After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 46
Although Consort Chen had given her permission, she refused to use Doctor Du, insisting on having the Fang family’s cousin deliver her baby. However, as the principal wife of the Prime Minister’s household, Madam Gao also had to consider the welfare of the entire Huo family, so she followed Ruan An towards the head of the room.
This matter concerned the imperial heir and could not be delayed.
As Ruan An gradually made her way past the emperor and empress, bowing to them, the emperor’s brows were slightly furrowed with urgency as he asked, “Lady of Marquis Dingbei, can you deliver the consort’s baby?”
Ruan An vaguely remembered that in his later years, Emperor Xiao You was deeply obsessed with alchemy and talismans, rarely setting foot in the harem. According to the palace staff, it was the death of Consort Chen that had changed him completely.
Before Consort Chen’s death, she enjoyed unparalleled sacred favor in the harem. The emperor and Consort Chen, despite their nearly twenty-year age difference, had a relationship that was more harmonious and loving than many couples of similar ages.
The empress harbored murderous intentions towards Consort Chen not only because of the emperor’s unrestrained favoritism, which aroused her jealousy, but also because of Consort Chen’s domineering and arrogant nature. Her father, Duke Chen of the county, held partial military power, playing a balancing role against Huo Ping in the military. Therefore, the emperor especially valued Consort Chen’s father.
If Consort Chen safely gave birth to a prince, it would naturally threaten her and Crown Prince Xiao Chong’s position, leading to endless troubles in the future.
However, regardless of the conflicts among the royal family members, all Ruan An could think about was saving Consort Chen and the child in her womb.
Just as she was about to respond to the emperor, Madam Gao interrupted her, respectfully saying to the emperor, “Your Majesty, although the lady of Marquis Dingbei has some medical knowledge, she is just a woman of the inner palace and not a professional physician. If anything were to harm the noble body of the consort or the imperial heir… she and the Huo family would be hard-pressed to escape blame. It would be best for the consort to let a more professional imperial physician attend to her delivery.”
Despite bleeding profusely and suffering intense pain in her abdomen, Consort Chen’s arrogant nature diminished not in the least.
In this situation, she was not afraid of offending anyone. What did she care about the legitimate wife of a powerful minister? If they delayed and harmed her imperial son, she would not let them off, even as a ghost.
Consort Chen angrily rebuked, “This palace is asking the Lady of Marquis Dingbei to relay the message to His Majesty and this palace!”
Lady Gao was startled by the Consort’s angry scolding, but then she shivered under her fierce gaze. Indeed, Consort Chen was just as the rumors described, a true tigress from a military family. Today, Lady Gao truly witnessed her domineering and arrogant side.
Seeing Ruan An frown hesitantly, Consort Chen gasped and said, “All the concubines, princes, and ladies present, listen well. No matter what happens to me and the child in my womb, dead or alive, it has nothing to do with the Lady of Marquis Dingbei, and even less to do with the Huo family!”
After speaking, Consort Chen earnestly looked at Ruan An, having no strength to say another word.
From her look, Ruan An interpreted such a message—Having done so much, won’t you save me?
Of course, she would save her.
The situation was urgent, like an arrow on the bowstring, ready to be released.
“I shall do everything in my power to preserve Consort Chen and the imperial heir,” she declared.
Consort Chen’s refusal to let Doctor Du treat her naturally made the Emperor suspicious. He glanced coldly towards the Empress, then withdrew his gaze and said to Ruan An, “Lady, I entrust this to you.”
The nearest palace chamber was quickly converted into a temporary delivery room. Palace servants busily carried hot water in and out, while everyone outside was on tenterhooks.
The luxurious chamber was filled with a strong smell of blood. Ruan An knelt nervously by a low bed, her intricate and elegant light purple dress stained with Consort Chen’s blood, but of course, she could hardly care about that now.
Having experienced childbirth herself and having helped with deliveries before, Ruan An decided not to use a midwife and prepared to deliver Consort Chen’s baby herself.
Ruan An gently instructed Consort Chen on breathing techniques, and the induction process was relatively smooth. However, during the delivery, a very tricky situation arose.
Normally, the baby’s head should come out first in a vaginal delivery, but in Consort Chen’s case, the baby’s blood-covered hand emerged first.
Seeing this, Consort Chen’s maid was horrified. Even though she was not a physician, she knew that the baby’s head should come out first during childbirth.
She asked with a trembling voice, “Lady of Marquis Dingbei…what should we do now?”
Ruan An’s forehead was covered with cold sweat. It seemed that Consort Chen’s early demise in her previous life was not solely due to the Empress’s doing. Doctor Du must have encountered this unusual situation of the baby presenting hand first.
But Doctor Du was selected by the court for his knowledge and served as an official in the Imperial Medical Bureau; he surely knew that this situation, though dangerous, was not without remedy.
“Bring the needle set.”
Ruan An commanded calmly.
The maid immediately laid out the needle set beside Ruan An. While selecting a needle, Ruan An ordered, “Also bring paper and pen to record the prescription I will dictate. Send someone you trust to the Imperial Pharmacy to prepare and administer the medicine.”
“Yes.”
“Ginseng two ounces, wine-washed angelica two ounces, chuanxiong one ounce, aconite one fen…”*
The maid recorded everything, and Ruan An continued to comfort Consort Chen, who was crying out in pain, trying to ease her emotions.
“Your Highness, do not be afraid. When I gave birth, I faced more complicated situations than this and still safely delivered the prince. Good people are blessed; nothing will happen to you.”
Consort Chen opened her lips, wanting to say something, but could utter no words. Though she did not see the terrifying scene of the baby’s hand emerging, she was still extremely frightened.
Ruan An reassured her again, “Your Highness, you must not be afraid. Fear will only weaken your qi and blood. Once your qi and blood are depleted, the baby will also be weak.”
Consort Chen nodded with difficulty.
Soon, the maid brought the medicine Ruan An prescribed, called “Turn the Sky Soup.” Before the maid could administer the medicine to Consort Chen, Ruan An took a fine needle, intending to prick the exposed little hand of the imperial heir.
The maid widened her eyes, stepped forward, and sternly stopped her, “Lady of Marquis Dingbei, our mistress trusts you so much, what are you doing?”
“Use the trustworthy without doubt, and do not use those you doubt. I would never harm you ladies.”
After Ruan An said this, the expression on the maid’s face almost collapsed, as she watched in horror Ruan An pricking one of the baby’s fingers with a needle.
Then, something even more terrifying happened.
After Ruan An had pricked the hand of the imperial heir, the baby quickly withdrew his hand back into Consort Chen’s belly.
At that moment, Ruan An urgently commanded, “Quickly feed the soup medicine to Consort Chen.”
“Yes!”
The maid gradually understood Ruan An’s intention; by doing this, she could make the baby retract into the mother’s body due to the pain.
In this way, after Consort Chen drank the bowl of soup meant to enhance her qi and blood the next day, the fetus in her belly could turn itself around, sticking its head out first in the normal position for childbirth.
Soon, the loud cries of the baby echoed in the hall.
—”Consort Chen has given birth! It’s a prince! Mother and child are safe!”
Although the maid’s voice trembled, it could not hide her excitement and joy.
Mother and child being safe, what a joyous phrase.
The emperor, having obtained a son in his old age, naturally showed joy, smiling broadly, eager to rush into the hall.
“Very good! Lady Ruan An of Marquis Dingbei is truly skilled in medicine, brave, and resourceful.”
After praising Ruan An, the emperor then commanded his chief eunuch, “Remember, we must reward Lady Ruan An of Marquis Dingbei properly.”
The chief eunuch respectfully replied, “Yes.”
Madame Gao finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling even more nervous than when she gave birth to Huo Changjue.
But while some were joyous, others were worried and distressed.
The empress and Li Shuying stood aside, both showing worried expressions.
The empress’s feelings were naturally more complicated than anyone else’s present. Today was her 45th birthday, and Consort Chen suffering a fate of death would have been the birthday gift she most desired.
But her day and night’s scheming and carefully laid plans were so easily thwarted.
It turned out that the wife of Lord Marquis Dingbei, Madame Fang, was knowledgeable in medicine.
Consort Chen really took a bold risk, daring to use just about anyone.
After leaving the palace, it was already past curfew.
Madame Gao and Ruan An walked along the long corridor out of the palace, feeling like they had survived a great ordeal, looking at each other without speaking.
The autumn night was cool, and Ruan An had just broken out in a cold sweat. Even though Bai Wei draped a large cloak over her, the girl’s body still shivered repeatedly.
Seeing Ruan An like this, Madame Gao suddenly remembered her late daughter, Huo Xin.
If Xin’er were still in this world, she would be about the same age as Fang Ran.
After all, Madame Gao was a mother, and she thought, if Xin’er were still alive, she naturally would not want her to be framed at a banquet like Ruan An, or to recklessly stand out without even the instinct to protect herself.
Thinking of this, Madame Gao prepared to properly admonish this younger cousin, to prevent her from suffering in such situations in the future.
“If you encounter something like this again, remember to be wise and protect yourself. One cannot always be so lucky, especially in the royal forbidden court. A slight mistake could involve the entire clan’s fate.
Ruan An only knew that Madame Gao seemed to have said something to her, but she didn’t quite catch it.
Ruan An’s lips trembled, and she numbly nodded to Madame Gao.
After what had just happened, Ruan An was also scared.
After all, her experiences could not guarantee to always work. For a pregnant woman in labor, it means one foot has already stepped into the gates of hell. A slight carelessness could result in the death of both mother and child, a fact she understood better than anyone.
Every time after helping a pregnant woman give birth, she felt as if she had been skinned and deboned, drained of all her strength, her soul drifting away.
As soon as Ruan An stepped out of the Chengtian Gate, she was still in a daze, but her body was suddenly enveloped by a warm feeling. She smelled the familiar and comforting scent of amber, and someone hugged her tightly, their large hand also cupping her head.
Even in the night, Huo Pingxiao saw the blood-soaked dress of Ruan An, a sight that was shocking to him.
It suddenly gave him the illusion that he was about to lose her.
This feeling was extremely extreme and uncontrollable for him.
The thought of losing Ruan An, for a moment just now, Huo Pingxiao almost lost his sanity.
“Ah Xu.”
He gradually closed his sharp eyes, his deep voice trembling a bit as he asked, “Why are you covered in blood?