Xingzi shook her head. “It was already very late by then. Her room was silent — she must have been asleep.”

“And the murder weapon?”

“I threw it into the drainage ditch behind our house. My clothes got splattered with blood at the time. I wanted to throw them away, but I couldn’t bring myself to, so I just gave them a quick rinse.”

“Were you wearing beige balloon trousers and a dark pink sweater that day?”

“How did you know?” Xingzi was startled.

Shi Ting looked at her. “There’s something we didn’t tell you — your mother never gave you up.”

“What?” Xingzi’s eyes went wide.

“She knew you had stolen the red rice, and the next day she found bloodstains on your clothes that hadn’t been fully washed out. Then when news came of Hu Sizhu’s death, she knew it was you who had killed him. So she immediately rewashed your clothes and hung them out to dry, then hurried to the village committee to gather information. When she learned that we intended to perform an autopsy on the body, she went to persuade Hu Sizhu’s parents to refuse to cooperate. When we followed the clues to her, she deliberately misled us and tried to poison us, attempting to drive us out of Xiqian Village. When we arrested her, she knew she couldn’t hide the truth any longer, so she insisted that she was the one who had committed the murder. Everything she did was to take the blame in your place.”

“She was taking the blame for me?” Xingzi shook her head in disbelief. “How — how is that possible?”

Bai Jin stood up and turned the corner of her mouth down. “Whatever impression you have of her, she is still your mother. Her first instinct was to protect you. The only problem is that the person she protected turned out to be a murderer.”

Xingzi sat there in a daze, her mind flooded with a thousand thoughts.

After a while, she suddenly collapsed onto the table and burst into loud sobs.

The case of Hu Sizhu’s murder was declared solved in just two days. Xingzi was under sixteen years of age and escaped the death penalty, but what awaited her was a long prison sentence. Her mother, Hu Po, was also convicted on charges of covering up the crime. Perhaps, in prison, mother and daughter would find a way to untangle the knots between them.

Early one morning, Yan Qing was sitting up in her hospital bed reading a book when the door opened.

She lifted her gaze from the pages, and upon seeing that familiar figure, she couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile. “You’re here early.”

“I bought you breakfast. Eat it while it’s hot.” Shi Ting sat down beside her, closed her book, and set it on the table.

“I happen to be hungry.” Yan Qing rubbed her hands together. “What did you get today?”

“Crab roe buns from Tongji Tower.” Shi Ting opened the lunch box.

Yan Qing was pleasantly surprised. “Tongji Tower’s crab roe buns are always in short supply — you have to queue before dawn to get them. Don’t tell me you waited in line all morning.”

Shi Ting didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “Have you washed your hands?”

“Not yet.” Yan Qing gave an embarrassed smile.

Shi Ting set the lunch box to one side, poured some water into a basin, and carried it over. “Where are Murong and the others?”

“Today is my discharge day. Murong is handling the paperwork.”

Shi Ting placed both her hands into the water, lathered some soap, and gently worked it in. Wrapped in foam, her hands felt soft and smooth beneath his.

“Third Sister is due to give birth in the next couple of days, isn’t she?”

“Any time now.”

“I’ve prepared a gift.” Yan Qing blinked.

Shi Ting rinsed away the foam from her hands, brought over a towel, and patted them gently dry. “What kind of gift?”

“Money!”

Shi Ting looked up and gave her a helpless glance. “That’s a bit crass, isn’t it?”

Yan Qing laughed. “I’m teasing you. Of course it’s not money — money is probably the last thing Third Sister is short of.”

Liu Huan had a near monopoly on the textile production industry in Shun Cheng, and a household as large and prosperous as the Liu Family naturally lacked for nothing.

“I had Father bring it back from out of town — a baby feeding bottle, the kind you can’t buy in Shun Cheng.”

“A feeding bottle?”

“There’s more to feeding bottles than you’d think. The size of the nipple affects the flow rate, and babies of different sizes need different nipple sizes. The material of the nipple is even more important — poor-quality materials can affect the baby’s health.”

Yan Qing rattled on at length, and when she finally finished, she noticed Shi Ting was looking at her with a meaningful expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?”

Shi Ting smiled. “Miss Yan has never had a baby of her own, yet she knows this much about baby things?”

Yan Qing’s cheeks flushed. “Can’t I have read about it in a book?”

“Of course. In fact, it wouldn’t hurt to read more on the subject — when we have children of our own one day, you won’t need to ask around.”

At the words “when we have children of our own,” Yan Qing’s face turned even redder. She raised a small fist and gave his shoulder a light punch. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Who said anything about having children with you?”

“Isn’t that how it will be?” Shi Ting leaned closer with a teasing look in his eyes. He pressed his palm gently against her warm cheek. “I’m actually rather looking forward to it.”

“Shi Xingzhi!” Yan Qing arched her brows. “Say another word and I won’t speak to you.”

The feeble threat, quite predictably, did nothing to intimidate him.

“Come on, eat.” Shi Ting pressed the chopsticks into her palm. “We can continue this discussion after breakfast.”

Since Yan Qing was hungry, she couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and quickly picked up a bun and took a bite.

Tongji Tower’s crab roe buns were every bit as legendary as their reputation. With one bite, the soup burst forth — fresh and fragrant, rich with the scent of crab — leaving a lingering taste between the lips and teeth.

Just as Yan Qing was reaching for her fourth bun, Murong pushed the door open and entered, followed by a young man who appeared to be a servant.

The young man saw Shi Ting and immediately said, “Seventh Young Master, Madam is having a difficult labor with heavy bleeding. The doctor asks you to come at once.”

Shi Ting shot to his feet. “Which hospital?”

“Tiansheng Hospital.”

“I’m coming with you.” Yan Qing set the lunch box aside, and Murong quickly fetched her coat and helped her into it.

When the two of them arrived at Tiansheng Hospital, Liu Huan was pacing ceaselessly outside the operating room.

“Brother-in-law.” Shi Ting hurried over. “What’s happening?”

At the sight of Shi Ting, Liu Huan immediately gripped his arm, as though his anxious turmoil had finally found something to hold onto. “Xin’er has been in there for over ten hours. A moment ago, the doctor said it was a difficult labor with heavy bleeding. I was so worried I sent for you right away.”

“Third Sister came yesterday?”

“Yes, just after nine in the evening. I thought it was too late to disturb you and your mother-in-law, and planned to surprise you all once the baby arrived. I never imagined it would turn out like this.” Liu Huan looked haggard — clearly he had not slept a wink all night.

“Where are the doctors?”

“I’ve already brought in the best doctors at the hospital.”

Shi Ting offered what comfort he could. “Third Sister is going to be all right. The doctors will find a way.”

“I hope so. I truly hope so.” Liu Huan could only pray to the heavens.

No sooner had Liu Huan spoken than a nurse hurried out. “The patient is hemorrhaging heavily and the bleeding cannot be controlled. There is a risk to her life at any moment. Please have a family member sign this form.”

“How did it come to this?” Liu Huan swayed on his feet at the news, and Shi Ting quickly steadied him.

“Brother-in-law, sign first — the doctors will find a way.”

Liu Huan’s eyes reddened. He took the pen and signed his name.

“I’d like to go in and take a look.” Yan Qing, who had been following behind Shi Ting, spoke up.

Only now did Liu Huan notice Yan Qing. He said, a little apologetically, “Miss Yan is here too.”

“Brother-in-law, please let Yan Qing go in. She may be able to help.”

“All right.” At this moment, Liu Huan’s only thought was to save Shi Xin. He would not pass up even the slimmest hope — even knowing that this Miss Yan was, in fact, a forensic examiner.

Though Yan Qing was a forensic examiner, her knowledge of medicine was extensive. She had never practiced obstetrics clinically, but she believed that certain knowledge she possessed had not yet come to exist in this era. With her theory combined with the doctors’ hands-on experience, there was a chance of achieving an unexpected result.

Shi Xin’s life was hanging by a thread. Whether it would work or not, she had to try.

“Yan Qing.” Shi Ting caught her by the hand as she turned to go. “Please.”

It was the first time she had heard Shi Ting ask anything of anyone. As he looked at her, his eyes were filled with supplication.

Shi Xin was the most important family member he had. His feelings at this moment were the same as Liu Huan’s — a taut string stretched to the point of snapping.

“Yes.” Yan Qing nodded. “I will do everything I can.”

When Yan Qing entered the operating room, the doctors and nurses all froze for a moment.

“I have been sent by Mr. Liu to look in on Madam Liu,” Yan Qing said.

One of the doctors asked, “Miss, are you a physician?”

“No, I am not.”

“Then…”

Yan Qing guided her wheelchair forward. On the operating table, Shi Xin lay pale-faced with furrowed brows. On the instrument tray nearby, a large pile of blood-soaked gauze had accumulated — a sight that turned the stomach. On one side, in a small cradle, lay a tiny infant that a nurse was in the process of cleaning.

At the sight of the baby, Yan Qing quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The child was safe. All that was needed now was to stop Shi Xin’s hemorrhage.

Shi Xin was still conscious at this point. Seeing Yan Qing enter, she understood this had been arranged by her husband and her younger brother. She gave a weak nod in Yan Qing’s direction.

Yan Qing turned to the physician beside her. “What is the current situation?”

“The patient’s bleeding has not stopped.”

“Have you determined the cause?” Yan Qing asked. “Is there placental retention?”

“No — no, there isn’t.” The doctor was taken aback. He had assumed Yan Qing had come simply to accompany the patient, and had not expected her to know this much.

“If it isn’t placental retention, the most likely cause is a soft birth canal laceration. Have you located the wound?”

“We haven’t,” the doctor said. “The blood loss is too great — we haven’t been able to find the wound.”

“Has she been given hemostatic medication?”

“Yes, but it hasn’t taken effect.”

“Then use gauze packing to control the bleeding.”

The two doctors exchanged a glance. “What kind of method is that?”

Yan Qing understood that this technique had not yet come into common use in this era. She explained patiently. “Tell me what to do step by step, and you follow my instructions.”

In modern society, with advanced medical care, it was almost unheard of for a woman to die from hemorrhage during a difficult labor — barring unlicensed practice, of course. But this era was different. Medical technology was primitive. Ordinary people in labor most often relied on midwives, and when complications arose and the patient was rushed to hospital, even the hospital could be at a loss. For women, childbirth was a walk through the gates of death.

The two doctors were still hesitating over whether to follow her instructions when they heard Shi Xin say, in a faint voice, “Doctors, I trust her. Please do as she says. I will bear full responsibility for whatever happens.”

With Shi Xin’s words to reassure them, the two doctors finally dared to act.

—