Zhang Jingyun and Mei Niang were indeed talking about having children. He was well versed in medicine and had encountered all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases, but he tried to avoid midwifery and other such things as delivering babies. His junior sister had some attainments in this area, but she had gone to an isolated island on the sea with her master a few months ago to capture local strange snakes as some kind of medicine, and would not be back for a year or two. The queen was about to give birth, and distant water could not quench a nearby fire. He and Lingxuzi had no choice but to shoulder this burden together, and together with the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau, they discussed a variety of treatment and prevention plans. The queen had a poor constitution and other diseases, and it was very dangerous for her to give birth when she was extremely weak. Although she had started taking medicine three or four months ago, she did not dare to give her too much medicine because of the dragon child in her belly. It was also expected that the queen's constitution could not be enhanced to the expected effect. Zhang Jingyun only thought that Mei Niang had some childbirth experience because she gave birth to Heng'er, so he did not shy away from discussing with her the Queen's current situation in all aspects. However, Mei Niang had never given birth before, but those female colleagues who had given birth in her previous life had instilled too much knowledge in this area in her, as well as what she learned from movies, TV, books, and various media, and what she saw when she went to the hospital to accompany her girlfriend during pregnancy and childbirth. All added up, her childbirth experience should be much more than Qin Mei Niang who gave birth to Heng'er. She filtered the modern childbirth experience in her mind and shared it with Zhang Jingyun, fooling the ancient medical master. Especially when Mei Niang mentioned that she could use anesthetics and perform a living caesarean section, Zhang Jingyun looked at her without blinking. It was not that he could not agree, but he couldn't understand how a delicate and weak girl like Mei Niang, who usually never went out of the house, could know so many unusual things!
Zhang Jingyun said, "My junior sister is the only one in the world who dares to perform a caesarean section. A pregnant woman drowned and within two hours of her death, a living baby was cut out of her belly. Have you heard of this?"
Mei Niang smiled slightly: "I didn't just hear about it, I read about it in a book. I believe it is feasible. As long as we can find that kind of anesthetic, we can use this method in an emergency!"
Zhang Jingyun looked at the other side of the imperial doctors and said, "Anesthetic herbs are not difficult to find. Caesarean section is used to treat gastrointestinal problems in the human body. Lingxuzi's master has also done it. It was Lingxuzi who found the anesthetic herbs and mixed them into a fixed amount... Such a thing is sensational. Those imperial doctors may not understand it. The queen may not be able to use this method. You only need to talk about it with me and Lingxuzi. There is no need to mention it to others!"
Mei Niang nodded: "I know, don't worry!"
Zhang Jingyun smiled: "It's past noon and you haven't had lunch yet. You must be hungry, right? You will go in and have dinner with the queen later. You must persuade her to eat more..."
Before he could finish his words, the emperor suddenly shouted from inside the inner room, "Come! Come quickly! The queen is shaking and sweating in pain. What's going on?"
Zhang Jingyun and Mei Niang ran in immediately. The imperial doctors surrounded outside. Lingxuzi calmly wrote the prescription, handed it to the eunuch beside him, and told him a few words. After the eunuch left with the prescription, he also stood up and walked in.
Xu Junying left the lilac tree and paced restlessly on the green grass. Ji Qing sent someone to invite him to sit in the hall, but he refused. It was not until more than half an hour later that the emperor, Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi came out and said that the queen had fallen asleep temporarily and was accompanied by the wife of Weiyuan Marquis. The rest of the people could go downstairs to eat something first.
Ji Qing followed the emperor past Xu Junying, and seeing that he did not move, his eyes only looking inside, he stopped and said softly to him: "There will be a nanny and a palace maid to serve the wife of Weiyuan Marquis for lunch. There is another soft couch in the Queen's bedroom, and the wife can rest here for a while!"
Xu Junying nodded, looked at Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi who were being escorted by the Imperial Medical Bureau and imperial physicians toward the side hall of Kunning Palace, then he took a step forward and followed the emperor away.
After lunch, until the evening, the queen had several pains, sometimes even nearly fainted. Mei Niang stayed by her bed, accompanying and comforting her. The queen was actually a woman with a gentle appearance and a very tough heart. She was trembling with pain and sweat dripping on her forehead, but she refused to shout. Mei Niang felt sorry for her and reached out to hold her hand, but she pinched her hand and left several bloody marks. After the queen's pain subsided, she said sorry with apologetic expression. Mei Niang smiled and shook her head:
"Compared to your pain, what is this?"
The Queen Mother came to see him once more before dinner. She sat there for less than an hour, and when the midwife reported that it was still too early for the prince to be born, she prepared to leave. Before she left, she called Mei Niang to her side and said, "When a concubine gives birth, women from outside the court should not be allowed to stay by her side. Since the Emperor has personally sent you here, you should stay by her side. There are palace maids and midwives, as well as countless imperial doctors, so you don't need to get too close or interfere. You should also keep your mouth shut and don't comment on the affairs of the inner palace without permission!"
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment. Before she could carefully savor the Queen Mother's words, she bowed respectfully and agreed. The palace was different from the outside world. Rules must be observed. The Queen Mother had an overbearing attitude. Why bother to offend her? She just wanted to send this great god away quickly.
The empress dowager is in her fifties, with gray hair and solemn make-up. From her face, one can tell that she was a cold and beautiful woman when she was young. She was promoted to empress after giving birth to the eldest princess and the eldest prince. She was able to maintain her status in a harem full of beauties and endless struggles until the prince successfully inherited the throne. It seems that it would not have been possible without momentum and extraordinary means.
Mei Niang's attitude was pleasing to the Queen Mother. She nodded slightly and said, "Although you are born in a humble family and have a weak constitution, you are dignified and generous, and you know etiquette. You are not as petty as the rumors say... Weiyuan Hou has been accompanying the Emperor in the palace since he was a child. I have watched him grow up. He is a very good child. You are marrying up to him! You must remember that no matter how beautiful your appearance is, it is only like a flash in the pan. As a woman, you should attach the most importance to virtue, filial piety and respect for elders..."
A nurse in charge of the care came out in a hurry, leaned over to the Queen Mother and said, "The Queen has fainted from the pain!"
The Queen Mother frowned and said, "Giving birth to a child is painful. She fainted after just a little while. Her body is so weak! Call the imperial physician to check if the mother and child are okay!"
Zhang Jingyun brought in two imperial doctors, followed by the palace maids, and took the Queen's hand through a layer of gauze to examine her. After a while, Lingxuzi personally prepared the medicine and brought it in. He bowed to the Queen Mother first, then handed the medicine in his hand to Mei Niang:
"Feed this bowl of medicine to Her Majesty the Queen immediately without leaving a drop!"
Mei Niang took the medicine and said, "But now the Queen has fainted..."
"I know. This is the third time she has fainted today. I just asked the midwife. According to the current situation, she should take medicine!"
The Queen Mother looked at Lingxuzi and asked, "What is this medicine?"
Lingxuzi said: "Reporting to the Queen Mother: This medicine can increase physical strength. When the medicine takes effect, the Queen will have some strength..."
The Queen Mother nodded and said to Mei Niang, "Do as the Taoist priest says, wake the Queen up and make her drink the medicine!"
Mei Niang was eager to get rid of the Queen Mother, so she quickly brought in the medicine. Zhang Jingyun was teaching a palace maid to massage both sides of the Queen's face. After a while, the Queen slowly opened her eyes and woke up.
Lingxuzi didn't know what he said to the Empress Dowager outside, but he heard the eunuch shouting: Farewell, Empress Dowager!
Mei Niang breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Jingyun looked at her and smiled slightly. He made a gesture, indicating that she should feed the queen the medicine, and he took the imperial physician out.
The maid drew back the gauze curtain and put two pillows on the bed, so that the queen could half lie and half sit. Wan'er, the maidservant, came over and tried the medicine with a silver needle. The queen whispered, "No need!"
Wan'er exchanged glances with the Queen, and then waved to the other palace maids and maids to follow her and stand farther away, leaving Mei Niang to sit by the bed and feed the Queen medicine little by little with a silver spoon. The Queen was very weak, but she cooperated very well and swallowed mouthful by mouthful. After drinking the last spoonful, tears dripped from her eyes and she sobbed softly. Mei Niang did not speak, but only wiped her tears with a handkerchief. After she cried for a while and her emotions stabilized, she said, "You are very strong, but even the strongest people will be weak sometimes. Cry when you should cry, cry when you should shed tears, and shout when it hurts too much. Don't be afraid, don't hold on. We are women, and crying at will is a woman's privilege. Why not use it? Mr. Zhang said: Proper crying and shedding tears, venting the injustice in your heart, is extremely beneficial to your body!"
The latter sentence was not said by Zhang Jingyun. Mei Niang borrowed his name because she was afraid that the Queen would not believe it.
The queen was amused by her words about women's privileges and burst into laughter: "This is the first time I've heard such a statement. I find it very interesting and makes sense!"
Mei Niang massaged both sides of her waist. The queen said, "Fortunately, you are here, otherwise I don't know how to spend this time. Since I ascended the throne, I have never been liked by the queen. At this time, I feel even more painful when I hear her voice... Most of the maids who are guarding and assisting in childbirth are the queen's people. When the queen gives birth, her family members cannot stay nearby. My sister-in-law can only pray for me and the child in my belly in the Buddhist temple. When I felt pain for the first time, I was a little scared and wanted someone who knew me to accompany me, so that I could die with my eyes closed. I was not wrong about you. You are stronger than me and worthy of trust and reliance. With you, Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi, I feel at ease. I don't think I can die. I must try my best... The emperor treats me too well. I have no way to repay him. The only thing I can do is to give birth to a child for him. If I can have a boy in one go, he will have someone to succeed him!"
Mei Niang nodded: "Yes! That's the way to think. You can do it. You will definitely do very well! Zhang Jingyun, Lingxuzi and I all believe in you!"
The Queen held Mei Niang's hand and said, "Before I fainted, I heard the Queen Mother talking about you. The Queen Mother has always been sharp and harsh in her words. She has said a lot to me, so you don't have to care!"
Mei Niang shook her head: "It's okay, it's not like I haven't heard that before, it's over after I hear it, I have always had a bad memory, I'm afraid I can't remember it!"
The queen laughed again, rubbing the bloody marks on Mei Niang's hands that she had pinched, and said, "I like your personality, which is similar to Runan's, but also different!"
The two of them hopped off the topic, and after talking about Runan, they talked about several other unrelated things. The queen was in high spirits and in a good mood. When another wave of poison came, she was trembling with pain and said to Mei Niang: "You... bring a group of people to roast... meat in the snow in Meilin. It sounds really... fun. When I get better... let's do it too..."
Mei Niang said quickly, "Okay! Let's invite Runan to join us. It will definitely be fun with more people!"
After several consecutive severe pains and changing several sets of sweat-soaked clothes, Mei Niang took five bowls of medicine from Lingxuzi and fed them to the queen. She drank a total of six bowls. During this period, the queen convulsed and fainted, foaming at the mouth, her pupils dilated, and her breath was weak, as if she was on the verge of death. Mei Niang watched Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi busy but not chaotic, feeding pills, giving acupuncture, and massaging acupoints. It took a long time to bring the queen back to life. Zhang Jingyun taught Mei Niang some acupoint pressing techniques to help the queen reduce pain during childbirth and to cope with it if she suddenly fainted. Mei Niang already had a rough understanding of massage techniques, so she didn't find it difficult to learn.
After many hardships, the queen finally gave birth to a son the next morning. Both mother and child were safe. As the baby cried loudly, the sun, which had not been seen for many days, shone through the clouds and instantly illuminated the entire palace. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)