Chapter 2 — My Mother-in-Law Forced Me to Give Birth at Home

I gripped the bedsheets so tightly that my knuckles turned completely white. Plum tried to steady me and help me down, but Phoenix Liu immediately seized her by the shoulder.

"Do not move a woman in labor so carelessly!"

Plum struggled violently, her voice sharp with indignation.

"Let go of me!"

Two other women stepped forward immediately. One pinned Plum by the arms while the other snatched her phone away. Plum cursed in pure rage, her face flushed with fury.

"Have you all lost your minds? This is unlawful imprisonment!"

Spring Binh stood off to the side, so frantic and unhinged that her voice cracked entirely.

"Do not let her keep calling the police! She came here simply to tear our family apart!"

I reached out to grab my phone, but the moment my hand extended, the heavy-set woman clamped her fingers around my wrist. She possessed terrifying strength, her long nails digging deep into my flesh.

"Do not thrash about so wildly while in labor, just save your strength."

The pain was so agonizing that I could barely draw breath, yet I kept my eyes locked onto hers with a fierce stare.

"Let go."

Phoenix Liu opened the plastic case she had brought along. Inside, disposable pads, umbilical cord clamps, scissors, cotton thread, small bottles of disinfectant, and several packets of medicinal powder were neatly arranged. It looked like a child's medical play set, simultaneously absurd and terrifying. She genuinely fancied herself a midwife. Spring Binh opened an insulated thermos, pouring out another bowl of dark liquid. The color was even deeper than before, and the pungent, bitter stench of the herbal brew made my stomach violently churn.

"You must drink this so your uterine contractions have enough strength."

I turned my head away sharply.

"I will not drink it."

Spring Binh's face instantly twisted into an ugly scowl.

"What time is it now that you are still defying your mother?"

With one hand, she clamped her fingers hard around my jaw. I struggled and tried to dodge away, the searing pain in my abdomen nearly doubling me over. Phoenix Liu stood right beside her, barking orders like a commander.

"Do not let her bite her tongue, pour it in slowly. The first gulp is always difficult, once she swallows, it will settle."

Plum thrashed around like a madwoman.

"Spring Binh! If you dare force her to drink that, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life behind bars!"

Spring Binh whipped her head around and glared daggers at her.

"Shut your mouth! My daughter-in-law is giving birth, what right does an outsider like you have to interfere?"

Plum's eyes were completely bloodshot.

"Because you are going to murder her!"

Spring Binh reacted as if she had been stepped on a raw nerve, suddenly shrieking at the top of her lungs.

"I would never harm her! I am her mother-in-law! I want my grandson to be safe and sound more than anyone else in this room!"

With that, she lowered her head, attempting to force the rim of the bowl against my lips. I gritted my teeth hard. The bitter, metallic stench clung to my lips, and the suffocating memories of my death in the past life flooded my mind instantly. Blood. Screams. The fetal monitor's heartbeat growing weaker and weaker. In the midst of the frantic chaos, Spring Binh was still holding up her phone, recording me.

"Everyone look, the mother's emotions are a bit out of control, we must soothe her..."

Abruptly, I pulled my knees up and slammed them against the edge of the bed. A loud crash echoed through the room. Half of the medicinal broth in her hands spilled out, splashing hot liquid across the back of her hand. Spring Binh let out a piercing shriek.

"You dare kick your mother?"

Phoenix Liu's expression shifted drastically as well.

"Hold her down! We cannot let her throw a tantrum!"

The two women simultaneously threw their weight onto my shoulders, pinning me flat. My lower abdomen violently contracted, feeling as though it were being torn apart alive. I could no longer hold it in and screamed aloud. Plum wept and sobbed uncontrollably as she wailed.

"Tang! Look at me, do not fall asleep!"

I refused to fall asleep. Summoning the very last dregs of my remaining strength, I tapped the screen of the phone hidden securely beneath the blankets. An emergency distress signal had been dispatched three times in a row. The glowing screen indicated that the man was rapidly approaching. Twenty meters away. Ten meters. Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside. Spring Binh was still screeching curses.

"Even if Yan Chu comes back, it is useless! What does a man like him know about childbirth?"

The very next second, the furious, thunderous roar of Yan Chu resonated through the front door.

"Open the door!"

Spring Binh's face drained of all color. Phoenix Liu screamed out in panic.

"Do not open it! The laboring woman must not endure any emotional shocks right now!"

The door lock was slammed heavily once. Twice. Three times. Crash! The heavy security chain on the inside of the anti-theft door snapped under the violent kick. Yan Chu burst into the apartment, carrying the freezing chill of the winter air with him, closely followed by emergency medical personnel and two police officers. He laid eyes upon me pinned down on the bed, while Spring Binh still clutched the half-empty bowl of medicine in her hands. In that split second, his gaze turned so bone-chillingly cold it looked as though he wanted to commit murder.

Yan Chu rushed toward the bedside, immediately shoving the two women off my body with ruthless force.

"Do not touch her!"

His voice was hoarse to the point of being terrifying. I had never seen him look like this before. Spring Binh stood frozen, the bowl still suspended mid-air, the fierce malice on her face not yet having time to fade away. The emergency physician swiftly stepped forward, assessing the situation with professional urgency.

"What is the condition of the expectant mother?"

Plum wept as she shoved my prenatal examination reports directly into the doctor's hands.

"Transverse lie, bloody show, and the contractions are becoming increasingly severe. They refused to let her go to the hospital and tried to force-feed her concoctions!"

The doctor's expression darkened heavily, and he immediately began a preliminary examination.

"Measure her blood pressure, check the fetal heart rate, quickly now."

The nurse hastily hooked up the monitoring equipment. My abdomen grew rigid in agonizing waves, the pain so blinding that my consciousness began to blur at the edges. Yan Chu tightly grasped my hand in his.

"Tang, I am here now. Do not be afraid, we are going straight to the hospital."

I wanted to speak, but my throat felt as though it were stuffed with dry cotton. I could only squeeze his hand back with all my might. Meanwhile, the police officers quickly subdued the remaining people in the living room.