With the child lost, the mother was so anxious she couldn't think straight.
Tips
culture
Daoist belief held that six organs (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, gallbladder) each had a guardian spirit. When all six 'have no master' (无主), the person loses composure entirely.
history
The image appears in Zhang Heng's Han-dynasty 《髑髅赋》; the set idiom is attested in Feng Menglong's Ming collection 《醒世恒言》.
