Chapter 124: Delivering the Child

Hearing the cries of the serving women, Xu Ruojin shuddered from head to toe. There were only young maids like Chunchao and Hongxing around her; none of them knew how to assist in childbirth, and even if she wanted to help, she felt powerless. Mother Huang, whom she had sent to fetch a doctor and a midwife, had yet to return.

The situation was critical. Xu Ruojin urgently ordered Hongxing, "Go and bring Mother Huang back immediately. Also, head to Concubine Liu’s courtyard and summon Mother!"

"Ah?" Hongxing was startled, but seeing the Second Young Miss’s firm expression, she dared not question her and ran toward Concubine Liu’s small courtyard.

A servant from Li Qiuping’s courtyard emerged, and upon seeing Xu Ruojin, she acted as if she had found a savior. "Second Young Miss..."

"I have already sent people to fetch a doctor and a midwife. Just wait a moment longer." Xu Ruojin interrupted the servant’s rambling, but the woman shook her head repeatedly. "We cannot wait! The Eldest Young Mistress’s water has broken; if she doesn't give birth soon, both mother and child will be in danger!"

Xu Ruojin bit her lip and grabbed the servant, asking, "Have you ever delivered a baby before?"

The woman was shocked. "I... I have only watched from the side. I have never delivered one myself."

"Come with me!" Xu Ruojin dragged her along, refusing to let her shrink back. She ordered Chunchao, "Return to my courtyard and get the medical texts, the medicine box, and bring all the gauze you can find! Be quick!"

Chunchao nodded and hurried away. Xu Ruojin pulled the servant into Li Qiuping’s room, where a thick, pungent scent of blood greeted them. Though the bloodstains on Li Qiuping’s clothing were not yet extensive, the sight left Xu Ruojin speechless with fear.

"How... how long has it been like this?"

"The Eldest Young Mistress was like this since this morning. We thought it would be fine, but now..."

"How absurd!" Xu Ruojin looked at Li Qiuping, who was deathly pale and had exhausted her strength from wailing.

Her water had broken and she was bleeding. If this dragged on, not only was there a risk of the fetus suffering from oxygen deprivation, but Li Qiuping’s own life was in grave danger. This was not the era she had come from, with its advanced medical facilities. Li Qiuping might very well lose her life!

"Go and cook a bowl of noodles quickly; make her eat something," Xu Ruojin ordered the servant, then walked over to Li Qiuping. "Stop screaming. Save your strength, or both you and the child will be in danger."

Li Qiuping stopped crying out, panting heavily. Her expression as she looked at Xu Ruojin was complex. After struggling for a long moment, she whispered, "I... I didn't think you would come."

Back then, she had incited Baimei to try and harm Xu Ruojin, a secret that had long haunted her with fear. She had never considered the consequences, but after learning that Baimei had been beaten beyond recognition and her entire family driven out of the Xu household, her fear had only grown. Her premature labor was, in fact, brought on by this state of terror.

"Are you still afraid I’ll harm you?" Xu Ruojin asked, unsure if she felt hate or resentment.

Tears streamed from the corners of Li Qiuping’s eyes. "I’m not afraid you’ll harm me. It is I who wronged you. I didn't think it through; I just wanted Zilin to come back, and I wanted to bear him a son."

"Then shut your mouth and don't say another word. Save your strength." Xu Ruojin did not want to hear it. She had never experienced this either and was herself gripped by a panicked anxiety. Overwhelmed by impatience and urgency, she ran outside to urge them on. "Why aren't they here yet? Send more people to hurry them; it must be fast!"

Mother Huang returned, having sent others to fetch the doctor and midwife. Chunchao followed shortly after. Seeing Li Qiuping’s condition, Mother Huang nearly lost her nerve. "This... this cannot wait!"

Xu Ruojin forced herself to remain calm. "Did you send people to fetch the midwife and doctor?"

"Yes, but it is the middle of the night. We have to knock on every door; it will take time to find them." Mother Huang looked at the items Chunchao had brought. "Second Young Miss, what are you..."

"Wait two more quarters of an hour. If the midwife isn't found by then, you will help me deliver the baby!" After saying this, Xu Ruojin picked up a medical text, flipped to the section on childbirth, and began to study it intently.

The servants finished cooking the noodles, and Xu Ruojin insisted they feed her. Li Qiuping, realizing the gravity of the situation, tried to swallow the bowl of noodles. Unfortunately, before she could finish, another wave of abdominal pain struck.

Her involuntary screams and wails forced Xu Ruojin to drop the book and rush over. Another pool of blood had flowed out from below, its color far more jarring than before.

"We cannot wait any longer!" Xu Ruojin looked at Mother Huang and the servant. "Which one of you will do it?"

The servant retreated. "I... I don't know how."

Mother Huang wrung her hands incessantly. "Second Young Miss, I have no experience with this. I truly dare not touch her!"

"Quickly, I’m in such pain, save me, save me, ah!"

Li Qiuping’s shrieks made Xu Ruojin clench her fists. "I will do it!"

"Second Young Miss..."

Xu Ruojin ordered the servant, "Go to Concubine Liu’s courtyard and urge my mother—bring her here!"

"Yes, yes!" The servant ran off with great speed. Xu Ruojin ordered water to be boiled and bandages prepared. Recalling the steps she had just read in the medical book, she steeled herself. Looking at Li Qiuping, she gritted her teeth: "It’s just bad timing for you, but we have no choice. Are you willing to gamble?"

"I... I trust you." After saying this, Li Qiuping let out another shriek. Xu Ruojin took a thick wad of gauze and placed it in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue.

"Listen to me and push when I tell you."

Li Qiuping nodded repeatedly. Xu Ruojin reached out to feel for the position of the fetus’s head and began, "Push..."

At that moment, Madam Yang was in the midst of a violent confrontation in Concubine Liu’s courtyard. When she had first arrived, she overheard Concubine Liu talking with Master Xu. The topic was naturally Xu Ruojin’s marriage, and Concubine Liu, still remembering the Second Young Miss’s kindness, was speaking in her favor. However, when the conversation turned to the grievances the Second Young Miss had suffered, she remarked that the Madam’s demands were too harsh.

No one knew that Madam Yang was listening at the door, and the maids were unable to warn those inside. Madam Yang, unable to restrain her fury, charged into the room and shoved Concubine Liu to the ground. Had the servants not intervened, she would have nearly strangled her!

Master Xu, enraged, slapped Madam Yang twice. Madam Yang wailed and lamented that she could no longer live, even attempting to throw herself against the wall. The concubine’s courtyard was a scene of chaos and weeping. It was into this scene that Hongxing arrived. When she informed Master Xu that the Eldest Young Mistress was in labor, everyone stood in stunned silence.

Madam Yang, fueled by malice, refused to concern herself with Li Qiuping, declaring that since her own life was in shambles, she had no energy to care about any grandchildren.

Men could not interfere in women’s matters. Master Xu could only order the servants who knew something of the process to hurry to Li Qiuping’s small courtyard, while simultaneously ordering others to continue searching for the midwife and doctor.

The situation was more complicated than Xu Ruojin had imagined, for she discovered that the fetus was in an abnormal position—she could feel the feet first!

What was she to do? She had no knowledge of how to handle this!