RWNEFE -Chapter 570 Zhang Chuchu’s Childbirth Turns Critical!

Huang Yu looked in the direction the Imperial Guards had gone—toward the Shen residence.

Could something have happened at the Shen family?

When Shen Lanxi arrived at the Shen residence, Zhang Chuchu had already drunk a second bowl of labor-inducing medicine.

Those who were perceptive, seeing so many Imperial Guards arrive, immediately stood up and tactfully excused themselves, saying they could not hold their liquor.

Others, noticing people leaving, sensed that something was wrong and followed suit.

In only a short while, the guests at the Shen residence had dispersed.

Shen Lanxi jumped down from the rooftop, startling the people in the courtyard.

The Zhang family members who had been crying on the ground had not even reacted before the Imperial Guards dragged them aside.

They not only stopped crying—they no longer even dared to make a sound.

“How did she slip?” Shen Lanxi looked coldly at everyone.

The nannies and maids who attended Zhang Chuchu were pushed forward to answer.

“Your Majesty, when the young madam came out after changing clothes, she washed her hands. Some water spilled onto the floor. The young madam accidentally stepped on it and slipped.”

Shen Lanxi drew her blade and placed it against the matron’s neck.

“How much water could she have spilled just from washing her hands? If you dare deceive me, I will have your entire clan executed!”

The nanny was so frightened that she lost control of her bladder.

“Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you! They all saw it—I wouldn’t dare lie, I truly wouldn’t dare! Please spare my life!”

The other maids and matrons turned pale with fear, kneeling and kowtowing repeatedly in pleading.

“Your Majesty, the young madam has a habit of shaking the water off her hands before drying them. We have advised her many times, but we were afraid of angering her and affecting the pregnancy, so we dared not press her too openly. This time, when she shook her hands, she used too much force and knocked the basin, spilling water onto the floor.”

“The young madam was in a hurry to return to the banquet and didn’t notice the water on the ground, so she slipped.”

“I can testify as well,” said an older servant. “The young madam may have been especially happy to see her natal family today, so her movements were more vigorous than usual.”

“Your Majesty, spare us! If we are lying, may we be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!”

“We swear on the lives of our entire clans—the young madam’s fall truly had nothing to do with us!”

One after another, cries and explanations filled the air.

Shen Lanxi sheathed her blade back at an Imperial Guard’s waist.

“Where is the imperial physician?”

The physician had just come out from the inner room.

“Your Majesty, with the midwives’ assistance, the birth canal has opened, and the fetal position has been corrected. She can now give birth, but the young madam is exhausted.”

Shen Lanxi said, “As long as Zhang can be saved, use any method. I grant you pardon in advance.”

Hearing this assurance, the physician felt somewhat less fearful.

“We need to insert silver needles into the gaps between her fingers to rouse her, and then supplement her with aged ginseng.”

“You are the experts in healing. If there is a method, use it.”

With that guarantee, the physician immediately acknowledged and hurried back into the delivery room.

Whether members of the Zhang family or the Shen family, all had been frightened by Shen Lanxi’s drawn blade.

The Zhang family might not know, but the older generation of the Shen family understood clearly—she truly would execute entire clans.

There was already aged ginseng in the residence; now they only needed to wake Zhang Chuchu.

From time to time, matrons came out to report on the progress.

“The young madam has woken up!”

“She’s holding aged ginseng in her mouth to gather strength—she’s giving birth!”

…

“The young madam has delivered—a little young master!”

Shen Lanxi had just begun to smile when a piercing scream suddenly came from the delivery room.

“This is bad—the young madam is hemorrhaging!”

Shen Lanxi shouted, “At any cost, save her!”

That cry unsettled not only the Shen family but turned the Zhang family pale with terror.

She had to be saved—if she could not be saved, their Zhang family would be finished.

Shen Lanxi glanced at Zhang Chuchu’s mother, who sat stunned on the ground, and immediately ordered:

“Madam Zhang, go in and stay with your daughter.”

“After the child is cleaned, place him beside Madam Zhang.”

These two orders made every woman who had given birth feel their hearts sink.

Basin after basin of bloody water was carried out of the delivery room.

“Your Majesty, blood is inauspicious. Please do not let it offend you.”

“Your Majesty should wait in the outer courtyard.”

Shen Lanxi interrupted the eunuch. “No need. I have fought my way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Would I fear a little blood?”

Seeing her resolve, the eunuch said nothing more.

Madam Zhang was supported into the delivery room by her two daughters-in-law. At first, they did not want to go in, but matrons of the Shen household stood nearby; if they hesitated, they would have been dragged in anyway.

As soon as the three women entered, another shrill scream rang out.

“It won’t stop—the bleeding won’t stop!”

Within moments, the physician, drenched in sweat and disheveled, ran out.

“Your Majesty, I have done all I can!”

Shen Lanxi looked at the physician’s blood-stained hands, her face cold as she took a deep breath.

“Delay it as long as possible,” she said. At least let Zhang Chuchu have a good look at the child she had borne at the cost of her life.

“Yes!” The physician hurried back inside.

Outside, the men of the Zhang family, seeing that the situation seemed hopeless, began to mutter in low voices.

“Your Majesty, the physician has only treated her for a short while and already says it’s hopeless. He must not be doing his utmost.”

“It’s all the physician’s fault. If they had done their best, my daughter—my sister—would surely be fine!”

Shen Lanxi swept a cold glance over them. If Zhang Chuchu were not in mortal danger, she would already have ordered punishment.

“So you mean to say that I am shielding the physician?”

At those words, the Zhang family felt a chill run through them.

“Your Majesty, we don’t mean that. We only mean that Your Majesty is too benevolent.”

Shen Lanxi’s voice turned sharp. “Do you think physicians will only do their best if I punish them?”

“By your reasoning, must I rule the world only by making all people fear me?”

The Zhang family immediately fell to their knees.

“No, no, Your Majesty, that is not what we meant. Please don’t misunderstand.”

The physician came out again.

“Your Majesty, I have used a forbidden technique. I can only delay matters for a short time.”

Shen Lanxi had already expected such a result.

“Let the family go in and say their farewells.”

Those words were equivalent to announcing Zhang Chuchu’s death. The suppressed sobbing burst out, filling the inner courtyard.

Now that Zhang Chuchu was at death’s door, even the Zhang family men, who still considered the delivery room an inauspicious place, were reluctant to enter.

But with Shen Lanxi’s order given, they had no choice but to pinch their noses and go in.

Soon, heart-rending cries came from inside.

Madam Miao stepped forward to Shen Lanxi.

“Your Majesty, how am I supposed to explain this to my son? She was at home preparing for childbirth, everything was fine—how did this happen?”

“It’s all my fault for indulging Yuanhao before, letting him choose a daughter of the Zhang family. If she had listened and dried her hands properly after washing them, how could this have happened?”

Shen Lanxi comforted her. “I once promised the brothers and sisters of the family that they could marry the ones they loved. If anyone is to blame, it is me.”

How could Madam Miao dare blame Shen Lanxi? She quickly changed her words.

“It must be her fate. In the countryside, many peasant women work in the fields even while pregnant; they stumble and fall without incident. How is it that only she met with such misfortune?”