Chapter 790: Urgent, a matter of life or death (1/2)
There were no official examination rooms within the Apricot Woods. However, the quiet forest contained free standing, enclosed courtyard residences that sat in a line about ten steps apart. The four patients were each assigned a courtyard by the time the three department heads and Gu Beiyue arrived.
Each treatment residence was given one young medical assistant in change of announcing the progress of treatment. Since this was a competition, any advancements in the patient’s illness or the doctor’s treatment would have to be publicized. Now the results of the draw had been determined, news spread beyond the Apricot Woods to the waiting crowd outside. All of them were most interested in Gu Beiyue’s obstructed labor case.
Within the woods, the three department heads each had empty courtyards, while Gu Beiyue’s was stuffed with so many spectators that there wasn’t even a place to stand. Everyone was willing to wait outside Gu Beiyue’s courtyard than delve into the situation of the other three courtyards. Even the judging panel was hanging around his doors.
After all, his was an urgent case!
Han Yunxi and Gu Qishao sat in seats behind the judging panel as they watched servant girls carry in basins of hot water and multiple cries of pain from within. She wished she could charge in and help, while Gu Qishao was sunk in a rare moment of seriousness without a smile.
Clan Head Xiao from the south central regions eventually pushed his way through the crowd until he was behind Han Yunxi. In a low voice, he murmured, “Esteemed wangfei, don’t worry. Doctor Gu can definitely do it.”
As soon as Han Yunxi recognized his voice, she turned to give him a glare. Then she looked back without speaking a word. She still remembered the debt for his crimes!
By now, Gu Beiyue had been cloistered inside for two hours along with the pained mother. But the medical assistant still hadn’t come out to announce anything. Judging from that, Han Yunxi could guess that the woman’s water still hadn’t broke. For childbirth to occur, the water had to break first. Sustaining labor pains like this would only sap at the mother’s strength and weaken her psychologically.
Gu Beiyue and the midwife both understood this logic, so they would comfort the woman as best as they could to keep her calm instead of crying and wasting her energy. But why was the woman still sobbing? Either Gu Beiyue couldn’t calm her down, or she was in extreme pain. In any other case, no news was good news, but no news was bad news here!
Commentary and discussions grew in the crowd as the time stretched out. Han Yunxi’s heart was all sixes and sevens in her chest. In modern times, they could break the woman’s water with manmade means, but what could Gu Beiyue do now? She hardly dared to imagine the consequences if the mother remained in agony. Would she die right in the delivery room?
Finally, the medical assistant emerged from a side door. The crowd shut up to listen to him speak.
“Doctor Gu has determined that the woman is pregnant with four infants, but her water hasn’t broken yet.”
Four infants…
“That’s it, it’s over. He’ll have to save either the mother or the children!”
“If only one side can survive, do we even need Gu Beiyue? Just use the midwife!”
“This...her water still hasn’t broken yet. We don’t know the positions of the infants either. It’s possible we could lose both them and the mother!”
At this point, many people forgot about the competition and starting worrying about human lives instead. But then the cries in the room suddenly ceased.
What now?
The medical assistant dashed inside before coming out with a fresh report. “Doctor Gu has used needles to minimize the pain of the mother.”
Hearing this, Han Yunxi finally felt better, while everyone else exhaled as well. At least the mother would be able to preserve some energy if she stopping screaming in pain. She needed the strength to push out her babies after her water breaks.
“Using needles to stop the pain? Heheh, ingenious and clever! Gu Beiyue can certainly think of ways,” someone praised.
Han Yunxi smiled. In the modern times, this would be called a painless delivery, which was usually effected with medicine. She never thought Gu Beiyue could accomplish the same task with just a few acupuncture needles, how formidable! It was impressive that he could even think up the method and put it to use!
Inside the room, a black cloth rested on the mother’s body to hide her awkward bits. The midwife was at the foot of her body while Gu Biyue sat at the mother’s head, carefully working his needles. The mother’s face was ashen white and soaked in sweat from exhaustion. But her eyes were still open as she looked at the gentleman with the eyes as warm as jade. It was as if he held all the safety and hope in the world. She wasn’t sure whether it was his needles or his hands that held the magic, but all of her pain had disappeared.
Gu Beiyue soon noticed the woman’s stare. Unmoved and unchanged, his words were very stern. “If you want to keep every single child, you must close your eyes and rest. This is your duty.”
Alarmed, the woman instantly shut her eyes. Only then did Gu Beiyue continue setting the needles while instructing, “Go make a bowl of rooster soup and add some ginseng.”
Inside the room, everything turned peaceful along with the expectant mother’s silence. But everyone outside were still waiting anxiously. Very soon, the medical assistant came to report that the mother’s water had finally broken. The midwife was delivering a child while Doctor Gu was still using acupuncture to ease her pain. Finally, every exhaled in relief.
Unxpectedly, another day and night passed without a single child being born. This was already the limit. Once all of the amniotic fluid left the womb or any bit of got contaminated, the infants would be in danger! Waiting for medical treatment now wouldn’t save the children! The crowd felt their hearts seize up just as the medical assistant announced bad news.
“The first child is a breech delivery! If it doesn’t come out, it’ll really be obstructed labor!”
Breech delivery meant that the baby came out feet first. Silence fell upon the crowd. Clan Head Ren abruptly rose to his feet, his voice alarmed. “Does Gu Beiyue have any solutions? What’s he going to do?”
If the mother couldn’t birth her children, then they would have to choose between preserving one or the other. If they wanted to save the babies, then they’d force open the mother regardless of damage and carry it out. The mother would then die from excessive blood loss. If they wanted to save the mother, then they’d have to cut off the little one.
Before the medical assistant could reply, the mother’s husband ran out from the side rooms to kneel in front of the judging panel. “We want to change the doctor! We want to change the doctor!”