Chapter 189 This feeling made her wish she were dead!
Lin Shiyuan looked at Madam Ma with a deep gaze, then bowed and said, "Then please take good care of Miss Qingling, Madam. I also wish her and her child a safe journey."
Madam Ma's heart skipped a beat as she met the man's deep, sharp eyes. She steadied herself and chuckled, "You don't need to tell me. I'm her aunt; would I harm her?"
He said it without batting an eye.
Lin Shiyuan left, but he didn't go far.
In the dead of night, only this courtyard of the nearby houses was noisy.
Lin Shiyuan went around to the back wall, gathered his strength and leaped onto the wall. With another leap, he silently flew to the roof.
He had barely regained his footing when he heard an excited, piercing scream, which startled him so much that his legs went weak and he almost fell.
He lay on the roof tiles and gently lifted one. The light underneath shone faintly, revealing a room full of old women and maids moving back and forth.
At the same time, the shouts pierced through the roof.
The man clenched his fist, rolled over and lay flat on the uneven rooftop. Above him stretched an endless expanse of darkness, the moonlight was pale, and the clouds were thick.
He thought, it's a cloudy night, maybe it will rain in a little while.
The calls came intermittently from below, sometimes loud, sometimes soft. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed, sometimes tight, sometimes loose.
Inside the room, several maids hurriedly took off Qingling's clothes. They didn't pay attention to the blood on her inner garment, assuming it was just a smear.
They quickly covered her with a blanket, creating a small space underneath to facilitate the midwife's delivery.
The midwife slowly stepped forward, lifted the blanket to take a look, and said indifferently, "Don't shout so loudly now, it's not time yet."
She sat on a small stool on the edge of the bed, even wanting to crack a handful of melon seeds. She acted like an old woman, making a mess of things for the young maids, and said to Qingling, "Which woman hasn't given birth? You're the one who screams the loudest."
"Every woman has to go through childbirth. You can be delicate at other times, but you can't be delicate when it comes to childbirth. The more you cry out, the more it hurts."
Qingling clenched her fists and saw the old woman's face clearly, her brows furrowing.
This is not the midwife she invited back to the mansion.
The contractions came in waves, and she was in so much pain that she couldn't speak. She managed to push the midwife away, saying, "You...you didn't...want you..."
The maids, unaware of Qingling's meaning, assumed she was in so much pain she wanted to hit someone, and stepped forward to hold her hand: "Miss, please bear with it, it will be over soon."
A young maid was almost in tears, and asked the midwife, "Why are you still sitting here!"
"I told you it's not time yet. Instead of urging me, you might as well urge the baby inside." The midwife rolled her eyes. "Go pour me a cup of tea."
Another maid glared at her angrily, poured her a cup of tea, and muttered, "Where have Sister Louyue and Sister Xiachan gone?"
Another maid in green chimed in, "Where are Mama Zhao and Mama Qiao? Why aren't we seeing them?"
She remembered that the young lady had hired two midwives to keep in the courtyard. She could see them regularly, but when she needed them, she couldn't find either of them.
The old woman rolled her eyes and said, "How would I know? They're always so eager to please, always saying this and that, but when it comes to actually doing something, they all disappear."
He then mocked, "Could it be that the wax spearhead we hired was useless and ran away?"
The midwife remembered Madam Hou's instructions: Yao Qingling must not leave the delivery room alive, but she had to do it in a way that left no trace.
If a woman gives birth and doesn't survive the birthing process, both she and her unborn child will die. These kinds of accidents are the hardest to blame.
Even the heavens are on her side. None of Yao Qingling's capable maids are around, so what use are the others? Don't they all have to listen to her anyway?
At this moment, Lou Yue and Xia Chan rushed back and were immediately met with a strong smell of blood as they entered the house.
Lou Yue only saw a midwife, who was still sitting there steadily.
Enraged, she grabbed the midwife by the collar: "You're still sitting there? Can't you see someone giving birth here?!"
The midwife had barely gotten up when she was about to start working on him.
He Yin grabbed her and gestured with her fingers, telling her to go wash her hands!
Xia Chan sensed something was wrong and quickly left the house to go to the servants' quarters.
There were two midwives, one lying on the table clutching her stomach, and the other nowhere to be seen.
Xia Chan grabbed her and asked, "Where's Aunt Zhao?"
"She went to the outhouse..." Mrs. Qiao rubbed her stomach, her face turning pale. "Miss Xia Chan, we probably have food poisoning..."
Xia Chan wasted no time and ran out like a whirlwind, then returned to the delivery room, where she saw the midwife pushing Qing Ling's belly down, pushing the baby down.
Yao Qingling kicked her leg in pain, but it was held down. The midwife's aged voice roared, "Push! Push!"
She pushed! She used all her strength, but her stomach hurt so much, and the baby wouldn't come out. This feeling made her wish she were dead!
The old woman even scraped at the wound on her stomach, as if she wanted to tear her stomach open from the middle of the wound.
Yao Qingling was covered in sweat, as if she had been pulled out of the water. Lou Yue nervously wiped her sweat and comforted her with teary eyes.
Xia Chan found He Yin in the crowd and pulled her out: "Come with me now!"
He Yin was confused and was being dragged along by Xia Chan. She stumbled and staggered, so she simply broke free from Xia Chan's hand and ran forward on her own.
Xia Chan shouted loudly behind her, "Go to Zhao Mama and Qiao Mama's rooms!"
He Yin quickly examined the two midwives, and after they went into the delivery room, there was no sound from inside.
Xia Chan pushed through the crowd and went in: "What's going on?"
Lou Yue wiped away her tears: "Miss couldn't give birth, she fainted from the pain!"
Xia Chan swayed slightly, and He Yin ran to the bedside in a few steps, taking Qing Ling's hand to take her pulse.
The two midwives, Zhao's mother and Qiao's mother, were stunned and said anxiously, "It would be terrible if she fainted at this time! The baby would suffocate inside!"
On the rooftop, Lin Shiyuan listened to the sounds below.
Why has it quieted down?
I didn't hear the baby crying either.
He looked into the cave and saw only a few serious faces; someone was crying.
Lin Shiyuan's expression turned serious, and he subconsciously wanted to go down and check on Yao Qingling.
Suddenly, someone pressed down on his shoulder.
The man suddenly struck out with his palm in that direction, and the other man quickly parried, lowering his voice to say, "General, it's me!"
Lin Shiyuan stopped what he was doing, and Nie Yun said, "Yao Qingling has fainted from the pain. The doctor is giving her acupuncture, and she should wake up soon."
Lin Shiyuan breathed a sigh of relief, his heart pounding like a drum.
Seeing his nervous expression, anyone who didn't know better would think the child was his.
Nie Yun asked in a low voice, "Why does the general care so much?"
Lin Shiyuan glanced at her, then looked up at the dark night, not wanting to speak.
In the courtyard, Madam Ma also waited for news.
So much time has passed, the midwife should have succeeded by now, right?
She imagined how she would express her regret by shedding tears when bad news came from inside the house.
If both mother and child die, they will be buried together in one coffin. If the child survives, the child will be sent to the Duke's mansion, thus gaining a favor for free.
Yao Qingqi stared darkly at the room that let in light. Yao Qingling, once you die, everything you have will be mine!
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