When a woman gives birth, it's like stepping halfway into the gates of the netherworld. This is no mere exaggeration. Qin Liuxi listened to the commotion coming from the delivery room and closed her eyes.
Qihuang glanced at the hourglass. After a night of turmoil, with dawn about to break, blood was being drained out in basins, yet not a single cry of an infant was heard. Instead, the noise from inside was diminishing.
"Miss, I'm afraid..." Qin Liuxi had already risen to her feet. Before Qihuang could take a step, a figure stumbled out from within. It was her eldest aunt, Qin Meiniang, who had been dismissed home due to the troubles in the Qin family. Her eyelids were swollen, her face deathly pale.
"She can't deliver! Where's the doctor?" Qin Meiniang's lips were cracked and dry, her mind in disarray.
Qin Liuxi hurriedly walked in. When the midwife saw her, it was as if she had spotted a savior. She urgently said, "Miss, Madam has fainted."
Qin's elderly lady was swaying on her feet, her tongue bitten again. She looked at Qin Liuxi and said, "What is a young girl like you doing here? Quickly leave and summon the doctor to give your third sister-in-law acupuncture."
Wang Shi hadn't expected Qin Liuxi, a young girl, to be so bold. Wearily, she said, "Xixi, the delivery room is covered in blood. Listen to your grandmother and leave."
Ignoring the lingering scent of blood in her nostrils, Qin Liuxi approached the delivery bed. After feeling Gu Shi's wrist, she noticed the earrings she was wearing and took them off. "Are these your third sister-in-law's? Consider them payment for my services."
Seeing her pocket the earrings, the onlookers were dumbfounded.
Qin's elderly lady's anger surged, pointing at her. "You, you..."
She gasped for breath, showing signs of fainting at any moment. Her granddaughter, who among them would act so recklessly regardless of the situation?
"Xixi, apologize to your grandmother quickly." Wang Shi saw how furious the elderly lady was and, although surprised by Qin Liuxi's behavior, didn't want to add fuel to the fire. She said to the elderly lady, "Mother, perhaps the child is just shocked. Forgive her!"
"Sister-in-law, it doesn't seem like it. Looks like she's shallow-minded," Xie Shi sneered with schadenfreude.
"Second sister-in-law!" Qin Liuxi found the noise unbearable, glancing at them and saying, "Stop making a fuss. Except for the midwife, all of you wait outside. If you want to see your third sister-in-law safely deliver, that is."
Everyone was stunned. What did she mean?
Xie Shi snorted. She did look a bit foolish now!
"Qihuang, light incense and prepare talismans."
"Yes."
Qin Liuxi had already taken out a box from the chest and opened it, revealing a row of needles of various sizes. Seeing everyone standing still, she couldn't help but look over. "Are you still not leaving?"
Her tone was cold, not treating them with any respect as elders.
Qin's elderly lady sternly reprimanded, "What are you doing? Now is not the time for your antics. Quickly leave and summon the doctor."
"There's no doctor."
Qin's elderly lady was taken aback. What?
"She wants to give birth safely, and only I can help her." Qin Liuxi had already picked up a gold needle.
Qin's elderly lady looked at the needle glittering in the candlelight, her heart skipping a beat. "You, you want to give acupuncture to your third sister-in-law?"
"Do you know medicine, Xixi?" Wang Shi and the others were also somewhat incredulous. This was unheard of.
"Nonsense, do you know anything about medicine? You're simply acting recklessly!" Qin's elderly lady was furious, blocking Qin Liuxi with an unbelieving expression.
How could this girl, at such a young age, who had been confined to the old house all this time, suddenly become skilled in medicine?
Was she trying to toy with her third sister-in-law and her child?
Qin Liuxi's patience wore thin. Didn't they believe her?