Only she and Jie Jingshan were ho. If she left and sothing happened to Jie Jingshan, she wouldn’t even know where to begin to cry.
"Sister-in-law, I’ll be fine at ho. You should go take a look," Jie Jingshan said.
"Forget it. I’ll stay here with you." Qin i shook her head. She knew her priorities.
"Doctor Qiao!" an anxious voice called out.
The voice arrived before the person did. It was unfamiliar, and Qin i looked toward the courtyard gate.
Jie Jingshan, however, was very familiar with the voice. She said to Qin i, "That’s Granny Guo. She lives in the sa courtyard as Second Auntie."
"Doctor Qiao, is Doctor Qiao ho?" Granny Guo’s voice was choked with sobs. "Doctor Qiao, please save my daughter-in-law and her unborn child!"
’A pregnant woman? One slip and two lives could be lost.’ Qin i had a bad feeling about this.
"Granny Guo, my mom isn’t ho from work yet," Jie Jingshan said.
Granny Guo was shocked to see Jie Jingshan sitting in the courtyard, and even more so that she had spoken to her voluntarily. Ever since Jie Jingshan’s legs had been crippled, she had been unwilling to see people or speak.
"What happened?" Qin i asked.
Granny Guo snapped back to her senses and said frantically, "My daughter-in-law was knocked in the stomach by Second Auntie’s grandson! She’s more than seven months pregnant, what are we going to do?"
"Granny Guo, please watch Jing Qi for . I’ll go take a look." Qin i entrusted Jie Jingshan to Granny Guo.
"You..."
"My sister-in-law is skilled in traditional Chinese dicine," Jie Jingshan said.
"Yes, yes, of course! Go quickly! I’ll watch Jing Qi. Leave Jing Qi to , don’t you worry," Granny Guo agreed at once, as if she’d just found her savior.
Qin i wasted no ti. She turned, ran into the house, grabbed a small cross-body bag, and ran back out.
Worried about her daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild, Granny Guo pushed Jie Jingshan out the gate.
Qin i arrived at the courtyard, panting. She saw a large crowd gathered at the door of the west house and pushed her way through. "Excuse , please let through."
When Second Auntie saw Qin i squeeze through, she was very disappointed. "Hasn’t your mother-in-law co back yet?" she asked.
"No," Qin i answered honestly.
The pregnant woman was lying on the bed, clutching her stomach. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and she was biting down on a wooden stick, letting out pained moans.
Qin i crouched by the bed, took the woman’s wrist to check her pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief. She imdiately began to perform acupuncture on the woman. Second Auntie saw this and wanted to stop her, but it was too late. After just a few needles from Qin i, the pregnant woman instantly grew quiet.
"Hero’s wife, how are you feeling now?" Second Auntie asked with concern. They were neighbors in the sa courtyard, and on top of that, it was her own grandson who had knocked into the Hero’s wife’s stomach. If sothing truly went wrong, what would they do?
"It... it doesn’t hurt as much," Su Kexin said weakly.
"PHEW!" Second Auntie let out a heavy sigh of relief. Without a second thought, she pressed her palms together and began to pray piously. "Thank you, Bodhisattva! Thank you to all the gods and spirits! Thank you for showing your power and keeping the Hero’s wife safe."
Qin i watched Second Auntie, speechless. ’If praying worked, what’s the point of doctors? She thanked so many, but conveniently left out.’
"Second Auntie, be careful. Soone might report you for feudal superstition," Qin i reminded her.
Second Auntie imdiately snapped out of it and lightly slapped her own mouth. Thankfully, everyone outside was from the sa courtyard. "I was just spouting nonsense."
"How is my daughter-in-law?" Granny Guo burst in, frantic.
The mont Qin i saw her, her expression changed. "Where’s Jing Qi?"
"Sister-in-law, I’m out here," Jie Jingshan’s voice called from outside.
Only after hearing Jie Jingshan’s voice did Qin i’s expression soften. A life was on the line—a pregnant woman’s, no less. Saving soone was certainly important, but if it ant putting Jing Qi in danger, she would absolutely refuse. Her principle was firm: her family’s safety ca first, and saving strangers ca second.
"I was worried, so I pushed Jing Qi back with ," Granny Guo explained, a bit sheepishly. Seeing that Su Kexin was lying weakly on the bed but no longer crying out in pain, she asked Qin i, "Are my daughter-in-law and my grandson going to be okay?"
At those words, a single phrase floated into Qin i’s mind: son preference. Judging by Granny Guo’s expression, this old-fashioned mindset ran deep. ’Too bad she’s in for a disappointnt. Her daughter-in-law is carrying a granddaughter.’
Qin i didn’t reveal the baby’s gender. She glanced at Su Kexin’s lower body. "Her water hasn’t broken, and there’s no bleeding. For now, she’s fine."
dical science was less advanced in this era, and premature babies didn’t always survive. Su Kexin showed no signs of going into labor, but the stability of her pregnancy had been compromised.
Granny Guo breathed a sigh of relief. She grabbed Qin i’s hands, her voice thick with tears of gratitude. "Fourth Wife of Jing, thank you. You are our family’s savior. After my grandson is born, I’ll make sure the young couple brings him over to thank you properly."
User Comments
0 comments from readers