Chapter 8: Madam Feng's Midwifery

Midwife Feng’s expression was calm; she had passed away peacefully.

She had changed into a new set of black satin clothes embroidered with orchids, a garment she had never worn before. This was the burial shroud she had secretly made for herself.

Around her waist hung an old, faded pink embroidered pouch, decorated with a few orchid leaves and two orchid blossoms, with three red dots at the center of the flowers.

This was the first time the original owner had seen embroidery on her Great Aunt’s clothes or pouch.

The pouch, in particular, though somewhat faded and aged, still revealed a unique and exquisite pattern.

The original owner realized then that her Great Aunt had once loved flowers, too.

She had hoped to be buried in this outfit...

Feng Chuchen felt that her Great Aunt was a woman of immense personal charisma, living a life of poverty and nobility, preferring to suffer grievances herself rather than inflict them upon others.

It was a great pity that such a wonderful person had passed before she had the chance to spend time with her.

Feng Chuchen picked up the two sheets of paper filled with names to examine them closely.

The Hu household was indeed recorded there.

Among the two hundred and thirty-six children her Great Aunt had saved using the Yin Spirit Needles, over a hundred were from prominent, wealthy families. Yet, only three—the Hu family, the residence of Princess Yanghe, and Magistrate Huang—had come to the Feng residence to pay their respects.

The Hu household had sent the eldest young master himself; the Princess’s residence had sent a subordinate official; and Magistrate Huang’s residence had sent a steward.

The eldest young master of the Hu family was the very first child her Great Aunt had saved with the Yin Spirit Needles; he was now over twenty years old.

The first two households had sent the most generous funeral gifts, both amounting to thirty-one taels of silver.

The Huang household had sent eleven taels.

There was also the residence of the Marquis of Wuyi, a high-ranking military family, which had sent a steward with a gift of five taels.

The child from the Marquis of Wuyi’s household had not required the Yin Spirit Needles; rather, the lady of the house had suffered a difficult labor that even the female physicians could not handle. It was only after her Great Aunt arrived that the child was delivered safely, and both mother and daughter survived.

The vast majority of the powerful and wealthy did not look upon commoners as equals, taking everything for granted. Besides, they had already paid the medical fees, and some had even given extra tips.

It was rare enough that they remembered the kindness of a mere midwife.

A family that accumulates goodness is sure to have abundant blessings; a family that accumulates evil is sure to have lingering calamities.

These two sayings had been fulfilled in the Feng family...

In the dim light, Feng Chuchen seemed to see that calm, stubborn face once again.

Midwife Feng’s maiden name was Feng Xiuzhi, the eldest daughter of the Fan family’s eldest son.

"Xiuzhi" was another name for the orchid.

"Singing of the elegant quality in the Chu rhapsodies, spreading a fragrant reputation in the Han scrolls."

This name had been given to her by her grandfather.

Her grandfather had passed the examination to become a government student at fourteen, known to all as "Student Feng."

At seventeen, he fell gravely ill. He could no longer continue his studies, and even walking a few steps became a struggle.

His elders were heartbroken; they set aside all expectations for him and married him to the capable woman of the Fan family.

After the age of thirty, he was essentially bedridden.

The four sons born to Student Feng and the Fan woman were all in poor health: the eldest was born with a lame leg, the second was a hunchback, and the third and fourth had congenital heart conditions.

It was difficult for any of the four sons to find wives, and it cost a great deal of money.

Among the grandchildren, besides Feng Xiuzhi, the only girl, who was in normal health, all the other grandsons were sickly.

This entire family first relied on the Fan woman alone to earn money by delivering babies, and later, once the daughters-in-law arrived, she brought them along to earn money the same way.

Feng Xiuzhi was not only the only healthy child in the family but also the smartest. Her grandfather had loved her dearly while he was alive, teaching her to read and write.

When she was twelve, her grandfather died of illness.

Afterward, she began learning midwifery from her grandmother, the Fan woman, and her mother, Yao. Unmarried girls were not allowed to deliver babies directly, but she could cover her mouth and nose with a cloth to enter the delivery room and watch, listening to their explanations.

Her mother hoped she would have a profitable trade to rely on when she eventually married into her husband’s family.

When she was thirteen, the Fan woman’s secret practice of swapping babies for others was exposed. Under torture, she confessed to numerous other heinous acts: inducing abortions, faking pregnancies, helping legal wives kill the children of concubines, and helping concubines kill the children of legal wives...

Over twenty years, the Fan woman had committed twenty-one evil acts for money, including five cases of murder.

Her crimes were so monstrous that they incited great public outrage.

She never involved her daughters-in-law or granddaughter in her evil deeds, and because the men were in poor health, the family was unaware of her crimes, so they were not implicated.

The Fan woman was sentenced to death by dismemberment, and the family’s world collapsed.

Many people came to beat the Feng family and loot their belongings; some victims even wanted to sell Feng Xiuzhi into a brothel to recoup their losses.

Terrified, Feng Xiuzhi ran away from home.

Four years later, seventeen-year-old Feng Xiuzhi returned to Baima Village, wearing her hair in the style of a married woman.

By then, her parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins were all dead; only her younger brother, Feng Qiu’en, remained alive.

Feng Qiu’en had only survived because he had been taken to his maternal grandmother’s house. Even so, he was nothing but skin and bones.

Feng Xiuzhi knelt to thank her maternal grandparents and presented them with the five taels of silver she had earned working as a midwife while away, before taking her brother back to their dilapidated family courtyard.

Although she had a little silver in her hands, she could not just sit and watch it dwindle.

To support her brother, and even more so to atone for her grandmother’s sins so that they could both live with their heads held high in the future, Feng Xiuzhi set up a large sign outside their broken courtyard.

On it were written the bold characters: "Swift Horses and Light Carriages, the Feng Family Midwife."

She was going to deliver babies.

Not only did no one dare to hire her, but the villagers also dug up the Fan woman’s past crimes to curse her, and some even threw stones and dirt at her house.

A few days later, a pregnant woman in the village went into labor. The midwife from the neighboring village had already been hired elsewhere, so the mother-in-law had no choice but to deliver the baby herself.

But the labor was difficult, and despite their best efforts, they could not deliver the child. Thinking of the situation as a "dead horse being treated as a living one," the family ran to find the Feng woman.

Not only did the Feng woman successfully deliver the child, but both mother and baby were safe.

The family was overjoyed and gave her ten wen for the delivery.

Midwives registered with the government had a standard fee, ranging from one hundred wen to three strings of cash or three taels of silver, depending on their reputation and the difficulty of the delivery.

If the delivery was exceptionally difficult, the host family was expected to pay extra.

As for those not registered with the Imperial Medical Bureau, some older women practiced the trade privately; a normal delivery usually cost fifty wen, and difficult ones were negotiated. If they truly had no money, they could pay in kind.

Receiving those ten wen, the siblings were ecstatic.

Afterward, a few poor families came to seek the Feng woman’s services. She was not only skilled at delivery and charged little, but she could also treat many infant illnesses.

As her reputation grew, more people gradually sought her out.

The official midwife from the neighboring village grew resentful and reported the Feng woman to the magistrate, claiming that the descendant of the Fan woman was practicing midwifery and using it as a cover to continue harming mothers and infants.

The county magistrate at the time sent men to drag the Feng woman to the yamen, specifically ordering a midwife to inspect her body.

If she were still a virgin, she would be sentenced to prison for "corrupting public morals."

The Feng woman was indeed no longer a virgin, so they believed her claim that she had once been a "proxy bride" for a family.

However, on the grounds that a descendant of the Fan woman was forbidden from practicing midwifery, she was still sentenced to twenty lashes with a bramble rod.

A month later, the wife of a Hu-surnamed official in the capital went into difficult labor. Several midwives could not deliver the child, and the family was at their wit's end.

One midwife mentioned that the Feng woman of Baima Village had genuine skill, though she was the descendant of the criminal Fan woman from years ago.

Magistrate Hu could not care about such things and hurriedly sent men to fetch her.

The Feng woman not only delivered the child but also lit the "Life-Returning Incense" and applied the Yin Spirit Needles to save the dying infant.

Magistrate Hu was delighted and rewarded her with fifty taels of silver.

A few days later, the Feng woman was reported again for practicing midwifery in private, and the government arrested her and gave her another twenty lashes.