Chapter 296 Playing the Wicked
Upon receiving news of Sheng An's launch, Xu Jinnian immediately requested leave from the head of the academy.
He rushed home, and as soon as he stepped into the main courtyard, he heard the woman's suppressed cries of pain from the delivery room. His expression changed, and he went from walking to running.
Everyone waited anxiously outside. Seeing Xu Jinnian rush into the delivery room without stopping for a moment, Xu Chenglin grabbed his son by the back of his shirt:
"Your wife is giving birth inside, what are you doing going in there to cause trouble? Just stay here and wait quietly!"
This guy can't give birth for his daughter-in-law, and neither can a midwife. Rushing into the delivery room would only make things worse.
Grandma Sheng quickly advised, "You're a man, you can't go into the delivery room, otherwise An'an will be distracted if she sees you."
A woman's appearance during childbirth is not pleasant, as excrement and urine come out with the baby. Even if the husband feels sorry for his wife and doesn't mind, he might still remember her disheveled state, which could affect their future relationship.
Xu Cuilian understood Grandma Sheng's concerns and helped Xu Chenglin restrain Xu Jinnian:
“Your grandma and dad are right. If you go inside, grandpa can’t help you. Just stay here and wait for An’an to give birth.”
Xu Jinnian unconsciously clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on the door, his heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by a hand, and all he could hear was the continuous groan of pain.
In the delivery room, Sheng An bit her handkerchief tightly to endure wave after wave of pain, her whole body soaked from head to toe, as if she had been pulled out of the water.
She knew childbirth was painful, but she never imagined it would hurt this much, like being torn in two alive. She wished she could reach into her belly and pull out the little thing that was tormenting her.
Seeing Sheng An in such pain, Zhang Zhaodi felt heartbroken and tears welled up in her eyes. She tightly grasped Sheng An's wrist to comfort her.
"Don't rush, don't rush. Let's cooperate with the midwife and give birth to the baby in one go. Then I'll spank the little one's bottom for you and give you a good thrashing..."
Despite being in so much pain that her mind was almost blank, Sheng An still managed to hear Zhang Zhaodi's words clearly.
She tried to give Zhang Zhaodi a reassuring smile, but instead, a scream escaped her lips: "Ah—"
Granny Wang was also exhausted and covered in sweat. Upon hearing the scream, she hurriedly said:
"It's dilated to ten fingers, I can touch the young master's head now. Please conserve your energy, Madam, the young master will be out soon!"
Sheng An took a deep breath, bit her handkerchief, and listened to the midwife's instructions to inhale and exhale forcefully, enduring even more intense pain.
Besides Zhang Zhaodi and Granny Wang, there were Granny Wang's apprentice and Hongliu, who was busy adding and pouring water in and out of the delivery room.
The apprentice's surname is Ma. She is Granny Wang's youngest daughter-in-law. She has been learning from Granny Wang for several years and started delivering babies on her own last year.
This time, when she was to deliver the baby for the official's wife, Granny Wang specially brought her youngest daughter-in-law along, so that if she encountered any situations that she couldn't handle in time, her youngest daughter-in-law could lend a hand.
At this moment, Ma exclaimed, "Oh dear, there's so much blood!"
Granny Wang leaned closer to examine the baby, her expression changing slightly: "Quick, quick, push on Madam's belly, we must get her to give birth to the child as soon as possible!"
Zhang Zhaodi was startled and quickly got up and went to the bed. When she saw a bloody mass under Sheng An, she couldn't help but desperately try to recall whether she had lost this much blood when she gave birth.
At that time, she was only focused on giving birth and did not pay attention to the situation below her. By the time she regained consciousness after giving birth, the bed had been cleaned up and she had no idea how much blood she had lost.
Zhang Zhaodi completely trusted the midwife personally chosen by Xu Jinnian. Hearing both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law say so, she couldn't help but become anxious: "I'll go call the doctor and have him come in to stop An'an's bleeding!"
In a life-or-death situation like this, who cares about the separation of men and women? The most important thing is to call in a doctor to save lives.
Sheng An was still trying to give birth when she heard her best friend's panicked voice, and her mind went blank for a moment.
Did she experience severe postpartum hemorrhage?
Despite the excruciating pain in her lower body, Sheng An carefully examined herself. Apart from the pain, she did not feel the weakness and exhaustion caused by excessive blood loss. In fact, stimulated by the pain, she felt that she had the strength to give birth to a cow.
Just as Sheng An was about to speak, she felt the little one, who should have been pushing out of the birth canal, being pushed back as if by an external force.
Worried that she might be delirious and misunderstand good people, she took another careful look to make sure it wasn't her imagination. Suddenly, her eyes sharpened as she stared intently at Granny Wang and her daughter-in-law bustling around at the foot of the bed.
Sheng An ripped the handkerchief out of her mouth and yelled at Zhang Zhaodi, who was about to run to the door, "Zhaodi, I'm about to die, let Jinnian in!"
This roar not only startled the people inside the room, but also stunned everyone outside.
Before Zhang Zhaodi could respond, the door was slammed open with a loud bang.
Immediately afterward, amidst the gasps of the crowd, Xu Jinnian strode in and went straight to the bedside. His hands trembled as he grasped Sheng An's outstretched hand, his eyes bloodshot: "An'an..."
Sheng An didn't have time for nonsense. Pointing at the bewildered Granny Wang and Madam Ma, he said, "Jin Nian, arrest this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law!"
Upon hearing this, both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law showed identical panic on their faces.
After realizing what had happened, Granny Wang calmed herself down and cried out, "Madam, my daughter-in-law and I came to deliver your baby! You can't arrest us without even knowing the facts!"
Xu Jinnian ignored Granny Wang's explanations, stood up with an icy expression, and personally grabbed the mother and daughter-in-law: "Zhaodi, send Atian to Xinghua Lane!"
Zhang Zhaodi didn't ask any questions, just responded and quickly left.
Xu Jinnian grabbed Granny Wang and her daughter-in-law and took them outside, then handed them over to Li Tian and his guards: "Tie their hands and feet and gag them."
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Li Tian, along with the other guards, tied the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law up, gagged them, and locked them in the storeroom.
From beginning to end, Xu Jinnian did not give the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law a chance to argue.
Witnessing the sudden turn of events, everyone's expressions turned solemn, and no one asked any questions, their hearts filled with worry for Sheng An and the child in her womb.
In the delivery room, Dr. Zhong from Tongrentang was taking Sheng'an's pulse.
A moment later, he said to Xu Jinnian, who looked tense, "Madam is fine and has not shown any signs of severe bleeding. She just needs to deliver the baby as soon as possible."
Xu Jinnian's heart, which had been in his throat, instantly calmed down; heaven knows how terrified he had been just moments before.
Just as Dr. Zhong stepped out of the delivery room, Ah Tian, who had been sent out, returned, accompanied by a middle-aged woman and a young woman.
These two women are a mother and daughter, and they are also the midwives that Xu Jinnian secretly arranged.
As early as the day Granny Wang moved in, the mother and daughter were also secretly arranged to move into Xinghua Lane next door.
The mother and daughter never leave their home, and are watched over from morning till night to prevent them from being bribed.
This mother and daughter were just as experienced at childbirth as Granny Wang and her daughter-in-law. Less than half an hour after entering the delivery room, the baby's loud cry rang out: "Wah—!"
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