mesbooks Chapter 1008 The Theory of Eight Characters
Chapter 1008 The Theory of Eight Characters
Although the household had arranged for midwives and doctors to stay in the side courtyard in advance, childbirth is a major event.
Before they had even finished their meal, they got up to go and check on things. Madam Xu, supporting her maid's arm, kept urging them on as they walked, clearly very anxious.
"Mom, watch your step, there's no rush," Zhang Ping'an said with some concern, looking at his mother's hunched back and hurried steps.
Xu herself didn't take it seriously, waving her hand dismissively and saying, "It's alright, there's still some daylight, I can see. My legs are nimble, better than your father's."
"You still need to be careful; your bodies are too fragile to be bumped or knocked over," Zhang Ping'an advised.
As they were talking, the group arrived at the bedroom door in no time.
Little Fish was already waiting at the door, looking very calm, but his pacing back and forth betrayed his true feelings.
As a woman, Madam Xu had no taboos and went in directly with her maid.
Zhang Lao Er and Zhang Ping An were unable to come, so they could only wait outside.
"Grandpa, Dad, you're here," Xiaoyuer greeted the two of them.
Then he helped Zhang Lao Er to sit down to the side.
Zhang Lao Er waved his hand and asked loudly, "Don't sit down yet. How is the situation? Have the doctor and midwife gone in yet?"
“They’ve already gone in. We were counting down the days, knowing that labor would start around this time, so we arranged for a midwife and a doctor to stay at our house,” Xiaoyuer replied.
After saying that, he couldn't help but gently rub his thumb and forefinger together.
He himself didn't know when he developed this habit, but when he had something on his mind, he couldn't help but rub it to relieve his inner turmoil.
Zhang Ping'an noticed this and patted his son on the shoulder to comfort him, saying, "Alright, don't panic. We can't help with childbirth. Where are Heng'er and Zhuo'er?"
Xiaoyuer smiled and said, "I was afraid of scaring them, so I had a servant stay with them in the study!"
"That's good!" Zhang Ping'an nodded.
After he finished speaking, the men fell silent and waited patiently.
Logically speaking, since Ms. Li has already given birth twice, this third pregnancy should have been even sooner.
But until the moon was high in the sky, apart from Li's occasional screams, no other news came from the delivery room.
The baby could not be born.
Zhang Ping'an and Xiaoyuer were fine, but Zhang Lao Er was getting old and fell asleep around midnight. Xu Shi also couldn't take it anymore and came out of the delivery room.
"Mother, what's going on? Why haven't we heard anything yet? What did the doctor and midwife say?" Zhang Ping'an asked, frowning, with a bad feeling in his heart.
Little Fish was also starting to lose his composure.
Ms. Xu looked extremely tired. "The doctor and midwife are helping out, but the baby just won't come down. There's nothing we can do but wait. If it really doesn't work, we'll give the baby some medicine to induce labor."
“That shouldn’t be the case. Li has always been very careful about her diet during her pregnancies, and the baby isn’t very big. Why can’t it come out?” Xiaoyuer frowned.
"Perhaps the child is too lazy. Every child is different. Alright, alright, it's getting late. The rooster will be crowing soon. I'm getting old and can't handle staying up all night. You two have to go to court tomorrow, so go back and rest. Have the steward come and keep an eye on things," Madam Xu waved her hand and pushed the father and son to rest.
He walked over and woke Zhang Lao Er up.
Zhang Lao Er woke up with a start, his first reaction being to ask, "The baby's been born?"
"Not yet," Xu sighed. "Looks like we'll have to wait a while. This child is quite a handful. Let's go back and rest first. We can't afford to wear ourselves out at this crucial time!"
"Not yet?" Zhang Lao Er asked in surprise, and with some worry.
Zhang Ping'an and Xiaoyuer were worried, but they had to attend court the next day, so they could only let him eat his fill and come over to keep an eye on things.
They thought that no matter how late it was, there would be news by the next day. The father and son were not at ease during the day at the yamen, waiting for their family to come and bring news. However, they waited until they finished their shift without any news.
They sent a servant back to inquire, and the child was found to be still alive.
The father and son sat in the carriage, both in a bad mood. Zhang Ping'an thought for a moment and then decisively said, "Although it can take a woman a day and a night or even two days and a night to give birth, it's not good for the mother and child if it drags on too long. When we get back, we'll have to ask the doctor to come up with a solution. If all else fails, we'll have to give them labor-inducing drugs!"
Little Fish agreed, "Okay, let's do it this way!"
She rubbed her temples again, somewhat annoyed: "Actually, during the day, I sent a servant back to deliver a message, telling him to take medicine if all else failed. But the servant came back and said that Li Shi absolutely refused, afraid that taking medicine would harm her body and the children, and also afraid that she wouldn't be able to have any more children. She's so stubborn. She already has three children, what is there to worry about?"
"Alright, no matter what, she's suffering right now, so don't say such sarcastic things," Zhang Ping'an said sternly.
The two returned home without lingering and went straight to the delivery room. Zhang Lao Er was sitting under the eaves, leaning on his cane, and would occasionally glance back at the delivery room.
Seeing the father and son return was like seeing saviors; he almost jumped up in panic: "Your mother has already gone in. She's been in labor all day and still hasn't given birth. This is not good!"
"Alright, Grandpa, don't worry," Xiaoyuer helped Zhang Lao Er sit down again.
Then, in a deep voice, he instructed the servants: "Go in and tell the doctor to prescribe a labor-inducing medicine. Give it to the lady to drink now!"
"Yes!" The maidservant hurriedly bowed and rushed inside.
This time, Li did not object.
After taking the medicine, Li's reaction was indeed stronger.
Zhang Ping'an and the others had no appetite and only had servants serve the two little ones their meals and wash up.
After an unknown amount of time, darkness fell, and servants busied themselves carrying basins of water to change the water, which was stained with blood—a glaring red.
It was the end of the month, and a crescent moon hung in the sky like a sickle, with sparse stars around it.
It looks rather ominous.
Zhang Ping'an glanced up and saw this scene, then realized what was happening and muttered to himself, "Oh right, today is the last day of the month! I completely forgot!"
Xiaoyuer heard this too, stepped forward, looked up at the night sky, and his face became even more unpleasant. "Yes, today is the last day of the month. If only the child had been born yesterday. But it's no use talking about it now. We can't control having a child. I hope the child can be born soon. Otherwise, if the child is born at midnight, that's one of the five unlucky times. The last day of the month plus one of the five unlucky times is an extremely ominous sign. This birth chart is really bad!"
"You can't completely believe in the theory of birth date and time. There's still some time before the time of birth, so don't talk nonsense," Zhang Ping'an said softly.
But his own brow was twitching.
A twitching left eye means good fortune, while a twitching right eye means bad luck. This intense twitching of the right eye and right eyebrow is quite unsettling!