Capítulo 2123: Chapter 2098: Frail
The midwife imdiately nodded; she was quite hesitant to handle such small children herself.
Manbao carried the first child over to the basin for cleaning; the first baby was finally cleaned and emitted a low whine after another midwife patted its bottom.
Manbao gently placed the child into the wooden basin, slightly awkwardly splashing water over her for cleaning. The ma’am nearby imdiately stepped forward to help.
She was much more skilled, cleaned the child in no ti, gently wiping her dry with a soft towel, then gave the child a pat on the bottom.
No sound ca from the child, which made her anxiously look at Zhou Man.
Manbao took the child, carefully checked the pulse, examined the eyes and mouth, and said, “Don’t worry, she’s just weak right now. Wrap her up first.”
Passing her to the ma’am, she went to check the first child, who was also much smaller than a typical newborn but larger than his brother. Perhaps pained by the pats, he was still softly whimpering.
Manbao examined him and found everything normal other than being small, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
She finally turned and went into the inner room to check on Madam Tang, while the maids and ma’ams went out to share the news, only taking the eldest out to show County Magistrate Tang.
Madam Tang had already fainted from exhaustion, and the midwife was tidying her up. Upon seeing Manbao enter, she said, “The bleeding is normal but her body is weak.”
Manbao nodded, “She is dizzy, clearly showing liver and kidney Yin deficiency, water does not nourish wood, which is dangerous during pregnancy. It’s likely due to carrying twins. Afterward, she’ll need conditioning. In these two days, extra care is needed, headaches and dizziness can easily lead to hemorrhaging.”
She checked her pulse and straightforwardly perford two sets of acupuncture, one to calm the spirit and aid sleep, the other to stop bleeding and aid conditioning.
After the acupuncture and waiting to remove the needles, she went to look at the second child, lost in thought about how to care for such a small child.
The ma’ams and maids were also anxious, and the midwife softly said, “It’s already quite lucky to have been able to deliver one as good as this out of twins.”
Manbao rubbed her hands together, warming them before gently using her fingertips to massage the child’s chest and abdon, and then gently massaged his back while holding him.
She learned this from Doctor Tao, and later Teacher Mo found her a similar massage thod, more complex than Doctor Tao’s, and reportedly more effective.
Manbao massaged for two quarters of an hour. Outside, County Magistrate Tang was almost beside himself with anxiety, pacing back and forth, and finally couldn’t resist lifting the curtain to rush in. Seeing Manbao holding a swaddled child sitting in a chair, he rushed forward, inquiring, “Is this the smaller one?”
The ma’am exclaid and went forward to push him, “Master, how can you enter the birthing room? It is unclean…”
County Magistrate Tang shot her a glance, saying, “What’s this talk of cleanliness? I’ve seen plenty of unclean things in this world.”
With that, he bypassed her to look at the child, and the ma’am instantly dared not stop him further.
Manbao sensed so vitality returning to the child, then withdrew her hands, tightening the swaddle, and told County Magistrate Tang, “He’s a bit weak. Let’s invite Doctor Tao to take a look.”
Manbao paused and said, “Imperial Doctor Liu is also skilled with pediatric conditions, shall we invite him as well?”
County Magistrate Tang also saw his son; truthfully, though it wasn’t his first ti seeing a newborn, it was his first ti seeing one so tiny.
County Magistrate Tang felt heartache, not daring to ask whether the child could survive.
He turned his head to wipe the corners of his eyes and asked, “How is your sister-in-law?”
Manbao said, “She’s weak. She can’t be agitated now, so I didn’t dare to tell her.”
She paused, saying in a low voice, “She must avoid shock right now, or it could easily result in a hemorrhage. For now, let’s consult doctors and obtain dication on our own.”
County Magistrate Tang didn’t disagree, nodded, then turned to the ma’am, saying, “Have Mingli go to Imperial Doctor Liu’s residence with my letter, saying our family would like to request an outreach consultation from Imperial Doctor Liu.”
Manbao said, “Imperial Doctor Liu is off duty today and should be ho around the ti of Youshi (5-7 pm).”
“Did you hear that? Wait until Youshi, as soon as Imperial Doctor Liu returns ho, invite him.” He paused, then said, “ntion that Imperial Doctor Zhou is here too.”
Manbao glanced at County Magistrate Tang but didn’t mind him using her na.
County Magistrate Tang felt a bit sheepish and smiled at her, then said, “I’ll wrap a big red envelope for you later.”
Upon seeing such a small child, even Imperial Doctor Liu didn’t dare to give a guarantee. After checking the pulse and examining other conditions, he told Zhou Man, “The heart is too weak. Such a child will find it hard to survive outside the womb; we can only prescribe dicine for the wet nurse to nurture him, however little that may help.”
He also said, “But you can use your hands to massage the child, stimulate the heart pulse circulation, absorb dicine power. If he’s lucky and stubborn enough, there’s a chance he might survive.”
He looked at the eldest again, then said, “This one also requires careful attention, ah.”
Manbao nodded, as raising these children would be an imnse challenge.
So, the two negotiated and wrote out two prescriptions: “This one is for the Second Young Master’s nurse, and this one for the Third Young Master’s nurse. Feed them dicine and nurse them two quarters afterward.”
Imperial Doctor Liu and Manbao discussed the massage techniques for the children. Naturally, Imperial Doctor Liu had more expertise, suggesting several ideas to Manbao. In return, Manbao shared several massage techniques she knew, and the two exchanged thoughts until evening.
Finally exiting the room, they realized it was dark, and County Magistrate Tang told Manbao, “Daji has co to pick you up, he’s waiting in the front lounge. I asked the kitchen to prepare so dishes, have them with Imperial Doctor Liu before you leave.”
Manbao agreed.
Even though one child’s condition wasn’t great, it was joyful above all for County Magistrate Tang as they were born safely.
The kitchen prepared a sumptuous dinner, and County Magistrate Tang even brought out fruit wine to share with everyone.
Manbao only took a small sip and focused on eating, while County Magistrate Tang engaged Imperial Doctor Liu to build rapport. Knowing Zhou Man would be very busy soon—she needed to supervise the smallpox experint at the royal estate, had palace duties, and needed to attend lessons at the academy—it was unlikely she’d have ti to co to his house for outreach consultations.
On the other hand, Imperial Doctor Liu had one less duty, likely making him available for regular visits.
Thus, he earnestly cultivated the relationship between them, Manbao chid in helpfully, and by the end of the al, Imperial Doctor Liu agreed to check on the child every two days, promising that if issues arose, he would co over whenever summoned with a letter.
Once agreed, Imperial Doctor Liu felt slight regret, as visiting every two days was quite frequent, taking up his leisure ti.
However, County Magistrate Tang was very satisfied. After sending off Imperial Doctor Liu, he also escorted Manbao out, saying, “Co over and help with checking on them whenever you have ti. It’ll help you monitor the children’s changes.”
Manbao nodded, advised, “Don’t let him catch cold, nor get overheated. At night, have several people take turns watching over him. I’ll co to visit them whenever I’m free.”
County Magistrate Tang nodded and sent her off in the carriage.
The Zhou Family had long finished their evening al, accustod to her late returns. Ms. Qian casually asked, “Has Madam Tang given birth?”
Manbao gave an affirmative response, saying, “Mother and sons are safe, just the smaller child is weaker.”
“Most people only have one; she had two, so naturally they’d be weaker.”
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