The midwife struggled to reposition the fetus without success, leaving Song Mingyue utterly exhausted.
Once her strength failed, the child became even more difficult to deliver.
Qi Zhenzhen made a decisive call, ordering the administration of a labor-inducing pill to Song Mingyue. The monk physician sliced ginseng for her to hold in her mouth and began boiling a decoction to stop bleeding, as severe bleeding was common after difficult labor.
Miraculously, just fifteen minutes after taking the pill, the fetus's position corrected itself.
After all the ordeal, the second child was finally born, nearly half an hour after his elder brother.
As the monk physician had predicted, once the placenta was delivered, blood surged from Song Mingyue. Only with timely administration of the decoction and acupuncture was the bleeding finally stopped.
Song Mingyue was so weak that she slept for an entire night before waking.
Looking at her daughter's pale face, Madam Yu's heart ached, and tears welled up. "These two brats nearly cost you your life."
Song Mingyue turned to look at the two little infants lying beside her. A wave of tenderness washed over her. Gazing at their peaceful sleeping faces, the sharp pain she had endured seemed to lessen.
"Your labor exhausted Zhenzhen quite a bit. You were in labor for as long as she was kneeling and reciting scriptures. Er Xi said her knees were bruised and swollen beyond recognition. She can barely walk now! And, it's all thanks to Zhenzhen's labor-inducing pill; otherwise, the younger boy might not have made it, and you could have gone too."
Madam Yu still felt a lingering fear as she spoke.
It was fortunate they had come to Taihe Temple.
What would they have done if they were at home?
"I will always remember Zhenzhen's kindness. I don't have any sisters, so she is my own sister from now on. If anyone bullies her, I'll have my eldest and second sons stand up for her," Song Mingyue declared.
"You're just saying empty words. It will be a long time before these two brats can stand up for Zhenzhen. I say, you should pay more attention to Little Niu in the future and have him follow the Young Lord closely. Little Niu's current success is inseparable from Zhenzhen; we cannot be ungrateful people," Madam Yu seized the opportunity to lecture.
"Mother, please don't worry. I was born of you; you know what kind of person I am," Song Mingyue said playfully.
As they were talking, Qi Xuanxuan entered with a fragrant bowl of millet porridge. "Sister Mingyue, are you hungry?"
"I didn't smell the aroma of the rice, and I didn't feel hungry. Now that I smell it, I want to swallow the bowl too."
"My sister instructed that your first meal after waking should be porridge. Only after your milk comes in can you have some light soup," Qi Xuanxuan said.
Madam Yu, with her experience in such matters, chimed in, "Zhenzhen is right. If you drink chicken soup or pig trotter soup right away, it can cause blocked milk ducts, and you'll suffer greatly."
"I'll eat whatever you give me." Song Mingyue slurped down the bowl of millet porridge. "Is there any more?"
"I made a large pot; there's plenty."
Qi Zhenzhen, unable to get out of bed for three days, visited Song Mingyue as soon as she could walk.
"Second Sister, you didn't see it, but these two little ones looked like red monkeys when they were born," Qi Xuanxuan said excitedly. "They've only been out for three days, and they don't look as unsightly now."
Qi Zhenzhen replied, "You're making a fuss over nothing. Newborn babies grow rapidly, changing every day. They look better now, but wait until they're a month old, and they'll be even more handsome."
Song Mingyue, with a forehead band tied around her head, was sitting propped up by pillows.
"Are your legs alright? Why were you so earnest? The master said I would only suffer a bit during childbirth and wouldn't die, so why did you kneel for a whole day? Don't you want your legs anymore? And you're still carrying another one in your belly." Song Mingyue couldn't help but scold.