Chapter 142 She Is Not Peach Blossom

With these words, Yuexian curiously tugged at Bu Shenglian's sleeve and asked, "The person just now—I heard you call her Princess. Is she from the imperial palace?"

The fire of jealousy in Bu Shenglian's eyes burned so fiercely it seemed as though it would consume her entirely. She sneered, "Of course she is! She's a woman who brought premature death to her own mother, her own father, and even her adoptive father!"

"What?"

Yuexian never expected Qiao Qingyun's background to be so pitiful. Yet, being protected by both Yuan Zaichun and Zhong Shi, she was truly enviable.

Perhaps sensing the unspoken thoughts lingering beneath Yuexian's words, Bu Shenglian quickly interjected, "Are you perhaps taken with one of them? Why are you asking about her identity?"

Pierced to the quick by Bu Shenglian's pointed remark, Yuexian was on the verge of admitting her infatuation with Yuan Zaichun and expressing her admiration, when the next second, she remembered that Bu Shenglian was one of Yuan Zaichun's concubines. If she admitted that, would the two of them even be able to remain friends?

At this thought, Yuexian hastily swallowed back every word she had intended to say.

"Nothing at all. I was just curious."

Half-convinced and half-suspicious, Bu Shenglian did not press further, though her resentment toward Qiao Qingyun deepened within her heart. If not for Qiao Qingyun's refusal to put in a good word for her, she would have already been welcomed back to Yuan Zaichun's side by now!

"Qingyun."

The man strode quickly to Qiao Qingyun's side, watching as the young woman continued to laugh merrily while pulling Zhong Shi along to try on various masks. For a moment, a trace of jealousy toward Zhong Shi welled up inside him.

Owing to their respective stations, one of them was destined to remain by Qiao Qingyun's side at all times. For instance, Zhong Shi currently served as Qiao Qingyun's personal guard, meaning no one would ever suspect any alternative intentions.

"The Crown Prince seems to have quite an abundance of romantic entanglements."

Qiao Qingyun chuckled lightly, brushing the matter off as a joke and giving it no further thought. Bu Shenglian's hatred for her had probably already penetrated down to her very bones, hadn't it? Dwelling on such things was utterly pointless.

Yuexian, however, acted as though facing a formidable enemy. With a slightly nervous frown, he struggled to find the right words. "She is not a romantic entanglement."

"Mm-hm, of course not."

Qiao Qingyun gave a nonchalant, placating reply, making Yuan Zaichun realize he had spoken incorrectly once again. He wanted to offer an explanation, yet he had no idea where to begin.

"Well, we've been out playing for long enough today. Let's stop by the medical clinic to see if there's anything we can assist with, and then we should head back to the palace."

"Ah, very well."

Zhong Shi and Hongying raised no objections, while Yuan Zaichun was more than eager to tag along. Even though the Crown Prince's residence was right in the vicinity, his ultimate duty was to escort Qiao Qingyun safely back to the palace.

Upon arriving in front of the Taihe Medical Clinic, they were surprised to find the lights still brightly lit within. Qiao Qingyun felt a mild flicker of bewilderment; most people should have retired for the night by this hour, shouldn't they? Could it be that someone was residing here? Even so, that was no reason to leave the lanterns in the front hall burning.

With a soft creak, the door was pushed open. Hongying immediately stepped inside first, only to hear a great deal of commotion coming from upstairs. The words spoken were indistinct, but the tone conveyed an intense sense of urgency.

"What on earth is going on?"

Qiao Qingyun glanced around the room. After motioning for the others to take their seats, she hurried upstairs and asked, "Xu Lu, what has happened?"

"Huh?"

Hearing Qiao Qingyun's voice from within, Xu Lu hurried toward the doorway. Her gloves were soaked and stained with crimson blood, and dark streaks of gore smeared her garments.

The sight was chilling enough to make one's heart run cold, yet the radiant smile upon her face made it impossible to look away.

"Master! You're finally out! How are your injuries?"

Xu Lu's first priority was to inquire about Qiao Qingyun's physical condition, but Qiao Qingyun's focus lay entirely elsewhere. She demanded urgently, "Has something gone wrong inside?"

"Yes! A pregnant woman has gone into premature labor, but for reasons unknown, she has been struggling through it all day without delivering. Even after making her drink the labor-inducing decoction, nothing has worked."

"What?"

Startled, Qiao Qingyun dashed over to the cabinet where her garments were stored. Yanking the door open, she quickly donned her white medical coat and apron, slipping on her sterilized gloves and gathering various instruments.

"Princess, what is wrong? Is assistance required?"

Seeing Qiao Qingyun's preparations, Hongying deduced that the situation upstairs was far from simple and immediately offered her help.

Qiao Qingyun shook her head. Darting a quick glance at the group, she said, "If the Crown Prince is pressed for time, he may return first. It seems we will not be able to return to the palace today after all. Zhong Shi, you and Hongying are to head back and report this to His Majesty."

"No. This subordinate and Hongying must leave at least one person behind to ensure the Princess's safety."

Zhong Shi stood his ground stubbornly, prompting Qiao Qingyun to issue a swift, anxious command: "Then Hongying shall stay!"

Without another word, she turned and rushed directly into the operating room.

The moment she stepped inside, a heavy wave of iron-scented blood assailed her senses, causing her to frown. Fortunately, her wounds were healing reasonably well; otherwise, she feared she might not have been physically capable of assisting with the delivery.

"Master?"

Turning his head and seeing that Qiao Qingyun had arrived, Chuncheng experienced a mixture of relief and astonishment.

"What is the current situation?"

Qiao Qingyun stepped forward immediately to examine the patient. Pressing her fingers against the pregnant woman's carotid artery, she felt it still beating, relatively steady though the woman herself remained unconscious—presumably due to the effects of the anesthetic potion.

"What dosage was administered? How long is the unconsciousness expected to last? Why was a regional anesthetic not used instead?"

"Regional anesthetic?"

The term sounded entirely alien to the two assistants. Remembering suddenly that she had never instructed them in such techniques, Qiao Qingyun pulled them both aside. She looked at the blood still continuously feeding into the IV line and the ongoing hemorrhaging from the patient's lower body.

"It is likely because the mother lacks the strength to push while the infant remains trapped inside. Your clinical experience is far too lacking!"

With that, Qiao Qingyun hurriedly instructed Chuncheng to prepare the antidote for the anesthetic. Not daring to delay, Chuncheng returned moments later and forced the reversal agent down the patient's throat.

After a short while, the pain of the uterine contractions jolted the woman awake, and she began shouting and screaming once more.

"Ah! It hurts so much!"

"Do not move! Do not scream! Conserve your energy so you can push when the time comes!"

Taking advantage of the moments when the woman was still regaining her wits, Qiao Qingyun conducted an examination and discovered that the cervix had not yet dilated to ten centimeters. No wonder she was bleeding so profusely and failing to deliver.

"What should we do? How much longer until the baby comes out?"

The pregnant woman asked frantically. Frowning deeply, Qiao Qingyun instructed, "Your cervix has not yet fully dilated. This stage is extremely painful—contractions will occur once every two minutes, lasting half a minute each time. I am going to administer an anesthetic to you; you must remain perfectly still."

So saying, the woman reached out to help the pregnant woman adjust her posture, guiding her to lie on her side and curl her body tightly like a shrimp by clutching her knees.

Qiao Qingyun pulled Chuncheng and Xu Lu closer. Right before their eyes, she adjusted the ratio of the anesthetic powder to water and drew the mixture into a syringe.

"Come and watch closely."

Reaching out to palpate the patient's spine, she counted the vertebrae up and down a few times, and then, right under their watchful eyes, she inserted the needle directly into the spinal column—carefully avoiding the bone itself.

"Mmh..."

The pregnant woman let out a muffled groan of pain, prompting Qiao Qingyun to warn sharply, "Do not move!"

She smoothly injected the entire contents of the syringe, wiped away the trace of blood with a cotton ball, and watched as the puncture wound quickly sealed. Together with Xu Lu, Qiao Qingyun rolled the patient back over.