In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Everything happened too suddenly. Gu Zhao hadn't recovered from the joy of Gu Heng's birth when she saw blood staining the bed.

Zhu Qingyu, who was already weak after giving birth, turned even paler, her hands were icy cold, and she was drenched in cold sweat, making her visibly weaker.

As her blood drained, Zhu Qingyu grew colder and colder, feeling dizzy, experiencing heart palpitations and pain, and even losing the strength to speak.

Gu Zhao's panicked voice rang in my ears:

"Dr. Tan! Dr. Su! Hurry!"

And Dr. Tan's heavy voice:

"Oh no, it's postpartum hemorrhage! Quickly, fetch some tonic soup!"

The herbal decoctions for various situations had been prepared in advance, and as soon as Zhu Qingyu started, Granny Qin arranged for the tea room to brew them.

So while the doctor was talking about delivering the medicine, the Duchess of Dingguo had already arranged for someone to bring the medicine in.

Because Zhu Qingyu was in danger, someone took Gu Heng away.

Gu Heng was sleeping soundly next to his mother, but as soon as he was taken away, he burst into loud wails.

The loud crying pulled Zhu Qingyu back from the brink of unconsciousness.

She struggled to open her eyes, wanting to see Gu Heng.

Gu Zhao supported her, letting her half-lie in his arms, and fed her medicine.

Su Mu tried to stitch up her wound, but seeing the bleeding getting faster and faster and impossible to stop, the little miracle doctor she had personally trained was extremely panicked and looked at her helplessly:

"The bleeding is too fast! What should I do! My lady! What should I do?"

Zhu Qingyu had witnessed many patients die in front of her because they could not be cured. Some deaths were short, and some were long, but no matter how long or short they were, each time she experienced it, she felt more and more that life was unpredictable.

Doctors are not gods; helplessness is a daily occurrence, and today, this helplessness has fallen upon her own body.

She knew what she was going through: postpartum hemorrhage was the leading cause of death for pregnant women, and even in modern times with such advanced medical resources, the mortality rate was still very high.

Moreover, here, what she urgently needs is a blood transfusion and to stop the bleeding, medical treatments that are simply unavailable here.

In the final moments of life, all the chaos and confusion seemed to have faded away.

Zhu Qingyu wasn't worried about Gu Zhao. She had loved him and gone through things with him, but in this world, he still possessed the most prestigious family background, power, and looks. He was only twenty-five years old, so young, and would have many more choices.

He may be heartbroken for a while, but he will eventually have enough time to forget her, fall in love with someone else, experience another relationship, and live a wonderful life.

At this moment, the two people she was most worried about were Gu Heng and her mother.

Zhu Qingyu weakly pushed away the medicine from Gu Zhao's hand and said:

"It's no use, Shouming. Let me hug Gu Heng. Everyone else, get out. I have a few things to say to you."

Seeing that she was about to give her last words, Gu Zhao couldn't believe it, let alone accept it.

Why is it that everything was fine one moment, and then suddenly they are separated by death?

Gu Zhao looked at Doctor Tan with eager anticipation, then at Su Mu, and then at Zhuang Min. The five or six doctors in the room looked over one by one, trying to see even the slightest bit of hope in their eyes.

But no, everyone he saw looked at her helplessly, and Su Mu was so desperate that she cried uncontrollably and couldn't even stand up straight.

There's no hope left; there's not a shred of hope to be found here!

But she came from heaven, what if she goes back!

If she goes back, will she be cured?!

Granny Qin was holding and comforting the wailing Gu Heng when Gu Zhao took Gu Heng from her arms and instructed her:

"You all get out."

Qin Mama burst into tears, pulled several doctors and maids out, and gently closed the door.

Zhu Qingyu took Gu Heng from her, weakly hugged her, and gently held her small hand.

As soon as Gu Hengyi returned to Zhu Qingyu's arms, he opened his eyes and smiled at her, perhaps because he smelled a familiar scent.

Seeing Gu Heng's smile, Zhu Qingyu felt even more pain in her heart, and could hardly breathe.

Her daughter is so young, she hasn't even had time to love her yet.

Zhu Qingyu pressed her face against Gu Heng's smiling face, feeling Gu Heng's softness and warmth, drawing strength from this warmth, and even at the very last moment, she calmly said to Gu Zhao:

"Shouming, please love her and protect her for the rest of your life. Let her do what she wants and never let her suffer. Even if you remarry, you can love your future wife, but please don't forget to love Gu Heng. After I die, do not cremate me. Please bury me in the Zhu family's ancestral cemetery, and erect a tombstone that reads 'Tomb of Zhu Qingyu,' with the epitaph stating that she lived a good life. Zhu Dashan knows where it is; have him take you there. Promise me these two things, okay?"

Gu Zhao knelt before her bed, tears streaming down his face. He grasped her and Gu Heng's intertwined hands and said, his voice choked with sobs and urgency:

"Qingyu, go back quickly! Go back quickly! Let your mother come and pick you up! If you go back, you'll definitely get better!"

Go back?

But that was a place she could never return to.

Zhu Qingyu smiled and waved to him:

"Come here."

Gu Zhao leaned in and placed a very light kiss on his cheek. Someone said:

"Lord Gu, I love you very much."

The simple act of getting up and giving a light kiss almost exhausted Zhu Qingyu's strength, leaving her nearly unconscious and unable to even hold Gu Heng properly.

Gu Zhao held his weakened wife and newborn daughter in his arms, feeling like he was going crazy—he had never felt this way in his life. He silently prayed:

"Bodhisattva, since you brought her here, why don't you send her back!"

"Please take her home, take her home, take her home!"

Even if we never meet again in this life, please just let her live!

His prayers had no effect; nearly driven mad, Lord Gu cried out in anguish, demanding an explanation:

"Bodhisattva, are you deaf! Can't you hear me! Let her go back! Let her go back! Quickly, let her go back!"

Zhu Qingyu had almost lost consciousness and could barely hear Gu Zhao's cries.

In her last moments of consciousness, amidst Gu Zhao's wailing, Zhu Qingyu pressed her face against Gu Heng's and said:

"Gu Heng, Mom loves you."

Gu Zhao didn't know how long she had been calling out, or even when her arms suddenly became empty.

Her blood was still on the bed, a shocking sight; it was hard to imagine how a person could bleed so much.

But Zhu Qingyu had vanished without a trace, leaving only the hungry Gu Heng, who burst into tears once again.

Hearing Gu Zhao's questioning and cries, the Duchess of Dingguo rushed in:

"Zhao'er! How is Qingyu?!"

Seeing the empty bed, Gu Zhao kneeling beside it, looking into her palm, and Gu Heng weeping uncontrollably, the Duchess of Dingguo was filled with shock and confusion.

"Zhao'er, where is Qingyu?"

Gu Zhao stood up, turned around, his face a mixture of weeping and laughter, and held up his empty palm to the Duchess of Dingguo, saying:

"She went back."