Currently, she was in a dynasty called the Wang Dynasty, where the Emperor ruled over the entire realm with immense power. The harem housed over a hundred concubines, led by the Noble Consort who was the Empress Dowager's niece and the highest-ranking woman in the harem. She was domineering and often stirred up trouble, leaving many concubines seething in silence.
However, during the five years since the Emperor ascended the throne, not a single concubine had been able to produce an heir. The Empress Dowager was anxious, and rumors swirled throughout the court; after the world-renowned doctors examined the Emperor, they found no deficiency in his health.
In the end, the Emperor even declared that whichever concubine delivered a Prince could ascend to the position of Empress.
Instantly, the harem became a flurry of activity, with everyone hoping to win favor and give birth to a Prince at the earliest.
After searching through the plot for a long time, Su Zhiruan found her identity in the last sentence of the last page—a daughter of a scholar from a down-and-out family in the county town, who had been selected to become a Palace Maid.
Since entering the palace, she had dutifully fulfilled her role, being attentive in her duties, and had been chosen to serve directly before the Emperor. Although she was only performing menial tasks like cleaning, it was considered a relatively leisurely position in the harem.
After reading through the plot, Su Zhiruan's eyes cautiously scanned her surroundings.
Zichen Hall was majestic and imposing, with intricately carved railings and painted eaves.
"Emperor, even though you have no regard for any of the concubines in the harem, for the sake of the dynasty, you should still visit them more during these days. It's of the utmost importance to have them bear an heir as soon as possible," the Empress Dowager said with furrowed brows. She was forty-three this year and had maintained herself well, exuding a powerful presence without anger. She fiddled with a string of Buddha Beads in her hands, wearing a deep red robe of fortune and longevity, and looked at the Emperor with a heavy sigh, "Those ladies with imperial decrees, by my age, they all cherish their grandchildren and feel joy surrounding them. It makes me envious whenever I witness it."
"Understood, Mother," replied the Emperor from his seat of authority. He had practiced martial arts from a young age, standing tall and well-built, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, signaling a figure of strength. In his youth, he excelled in archery and hunting, and even after ascending the throne, he ruled the nation with great skill, yet he found difficulty in producing an heir.
These two most noble individuals of the whole realm exchanged a few words and then put an end to the conversation.
"Alright, you may all withdraw!" The Emperor waved his hand, signaling for all the Palace Attendants to leave.
Su Zhiruan quickly learned from the small palace maid kneeling next to her, performing a salute and said, "This servant takes her leave."
Having said that, the group stood up, walked out the door in an orderly fashion, and closed the door behind them.
It wasn't until she walked outside that she felt the warm sunshine.
"You foolish girl! Do you have a death wish?" the small palace maid behind her suddenly twisted Su Zhiruan's arm and forced her to turn around after they had walked a certain distance, "Susu, you dare to look around in the Zichen Hall, just with what just happened, if you had looked a few more times, eight hundred heads would not be enough for you to lose! And if you lose your head, don't drag me into it!"
"May I ask who you are?" Su Zhiruan's round eyes looked at her innocently.
The other girl was so irritated that she gritted her teeth, her chest heaving violently, "Susu! Stop playing dumb! Have you forgotten me?"
She shook her head, as she truly did not know; the original plot had only provided a simple summary, certainly not enough to remember everyone in the palace.
"Forget it, forget it, what's the point of talking to a fool like you? I'm leaving first, but remember to clean the dust off the shelves in the Imperial Study Room." After saying that, she glanced disdainfully at Su Zhiruan and strode away.
Su Zhiruan watched her leaving figure until she completely disappeared, then she asked the system in her mind.
"Is the Emperor the target of this task? Then, how many children do I have to bear to complete the task?" She rubbed her hands together, looked around, her eyes clear and lively, but at this moment obscured by her long lashes like butterfly wings.
[Yes, the task target is the Emperor. As for how many children to bear, that's for the host to decide, any number is acceptable, as long as you keep approaching the task target and give birth to children, that counts as completing the task. The more children, the higher the score, and the more generous the rewards.]
Approach the Emperor!
Out of all that was said, that was the only thing she picked up on.
Always stay close to His Majesty and then bear children!
She was just about to return to the Imperial Study Room to continue cleaning when she ran into a procession in the palace corridor.
Outside, a grand procession had formed, and many had already knelt on the ground. The woman sitting in the sedan chair was dressed in luxurious garments and well-maintained, but one could see the traces of age that spare no one, along with some ferocity and malice—it was clear from her features that she was not an easy person to get along with.
"You dare to carelessly bump into the procession of the Noble Consort! Thinking that with a little favor, you can disregard our lady? Flattering those above and stepping on those below, disregarding etiquette and laws," the Chief Court Lady beside the Noble Consort shouted, carefully seeking approval with her eyes. Upon receiving a nod from the Noble Consort, she waved her hand, "Guards, slap their faces!"
A few eunuchs immediately stepped forward, their hands swinging like bows, leaving the cheeks of the few concubines greatly swollen, but they did not dare to utter a word in anger.
With no Empress in the palace, the Noble Consort, being the niece of the Empress Dowager and the highest-ranking woman, naturally had the power to dispose of the lower-ranked concubines at will. Ever since the Emperor came to the throne without producing any heirs, the hierarchy had not changed, and the Noble Consort naturally held the reins of power.
Su Zhiruan, who had been a modern-day worker before, had never seen such a scene; she shrank to one side, trying her best to minimize her presence.
"That palace maid over there! What are you doing!! Come out here!" The Noble Consort, who had been planning to rest with her eyes closed, caught sight of an extremely beautiful palace maid crouching in the corner. Even though she was being unassuming, she immediately raised the Noble Consort's guard in an instant, "You see me and don't perform a salute! Is this how the Internal Affairs Office educates palace maids? Guards, slap her face!!"
As soon as the Noble Consort spoke, all eyes in the vicinity were suddenly focused on Su Zhiruan.