Chapter 25 Save or Not Save
The moonlight is bright tonight, and a gentle breeze is blowing; it's the perfect day for chatting and family gatherings.
But Li San Niang was being subjected to a thorough interrogation by her father, mother, and elder brother, a process akin to a joint trial.
Yes, Brother Li finished his shift exceptionally early today because his team gave him a vague remark, "Don't forget me when you become successful," before letting him leave on time.
Brother Li returned home completely bewildered, only to be told by his mother that Third Sister Li had gone out and saved another person, this time someone truly remarkable—the daughter of the Duke of Liang.
Brother Li still harbors resentment over Li San Niang's rescue of the young master of the Dali Temple's Junior Minister's family. He feels that any connection between his humble family and that of a high-ranking official is entirely detrimental and will inevitably bring countless troubles.
This time, things got even more outrageous.
The Duke of Liang was a great general who fought alongside Emperor Taizong against Gaochang and Goguryeo. Although the Duke of Liang at this time was his grandson and had lost the prestige of his grandfather, he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Princess Cheng'an was a princess of the imperial clan who had an excellent relationship with Emperor Wu.
The Zhou family is easy to explain; they are the maternal family of the current Duke of Liang's half-sister and have little power.
But any one of them is better than the Li family, who only have one Jinwu Guard!
Even Brother Li Er wasn't optimistic this time, let alone the fact that it involved the life and death of a noble lady.
It's easy to express gratitude, but I'm afraid those important people will implicate Li San Niang in this matter.
How could ordinary people possibly understand the likes and dislikes of the powerful?
"No way, elder brother! My younger sister risked her life and did everything in her power to save that woman. Even if I don't get a thank you, why should I be punished?"
"In the first year of Tian Shou, a young man went into the mountains to collect herbs and rescued a young woman who was bitten by a snake while she was out for a spring outing. Later, he was framed by the woman's father and brothers and his whole family was exiled."
"Father just heard about your treatment method, including the method of transferring air to the woman to allow her lungs to breathe and replenish her body's yang energy. If your father and brothers also think your actions are wrong, even if you are a woman, so what? They will consider it a defilement. Do you think your fate will be good? Even if the masters are all easy to talk to, what will those sycophants who think they can guess what their superiors are thinking do?"
"Ah, it's oxygen, not yang energy."
"Father, how could it be so serious? Third Sister saved that woman's life!"
"Second brother, don't be naive. How could we possibly control the thoughts of the nobles!"
Hearing what Li's father and elder brother said, Li San Niang felt frightened. If her act of saving people really caused misfortune to the entire Li family, it would be a terrible sin! A very terrible sin!
"What's wrong with Third Sister saving people! My Third Sister is naturally kind. In that situation, she had a way. How can you let her watch that woman go to the underworld alive! Third Sister, don't be afraid!"
Seeing that Li San Niang was frightened by Li's father and elder brother's words, Li's mother quickly spoke up to comfort her.
“My lord, have you forgotten what you told me more than twenty years ago when I first married you? That if I learned to be a midwife, I would be a midwife for life, just like if you learned to diagnose and prescribe medicine, you would be a doctor for life. Didn’t you tell me that your greatest wish was to heal the sick and bring peace to the world, and not let your mother’s tragedy happen again?”
After hearing Li's father say these surprising words, Li's mother kept staring at him intently.
Mr. Li looked at his wife, who had been with him for nearly thirty years, and remained silent, noticing the few gray hairs at her temples.
“Third Sister learned medicine from you. Even if she never opens a clinic, she’s already a doctor for life! Can you just watch someone die?”
Hearing this, Li's father closed his eyes. After a long silence, he looked at Li San Niang with relief and said, "San Niang, there's no need to worry. You've done what you were supposed to do. Leave the rest to your father and your elder brother. Everything will be fine! Alright, San Niang, you've had a long day. Go back and rest."
Back in bed, holding her precious Lu Zhu'er in her arms, Li San Niang fanned her with a palm leaf fan while thinking about what her father, mother, elder brother, and second elder brother had said earlier.
A timeless dilemma: When saving someone could potentially get you into trouble, do you save them or just watch?
Of course, even if you try to save her, she might not survive, but if you don't try to save her, she will definitely die.
It's like in modern society, if you see an elderly person fall down on the street, do you help them up or not?
You helped the elderly person up, you saved their life, and you received a thank you from them. Your conscience felt better, and you believed that one day, if your own elderly relative fell on the roadside due to an accident, someone would help them up, call 120, and save their life. You would be grateful to that person and feel fortunate that such a person saved your elderly relative.
But what if you save someone and then get extorted, end up in the defendant's seat, lose the case, and end up owing hundreds of thousands? Your conscience will not only leave you penniless, but it will also put pressure on your mental health, making you doubt your entire worldview. You will question whether "conscience" is just a scam, a lie.
If you were in my shoes, and you had received professional training and knew CPR, and you encountered a woman who had just been pulled ashore from the river, would you save her or not?
When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. There's no use thinking about it now. Li San Niang put down her thoughts on this problem, cleared her mind, and fell asleep.
At this moment, Li's father and elder brother changed their clothes, took a sign and went out. After several twists and turns, they arrived at the back door of a house. They knocked three times and then twice. A hunched man opened the door, looked at the sign, and let Li's father and elder brother in.
Brother Li stayed in the courtyard, while only Father Li went into the house. Under a dim oil lamp sat a handsome man with neatly combed hair, wearing a cross-collar deep robe.
There were two cups of tea on the table. The man in the dark robe invited Mr. Li to sit down and drink the tea. He wiped the teacup in a cool tone and said, "Dr. Li is a rare guest. In all these years, this is only the second time he has come to our door. What brings Dr. Li to our doorstep?"
Mr. Li sat down in the chair without looking at the man in the dark robe, and he didn't even drink the tea. He immediately began to tell his family's story.
"Is Dr. Li worried that this matter will involve your third aunt?"
"Please give me a definite answer, sir." With that, Li's father bowed and cupped his hands to the man in the dark robe.
"Dr. Li, you're too kind. You're a veteran of our Bad People's Chang'an branch. We can certainly help with this little bit of trouble."
The man in the dark robe put down his teacup, turned to look at Li's father, and said calmly, "This matter has been reported by Princess Cheng'an. The spies from the Duke of Liang's family reported that the young lady is out of danger. However, the Duke of Liang has always had some disagreements with Minister Gao of the Ministry of Revenue. It is still inconclusive whether the Gao family's daughter really pushed the Duke of Liang's daughter into the water. His Majesty has ordered the Dali Temple to investigate this case."
Hearing this, Mr. Li felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.
"But because your third wife saved the young master of the Dali Temple Vice Minister's family before, the Dali Temple Minister should have the newly appointed Vice Minister Di handle the case to avoid suspicion from Vice Minister Qian. Everyone knows that Vice Minister Di is fair and just. Your third wife only saved someone, so there shouldn't be any major problems. Don't worry."
"Mr. Xie informed me, and Mr. Li was extremely grateful."
"Dr. Li, you should really be grateful. The higher-ups are very interested in your third aunt's first aid methods. Dr. Li, please bring your third aunt to visit the place when you have time."
Upon hearing this, Li's father's expression changed. "Thank you for your appreciation, Your Majesty. I taught Third Sister everything she knows. I will write a detailed method and submit it to you!"
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