After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

After Ye Zhen finished flipping through the last post-operative follow-up form in her hand, she casually put the pen into the pen holder.

A letter was pressed on the corner of the table, sent by Heishan Village, written in Ye Cheng's handwriting.

The letter was brief, reporting on the quarterly settlement of the quarry and the progress of road repairs in the village. At the end, it included a sentence: "Xiuxiu is more pregnant and has a better appetite than before, but her legs are a little swollen. The old people in the village say that's normal."

Ye Zhen read that sentence again.

My legs are swollen.

She put down the letter, took out a notebook from the drawer, and wrote down Zhao Xiuxiu's due date.

Less than six weeks to go.

Ye Zhen picked up the enamel mug on the table, took a sip of warm water, and had already made her decision when she put the mug down.

She walked out of the office and stopped Li Hong in the corridor as she was heading to the cafeteria for food.

"Please make a long-distance call to the Heishan Village Brigade Headquarters."

Li Hong responded and ran to the duty room.

Ten minutes later, the voice of the duty officer from the brigade headquarters came from the other end of the phone. It was very noisy, with the sound of tractors churning in the background.

"Looking for Ye Cheng? He's at the quarry; we'll have to send someone to call him."

"No need to look for him." Ye Zhen held the microphone. "Please pass on a message for me: I'm her sister. Tell Ye Cheng and his wife to come to Beicheng in the next couple of days. Xiuxiu's prenatal checkup is due."

"Oh? It's Dr. Ye! Great! I'll definitely deliver it!"

"Thank you, I'll hang up now."

Ye Zhen hung up the phone.

Three days later, no one came.

Ye Zhen made another phone call. This time, Ye Cheng answered himself; the brigade headquarters' loudspeaker had called him back from the quarry, and his trousers were probably still covered in lime.

"Zhenzhen, Xiuxiu said she doesn't want to go. It's too far, and she's too pregnant to take a long-distance bus..."

Ye Cheng's voice was both ingratiating and troubled.

"Dr. Chen from the town's health center examined the baby and said everything was fine, and the baby was in the correct position."

Ye Zhen didn't respond to his comment.

How long have your legs been swollen?

"what?"

"You wrote in your letter that Xiuxiu's legs were swollen. How long have they been swollen?"

Ye Cheng thought for a moment on the other end of the phone: "It's been about... half a month."

"Are both legs swollen, or just one?"

"It seems... both are swollen. They're a little lighter in the morning, but become quite swollen by the afternoon."

Ye Zhen tapped her fingers twice on the table.

"Have you taken your blood pressure?"

"Blood pressure?" Ye Cheng's tone was clearly blank. "Dr. Chen didn't say anything about measuring blood pressure."

Ye Zhen closed her eyes briefly.

She had met Dr. Chen at the town's health center. He was in his fifties and had experience in delivering babies, but his medical equipment was still stuck in the era of a stethoscope and forceps. They might not even have a blood pressure monitor.

"Brother, listen to me."

Ye Zhen spoke in a very calm tone, but she broke down every word as she spoke.

"You're saying there's no problem with bilateral lower limb edema in late pregnancy without checking blood pressure or urine protein?"

Ye Cheng was stumped by the question.

"I'll have Xiao Wang pick you up tomorrow. I'll tell him to drive slowly."

"Zhenzhen, this—"

"You have to come. I'm not discussing this with you."

Ye Zhen hung up the phone.

She turned around and went to the pharmacy to get a few things, then went to the logistics department to find the officer in charge of vehicles and borrowed Gu Zheng's bodyguard, Xiao Wang, so that he could set off for Heishan Village early the next morning to pick up Ye Cheng and Zhao Xiuxiu and bring them to Beicheng.

Xiao Wang stood at attention and saluted. "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I promise I won't jostle you."

The next day at four o'clock in the afternoon, Xiao Wang drove his military green Jeep and parked it downstairs in the staff quarters of the main hospital.

Ye Zhen looked down from the second-floor window and saw Ye Cheng jump out of the car first, then turn around and help Zhao Xiuxiu down.

Zhao Xiuxiu was wrapped in a large floral cotton-padded jacket, her belly was already quite big, and she got off the car slowly. She wore a pair of hand-stitched black cloth shoes, the uppers of which were bulging from the insteps of her feet, and the last buckle on the strap was loose.

Ye Zhen's expression darkened when she saw the pair of feet.

She went downstairs to greet him.

As soon as Zhao Xiuxiu saw Ye Zhen, she kept rubbing her hands on her cotton-padded jacket.

"Zhenzhen, I'm sorry to have troubled you... Actually, there was no need to make such a fuss. I could have just given birth in town..."

"Sister-in-law, please come upstairs and have a seat."

Ye Zhen ignored her polite words and took Zhao Xiuxiu's arm as they walked upstairs. As they went up the steps, she glanced down—Zhao Xiuxiu's ankle was swollen and shiny; when she pressed it with her finger, the dent took several seconds to spring back.

Pitting edema.

The severity is not minor.

Ye Zhen didn't say anything and settled the couple into her guest room.

Ye Cheng stood in the living room, rubbing his hands together, so awkward that he didn't know where to put his feet.

"Zhenzhen, your house is so clean, it's not appropriate for us to move in..."

"What's wrong with it? The room is empty anyway."

Ye Zhen poured Zhao Xiuxiu a glass of warm water and brought out a plate of red dates from the kitchen.

"Sister-in-law, rest for a while. I'll take you to the hospital for a full check-up tomorrow morning."

Zhao Xiuxiu sat awkwardly on the sofa, holding an enamel cup in both hands.

"Zhenzhen, do we really need to have another checkup? Dr. Chen said everything is fine..."

"Did Dr. Chen test your urine?"

"A...a urine test?" Zhao Xiuxiu paused for a moment, then shook her head. "No."

"Have you had your blood pressure checked?"

"No, not at all."

Ye Zhen didn't ask any more questions. She took out a mercury sphygmomanometer from her purse and unwound the cuff.

"Sister-in-law, roll up your sleeves."

Zhao Xiuxiu hurriedly pushed up the sleeves of her cotton-padded jacket, revealing a section of her fair forearm. Ye Zhen wrapped the sleeve straps around her arm, tightened the valve, and began to pump air.

The living room fell silent. Ye Cheng stood to one side, his hands unconsciously clenched together.

The barometer needle was ticking. Ye Zhen pressed one hand against the chest piece of the stethoscope, placing it against the brachial artery on the inside of Zhao Xiuxiu's elbow.

When the systolic blood pressure reading came out, Ye Zhen paused for a moment.

She loosened the valve and removed the cuff.

"How much?" Ye Cheng leaned closer.

Ye Zhen didn't answer immediately. She picked up a pen and wrote a number on a piece of paper.

"Sister-in-law, have you had a headache lately?"

Zhao Xiuxiu thought for a moment: "Sometimes it feels a little dull and painful, but it gets better after a good night's sleep. I thought it was just from being tired."

"Are you experiencing blurred vision? Is your vision foggy?"

"...Occasionally, it happened once or twice." Zhao Xiuxiu's tone was hesitant.

Ye Zhen put the blood pressure monitor away.

"Brother, your wife's blood pressure is a bit high."

Ye Cheng's expression changed.

"High? How high?"

"Systolic blood pressure 145, diastolic blood pressure 95. The upper limit for normal blood pressure in pregnant women is 140 and 90."

Ye Zhen's voice was calm, but her words made Ye Cheng's back straighten instantly.

"This number isn't too outrageous yet, but considering her lower limb edema, intermittent headaches, and blurred vision, I suspect gestational hypertension."

"High...high blood pressure?" Ye Cheng's lips trembled slightly.

Zhao Xiuxiu was clearly startled, and the water in her enamel cup sloshed twice.

"Zhenzhen, is this serious?"

Ye Zhen looked at Zhao Xiuxiu and chose a way of speaking that she could understand.

"Sister-in-law, if it's just simple gestational hypertension, as long as you control your blood pressure and attend your prenatal checkups on time, there shouldn't be any major problems. But if you ignore it and let it progress, it could potentially develop into preeclampsia."