The stove in the room radiates heat, and the windows are closed, making the room smell unpleasant and dull.
The mother who had just given birth was lying on a mat with several silver needles stuck in her body.
Hearing the weak cry of the baby in the room, the woman, who had been unable to bear the pain of childbirth, tilted her head slightly.
Her face was hidden behind her tangled hair that was wet with sweat. It was difficult for her to even turn her head, and she could only turn her bloodshot eyes.
"Is it a boy?" she asked in a voice as rough as sandpaper.
Midwife Li picked up the baby's hands and looked at the doctor Yan Zhi.
Medical doctor Yan Zhi was also shocked when the mother missed the needle. He shook his head at Midwife Li in an incomprehensible manner.
This mother's condition was so poor that she kept getting pregnant one after another, almost immediately after giving birth, without stopping.
Such constant pregnancies and childbirths made her already weak body overdrawn and exhausted, like a burnt-out oil lamp.
Everyone had witnessed the attitude of this family before. If she knew that she was giving birth to a daughter, she would be shocked and angry and something big might happen.
I'll let you know after I take good care of it for a while.
Midwife Li was very experienced in human nature. After receiving Yan Zhi's signal, she wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and said to the mother: "Yes, yes."
A big smile appeared on the mother's gray face. She turned her eyes numbly and stared at Chen Cheng above the sleeping bed.
"Erlang, I gave birth to a son." She stared straight at the dogwood pattern on her inheritance and murmured to herself, "I will carry on the family lineage for you."
As he spoke, his voice gradually dropped, and he fell asleep with his head tilted to the side, with a smile on his face.
Gongsun Yan stood beside the bed, looking at this frighteningly thin woman with mixed feelings in his heart.
Poor? Hateful? Tragic?
It was difficult to describe it in simple words at the moment, so she put the healing potion secretly in her palm back into her backpack.
She always keeps this in her backpack, just in case.
Just now, I was worried that the mother would not be able to stop, so I took it out and kept it in my hand for later use.
But she thought that for this woman, death might be the only relief.
She quickly threw such lofty thoughts out of her mind.
They just didn't see the opportunity. This world and era didn't give them a chance, Gongsun Yan told himself.
"Mr. Lao Yan is here to treat you." Gongsun Yan said to Yan Zhi, "If you need any medicinal materials, just go and get them."
"When the situation here stabilizes, please ask Mr. Yan to check the status of the two newborns."
Then he said to Midwife Li, "I will leave this child to my grandma for the time being. I hope she will take good care of her."
Zhou Jing is a very serious person. After seeing the condition of these two mothers, he went to the livestock area to fetch two ewes that were giving birth to babies.
There are also older servants who have taken care of children to help. Midwife Li is also experienced and wants to take care of her.
Let’s just wait until the moon comes out to talk about the rest.
The room was so hot and stuffy that Gongsun Yan broke into a thin sweat in his vest, and he took Alan out of the door.
As soon as I opened the door, a gust of cool breeze blew in, making me feel relaxed.
Zhang Zhuzheng was standing under the verandah, and it was obvious that the questions outside had come to an end.
"Mrs. Gongsun." Seeing Gongsun Yan coming out, she opened her hands and saluted.
Gongsun Yan nodded to him and asked him to go to the main room to talk.
After staying in the delivery room for a long time, Gongsun Yan could only feel the smell all over his body. When he came to the main room and sat down in front of the table, he saw that the table was in a mess.
The tea bowl overturned, and all the tea fruit snacks on the lacquer plate disappeared.
Thinking about it, if these lacquer plates were not valuable and were professionally painted by the lacquer shop in the village, with unique marks on the ground, these lacquer plates would probably have disappeared.
Zhang Zuo saw it from the side and hurriedly confessed.
There was a theft near the host's wife, but this was his fault.
Gongsun Yan stopped him. They didn't have many people here. They had to guard the door and interrogate the old woman. How could they keep an eye on everything?
She was sitting on the seat, supporting the desk with one hand.
Alan, who had been silent just now, retreated and went to the east kitchen to prepare some sweet and sour cold soup for her.
Zhang Zhu used to be an outpost in the army, and he was quite proficient in interrogation. He was more than capable of dealing with the brutal Hu people, let alone these villagers.
It took almost no effort, just stood aside and gave the old woman a cold glance, and asked the old woman to explain everything.
He also checked with the rest of the family one by one, and only after they were correct did he come to report.
The story is not complicated, it is just an old woman who wants to have a child, a daughter-in-law who keeps getting pregnant and giving birth, and a few innocent and pitiful babies.
However, contrary to what Gongsun Yan had guessed, the scope of infanticide in this family was not limited to female infants.
The eldest son of the eldest son already had four children, and the family could no longer support them. All the babies, boys and girls, who came out later were drowned in the toilet.
The second son, on the other hand, has always been childless, and all the children he gave birth to were girls.
Of the six baby girls, four were drowned, one died just after birth, and the latest one was taken to a shaman to give her a baby soup.
Change to Qiuzi Soup...
Such a tragic scene dripping with blood made Gongsun Yan feel chest tight for a moment.
Those living children had just given out their first cry, and before they even had time to open their eyes to see the world, they drowned in the filth of the toilet.
Whenever she thought of this, she couldn't help but shudder.
"Madam." Alan handed over a cup of jujube soup from the side and stood in the distance with open hands and said nothing.
After waiting for a long time, Gongsun Yan finally calmed down the turmoil in his chest: "Who is the mastermind behind the act of drowning the baby?"
Zhang Zhu was stunned. The bad habit of drowning babies has been around for a long time in the folk. If we say the mastermind, we can't say who is the mastermind. If they can't feed them, they will drown them after giving birth. This is almost a common practice.
Gongsun Yan's fingertips tapped rhythmically on the desk. After a while, she ordered: "Anyuan, order Aze to go to Lulong quickly and ask Captain Zhao for an official document."
"Infant drowning and infanticide are against the laws of nature and are the same crime as murder. Those who condone and fail to retaliate after knowing the crime are also the same crime."
"Here!" Zhang responded solemnly.
"Control this family, wait for the official document to be issued, and send it to justice."
When she said this, she paused. According to Han law, the family was probably going to be destroyed because of this.
Compared with the last decision to execute Wuhuan prisoners, this decision made Gongsun Yan feel even more heavy and difficult.
But some things must be done.
Lone Bamboo Manor has not been affected by war for several years, and this is not the case, let alone other places.
Gongsun Yan knew that the root cause behind the infant drowning tragedy was poverty and ignorance.
She couldn't change the social customs or change the poverty for a while. She could only hope that the law would make these people restrain themselves a little.
If you really can't afford it, take care of your lower body and restrain your desires.
At least, before I can take on the responsibility of childbirth, I can remember that official document.
The two thin baby girls and the rickety boy flashed through Gongsun Yan's mind at the same time.
She remembered a time in the past when there were specially distributed baby food packages.
In addition to such infant and young child complementary food packages, subsidies should also be provided to those who are poor and unable to provide for themselves, and fostering institutions for orphans should be established.
After the medical clinic was established, vaccination against cowpox was also provided.
…
This kind of official work to benefit the people is like a ball of twine. When you pull out one end, it will bring up a lot of problems.
Gongsun Yan took a sip of the jujube soup given by Alan and let out a long sigh.
"Moreover, was the so-called witch Zhu instigating the act of drowning the baby?"
"What does Wu Zhu want a baby for?"
"What is being sacrificed? How did you fool the foolish men and women in the mountains and fields in the past?"
"We must thoroughly investigate the obscene priest in the village. It is up to you, Anyuan, to handle this matter. We must uproot it."