As soon as she stepped through the door, she bumped into a thug. He dragged Jiao'er and pressed her into a chair. After she sat down, the thug lowered his head and said viciously in Jiao'er's ear, "Why are you so slow? Let me tell you, don't try any tricks. You can't escape. You're coming back to the gambling den with me later, and we'll see how the manager deals with you."
His eyes, with their prominent whites showing, sent a chill down Jiao'er's spine.
This person was quite friendly just now.
How could things have changed so drastically all of a sudden?
Could it be...?
Did the thugs overhear what she said to the junior apprentice?
Jiao'er was lost in thought.
"Doctor, doctor—"
"Come over here and check on her again. How's the baby in her belly? If everything's alright, we'll be leaving." The thug felt that the woman in front of him was not a peaceful person and was worried that she would cause trouble. He didn't want her to stay in the clinic for observation any longer and prepared to take her away ahead of time.
But he was also worried that something might happen to the child in her womb, and that the shopkeeper would scold him for not doing his job well, so he thought of having the doctor take her pulse again to put his mind at ease.
"Hey, hey, I'm here, wait a minute." The doctor's voice was a little nervous. The young apprentice in the shop had just finished telling him about Jiao'er, and before he could figure out what to do, the thug told him to go and take her pulse.
He didn't know what to do. None of his mentors were at the clinic, and he had no one to rely on.
Seeing the two menacing-looking men at the door and the frail woman, the doctor gritted his teeth, leaned down, and whispered a few words into the young apprentice's ear. The apprentice nodded.
He left the clinic.
The doctor then came to Jiao'er's side.
"Where did he go?" the doctor asked, pointing at the apprentice's retreating figure.
His questions seemed casual, but they were actually full of scheming.
There are four patients in the clinic, but only one doctor and two apprentices. They are already short-staffed, so why did one of the apprentices leave the clinic during the busiest time?
Did you guess something?
Or perhaps...
What did Jiao'er just say to that apprentice?
The two entered one after the other.
The thugs couldn't help but be suspicious.
This is why his attitude changed so drastically.
Upon hearing this, the doctor was greatly alarmed. He took two deep breaths to suppress his rapid breathing and said calmly, "Oh, we're out of ginseng slices. I'll have him borrow some from the clinic across the street and return them later. A patient's prescription is missing a ginseng slice, and he urgently needs it. Sigh, the clinic is swamped. I need to hire more people. These two apprentices are as stupid as pigs. They didn't even tell me beforehand that we were out of ginseng slices. Now the patient is waiting for it, and I'm so anxious. They just don't know how to teach me. They're making me so frustrated."
The doctor frowned, looking very angry. Although he was cursing under his breath, his hand was already on Jiao'er's wrist.
The thugs only looked away when they saw him cursing, and no longer suspected anything.
"Is she alright yet? Is she alright?" Half an hour had passed.
The doctor was still taking the baby's pulse.
The thugs were getting impatient.
His voice woke up another thug.
"What's wrong?" the man asked, still half asleep.
"Alright, alright. She's a bit weak. Although the fetus is fine, it's best to take three days of pregnancy-stabilizing medicine to solidify it. I'll go and write you a prescription. You can get the medicine anywhere, or you can get it from me." The doctor looked at the various passersby outside the door, but the young apprentice was nowhere to be seen.
He was getting a little anxious.
Urged on by the thugs, he had no choice but to put down his hands and use the excuse of writing a prescription to try to delay a little longer.
"No need, it's fine without the medicine. How much is the consultation fee?" The thug saw that the doctor looked nervous and felt that something was wrong.
He took out his purse, ready to pay.
"Let me prescribe some medicine. This lady has lost blood and is also short of qi and blood. If she doesn't take the medicine, I'm afraid her body won't be able to hold on." The doctor saw that he wanted to leave.
They immediately began to offer advice and comfort.
"Stop talking nonsense. If you don't tell me how much the consultation fee is, I'm not paying." The thug got angry, tightened the purse he had opened, stuffed it into his waistband, and then grabbed Jiao'er, trying to leave.
The other thug was somewhat bewildered.
He didn't know why his partner was suddenly angry, so he could only leave with him.
"Don't go! I haven't finished reading yet—"
The doctor watched helplessly as they crossed the threshold.
I'm extremely anxious.
But the more he talked, the faster the thugs moved.
The three quickly boarded the carriage, but just as it was about to depart, it was stopped by the officials on the other side.
"Get down—"
Zuo Li drew his sword and roared.
The thug was so frightened that he froze, and his hand lost its strength, causing the whip to fall to the ground.
"Sir, I haven't done anything wrong," the thug said in a flattering tone after regaining his composure.
He dared not confront the officials head-on.
"The two people in the carriage, get down here too." Zuo Li ignored him.
Instead, he shouted into the carriage.
"The young master is out, please don't be angry." Another thug slowly pulled Jiao'er out.
He chuckled awkwardly.
"Get off the carriages, quickly!" Zuo Li gave his men a wink, signaling them to hold the horses in place to prevent them from suddenly running amok and injuring passersby.
"Sir, I haven't done anything wrong. What's going on? Please tell me, and I'll cooperate." The thug bowed.
His tone was very ingratiating.
"Someone reported to the authorities that you are a group of beggars who abduct girls, force them to have children, and beat them. Is this true?" The young apprentice hid in the alley and watched this side. He was worried that the clinic would be retaliated against, so he did not show himself.
"How dare we? What kidnapping? It's all a misunderstanding. We are from Shen's Gambling House. You've mistaken us for someone else. This woman wasn't kidnapped by us, and the child in her belly isn't ours either. Oh, it's all a misunderstanding. Tell the officers, were you kidnapped by us?"
The thug was sweating profusely, and he squeezed Jiao'er's arm.
He gestured for her to explain.
"Your Honor, these men are thugs from the gambling den. They crippled my husband and threw him and my mother-in-law out of the city. The gambling den's carriage has probably already left the city. Please, save me! The gambling den's manager, Shen Jiading, said he'd sell me to a brothel because my husband mortgaged our house to him for two hundred taels of silver. Heaven knows, even if we sold the house through a broker, it would have fetched two hundred taels. He took the house and now insists we owe him ninety-five taels. If we don't pay, he beats us! Look at the wounds on my hands; they cut me with sharp weapons. I don't even know if my husband is dead or alive!"
Although she didn't receive a bowl of abortifacient medicine, recalling the doctor's appearance earlier, she guessed that the official must have been invited by a junior apprentice.
Jiao'er broke free from her restraints and hid behind Zuo Li. She supported her pregnant belly, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to Zuo Li, crying as she did so.
They look so pitiful.
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