Everyone froze, then Hu San let out another shriek, louder and more terrified than the one when he thought he’d seen a ghost. A’Ru knelt, her face pale as death.

Liu Pucheng’s expression was equally awkward. After the shriek caused by the door, an eerie silence descended upon the room.

Coffin Boy recognized the man, his face registering surprise, but seeing the reactions of the others, he looked confused. The Dingxi Marquis household wasn't responsible for grave robbing, were they?

So why was this high-ranking young lord here? He was about to speak, but Qi Yue spoke first.

“Why are you here?” she asked. Chang Yuncheng looked at her but said nothing.

“Well, I can explain, if you want to listen?” Qi Yue added. Coffin Boy’s gaze darted between the two of them.

They knew each other? “Concubine Zhu cannot give birth,” Chang Yuncheng stated slowly.

It seemed these two were discussing entirely different matters; their conversation wasn't connecting. Qi Yue gave an “oh,” called out for A’Ru, and simultaneously swiftly shed her outer cloak, hood, mask, and shoe covers.

A’Ru tremblingly and hastily packed the nearby medical kit and instrument bag. Qi Yue reached out, took them, and strode out.

The night wind made the thin door panels clatter, and only then did the people inside snap back to reality; the doorway was already empty. She just left like that?

“Was that lady a midwife?” Coffin Boy couldn't help but ask. Liu Pucheng looked worried and anxious.

“Ah,” he answered vaguely, unsure if he was confirming or denying. This was going to be bad...

After returning home and enduring the medicinal bath, Qi Yue didn't bother drying her hair, just pulled her hood on and rushed straight to Concubine Zhu’s courtyard. The courtyard was brightly lit, and the servant women rushing in and out looked anxious.

A series of loud and soft screams echoed from inside the room. “Why so slow?” Madam Xie snapped coldly when she saw Qi Yue run in.

“You talk a big game every day, but when you’re needed, you vanish!” Qi Yue ignored her words. Quezhi and A’Hao, one carrying the already boiled and sterilized instruments and the other carrying the gown, cap, gloves, and mask, hurried after her, quickly helping her dress before she entered.

“Why are you here? Hurry back, is this a place you should be?” Madam Xie snapped again when she saw Chang Yuncheng.

Chang Yuncheng glanced at the room. It wasn't appropriate for him to be present when his father’s concubine was giving birth; even the Marquis of Dingxi hadn’t come.

He bowed to Madam Xie and stepped away. Inside the room, the three midwives were sweating profusely with anxiety, constantly urging Concubine Zhu to push, push, push.

But Concubine Zhu could only let out a few cries and couldn't muster any real strength. A’Ru efficiently set up the blood pressure cuff and thermometer.

Quezhi and A’Hao, seeing this situation for the first time, stood aside, afraid and flustered. “...Uterine inertia...” Qi Yue announced after examining her, then added, “We need a C-section.” As she spoke, she unfolded the medical kit.

The midwives in the room were utterly bewildered. “Concubine Zhu, your uterine contractions are currently too short and irregular, which will prolong or even halt labor.

Therefore, I must perform a cesarean section to deliver the baby,” Qi Yue said loudly, bending down close to Concubine Zhu. Concubine Zhu was already drowsy from exhaustion.

“What?” she asked vaguely. “Madam, the young mistress says she needs to perform a C-section...” Su Mei urgently cried out.

Concubine Zhu heard clearly and her eyes snapped wide open. “C-section...” She abruptly tried to sit up, grabbing Qi Yue’s arm.

“Is it... is it like what that girl named A’Hao went through?” A’Hao?

Qi Yue suddenly understood. “Yes, exactly like that,” Qi Yue nodded.

“So don't be afraid; everything will be fine... I guarantee the safety of both you and the baby...” Before she could finish, Concubine Zhu screamed, violently pushing and slapping Qi Yue.

“...You want to harm me! You want to harm me!

Who told you to harm me!” she shrieked maniacally. Qi Yue was startled.

A’Ru rushed forward to block the blows, taking several hits. “I am trying to save you.

You’ve run out of strength to push; if this continues, both mother and child will be in danger,” Qi Yue quickly explained, turning to the midwives. “You tell her, tell her the current situation...” Concubine Zhu couldn't understand the modern medical terms Qi Yue used, but she would certainly understand what these experienced women said.

“...Madam, your birth canal is dry; labor is difficult.” “...Madam, you have no strength left; this child won’t descend.” “...We cannot delay...” They spoke over one another, then couldn't help but look at Qi Yue. “...But...

what is a C-section?” “It means cutting open the abdomen and taking the baby directly out of the uterus, bypassing the birth canal,” Qi Yue explained. The midwives looked terrified.

Qi Yue persuaded Concubine Zhu again and again, assuring her of safety. “I know...” Concubine Zhu panted, “I know the young mistress can save my life, but...

but I don't want to... I cannot have a scar on my belly...” That was the reason; Qi Yue paused momentarily.

Indeed, there would be a scar. Even with modern hospital sutures, there would be a scar, let alone with the mulberry paper sutures she was using now.

“But that is too dangerous! Is your beauty worth more than your life?” Qi Yue urged anxiously.

Concubine Zhu managed a weak smile. “Young Mistress...” she looked at Qi Yue, her face distorting with pain as a contraction hit, her hand tightly gripping Qi Yue’s arm.

“Beauty... is my life...

Without this... I have no life left...” The Marquis of Dingxi was an unfeeling man, yet in this household, these women depended entirely on him.

The only thing tethering this man to them was that fleeting beauty. Qi Yue understood what she meant.

“Young Mistress, this is my fate,” Concubine Zhu released her hand and slumped back down. “Young Mistress, is there truly no other way?” A’Ru looked up and asked.

Another way? Qi Yue frowned in frustration.

In a situation like this, why would she consider other options? If the baby could be born naturally, let it be; if there was the slightest danger, proceed immediately to surgery—what other options were there to consider?

“Another way...” she murmured, raising a hand to tap her head. Think, think, did I learn this in a book?

Did I see it in an emergency? No oxytocin.

No uterotonic agents... none of it...

Calm down. The key here is to strengthen the contractions.

Methods to strengthen contractions... “Fine, everyone listen to me now.

First,” Qi Yue took a deep breath and said. A’Ru’s face lit up with joy.

She knew the Young Mistress would have a solution. “First, go ask a doctor to come,” Qi Yue called out.

Everyone in the room instantly froze. “What doctor?” a servant woman asked.

“How can we let a man come in when a woman is giving birth...” “Don't argue with me. Sickness and childbirth are both gateways to the underworld.

In the face of saving a life, there is no difference between male and female!” Qi Yue shouted. Quezhi turned and ran out.

Madam Xie, listening from outside, scoffed repeatedly. “Truly...” she rose to her feet.

“I’ll be going back now. You all prepare what needs preparing.” What needed preparing, naturally, were the funeral rites.

“According to our family rules, a child not successfully brought into the world cannot be considered a family member. Find a place to discard it,” Madam Xie instructed before turning to leave.

“As for the elder one, if she survives, raise her well. If she doesn't, since she hasn't borne an heir, she naturally cannot enter the ancestral graves either.” “Yes, Madam, we know,” the servant women murmured, a hint of casual ease in their tones.

It was just one concubine; if she lived and was favored, she counted as a person. If she died, she counted as nothing.

A large group of people ushered Madam Xie away with a flurry of movement. Because of the urgency, Quezhi had summoned the nearest available doctor.

The doctor, upon hearing it was a case of difficult labor, waved his hands, refusing to come. Quezhi didn't waste time; she ordered the young page boys to seize him and drag him in, throwing him into Concubine Zhu’s room.

The doctor was paralyzed with fear. “I don’t know how to treat this!” he cried out.

Hearing a woman scream, he couldn't help but look up and saw the delivery area—a woman completely devastated by childbirth. He quickly lowered his head in fright.

“Put the surgical drape over her!” Qi Yue commanded. A’Ru immediately worked with A’Hao to set up the drape, concealing Concubine Zhu’s body.

“Doctor, listen to me. I need to strengthen her contractions now.

I have already artificially ruptured the membranes. You need to find a way to stimulate and intensify the contractions,” Qi Yue instructed.

The doctor shakily stood up. “St-strong stimulation...” he stammered.

“Yes, don't tell me you don't understand. I know you all studied general medicine,” Qi Yue stated.

The doctor gritted his teeth and walked over, first taking her pulse. “...She needs a powerful infusion of Qi and blood,” he murmured.

“Use Dang Shen, Huang Qi, Dang Gui, Bai Shao, Chuan Xiong, Gou Qi, and Gui Ban to brew a decoction...” He listed them in one breath. “Quezhi, did you get that?” Qi Yue asked.

Quezhi responded with an affirmative and rushed out. “Young Mistress, the blood pressure is rising,” A’Ru called out.

Qi Yue immediately began listening to the fetal heart rate. “Doctor, hurry and strengthen the stimulation,” she urged anxiously.

The doctor took a deep breath, opened his medical chest, and took out silver needles. “Then, Madam, I must take liberties,” he said, seeming to steel his resolve.

“I am going to use needles; please do not fault me for my rudeness.” “At a time like this, who would fault you for saving a life?” Qi Yue retorted. The doctor muttered resentfully.

“Who would fault me? Plenty of people would blame me...” he grumbled.

“Oh, stop it! I’m here; no one will dare blame you!” Qi Yue pressed.

“Hurry!” The doctor flinched, then reached out to lift the drape covering Concubine Zhu. Su Mei and the other servant women cried out in alarm.

The doctor ignored them, his gaze sweeping over Concubine Zhu's exposed lower body, and he swiftly inserted a needle into the Zijia (Acupoint related to the uterus). In the courtyard, after Madam Xie left, the other servant women also dispersed.

Only two or three rough maids remained standing by the pillars, listening to the continuous sounds of voices coming from the room. “...Listen to me, abdominal breathing.

That is, when a contraction hits... yes, right now...

Listen to me, inhale through your nose... Huuu...

exhale through your mouth... Hooo....” “....Get me scissors...” “....Push down on the lower abdominal wall...” The rough maids started to yawn, leaning against the pillars to doze off, when suddenly they heard the cry of an infant.

When Qi Yue returned to her courtyard, dawn had broken. After washing up with A’Ru, she walked into her room.

Chang Yuncheng was slumped against the Luohan bed where she slept, a book in his hand. The morning light filled the room, but the candles were still flickering.

He didn't lift his head when he heard the movement. Qi Yue ran a hand through her damp hair.

“Concubine Zhu has given birth,” she offered first. Chang Yuncheng paid her no mind, still absorbed in his book.

Right, this matter held no interest for him; it would be more appropriate for the Marquis of Dingxi. Qi Yue sighed.

“Well, I should move out then,” she said, and indeed made a move towards the door. “Stop,” Chang Yuncheng commanded.

The book in his hand slammed heavily onto the floor, making a loud noise.