Seven months pregnant, and my husband's childhood sweetheart poisoned the town's water supply, causing an epidemic to sweep through Maple Creek. She burst into the Senator's manor, demanding to use my unborn child as the key ingredient for a cure. I didn't fight back. I let her take the premature baby. Because in my past life, I had pleaded with my husband, Ethan, to let me keep the child. Then, heavily pregnant, I went out to treat the sick townspeople myself. I saved their lives, but they were left with chronic, debilitating headaches. Olivia, his sweetheart, also caught the plague and died from it. Ethan comforted me, saying it was the best possible outcome, told me to rest and focus on the baby, that he would handle everything else. Then, on the day I went into labor, he had me and our newborn son dragged to the town square and publicly tortured to death. Before I died, I saw the twisted hatred on his face. "If you hadn't poisoned the water, none of these people would have suffered! Olivia wouldn't have died! You did this horrific thing for your own selfish reasons. Dying like this is getting off easy!" When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Olivia stormed the manor, demanding my child for her cure. ... I closed my eyes in despair amidst the curses of the townspeople outside. I couldn't believe it. I had run a clinic in the Capital for six years, saved countless lives, yet not a single person believed I was innocent. Even the man I loved believed I was the poisoner. As I opened my eyes again, my assistant Chloe’s voice was firm, "Ms. Hayes, our mistress has a unique constitution. Her pregnancies go to twelve months for a full term. If you take the baby now, at only seven months, it won't survive." Olivia scoffed, "Normal women carry for nine months, and a seven-month fetus can survive. Why is your mistress so different?" She raised an eyebrow at me, "Sarah, don't tell me you're unwilling to give up the baby to save everyone?" Chloe was furious. "Even if it's to save people, you can't do it like this! My mistress is a brilliant doctor herself! Maybe she can cure this epidemic! Why must you take her child for a cure? It's barbaric!" Olivia couldn't be bothered arguing. She waved her hand dismissively. "Taking the child saves the whole town! Don't hesitate, people, get her!" Urged on by her, the crowd forced Chloe and me back against the wall. Every face was fierce, eager to cut open my belly and take the premature child to save themselves. Chloe shielded me desperately, screaming, "This is the Senator's wife! How dare any of you touch her!" Her shout made them pause. Everyone knew Senator Vance adored his wife. Seeing this, Olivia grew anxious. "The Senator owes his position to the support of the people! We're just asking for a little blood from the baby's fingertip after it's born. She won't even make that small sacrifice for the town? She doesn't deserve to be the Senator's wife!" The crowd turned menacing again. "She always claimed to be compassionate, dedicated to healing, but now there's an epidemic, she hides in this fancy manor, afraid of getting sick herself! What kind of doctor is that!" "Why should you rich folks stay safe while we common people die? I don't care if it's the Senator's kid or the President's kid inside her, I'll take it for my own child's sake!" A few inflammatory words whipped the crowd into a frenzy. They lost all reason. Just then, the door was kicked open. My husband, Ethan, entered with several security guards. Seeing him, Chloe scrambled over like he was her last hope, kneeling. "Senator, you're finally back! They want to take the mistress's baby! It's a matter of life and death, please save her!" Olivia instantly changed her tune, looking fragile and pitiful. "Ethan, the blood of a newborn from the Bai family can cure any poison. We're doing this for everyone in town." Chloe cried beside her, "Senator, the mistress's constitution is special! Taking the baby now will kill it!" Ethan's expression shifted. Just as Chloe thought they were saved, he abruptly raised his hand and asked his men, "Where is the labor-inducing drug I asked you to prepare?" A bowl of dark brown liquid was brought forward. Chloe's eyes widened in horror as she realized what was happening. She tried to run towards me. Ethan's guards swiftly intercepted her, grabbing her arms, holding her fast. Ethan held the bowl in front of me, his voice ice-cold. "Drink it." Looking at his face, my heart shattered, but I clung to a sliver of hope. "Ethan, this is your own child in my belly. Are you truly going to take him out now?" "That's why I found you the best midwife," Ethan replied flatly. "I've asked around. A seven-month fetus can survive with careful nursing. I will protect him." "But..." Before I could explain, Ethan lost his patience. He struck me hard across the face. "Sarah, after the evil you've done, just having you deliver the baby early is letting you off easy!" The force knocked me to the ground. My head hit a cabinet, ringing. Warm blood trickled down my forehead. Accusations rained down on me from everyone in the room. "Her family have been doctors for generations, how could they produce such a menace!" "So selfish and afraid to die! She's ruining the Senator's reputation!" The accusations were sickeningly familiar, dragging me back to my previous life. Me and my son, hung from the town walls. Ethan handed knives to the townspeople, allowing them to slice pieces of my flesh. Those same people who once called me their savior, holding knives in one hand, chili water in the other. The same expressions as they tortured me to death. That terror surged back into my heart. I took a breath and looked at Ethan. "I can drink it. But you have to grant me one request." My quick agreement seemed to make Ethan frown. "What do you want?" I took the bowl. Before drinking, I stared straight at him. "I want a divorce." 2 Hearing the word "divorce," Ethan froze for a second, then sneered, "Is this some new trick?" I was too tired to argue. "If you agree, I'll drink it now," I said indifferently. I expected him to agree without hesitation. Instead, he crouched down, grabbed my hair, pinched my jaw open, and forcibly poured the medicine down my throat. The bitter liquid choked me, tears streaming down my face. I suddenly remembered a time I caught a cold because of Ethan and refused to take my medicine. He had paced anxiously beside me, only coaxing me gently, never saying a harsh word. That day, for every bowl I drank, he drank two, telling me with red eyes that he'd never let me suffer again. The man then and the man forcing medicine down my throat now were like two different people. After pouring it all, Ethan smashed the bowl on the floor. "You're in no position to make demands," he spat viciously. He left with his guards and Chloe, leaving only Olivia and the midwife in the room. An hour after drinking the medicine, my belly remained quiet. The midwife examined me again and again. "The mistress grew up around herbs and remedies," she concluded. "She might be resistant to this drug. Should we ask the Senator about giving her another dose?" Olivia shook her head. "We've already wasted an hour on this medicine. Trying another type will just waste another hour. Let's try a simpler method." She pulled out a dagger. The midwife paled. "Ms. Hayes, you mustn't! Cutting her open directly could kill her!" "Who cares about her life at a time like this?" Olivia laughed triumphantly. "Is anyone worried about the lives of the townspeople outside?" Seeing the dagger, I panicked too. I scrambled off the bed, trying to run. Olivia ordered the two midwives to hold me down. They pinned me but looked up, asking if they should check with the Senator. "Don't you understand the Senator's intention? This baby must come out today." She approached me with the knife, aiming the tip directly at my belly. As the blade sank in, I screamed, my whole body convulsing. Blood pooled on the floor. The pain was so intense I fainted instantly. Moments later, agony jolted me awake again. Olivia applied more pressure, slicing my belly open from top to bottom. I gasped for breath, pain overwhelming me, tears falling. Outside the door, Ethan asked, "Why is she screaming like that?" Olivia clamped her hand over my mouth. "Childbirth is always painful, Ethan," she called back. "Please don't come in. It's bad luck for a man to be in the delivery room." Silence fell outside. Olivia roughly pulled my baby out. The baby let out an immediate cry. Hearing that sound, I looked up, my heart clenching inexplicably. Olivia cleaned him off. As she was about to leave, I couldn't help but plead, "Olivia, after you take the fingertip blood, please bring him back to me." Olivia snorted coldly and left. I heard her say to Ethan outside, "It's wonderful, Ethan! The townspeople can be saved!" Outside, Ethan cooed over the baby twice. "Let's go. We'll save the townspeople right now." Everyone left, forgetting about me, still bleeding profusely. The blood flowed faster, the pain intensified. My consciousness faded, and I passed out again. When I woke next, I heard Chloe's crying. "Mistress, wake up..." Chloe grew up with me, my personal maid who came with me when I married. In the Senator's manor, she was the kindest person to me besides Ethan. In my past life, she died protecting me and my son, beaten to death. I opened my eyes. Her crying grew more desperate. "Mistress, you're awake! How do you feel? You lost so much blood..." 3 I forced myself to sit up and told her to get the small box hidden in my cabinet. Inside was a special medicinal pill, a Bai family heirloom. After swallowing it, I felt much of my strength return. I had Chloe bring me a needle and thread, and I stitched up my own abdomen. After doing all this, I used my own blood to write down a prescription and a letter, telling Chloe to deliver them to the Capital. I only learned later that someone infected had fled to the Capital, causing the epidemic to spread there too. Even the Governor and his wife had fallen ill. The cure I developed in my past life, while effective against the epidemic, left patients with chronic headaches as a side effect. But the headaches were treatable. While waiting to give birth, I had shared the treatment method with the local doctors, asking them to help the townspeople. I never imagined this act would be twisted into me seeking fame. They claimed I deliberately left them with the affliction so they would constantly remember my name. The thought chilled me again. My family had practiced medicine for generations, guided by the principle of saving lives. The Bai family name was already renowned. Why would I need to seek fame like that? But people only believe what they want to believe. So later, when someone accused me of poisoning the water, not a single person defended me. The formula I sent to the Governor was an improved version. One dose would cure the illness completely, with no side effects. After Chloe left, exhaustion overwhelmed me, and I fell into a deep sleep. Soon, I developed a fever. In my delirium, I thought I saw Ethan pacing anxiously by my bedside. But I must have been mistaken. He wouldn't come. He was surely with Olivia, busy "saving" the town. I must have slept for about seven days when a splash of cold water woke me. I opened my eyes to see Olivia standing over me. "While Ethan and I worked tirelessly saving people, you slept soundly." I lifted my heavy eyelids. "What do you want?" "Came to return your baby, of course." Olivia smirked wickedly and tossed the bundle in her hands into the air. I screamed, scrambling out of bed, collapsing to the floor as pain flared from my wound. Thankfully, I caught the baby. My son in the bundle had his eyes closed, his face deathly pale, no sign of breath. I took his tiny hand. A deep gash marked his wrist. Dead. He was dead. A roaring filled my ears. My mind went blank. I looked up at Olivia, my eyes filled with hatred. "Didn't you say you'd only take a little blood?" Because of my family's constitution, while others carried for nine months, Bai women needed twelve. My seven months were equivalent to someone else's five. I had hoped if she only took a little fingertip blood, I could still nurse him back to health. But she had drained nearly all the blood from his tiny body. Olivia sneered, "Sarah, you're a doctor too. How could a tiny bit of fingertip blood possibly save so many people?" Seeing her nonchalance, I glanced down at the lifeless child in my arms and couldn't hold back any longer. I pulled out the dagger I kept hidden and lunged at Olivia. "Go to hell!" She easily pushed me down, then took the dagger and tapped my face with it, her expression hideous. "Sarah, pathetic as you are, you think you can kill me? Are you..." She stopped mid-sentence, her expression changing dramatically. She twisted her hand, letting the dagger graze her shoulder, making it look like I had stabbed her from behind. "Mistress! Why would you do this?" Before I could react, someone kicked me forcefully. I rolled across the floor, instinctively clutching my dead child tighter. At the same time, a ginseng root landed near me. I recognized it instantly – it looked like rare, potent ginseng. I remembered once telling Ethan that ginseng was the best thing for a mother's postpartum recovery. Ethan had smiled then. "I'll definitely send someone to find the best thousand-year ginseng for you. I couldn't bear for my Sarah to suffer even a little." Could Ethan have brought this? "Sarah, you venomous woman! How dare you harm Olivia!" Ethan's furious roar snapped me back to reality. I looked up at him, the last embers of love in my heart extinguished. Strangely, he froze when he saw me. He let go of Olivia in his arms and hurried towards me. Only then did I realize the kick had torn open the stitches on my abdomen. Blood gushed out again, instantly soaking the floor. Ethan's face was grim as he lifted my clothes. Seeing the horrifying wound, he sucked in a sharp breath. His voice trembled. "Sarah, what happened to your stomach?"
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "392371", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel