Chapter 127

…

The imperial harem.

Zhang Chun, Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, Ma Xiao Jiao, and Yuan Qing Cheng gathered together.

Ma Xiao Jiao picked up a yogurt cake made by Yuan Qing Cheng and handed it to Ye Shi Yun: "Try this, it's especially delicious."

Ye Shi Yun waved her hand away while saying: "Take it away, take it away—I need to control the baby's weight, or I'll suffer during delivery."

"You're just pregnant now—this is exactly when you need nutrition; otherwise, the baby won't settle," Ma Xiao Jiao said.

Ye Shi Yun thought it over and accepted the yogurt cake, devouring it greedily.

It was clear Ye Shi Yun hadn't eaten much these past two days.

Seeing this, Ma Xiao Jiao shared her experience with Ye Shi Yun: "Actually, just stay calm. Look at me—I just popped the baby out, total time under five minutes, super easy."

Li Lin said enviously: "Who can compare to you? You're the chosen one for childbirth—barely three months after giving birth to your first, you're already pregnant with your second. At this rate, won't you end up having ten or twenty kids in your lifetime? By the way, what's the record for most children born to a woman?"

"According to the Guinness World Records, the woman who gave birth to the most children is Valentina Vasilieva of Russia. Between 1725 and 1765, over forty years, she bore sixty-nine children, including sixteen sets of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. But such cases are extremely rare and exceptional," Zhang Chun said.

Li Lin found it hard to believe: "Can a woman really have that many children?"

Ma Xiao Jiao said: "See? Compared to her, what am I, the chosen one for childbirth?"

Then Ma Xiao Jiao, curious, asked: "So what's the male record? Who holds it?"

"Moulay Ismail, the last ruler of Morocco's Sharifian dynasty. He had over five hundred wives; by 1703, he already had five hundred twenty-five sons and three hundred forty-two daughters. In 1721, his seven-hundredth son was born, meaning his second generation already exceeded a thousand—unmatched worldwide. But the latter part remains unverified; what's confirmed is that he fathered at least eight hundred sixty-seven children, earning him the title 'World's Number One Stallion,'" Zhang Chun said.

Zhang Chun paused, then added: "Also, Oxford University's genetics institute once conducted a DNA test. Results showed that roughly sixteen million men worldwide share the exact same Y chromosome—this chromosome traces back to one man: Genghis Khan. So he might actually be the man who fathered the most children, but he was a monster—he expanded his empire, slept with women, abandoned them, and no one knows exactly how many children he fathered."

"Forget Genghis Khan—that's speculation. But Moulay Ismail? That's insane! Hey, do you think our Emperor Zhao Yu could break Moulay Ismail's record and steal his 'World's Number One Stallion' title?" Ye Shi Yun said.

"The man in Chinese history who fathered the most children was Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan—Liu Bei's ancestor and Emperor Wu of Han's half-brother. According to the Book of Han, Liu Sheng had one hundred twenty sons; daughters were never counted. So Zhao Yu has no chance of beating Moulay Ismail," Zhang Chun said.

"Don't say that. Just because Liu Sheng didn't do it doesn't mean our Emperor Zhao Yu can't. Moulay Ismail had only five hundred wives; our Emperor Zhao Yu already has over three hundred women. A few more imperial selection events, and he'll crush Moulay Ismail in numbers. As for physical stamina—our Emperor Zhao Yu's nearly turned himself into an iron man, he's obsessed with health preservation, and bedding ten women a night isn't a problem. Why should he lose to a foreigner?" Ye Shi Yun retorted.

Zhang Chun rolled her eyes:

"Does having more women mean having more children? Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji had over forty thousand women in his harem and only fifty-nine children. Kangxi had only sixty-five concubines, and even counting all women in his palace, it was just a few hundred—but he still had fifty-five children. So the number of women doesn't matter—it's quality. If you had a hundred or two hundred women like Xiao Jiao, who conceive and give birth easily, you could beat Moulay Ismail. But the problem is, many women are like me and Li Lin—we struggle to conceive. No matter how often you try, it's wasted time. Besides, Zhao Yu can't stay at peak fertility forever."

"Do you think it's our fault?" Li Lin asked Zhang Chun.

"What else? Historically, Li Qingzhao couldn't conceive, and that's why her marriage to Zhao Mingcheng went from inseparable to him refusing to even see her. Now even Li Qingzhao can get pregnant—so who's to blame if we can't?" Zhang Chun shot back.

Li Lin wasn't ready to give up: "Could it be… too few times?"

Ma Xiao Jiao couldn't take it anymore, her voice tinged with jealousy: "Too few times?! When you were 'training' Zhao Yu in Prisoner Fitness and Yoga, which day didn't you sneak in a round? Who has more sessions than you?"

Then Ma Xiao Jiao lamented to herself: "I'm the one who got screwed—I barely had any encounters, and I got pregnant. Just gave birth to one, and barely had any more, and I'm pregnant again."

Li Lin blushed at Ma Xiao Jiao's words.

Indeed!

Thanks to her solo training sessions with Zhao Yu and frequent physical contact, Li Lin and Zhao Yu often ended up in bed—she had far more encounters than others claimed.

Zhang Chun added: "It's not about frequency. Haven't I been throwing surprise parties for Zhao Yu lately? Result? Almost all those old-party women got pregnant—including two maids in my own palace. But me? I've taken all the tonics, drunk all the herbal medicine, stood on my head after every time—and still nothing."

Ye Shi Yun shared her advice: "Why rush? This sort of thing comes when it's meant to. Look at me—I didn't get pregnant for ages, and now I just got pregnant easily. I say, follow my example: eat, drink, sleep normally, stay calm. Maybe next time, you'll get pregnant."

"I agree with Shi Yun. Just let nature take its course—why stress like you two?" Ma Xiao Jiao said.

"You make it sound so easy, but it's not you who can't conceive. Do you even know how fierce the competition is?"

Zhang Chun began venting on her own: "Those little vixens from the new party stole my ideas to throw surprise parties for Zhao Yu, and worse—they've been sending beautiful women from their families to swell their ranks. They've hit rock bottom. Especially Cai Xuan—a mere local—how dare she think she can challenge me? She doesn't know that without my recommendation, her father would've been exiled to Hangzhou long ago. Now she's turned ungrateful, forcing me into a bitter feud with her."

"So that's why you contacted your original host's father and had your two younger sisters sent to the palace?" Yuan Qing Cheng asked.

Zhang Chun replied matter-of-factly: "Blood sisters are more reliable. I say, stop holding back—quickly find allies from your own clans, or you'll be caught off guard later."

Yuan Qing Cheng couldn't stand how Zhang Chun always tried to control others' fates. She couldn't help but warn: "You've already taken over your original host's body—you owe her a massive debt. How can you still harm her family?"

Zhang Chun hated Yuan Qing Cheng's saintly attitude and fired back: "I'd like to ask you the same thing—you owe your original host a massive debt. What have you done for her?"

Then Zhang Chun pointed at Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun: "We three? Our adoptive fathers were only promoted to Grade 5 Senior Inspector. Xiao Jiao's adoptive father, thanks to her giving birth to a son, was promoted to Grade 4 Senior Imperial Messenger. So tell me—what title has your adoptive father received?"

"You…"

Yuan Qing Cheng had never served Zhao Yu's bed, nor achieved anything—under these circumstances, even if Zhao Yu wanted to grant her adoptive father a title, she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Zhang Chun pressed on: "Do you think this is your past life? This is the Northern Song. For families like our original hosts', it's a miracle if one of them becomes an imperial consort. 'One man rises, all his dogs ascend'—that's the norm! Honestly, when my two sisters heard they could serve Zhao Yu, they woke up laughing in their dreams! You don't understand—if I hadn't become an imperial consort, those girls from humble families would've ended up as concubines for aristocratic sons—and even then, they might've been rejected. I gave them a chance to become noblewomen!"

Ye Shi Yun pulled Zhang Chun's sleeve, signaling her to stop.

But Zhang Chun turned on Ye Shi Yun: "Why are you stopping me? Don't you see yet? She looks down on all four of us. She thinks we're shameless for sharing one local man, scheming and fighting like common women for his favor—she thinks we've lost our original selves and aren't even worthy to be called transmigrants!"

With those words, Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, and Ma Xiao Jiao all glared coldly at Yuan Qing Cheng.

Yuan Qing Cheng hurriedly said: "She's stirring up trouble—I never looked down on you. I'm not like that. You know that."

Li Lin and the other two thought about it—Yuan Qing Cheng didn't seem like that kind of person, so their expressions softened.

But Zhang Chun said: "If you didn't look down on us, why would you think bringing our original hosts' families into the palace harms them? Isn't it because you believe they'll be trapped here forever, losing all freedom, forced to compete with dozens of women for Zhao Yu's favor?"

Yuan Qing Cheng countered: "Isn't that true?"

Zhang Chun didn't dodge the question—she answered directly:

"Yes. But we chose this willingly."

"Here, we have servants to dress and feed us, we enjoy endless luxury—no need to mention that."

"I can steer political direction; Li Lin's army is already sweeping enemies on the frontier; Shi Yun's economic policies are already implemented; once her Manual of Barefoot Doctors is finished, it'll save countless lives; Xiao Jiao has invented countless things that can change this world."

"All of this is because Zhao Yu supports us!"

"He's helped us so much—so we let him have a few fun nights and bear his children—what's wrong with that?"

"Don't think our bodies are valuable. Does Zhao Yu lack women? If he wanted, countless women would strip down, bend over, and wait for him!"

"And you? If you walked out into this feudal society, what could you do? Right now, you'd be sold into a brothel within a day. Then no one would pamper you—no one would let a little girl like you build the world's largest agricultural research center on the site meant for Genyue Mountain. Instead, they'd whip you with a leather strap dipped in saltwater and chili water…"

Ma Xiao Jiao reminded Zhang Chun: "There's no chili here."

Zhang Chun, mid-rant, shot Ma Xiao Jiao a glare and continued: "When that leather strap hits you, you won't crave freedom anymore—you'll gladly strip down and let anyone use you!"

Yuan Qing Cheng was enraged by Zhang Chun's words.

But she was left speechless.

Because she knew Zhang Chun was right—no one but Zhao Yu could give her such immense support to carry out the greatest experiment in this world; if she left the palace, she might indeed end up exactly as Zhang Chun had said.

But hadn't she already worked hard to help Zhao Yu with his experiments? Once she cultivated high-yield, resilient rice and solved the problem of food for this era's people, Zhao Yu's rule would be more stable than ever; at that point, her debt to Zhao Yu would be fully repaid. Why should she, like Zhang Chun and the others, sacrifice herself and grovel like a subordinate, scheming to win Zhao Yu's favor and defeat her rivals, just so he might sleep with her a few more times? That was far too cheap.

But Yuan Qing Cheng said nothing, because she had produced not a single achievement yet—any words she spoke would be hollow.

Yuan Qing Cheng stood up silently and walked out, feigning calm.

Li Lin saw this and hurried after her.

Ye Shi Yun and Ma Xiao Jiao also wanted to go and persuade Yuan Qing Cheng not to take Zhang Chun's words to heart.

But Zhang Chun grabbed them both by the arm: "You're both pregnant—what are you running around for? What if something happens? Li Lin can give her an out."

Ye Shi Yun and Ma Xiao Jiao, fearing harm to themselves, sat back down.

"You spoke too harshly," Ye Shi Yun said. "Yes, the situation is as you say, but there's no need to say it so bluntly. We're all good sisters. Everyone has their own thoughts—can't we just respect each other's choices?"

"Exactly," Ma Xiao Jiao added. "Yuan Qing Cheng didn't mean anything by it—she's just not fully adapted to this world yet. She doesn't truly look down on us."

"Alright, alright, I get it—I'm wrong, okay?" Zhang Chun immediately changed the subject. "Where was I? Right—I was saying the competition is fierce now."

"Have you seen the twenty-odd girls from Qing Tang that Tong Guan presented? I went to look this morning—each one is stunning, and one looks just like Naza, another is at least eighty percent like Reba. With their strong exotic charm, Zhao Yu will surely want to try these different women. I bet he won't come near us for a while…"

…

(End of Chapter)