Chapter 9: The Difficult Childbirth of the Du Family's Daughter-in-law
"Young Master Du, hold on!" Gu Changsheng took a quick step to block Young Master Du as he staggered away.
Without glancing at her, his eyes filled with an indescribable despondency, Young Master Du waved his hand to push away the obstacle before him, "Get out of the way, Wanniang is waiting for me, she won't be in any trouble! She definitely won't!"
"Young Master Du, you'd better calm down and listen to me finish," Gu Changsheng caught the arm that was waving at her, her expression unusually grave, "For a woman in labor, premature birth due to a disturbance of the fetal energy resulting in a difficult birth is truly a matter of life and death."
Isn't that stating the obvious? Xiao Cui, leading Little Meat Bun in one hand and holding onto Han Mo with the other, stepped forward with a worried face, "Madam, human life is of paramount importance. If you could..."
"Yes! Human life is of paramount importance." Before she could finish, Gu Changsheng interrupted, "I wonder if Young Master Du can afford the ten thousand taels consultation fee?"
Xiao Cui decisively pulled the two children back a step. It wasn't right for Madam to do this. Was she sure she wasn't taking advantage of the situation? Was she sure she wasn't getting worked up over ten thousand taels of silver?
"Can you save Wanniang?" Young Master Du, worried and distraught, finally came to his senses, awkwardly turning his plump body, his face filled with disbelief, "If you can save my wife, let alone ten thousand taels consultation fee, if you ask for all my possessions, I won't hesitate."
"Deal!" Gu Changsheng briskly released his arm and waved at the people behind her, "Xiao Cui, Han Qiu, pack up the things and bring the little ones with you. We're going to the Du Residence. I'll go ahead."
No sooner had she spoken than she made her way swiftly out the door, and the now alert members of the Du family remembered to run ahead to show the way.
In the main hall of the Elder's residence, a place of extraordinary dignity, Gu Changsheng's pace was swift, the Servant Boy leading her almost running, drenched in sweat.
"Prepare catgut sutures. If there aren't any, use silk thread for sewing clothes, and have them alternately immersed in strong alcohol and boiling water," Gu Changsheng ordered the people behind her in a tone more serious than ever before. She was a military doctor, and although she had become somewhat worldly, she still maintained the integrity of a doctor. She couldn't bear to watch a patient die before her eyes. On the battlefield, she could unsheath her sword and fire her gun without hesitation for the sake of her country, but off the battlefield, she was just a military doctor, a competent health professional!
"Ginseng, 15 qian; Chinese yam, twenty qian; Atractylodes, 10 qian; Ophiopogon japonicus… also add ten red jujubes to brew the medicine, and do it quickly," Gu Changsheng followed close behind the Servant Boy, her voice steady and measured.
"Red jujubes?" Is that a medicinal herb? The Servant Boy following behind her, tasked with recording, was puzzled.
"As stated in the 'Classic Book,' red jujubes taste sweet and have a warming nature. They can replenish Qi, nourish blood and calm the spirit, among other effects. Now is not the time to explain in detail; go prepare the medicine," Gu Changsheng waved her hand and stepped into a finely decorated courtyard gate.
The courtyard was already in chaos, with maids and old women flurried and panicking, crying and shouting filled the ears, and one old woman carried out a basin of bloodstained water. Gu Changsheng paid no attention to the gaze of Old Madam Du, splendidly dressed at her side, but turned to the old woman holding the bloody water, her face stern, "What's the condition of the woman in labor inside?"
"Madam has had ruptured waters for a while now, the baby is not in the correct position and can't be delivered, and she has started to bleed lightly..." She cried out in horror and burst into tears.
"Everyone, shut up!" Gu Changsheng shouted loudly, silencing the clamor in the courtyard. Even Old Madam Du, splendidly dressed, paused and looked at her, puzzled.
"Are you Young Master Du's mother?"
"Yes!" Old Madam Du instinctively responded.
"From now on, anyone who whines and cries will be thrown out!" After a harsh statement from Gu Changsheng, she began to take off her outer garments as she walked into the house, "Also, prepare strong alcohol, hot water, cotton cloth, and hemostatic herbs, and bring them into the room."
Without sterile garb available, she could only remove her outer clothing to reduce the chances of bringing in germs.
Old Madam Du was disregarded as Gu Changsheng strode into the inner chamber.
A strong smell of blood assaulted her senses, and coupled with the temperature inside the room, it made Gu Changsheng feel suffocated for a moment. She couldn't afford to consider anything else and quickly reached the birthing bed, where she grabbed Madam Du's wrist, clenched on the mattress, and started to examine her pulse carefully."
Madam Du's limbs were cold, her lips pale, her body drenched in sweat, her pulse thin and slippery, surging and slightly rooted—these were the precursors of hemorrhage. The situation was too critical; she couldn't wait even a moment longer.
"Madam Du, Madam Du, can you hear me speaking?" While speaking to Madam Du, Gu Changsheng reached into the hidden pocket at her waist and swiftly inserted silver needles into the Hegu Acupoint, Sanyinjiao, Shenmen, and Neiguan, supplemented by Danzhong and Xuehai.
"Chenzhi, is that you..." Madam Du murmured weakly as she opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused and confused.
"Madam Du, since you are awake, I must tell you that your condition is very serious." She turned and pressed on Madam Du's lower abdomen, carefully examining from top to bottom and side to side, then lifted the sheet covering Madam Du's lower body and made a thorough inspection.
"Madam Du, I am now your doctor, Gu Changsheng." Gu Changsheng continued to massage the acupoints on her abdomen as she began to explain, "If you want both mother and child to be safe, cooperate and drink the medicine to maintain your strength."
Gu Changsheng's words were calm and forceful, instilling an unconscious trust. Madam Du's eyes brightened significantly at the mention of both mother and child being safe, "Can you save me? No! Can you save my baby? Please, save my baby, don't worry about me..."
"Rest assured, Madam Du. As a doctor, I will not stand by and watch my patient die before me if there is even a slight chance." Gu Changsheng finished her statement without looking at Madam Du and went outside to inform the patient's family of the real situation.
Young Master Du and Xiao Cui, together with Han Qiu and even Little Meat Bun, stood outside, all with anxious faces looking at the doorway.
Gu Changsheng, supporting a pair of blood-drenched hands, spoke with a serious expression, "Young Master Du, your wife's condition is very critical. Premature labor combined with the baby's large size has already shown signs of collapse. If we don't open the birth canal to assist with the birth in time, both mother and child are likely to die."
"Madam, I beg you, please save Wanniang. I kneel before you," Young Master Du didn't hesitate and immediately knelt down with reddened eyes.
"Madam, I beg you to save my daughter-in-law. The Du family is now down to this last branch. I also kneel before you!" Old Madam Du, shaking and unsteady, came forward to kneel on the ground despite being supported by maids. Her older son had passed away early, without leaving any children, and now only this young son remained, the sole hope of the Du family.
"There is no need for such actions. You have invited me here, and as a doctor, it's my duty to make every possible effort," Gu Changsheng's face showed sympathy as she could hardly bear to see family members displaying the anguish of impending separation, "Han Qiu, draft a document stating that I will try my best, but I take no responsibility for the outcome, and have them sign it. Do you have any objections?"
"None at all, we fully entrust everything to you, Madam," an aged yet powerful voice came from outside the hall.
Gu Changsheng looked at the newcomer, a man in his sixties, whose wrinkled face bore the authority of a high-ranking official. He was dressed in a purple robe embroidered with large gold floral designs, undoubtedly Elder Du, who had retired.
For a person of such status, his word was as good as gold.
Gu Changsheng turned her attention away from him and gave an assured glance to Xiao Cui and Han Qiu before leading the maids who carried the items she required back to the delivery room.
After reexamining the situation, she quickly removed the silver needles, "Madam Du, Young Master Du and the others are waiting outside for the joyous news of the child's arrival. Your amniotic fluid is nearly gone, and there are signs of serious bleeding. If we delay any longer, the child will suffocate and die. I have no choice but to cut open your birth canal to help you deliver the child. Given the circumstances, I can save your child, but as for you, I can only do my utmost."
Gu Changsheng did not hide the truth, as patients have the right to be informed. Concealing the facts would only increase her fear of the unknown.
"Thank you..." Madam Du was weak but still managed to muster a faint smile of relief.
For a mother, nothing is more important than the safety of her child.
"Now, I will apply acupuncture to help reduce your pain. You'll have to endure it a bit longer; when I tell you to push, no matter how much it hurts, you must cooperate with me," Gu Changsheng explained, as she continued to insert needles without pause and instructed a nearby maid to massage between the eyebrows as well as the lower Hegu and Neiguan acupoints on the wrist.
With a piece of ginseng in her mouth, Madam Du's hair stuck together with sweat, yet she nodded strenuously to indicate her understanding.
With time pressing, there was no opportunity to prepare the Anesthetic Powder, and the pain of childbirth was defined in modern medicine as a level twelve unbearable agony.
Compared to that, the pain of cutting skin was bearable.
Ignoring the midwife's look of horror, Gu Changsheng took out a set of surgical instruments from her waist—various scalpels, suture needles, retractors...
Without the luxury to relish the familiar feeling of these tools from another space, Gu Changsheng quickly disinfected the necessary scalpels and suture needles with alcohol before passing them through flame, wiped them dry, and then crouched by the birthing bed. She avoided major blood vessels and swiftly made an incision, performing an episiotomy, a very simple procedure, "Cotton cloth!"
The midwife, snapped back to reality by Gu Changsheng's stern voice, nervously handed over the cotton cloth.
"Help me, wipe the blood."
"Crush all the hemostatic herbs for me, quickly!"
"Madam Du, can you hear me?"
"Yes..." A weak response.
"Madam Du, you are a great mother. Do not be nervous; I will try my utmost to ensure the safety of both you and your child."
"Hot water."
Gu Changsheng washed the blood from her hands and pursed her lips as she reached with one hand into the birth canal. With the baby in an incorrect position, the difficulty of a natural delivery was too great. She accurately located the baby's head and pulled it outward with a deft motion. Gu Changsheng crouched on the ground, now drenched in sweat as well.
"Madam Du, the baby's head is now close to the birth canal entrance. Listen to me; when I count to three, you must push together with me. You can give birth to a healthy, adorable baby."
"One, two, three!"
"Ah..." A heart-wrenching scream echoed in the delivery room.
The anxious crowd outside, awaiting the moment, all shuddered and rushed towards the door of the delivery room.
Without the expected cries of the newborn, everyone outside the delivery room, including Gu Changsheng who held the newborn in her hands, was startled.