Chapter 17: Childbirth—She Needs an Emergency C-Section

A sudden hush fell over the crowd.

All the wives present knew exactly what was going on. Li Jinrong wasn’t caring for Wang Chunling—what she cared about was the baby inside her.

When Wang Chunling started to show at three months, her belly was round at first. Li Jinrong had immediately sneered, “Useless money-wasting thing—must be a girl.” But when the bump began to protrude and become pointy—suggesting a boy—Li Jinrong’s attitude started to improve.

She began treating Wang Chunling more nicely and told everyone they were going to have a big, fat grandson.

There’s an old saying: “Sour means a boy, spicy means a girl.” Li Jinrong didn’t care what Wang Chunling wanted. She forced her to eat sour food every day. If Wang Chunling refused, she’d be cursed and scolded.

The past six months of pregnancy had been a slow torture for Wang Chunling, endured one finger-counted day at a time.

She had thought that once the baby was born, it would all be over—but she didn’t realize that a door to death still waited in the middle of it all.

“Help me… I can’t take this anymore… the hospital… I need to go to the hospital…”

Wang Chunling sobbed with tears streaming down her face. She looked around at everyone, desperately pleading, hoping to find even a shred of compassion to help her end this brutal pain.

Her cries made all the wives around her—fellow women—uncomfortable, especially Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan was Wang Chunling’s neighbor, somewhat of a friend too. She had watched her suffer from morning sickness, to a bulging belly, to this moment of agony. Her heart ached like she had swallowed bitter herbs.

But unfortunately, she was the youngest among the women here, and her words carried no weight.

Watching Wang Chunling gasp for breath like she was on the verge of death, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t bear it. She moved forward instinctively, but one of the wives quickly pulled her back and shook her head sternly.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help—it was that even an honest judge can’t resolve family matters. And with Li Jinrong’s vicious, domineering personality, there was no easy way to interfere.

But what were they supposed to do—just stand by and watch Chunling suffer like this?

Then Xia Xiaolan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of someone:
“Where’s Commander Zhou? Let’s go find Commander Zhou! He’s the one who should decide what to do—he’s her husband! We’re outsiders and have no say in your family affairs, but Commander Zhou certainly can!”

Chen Fengying immediately chimed in, “Yes! Find Commander Zhou! Hurry and get him! Song Qi! Song Qi’s here!”

Song Qi had come with Chu Yue, and getting from the family quarters to the military base required passing through two checkpoints. The wives usually avoided doing so to avoid disrupting training. But Song Qi, in uniform and part of the military, was the best person to go find Wang Chunling’s husband, Zhou Zhijian.

All the wives turned to Song Qi, pinning their hopes on him.

But Song Qi said,
“Commander Zhou went to the train station today to pick up new recruits. He’s not on base.”

To find Zhou Zhijian now would take at least three to four hours for a round trip. No one knew if Wang Chunling could even hang on that long.

And just like that, the brief glimmer of hope they had found was once again extinguished.

The only one pleased in the crowd was Li Jinrong, who gave Wang Chunling a fierce glare.

“Stop making a fuss! Go lie down in bed. I’ve fed you well, treated you well. You just focus on giving birth. Now get inside! Stop embarrassing yourself out here!”

She made it sound so nice—“peacefully giving birth.” As if Wang Chunling didn’t want that?

People can’t even get out of bed from regular menstrual cramps—how was she expected to give birth in this state?

What a cruel, heartless mother-in-law! Li Jinrong would rather let Wang Chunling die in agony than allow her precious grandson to be born by C-section.

If Wang Chunling really did go into that house, she probably wouldn’t have the strength to come out again.

That dark room—it was a black hole ready to swallow her whole.

“Mom… please… have mercy… just let me go to the hospital, I promise I’ll deliver the baby properly once I’m there… please… save me… I really can’t… just let me go…”

Suddenly, Wang Chunling’s belly convulsed violently, and the pain intensified again.

She gasped in cold air, her eyes rolling back. Her whole body spasmed, and she began to pass out.

In her fading vision, through the blurred faces, she saw a stranger—a pair of clear, bright eyes looking back at her.

Help… help… save me…

She didn’t have the strength to speak, but she silently, desperately looked to Chu Yue, begging for help.

Chu Yue had witnessed the entire absurd scene unfold and had also figured out most of the dynamics between these people. The wives wanted to help—they really did—but they feared the wrath of the lunatic that was Li Jinrong, afraid that taking action would bring them endless trouble later on.

But even in the face of all this—Chu Yue was not afraid.

She had witnessed countless people die miserably in the apocalypse, swept away by natural disasters and tsunamis. Just surviving was already unimaginably hard, and every life was incredibly precious.

What Chu Yue hated most… was the disregard for life.

Saying that a C-section would affect a child’s intelligence was the most ridiculous, laughable excuse—and forcing a woman to risk her life over that wasn’t just absurd or ironic anymore. It was brutal. Cannibalistic.

If Wang Chunling really died from a difficult labor, then everyone present would be complicit in her death.

“Yuanbao, stay aside. If anything happens, find Uncle Song Qi,” Chu Yue instructed Lu Yuanbao before stepping out from among the group of sisters-in-law.

Her eyes were sharp and defiant, sweeping coldly over Li Jinhua before walking straight toward Wang Chunling, who lay collapsed on the ground. Under Wang Chunling’s astonished, hopeful gaze, Chu Yue slowly crouched down.

“H-help… please help me…”
Wang Chunling’s twisted fingers clutched at Chu Yue’s clothes, tears pouring down her face as she sobbed.

She knew—this was her last chance.
She had to hold on. She must hold on.

Chu Yue took Wang Chunling’s pulse. It was weak and chaotic. Then she glanced under her—her cotton pants were soaked through. She pressed gently on Chunling’s abdomen—it was as hard as a rock.

Her expression turned grave. “When did your water break?”

“Th-three… no… four… four hours ago…”
Wang Chunling’s mind was a mess—she could barely remember, but she tried desperately to think.

Chu Yue’s heart sank, her brows knitting tightly together.

Three or four hours. The amniotic fluid had long since drained. The cervix hadn’t dilated at all. The oversized baby was trapped inside, and with no fluid to cushion or protect it, it could easily suffocate to death inside the womb.

If they didn’t perform a C-section immediately—it could become a double fatality. Neither the baby nor Wang Chunling would survive.

“We need to open her up and do a C-section. Immediately.”

Chu Yue made her decision on the spot.

The moment she said this, Li Jinhua finally reacted.

Because she didn’t know Chu Yue, and saw she was just an 18- or 19-year-old girl, she’d only stared at her in confusion when she approached. That’s how Chu Yue was able to get near Wang Chunling.

But the moment she heard the words “C-section,” it hit her like a bolt of lightning.

“Who are you?! Are you even from our courtyard?! Do you know who my son is?! My son is Zhou Zhijian, the company commander of 4th Company in the 3rd Regiment! He commands hundreds of men! And you think you can interfere with our family’s business?! Get out of here!”

As she spoke, Li Jinhua gathered her strength and reached out toward Chu Yue, trying to shove her away with brute force.

If she could draw some blood in the process—even better. That way she could make an example and shut everyone else up.

Seeing this, the sisters-in-law were all shocked. Their eyes widened in fear and they quickly shouted:

“Li Jinhua, are you crazy?! That’s Commander Lu’s woman! If you lay a hand on her, aren’t you afraid Commander Lu will come after you?!”

But it was too late.

Li Jinhua’s hands, like iron claws, reached Chu Yue and pushed hard—

Then pushed again—

Then again with all her strength—

But Chu Yue stood there, completely unmoved. Li Jinhua couldn’t budge her an inch. Instead, Chu Yue suddenly twisted her arm and shoved her back with one smooth motion.

Li Jinhua staggered back several steps, lost her balance, tripped over her own feet, and fell hard on her butt—ending up just as disheveled and humiliated as Wang Chunling.

Chu Yue said coldly,
“If you want your daughter-in-law to live—if you want the child in her belly to live—then the baby must be delivered via C-section right now.”