Qin Ruyan was a woman of eminence who had it all.Her beauty was unparalleled and she was a prominent daughter of one heaven realm"s greatest clans, the Qin clan. Her husband Qin Sheng was the clan master and because of that, they were doted upon heavily by the clan"s elders and ancestors, given the best resources and treatment.
But things were not all sunshine and roses, no, the future had cruel twists in store for her.
Although she was blessed with three angelic daughters, she had yet to birth her husband a son, an heir. The clan head position could never be claimed by a female due to thousands of years of tradition, it was absolutely out of the question and the clan elders would never budge on the fact.
She was hopeful though, as long as herself and her husband continued to try; eventually she would have the son she dreamed of day and night.
But their efforts would be for naught as one day, while she was traveling to another clan to present gifts and negotiations for co-operation on a recently discovered hidden realm; she and her escort were attacked by a group of a.s.sa.s.sins.
Her body was heavily injured and the resulting trauma prevented her from having anymore children.
This was just the beginning of her despair.
Due to a special yin/yang cultivation technique her husband practiced, he could only sire children with one partner in his lifetime. The technique itself had numerous benefits for both him and her but it became his downfall.
Because of her injury, the clan elders and ancestors lost hope in her husband and began to act cold towards him, no longer was he afforded the best resources for growth and no longer was she treated with respect.
Her crippled womb was just the same as him himself being crippled. Without the possibility of a clan heir being produced; their position dropped steadily like a rock in the sea.
Even though their worth had dropped in the eyes of others, her husband was still head of the clan and that was a problem for the elders and ancestors.
They began supporting a talented youth called Qin Hai behind the scenes. Qin Hai was extremely ambitious and he had long been infatuated with Qin Ruyan, he would stop at nothing to become the clan head even if he had to use vile means to do so. With the support of his elders, his wish became a reality.
It wasn"t long before Qin Ruyan found out that her husband had died mysteriously while venturing out on a mission and before she even had time to grieve, Qin Hai had become the new clan master.
She was forced into becoming a concubine of Qin Hai"s who had been madly in love with her for many years, but under threat of suicide; she managed to ward off his advances towards her.
Things were getting worse for her with every day that pa.s.sed. Two of her daughters had become estranged from her as they blamed her for their fathers death. Qin Hai had become impatient with her and it wouldn"t be long until he gave up trying to win her heart and used unscrupulous methods to take her body instead.
As the world began closing in on her, she spent more and more time in the gardens where she first met her husband. It was in these gardens that an ironic twist of fate would befall her.
...
With the glaring sun overhead, a group of women strolled through a beautiful garden that had various trimmed shrubs in the shape of phoenix"s, dragon"s and various other astonishing creatures. Marble sculptures of heroic individuals were s.p.a.ced evenly alongside the pathway.
The woman in front had a divine, mature appearance. Long silky obsidian hair that cascaded down her back and ended at her plump round bottom, curvy hips that swayed mesmerizingly as she walked; spotless jade skin and a perfectly shaped, mountainous bosom that her loose long sleeved satin dress struggled to keep restrained.
Her face was a soft oval shape with a defined jaw and luscious red lips. Her nose was long and straight which fit well with her high cheekbones. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel that had tints of green.
Her appearance was absolutely alluring, so much so that any man who saw her would never be able to keep a calm appearance.
Her temperament was elegant and graceful and expression stern and cold. In her eyes there was a deep wariness as if she had suffered many woes.
Beside her was a young girl around 6 years of age her brown eyes had the sparkle of youth and innocence. Her features resembled the divine woman"s, only younger.
The young girl skipped playfully as she followed alongside the divine woman.
"Mama, guess what uncle Hai taught me yesterday." The young girl said in a cherry voice.
Qin Ruyan"s eyebrows knitted as she replied. "What?"
The little girl smiled a toothy grin with her little canines showing. "He taught me how to tame a Luan Mama, It was so fun!"
Qin Ruyan sighed and then stopped, she cupped the little girl"s chubby cheeks and said. "Listen Zhen"er, you mustn"t get too close to him alright?"
Qin Zhenzhen looked at her mother curiously. "Why Mama?"
"He"s a snake.. " Qin Ruyan replied with a cold tone, a sharp light shone in her eyes.
She had inkling that Qin Hai had something to do with her husband"s death, but she had yet to find any evidence.
Qin Zhenzhen nodded her head slowly but she still didn"t understand why her mother didn"t like Uncle Hai, her two older sisters seemed to like him.
Qin Ruyan patted Qin Zhenzhen"s head with relief.
With the maids in tow, the mother and daughter continued through the dreamlike garden.
*Boom!*
Suddenly from the sky came a bolt of brilliant white lightning the width of a finger. It accurately struck Qin Ruyan who fainted and fell to the ground, the surrounding attendants gathered around her with worry in their eyes.
"Mama! Mama!" Qin Zhenzhen was sitting by her mothers side with wet eyes, she worriedly called out to her mother. Although the attendants were worried, when they saw that she had no injuries and that her breathing was calm and normal; they sighed in relief.
"Eeeh!" The attendants gasped and Qin Zhenzhen"s eyes opened wide in shock!
Qin Ruyan who was laying peacefully on the ground suddenly shook as her belly began to enlarge at a rapid pace, her lose robes stretching as time pa.s.sed. After two minutes, her belly had swollen greatly and now Qin Ruyan looked 11-12 months pregnant which absolutely baffled the attendants; especially Qin Zhenzhen whose eyes were now sparkling with wonder.
"When I asked big sister where babies come from, she said a phoenix comes with a special seed..and whoever eats the seed will grow a baby," Qin Zhenhen muttered as she rubbed her mothers belly with a pout on her little face. "Humph! What liars...babies obviously come from lightning in the sky."
One of the younger attendants who was listening had an expression of fright appear on her face, she looked at the sky fearfully before hurriedly scuttling under one of the nearby trees.
An older attendant walked over to the younger attendant with a frown on her face. "Qin Chen, What are you doing?"
The Qin Chen continued to peek at the sky, with a trembling voice she replied. "Miss Fei, I don"t want to get pregnant! I"m too young!"
Qin Fei scoffed as she slapped the back of the Qin Chen"s head. "Silly girl, that"s not how you get pregnant!"
While the Qin Fei was scolding the Qin Chen, Qin Ruyan had finally shown signs of waking up.
Qin Zhenzhen watched happily as her mothers eyes trembled before slowly opening.
As she sat up in a daze, Qin Ruyan felt like she had awoken from a long dream. She looked around confusedly before asking. "What happened?"
"Mama! Mama!" Qin Zhenzhen gestured excitedly with her hands as she replied in a excited voice. "We were walking and then a white lightning came down and struck you! "
Qin Zhenzhen peaked at Qin Ruyan"s belly with shining eyes. "Hehe, now you"re pregnant!"
"What!?" Qin Ruyan cried out in surprise, her gaze quickly fell upon her enlarged stomach.
Her eyes almost popped out at the unbelievable sight, there was disbelief and confusion brewing in her mind.
"That"s impossible.. " Qin Ruyan muttered in a trembling voice.
Closing her eyes, she immediately began using her divine sense to check her body"s internal condition.
When her divine sense reached her womb, her expression changed to one of joy and immense puzzlement.
In her womb there was a fully developed baby resting peacefully, it would occasionally stretch out it"s leg to kick. What most filled her heart with delight was that the baby was a boy!
"A gift from the heavens.. " She muttered as she stroked her belly.
"Husband.. I finally have the son you always wanted.. " Unknowingly, crystal like tears had begun to leak from her eyes.
"Mama?" Qin Zhenzhen looked at her mother sadly.
Qin Ruyan wiped her tears away and then steadily stood up. Determination flashed in her eyes. "Zhen"er, we have to leave the Qin clan now."
"Why Mama? What about sister Mei and sister Ran?" Qin Zhenzhen asked as she looked at her mother.
"Qin Hai will go insane once he sees me like this so we must leave to avoid his wrath, this child will not be safe here," Qin Ruyan stroked her belly with a smile, the thought of that dog going mad with jealousy filled her with satisfaction.
She continued with sadness flashing in her eyes. "As for your sisters.. they no longer care for me and will certainly not follow us."
Qin Zhenzhen nodded her head glumly. She had noticed how coldly her sisters had treated her mother recently and it left a deep impression on the her.
"Servants to me!" Qin Ruyan shouted as her ring flashed, a jade medallion that shimmered with glowing runes appeared in her hand.
The servants gathered around Qin Ruyan and Qin Zhenzhen. Activating the medallion, a blue glowing circle surrounded the group and with a bright flash, they had disappeared.