**The Northern Frontier: Lu Family Medical Clinic**
The biting wind from beyond the Great Wall swirled fine snowflakes, pounding against the thick felt of the medical tent. Inside, a roaring fire burned, and the air was filled with the steam of medicine. Luo Qingrou, her enormous pregnant belly almost spilling out, was bent over, carefully cleaning a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on the arm of a young soldier who had just been carried back from the front lines. Fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, yet her movements were steady and gentle.
"Bear with it, it'll be over soon." She gently comforted the soldier who was wincing in pain, while skillfully threading the sutures with silver needles in her hand.
The old military doctor was pounding medicine nearby, muttering, "Girl, take it easy! You're almost full term, and you're still working so hard! Let this old man do it!"
"Master, it's alright, it'll be finished soon." Luo Qingrou didn't even look up, completely focused. Just as the last stitch was about to be completed, she seemed to trip over something, and her body swayed violently!
"Watch out!" The old army doctor was horrified and rushed over, dropping his pestle.
But it was too late. Luo Qingrou felt a tearing pain in her abdomen, her vision went black, and she fell backward uncontrollably!
"Qingrou!" The old medic's exclamation and the wounded soldier's cry of pain rang out simultaneously. Luo Qingrou fell heavily to the ground, the sewing kit in her hand crashing to the floor with a clatter. A sharp pain instantly swept through her body; she curled up, clutching her stomach tightly with both hands, cold sweat instantly soaking through her undergarments, her face as pale as paper.
"Ah... Master... my stomach... hurts so much..." she groaned in pain, and warm liquid began to gush out uncontrollably from beneath her, quickly soaking the ground.
"Oh no! She's going into labor! She's fallen! Quick! Carry her back to the manor!" The experienced old military doctor knew something was wrong at a glance. His voice changed as he roared at the terrified medical apprentice beside him, "Go and report to the general! Hurry!"
---
Lu Zheng was discussing winter defense with several deputy generals in the central command tent when his personal guard, Lu Qi, practically tumbled in, his voice trembling with tears and unprecedented terror: "General! General! Something terrible has happened! The young mistress has fallen in the medical tent! She's...she's bleeding! The old army doctor says...he's worried she might give birth prematurely! The situation is critical!"
The map in Lu Zheng's hand fell to the ground with a "thud." He stood up abruptly, his usually cold and stern face, which had remained unchanged even before a thousand troops, instantly drained of all color, leaving only a terrifyingly pale white. As if struck by an invisible giant hammer, his tall body swayed, and the next second, he shot out of the tent like an arrow, his speed creating a gust of wind that even made the adjutant beside him stumble.
"Qingrou—!" That heart-wrenching cry, carried by the biting wind and snow of the northern frontier, echoed far and wide.
Inside the Lu residence, the makeshift delivery room was already in complete chaos, but Madam Lu and Madam Luo managed to stabilize the situation.
"Hot water! A clean cloth! Quickly!"
"Ginseng slices! Put a ginseng slice in your mouth!"
"Rou'er! Inhale! Push! Follow your mother!"
Luo Qingrou lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) covered with a thick leather mattress. The contractions were like surging tides, one wave stronger than the next, almost tearing her consciousness apart. The fear of premature birth and the excruciating pain from the fall made her tremble uncontrollably. Sweat had already soaked through her hair and clothes. She gripped the mattress beneath her tightly, her knuckles turning white, and painful groans escaped intermittently from between her teeth.
"Mother...it hurts so much...I can't take it anymore..." she cried weakly.
“Nonsense! Mother is here! Mother and mother-in-law are both here! Rou’er, be good, push hard!” Madam Luo held her daughter’s cold hand tightly, forcing back her tears, but her voice was extremely firm.
Madam Lu stood by, wiping the sweat and tears from her daughter-in-law's face with a warm towel, her voice filled with an unprecedented gentleness and strength: "Qingrou, don't be afraid! Think of Zheng'er! Think of the child! Keep going! My good child, you are the best!"
The door was flung open with a bang. Lu Zheng rushed in, covered in snow and the chill of the air. He practically collapsed onto the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing his wife's pale, pained face, soaked with sweat and tears, and hearing her suppressed cries of agony, this iron-willed general's eyes instantly turned bloodshot and red-rimmed. He knelt on one knee at the edge of the kang, grabbed Luo Qingrou's other hand, which was flailing wildly, and gripped it tightly in his palm, with a force so great it felt like he was about to crush her bones. His voice was hoarse and broken, filled with heavy sobs and unspeakable fear: "Rou'er! I'm here! I'm here! Look at me! Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid! Please... push! Our child... please..." He spoke incoherently, and hot tears fell unexpectedly onto their clasped hands.
Luo Qingrou's hazy, pained gaze met her husband's bloodshot eyes, filled with shock, anguish, and tears. The fear and helplessness in his eyes were far greater than her own pain. An indescribable force seemed to flow from their clasped hands. She took a deep breath, as if using all her remaining strength, and let out a piercing scream!
"Wow--!"
A baby's cry, not too loud but exceptionally clear, suddenly rang out like heavenly music!
"It's born! It's born!" the midwife exclaimed in surprise, busily handling the situation.
But before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the old military doctor's urgent voice rang out again: "Wait! There's one more! There's another one in her belly! Twins! Qingrou! Push a little harder! There's one more!"
Luo Qingrou felt utterly drained, her consciousness blurring, but her husband's tightly clenched hand and the desperate cries in her ear served as her last anchor. Instinctively, she mustered all her remaining strength and bit her lower lip hard, drawing blood.
"ah--!"
"Wow--!"
The second cry was louder and more powerful than the first, carrying a stubborn refusal to give up, and it followed closely behind, echoing through the howling wind and snow of the cold northern night!
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