Li Chang'an had already caught up with him, and she shouted at Liang Xuanjing, "This is not the time to talk about this, he ran that way!"
Liang Xuanjing was stunned for a moment, then followed.
Although the child ran very fast, he was still young and was quickly caught by Li Chang'an.
The child was only eight or nine years old, dark-skinned and thin, with messy hair and a face covered in ash.
He clutched the money pouch tightly, remaining silent and watching Li Chang'an with extreme vigilance.
Looking at the child, Liang Xuanjing stepped forward and said, "Little brother, you've had a hard life, so here's some money for you. You can go now."
The child stared at Liang Xuanjing for a moment, then ran away quickly, as if afraid that he would change his mind.
Li Chang'an asked, puzzled, "You just let him go like that?"
Liang Xuanjing then shook the jade-bone folding fan in his hand and said leisurely, "Otherwise, are you still planning to keep putting up with him? Why not pretend to agree first, and then follow him to see where he is going to take that money? I want to know what makes a child like him go down this path."
As he spoke, his expression grew increasingly serious.
Li Chang'an suddenly felt that the second son of the Vice Minister of Rites was not as bad as others said. At least he didn't seem to have any of that carefree attitude now.
Although the child had run far away, Li Chang'an still remembered the direction he had run in. The two followed this route and soon turned into a secluded alley. There were only a few houses in the alley, but the two did not know which house the child had entered.
Left with no other choice, they searched house to house. The first few houses had no sign of the child. Only the last and most dilapidated house had its door wide open, but the yard was empty. So the two of them went inside.
The narrow courtyard was overgrown with weeds, covered with dust and fallen leaves, and even the path in the courtyard was full of potholes.
The road felt really strange to walk on. Upon closer inspection, Li Chang'an realized that the road was originally a large area of rugged rocks, but a thin layer of sand had been laid on top of it to make it barely passable.
The two carefully walked a few steps to the front of the house. The roof was dilapidated, with many repair marks; most of the wooden pieces on the eaves had fallen off, and one of the pillars that could barely be called a veranda was broken, making the whole place very dilapidated.
Li Chang'an looked around and found that the small courtyard only had two rooms and this space that could barely be called a kitchen; the rest of the open space was overgrown with weeds. Moreover, the doors and windows of one of the rooms were closed, indicating that no one had been inside for a long time.
The door to the other room was ajar, but the window was half open, so Li Chang'an leaned over the window and looked inside.
The room wasn't small, but it only contained a broken wooden table and two wooden beds; there wasn't even a chair.
A woman was lying on the bed against the east wall, while a tattered cloth was spread on the floor next to the table, and a four or five-year-old boy and a one or two-year-old girl were sitting on the cloth.
Both children were dressed in rags, but they watched without crying or making a fuss as the older boy—the one who had snatched Li Chang'an's money pouch—stood guard by the woman's bedside.
This scene was truly heartbreaking. Li Chang'an couldn't bear it and turned his head away, only to find that Liang Xuanjing was no longer behind him.
Just as she was wondering, Liang Xuanjing suddenly appeared beside her and said, "I've inquired about it. This child has had a hard life. His father died early, and he and his mother were kicked out of his husband's family. They have a hard time even making a living. Now his mother is seriously ill. He has truly had a tragic fate."
Li Chang'an felt a mix of emotions upon hearing this. Looking at the scene inside the room, she said emotionally, "I...I want to go to the clinic and ask a doctor to come over."
Liang Xuanjing had an expression that said he expected this, and he nodded and said, "I'll go with you."
With that, he walked towards the door.
The two quickly found a clinic on the street corner, which looked to have been there for quite some time.
"Don't worry, this clinic is one of the best in the city."
Liang Xuanjing seemed to know this place well, and he led Li Chang'an inside while saying this.
Finally, Li Chang'an spent a lot of money to hire a famous doctor from the clinic who was known as "the next Hua Tuo" (a legendary Chinese physician).
When Li Chang'an returned to the courtyard, he bumped into the boy who was about to go out.
He was carrying a wooden basin, seemingly preparing to fetch water, but upon seeing Li Chang'an and Liang Xuanjing, he was startled and quickly ran back.
"Wait a minute!" Li Chang'an grabbed the child by the collar and said gently, "We're not here to ask you for your money pouch, nor are we here to cause you trouble. We're here to get your mother medical treatment."
As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that her words had been too abrupt, but the child just looked at her with suspicion and wariness.
At this moment, the doctor who had been standing behind Liang Xuanjing spoke up. He gently placed his hand on the child's shoulder and said to him:
“Little brother, I am a doctor. These two asked me to come and treat your mother. Don’t worry, they are both good people, so you don’t need to be afraid.”
Although the child still didn't insist on his opinion, he eventually led them into the house.
Upon entering the house, Li Chang'an realized just how dilapidated it was. The house was filled with dust and mildew, the children's mother was lying on the bed, barely alive, and the two younger children were curled up asleep on a tattered cloth.
The older brother of the two children looked at them with heartache, picked them up and put them on another bed, and covered them with a blanket—which was really just a piece of cloth that was bigger and thicker than the rag on the ground, but not as tattered.
The boy stared at the doctor, who then walked to the bedside to check on his mother's condition, all while the other two were on edge, fearing the doctor might tell them bad news.
Fortunately, after examining the children's mother, the doctor said that although her illness had been prolonged and had become severe, it was essentially just caused by a cold. As long as she took her medication on time and recuperated properly for a period of time, she could recover completely.
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Liang Xuanjing took the prescription to get the medicine, while Li Chang'an stayed behind to take care of the mother and her four children.
After this incident, the child finally lowered his guard against her, and the two began to chat casually. Although Li Chang'an did most of the talking, the child would occasionally reply.
"By the way, what's your name?" After chatting for a while, Li Chang'an suddenly realized that he didn't know the boy's name.
The boy was silent at first, but finally answered, "My name is Ankang, An as in peace and Kang as in health."
Li Chang'an smiled and looked at him, saying, "What a coincidence, my name also has the character 'An' in it. My name is Li Chang'an, 'Chang' as in ordinary, and 'An' as in peace. Is your surname An?"
An Kang shook his head and said, "My surname is Yu, but my mother usually calls me An Kang."
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