Chapter 20: The Fountain of Proliferation and a Changing Self

After leaving the imperial garden, Isabella summoned a palace maid and instructed her to bring “that.”

Complying with the order, the maid soon returned, bearing an exquisitely crafted porcelain bowl, which she presented before Cai and Wang Xiaole.

The bowl contained crystal-clear spring water. After dismissing the maid, Isabella specifically introduced it, saying:

“This is a specialty of our nation.”

Within the imperial palace, a portion of the water from a constantly flowing spring in the city was piped directly into the palace grounds. Dibiles valued marital freedom and acknowledged unions between women. The issue of being unable to bear offspring, which arose from such unions, was resolved through this very spring water.

Upon reaching adulthood, women could apply to the court to receive a small amount of this spring water, then decide for themselves which day to drink it. Approximately six to eight weeks later, the drinker would begin to experience nausea and vomiting, which were the signs of pregnancy.

In other words:

Women conceived through the spring water, and after a 40-week (ten-month) gestation period, gave birth to a lovely daughter.

That particular spring was renowned throughout Dibiles, known as the “Fountain of Proliferation”! This type of spring water was unheard of in other countries, which was why Isabella referred to it as a “specialty.”

“Miss Xiaole has likely already noticed that the number of women in our country significantly outnumbers men…”

“This outcome is precisely due to the ‘Fountain of Proliferation.'”

Wang Xiaole was correct; Isabella nodded, affirming her statement.

“To this day, not a single woman who has drunk from the spring has given birth to a boy, leading to our country’s disproportionate number of women to men.”

As for why only girls could be born, Wang Xiaole had a theory. This matter had to be explained starting from female physiology:

‘The Fountain of Proliferation’ seemed to be replicating. The genes replicated by the spring water were, in essence, chromosomes; males possessed 22 pairs of autosomes plus XY s*x chromosomes, while females possessed 22 pairs of autosomes plus XX s*x chromosomes. It could be understood as: The spring water *additionally replicated* “something that was already present,” rather than creating “something from nothing.” The reality that females inherently lacked a Y chromosome meant they could only give birth to girls!

At first glance, this explanation sounded remarkably scientific. In reality, however, it wasn’t; it was merely an objectively existing phenomenon. Wang Xiaole’s understanding of “science” was the ability to provide rational explanations for all discovered phenomena. Yet, even if humanity hadn’t discovered certain facts, or if science couldn’t explain them, those facts still existed in the world. Many truths were difficult for humans to truly comprehend with existing knowledge, but they couldn’t be denied simply for that reason.

What corresponded to science was called “mystery,” and the “Fountain of Proliferation” was one such mystery. Of course, in a world where magic was commonplace, the existence of such a spring was, upon closer reflection, not surprising at all. After all, if Wang Xiaole tried to understand everything using the knowledge from before her transmigration, she would eventually go mad…

“To be guaranteed to have a daughter just by drinking the spring water—how truly enviable.”

Wang Xiaole sighed with such emotion.

“Oh, so Miss Xiaole prefers girls.”

This made Isabella slightly surprised.

With the exception of a few countries and a small number of individuals, ‘gender equality’ had long since become a widely accepted consensus among the vast majority of people in the world. Based on this premise, ordinary people were expected to love both sons and daughters equally. However, Wang Xiaole’s recent remark sparked Isabella’s curiosity:

“What could possibly be wrong with having a son?”

Answering that question required no thought at all:

“If it were a son, they might end up like…”

Her words trailed off, and Wang Xiaole suddenly fell silent.

What she had originally intended to say was: ‘If I had a son, his personality might end up resembling mine.’ Wang Xiaole didn’t like herself. But she didn’t intend to change! She planned to remain exactly as she was, but raising a son who was too similar to her? She’d rather not. Daughters were different. Wang Xiaole naively believed that cute girls, from their personality to their appearance, should resemble their mothers more.

‘If she were given four choices: A. Only daughters, B. One son and one daughter, C. Only sons, D. No children at all. Then, for Wang Xiaole, the priority would be A > B = D.’ ‘Choose C? Only sons, no daughters?’ ‘Fine, then he’d have to seriously consider how to restart his life…’ ‘To be clearer: This was someone who clearly favored girls over boys!’

Had she not transformed into a girl, Wang Xiaole would have finished her sentence just now. But halfway through, she realized she had already bid farewell to her male body, and the troubling part was: ‘Her inner self was subtly changing.’ ‘Just like a moment ago, despite having been a boy for sixteen years, she hadn’t mistakenly assumed she was still male out of habit.’ ‘This proved that deep within her subconscious, Wang Xiaole was slowly accepting reality, and her self-perception was gradually shifting towards being female.’ ‘How tragic!’ ‘Now, Wang Xiaole even wanted to find a secluded spot to hide in a corner and shed tears alone.’

Her complexion visibly worsened, to the point that Isabella and Cai forgot about listening to any explanation. The situation had reversed; now it was the two women scrambling to find a different topic.

They did so, thinking: ‘Perhaps the current topic had soured Wang Xiaole’s mood, causing her complexion to worsen.’ ‘If this guess was correct, then they should simply talk about something else to divert Wang Xiaole’s attention.’

After exchanging glances, the Sacred Maiden and the Empress confirmed that their thoughts aligned. ‘Alright, putting other matters aside, from this moment on, the two would officially cooperate!’

“The ‘Fountain of Proliferation’ truly is wonderful!”

Whether Isabella herself noticed or not, the tone of her voice at that moment sounded distinctly odd.

“Even if people love each other, but innate constraints prevent them from having children… thanks to the spring water, such a situation will not occur in our country.”

“If it really happened, you’d have a headache.”

Cai’s tone, however, sounded perfectly normal.

“Families where two women marry and have no offspring are not uncommon in Dibiles. In the long run, the nation’s population would steadily decline.”

“The Sacred Maiden is absolutely right!”

At that moment, Isabella had a feeling: ‘She was the only one performing in a farce.’ She was a little unhappy, but she didn’t intend to give up halfway.

She had to continue speaking in that unusual tone:

“Without a sufficient population, a nation cannot become a truly great power. That simply won’t do!”

“Pfft… You’re right.”

Just then, Cai accidentally let out a laugh. ‘She absolutely hadn’t meant to; she hoped the other woman would realize this, so she conveyed a message with her eyes:’ ‘My apologies, I couldn’t help myself.’

In that moment, Isabella found Cai even more exasperating than before.

Wang Xiaole, having snapped out of her sadness, felt utterly bewildered: ‘How did the conversation turn into this after only a moment of inattention?’ Yes, she had recovered her composure, and it had nothing to do with the two women’s efforts to change the subject.

Thus, a world where only Isabella was hurt came to be.