The Bride Kidnapping (Part 1)
The rain gradually stopped, and the fog on the horizon thinned, as if the sky was about to clear.
I said slowly, "Huai Xu wished that our Nan Guang tribe would never fight again. She told me that she really wanted to know what the peaceful and prosperous world described by storytellers was like."
"Lord Wei, do you believe that there are really gods in this world? I originally did not believe. It's just that ordinary people might never get what they ask for from them in their entire lives."
"What puzzles me is that if someone makes a firm vow to them, it often comes true when they break it."
Wei Ji took my hand and solemnly said, "Wei Ji doesn't know if there are gods in this world, but I am willing to sacrifice myself to protect the peace of Yuezhou."
I also took his hand and sincerely said, "Qingcheng wishes you good health, a bright future, and the ability to bring prosperity to the border people."
After the rain stopped, Wei Ji and I walked to Yanziping and saw Wang Yunhui standing at the entrance of the clinic, gesturing anxiously to several women.
I hurried forward and asked, "Madam Wang, what happened?"
"Oh my, Qingcheng, you're here!" Wang Yunhui grabbed my hand excitedly. "We were just about to send someone to the inn to find you!" Her eyes then swept over Wei Ji, who was standing to the side. "Prefect Wei is here too? That's great! Come, come, let's talk inside."
Inside the house stood many Han and Liao villagers. A young Liao man pleaded with Sister Xu, "Sister-in-law, please think of another way to help us!"
"Qu Bu, don't panic." Xu Shan pressed his shoulder and comforted him, "Your sister-in-law, Doctor Liu, we are all thinking of a way. The adults and the baby will definitely be safe."
When Liu Yu saw us enter, he stood up and greeted us, "Lady Qing, Prefect Wei, you've come at just the right time." As he spoke, he picked up a piece of paper from the table and said to me, "Lady Qing, we urgently need some medicinal herbs. I would like to trouble someone from your inn to run a errand for me to the pharmacy."
I reached out and took it, glancing at it briefly. The list contained hemostatic herbs such as Panax notoginseng and Agrimonia pilosa. Considering the words and actions of the people around me, I couldn't help but feel alarmed.
Perhaps noticing my strange expression, Liu Yu whispered again, "The pregnant woman hasn't gone into labor yet, so let's prepare."
I breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned to Xu Shan: "Brother Xu, could you please go down to the inn and give this to Lin Zhong?"
Wei Ji added, "There's standing water in the woods, so ride Shigure's horse there; that way you won't have to take a detour."
Xu Shan took the note I handed him, folded it, tucked it into his clothes, and nodded: "Understood, I'll be right there."
Qu Bu bowed to me with his head down, saying, "Thank you, Qing Niangzi."
I said gently, "Qu Bu, I heard that your wife is pregnant with twins and it's been very hard for her. But we have the best midwives and doctors in Nanguang in Yanziping. Why are you so anxious?"
Qu Bu said, "You may not know this, but half a month ago, I brought my wife to see Doctor Liu for a pulse diagnosis. He said that it might not be just twins, but very likely a third pregnancy."
"Sister Xu was afraid of something going wrong, so she asked us to move from Bajiaodong to Yanziping ahead of time to prepare for childbirth. The grandmothers all said that twins would not be born until full term, and the closer to full term, the more dangerous it would be for the mother."
"But my wife's baby is already full-term, and there's still no sign of her giving birth. It's driving me crazy!"
After hearing his words, I felt a pang of heartache and didn't know how to comfort him. I asked Liu Yu, "Dr. Liu, can a pregnant woman like this be given labor-inducing drugs?"
“No.” Liu Yu waved her hand. “Multiple pregnancies are dangerous and can easily lead to postpartum hemorrhage. Inducing labor with drugs promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis, which is extremely detrimental to the postpartum period.”
I looked at Aunt Xu again: "Since we can't use medicine, why don't we try to scare her?"
Mrs. Xu looked helpless: "I've scared her several times. That child is very brave. Pretending to be a ghost doesn't work. The day before yesterday, someone even caught a long snake and secretly put it in her room, but she caught it too."
Snake... I couldn't help but glance at Wei Ji, and he looked at me as well. In that instant when our eyes met, an idea popped into my head.
I walked to the door and said to the women who were watching, "Which of you is familiar with the pregnant woman? Please go and tell her that Qubu has committed a crime and has been arrested by the yamen."
“Okay.” The grandmothers understood immediately. “We’ll go tell her right away, she won’t be able to disbelieve us.”
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a woman from the Liao family returned, panting: "She's going into labor! She's going into labor! Sister-in-law Xu, hurry over there, everyone's waiting for you. Qu Bu, what are you standing there for? Go and let your wife know she's safe!"
Qu Bu seemed to wake from a dream and ran away like a gust of wind.
Aunt Xu said to the old woman, "You feed her some brown sugar and jujube soup first. I'll go back to the house to get the tools for the birthing ceremony, and I'll be there soon!"
Wang Yunhui was about to go with me, but I thought that her daughter had died in childbirth and that witnessing the birthing scene would inevitably bring her grief. So I quickly stopped her and said, "Madam Wang, you wait here. I'll go over and see if there's anything I can do to help."
"No, no!" Aunt Xu repeatedly stopped her. "Qing Niangzi, you absolutely cannot go. Childbirth is like walking through the gates of hell, and a third child is like going in and out three times. Anyone who has never given birth would probably never dare to think about having children again after seeing that! I appreciate your kindness, but we have enough people to accompany you during the delivery. Just wait for news!"
As evening approached, Huai Xu delivered the hemostatic herbs he had gathered to the clinic. Just then, a woman from the same village ran up to deliver the news: "The first one has been born, and it's a baby!"
"The delivery was too fast!" Liu Yu's expression changed drastically. She snatched the medicine packet from Huai Xu's hand, grabbed a dose without weighing it, and handed it to me, saying, "Quickly boil it up. Boil it over high heat until the liquid is reduced. Filter out a bowl and give it to the new mother. She must take two doses within half an hour."
I dared not ask any more questions and quickly followed orders, preparing the medicine and sending it to the delivery room. The woman waiting at the door took it and hurriedly took it to the inner room. Between the opening and closing of the door, the mother's screams and the newborn's cries mingled and entered my ears, making me feel compassion for all living beings and arouse my heart.
Not long after, another woman came to report the progress: "The second baby girl is also doing well. It is indeed the third pregnancy. Sister-in-law Xu said that the one still in the womb is the biggest."
Liu Yu frowned and asked, "How is the mother doing?"
The woman replied, "My spirits are alright, but my physical strength is somewhat lacking."
"Feed the meat paste quickly."
"I fed her, but she vomited as soon as she ate."
Liu Yu slammed his hand on the table and said, "Why aren't you thinking of a way to get them drunk!"
"I'll go right away!" The woman hurried out.
No one dared to breathe loudly. Liu Yu, with a cold face, turned around and took a medicine box from the shelf. He silently packed it away. He picked up the iron box containing the needles and put it down several times. He held it in his hand and sighed softly.
Night had fallen when the messenger woman, who had been delivering messages, rushed in, carrying a lantern, and exclaimed in a panic, "It's terrible, Doctor Liu! The third baby has just been delivered, but the mother is bleeding more and more, and we can't stop it! Sister-in-law Xu sent me to ask you what to do?"
Liu Yu said sternly, "First, give him ginger soup. We must keep his body temperature up!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" the woman replied and left.
With tears welling in her eyes, Wang Yunhui said in a trembling voice, "Liu Yu, I know this world doesn't accept men entering the delivery room. As a doctor, you're in a dilemma, but a woman's life is also a life! That child is about the same age as your daughter. Doctors have the heart of parents, please make an exception this time..."
Holding the needle box, Liu Yu looked anxious: "It's not that I'm unwilling to break this precedent, but she's had a full-term triple pregnancy and the labor was so fast that she's already exhausted and the hope of saving her is really slim. If I go there and still can't save her, her family will be grieving and will inevitably blame me."
"Dr. Liu, come with me!" Huai Xu jumped up and grabbed Liu Yu's sleeve. "If her family dares to cause trouble, I'll beat them to death!"
I quickly pulled Huai Xu back: "Dr. Liu, I'll go talk to the woman's family right away. As for whether she can be saved, we'll do our best and leave the rest to fate."
Liu Yu hesitated, "This—"
Wei Ji suddenly stepped forward, took the needle box from Liu Yu's hand, put it into the medicine box, picked up the medicine box with one hand, and patted Liu Yu's shoulder with the other: "Come on, I'll take you there." He then said to me, "Qing Niangzi, please lead the way."
As the lanterns were lit, the four of us hurried to the delivery room, where Qu Bu was entangled with two women guarding the door.
"Grandma, you've poured out three basins of bloody water! Is A-Guo about to die? I need to go in and see her!"
"Qubu, it's bad luck for a man to go into the delivery room. It's not good for you, and it's not good for your wife either."
"Yes, Qubu, you're not a doctor, you can't help even if you go in."
Huai Xu rushed forward and said, "What's so unlucky about it? Aren't men born from the delivery room?"
"Girl Huaixu".
Wei Ji said, "Human life is at stake. Please step aside and let Doctor Liu in."
I took the medicine box from Wei Ji's hand: "Dr. Liu, come with me."
"Lady Qing—"
I pointed to Wei Ji and said, "Don't worry about it, gentlemen. Even if something happens, the prefect will take responsibility and won't make things difficult for you."
"Yes." The two women breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside. One of them even gave Qu Bu a push.
Qu Bu failed to understand and remained standing still.
Wei Ji then said, "Qu Bu, come in together. Qing Niangzi has something to say to you."
The delivery room was filled with a strong stench of blood. I put down my medicine box, and Liu Yu took out her needle case and began preparing the needles. A woman who was assisting with the delivery peeked out from behind the curtain: "It really is Lady Qing and Doctor Liu! When I heard the noise at the door, I thought I was hallucinating!"
I walked to the other end of the cloth and carefully lifted a corner. I saw a young face as pale as paper. When he saw me, his lips moved twice, but he was too weak to make a sound: "You want to see Qu Bu, don't you?"
She blinked with difficulty.
I turned my head and called out, "Qubu, come here!"
Qu Bu stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and choked out, "Aguo, don't be afraid, I'll stay with you... Doctor Liu is here, he'll definitely have a way to cure you!"
A-Guo's dim eyes suddenly brightened. Liu Yu inserted the needle, and I quickly pulled Qu-La to a corner and said in a low voice, "You've seen A-Guo's condition. Doctor Liu is a compassionate doctor, which is why he came to treat her despite the risks. If it's successful, everyone will be happy; but if it doesn't work, you can't blame him."
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