Chapter 563 Childbirth for women is like passing through the gates of hell; everything depends on luck.
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In late July in Jian'an, the summer heat was at its peak, and even the sea breeze carried a scorching, salty, and humid smell.
On the training ground of the Xuanjia Army camp, Li Shiyue, who was fighting with a group of people, had just knocked one of them away when he looked back and saw a rider galloping towards the training ground not far away.
The man on horseback dismounted as soon as he reached the drill ground and ran over. "General! Lady Li in the prefectural city is about to give birth!"
Li Qiutian's due date came early.
Li Shiyue immediately threw the spear in his hand to Hei Zi, who was standing to the side, and without saying a word, mounted the little red horse that had just been led to the training ground.
Chen Yong turned around, mounted his horse, pulled on the reins, and immediately followed.
By the time Li Shiyue had sped into Jian'an City and returned to the governor's mansion, Li Qiutian had already started her pregnancy.
Standing in the courtyard, Li Shiyue heard Li Qiutian's painful groans from inside the house growing louder and louder. Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang were inside, while Li Xiatian and Qin Fen were waiting at the door.
The maids were busy running around, changing the hot water in the basins again and again.
Qin Fen paced back and forth in the courtyard like a caged beast, his fists clenched tightly, and sweat dripping down his forehead like water.
Every time Qin Fen heard Li Qiutian cry out in pain, his face paled a little more.
Li Shiyue stood not far from the window, her face calm, but her tightly pursed lips and the occasional sharp glances into the window betrayed the unease in her heart.
She had experienced the bloodshed on the battlefield and faced the massive armies of the Turks and Japanese pirates, but now, watching Li Qiutian struggle on the brink of childbirth, she felt a suffocating sense of concern that was different from that on the battlefield.
The last time she felt this way was when she had just returned from the Turkic Khaganate and was waiting for Li Xiatian to give birth in the courtyard of Lijiatun, Jinzhou.
Childbirth is like passing through the gates of hell for a woman; everything depends on luck.
Li Shiyue raised her hand to touch her chest, which was beating faster than ever before, and suddenly felt a bad feeling.
Suddenly, Li Qiutian's screams of pain inside the room became unusually shrill, followed by Li Wangchun's panicked voice: "Oh no! The baby is breech!"
Qin Fen suddenly stopped in his tracks outside. His eyes instantly turned red, and he was about to rush inside without a care in the world.
"Autumn, no more births! We're not having any more children! We don't want this baby."
"stop!"
Li Shiyue stepped forward and grabbed the agitated Qin Fen, sternly stopping him and yelling at him, "What are you doing going in there and causing trouble!"
She took a deep breath, her eyes hardening with determination. "Brother-in-law, hurry to the clinic on Sixi Street and ask Doctor Jin and Yue Niang to come over. I'll go in and take a look at my sister."
"Hurry up! What are you waiting for!"
Seeing Qin Fen rush out of the courtyard, before Li Xiatian could react, Li Shiyue had already lifted the curtain and gone inside.
As soon as Fu entered the room, a strong stench of blood hit him.
Li Qiutian lay half-reclined on the low couch, her face pale, her sweaty hair sticking to her cheeks, and her eyes beginning to glaze over.
Li Wangchun stood by helplessly, his face full of anxiety.
Zheng Meiniang knelt on the edge of the low couch, tears streaming down her face, holding Li Qiutian's hand and sobbing as she called out, "Qiutian, Qiutian, don't sleep, don't sleep."
Look at your mother, your mother is watching you....."
Li Shiyue glanced at the situation and immediately stepped forward. She gently pulled Zheng Meiniang away, looked at Li Qiutian who was half-leaning on the quilt on the low couch, and said in a deep voice, "Sister, look at me!"
I am October!
Sister! Look at me!
Li Shiyue's voice carried a strange, reassuring power, as if it could infuse courage into one's blood.
Li Qiutian's unfocused gaze struggled to focus on Li Shiyue's face.
Li Shiyue rolled up her sleeves and firmly grasped Li Qiutian's hands, "Sister!"
Their eyes met, and Li Shiyue leaned close to Li Qiutian's ear, whispering, "Sister, trust me, open your mouth."
After saying this, Li Shiyue raised her head and instantly put a Rejuvenation Pill into Li Qiutian's mouth.
"Sister, listen to me, one, two, three—push!"
Perhaps it was the effect of the Rejuvenation Pill, or perhaps it was just a coincidence, but a few breaths later, Li Qiutian let out a heart-wrenching scream, using up the last bit of strength in his body.
finally--
"Waaaaah...!"
A series of loud and powerful cries from the newborn broke the tense atmosphere in the room.
"It's born! It's born! It's a baby girl!"
Li Wangchun looked at the baby girl who was crying loudly after the umbilical cord was cut, and immediately shouted with joy.
She deftly began wiping the vernix caseosa off the baby's body and placed him in the swaddle blanket that had been prepared beforehand.
Li Shiyue glanced at the small swaddle blanket that Zheng Meiniang had already put in her arms, and let out a long sigh of relief. Only then did she realize that her back was soaked with cold sweat.
Kneeling on the footstool, Li Shiyue looked at her older sister, who had just given birth and was visibly weak, and felt a pang of heartache.
She picked up a clean cloth from the side and carefully wiped the sweat from Li Qiutian's forehead, face, and neck, whose eyes were half-closed.
Zheng Meiniang carefully carried the small swaddled baby, who was still crying loudly, to Li Qiutian, who was exhausted but stubbornly refused to fall asleep.
"Look at your daughter in the fall."
Li Qiutian's exhausted face broke into a radiant smile of maternal love when she saw the little face inside the blanket.
It was at this moment that Qin Fen's crying could be heard from outside.
Having been carried by Qin Fen the whole way, Jin Daping was put down by Qin Fen under the corridor outside the house as soon as they arrived in the courtyard. Panting, he leaned against the pillar under the corridor and almost collapsed to the ground.
Before he could even catch his breath, Jin Daping shouted loudly into the house, "Inside, is Miss Li alright?"
When Jin Daping was put down by Qin Fen, he heard the baby crying inside the house, which is why he asked that question.
When Li Wangchun pushed open the door, revealing Zheng Meiniang holding a small swaddled blanket behind her, Qin Fen, who was standing at the door, immediately saw the tiny baby inside the blanket, still whimpering and crying.
Qin Fen glanced at the child, then looked up at Zheng Meiniang, "Mother, how is Qiutian? Is she alright?"
Before Zheng Meiniang could reply, Qin Fen stood on tiptoe and looked up behind her, shouting loudly, "Qiuqiu, how are you? How are you feeling? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I'll go buy it for you right now!"
"Brother-in-law, go change into some clean clothes and come in to see my sister."
Li Shiyue shouted this loudly beside Li Qiutian.
Three days later, Li Shiyue had just brought a bowl of old hen soup that had been simmering for a long time into the house when she smelled a strong odor of feces.
"Haha, did this happen to my brother-in-law?"
Qin Fen turned around with a smile, and Li Shiyue saw that he was holding a urine ring in his hand, and the stench was coming from that urine ring.
When Qin Fen returned from washing up outside, the baby inside had already eaten and drunk his fill, been patted to a burp, and soothed to sleep.
The family sat together, chatting about the little one's funny stories.
Suddenly, Li Qiutian, who was half-sitting on the bed, said to Li Shiyue, who was still listening to Li Wangchun, "Shiyue, why don't you give the child a name?"
"Me? Sister, you and brother-in-law can discuss it."
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