Chapter 94: The Incompetent Husband

Because of Gu Xiujin's intervention, Xie Qingtang and the others made their way without hindrance to the entrance of the obstetrics operating room. The elderly woman who had been causing a scene at the hospital gate only moments before was now tugging at her son and scolding him.

"You spineless wretch! How could you sign the consent to save the mother? You should have saved the child! If the mother is gone, I can always find you another wife. But if the child is gone, it's truly gone."

Hearing this, Xie Qingtang felt a chill for the mother still struggling for her life inside the operating room.

"Mom, what are you saying? Shuyai has been with me for so many years, and her health was never good to begin with. If it weren't for me, she never would have risked her life to have this baby. How could I abandon her life in a situation like this and save the child instead?"

At least the husband still had some conscience. Hearing what his mother said, he stood there with clear disapproval, head lowered.

But when the old woman heard her son say this, she froze for a moment. Then she flung herself to the floor and resumed her wailing.

"Why is my life so miserable? I raised a son only for some vixen to steal him away, and now he doesn't even listen to me. What sin did I commit to raise such an unfilial son and find myself tormented by a daughter-in-law like this?"

The people standing nearby frowned at her outrageous behavior. The obstetrics department was busy to begin with, and many had already heard both what she had done and what she had said. They all felt she was being far too cruel. Her daughter-in-law was in the operating room risking her life to bear a child for her son, and yet this old woman was stubbornly demanding the baby's life without caring about right or wrong.

Most of them disapproved, but since this was a family matter, there was little they could say. Seeing his mother so distressed, the man began to waver as well. He hurriedly crouched down and knelt before her.

"Mom, please stop saying that. I'm already feeling terrible. Please get up off the floor; it's bad for your health."

The old woman seized her son's hand and said viciously, "So now you know it's bad for my health? Then why did you sign that paper saying to save that shameless woman? Go tell the doctor right now that you want the child saved, not the mother. Otherwise, I'll sever all ties between us."

Watching the scene unfold, even Xie Qingtang found it unbelievable. In such a civilized age, there were still such vicious mothers-in-law.

Aben, standing nearby, looked equally grim. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward and said to the man still kneeling on the ground, "Cousin, you absolutely mustn't be foolish. How can you abandon the mother's life and save the child at a time like this?"

"What right do you have to speak? You're nothing but a poor relation from our backwater village, someone we couldn't even reach with a bamboo pole. What business is this of yours, meddling in our family affairs and egging my son on to save the mother? Was it because of you that my son signed the consent to save her?"

Hearing Aben's words only made the old woman angrier. She turned her fury on him at once, shoving him aside while snarling, "Nonsense! It's only when the child is gone that everything is truly lost. My daughter-in-law is pregnant too. If she were to hemorrhage when it's time to give birth, would you choose to save the mother and not the child?"

At those words, Axiang, who was already especially sensitive because of her own pregnancy, heard the old woman's curse on the baby in her womb and instantly went pale. She staggered backward several steps.

Seeing how unreasonable this old woman was, Xie Qingtang's brow furrowed even more deeply. At last, she said, "Ma'am, you're already at such an advanced age. You should really mind your words a little; it would also count as leaving some blessings for the grandchild you have not yet met."

"I spit on that. At my age, who am I afraid of? I'll say whatever I please. In any case, this child must be saved, no matter whether the mother lives or dies."

Like a woman driven mad, the old woman rushed to the operating room door, slapped it repeatedly, and shouted for them over and over to save the child.

Seeing her behaving so outrageously, the cousin and Aben tried to hold her back from pounding on the door. The entire obstetrics department descended into chaos.

At that moment, Gu Xiujin, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke. His voice was colder than an abyss of ten thousand years.

"No shouting in the hospital."

"And who are you to boss me around?" The old woman glared at him without a trace of fear and continued pounding on the operating room door.

In the very next second, Li Zhao led the bodyguards forward, hoisted the old woman up, and, to the stunned disbelief of everyone present, threw her straight out of the hospital.

Throughout the entire process, neither her son nor Aben made a move. Her son was blocked by Gu Xiujin's bodyguards, while Aben had no intention whatsoever of lifting a hand.

Once the old woman had been thrown outside and restrained by the bodyguards, the obstetrics department fell quiet at once.

"If it comes down to saving only one between mother and child, which would you save?" Xie Qingtang, carrying her medicine case, stepped up to the man and asked sternly.

He stood there with his head bowed, timid and uncertain. After the commotion his mother had caused, he, too, had become hesitant. He muttered, "I want to save the mother, but my mom made such a scene and insisted the child had to be saved. I..."

Looking at his indecisive and useless expression, Xie Qingtang suddenly felt pity for the woman inside the operating room.

Just then, the operating room door was pushed open, and a doctor came out with a dark expression. Seeing Gu Xiujin, his demeanor immediately grew more respectful, and he walked straight over to him first.

"How is the patient inside the operating room?" Gu Xiujin asked coldly.

The doctor sighed and simply shook his head.