Chapter 259 Fate Brings Us Together But No Bond Is Predestined
When Li San Niang was woken up by Qiu Xiang, it was just past dawn.
"Third Miss, the master left a message saying that you should stay for a few days. He needs to discuss it with others before making a decision."
Li San Niang yawned and nodded: "Of course, such a big matter should be given more consideration."
When Li San Niang got up, she saw that the bowl of glutinous rice balls that Song Yulang had sent last night was still on the table. There were only seven or eight bites' worth in the bowl, so Li San Niang picked up the soup spoon and ate them directly.
It tastes alright, after all, it's from the south. It's not that it's particularly delicious, just that the texture is rarely seen in the Central Plains.
Before leaving, Li San Niang still went to see Jiu Niang. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Song Yu Lang sitting by the bed.
Seeing that Jiu Niang's condition was relatively stable, they were relieved.
Then, Li San Niang was led out the back door by Qi Zhi Die, whose beautiful face had been restored.
The gates of Yongping Ward had only been open for a short time, and there were hardly any people on the street. The Li family's carriage was also dusty and inconspicuous, but it easily blended into the procession leaving the ward and walked out casually.
"Let's not go home, let's go straight to the clinic, find a restaurant on the way and stop for breakfast."
Seeing that Nineteen was about to retort, Li Sanniang quickly added, "I ate that bowl of glutinous rice balls to fill my stomach, but I know that neither of you ate anything. How can a person get by if they don't eat their fill?"
I stopped the car on the road outside the gate of the ward, ate some baked buns and mutton soup, and then rushed to the Yongpingfang Medical Hall to take my shift. The timing was just right.
When Li San Niang got off the carriage, she happened to run into Tang Mingyue walking towards her.
They greeted each other and then entered the clinic one after the other.
...
Today, the woman who came to see Li San Niang for treatment was a woman who had come before, Guo Wu Niang.
Guo Wuniang was the woman who had come to see Li Sanniang before, because she needed recuperation after a series of miscarriages.
Guo Wuniang and Jiang Erlang had been married for seven years, but she suffered multiple miscarriages and was unable to give birth. Therefore, she invited Li Sanniang to come to her home for treatment.
After examining Jiang Erlang's pulse, Li San Niang discovered that Jiang Erlang had suffered from mumps as a child, and the lack of timely treatment had harmed his own body, causing abnormalities in his semen, which led to Guo Wu Niang's miscarriages every time she became pregnant.
Jiang Erlang was also a victim. His parents had kept this matter from him since he was a teenager, and he married Guo Wuniang without knowing it.
The Jiang family had their eye on the Guo family, to which Guo Wuniang belonged. The Guo family was a prominent clan with many members serving as officials in the imperial court, and Guo Wuniang's uncle was in charge of the promotion of officials in the Ministry of Personnel.
For this reason, in order to protect the future of Jiang's eldest son, they concealed the fact that Jiang's second son was infertile and married Guo Wuniang instead.
Just as Li San Niang received the number plate handed to her by the old woman next to Guo Wu Niang, before she could even hang it on the wall, she heard Guo Wu Niang say unhurriedly, "Doctor Li, I'm getting a divorce. I'm getting a divorce from... I'm getting a divorce from Jiang Er Lang."
Li San Niang was stunned for a moment. After hanging up the number plate, she turned around and saw Guo Wu Niang smiling at her with a helpless but relieved look on her face.
"This...this can be considered a good thing."
"Dr. Li is still so straightforward."
Before transmigrating, Li San Niang had been in relationships before, so she naturally knew that between men and women, no outsider could truly understand the matters between them except for the people involved.
However, since Guo Wuniang chose to divorce, she naturally wanted to have her own child. She was only twenty-four years old. With proper recuperation, she could find a suitable marriage with the Guo family's social standing.
After all, this is not like modern society. In modern society, if a woman does not get married or have children in her life, at most her parents will say a few words, but outsiders have no say in the matter.
In a civilized society with sufficient productivity, a person can support themselves without marriage or children, and a well-developed social system can ensure that this person can spend their old age peacefully.
But how could the Tang Dynasty possibly manage at this time?
During the reign of Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin), women who did not marry after the age of fifteen and men who did not marry after the age of twenty were subject to a Tang Dynasty version of a single tax.
Moreover, the productivity at that time was insufficient to support women remaining unmarried and childless.
Furthermore, people still believe that having many children brings good fortune.
Therefore, Li San Niang could understand why Guo Wu Niang ultimately chose to divorce.
We can't expect Guo Wuniang, who has her own flesh and blood and wants to have her own child, to endure and spend her whole life with Jiang Erlang, can we?
Of course, it's not impossible, but it depends on whether Guo Wu Niang herself is willing.
Now that Guo Wuniang is unwilling, she naturally wants a divorce.
Li San Niang didn't respond to Guo Wu Niang's words, but instead spoke about Guo Wu Niang's health: "Your body has suffered a lot over the years. No matter what, you must first take care of yourself and strengthen your body before talking about anything else."
As Guo Wuniang reached out her hand, she said, "I know. Even if I remarry, I won't have as many expectations for children anymore."
Li San Niang took Guo Wu Niang's pulse and, whether it was because of the divorce and the weight of not having children that was lifted from her heart, or because of the medicine she was taking, Guo Wu Niang's health had indeed improved.
"She has improved somewhat, much better than last time. She should continue taking the medicine, but Guo Wu Niangzi should also relax and not push herself too hard."
I think my wife's thinking is good. In any case, it's best to focus on getting her health back first.
The two talked for a while longer. After answering a few questions for Guo Wuniang, Li Sanniang wrote a prescription and sent her away.
After the others had left for a while, Qiu Xiang, who was behind Li San Niang, suddenly spoke up: "San Niangzi, this Guo Wu Niang does have some courage."
Li San Niang turned around and smiled, then shook her head: "She does have courage, but it's mostly because the Guo family gave Guo Wu Niang that she had the confidence."
Even if Guo Wu Niangzi gets divorced, the Guo family can still arrange for her to remarry into a high-class family as soon as possible. She might become a second wife or a remarried woman, but it would still be a marriage between equals.
This is where Guo Wuniang's confidence and courage come from.
Even after leaving Jiang Erlang and the Jiang family, she remained Guo Wuniang.
...
Late at night, Xu Jingzhen put away the memorial he had just written, which was full of ink and skill, and opened the wooden box that Fang Chengxian had sent to deliver that day.
Xu Jingzhen stared at the bronze tortoise shell, and couldn't help but ask himself a soul-searching question: Is this what they mean by being destined to be apart?
Fang Chengxian, who had accepted Li Sanniang's request, had Duoshou drive the carriage to Xu Jingzhen's current residence before returning to the small village outside the city.
Fang Chengxian naturally did not see Xu Jingzhen, since Xu Jingzhen would have been on duty at the Assistant Directorate long ago at this time of day.
But the gatekeeper was an old man from the Duke of England's mansion, so he naturally knew Fang Chengxian, his son's good friend.
Fang Chengxian left behind the wooden box that Li Sanniang had asked him to deliver, along with a short note explaining the contents, and then left.
When Xu Jingzhen returned home in the evening, she saw the box handed to her by the old servant and read the note left by Fang Chengxian, and then she knew what the box was.
By the light of the lamp, Xu Jingzhen carefully examined the bronze tortoise shell. Apart from the outer shell resembling a real tortoise shell, Xu Jingzhen quickly discovered the runes engraved inside the shell.
When Xu Jingzhen got closer to take a look, he was surprised to find that it was the very same spirit-summoning talisman that his master had taught him—a secret talisman from his sect.
Could this item have been made by my own sect?
How did Li San Niang end up buying it and giving it to her?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com