Chapter 82 The Women of Pingkang Ward
The breakfast and lunch today were really good, so Li's mother said that tonight we should make two cold dishes and steam a pot of sweet potatoes.
Actually, if Li San Niang doesn't eat sweet potatoes for a while, she really misses them; Li Da Sao's sweet potato porridge is the best.
So, after dinner, Li San Niang begged Li Da Sao to cook sweet potato porridge if she had time the next day, and Li Da Sao naturally agreed.
Li San Niang felt she couldn't just let Li Da Sao do all the work, so she decided to get up early tomorrow to help Li Da Sao with the fire, washing, and chopping.
So, under the moonlight, as Li San Niang began to imagine how delicious the sweet potato porridge would be the next morning, trouble struck.
Not long ago, Li San Niang saved Shen Qiu Niang, which attracted the Tuva people, right?
As a result, Tuva happened to meet his little sister Dilibair in Pingkangfang. Dilibair had been kidnapped to Chang'an and made into a prostitute in a brothel in Pingkangfang. She had contracted leukorrhea. Tuva thought of Li Sanniang, a kind-hearted doctor, and brought the gemstone to ask Li Sanniang for help.
Li San Niang certainly didn't stand idly by, but she also had to consider the attitudes of people at the time towards prostitutes, especially women from the Western Regions. So, she only secretly helped with the diagnosis and left some medicine.
More than ten days had passed since the last time Li Sanniang rescued Diliber. She assumed that Diliber had not come to her door with Tuva and must have fully recovered, so she did not think to ask.
But just before curfew, the door to the clinic was knocked on again. This time, there was no Tuva, only three women who came together.
Only Li Dalang and Li Sanniang heard the slight knocking at the door of the clinic. After all, one of them had practiced martial arts for many years and the other had naturally keen senses. Otherwise, no one would have heard such a slight knocking.
So when Li Dalang led three women into the courtyard, everyone in the Li family was stunned. When one of the women, who was wearing a veil, took off her veil to reveal her beautiful face, they could only make out that it was Dilibaier by candlelight. Everyone in the Li family turned their attention to Li San Niang.
Dilibaier knew the proper etiquette, so she and the other two women bowed and greeted Li Sanniang.
Judging from this situation, whether you can guess it or not, you can imagine it. So, Li's mother sent the four little ones away again, Li's eldest sister-in-law took Lu Zhu'er to see her back to the courtyard, Li's father left by himself, and Li's second brother carried Xiao Wulang and Li's second sister-in-law back to their own room.
Only Li's mother, Li San Niang, Shen Qiu Niang, and three other women who could be considered uninvited guests remained at the scene.
So the remaining two women took off their veils, and to everyone's surprise, they turned out to be two Han Chinese women.
The appearance of the Western Region women is very easy to distinguish from that of the Han women. After all, it is easy to understand that the difference in appearance is due to regional differences. The Western Region women are mostly deep-set eyes and high noses, which is quite different from the delicate features of the Han women.
The moment Dilibier removed her veil, Li Sanniang knew why she had come.
If she comes alone, the most likely reason is that she is there for a follow-up appointment, or that she has developed new symptoms, or that she is simply there to pick up her medication.
But she didn't just come alone; she brought two other people with her. Li San Niang could only guess that the other women in the brothel had found out about her being cured, and that the women who were on good terms with her or who had asked her for help had asked them to bring the two women to Li San Niang for treatment.
The matter of seeing a doctor was certain, but Li San Niang thought that Dilibaier was, after all, a woman from the Western Regions, and the people she was on good terms with should also be women from the Western Regions, perhaps Turks, Huns, or Khitans. She never expected that she would look like a Han Chinese woman.
People are already here; we can't just throw them out with a broom.
So, Li's mother stepped forward and led them to sit in the main hall.
Li's mother was quite kind. After all, Li San Niang had saved Diliber last time and had Li Da Sao accept the gems from Tuva as payment for her consultation. Li's mother had already anticipated this scene. Therefore, Li's mother was amiable. Since Li San Niang said that she would be a female doctor mainly treating women from now on, then receiving women, even those who sold themselves, was just a normal thing.
Dilibaier and her group knew they had to come under the cover of night to avoid causing gossip about Li Sanniang and the Li family.
However, Shen Qiuniang's attitude was not very good. Since Li's mother and Li Sanniang did not speak, Shen Qiuniang only showed some dissatisfaction on her face, but did not say anything. She told Li's mother to sit down and went to the kitchen to get the tea tray herself.
But in truth, Shen Qiuniang, who was in the kitchen looking for a cup to make tea, was quite resentful of Diliber's actions.
Firstly, she was already engaged to Tuva, and the wedding was just a few days away, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Since Tuva had recognized Diliber as his sister, Shen Qiuniang naturally placed herself in the position of sister-in-law.
But tonight, Diliber left Tuva behind and brought along women who were clearly from the Pingkangfang brothel. Without notifying them, she knocked on Li San Niang's door under the cover of night before curfew. Wasn't that putting Tuva and herself in an unjust position?
Secondly, she was unaware that Li Sanniang was currently undergoing assessments to join the Chang'an City Medical Alliance. However, the fact that Tuva brought her here under the cover of night suggested that her identity was inappropriate for Li Sanniang and the Li family at that time. Li Sanniang had saved her life and was indebted to her, yet not only did she fail to repay this kindness, she brought even greater trouble to Li Sanniang. Wasn't this ungrateful?
Of course, neither Shen Qiuniang nor Diliber knew that Tuva had left Li Sanniang a gem.
Therefore, in the eyes of Li San Niang and the Li family, Li San Niang could be said to have saved Diliber, but since the consultation fee was received, it was considered a fair exchange, and no one was obligated to owe anyone else indefinitely.
In addition, from the very beginning, Li San Niang was committed to being a female doctor who mainly treated women, a fact that everyone in the Li family was aware of.
Therefore, Li's mother and Li San Niang didn't harbor much hostility; they were just somewhat surprised.
After Shen Qiuniang quickly brought up the tea tray, Li's mother invited the three women to drink tea. Dilibaier glanced at Li Sanniang with an awkward expression and said cautiously, "Thank you for helping me before, Midwife Li and Li Sanniang. If it weren't for Li Sanniang's kindness, I wouldn't be standing here now."
As she spoke, Dilibaier turned to Shen Qiuniang with a cheerful tone and said, "I haven't yet congratulated Qiuniang on her marriage to Brother Tuva. She will be Dilibaier's sister-in-law from now on. I wish Sister-in-law Qiuniang and Brother Tuva a long and happy life together."
Shen Qiuniang wasn't a narrow-minded person. After hearing Diliber's gentle words, her discomfort subsided considerably. Thinking about how Diliber had been kidnapped from the Western Regions at a young age and forced into prostitution, she realized how unfortunate Diliber's life was. At this moment, she didn't blame Diliber for acting on her own initiative.
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased somewhat and was no longer as stiff as before, Dilibaier cautiously looked at Li Sanniang and continued, "It was Dilibai who was presumptuous. Tonight, without permission, I brought a girl from the brothel to see Li Sanniang. There was a reason for this, and I hope Li Sanniang will not find Dilibai's kindness offensive."
Before Li San Niang could speak, with two "plop" sounds, the two Han women who had come with Dilibai'er knelt down firmly before Li's mother.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com