I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

On the night of the tenth day of the first lunar month, Ming Le suddenly started acting without warning.

That night, Xiangxi was holding Xuebao, trying to lull her to sleep.

Suddenly, the door to the east room opened.

"Go check it out quickly." Xiangxi sensed that the time had come and kicked Yang Tongchuan, who was soaking his feet.

Yang Tongchuan didn't even have time to wipe his feet before he went out, throwing on a cloak.

"Tongchuan, hurry and fetch the midwife. I'll go get the doctor. Yanzi, boil some water. Granny Du, go and get the prepared things. Mother, can you stay with Mingle for me?" Yang Tongshan remained relatively calm, after all, they had simulated this day several times.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Yang Tongchuan returned to the house and hurriedly changed his clothes.

Xiangxi prepared a lantern for him so he could carry it and walk at night.

Xuebao was sent to Yang's father's house to be looked after.

Xiangxi ran to the kitchen to help Yanzi boil water, and then carried buckets of water to the east room.

The moment I entered the room, I smelled blood.

Granny Du and Mother Yang were helping Ming Le change her soiled bedding.

Ming Le held a ginseng slice under her tongue, gritting her teeth and remaining silent. She remembered what Granny Du had said: don't shout, save your strength to fight the King of Hell for the child.

Xiangxi was terrified by the scene.

When he gave birth to Olaf, it was definitely not this dangerous.

"Xi-ge'er, bring some more cloth." Mother Yang instructed Xiang-xi to help.

"Okay." Xiangxi brought over a large stack of soft cloths, and folded up the used bedding and carried it out so that Mingle wouldn't see it.

The doctor arrived faster than the midwife.

The heavy bleeding was expected, and the amount of bleeding was less than anticipated. The doctor wasn't too panicked; he simply gave Xiangxi a packet of medicine and told him to brew it.

Xiangxi, trembling, took the medicine packet to the kitchen.

Yang Tongchuan arrived shortly afterward with the midwife.

Seeing that his elder brother had no other plans, Yang Tongchuan went to the kitchen to find Xiangxi.

Xiangxi cried as she prepared the medicine.

Yang Tongchuan put his arm around his shoulder, still panting heavily.

He ran all the way to the midwife's house, and before she could even get the donkey cart, he carried the baby back on his back. Only then did he realize how much his heart ached from running.

"So much blood, the bedding is soaked through, how could there be so much blood?" Xiangxi's teeth were still chattering.

"Brother knew this would happen, that's why he didn't let sister-in-law take it. Never mind, let's not talk about this now. Once the medicine is ready, send it in quickly." Yang Tongchuan understood the pressure his brother was under; this was a battle they couldn't win.

"Mmm." Xiangxi wiped away her tears. Yanzi had already boiled the second pot of water, and this time it was Yanzi's turn to deliver the water.

When Xiangxi brought the medicine into the house after it was brewed, Mingle remained silent, only holding Yang's mother's hand tightly, her forehead covered in sweat.

Xiangxi recalled the agonizing experience she had gone through back then and once again admired Mingle's greatness.

Yang Tongshan stood outside the door, motionless like a petrified statue.

There was a chair that Xiangxi had brought over, but Yang Tongshan didn't sit down.

The baby was still not born by the time dawn broke.

Ming Le has already fainted twice, and was forcibly woken up by medication both times.

"Tongchuan, it's dawn. Go to Mingle's parents' house and ask them to come over." Yang Tongshan's voice was a little hoarse after standing all night.

"Understood." Yang Tongchuan now does whatever his brother tells him to do.

It takes more than an hour to walk to Mingle's family home.

Yang Tongchuan borrowed a horse from the yamen and rode out of the city at full speed.

When another basin of hot water, stained red with blood, was brought out.

Yang Tongshan stared at the basin of bloody water, his eyes as cold as the biting winter wind.

He stopped guarding the door and went to the main hall.

The doctor is sitting here resting.

"Doctor, please prepare the last dose of medicine."

After saying that, she left without looking back and pushed open the door to the delivery room.

"What are you doing here causing trouble? Get out, get out!" Yang's mother saw Yang Tongshan and pushed him out.

"Mother, let it go. If this continues, we won't be able to save either of them."

Yang Tongshan's mind was perfectly clear at this moment; he knew what he was doing. Ming Le was already exhausted, and continuing was futile.

The doctor has another dose of medicine. After taking it, Mingle will fall asleep and relax, allowing the midwife to forcefully push the baby out.

The only consequence is that Ming Le might live a life of hatred for him.

"Manager Yang, may I speak to you in private?"

The doctor stood outside the door and called to Yang Tongshan.

Yang Tongshan thought the medicine was ready, so he came out to get it.

"I don't think it's time yet. We can wait a little longer." That medicine is too strong; once taken, the baby will be stillborn.

"My wife was pampered and her body isn't particularly robust. Even a strong man wouldn't be able to withstand this much bleeding after a whole night. I don't want to take any more risks."

"First pregnancies tend to have longer labors. A seven-month-old baby weighs a maximum of three pounds, so it should be possible to deliver. There's still hope." The doctor had been assessing Mingle's condition.

Although it looks frightening now, it's not entirely without hope. Yang Tongshan is just worrying too much.

"My wife is in pain again, isn't she? Yes, just go with the flow." The midwife's voice came from inside the door.

Yang Tongshan had been listening to this all night, but the child just wouldn't come out.

"Try it one more time. If it doesn't work, I'll go and prepare the medicine."

"She's about to bleed out." Every word was squeezed out of Yang Tongshan's throat.

Yang Tongshan realized he was wrong. He shouldn't have let Mingle get pregnant, and he shouldn't have let Mingle act recklessly. This child was a mistake from beginning to end.

"Okay, that's it. I've found the baby's head. Don't give up. Don't give up now. Push harder." The midwife's voice brought Yang Tongshan back to his senses.

He wanted to go in and stay with Mingle, but his legs wouldn't obey him, his knees buckled, and he knelt directly on the ground.

With a thud, Xiangxi felt pain just hearing it; she didn't know if her bone was cracked.

Xiangxi didn't feel comfortable helping him up, so it was the doctor who helped Yang Tongshan up.

Xiangxi moved the stool from the doorway over and let Yang Tongshan sit down.

"Let me see." The doctor examined Yang Tongshan and found that he had fallen hard from that fall and would be limping for several days.

"It's out, it's born! Ming Le, it's a boy, it's a boy!" Yang's mother's voice came from inside the house.

Xiangxi's heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled down.

A sense of peace and clarity washed over me, like the sun breaking through the clouds.

Wait a minute, why isn't the baby moving?

They were happy only after the fact.

Yang Tongshan also realized this.

He walked into the house with a limp.

The doctor followed closely behind.

As soon as I entered, I saw the midwife pinching the soles of the baby's feet hard.

The baby weighed less than three pounds, was covered in bruises, and hadn't been cleaned yet.

Yang Tongshan ignored the child and knelt directly at Ming Le's bedside.

"Husband, go and see why the baby isn't crying. Xuebao cried so loudly when she was born," Mingle said anxiously.

"The doctor went to check on her and said she's fine. She stopped crying after a while. How are you? Are you still bleeding?"

Yang Tongshan's body blocked the doctor's view of the child's rescue efforts.

Ming Le tried to get up to take a look, but Yang Tongshan held her down.

"You can't get up right now. Lie down and I'll bring you over after you've been washed."

"He's not crying, why isn't he crying?" Ming Le, who had spent the entire night on the verge of death without shedding a single tear, suddenly burst into tears.

Yang Tongshan didn't know how to answer Ming Le.