The Eldest Daughter Returns: Imperial Uncle, I'm Pregnant!

Chapter 283 The Lady of Yongyi Marquis Gives Birth

"Yanran! Why did you come crying? What happened?" Gu Qingwan asked anxiously.

"I don't know, Your Highness. Miss Yanran is waiting for you in the main hall. Please go there quickly." The maid who came to report had sweat on her forehead, showing that she had run all the way.

Gu Qingwan didn't dare to delay. She put down her sleeves and said to Xiao Jingchen, "Yanran must have encountered something she can't solve. She must be very worried. Your Highness, I'll be right back."

Without waiting for Xiao Jingchen's reaction, and without even putting on her cloak, she hurried towards the main hall. When she arrived, Meng Yanran was indeed crying uncontrollably with red eyes, and when she saw Gu Qingwan, large tears fell from her eyes again.

"Qingwan!" Meng Yanran got up and threw herself into Gu Qingwan's arms, clutching Gu Qingwan's sleeves tightly and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Yanran, what's wrong? Don't cry, tell me what happened."

"Qingwan, ask Prince Chu if there's any way to save my mother." She took the handkerchief Gu Qingwan handed her and wiped her face haphazardly.

What happened to your mother?

"My mother slipped and fell. Now, the baby is coming out, but the doctor said she can't give birth and there's a high chance she won't survive. What should I do? Qingwan, please, please find a way to save my mother. You're my only good friend, and I don't know who else to ask for help."

Gu Qingwan frowned. According to the timeline, Madam Meng was only seven months pregnant and shouldn't have given birth so soon. It seemed like it wasn't such a simple matter.

"Don't worry, Yanran, we'll go see your mother right now. Don't rush."

"But my mother is only seven months old! What can we do when she's so small?"

Gu Qingwan held Meng Yanran's hand, looked at her intently, and said, "There's a saying among the common people that seven out of ten people will live and eight out of ten will not. Besides, Doctor Xue is currently in the Prince's mansion. With him here, the Lady of the Marquis will be fine."

"Thank you, Qingwan. Let's go quickly; my mother can't wait any longer."

"Siqi, go find Uncle Chun. Yanran and I will go ahead. Oh, and have Uncle Chun take my medicine box with us."

On the way, Gu Qingwan asked, "Who are the people in the manor now?"

Meng Yanran hiccuped as she thought for a moment and said, "You know my father has gone out. My brother has also gone out to visit a friend, and according to the schedule, he should be on his way back. Right now, only my grandmother, mother, and I are at home. Oh, and there's also my cousin, who is my father's sister-in-law. The steward took my father's invitation to the Imperial Hospital to ask for a doctor, who said that only one of us can be saved. That's why I came to find you."

Gu Qingwan nodded. It seemed that only the old lady could make decisions in the manor.

"Yanran, you need to cheer up. Your mother needs you very much right now. Your mother's premature birth definitely didn't happen suddenly, so..."

"Qingwan, don't worry, I know what's important. I cried before because I didn't have a backbone. Now that you're here, I feel at ease. I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

Gu Qingwan didn't say anything. She held Yanran's hand and they drove in silence, with only the sound of the carriage wheels moving quickly forward.

When Gu Qingwan arrived at the Marquis of Yongyi's residence, there was no one in the front courtyard. She knew that everyone must have gathered around the delivery room. When she arrived at the delivery room, Gu Qingwan only saw the old lady in charge, and there was no man in the house.

It was because Marquis Yongyi had been sent to the north to escort grain supplies, and the eldest son had gone on a trip and had not yet returned home, leaving only the three of them.

"Good child, what brings you here?" The old lady was startled when she saw Gu Qingwan and quickly got up to greet her.

"Madam, please don't be so polite. Yanran came to tell me that Madam Meng was in trouble, so I came here specifically to check on her."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a woman next to her screamed, "You're so young, what do you know? The imperial physician said it's no use, can't you let my sister leave this world peacefully?"

"Slap." Meng Yanran slapped the woman to the ground. Trembling, she said, "My mother isn't even dead yet, and you're already cursing her to die? What good do you think it would do you if anything happened to my mother? Even if my father becomes a monk, you can forget about remarrying into my family!"

"Yanran, you little brat! How dare you lay a hand on me!" the woman screamed. "Aunt, look at this! Yanran actually dared to hit me! How could I not care about my sister-in-law's life or death! The imperial physician said it was hopeless, what could I do!"

"How dare you! This is the Princess Consort of Chu! How dare you be so disrespectful in front of the Princess Consort of Chu? Don't you want to die?!" The old lady shouted angrily, and almost fainted. Fortunately, Gu Qingwan, who was closest to her, helped her up.

What! The Princess Consort of Chu! The woman slumped to the ground, her eyes darting around. How did this brat manage to invite the Princess Consort of Chu here?

Gu Qingwan immediately understood what was going on, just as Siqi brought Chunbo over.

"Madam, this is Physician Xue. With him here, you can rest assured. Physician Xue and I will go in and see Madam Meng now. Please be patient. Right now, the Marquis and the eldest son are not at the manor, and we still need you to handle all the affairs of the manor."

"Thank you, Your Highness. I will definitely be able to hold on!"

"Yanran, don't cry anymore. Come inside with me now."

Meng Yanran wiped away her tears: "Qingwan, you must save my mother!"

"What can a little girl do? Even the imperial physicians are helpless. Is she any better than the one my cousin invited?" the woman muttered behind Gu Qingwan.

An average person would definitely not be able to hear it, but Gu Qingwan knew martial arts, so she could clearly hear what Gu Qingwan was saying.

"Guards! This woman is insubordinate! Open her mouth!"

"Yes, Princess!"

"Ah! Auntie, save me! Auntie, save me!"

All that could be heard in the courtyard was the sound of slapping faces. The old lady closed her eyes and refused to look over there. She knew about the relationship between the Princess Consort of Chu and her granddaughter, but her niece had really gone too far, daring to speak ill of the Princess Consort of Chu. Slapping her face now was the least of her worries; if the Prince of Chu found out, she might lose her life.

The imperial physician outside the delivery room was someone the Marquis had invited before he left. Since he was a man, he didn't know what was going on inside.

"Greetings to the princess."

"How's it going inside?"

"Your Highness, I have tried every possible method. Madam Meng is carrying twins, which is already very dangerous for a woman in labor. Now that the babies are not yet full-term, it is making matters worse. We have already administered the labor-inducing soup, but it is still not working, Your Highness..."

"No need to say anything more, I already know. Uncle Chun, come inside with me."

"Your Highness, this is unacceptable! This...this is a man, and the woman inside is in labor. How can this be allowed?"

Chunbo couldn't help but roll his eyes: "What kind of time is this? Human life is at stake, and you're talking to me about the proper separation of men and women?"

"What do you know, you country bumpkin!" The imperial physician was already unhappy that the princess didn't believe him and sent a country bumpkin to see her.

"Alright, alright, I won't go in. Your Highness, go in and do as I say." After saying that, he whispered something in Gu Qingwan's ear and then handed her the medicine box.

Gu Qingwan felt somewhat helpless. Chunbo wasn't talking about any solutions; he was saying that since he was going to cooperate with her in this charade, she had to give him some kind of benefit.

Gu Qingwan would never grant his wish. She turned to the old lady and said, "Old lady, this is a matter of life and death. You should make the decision."

"Qingwan!" Meng Yanran nervously grabbed her arm.

Gu Qingwan gestured for her to calm down, as reputation is very important for a woman. She wanted to see if the old lady could get through this, otherwise, if someone brought this up against Madam Meng later, Madam Meng would be in a very awkward position.

"Gu girl, I know what you mean. Everything is up to the Princess Consort, and I have no objections! If anyone brings this up in the future, I will be the first to punish them!"

Hearing the old lady's words, Gu Qingwan nodded in relief. She went inside with Chunbo and the imperial physician, and told the two to wait for orders outside the screen.

After Gu Qingwan went in, Madam Meng's breathing became weak, and the midwife next to her kept pressing on Madam Meng's belly.

"What are you doing?" Gu Qingwan's sinister voice rang out behind the midwife. She had been bribed to cause Madam Meng's baby to die in the womb. She was pretending that Madam Meng's baby was breech when she heard this voice from behind.

She was already scared, and this frightened her so much that she rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

"Siqi, tie this person up. And those two maids who serve him are no good either. Tie them up and leave them aside to await further instructions."

"No! We were invited by the Marquis to help his wife give birth. What are you planning to do by tying us up? Are you trying to kill the wife and child? Guards! Quickly!"

Siqi slapped the man so hard he was dizzy. "This is the Princess Consort of Chu! Open your dog eyes and see clearly!"

"Your Majesty and Your Highness..."

Gu Qingwan stepped forward and looked at Madam Meng, who was barely breathing and had her eyes closed in pain.

"Madam, are you still conscious?"

When Madam Meng heard someone calling her, she opened her eyes and said, "Yes, the Princess has arrived."

"Madam, do you believe me now? If you do, then mother and child will be safe."

Madam Meng nodded with difficulty. She looked at her eldest daughter, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yanran, here are two century-old ginseng slices. Place them under your mother's tongue. I'm going to give you acupuncture now. When I tell you to apply pressure, apply pressure. When I don't tell you to apply pressure, conserve your energy. Even if it hurts, don't apply pressure. Do you understand?"

Madam Meng nodded, a hint of despair in her eyes. She was in excruciating pain, the sensation of blood rapidly draining from her body was intense, and she felt she was going to die, and that she would lose the child in her womb as well.

Tears streamed down her face; the pain in her stomach had made her lose consciousness.

"Don't worry." Gu Qingwan patted her hand and said, "You'll be fine. I'll use acupuncture to correct the baby's position."

Acupuncture to correct fetal position? How is that possible! The imperial physician waiting outside the screen stared wide-eyed. He was a master of gynecology. A breech birth was a particularly troublesome matter. If an experienced midwife could help correct the fetal position, it would be a long and ineffective process, and most women would die.

But the princess directly asked for acupuncture to correct the baby's position, how could that be possible!

"Your Highness..." the imperial physician said, forcing himself to speak, "You are still young, this is simply impossible. Your Highness should not get involved."

"Just because you're not good at academics doesn't mean you think others are no good either. I don't know what you imperial physicians are thinking. Haven't you heard that there's no end to learning?" Chunbo sat down at the round table outside, poured himself a glass of water, and started eating the snacks on it.

The imperial physician's face turned very ugly after being told off by Chunbo, this quack doctor, but since he was brought by the Princess of Chu, he dared not say anything.

“Qingwan…” Meng Yanran held Gu Qingwan’s arm tightly.

Gu Qingwan patted her hand, ignoring the words of the imperial physician outside. Siqi quickly took out a purse from the medicine box, took out silver needles and handed them to Gu Qingwan, then lit a lamp.

Gu Qingwan disinfected the area and began administering acupuncture.

She started from one of the mother's feet and inserted needles into four key acupoints from bottom to top: Zusanli, Sanjiaoyin, Qichong, and Chongmen.

These are key acupoints for treating severe bleeding. Soon, the bleeding from the woman's lower body stopped, and the midwife who remained excitedly shouted, "Your Highness, the bleeding has stopped! The bleeding has stopped!"