Chapter 590 Close Relatives
Faced with Li San Niang's gaze, Madam Zhang turned her head away guiltily, avoiding looking at Li San Niang.
Seeing Madam Zhang's behavior, what else could Li San Niang not understand?
I knew it! Madam Zhang was so worried about this baby, how could she only have me, a female doctor who had only gained some fame in Chang'an in the last year, come to see her?
They must have consulted other doctors before, but they had doubts and wanted to hear what others had to say, so they came to see Li San Niang again.
"I consulted other doctors, and I didn't think there was a problem."
But, madam, you must tell me the truth. If you deceive me, how am I supposed to diagnose the illness?
If Madam doesn't tell the truth, I can't draw a conclusion.
Madam Zhang's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. She truly hadn't expected Li San Niang to be so blunt, which was rather disrespectful to a lady of high office like herself.
But when Madam Zhang touched her belly, she became very concerned about this pregnancy. Just as she had told Li San Niang, if she couldn't give birth to a healthy child this time, then she would really have to let her concubine give birth instead.
What's the use of raising a child born to a concubine under your own name?
What's the use of someone who isn't your own child and has no blood relation to you?
What's the use!
"I did consult other doctors, and they all said there was nothing seriously wrong, and that we could just wait until after the baby was born to see a doctor."
Li San Niang nodded, thinking to herself, "Indeed, if they weren't using some kind of cheat code like me, then we really wouldn't be able to tell anything. We can only wait until after the baby is born to see what happens."
"Madam, besides this, is there anything else you haven't told me?"
Madam Zhang stared at the rather aggressive Li San Niang, wondering what else Li San Niang wanted to "interrogate" her about.
Seeing Madam Zhang's suppressed anger, Li San Niang had no choice but to speak frankly.
"Were the things you told me about our three children who died young all true?"
Seeing that Madam Zhang's expression had frozen, Li San Niang spoke again: "Madam, could you tell me if you and your husband are related by blood?"
Madam Zhang avoided Li San Niang's question about her three sons who died young, and only looked at Li San Niang with a slight question and said, "Me and my husband?"
Although Madam Zhang didn't understand why Li San Niang asked this question, she still asked her.
"We are related by blood. My mother and mother-in-law are cousins, and my husband and I are cousins."
Li San Niang mentally calculated these relationships, meaning that Madam Zhang's paternal grandfather and her husband's maternal grandmother were siblings from the same mother. Therefore, Madam Zhang and her husband were third-generation relatives.
This makes sense; unless one is extremely lucky, it's perfectly normal for consanguineous births to result in deformed children with short lifespans.
In modern society, such close relatives would most likely not marry. Even if they did, problems could be detected during prenatal checkups, allowing them to mitigate the damage in time, divorce, and find suitable partners to remarry.
At that time in the Tang Dynasty, it was extremely common for cousins to marry and have children, especially among the upper classes. In order to consolidate their own status and interests and prevent outsiders from encroaching on their interests, many people married their cousins.
Although marriage between people with the same surname was forbidden at that time, meaning that cousins on the paternal side would not get involved, cousins on the maternal side were not valued in the patriarchal clan system of this feudal society.
In other words, they do not regard maternal relatives as important, and believe that as long as they do not share the same surname, they can marry into the other family.
Just like Li San Niang's ex-husband, Wang Ziheng, didn't he later marry his widowed cousin from his maternal family?
Although it was his cousin who cheated on him, you have to admit that marriages between cousins within three generations of close blood relatives who do not share the same surname do exist, and are quite common.
Therefore, Madam Zhang looked at Li San Niang with great surprise, wondering why she would ask this question.
In Madam Zhang's view, she and her husband were even closer relatives. It was precisely because she was a relative of her mother-in-law that she was able to maintain her position as Madam Zhang for so many years, even though she hadn't given her husband a child.
However, if she couldn't give birth to a healthy child, she really couldn't hold on any longer and would have to let her concubine give birth instead.
"Madam may not know, but it is very difficult for closely related relatives to have healthy offspring."
Madam Zhang's first reaction was that Li San Niang was talking nonsense!
How could it be that close relatives cannot have healthy children?
There are so many cousins in this world who get married, that they can't have children anywhere.
When Li San Niang saw Madam Zhang's expression, she knew that Madam Zhang did not believe it, or rather, she instinctively did not want to believe it!
"If you don't believe me, Madam, send someone out to inquire about how many of these close cousins (cousins from the maternal lineage) across three generations have left behind healthy offspring."
And how many of these children's offspring are healthy?
I'm afraid that what you told me earlier about your three sons who died young wasn't the truth.
I was frank with you. This pregnancy is risky. My wife has thought it through. If it works out, we'll have an abortion before it's full term.
Otherwise, then…
"Dr. Li!"
What are you saying?!
Nonsense!
That's just you spreading alarmist rumors!
In the end, Li San Niang was kicked out by Madam Zhang. She was "coaxed" out in a very undignified manner and naturally didn't even get her consultation fee.
"Third Sister? Us?"
"It's alright. Madam Zhang is already very good-natured. She didn't kick me out of the house, she just scolded me a couple of times and gave me a hard time."
"Let's go, let's call a car back to the clinic."
On the way back to the clinic, Li San Niang still kept the issue of consanguineous childbirth in mind. She had previously paid attention to the age at which women gave birth, and later, after encountering several women who lost their lives during childbirth, she was determined to write a report to influence the age at which women gave birth for the first time.
"It seems that in addition to age, we also need to pay attention to whether it is consanguineous reproduction. If we can collect more data, it can serve as evidence to explain to everyone."
Unbeknownst to Li San Niang, Madam Zhang, who had been driven out of the house by her servant, was now deathly pale. She was clutching her trusted servant's hand, her heart filled with dread.
She and the old woman knew that Li San Niang was right!
Because she just lied to Li San Niang!
Madam Zhang's first child was indeed stillborn, but her second child, who was said to have died before he was a month old, was actually deliberately starved to death!
Why?
Because on the second day after the second child was taken care of by the trusted old woman, it was discovered that the child had no anus!
How can I keep it alive if it can't excrete waste?
They dared not feed the child, and the child starved to death!
As for the third son, it was said that he fell ill because his mother-in-law did not take good care of him during the winter, and he died from the illness.
Actually, the child has a problem; he doesn't even have the energy to nurse. I privately consulted a doctor, who said he was born with congenital deficiencies and had heart and lung problems. If he could be raised, he would need good medicine, otherwise he would still die young.
Thus, the old woman, after listening to Madam Zhang's words, deliberately neglected to let the child go on his own.
This is what Mrs. Zhang fears most: every child she has given birth to is unhealthy!
What about the one in my belly now?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com