Chapter 33 The Sufferings of Women (Part 2)
After reading the judgment aloud, Sizhi put it down and said to Shen Qiuniang, "Alright, if Shen Qiuniang has a dowry list, she can go back to the Wang family with the yamen runners to retrieve it."
"I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept this! What do you mean by severing ties! Severing ties my ass! Qiu Niang is my wife, so what if I beat her to death!"
"Roar in court! Slap him!"
Two constables immediately came up and slapped Wang Fu across the face, scaring the old woman so much that she couldn't speak.
Perhaps seeing a glimmer of hope, Shen Qiuniang suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Chen Shaoyin, saying, "Shen Qiuniang thanks Lord Shaoyin, Lord Shaoyin is just and honest!"
Seeing that her already poorly bandaged wound was bleeding again, Li San Niang wondered how much force Chen Qiu Niang had used.
Wang Fu and his mother, who had been slapped hard, were terrified and dared not say another word. After all, the yamen runner had said that if they continued to cause trouble, there was plenty of room in the jail.
By the time Li Sanniang and her party walked out of the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture, the sun had already set.
The mother and son from Tuva, who were glaring fiercely at Shen Qiuniang and Tuva, walked away together, cursing and supporting each other. They didn't bother them anymore, probably because Shen Qiuniang said she had severed all ties. She hadn't brought much dowry when she married into the Wang family, and apart from the clothes she was wearing, she didn't intend to take anything back.
Tuva tried to persuade Shen Qiuniang to return to the West Market with him, but Shen Qiuniang seemed unwilling, and the two of them struggled back and forth.
Finally, Li Sanniang couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward, saying, "Alright, let's go all the way to save lives. Qiu Niang, come home with me for now. My family runs a clinic, and you still need to get your injuries properly bandaged and treated."
"I am deeply grateful to Lady Li for her great kindness and virtue. I have no way to repay her. I am willing to sell myself into servitude to serve Lady Li! Please accept me as your servant, Lady Li."
He's a ruthless person; he immediately knelt down again with a thud.
"Hey, hey, alright, alright, no need to sell yourself. Come home with me first to heal your injuries, then we'll talk about the future."
Actually, when they were in the hall, Sister-in-law Li and Brother Li exchanged glances and thought that the poor woman named Shen Qiuniang, whom Li Sanniang had saved, would probably be taken home.
As expected, Li San Niang stepped forward.
Tuva realized that Shen Qiuniang really didn't want to go with him, so he offered to take her himself, but he still insisted on carrying her and following Li Sanniang's family.
After hailing a donkey cart, buying pomegranates, and returning to Li's Medical Clinic in Changshoufang, it was already dusk.
Looking at the Tuva people with distinctly foreign features and attire following behind Li San Niang, and Shen Qiu Niang, whose head was bandaged with a handkerchief, whom Li's father was holding in his arms, he paused in stroking his beard, hesitated for a moment, shook his head left and right, sighed, and said nothing more.
It was Li Erxiong who spoke up: "Third Sister, you really saved someone again?"
Li Silang, one of the four little ones who had been the background figure for the day, finally had a chance to speak. He excitedly told his second brother Li how Li Sanniang and Li Dalang had performed a heroic act of saving people that day.
He especially praised his elder brother Li Dalang's heroic appearance, and even winked at Li Dalang while praising him.
When they arrived at the backyard, Li San Niang helped Shen Qiu Niang bandage her wounds. Li Er Sao, being kind-hearted, asked Li's mother for permission and added two more sets of bowls and chopsticks to the table. It was dinner time, and she intended to have Tuva and Shen Qiu Niang eat together.
By this time, thanks to the lively Li Silang, everyone in the family, from Li's father and mother to Li's second brother and sister-in-law, knew about the heroic deeds of Li San Niang and Li Da Lang that day.
Everyone tacitly agreed with Li San Niang's statement that "we should help people to the end." In any case, there was a small room in Li San Niang's courtyard, which was originally intended for Lu Zhu'er to live in when she was older. Since we were going to help people, we could let Chen Qiu Niang stay there for a while.
Because Li San Niang learned this "bad habit" from her father.
The Li family owns a large property, but they don't have much space to live in themselves. Why is that?
That's because Li's father was kind-hearted and his medical philosophy was to save as many patients as possible and help as many people as he could. He even had three rooms in the front yard reserved for people who came from the countryside to see him but couldn't afford to stay in a guesthouse. He often took in patients and their families.
Otherwise, Li's father wouldn't have such a good reputation, and wouldn't have been able to be recommended by the old doctor Gao to join the Chang'an Medical Alliance without being able to explain his lineage.
Therefore, from top to bottom, the Li family had been hoping that this day would come ever since Li San Niang expressed her ambition to open a school, just like her father.
Not to mention, after the two previous incidents of Li San Niang saving people, everyone was prepared that Li San Niang would save people again in the future.
Shen Qiuniang said that she was a servant and could not eat at the table.
Li San Niang quickly said that there was no such thing, and that she would help Shen Qiu Niang find a job after she recovered. She would be able to support herself on her own, and there was no need for her to sell herself into slavery.
Li's mother bluntly stated that the Li family was not royalty or nobility; the only official was her eldest brother, Li, who worked in the Imperial Guard. She added that the family did not have servants.
This stopped Chen Qiuniang from speaking. The Tuva did not refuse at all and obediently sat down to eat when told to.
Finally, Tuva, without any hesitation, helped clear the dishes, asked for directions to the well, filled two water tanks for her, and left with the words, "Qiu Niang, I'll come see you again later."
Li Erxiong and Li Ersao were also muttering to each other, "This barbarian speaks Mandarin quite fluently."
That evening, Li San Niang packed two sets of her own clothes and shoes and delivered them to Chen Qiu Niang. She found Chen Qiu Niang lying on the bed, staring blankly at the top of the bed curtains. She called her name twice before Chen Qiu Niang responded.
In modern times, Li San Niang is an obstetrician-gynecologist, not a professional psychologist. There's nothing she can do; she has a lot to say but doesn't know how to start or offer any advice.
Finally, Li Sanniang put the things down by the bed and said directly, "Qiu Niang, people who survive great calamities are bound to have good fortune. Heaven didn't want you to leave like this, didn't it? Didn't you run into Lian me and that Tuva? Don't worry, there's always a way out. Take good care of your injuries first before thinking about anything else. Go to sleep. If you have a headache at night, shout loudly, I can hear you from next door."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiuniang nodded and insisted on seeing Li Sanniang to the door.
Lying back down on the bed, Chen Qiuniang felt a lump in her throat, and tears streamed down her face, but she didn't utter a sound, just silently weeping.
The next day, the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and Li Sanniang missed the days when she could wear shorts and short sleeves in modern times.
Last time when I went to the shop with Sister-in-law Li to buy kapok, the shopkeeper recommended a fabric called Tianxiang yarn. She said it was sold to Chang'an by big merchants from Jiangnan. It was thin but not transparent, lightweight and breathable, and very suitable for making clothes in summer.
But after hearing the price, Li San Niang didn't even hesitate.
At times like this, Li San Niang would envy Lu Zhu'er for not having to grow her hair long; she could simply tie two little buns on her head and stay cool.
Unlike Li San Niang, who felt suffocated by her long hair and couldn't cut it.
At this time, the principle was that "our bodies, hair, and skin are given to us by our parents, and we must not damage them."
Because of the heat, Li San Niang was worried that Shen Qiu Niang's wound might get infected and inflamed. So, she steeled herself and used the little bit of liquor left over from last time to disinfect Shen Qiu Niang's wound with a clean handkerchief.
I've already said that Shen Qiu Niang is a ruthless person; she can endure such pain without uttering a sound.
Later, they asked Li's father to take her pulse, and his conclusion was the same as Li San Niang's.
In other words, Shen Qiuniang was not infertile, but rather her body was weak and her long-term malnutrition caused poor menstrual flow, which prevented her from ovulating and thus prevented her from conceiving.
When they were alone, Li San Niang also asked Shen Qiu Niang carefully whether she had been pregnant in the five years since they got married.
Shen Qiu Niang replied that she had not conceived a child in the five years since their marriage, not even once. She still had menstruation for the first two years of their marriage, but from the third year onwards, the amount of menstruation became less and irregular. Later, she would only have menstruation once every six months or so, and even then, it was only a little bit. In the past year, she has not had any at all.
In conclusion, it's not that Shen Qiuniang is infertile, but rather that Wang Fu is very likely infertile!
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