Chapter 176 Danger

Li San Niang's question successfully made Mr. Bu Ke's smile disappear, turning his face into a serious one.

Mr. Bu Ke swallowed the cookie in his mouth, took a sip of tea, and then slowly said, "Just as Third Sister guessed, there were indeed spies within the organization who had been bribed. However, they were all in insignificant positions, but they did manage to leak some information, which led to Third Sister's assassination attempt."

"So, sir, have you resolved everything by now?"

Mr. Bu Ke looked at Li San Niang with a hesitant expression, and after a few breaths he said to Li San Niang: "The internal problems have been dealt with more or less, but... news about San Niangzi should have been spread out long ago."

Upon hearing this, Li's father and the others paused, realizing that this meant Li San Niang was still in danger, and it was just a matter of when the mastermind would make their move.

"Sir, why is that man staring at Third Sister? Why is he so determined to kill her?"

Brother Li really couldn't understand this problem. Logically speaking, Sister Li was just a doctor. Even if it was Sister Li who suggested alcohol purification, so what?

Mr. Bu Ke needs Li San Niang, but what if we assume that Li San Niang is not available?

Of course it's possible. No matter who you are, you can get things done properly.

So why do you have to make things difficult for Li San Niang?

“The first time they wanted to kill Third Sister, it was indeed because the idea she mentioned affected their plans, so they wanted to use the simplest method,” Mr. Bu Ke glanced at Li San Niang, “that is, to kill Third Sister directly and solve the problem once and for all.”

Brother Li continued, "But they didn't expect that Third Sister would survive the assassins and even kill them."

Mr. Bu Ke nodded. "The second assassination attempt in Jingzhao Prefecture was not only a correction to the first operation, but also a way to establish authority. If they succeeded in killing Third Sister in Jingzhao Prefecture, it would prove our incompetence and the incompetence of the Tang Dynasty. It was a way to establish authority and prove our power in a public way."

"Aha, so now I'm the target to be used to establish authority?"

Brother Li added, "In other words, they will absolutely not give up on killing Third Sister, and it is very likely that this third plan to deal with Third Sister will be more conspicuous and involve a larger-scale operation?"

Mr. Ke picked up a small cookie again and ate it. "Don't worry, Third Madam. Apart from Qiu Xiang, I have people around you to protect you. They will definitely keep you safe."

Li San Niang didn't want to talk, so she could only chuckle.

Putting your safety in someone else's hands is something you can do once or twice, but don't do it a third time.

After seeing Mr. Bu Ke off, Li San Niang asked Qiu Xiang to make arrangements so that she could go directly to Shi Hua Lou in Pingkang Lane after finishing her shift the next night. She figured it was time to check on Jiu Niang and the other girls at Shi Hua Lou.

It's been a while since I last went there.

Therefore, after finishing her shift during the day, Li San Niang did not ask Song Da Lang to pick her up. Instead, she went directly with Qiu Xiang in the donkey cart that Qiu Xiang had arranged in advance to Pingkang Lane and entered through the back door of Shihualou.

As soon as they entered, Qi Zhidie, who knew in advance that Li San Niang was coming, came out to greet them.

"Thank you for your trouble, Third Sister."

"How is Ninth Sister? Is she alright?"

When Jiu Niang was mentioned, Qi Zhidie's smile vanished instantly, leaving only a look of sadness.

Upon entering the room and seeing Jiu Niang leaning against the bed, Li San Niang understood why Qi Zhi Die had that expression.

Jiu Niang looked even more haggard than a few days ago; her already thin body now appeared somewhat hunched over.

Spots have also appeared on Jiu Niang's face; her once fair cheeks are now dotted with them.

Li San Niang looked at Jiu Niang's face, which was so thin that the flesh on her cheekbones was almost invisible.

Except for her swollen belly, Jiu Niang's entire body was now devoid of flesh, making her look rather eerie.

Even Qiu Xiang, who came with Li San Niang, paused for a moment upon seeing Jiu Niang on the bed before continuing to walk in as if nothing had happened.

Li San Niang put down her medical kit, took out a pulse pillow, and began to take Jiu Niang's pulse.

"Why didn't you call me sooner?"

The older woman who was taking care of Jiu Niang replied, "Jiu Niang said she was fine and there was no need to trouble San Niangzi, so we didn't call her to come."

Faced with Li San Niang's questioning gaze, the older woman stood up and bowed to Li San Niang: "My name is Ling Lan, and I greet you, Li San Niangzi."

Li San Niang rose and returned the greeting, then carefully inquired about Jiu Niang's recent diet and daily behavior.

“Ninth Sister… for the sake of the child in her womb, she couldn’t eat, but she forced herself to eat and swallow. I couldn’t bear to watch it.”

Li San Niang looked at Jiu Niang, who didn't complain or grumble, but just gave her a bitter smile.

"I understand. I will consider the prescription carefully when writing it."

Qiu Xiang saw Li San Niang get up, take out a long strip of cloth from her medical kit, come to Jiu Niang's side, and only after getting Jiu Niang's permission did she lift up her clothes and hold the strip of cloth to measure Jiu Niang's stomach back and forth.

Li San Niang was naturally using a homemade cloth ruler to measure the fundal height and abdominal circumference of Jiu Niang's pregnant belly, so as to objectively assess the fetus's development.

After taking the measurements, Li San Niang took out paper and pen and wrote them down on Jiu Niang's medical record. After writing them down, she carefully wrote a new prescription.

Li San Niang handed the prescription to Qi Zhi Die and instructed her, "I don't have all the medicines in my medical kit tonight. Take the prescription and get them from the medicine cabinet outside. Also, brew it the same way as before. Take it for five days, and I'll come back after five days."

After explaining all this, Li Sanniang turned to Jiu Niang's bedside, took Jiu Niang's hand, and said, "I have something I want to say to Jiu Niang alone. Would you all like to leave for a moment?"

Qi Zhidie and Linglan hesitated whether to leave, but Jiu Niang spoke up: "It's alright, Third Sister. We are all sisters. If something happens to me, the children will definitely be entrusted to their care. So there's nothing to avoid. Third Sister, just speak."

Having said that, Li Sanniang stopped pressing the matter and looked directly into Jiu Niang's eyes, saying, "I told you before that the further along the pregnancy goes, the faster the baby grows and the more nutrients it needs. And your current body can hardly provide enough nutrients for the baby. If in the future, in order to save the baby, I will have no choice but to disregard you. Even so, I cannot be sure that I can save the baby."

As Li Sanniang continued her story, Jiu Niang gripped the quilt tighter and tighter.

"Right now, I'm 70% sure I can save your life while losing the baby. This is the last time I'll say this; this is your last chance to live."

Li San Niang looked solemnly into Jiu Niang's eyes, "I'm asking you one last time, Jiu Niang, do you still want to save this child?"