Just as she brought up Lu Yunxiao's name, the people outside the room, separated by only a wall, naturally heard those words. Old Master Zhou, Old Madam Zhou, and the others looked at Lu Yunxiao in shock and were about to bow, but he stopped them with a wave of his hand. Once everyone's attention was drawn back to the pregnant woman inside, he sneered coldly and muttered in a low voice, "Pretending to be a god and playing tricks."
"Huh? What did you say, Master?"
Zhao Yun was right beside his Master and turned to ask when he heard this. Lu Yunxiao said softly, "I said she is pretending to be a god and playing tricks, talking about protection from noble people and the protection of a hundred gods. If I really had that ability, the pregnant woman wouldn't have been at death's door. As for the protection of a hundred gods, that's even more nonsense. I don't even know if the Emperor has that kind of treatment, let alone a son of an official family like me? That woman really dares to say anything."
Mu Yun whispered, "Actually, isn't the Eldest Madam just trying to comfort that woman? She might not even think that way herself; otherwise, why would she be so indifferent whenever she sees you..."
Before he could finish, he was glared at fiercely by Zhao Yun. Although this slippery fellow refused to work or learn Kung Fu, he was indeed an expert at reading people's intentions. Hearing Mu Yun's words, he couldn't help but complain in his heart, thinking, "You idiot, would the Master like to hear such things? Even if it's the truth, you can't just say it out loud."
Sure enough, when he looked at Lu Yunxiao's face, the Young Marquis's complexion under the candlelight had turned almost as gray as the bottom of the stove. Zhao Yun coughed twice and said to Mu Yun, "You don't understand this, do you? The Eldest Madam is indifferent to the Master because she knows she is now an abandoned woman and that the Master could never care for her. Since she is such a proud person, she naturally won't give the Master a chance to shame her on the surface. In reality, how could she truly be indifferent to the Master in her heart? I'm afraid she is wishing she could strike up a conversation with the Master right now."
Lu Yunxiao remained silent, but in his heart, he couldn't help but recall everything that had happened after he divorced Xia Qingyu. After a long while, he shook his head gently and secretly thought that it couldn't be; that woman had left so resolutely in the past that she would never have such lingering thoughts.
Given Xia Qingyu's past jealousy and obsession, it was strange that Lu Yunxiao would have such self-awareness, but the Young Marquis had exactly that at this moment. Suddenly, Sang Luzhi said faintly from the side, "In any case, the child has been saved, but the pregnant woman's life is ultimately beyond saving. Sigh! How pitiful. As a woman, this is clearly a major event of continuing the family line; how could the heavens bear to let this major event become a gate of hell?"
Before the words had faded, Zhou Yulang, who had been dazed, suddenly came to his senses. He let out a frantic cry of "Wife!" and rushed into the room. Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou failed to hold him back and were almost knocked over by their son. Just as they were about to step forward to catch the reckless fool, they heard a sharp reprimand from the inner room: "Brother Zhou? Who allowed you to come in? Get out quickly."
The next moment, Zhou Yulang, who had just rushed into the room, backed out. Perhaps because he was too shocked, he almost tripped over the threshold, only barely steadying himself. Then, the midwife walked out holding the little infant already wrapped in swaddling clothes, smiling and shaking her head as she said, "You man, you are too reckless. Madam Xia has worked so hard to save your wife; how could you just barge in without a care?"
"I... I was wrong."
Zhou Yulang stammered, then added, "Is... is my wife really okay?"
The midwife handed the little infant to Old Madam Zhou and pressed her palms together, saying, "Amitabha. I had long heard that you, Old Madam, were a devout Buddhist; now, heaven has sent a Bodhisattva to save your daughter-in-law. I was also strange before, thinking that with such a large wound, the blood loss would have been enough to kill someone; how could she still be saved? Who knew that Madam Xia is truly like a Divine Doctor Lady, actually knowing that suturing technique. If it really works, combined with the hemostatic medicine, I dare not say anything else, but this life is likely saved. By the way, Madam Xia also said to bring some vinegar in to fumigate, otherwise the room is dirty. She said something about being afraid of postpartum infection? Oh my, I don't understand what that means, I've never heard of it. It probably just refers to those accidents where some women die of unexplained high fevers after giving birth."
At this time, the people from the surrounding households had all been alarmed. Several women were helping out here, and having carried out basin after basin of bloody water, they had thought Madam Zhou would not survive. Hearing this now, they were all overjoyed and hurried to find vinegar. Before long, a sour smell wafted from the inner room.
Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou sincerely thanked the neighbors for their help. Lu Yunxiao remained silent for a while before stepping forward to look at the little infant who had been born after such hardship. Although he was cold by nature, he was kind-hearted and especially fond of children. Seeing this little life that had just arrived in the world, although its skin was red and looked quite ugly, a sense of being moved rose in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he took off the jade pendant from his waist, placed it on the child's swaddling clothes, and said indifferently, "Staying at your place today because of the rain, and happening to catch the birth of this child, is also a matter of fate. I leave this jade pendant for him; I hope he can have some success in the future, so that his mother's near-death experience for him will not have been in vain."
The Zhou family was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. Zhou Yulang finally knelt on the ground and kowtowed to thank the Young Marquis for his reward. Over there, Zhao Yun and Mu Yun didn't care about these matters, but instead gathered around Bai Kou and Bai Wei, whispering, "Good heavens, when the Eldest Madam saved the Old Ancestor before, we thought it was just a coincidence. Who knew she never used to treat people? She even had to invite others to look at her when she was sick herself. How did she gain such great skills now? Does this mean that when she was in the Manor, she was really hiding her true abilities?"
Bai Wei smiled without a word, but Bai Kou, who had a lively temperament, remembered the grievances she had suffered in the Marquis's Estate and said proudly, "Our Madam couldn't see things clearly before and didn't dare let people know she knew medical skills. Now that she has almost died once, she naturally sees things clearly. Not to mention you, even we didn't know she had such good medical skills. The hemostatic powder and the needle and thread were from when we first arrived in this village to stay temporarily. Because Auntie's son fell once and cut a large gash in his leg with a sharp stone, the blood was flowing so much that we thought he wouldn't survive. Fortunately, the Madam used medicinal herbs to stop the bleeding, and then used fishing line and a fishhook to suture it. That was how Auntie's son saved his life. From that day on, the Madam said that such external injuries are easy to occur, so she dried the medicinal herbs and ground them into powder to have this hemostatic powder. It's just that the Madam always said the needle and thread weren't very easy to use, but there was no other way. This is just a village; where could we find good needles and thread? If we reach Jiangnan in the future, we might be able to find strong, good thread. Only then will you know how truly amazing the Madam is."
The words left Zhao Yun and Mu Yun looking at each other in dismay. Zhao Yun clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk tsk, I really didn't expect that the Eldest Madam... now seems like a completely different person..."
Before he could finish, they heard Sang Luzhi, who had been neglected for a long time, sneer, "You servant girl is talking nonsense. I knew your Madam before, so why did I never hear her say she knew any medical skills? Back then, when she knew I was learning medicine from my father, she even mocked me for losing face for all the women in the world. Why is she not afraid of losing face now?"
Bai Kou was stunned and didn't know how to respond, so she turned to look at Bai Wei, only to see her smile slightly and say, "Our Madam also learned medical skills from a young age, but back then she just liked it and was determined not to let anyone know. She always felt that a woman should manage the household and do needlework, and that medical skills were just minor arts. Learning them secretly to satisfy her own wishes was enough. If she brought them out and treated them as an honor, it would be truly inappropriate. That was why she had those words to advise the Young Lady back then. It was only in the end that she realized managing the household and doing needlework were of no use. Now that our situation is worrying, the Madam has also seen things clearly. Practicing medicine everywhere can both save people and make a living; it can be considered a way to survive."
Sang Luzhi was half-convinced, but there were no loopholes in these words, so she let it go. However, she was unconvinced in her heart, especially when she saw Lu Yunxiao looking at the little infant, his gaze couldn't help but keep glancing at the inner room, and the jealousy in her heart burned even more fiercely. Just as she was about to think of a way to say something mean to mock them, she saw the door curtain lifted. Xia Qingyu walked out from the room, reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and said to Zhou Yulang, "The torn area has been sutured. Your wife's life is mostly saved. She needs to be well-nourished during these days, especially eating more things that replenish blood. To be able to be saved after losing so much blood is just good fortune; presumably, heaven could not bear to take your wife's life away. Also, this room must be kept clean for the next few days..."
Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou both expressed their gratitude endlessly. Just then, the door of the West Side Room, which had been closed all along, was opened. Then, the young boy who had been carrying the rooster at dusk walked out, holding a large silver ingot weighing about twenty taels in his hands. He came to Old Master Zhou, smiled, and said, "Although our Young Master didn't come out earlier due to the constraints between men and women, he was still paying attention to the situation here. Now that he has heard that your daughter-in-law and child are safe, he instructed me to send a congratulatory gift. Our Young Master said that although your grandson had a difficult birth, he will surely have good fortune after surviving such a disaster and will definitely have great success in the future."
Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou thanked him repeatedly. They didn't feel that the few people living in the West Side Room were indifferent. They were all male guests, so it was understandable for them to be particular. Lu Yunxiao was warm-hearted and was accompanied by the daughter of the President of the Imperial Academy of Medicine, which was why he entered the room. Otherwise, in such a place of blood and filth, not to mention his noble status, even ordinary men would not be willing to enter. The fact that only the women from the neighborhood had been helping out for so long, while the men were all waiting for news at home, was proof of this.
Therefore, the Zhou family did not resent the people in the West Side Room for not coming out. Besides, they had given twenty taels of silver, which was like a big pie falling from the sky. For a time, the previous atmosphere of sorrow and panic disappeared, and the room was filled with laughter and joy.
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