Zheng Yu and Gu Yi stayed at the Gu residence that night. Hearing the commotion in the courtyard outside, Gu Yi, fearing something had happened, urged Zheng Yu to go out and inquire.
When Zheng Yu returned, Gu Yi had already put on his outer clothes and hurried to meet him. "What's wrong? Is it that your brother-in-law is about to give birth?"
"Yes," Zheng Yu said, his face a little flustered, as this was his first time experiencing such a scene. "The midwife just arrived."
"Then let's go see," Gu Yi said, walking quickly ahead to Gu Yitong's courtyard.
Gu Yitong was not in the courtyard. She must have been inside, but there was no sound coming from within, which made them even more worried.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Lu Yu was seen hurrying into the inner courtyard. A servant, following Gu Yitong's instructions, quickly entered the room to report.
"Does Xuan'er know this news? Is he alright?" Gu Yi, seeing that Shen Xuan had not come with Lu Yu, breathed a sigh of relief, but his worry was so great that he forgot about etiquette. He walked up to Lu Yu and asked directly.
"He knows," Lu Yu nodded, her brow furrowed tightly. "I left him at home. Ah Da is with him."
As they spoke, the servant ran out of the room. "Doctor Lu, our master wants you to come in."
Lu Yu nodded and strode into the room.
The smell of blood in the room was extremely strong. Upon entering the inner chamber, Lu Yu saw blood all over the floor. Her brow furrowed even deeper. This shouldn't be happening.
"Quickly, quickly!" Gu Yitong quickly got up and made space for Lu Yu to sit outside the gauze curtain to feel Afu's pulse.
Afu had initially refused to let Gu Yitong stay in the room with him. The delivery room was considered inauspicious, and women usually avoided it, so who would willingly come forward? Yet, these people did not believe in such superstitions.
Gu Yitong dared not go against Afu's wishes, so they compromised. She agreed to Afu's request to lower the bed curtain and not to witness his pain.
If it weren't for this curtain, even if Gu Yitong could stay, Lu Yu would definitely not have been allowed in by Afu.
"Has anyone given him any labor-inducing medication?"
Seeing Lu Yu's solemn expression, Gu Yitong's heart skipped a beat. She had worked with Lu Yu for a year, and Lu Yu always tried her best to comfort the families of the injured. If she wore such an expression, it was likely very serious.
"No," Gu Yitong answered with certainty. Although she hadn't been in the room constantly, she had been watching everyone enter and exit. No one had brought any medicine in.
She had been waiting for Lu Yu to arrive and would never have dared to administer any medicine privately.
No?
Lu Yu's expression became even more solemn. She felt Afu's pulse again, and her brow furrowed even tighter.
The pulse, at first glance, showed no particularly obvious changes, but upon closer inspection, some subtle signs could be detected. The main issue was the excessive amount of blood immediately after childbirth, which was highly abnormal.
"Then why is there so much blood?" Lu Yu asked aloud, unable to figure it out.
"Doctor Lu, you don't know. All men are like this when giving birth," the midwife, who had been bending over to assist, stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I've already given him a pill, and he'll give birth soon."
"What pill!" Gu Yitong had never expected the problem to stem from him. She shot up from the stool, her eyes wide with anger, her eyes instantly bloodshot, startling the midwife so much that she fell to the ground.
"It's, it's something men have to, have to take before giving birth," Afu, from within the curtain, answered her in a weak, hesitant voice.
"Something you have to take?" Lu Yu was not overly agitated. She thought carefully.
Since Afu knew about it, it was likely something men in this region had to take before giving birth, not some rare medicine.
When Madam Li gave birth that day, she arrived late, when the labor was already in its mid-stage. She had indeed not seen what the early stages were like.
Recalling Madam Li's pulse at the time, it did seem a bit off, but she had attributed it to Madam Li's weakness before labor and the prolonged labor.
"What medicine is it?"
"It's, it's just something men have to take before giving birth."
Seeing that the midwife couldn't explain it clearly, Lu Yu gave up on that line of questioning.
If she guessed correctly, it was likely a type of labor-inducing drug, albeit with a lower dosage, making the pulse less obvious. However, even this small amount could have a significant effect on a man about to give birth.
She had once seen a description of a labor-inducing pill in the "Complete Book of Good Prescriptions for Women": "Burn rabbit fur and skin to ashes, grind into powder, mix with wine, and take one cunbi. It will induce labor immediately."
Although this book wasn't mentioned here, it was likely that the preparation of this pill was similar.
It was probably a custom here, and perhaps taking a small amount of labor-inducing medicine to speed up labor did have some benefit for men giving birth.
Unfortunately, Afu's body was not suited for this medicine, and he was now experiencing excessive labor induction.
Lu Yu did not hesitate further. She directly stated a prescription and urged the servant outside to quickly prepare the medicine.
Lu Yu had personally taken care of Afu's health. According to her, Afu's childbirth should have been smooth, but this unexpected complication had arisen.
Lu Yu stood up, and Gu Yitong sat by the bed, tightly holding Afu's hand. She could not suffer in his place, so she could only accompany him in this way.
Afu's pained groans continued to come from within the curtain. Although Lu Yu had advised Afu to try not to make a sound and conserve his strength, the pain was so intense that Afu could no longer control his cries.
The midwife, however, did not think she had done anything wrong. She sneered inwardly, thinking, "Which of the men giving birth here doesn't take this medicine? He's just being dramatic."
After the decoction was prepared according to Lu Yu's prescription, Gu Yitong helped Afu drink it. Afu gradually regained some strength and, following the midwife's instructions, pushed. However, it wasn't until the next morning that the ordeal ended.
It took a full three hours.
As Afu's pained cries echoed, the child was finally born.
Those outside all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Gu Yi quietly entered the room. Afu had already fainted from the pain when the child was born. Gu Yitong was wiping him down on one side. Seeing Gu Yi enter, she quickly asked Gu Yi to come and support Afu while she changed the sweat-soaked bedding beneath him.
Gu Yi sat by the bed and gently held Afu. The moment she touched Afu, Gu Yi shivered. Afu was completely drenched in sweat, as if he had been pulled out of water, even his hair was wet.
The bedding beneath Afu was also soaked with sweat. Gu Yitong quickly changed it to dry bedding and personally tucked Afu in, her eyes red-rimmed.
"Sister, I'll go out and see my little niece first." Gu Yi did not want to disturb them further and quietly withdrew. However, as she came out, her face was ashen.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Yu saw Gu Yi's pale face and quickly stepped forward to hold her hand, her eyes clearly filled with worry.
Looking at Zheng Yu before her, Gu Yi paused and lowered her gaze, avoiding her worried eyes. "It's nothing. I'll go see my little niece first."