Amidst Madam Zhang's repeated cries of pain, the midwife arrived.
When she arrived, she was taken aback, the reason being, of course, that her due date had come early.
However, she did not linger and began to deliver Madam Zhang's baby.
"Madam Zhang, push harder, a little harder..."
Mrs. Ding and Qiu Yan left the room.
Outside, Madam Ding paced back and forth.
More than the baby's gender, she was worried that the baby would have problems after birth. After all, it was too early in the pregnancy.
Before long, Master Zhang arrived.
Upon seeing Qiu Yan, he immediately recalled that last winter, his younger sister had asked Qiu Yan to examine his wife. He figured that this time, it was also because of his wife's health that his sister had invited her over.
Because he was anxious, he asked:
"Miss Qiu, how is my wife's health? Why did she suddenly give birth?"
He had been childless for many years, and all the children born to his wives and concubines were daughters.
Therefore, he now desperately hopes that this pregnancy will result in a boy.
Qiu Yan replied, "On the one hand, it's because of your wife's health; on the other hand, it might be because she ate candied fruit."
"Candied fruit?" Master Zhang asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Hawthorn preserves can cause uterine contractions and induce miscarriage. Of course, it's not absolute. Perhaps it's because your wife ate too much."
After hearing this, Master Zhang frowned, then stood outside the door and began pacing back and forth.
Qiu Yan decided to stay until the baby was safely delivered, so she did not leave.
Half an hour later,
"It's born! It's born!" came the midwife's joyful cry from inside the room.
But then, another voice chimed in, "Why isn't this child crying?"
The midwife's expression changed as soon as she spoke.
She noticed that the child had a red birthmark on his forehead and eyelids.
Madam Zhang weakly raised her head, and her first question was not why the child wasn't crying, but rather, "Is it a boy or a girl?"
The midwife glanced at the child again and whispered, "It's a girl."
"It's that girl again." Tears welled up in Madam Zhang's eyes instantly.
She didn't cry when she gave birth, but she cried because she gave birth to a daughter.
"How useless I am."
Turning her head, Mrs. Zhang saw the child's profile and was horrified. "Ah... her face..."
It was bad enough that she was a girl, but she was also ugly, which she couldn't accept for a while.
The midwife noticed that Madam Zhang was in low spirits, so she said nothing more and just kept hitting the baby's bottom, afraid of hurting him.
However, the child still wouldn't cry.
Upon hearing the words "thousand gold pieces," Master Zhang felt a chill in his heart.
He didn't even glance at the child; he turned away, dejected.
Madam Ding shook her head, glanced again at her brother's departing figure, and felt somewhat helpless.
As for the question of whether you'll have a boy or a girl, you should just let nature take its course.
When Qiu Yan heard the midwife say that the baby shouldn't cry, she became suspicious.
Madam Ding pushed open the door and entered. As soon as she entered, she saw the midwife patting the child and hurriedly went forward to check on the situation.
Looking at the child's tightly closed eyes, her motionless body, and the birthmark on her face, Mrs. Ding felt a chill in her heart.
"Miss Qiu, come quickly and see why the child isn't crying!"
Mrs. Zhang shook her head. She had long since given up on the child, and now it seemed that she and the child were not meant to be.
"No need to look anymore. The baby was born prematurely and is probably stillborn. Just throw it away."
Even if they are saved, what then? Growing up like this, they will still feel inferior when they grow up.
After hearing this, the midwife left the room. There was nothing more for her to do here; she had to go and report to Master Zhang.
"Sister-in-law, what kind of talk is that?" Madam Ding said with displeasure. She longed for a child.
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