Chapter 1288: Chapter 1266: Protect the Child
Han Wuniang fell silent for a long while before saying, "No, save the child first."
Eldest Lady Han protested, "Wuniang!"
Han Wuniang shook her head with reddened eyes, "Elder sister, this child was so difficult for me to conceive. I know that if I can’t deliver this child now, I might never be able to have children again in the future."
Han Wuniang clutched her belly and cried, "This is my eight-month pregnancy. How can I abandon him?"
Eldest Lady Han knew this would be her decision, which was why they hesitated to tell her the truth.
Manbao quickly tried to console her, "Han Wuniang, don’t worry. That’s only the worst-case scenario; it’s not definite that only one can be saved."
Han Wuniang silently shed tears.
Li Sanlang returned with a chill about him. He stomped his feet outside the screen, waiting for the cold air to dissipate somewhat before entering the inner chamber. Seeing Han Wuniang wiping away her tears, his expression grew darker.
Eldest Lady Han silently moved aside to give him a place to sit. Li Sanlang sat down by the bed, his face clouded with anger, and said, "Stop worrying now. Elder sister and I are here to take care of things outside."
Then he turned to look at Manbao and politely asked, "Doctor Zhou Junior, how is my wife doing?"
Manbao replied, "She’s stable for now. The medicine is already being prepared. Have her take a dose of medicine to stabilize the pregnancy, and I’ll make preparations. We’ll perform the surgery around midday tomorrow. By the way, from now on, she shouldn’t eat anything."
Li Sanlang looked toward Eldest Lady Han. Han Wuniang hesitated slightly, "Really, not even a little?"
Unable to contain his anger, Li Sanlang snapped, "What’s the harm in missing a couple of meals? If you had listened and eaten less earlier, we wouldn’t be in this mess now."
Han Wuniang, who had just stopped crying, immediately started sobbing again. "You’re blaming me! You’re blaming me! But do you think I wanted this? It’s your son who demands food. If I don’t eat, I feel faint and don’t even have the strength to speak. All you people ever do is tell me to eat less—I want to eat less; how can I?"
Their voices were loud enough to startle Manbao, who hadn’t seen a patient argue with their family before. Quickly regaining her composure, Manbao tried to mediate, "Han Wuniang, Young Master Li is just worried about you. And, Young Master Li, this isn’t Han Wuniang’s fault. It’s her condition; she can’t help feeling hungry."
Everyone in the room turned to look at Manbao. "Eating excessively is also an illness?"
Manbao replied, "Yes, it’s entirely normal. If someone eats less, you would think their poor appetite is a sickness. By the same logic, eating excessively is also an illness."
Han Wuniang asked blankly, "What kind of illness?"
Manbao answered, "This is diabetes."
Han Wuniang turned to look at Nanny Han, who squinted her aging eyes thoughtfully for a while before asking, "Doctor Zhou Junior, our Wuniang didn’t have this illness before. I’ve heard that diabetes involves excessive thirst, excessive eating, excessive urination, and weight loss. Wuniang used to eat moderately and didn’t have such symptoms."
Nanny Li also entered the room and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes. Third Madam only started overeating after becoming pregnant, but isn’t excessive appetite normal during pregnancy?"
Since Han Wuniang’s pregnancy, Nanny Li had been caring for her and thus knew her condition best.
Manbao explained, "Of course it’s not normal. Other pregnant women who eat more also gain weight. But look at your Madam—aside from her belly, her face, hands, and feet haven’t changed at all. It just so happens that she’s pregnant, so no one noticed this illness earlier."
Outside the screen, Imperial Doctor Tan and Imperial Doctor Liu exchanged glances, both silently recalling Han Wuniang’s pulse records. Indeed, her excessive appetite seemed a bit unusual.
The Li Family hadn’t been idle either.
After noticing that Han Wuniang refused to heed advice and kept overeating, her mother-in-law had instructed the kitchen to limit her nutritional intake. Since the fifth month of pregnancy, Han Wuniang had been consuming far fewer supplements commonly given to pregnant noblewomen.
At the time, discussions with Nanny Li hadn’t raised much suspicion, but looking back now, if her consumption hadn’t been restricted earlier, things might have been worse...
Manbao comforted the patient, guaranteeing that the illness wouldn’t endanger the child’s life before she removed her needles and left the room.
Manbao spoke to Imperial Doctor Tan and Imperial Doctor Liu, "Let’s perform the surgery tomorrow."
Since this was their first time performing a cesarean on a healthy pregnant woman, Imperial Doctor Tan and Imperial Doctor Liu were still nervous. They exchanged glances and asked, "Isn’t it too soon?"
Imperial Doctor Tan said, "Judging by her pulse, there’s still hope for saving the child without surgery."
Manbao replied, "I just checked her. Although there’s less bleeding now, she’s still spotting. If we don’t operate, she’ll have to remain bedridden for the next month, unable to even move slightly—this is also highly dangerous."
Imperial Doctor Liu didn’t speak, but Imperial Doctor Tan sighed and asked, "Has the fetus matured enough?"
Manbao hesitated before saying, "I just listened. The fetal heartbeat is faster than the last time I checked but still within the normal range. However, I’m still concerned..."
Imperial Doctor Liu calculated the timeline and said, "It’s still eight days short of nine months. The child is premature; the survival rate if delivered early won’t be very high."
Imperial Doctor Tan countered, "The priority is to save Han Wuniang. As long as the child is born alive, there are ways to address survival afterward."
He concluded, "There must be sacrifices."
Evidently, he leaned more toward following Minister Han’s wishes.
In this era, even naturally delivered children had low survival rates. Even Imperial Doctor Tan and Imperial Doctor Liu had experienced the loss of children.
Children under eight years old were still at risk of dying from various causes. Imperial Doctor Tan didn’t advocate sacrificing Han Wuniang’s life for the child unless her survival chances were lower than the child’s.
So he turned to Manbao and asked, "Doctor Zhou Junior, how confident are you?"
"Regarding the mother?" Manbao replied, "The likelihood of success is significantly higher if we operate now. Delaying further will be harmful to both mother and child."
Manbao thought for a moment and secretly nudged Keke, "Scan her and see how the child is doing."
Keke unceremoniously deducted a few points and then transmitted the data back to the system’s virtual model, allowing Manbao to assess it visually.
Sitting on a chair, Manbao closed her eyes and immersed her consciousness in the system to examine the virtual model. She instructed Keke to manipulate the model to display in 5D, giving her a clear view of the child’s condition...
Manbao opened her eyes. Imperial Doctor Tan and Imperial Doctor Liu assumed she had merely been resting.
Manbao declared, "Let’s operate tomorrow. Delaying further will harm the child."
Imperial Doctor Tan and Imperial Doctor Liu discussed briefly and then nodded in agreement, after which they went to consult Minister Han outside.
Bai Shanzheng and Minister Han were sitting together, sipping tea. Seeing Manbao, Imperial Doctor Tan, and Imperial Doctor Liu enter together, Bai Shanzheng stood up, greeted the two imperial doctors, and stepped aside to listen to their discussion.