Chapter 512 Fate
In the end, the outcome of the matter was pretty much what Li San Niang had expected.
The two old women lifted the blanket and saw Qianniang lying in a pool of blood; the amount of blood had soaked through the mat beneath her.
The warden had two patrolmen and everyone present, including Li Sanniang, witness that Qianniang died from postpartum hemorrhage, an accident beyond human control.
Gen'er disagreed with this explanation, insisting that the old woman had delayed him from calling a doctor to save Qianniang, which led to Qianniang's death.
Fang Zheng sighed, looking at Gen'er's red-eyed expression, and then at the old woman on the other side who was turning her head and rubbing her neck, and sighed again.
Fang Zheng muttered to himself, "The person is already dead. Even if we call a doctor to come to the house early, it might not be able to save him. Why bother thinking about that?"
He must take good care of his mother and raise that little girl who lost her mother at birth.
He can marry another woman in the future to have children at home.
"If you really wanted to kill someone, you could do it at night, and who would know?"
However, Fang Zheng did not act that way on the surface. He even cupped his hands in greeting to Li San Niang, saying, "Today, the female doctor has suffered this ordeal."
The old man wanted to ask, "If this woman is bleeding during childbirth, what are the chances of saving her if she arrives in time?"
Everyone looked at Li San Niang, even Gen'er, who had been subdued by a patrolling constable, looked up.
Li San Niang thought to herself, "This is truly a skilled craftsman; he hit the nail on the head right away."
The reason Li San Niang didn't want to get involved was not only because she wasn't an official and didn't want to get involved, but also because even in modern society, with all the equipment, medicine, and blood transfusions, the woman's postpartum hemorrhage might not be saved, let alone in this situation.
Although Li San Niang could see that the old woman was indeed deliberately delaying calling for help, just as that guy had said, even if Li San Niang had the ability to teleport and arrived at the scene in an instant, she probably still wouldn't be able to save Qian Niang.
Furthermore, the deceased are gone, and the living remain.
There is also a little girl who needs to be raised. Considering all factors, Li San Niang naturally will not interfere.
After all, Li San Niang was just a doctor; she couldn't save everyone.
"I don't have a specific answer to what the official asked."
However, women who suffer severe postpartum hemorrhage often survive, with only one in ten surviving.
Fang Zheng nodded, "That means it's very difficult to save them."
Fang Zheng turned to look at Gen'er, "Your wife was unlucky, she suffered postpartum hemorrhage and passed away."
This is fate; how can one fight against fate?
As a son, you impulsively harmed your own mother, which is already a mistake. How can you then call for violence?
Finally, the neighborhood official gave her a few words of advice. The old woman only had this one son, so of course she couldn't let him go to jail, and she wouldn't report him to the authorities for harming his mother.
"You acted impulsively today. Your mother has had a hard life raising you, helping you get married, and now she's even helping you take care of that little girl."
Kneel down, kowtow to your mother, apologize, and swear that you will never lay a hand on her again.
Let's leave it at that. I hope you will take good care of your mother and raise your child well from now on.
Gen'er only reacted when the magistrate mentioned the little girl. After the magistrate finished speaking, Gen'er hesitated for a moment before kneeling down in front of the old woman.
And so, the matter was dropped.
Li San Niang and Qiu Xiang were then put into a carriage by the neighborhood official and others, heading back to the medical clinic.
In the carriage, Qiu Xiang leaned against Li San Niang and whispered, "San Niangzi, is the woman's death related to the old woman's refusal to call for help?"
"It's hard to say."
This woman suffered postpartum hemorrhage, and even if a doctor had been called immediately, it might not have been possible to save her.
It's also very possible that the patient will die before the doctor arrives.
There was only the old woman and the little girl in the house at the time; no one else was there. Who knows what the situation was?
Qiu Xiang said with some disappointment, "It's a pity that this woman died, leaving behind a little baby."
After seeing off Li San Niang, Qiu Xiang, and the two patrolling constables, the neighborhood head ordered people to clean up Qian Niang's room. Since the dead cannot be brought back to life, the funeral still had to be held.
That night, Gen knelt under the wooden coffin in the courtyard, with a ceramic basin in front of him containing the ashes of burned paper money.
The little girl is still with the Guo family. The woman in the family has just given birth to a baby and is still in her postpartum period. She has plenty of breast milk, enough to feed two babies.
The elderly Guo family woman, wearing a blue headscarf, looked at the baby girl nursing in her youngest daughter-in-law's arms and couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.
"Hey, tell me about this."
Granny Wang only took advantage of Qian Niang's family's lack of connections. She not only beat and scolded her daily but also cut back on her food. What's worse, when Qian Niang was giving birth, she didn't even bother to hire a midwife.
“Mother, Qianniang is pitiful, but this little child is even more pitiful.”
When Guo's youngest daughter-in-law gave birth to this child, Guo's mother not only arranged for a midwife early on, but also planned to stew chicken soup for her to nourish her body during her postpartum period.
Even if her youngest daughter-in-law's family lived in the same neighborhood, or even if they lived far away, Old Woman Guo was meant to be a daughter-in-law for the Guo family, so how could she possibly go and cause trouble for her daughter-in-law?
Not to mention that the woman was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the baby cry, Gen'er was a sensible man. He took one tael of silver from his home and gave it to them. One tael of silver was quite a lot. However, the family felt that they were just helping the neighbor feed the baby, so why should they take so much silver?
"Grandma, please don't refuse me. She just lost her mother and it's not easy for her to find a ewe right away. Please accept this money. It will put my mind at ease letting my son stay here for a while."
Upon hearing that the child would be left there for an extended period, the old woman from the Guo family thought for a moment and then accepted the tael of silver.
Gen'er, who was kneeling in the yard, pushed himself up with his hands and walked to the kitchen by the moonlight, where he took out a wood-chopping knife.
Gen'er was already thin and weak, and by deliberately walking lightly, he made even less of a sound.
Gen'er knew that his mother didn't have the habit of locking the door, so he carefully opened the door.
He walked to the old woman's bedside with the wood-chopping knife, stood there for a while, and then raised his right hand holding the knife, aiming for the old woman's neck.
However, Gen'er stopped when he was about to cut through the skin.
After stopping, Gen'er turned around and went out, then returned to the courtyard and knelt down again.
Whether Gen'er knew or didn't know, the old woman hadn't actually fallen asleep at all.
After Gen'er left, the old woman reached out and touched her neck. Only after feeling that her head was still connected to her neck did she dare to exhale the breath she had been holding.
The next day, Gen'er, forcing himself to stay healthy, asked the men in the neighborhood to help carry the coffin out of the city and bury it.
The old woman must have been genuinely afraid of her son, as she dared not approach Gen'er and only talked with the other women she usually associated with.
Life goes on, and the young child still needs to be raised by the elders. No matter what the real situation is, they are still family on the surface.
After what had happened, Li San Niang and Qiu Xiang were both feeling terrible, and even after returning home from work, they didn't eat much for dinner.
Li's mother was worried about Li San Niang, so she asked her what was wrong after the meal.
"...That's why I'm not feeling well, and that's why I'm eating less."
"Don't worry, Mother. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep. I'll be alright when I wake up tomorrow. Mother, don't worry."
Only then did Li's mother understand, and she comforted Li San Niang in this way: "This is your fate, my daughter. If you can get through this ordeal, then you are lucky. If you can't, then it is your fate."
That Fangzheng is right, how can a person fight against fate?
Don't overthink it, just soak your feet and go to sleep.
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