“It hurts, it hurts so much…” Within the room, Lian Consort had been crying out in pain without ceasing. Several midwives were already inside, and yet after a full hour, there was still no sign of progress.

Xiao Yingtao moved in and out of the room over and over. The warm water she had carried in not long ago had become a basin stained bright red with blood, replaced again and again — she had long since lost count of how much blood Lian Consort had shed.

People said that a woman giving birth was like walking the edge of the gates of the underworld. Xiao Yingtao had heard the saying many times before without truly feeling it. Now, she was seeing it with her own eyes.

Losing so much blood — how utterly drained a person would be? Even if she truly recovered, her body would surely never be the same.

This was not walking the edge of those gates. This was being half-submerged within them.

“Hot water!” Xiao Yingtao had lost count of how many times she had carried hot water back into the room. Yet not a single one of the midwives inside wore anything other than a grim expression.

“Miss Xiao, this woman is having a difficult birth. The birth passage has opened fully, yet the child’s head simply will not come through.”

One of the midwives looked at Xiao Yingtao, her face stricken with urgency. “But the young mistress has already lost far too much blood. If we were to cut… I’m afraid…”

“Cut?” Xiao Yingtao heard the word and nearly staggered in fright.

How could there be talk of cutting? Did that mean… slicing through flesh and skin, right there, so the child could come out of the body?

She was truly terrified. Jiu’er and Qiaomu were both absent, and she alone could not make this decision. What was she to do?

“If we cut, what would happen?” she asked urgently.

The midwife looked back over her shoulder. The young mistress on the bed was still crying out in raw, heart-wrenching anguish. Having worked as a midwife for so many years, difficult births were nothing new. But the severity of this one seemed truly extraordinary.

Seeing the midwife stay silent, another leaned closer and murmured, “The young mistress has already lost a great deal of blood. If we cut… there is every chance of severe hemorrhaging.”

“Then that’s out of the question!” Jiu’er wasn’t even here. If Lian Consort were to suddenly hemorrhage, who would save her?

“No, no — Third Sister didn’t make herself clear. Even without cutting, given the current situation, a severe hemorrhage is very possible either way.”

“What do you mean? No matter what happens, it ends in hemorrhaging?” Xiao Yingtao was nearly out of her mind with worry. She immediately rushed over and took Lian Consort’s hand in her own.

Lian Consort’s face was drenched in sweat. But in matters of childbirth, she had to rely entirely on herself — there was truly nothing anyone else could do to help her.

“The main issue is that this child… this child is truly large. There’s nothing we can do about that.”

The two midwives returned to their places. One knelt upon the bed between Lian Consort’s legs, watching the child’s situation closely.

“Young mistress, give it one more push. Push hard — once the child’s head comes through, it will all be over.”

The other midwife stayed at Lian Consort’s side, her hand resting on her lower abdomen, applying a gentle, steady press.

“Young mistress, you must be strong. You must push the child out with all you have. Otherwise, otherwise…”

“Don’t say things like that.” Xiao Yingtao shot her a sharp look, afraid she might say something frightening that could shock Lian Consort senseless — if she fainted outright, how would she ever deliver the child?

She looked at Lian Consort. Though her own heart was wound tight with anxiety, she forced herself to stay calm and said softly, “The child will be out very soon. Just a little more strength, just a little more effort, and you’ll be able to see the child!”

“You have to try hard. You have to be strong. We’ll do this together, we’ll wait for the child together — all right?”

“It hurts…” Lian Consort looked at her. Pain had made tears and mucus run freely down her face. She desperately wanted to push, but there was no strength in her lower back — she could not summon a single ounce of force.

Xiao Yingtao quickly wrung out the cloth from the warm water and wiped Lian Consort’s face, continuing to soothe her: “Don’t be afraid. Just a little more effort — you can do this!”

Lian Consort panted in great gulping breaths. At last, she felt a faint flicker of strength return. She bit down hard and pushed with everything she had.

“Now! Young mistress, now! The child’s head is already clearly visible — one more push and it will be here!”

Lian Consort kept her teeth clenched, her face ashen, and then she let out a single, devastating scream — a sound that tore at the very heart!

A clear, lusty cry rang out, filling the entire room.

“Wah, wah…” The child had arrived. The child was truly here.

Xiao Yingtao’s eyes had gone red. Tears streamed down her face without restraint.

Without any cutting — the child had truly been born!

“Listen, listen… the child is here!” Every person’s attention was consumed by the child — and no one noticed that after that one agonized scream, Lian Consort’s face drained of color with terrifying swiftness, turning so pale there was not a trace of life left in it.

The midwives were occupied with clearing the child’s airways. But Xiao Yingtao sensed something was wrong: “She… what’s wrong with her?”

One of the midwives looked back and nearly screamed in fright: “Hem… hem — hemorrhage! The young mistress is hemorrhaging!”

A hemorrhage. These were words that made the whole world feel as though it had collapsed.

Jiu’er still hadn’t returned, and Lian Consort was hemorrhaging. Heaven — what was to be done? What was to be done?

“We need a physician. Go quickly and find a physician — hurry!”

Heaven help them. An actual hemorrhage. This was something a midwife was completely helpless to address.

Xiao Yingtao hesitated only a moment before spinning on her heel and rushing out.

It was the middle of the night, and the streets were nearly empty. Fortunately she had already asked around earlier and knew where several physicians could be found. After knocking at two doors, she at last found one.

But when the physician heard it was a hemorrhage, he outright refused to come.

Xiao Yingtao lost her patience. She pressed the edge of a short blade to his throat, and only then did he reluctantly follow her.

Back in the room, the midwives had just finished tending to the child. They had also helped Lian Consort into fresh clothes and tidied up what could be tidied — but the hemorrhage itself was genuinely beyond their ability to resolve.

When they saw Xiao Yingtao arrive with the physician at knifepoint, both midwives were startled. They exchanged a look, and in fright, both simultaneously backed away two steps.

This girl… how could this girl do such a thing? Even a physician — threatened with a blade. If something truly happened to the young mistress, then they… wouldn’t they also be in danger?

“The child… the child is all right, we… we’ll take our leave first!” The two of them set the child in the cradle and, just like that, actually walked out.

The child immediately burst into loud, wailing cries. Xiao Yingtao was truly in a state of complete disarray. She hadn’t meant to frighten them — but without the blade, the physician hadn’t been willing to come.

Refusing to save a life like that — what kind of physician was that?

“Give her a look, quickly!” Xiao Yingtao put away her blade and immediately went to scoop up the shrieking infant.

The physician had already been brought here against his will. Now, one glance at Lian Consort’s face was enough to make him stagger, his breathing falling entirely to pieces.

“This young mistress… this young mistress is beyond saving!”