Chapter 607 - 609: Yu Hongxiu Gets Knocked Down by Someone
Bai Ruozhu felt an inexplicable jolt in her eyelid, a sudden wave of anxiety overwhelmed her, making her almost jump up. Could something have happened to Yu Hongxiu?
Wang Miaoshuang glared at the maid, her face turning cold, and she said indignantly, "Where are your manners, creating such uproar and panic? What has happened?"
The maid stammered, frightened by Wang Miaoshuang’s gaze.
"Ma...ma’am, Mrs. Xie tripped and fell on the road, there was blood..."
"What?" Bai Ruozhu jumped out of her seat suddenly, unaware that she had knocked over the stool. She rushed over, grabbing the maid by the arm, saying, "Where is Mrs. Xie? Take me there quickly!"
Tu Ying and Fang Guizhi followed her. Tu Ying grabbed Bai Ruozhu, saying: "I’m skilled at lightness martial arts. I’ll be able to take you there quicker." She grabbed Bai Ruozhu and the maid and sped off in the direction Yu Hongxiu had taken.
Wang Miaoshuang stood there, her mouth agape—before she could even get a word in, they had already left. As the hostess, she felt humiliated. She wanted to lose her temper, but Meng Jinse stood up, saying, "Mother, Mrs. Xie is grandmother’s guest. Something unfortunate has happened to her while she was in our residence, you should send word to grandmother swiftly. Let’s also go and see if we can offer help."
Wang Miaoshuang took a deep breath. Considering that Mr. Xie has been favored by her husband and Mrs. Xie is expecting their first child at the age of thirty, if anything happened to her, not only would the old lady blame her, but Meng Liangshen would also blame her.
"Let’s go and see what happened," Wang Miaoshuang said, reluctant as she was.
Tu Ying, carrying both of them, was able to move quickly. Her lightness skills did indeed command respect. Bai Ruozhu, however, was too preoccupied with her worries at the moment to appreciate her skills. She asked the maid sternly, "Tell me exactly what happened and how Mrs. Xie fell."
Shivering, the maid explained, "Originally, my sister Shuxin accompanied Mrs. Xie to Great Madam’s Yuran Residence. They were walking slowly, being very careful. Later, two other ladies went to the restroom and caught up with Mrs. Xie. They had a little chat and followed her. Suddenly, one of the ladies slipped and crashed into Mrs. Xie."
As the maid told the story, she broke down into sobs, "I was just sweeping leaves nearby. My sister Shuxin told me to rush for help. She tried to cushion Mrs. Xie’s fall, but I think her back is hurt."
No wonder the maid was so frightened. She was usually tasked with cleaning. This might be the first time she had encountered such a situation.
"So Mrs. Xie fell on her stomach? How much blood was there?" Bai Ruozhu inquired again.
"She was hit on her left side by that lady and then fell sideways. When I left, the blood wasn’t much, about the size of a child’s fist," answered the maid.
Bai Ruozhu’s heart clenched. The maid only saw a small stain of blood, about the size of a child’s fist. However, it was cold now, and everyone was wearing thick clothes. Just because only a little blood had seeped through didn’t mean she only lost that much blood.
Seeing Bai Ruozhu’s anxiety, Tu Ying advised, "We will be there soon. You need to stay calm in order to save your friend."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, gratefully saying to Tu Ying, "Thank you."
Before long, they could see figures in the distance. It was nearer to the Second Lady’s yard. The Second Lady was originally ill and didn’t attend the banquet; however, she still rushed over despite her illness.
"It’s over there," announced the maid anxiously.
Tu Ying hastened her pace, calling out, "Make way, the doctor is here!"
When Bai Ruozhu saw Yu Hongxiu, her eyes welled with tears, blurring her sight. She regretted not having accompanied Yu Hongxiu. She should have left earlier with her.
However, she quickly composed herself, suppressing her emotions. Right now, nothing was more important than saving lives.
"Ruozhu, save my child ..." Yu Hongxiu was either scared or in pain, and her eyes were red from crying. She weakly covered her stomach, pleading.
"Don’t worry, I’m here, you’re in safe hands," Bai Ruozhu gently reassured her. If she could not calm down somewhat, she would lose more blood.
Bai Ruozhu crouched down and checked Yu Hongxiu’s pulse. The situation wasn’t great. Yu Hongxiu was carrying twins so she had to be extra careful. But she had been emotionally distressed lately which had already affected her babies. Moreover, she fell today and was bleeding. The situation could not be more dangerous.
Without wasting any more time, Bai Ruozhu took out a silver needle from her hair bun and began acupuncture on Yu Hongxiu. Meanwhile, she said to the Second Lady who stood by, "Could you kindly send for a stretcher? It’s cold on the ground; we need to move Mrs. Xie to a room as soon as possible, for treatment,"
The Second Lady hurriedly nodded, "I will arrange for someone to bring one immediately."
"It must be a sturdy stretcher, not a soft palanquin," added Bai Ruozhu. When she saw the pale and sweaty Shuxin, she quickly said, "Bring two stretchers. Shuxin got hurt saving her master. We need to transport her as well."
Shuxin blushed with embarrassment, "I’m alright. I failed to protect Mrs. Xie. I’ve let down the old madam and Miss Bai’s trust."
Bai Ruozhu didn’t have time for small talk; she went on to treat Yu Hongxiu. Once Yu Hongxiu was stable, she would attend to Shuxin.
If it were not for Shuxin cushioning Yu Hongxiu’s fall, even if Yu Hongxiu had fallen sideways, it might have been too late to preserve her pregnancy.
After Bai Ruozhu administered the needles, Yu Hongxiu asked weakly, "I feel much better. My stomach doesn’t hurt as much. Does it mean the child can be saved?"
Bai Ruozhu looked at her, saying with conviction, "As long as I am around, no one will harm you or your baby."
Yu Hongxiu felt much more at ease, and her previously furrowed eyebrows relaxed.
Then Bai Ruozhu gently massaged Yu Hongxiu’s abdomen with the same technique that she had taught to the village doctor of the Back Mountain Village, that helped save Wang LaiDi’s child. After a while, Yu Hongxiu’s bleeding had completely stopped.
At this point, the helpers sent by the Second Lady arrived with two stretchers, along with some guards for a quicker and steadier journey.
Bai Ruozhu instructed them to set the stretchers on the ground and called for Tu Ying’s help to lift Yu Hongxiu. Fang Guizhi also ran over at this point and helped them lift Yu Hongxiu gently onto the stretcher.
"Make sure you carry it steadily with minimal jolting," advised Bai Ruozhu to the guards about to lift the stretcher.
The guards acknowledged and very carefully lifted the stretcher.
By the time Wang Miaoshuang and the others finally arrived, Bai Ruozhu was helping to move Shuxin onto the other stretcher. Wang Miaoshuang uttered a cold huff, confiding to Mrs. Li at her side: "Isn’t Bai Ruozhu supposed to be closest to Mrs. Xie? When something happened to Mrs. Xie, she didn’t seem particularly worried; instead, she was concerned about a maid’s life and death. I wonder what she was thinking."