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The members of the Shen family rushed to the front yard, surrounding Xiao Zhang with concern.
Grandma Shen hurriedly walked over to Xiao Zhang, who was leaning on Shen Yun, and lowered her head to take a look. She saw bloodstains on the front of Shen Yun’s clothes.
She bent down to look behind Xiao Zhangshi and noticed a large reddish-brown stain on the back of her dress.
Grandma Shen was so frightened that she almost couldn’t catch her breath.
Anxiously, she shouted, “Dalang, Erlang, quickly go and fetch the midwives Sun and Ding, hurry!”
“Oh, we’ll go right away.”
Shen Dalang and Shen Erlang responded and quickly ran out in different directions.
Shortly after the Shen family arrived in the area, they inquired about the experienced midwives nearby. One of them was Sun, a midwife from their Longxian Village, and the other was Ding, from the neighboring village.
According to the villagers, most babies delivered by these two midwives survived, and very few died prematurely.
Therefore, they had already made arrangements and were eagerly waiting for Xiao Zhang to give birth with less suffering.
After waiting for so many days without any activity, no one expected that something would happen today.
With this thought in mind, everyone’s eyes turned sharp as knives and focused on Aunt Pan, who had shrunk to the side.
Aunt Pan felt the intense gaze from the Shen family members, as if they wanted to devour her.
Feeling scared, she shrank her neck, realizing that she seemed too guilty. To boost her own morale, she spoke loudly.
“I… it’s not my fault. I just wanted to help her back, but who knew she would collapse!”
“I can see that you all want to frame me. Let me tell you, I won’t admit to anything!”
While Aunt Pan was speaking, she kept moving backward. Her small, restless eyes quickly glanced towards the direction of the main gate, and then she darted towards it.
The Shen family members wouldn’t let her escape.
Song Shi and Zhao Shi immediately rushed forward to chase her.
Shen Yu’an’s expression turned cold. She threw the small wooden sword he had been sharpening towards Aunt Pan’s legs as she ran towards the door.
The unfinished wooden sword swiftly shot towards Aunt Pan’s leg, causing her to stumble and one of her legs buckled, forcing her to kneel on the ground.
Bang!
“Aaahhh!!!”
As Song Shi and Zhao Shi caught up with her, they took the opportunity to hold her from both sides, preventing her from running any further.
Aunt Pan, in a state of panic, shouted, “I haven’t done anything! Let me go!”
Despite her protests, Song Shi and Zhao Shi remained indifferent. Shen Sanlang even grabbed a rope and intended to tie her up.
Aunt Pan struggled even harder, shouting non-stop.
“Help! Help! Murder! Murder!”
Song Shi and Zhao Shi worked together, quickly tying her up. Aunt Pan’s hair was disheveled, and her face bore an expression of terror, making her look especially miserable.
The Shen family members glanced at her coldly, and Song Shi directly stuffed a dirty cloth he was using to wipe the table into her mouth to silence her.
“Mmmph! Mmmph!”
After tying Aunt Pan securely, Song Shi and Zhao Shi ignored her, leaving her writhing on the ground like a worm.
However, her previous cries had been too loud, and many people who were foraging for wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain heard the noise.
Xiao Zhang leaned weakly against Shen Yun, beads of cold sweat dripping from her forehead.
With tears in her eyes, Xiao Zhang turned her head and weakly said, “My stomach hurts so much.”
Shen Yun was now also in a state of panic, feeling both anxious and heartbroken. He was so worried that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He looked helplessly at Grandma Shen and asked, “Mother, what should we do?”
Grandma Shen’s eyes were filled with concern too. Xiao Zhang was not only her daughter-in-law but also her niece from her maternal family.
Suppressing the urge to knock Shen Yun’s head, she said impatiently, “Then quickly carry her back into the house!”
Shen Yun nodded and slid his arms under Xiao Zhang’s legs.
However, whether due to nervousness or some other reason, Shen Yun looked at Xiao Zhang’s pale face and his hands trembled slightly, feeling as if he had no strength left in his body.
He tried his best to lift her up twice, but he couldn’t manage to do it.
Shen Yu’an glanced at him with disdain.
Shen Yun also felt helpless when he received her gaze; he truly had no strength left to carry her.
Shen Yu’an directly took Xiao Zhang, who had been exhausted by the struggle, and effortlessly lifted her up, then quickly headed towards the house.
The remaining people glanced disdainfully at Shen Yun before following Shen Yu’an’s footsteps.
As they walked, Grandma Shen instructed, “The rest of you don’t need to come in. Prepare two pots of hot water for later use…”
Shen Rong and the others immediately stopped in their tracks. Xiao Zhang was about to give birth, and it indeed wasn’t appropriate for them to go inside.
In the end, only Shen Yu’an, Shen Yun, Grandma Shen, Song Shi, and Zhao Shi went inside.
Shen Yu’an gently placed Xiao Zhang on the bed and then used her hands to lightly cover Xiao Zhangshi’s belly, controlling her spiritual power to flow through her body.
After a while, Xiao Zhang finally felt a bit better and laboriously lifted her eyelids to look at the people in the room.
Grandma Shen walked to Xiao Zhang’s side and stood by the bed, comforting her, “Don’t worry, the baby in your belly is already at the right term. Rest and regain your strength, and it will make the delivery smoother.”
Xiao Zhang breathed heavily and mustered a smile, saying, “Don’t worry, Mother. I know.”
Grandma Shen nodded with concern and then turned to leave the room.
Outside, she hurriedly ran to the kitchen in the backyard, preparing red sugar, vinegar water, and licorice and coptis.
Meanwhile, Shen Yu’an conjured a slice of ginseng in his hand and let Xiao Zhang put it in her mouth.
The first to arrive in the Shen family’s courtyard were the four members of the neighboring Zhang family.
They were originally busy in their own house when they heard cries coming from the Shen family’s side. They quickly dropped what they were doing and rushed over.
As they arrived at the entrance of the Shen family’s house, they saw an unidentified creature wriggling on the ground, moving towards the door in a strange manner.
The four of them were shocked and gasped in fear. Ding Hehua was so frightened that she kicked at it.
“Aaahhh!!!”
Hearing the screams, they realized that the wriggling creature on the ground was actually a person.
Aunt Pan had managed to crawl from the center of the yard to this spot, her whole body dirty, covered in mud and soil on her face.
Aunt Pan, in a fit of rage, shouted, “Ouch! My face, who’s blind here, didn’t you see there was a person!”
Ding Hehua quickly withdrew her foot and took a closer look at the ground.
Hey! Isn’t this Aunt Pan from the village?
Why is she tied up and lying here like this?
She looked up and saw everyone in a state of panic.
The four of them asked in confusion, “What happened?”
Shen Liulang was standing guard outside Xiao Zhang’s room, his eyes red. When he heard Zhang Xiangyang’s voice, he came running over, looking aggrieved.
He pointed at Aunt Pan on the ground and said tearfully, “This bad person pushed Mother down, wuwuwu…”