Chapter 26: Medical Treatment

Only then did Feng Chuchen realize that the umbrellas opened in the courtyard were meant to block the "Heavenly Eye."

An oil lamp was lit in the room.

Seeing Mrs. Wu looking as if she were already dead, Feng Chuchen suggested, "Auntie, let Sister Ding lie down to help the baby rotate into the right position. It will make her more comfortable, and she can stand up once the position is corrected."

Auntie Wang frowned. "The baby isn't coming out as it is; lying down will only make it harder. If she can't even endure this hardship, how can she bear a child? There will be even harder times ahead; a young lady cannot be soft-hearted."

She then ordered Mother Ding and the eldest daughter-in-law of the Ding family to come in and use ropes to bind Mrs. Wu's shoulders to a wooden pole.

Mrs. Wu hung her head with her eyes tightly shut, allowing herself to be manipulated as if she were dead.

Feng Chuchen felt a sense of extreme breakdown; this wasn't childbirth, it was a form of torture.

After an unknown amount of time, Mother Ding and the daughter-in-law brought in three bowls of noodles, each topped with a poached egg.

They were for Auntie Wang, Feng Chuchen, and Auntie Xin.

Feng Chuchen had no appetite and only ate a few bites.

After finishing, Auntie Wang went to massage the parturient woman and offered the food to Auntie Xin.

Then came more kneading.

After more time passed, Auntie Wang suddenly shouted, "It's descending! The baby is moving down!"

Her voice was loud, filled with unprecedented joy.

Looking at the large belly, Feng Chuchen saw that it had indeed dropped lower than before.

Inside the room, Feng Chuchen, Old Lady Ding, and Auntie Xin all grew joyful.

"Good!"

"That's wonderful!"

Mrs. Wu had already fainted; it was only when Auntie Wang pinched her philtrum that she slowly regained consciousness.

Auntie Wang said, "The baby has entered the pelvis and is almost here. Do as I say: exhale, inhale, push..."

Mrs. Wu finally saw hope, a glimmer appearing in her parched eyes. She exerted every ounce of her strength to cooperate with Auntie Wang, pushing again and again.

With every push, she let out a loud cry, "Ah~~!"

Her voice was hoarse, sounding like a wailing ghost.

The baby did not come out, but instead, a mass of excrement and urine was expelled, staining Auntie Wang's hand.

Auntie Wang grabbed a cloth to wipe her hand clean, squatted to look up, and then reached in to feel, sighing, "The baby is stuck at the cervix and won't come out."

Several sighs echoed in the room. In such a situation, one person—or even both—was bound to die.

Auntie Wang said to Mother Ding, "If we save the mother, the baby will certainly die. If we save the baby, the mother will likely suffer massive hemorrhaging and be in great danger."

Feng Chuchen knew that if they chose to save the mother, they would have to break most of the baby's bones to reduce its size as much as possible to pull it out.

If they chose to save the child, they would only snap the baby's clavicle; even if broken, a newborn's clavicle would heal on its own within a few days. However, the size would still not be small enough, and forcing it out could easily cause the mother to suffer severe hemorrhaging and vaginal tearing.

Hearing this, Mrs. Wu said weakly, "Save the child... I beg you."

Mother Ding did not dare look at her daughter-in-law and sighed, "Save... save the child. *Sigh!*"

Auntie Wang reached into the birth canal, snapped the baby's clavicle, and slowly pulled the infant outward.

Mrs. Wu's screams no longer sounded human.

The child finally emerged, its body slightly bluish, crying "waa, waa" like a kitten.

Even though the sound was small, it was still a sound.

A cheer erupted from the people outside the room.

At the same time, Auntie Xin placed the parturient woman on the kang bed.

Feng Chuchen noticed that the moment the baby was born, blood began to flow profusely.

Feng Chuchen rushed over to administer uterine contraction acupuncture.

Looking at Mrs. Wu's lower body, Auntie Xin said, "She's hemorrhaging; how can she survive this..."

Feng Chuchen said, "Quick, use hot water to mix the powder on the table."

On the other side, Auntie Wang washed the baby with warm water, weighed it, and announced loudly, "A big, healthy girl, seven catties and one tael! With a mother's small bottom, no wonder it was a difficult birth."

She used cloth strips to secure the baby's shoulders in an X-shape and explained the care method for such a baby to Mother Ding.

Then, she wrapped the child in swaddling clothes and handed it over.

Mother Ding glanced at her daughter-in-law, whose long robe was soaked through with blood, then looked down at the child in her arms, her voice trembling, "My big, healthy granddaughter, you have finally seen the light of day."

In her heart, however, she felt immense regret; her second daughter-in-law likely wouldn't survive, and why did she only give birth to a girl?

She carried the baby out to show her husband and son.

Old Man Ding said, "Truly fair and plump."

Ding Youcheng looked at his daughter with a smile and then asked, "How is my wife?"

Mother Ding sighed, "Hemorrhaging. Miss Feng is performing acupuncture. She lost so much blood, how can she be saved?"

Feng Chuchen had Auntie Xin and Auntie Wang pour the medicinal decoction down Mrs. Wu's throat while she continued her acupuncture.

Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty...

Time slowly ticked away.

The Ding family stood in the courtyard, waiting anxiously.

Mother Ding said suspiciously, "Could it be that the young lady is just pretending to make more money?"

Old Man Ding also thought it was possible. "Old woman, go in and check. If the second daughter-in-law is already dead, drive her away. One cannot perform acupuncture on a corpse."

Ding Youcheng pleaded, "Mother, if my wife is still alive, please let Miss Feng try to save her."

Mother Ding entered the room and placed her hand under Mrs. Wu's nose.

It seemed there was still a breath of life.

She asked, "Miss Feng, you are working so hard. If my daughter-in-law still dies, how much will you charge?"

Feng Chuchen did not lift her eyes. "If she dies, I will take nothing."

Only then did Mother Ding stop interfering.

Beside them, Mrs. Xin said, "Young lady, I have delivered no less than a hundred babies. When a woman loses this much blood, even a doctor cannot save her. Unless Physician Zhou were here."

Physician Zhou was a female physician from the Imperial Academy, the foremost among them. She was skilled in gynecology, especially in treating postpartum hemorrhage.

Female physicians served the women of the imperial palace and high-ranking clans; even wealthy merchants could not hire her.

Feng Chuchen said nothing, focusing intently on her acupuncture.

After more than thirty minutes, the bleeding stopped completely.

Feng Chuchen let out a long breath, withdrew the needles, and raised her head.

Her sweat had soaked through her mask and hair. "Auntie, I've saved her."

Auntie Wang said joyfully, "Yes, yes, the young lady is truly capable."

Mrs. Wu opened her eyes and asked weakly, "The baby... where is my baby?"

Mother Ding smiled and said, "The baby is fine, fair and beautiful, looking a lot like you."

Feng Chuchen went to the main room to write a prescription. "Prepare six doses, to be taken for half a month. Her body is depleted; she must observe proper postpartum confinement and nourish herself well. If she develops a high fever, call a doctor immediately."

A woman in this condition would certainly suffer from puerperal fever, and Feng Chuchen's medicine included a remedy for it.

Auntie Wang also added, "Take good care of the baby; her mother won't find it easy to conceive again."

The Ding family felt helpless; they had only produced a girl, and if she could not bear children, the second branch of the family would have no heir.

Old Man Ding felt uneasy, but he still gave Auntie Wang one tael of silver and ten wen; the ten wen was for the labor-inducing medicine.

He also gave Auntie Xin three hundred wen.

This was their standard rate.

Auntie Wang pointed to her stained clothes and said, "Delivering your daughter-in-law has ruined my clothes; at least give me some fabric to make new ones."

Auntie Xin also added, "Indeed, these clothes can't be washed clean. I've been busy for days and nights; you can't just dismiss me with this little money."

Wary of this tactic, Mother Ding brought out two pieces of coarse blue cloth.

Only then were the two satisfied.

As for how much to pay Feng Chuchen, Old Man Ding gave it serious consideration.

(End of Chapter)