Chapter 117: Divine Physician Li and Divine Physician Ye Come Online

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"Save the mother?!!!"

Everyone around them was utterly shocked.

They even suspected their own ears had gone wrong; otherwise, how could they be hearing things? Or perhaps the words "save the mother" did not mean what they understood them to mean?

Seeing the midwife standing there motionless, Zhao Yu frowned and asked, "Did I not make myself clear? I order you to devote all your efforts to saving Lady Shen's life. As for the child in Lady Shen's belly, save it if you can; if you cannot, that is heaven's will."

This time, everyone heard clearly. The person Zhao Yu truly wanted to save was Shen Fuling — bought back in her early years by the House of Shen, who had been doing lowly work until Zhao Yu took a fancy to her — while the life he was giving up was that of the imperial prince or princess in her belly, a child who carried Zhao Yu's own blood!!!

Let alone an insignificant little Shen Fuling, even if one swapped in those concubines with backgrounds — Zhang Nan, Han Yu, Cai Xuan — none of them would be as important as a single imperial prince, not even as important as a single imperial princess. After all, women — Zhao Yu could have as many as he wanted, whenever he wanted. Losing one would be nothing to him; losing a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, would all be no big deal.

Besides, they had never seen Zhao Yu dote on Shen Fuling much in ordinary days. So how, at this life-and-death moment, could Zhao Yu rather abandon his own children than preserve Shen Fuling's life?

Had Zhao Yu forgotten how Zhao Xu died?

Wasn't that all because there was no son?

In short, everyone could not understand why Zhao Yu would make such a choice.

Zheng Xiansu advised, "Your Majesty, please reconsider."

Zheng Xiansu was not unaware that she herself, now pregnant, might one day face such a moment. Zhao Yu's choice today could well concern her own life and death.

But considering the gains and losses from Zhao Yu's perspective, Zheng Xiansu had to offer him one word of counsel. What if Zhao Yu was merely putting on an act? If no one gave him a way out, wouldn't Zhao Yu be left hanging here, watching his own children die with his own eyes?

Huang Jingchen also advised Zhao Yu, "Your Majesty, in this servant's humble opinion, would it not be better to order them to spare no effort to save the imperial prince, and do their best to save Lady Shen as well?"

Then, more and more people urged Zhao Yu. What they said, each more reasonable than the last — if Zhao Yu chose to take the easy way out, he could justifiably abandon Shen Fuling and preserve his own children.

But Zhao Yu said firmly to the midwife, "Carry out my order. I want Lady Shen alive."

Back in the day, when Liu Bei threw the child to the ground, Zhao Yun, seeing the scene, was moved to tears on the spot. He hurriedly picked up the infant Ah Dou that Liu Bei had cast to the ground, knelt on the floor, and cried out, "Even if Zhao Yun were to spill his liver and brains upon the ground, he could never repay the lord's grace in recognizing his worth!"

Now, with Zhao Yu truly about to abandon his own children for the sake of this lowly woman, how could Shen Fuling inside the birthing room not be moved by Zhao Yu?

They only heard Shen Fuling say in a very weak voice, "Your Majesty, this concubine… my life is cheap. I beg Your Majesty to save… save the imperial prince."

At this point, even Shen Fuling herself, the person at the center of it all, had given Zhao Yu a way out. Zhao Yu truly had every reason to abandon Shen Fuling and preserve his own children, and he would not even need to feel guilty.

Who would have thought that Zhao Yu would still say firmly to Shen Fuling, "Shen Fuling, listen to me. Cooperate fully with them and preserve your own life. Once you have recovered, I shall grant you another child."

At this point, who could fail to see that Zhao Yu truly wanted to preserve Shen Fuling's life, and to save her, was truly prepared to give up his own children's lives — he was not feigning benevolence.

Shen Fuling was all the more moved. She said in a tearful voice, "I beg Your Majesty… save the imperial prince."

Zhao Yu said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Shen Fuling, do you dare disobey my order?"

With the way out Zhao Yu had given her, Shen Fuling's will to live got the upper hand. So, after a moment of silence, she replied, "This concubine… does not dare."

Matters having come to this, what could the midwives and the imperial physicians still say? They could only devote all their efforts to saving Shen Fuling.

Who would have expected that at this moment Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun would arrive, late and unhurried.

To everyone's surprise, Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun had not come by palanquin, but had run there. Presumably, the little eunuchs carrying them had been unable to keep going, and they, afraid of wasting time, had gotten down from the sedan and run over themselves.

Li Lin, who had excellent stamina, was fine — she was not even breathing hard.

But Ye Shi Yun, who usually loved her food and hated exertion, was far worse off; by the time she reached the spot, she could barely stand.

This made Zhao Yu swallow back the "Why have you only just arrived?" that he had been about to ask, and instead personally support Ye Shi Yun, saying to her, "Sit down and rest a while first. There's no rush."

A quick-witted palace maid had already brought a chair over.

Ye Shi Yun paid no heed to her image, nor to any propriety — she dropped straight onto the chair.

Then Ye Shi Yun, still gasping for breath, said, "Boil water… boil…"

Li Lin finished for Ye Shi Yun, "Quickly go boil clean water, and boil these in boiling water for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

As she said this, Li Lin was seen pulling quite a number of strange objects out of the bag on her back.

Others might not recognize what these things were, but how could Zhao Yu fail to recognize them as obstetric tools and medical instruments?

Zhao Yu's gaze locked onto the two pairs of obstetric forceps.

Zhao Yu was well aware that, unassuming as obstetric forceps might look, their invention was an important milestone in the development of obstetrics, of epoch-making significance.

In cases of difficult labor — such as the fetal head being in the wrong position, or the mother lacking the strength to continue — obstetric forceps could help the physician deliver the baby smoothly, greatly raising the success rate of childbirth while greatly reducing the risks to both mother and child.

Moreover, obstetric forceps could take effect swiftly in emergencies; through traction and similar maneuvers, they could bring the baby out of the mother's body as quickly as possible, avoiding serious consequences such as fetal oxygen deprivation, asphyxiation, and damage to the mother's soft birth canal caused by prolonged labor.

Furthermore, timely use of obstetric forceps could shorten the time the fetus spent in distress in the womb, lowering the incidence of complications such as intracranial hemorrhage and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in the newborn, while also reducing the risk of complications for the mother such as perineal tears and uterine rupture caused by difficult labor.

It was no exaggeration to say that obstetric forceps were an absolute treasure during childbirth, and with them, both mother and child might be saved.

Seeing that the palace maids had placed all the obstetric tools and medical instruments they had brought into the already-boiled water, Li Lin then explained to Zhao Yu, "Upon learning that Lady Shen was having a difficult labor, the two of us specifically went to Consort Ma's quarters to fetch some of the instruments needed for the rescue, and so we were delayed a little."

Earlier, the five women had been living all along in a modern world with a well-developed system, and had never realized the importance of a medical system.

It was not until Ye Shi Yun happened to mention that she had read the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" that the five women — Ye Shi Yun in particular — realized she could still carry forward her medical skills and become a divine physician.

It happened that Ma Ma Xiao Jiao was about to give birth, so Ye Shi Yun had Ma Ma Xiao Jiao help her craft a batch of obstetric tools and medical instruments.

However, Ma Ma Xiao Jiao's due date was still some time away, so Ye Shi Yun had not been in any hurry to go fetch the obstetric tools and medical instruments she wanted.

When Zhao Yu had suddenly summoned her tonight to help, Ye Shi Yun had hurriedly called on Li Lin, who was bold and unafraid of walking at night, and together they had gone to the Genyue Your Majesty Mountain Industrial Base to fetch these obstetric tools and medical instruments.

Ye Shi Yun also knew that time was tight and the task urgent; if they delayed any longer, both mother and child might be in danger. So, once she had recovered a little strength, she entered the birthing room with Li Lin's support.

In truth, the midwives and experienced hands had wanted to advise Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun not to go in. One should know that not only men, but also women who had never borne children were likewise forbidden from entering the birthing room.

Beyond the feudal superstition, there was in fact a practical reason for this as well.

This was mainly because the scene of childbirth was somewhat bloody, and could easily leave a psychological shadow on women who had never given birth, thereby making them fear childbirth.

In fact, one of the reasons men were not allowed into the birthing room was also the fear of leaving a psychological shadow on the man, which could easily affect the couple's intimate life.

But before the midwives and others could advise against it, Zhao Yu said, "Everything is to follow Imperial Consort Li and Imperial Consort Ye. Anyone who disobeys, I shall not let off lightly."

Zhao Yu had issued a sacred decree — how would anyone else dare to object? They could only let Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun enter the birthing room.

After Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun entered the birthing room, Ye Shi Yun saw Shen Fuling's utterly exhausted face, and saw the blood and large amounts of unknown fluid. Her legs, already gone weak and sore from running, immediately lost all strength entirely, and she nearly dropped onto the floor.

Fortunately, Li Lin was quick of eye and hand, and caught Ye Shi Yun in one grab.

Li Lin, who had sensed something was off, asked Ye Shi Yun in a low voice, "Don't you dare tell me you've never delivered a baby."

Ye Shi Yun said in a voice even softer than Li Lin's: "Guess how old I was before I started high school — do you think anyone would have asked me to deliver a baby?"

Li Lin's heart sank at once. She hurriedly said: "This is no time for jokes or showing off. If we're careless, it could cost two lives."

Ye Shi Yun forced herself to calm down, and, following what was recorded in the Barefoot Doctor's Manual, directed the midwives and attendants with composure — "calm and collected" — to carry out disinfection and pay attention to hygiene.

Seeing the situation so critical, yet Ye Shi Yun doing these seemingly useless things, the experienced midwives couldn't help but doubt whether Ye Shi Yun actually knew how to deliver a baby.

However—

First, Zhao Yu had already issued an imperial edict. Who would dare disobey it? Were they tired of living?

Second, Zhang Chun's five women held an extraordinary position in Zhao Yu's harem, and they had indeed already shown quite a few remarkable qualities, so those who knew them truly did not dare look down on them.

Third, seeing how much Zhao Yu cared for Shen Fuling, if they botched it — not only failing to save the child in Shen Fuling's womb but also losing Shen Fuling — they might well be punished by a furious Zhao Yu. Now that Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun were here to take the blame for them, why wouldn't they be happy to?

So, regardless of whether Ye Shi Yun's directions were reasonable or not, all the midwives and attendants did their utmost to carry out her instructions.

Before long, the disinfected midwifery tools and medical instruments were brought over.

By this time, Ye Shi Yun, whose psychological resilience was not bad, had completely recovered. She asked bluntly: "Among you, whose midwifery skill is the best?"

The midwives and attendants immediately looked in unison at a woman of about forty.

The woman stepped forward without hesitation, bowed to Ye Shi Yun, and said: "Reporting to the Ladies, this servant is née Wu. I have delivered the Crown Prince Chongxian, Princess Fuqing, Princess Dekang, Princess Yikang, and Princess Yangguo."

Hearing that all of Zhao Xu's children had been delivered by this very née Wu, how could Ye Shi Yun not know that she was exactly the person she was looking for.

Ye Shi Yun didn't waste words. She picked up the obstetric forceps, taught née Wu how to use them, and then had her use the forceps to deliver Shen Fuling's baby.

Née Wu tried the forceps, and her eyes lit up! She discovered that the forceps seemed to solve many problems that had long troubled her.

At this moment, née Wu finally began to believe that Ye Shi Yun really did have some skill, and that Zhao Yu's order for them to follow Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun's commands was not without purpose.

Née Wu did indeed have abundant midwifery experience.

Under Ye Shi Yun's direction, née Wu easily clamped the baby's head with the forceps, then pulled outward with steady precision and force.

Before long, everyone could see the baby's head.

However, the baby was simply too large, and Shen Fuling's pelvis was a bit narrow, so that even with the forceps, the baby could not be pulled out.

Seeing this, Li Lin whispered to Ye Shi Yun: "What do we do? Are we going to have to perform a cesarean on Shen Fuling?"

Ye Shi Yun rolled her eyes. Without instruments to pass tools, hold organs, and other advanced medical equipment — and crucially, without a team of well-trained medical staff — to even think of doing a cesarean, how was that any different from murdering Shen Fuling?

Ye Shi Yun ignored Li Lin, and calmly instructed: "Go to the imperial physicians and get anesthetic powder. Put the cotton I brought into imperial wine and set it aside. Find a bold palace servant who's good with needlework, and get some catgut. Hurry!"

Hearing Ye Shi Yun's instructions, Li Lin looked shocked: "You're really going to perform a cesarean on Shen Fuling?"

Ye Shi Yun said softly: "What cesarean? An episiotomy will be enough."

Li Lin, who had never even been pregnant, asked: "What's an episiotomy?"

Ye Shi Yun said: "An episiotomy is a surgical method used during childbirth to enlarge the birth canal opening and help the baby be delivered smoothly…"

While Ye Shi Yun explained the principle of the episiotomy to Li Lin, the people and items she had requested arrived one after another.

By this period, there was already a certain level of anesthetic technique — for instance, using datura flowers for anesthesia. Compared with later-era anesthetic drugs, the effect was limited, but in emergencies it could still play some role.

Moreover, there was an imperial physician who could compound a fairly effective anesthetic powder. It was said this powder had been passed down from Hua Tuo, and its effect was certainly far stronger than datura flowers.

As for anti-infection, traditional medicines of this period — such as coptis, scutellaria, honeysuckle, and the like — also had certain anti-inflammatory effects. Though not as effective as later-era antibiotics, they could still be used for post-operative infection prevention.

Once everything was prepared, Ye Shi Yun administered the anesthetic powder to Shen Fuling while saying to her: "Trust me. I will surely see you and your child safe."

Shen Fuling nodded.

With all preparations complete, Ye Shi Yun picked up the medical scissors.

But ideals are plump, while reality is bony.

Ye Shi Yun's hand holding the medical scissors kept trembling nonstop, completely beyond her control. Heaven bear witness — she only knew a bit of theory; when had she ever actually performed surgery?

Seeing Ye Shi Yun's hand shaking like that, making it impossible to perform the episiotomy on Shen Fuling, Li Lin took the medical scissors and asked: "How do I do it?"

In Li Lin's view, since Ye Shi Yun had never performed surgery either, it didn't matter who did it. Perhaps, since she understood blades better, she might actually do it better.

Ye Shi Yun, who could only talk, felt a wave of relief when Li Lin took on this crucial task. She hurriedly indicated the position while saying: "Make a diagonal incision here, a little over an inch long."

Li Lin, upon hearing this, made one clean, precise, forceful snip at the spot Ye Shi Yun had indicated.

Née Wu beside them, catching on at once, gave a pull with the forceps and drew the baby out from Shen Fuling's body…

……

(End of chapter)