Judging by the cesarean sections performed in the palace over the past few days, the success rate was extremely low.
Perhaps ordinary families ate too poorly and suffered from malnutrition. After leaving the womb, even the longest-surviving infant had lived only two days.
As for the pregnant women, there was even less to say. Only one had survived.
Out of humanitarian concern, Qian Bao had stitched up even the corpses. These past few days had certainly given him plenty of practice with his suturing.
Had Daji not inexplicably been dragged out to take the blame, with the story of cutting open bellies to inspect fetuses, the people would probably have started openly cursing the emperor already.
Even so, Yang Ren and the others had repeatedly remonstrated during court sessions. Cutting open a woman's belly to deliver a child was simply too inhumane.
Zi Shou saw nothing wrong with it. If cesarean births were inhumane, dying from obstructed labor was even more so. In any case, he did not mind the people cursing him, and Qian Bao, who wielded the knife, was willing to do it. Who could stop them?
Lady Jia's cesarean section began.
Qian Bao carefully disinfected everything. His Majesty had taught him this, and the Outer Canon also contained records of it. His Majesty truly was remarkable.
He could fulfill his duties as a physician, but after that, Lady Jia could only endure it herself. If she endured, she would live. If she could not, she would undoubtedly die.
Lady Jia also represented a new sort of case. Born into wealth, she should have a higher survival rate than ordinary commoners.
She would die without the operation anyway. With it, there was still hope of survival.
Qian Bao first made Lady Jia drink the knockout drug, then began