Volume One, Chapter 9: Young Doctor, I... I’m in so much pain...

“How do you drive like that? Are you blind? If my son dies, you’ll pay with your life!”

“Exactly! Oh no— is my grandson alright?”

Wen Shiyan thought the child had been hit, so she hurriedly lifted the curtain and rushed out.

What met her eyes were two women and a man—likely a couple and the mother-in-law. The young woman’s belly protruded in a high, rounded curve, clearly about to give birth.

She first asked the panicked coachman, “What happened?”

The coachman spoke while gesturing, “They suddenly came out from this small path. Luckily, I pulled the reins; otherwise, I would have hit them.”

“You’re so unreasonable!” The mother-in-law placed her hands on her hips, scowling fiercely as she pointed fingers, “It’s clearly your fault for not watching where you’re going, yet you blame us!”

The stout man behind her chimed in, “If anything happened to my son, do you think you could afford to pay for it?”

Wen Shiyan noticed the pregnant woman’s face was as pale as paper, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead in the chill air, unable to stand steadily.

Frowning, she said, “Stop arguing for now. This lady seems frightened and needs to return to the city immediately to see a doctor.”

Out here in the wilderness, if anything went wrong, there would be no one to help.

She then looked back at Liang Jiang, who had followed them out. “She’s about to give birth. Can we borrow the carriage?”

Liang Jiang nodded slightly.

He agreed.

“No!” The mother-in-law and husband shouted in unison, refusing.

The pregnant woman’s eyes, full of desperation, looked pleadingly at Wen Shiyan.

“Why not?!” Wen Shiyan stepped down from the carriage. “Can’t you see how much pain she’s in? Where do you intend to take her?”

She already sensed something was wrong.

These two kept insisting they cared for the child in the womb, yet at the moment of birth, they neither sought a midwife nor a doctor but instead came walking outside the city.

Judging by their attire, they did not seem poor and could afford a coachman.

It was all too suspicious.

The husband grabbed the woman’s wrist and tried to pull her back, while the mother-in-law stepped forward.

“Young master, I advise you not to meddle. We have urgent matters today and no time to settle accounts with you. Leave quickly.”

Wen Shiyan cupped her hands politely, “I am a doctor. May I take this lady’s pulse? She doesn’t look well.”

The mother-in-law became agitated and tried to shove her away.

“No need! She’s fine. Which woman doesn’t feel pain in childbirth? You’re a man; you wouldn’t understand!”

Wen Shiyan sidestepped and grabbed the mother-in-law’s sleeve, flicking her backward, then moved beside the pregnant woman.

“Do you want to live?” she asked the tearful woman.

After a heavy nod, she gave a reassuring smile.

Swiftly, she snatched the pregnant woman’s wrist from her husband’s grasp; her fingertips touched skin that was icy cold.

The mother-in-law then threw herself to the ground, kicking up a fuss and shouting, “Help! Someone is bullying the weak! Come, judge this injustice!”

The woman’s husband wasn’t willing to back down either and tried to punch her.

But just as he moved, a long sword whizzed through the air and embedded itself into the ground just an inch from his foot.

Suddenly, neither crying nor shouting was possible.

The man watching from the carriage above wore an expression deadly enough to kill them all.

Silence returned to the road; only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard.

The sunlight above was warm and bright, yet a deep shadow darkened Wen Shiyan’s face.

“Can you still move?” she asked.

The pregnant woman swallowed and placed a trembling hand on her belly, then nodded weakly. Her voice was soft and pleasant but faint, “Yes.”

Wen Shiyan relaxed slightly and said seriously, “You’ve consumed too many nourishing things; your baby may be too large, making labor difficult. Plus, you just walked too far, and the cold wind has entered your body. Danger could strike at any moment.”

Then she added, “But don’t be afraid. You’ll be fine.”

The pregnant woman knew the last part was meant to comfort her but still felt strength in the words. “Thank you.”

“Let’s go.”

The husband and mother-in-law found some courage and jumped forward to block their way again.

“Trying to run?”

“You’re my Li family’s daughter-in-law, carrying our bloodline, and you want to run away with a stranger?”

Wen Shiyan waved her sleeve. “A healer’s heart is kind. I only save lives, not kidnap people. After she overcomes this crisis, where she goes is her decision.”

They were clearly not trustworthy people; she hoped the pregnant woman could see that.

The mother-in-law bared her teeth. “She can’t go back—she must bear a grandson for the Li family!”

Seeing the matter was unavoidable, she revealed more, “Oh, the master has divined that if the Li family wants a male heir, she must walk out to the Lingquan Temple outside the city today and drink a bowl of spring water. Otherwise, this baby will be a loss.”

Her husband angrily pointed at the woman. “Yes! This ungrateful one has lost five children without a son. It’s driving me mad!”

They continued cursing loudly.

The pregnant woman’s flicker of will to live dimmed again.

She closed her eyes and resigned herself, staring up at the sky as tears slipped down her cheeks.

“So ignorant and hateful,” Wen Shiyan, an outsider, was so angry she struggled to breathe and decided not to waste more words. “Let’s go!”

“...”

Wen Shiyan supported the woman’s arm but found her shaking uncontrollably, breathing short and rapid, eyes filled with terrified tears.

She slowly turned her gaze to the only lifeline. “Young doctor, I... I’m in so much pain...”

Wen Shiyan looked down and saw blood staining the pale green floral skirt, amniotic fluid dripping quietly onto the ground.

“Don’t be afraid. Breathe in, breathe out, follow me—inhale, exhale.” She held the woman’s hand. “Good! Keep it up!”

She bent slightly and scooped the woman up horizontally, then called out to the carriage.

“Your Highness!”

Wen Shiyan ran towards the carriage with the woman.

Liang Jiang lifted the curtain and let them in, then instructed the coachman, “To the Yong’an Medical Hall.”

The mother-in-law and husband were stunned by the mention of “Your Highness.” They immediately dropped all talk of “grandsons” and scrambled to their knees, begging for mercy.

The carriage wheels splashed mud and melting snow water all over them.

Inside the carriage,

The woman lay flat on the seat, clutching her belly, gritting her teeth, sweat pouring down like a waterfall.

Wen Shiyan adjusted her position and sent Liang Jiang out to make more space.

“Madam, do you have any other family?”

The woman’s face turned purple with strain as she painfully replied, “The largest fabric shop in the east of the city—the Jiang Fabric Shop. I am Jiang Ruoyu, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family. If... if I die... please lay me to rest directly. Thank you...”

She took off a gold-threaded hairpin from her hair and handed it to Wen Shiyan.

Wen Shiyan didn’t know what had happened to make her so resigned but said firmly, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you die.”

With that, she lifted Jiang Ruoyu’s skirt to help remove the damp, soiled undergarment but was stopped.