"And on weekdays, I always give the good things to my daughter-in-law, hoping she'll give birth to a fair and plump grandson."
Tao Lengshuang didn't want to explain the harm of folk remedies to these ignorant commoners. Even if she did, they wouldn't believe her. This was a deeply ingrained idea, even in modern times.
"Your daughter-in-law is in difficult labor, with a risk of losing both mother and child. Will you save the mother or the baby?"
"Save the baby, save the baby!" the middle-aged woman said without hesitation. "As long as my grandson is fine, I can always find another daughter-in-law if this one is gone."
Tao Lengshuang's anger surged, but she said nothing. These people were all the same; no matter how much she said, it would be useless.
She hesitated for a moment and said, "I do have a method, a cesarean section. I would have to cut open your daughter-in-law's belly to take out the child, and perhaps both could be saved."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman waved her hands in terror, "No, no, no, then my grandson will die. I only want my grandson. If the daughter-in-law is gone, she's gone."
Tao Lengshuang ignored the fearful gazes of the surrounding people. Unsurprised, she turned and returned to the side room. She knew it would be almost impossible to perform a cesarean section in ancient times, especially with the backward conditions. The mother and child were very likely to die from infection.
Not long after she reached the side room, the middle-aged woman dragged several women in, looking as if they were there to keep an eye on her.
Tao Lengshuang didn't mind. She was just doing her job as a midwife.
"Doctor, please, I must give birth to a son, I must give birth to a son for the child's father," the parturient pleaded. "It's okay if I die, but I must have a son."
Tao Lengshuang pursed her lips and said nothing. She once again despised the constraints placed upon women in this era, which only strengthened her resolve not to return.
She didn't want to be confined to a backyard, nor did she want to compete for a man's favor like other women, and she certainly didn't want to keep having children.
If she couldn't find a husband who understood her, she would rather be alone for the rest of her life.
With Tao Lengshuang's help, ultimately only the baby was saved; the mother died from severe bleeding.
She felt as if she had seen her own future, and her determination not to return solidified. Giving birth was already dangerous in modern times, let alone in ancient times with backward medical technology. She didn't want to be a tool for procreation.
"My precious grandson... ah!" The middle-aged woman, seeing the child's appearance, recoiled in fear. "This child, why is this child... why is it like this?"
The women beside her leaned in to look and were all startled.
"Is this... male or female? It seems to have characteristics of both."
"Could this child be a monster?"
Tao Lengshuang washed her hands and said indifferently, "It's not a monster. It's because the mother-in-law fed her daughter-in-law all sorts of nonsense, believing in those folk remedies and insisting on having a son.
"A perfectly healthy child was ruined like this. These folk remedies should not be taken lightly. You say others ate them and had sons, but did you see it with your own eyes? You believed whatever people said. Now look, both daughter-in-law and grandson are gone."
"You demon woman, you killed them!" the middle-aged woman, her face contorted, lunged at Tao Lengshuang. "You must have used some trick to kill my daughter-in-law and grandson. You just talked about cutting open the belly; only a demon woman would do that."
Tao Lengshuang merely glanced at her, and a hidden guard appeared. He kicked the middle-aged woman away, then grabbed her and slapped her several times.
"You made a mistake yourself and dare to blame my lady? Do you really think this is a place where you can throw a tantrum?"
The middle-aged woman cried out about murder, which made Tao Lengshuang extremely impatient. "Throw them all out, and let everyone see how their mother-in-law killed her daughter-in-law and grandson."
The hidden guard threw the woman out, drawing a crowd of onlookers who pointed and whispered.
Those few women said it was caused by eating too many folk remedies, and they didn't quite believe that folk remedies could be harmful.
"I'm telling you people, you believe in folk remedies. Can a proper doctor harm people? Which doctor would use folk remedies to treat and save people? Also, if there were really folk remedies that could guarantee a son, wouldn't there be so many daughters born? The streets would be full of men."
At this, everyone felt it made sense.
"That's right. If there were such good remedies, wouldn't the wealthy families use them? Wealthy families need sons the most."
"The streets full of men, that's hilarious. If there were only men, how would the lineage continue? Especially you women, you don't respect women. Without women, who would continue your lineage? And who takes care of you?"
"Folk remedies are truly unreliable. I have a distant relative who believed in a folk remedy to have a son, which resulted in the death of both mother and child. I heard she died painfully from constantly consuming that so-called remedy."
Tao Lengshuang took the opportunity to impart some knowledge: "The birth of a son or daughter is not solely determined by the woman. Just as a woman cannot give birth by herself, if a woman could give birth alone, what would men be for? Therefore, the gender of the child is a matter of luck.
"Most importantly, do not believe in those folk remedies. If folk remedies could determine the gender of a child, wouldn't the officials and nobles buy them? If they don't buy them, do you think they can really help you have sons?"
The onlookers nodded in agreement. The officials and nobles wanted sons the most. If they didn't want a remedy, then it must be problematic.
"She killed my daughter-in-law and grandson, and she's talking about cutting open the belly. Can a person live after their belly is cut open?" the middle-aged woman wailed. "Compensation, you must compensate me with money."
Tao Lengshuang couldn't be bothered to deal with such a person. She noticed the distance and fear from the surrounding people and shrugged indifferently. "You can go to the authorities if you want. There's no need to make a fuss here. The more you shout, the less I'll give you a single copper coin."
With that, she closed the door and prepared to check on her son. However, she heard a knock.
When she opened the door, she saw two somewhat timid women. One had a weathered face, and the other was young and dark-skinned.
"Excuse me, excuse me, are you the doctor?" the old woman with the weathered face asked.
Tao Lengshuang said calmly, "Did you hear the discussions outside? Even so, do you still want to see me?"
The two nodded vigorously. "We, we heard you have good medical skills and your consultation fees are not expensive, so, so we wanted to come. Giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell."
Tao Lengshuang raised an eyebrow, invited the two to sit, glanced at the middle-aged woman, let out a scoff, and then closed the door.
She sat in front of the younger woman and asked, "What illness are you here to see me for? Let me be clear, I don't guarantee anything about giving birth to a boy or a girl."