Chapter 291 Untimely
After a busy day, she relied on a few cups of strong tea to finally finish her shift. Li San Niang said goodbye to Tang Mingyue and then got on the carriage that Shijiu had taken with her.
"Nineteen, I said this morning I'd treat you to something nice. Tell me what you'd like to eat? We can buy it and have it for dinner at home."
Nineteen then remembered that when he took Li Sanniang to the clinic entrance that morning, Li Sanniang had thanked him for being on time, or rather, for getting her to the clinic ahead of schedule.
Nineteen turned to Li Sanniang with a smile and said, "Sanniang, we'll pass by Li's Roast Chicken on our way home later. How about we buy a couple?"
"Alright, let's buy two then!"
When the whole family was having dinner together, Li San Niang, considering that Dr. Liang, the young boy from Shaoyang, Wu Qiaolan, and Bao Ya had joined them, finally bought three roast chickens.
At the dinner table, Dewdrop stared longingly at Li Sanniang, her big eyes filled with desire for the plate of roast chicken that had clearly just been added to the table.
Sister-in-law Li thought the roast chicken was completely cold when she brought it back, so she specially took it to the kitchen to steam it before dividing it up and serving it on the table.
Because there were many people, they were divided into men's and women's tables. The four little ones were all teenagers who could eat, so two plates were placed on the men's table and the remaining plate was placed on the women's table.
"You mother, how old are you? You still find amusement in little children."
Sister-in-law Li quickly picked up a chicken leg and put it into Luzhu'er's small bowl, saying to Luzhu'er, "Eat quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
Dewdrop was quite polite; she first said to Sister-in-law Li, "Thank you, Aunt."
Then, after Li San Niang wiped her hands with a cloth, she grabbed a chicken leg and started gnawing on it.
After dinner, Li's mother gathered everyone in the main hall to discuss the matter of Xu Dalang, who had come a couple of days ago to take the midwife exam.
"This man acting as a midwife is unprecedented and unheard of."
"Leaving aside what Xu Dalang's true feelings are, his status as a husband is inappropriate."
The words of Mr. Li and Dr. Liang were spot on.
Although there are not many restrictions on daughters nowadays, and the government encourages remarriage, not to mention the royal family, many daughters in official families have remarried two or three times.
Very few people talk about "remaining faithful to one's husband until death." Even some intellectuals and moralists who previously criticized Li San Niang for performing CPR wouldn't say such things.
One can imagine that the prevailing social atmosphere at that time was considered quite good for young women.
However, in such circumstances, it is somewhat unconventional for a man to act as a midwife, even if he is delivering his own child.
"Whether this Xu Dalang was truly frightened by his mother's or his first wife's childbirth and only wanted to learn the skills to help his wife give birth, or whether he had ulterior motives, it is not advisable to let him enter the school."
The main reason is that he is a young man. If he enters the school, what will happen to the ten girls you just took in?
"It's alright for Granny Sun's age, but what about Chunlan, a young girl who's barely a teenager?"
Li's mother's words made sense, and Li's eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law echoed her sentiments.
“Mother is right. It’s not just Chunlan, but also several young women in their early twenties.”
"Indeed, if people are all mixed together, it's inevitable that those with filthy hearts will gossip about them."
Li San Niang nodded, agreeing with what the others had said.
"This is what I think: because of his male identity, it is not permissible for him to study at my school."
But since he has this desire to learn, I want to help him achieve it.
I had prepared a theoretical draft about female professors earlier, and I'm waiting to transcribe it for him. If he's interested, he can study it.
If it's unintentional, I'll still give him a solution.
When his wife is about to give birth, he can rent a place near our house. If anything happens, he can just come to us, and I can help him. It'll be cheaper then, and he'll feel more at ease."
"That's a good idea! Since he can say he wants to pay tuition, he must have the money to rent a house. In that case, it will be a win-win situation for both of us."
"Then when the time comes, I'll trouble you, sister-in-law, to give a message to this Xu Dalang."
After finishing her story, Li San Niang took Lu Zhu'er, who had been playing with Xiao Si Lang and Xiao Huang for a while, back to her house.
As soon as Li San Niang entered the house, she felt a warmth, because Li Da Sao had lit the charcoal fire in the corner of the room earlier.
After lulling Lu Zhu'er to sleep, Li San Niang lit another lamp.
First, she needed to transcribe the lessons she had just agreed with Sister-in-law Li on caring for pregnant women and childbirth for Xu Dalang. Second, with only a few days left before Li Sanniang was to give Mr. Bu Ke the report on the smallpox vaccination method, she wanted to refine it further.
"Third Sister, I've brought you some hot water."
The voice of Sister-in-law Li calling from outside the door made Li San Niang raise her head from the table.
Upon opening the door, Li San Niang saw the steaming water bucket at Li Da Sao's feet.
“My sister-in-law loves me deeply, and I also feel sorry for her. From now on, she can let me fetch hot water myself.”
"Alright, alright, hurry up and take it in. You won't need to carry it in anymore; I'll have your older brother or eldest brother bring it over for you."
"You can carry it yourself when the weather gets warmer."
Sister-in-law Li glanced inside and said, "Why are you still busy? It's so late, you should get your feet soaked in hot water and go to sleep."
The Li family members all turned off their lights and went to sleep, while many places in Chang'an City remained brightly lit and bustling as daytime.
The back room of a winery in the West Market.
Still dressed in a bright red robe, the Holy Son sat on the chair, looking as beautiful as a porcelain doll. If it weren't for his high nose and gray-brown eyes, he would look like a noble young master from Chang'an.
"So, General Du was simultaneously sending gunpowder to Emperor Wu and contacting our people to assassinate him?"
"Yes, Holy Son."
Not only that, but the Prince of Xiang's men also contacted us, hoping to coordinate an attack from within and without to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
After the Prince of Xiang was exposed, he was confined to his residence, making it inconvenient for him to contact us.
In addition, those rabid dogs in the Imperial Guard, with the year-end approaching, are all trying to catch us off guard and make a big contribution.”
"Then let's make contact in secret first, especially with those families who weren't dealt with last time. Getting involved will give us another pair of eyes in the court."
A maid came in and changed the tea. The Holy Son looked at the tea leaves in the scalding teacup, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Is Chang'an City still relatively peaceful? How is Li Sanniang, the one we killed twice but who survived, doing lately?"
"Is the Holy Son referring to that famous female physician in Chang'an?"
"Oh, this woman has become quite famous? Tell me about her."
"My scouts have reported that one of the hottest topics in Chang'an lately is the midwifery school run by Li San Niang, the city's first female physician..."
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