The old woman sat down in the medical hall and, seeing that Leng Ruo Li and her two maids harbored no ill intentions, dared to speak.
"Consort, two young ladies, our family has suffered greatly. A few days ago, a group of people of unknown identity suddenly appeared at our home. They targeted my grandson, who was only half a year old. Initially, they said they wanted to borrow his virgin urine. When they made this request, we didn't think much of it, considering it was just urine, and readily agreed to their terms."
"However, when my daughter-in-law handed over the virgin urine they had collected to those people, they refused it. They claimed their home was far away, and the urine would be useless if it cooled down on the return journey. They then demanded to borrow my grandson. We refused them on the spot."
"The leader, seeing our impoverished home, produced a gold ingot. But we still did not agree to his demand. Finally, the leader offered a tempting condition: he said that an adult could hold the child and go with them. After they finished with the virgin urine, they would return the child, and they would also give us a gold ingot. Hearing this tempting offer, our family immediately became hesitant. Later, my son agreed to their request, and he personally took the child with them."
As she spoke, the old woman's eyes were suddenly clouded with tears.
"Alas..."
Xing'er and Ling'er, standing beside Leng Ruo Li, sighed deeply upon hearing the old woman's words.
"What happened next? Did they return the child?" Leng Ruo Li asked curiously.
"Later, later, my son took the child and went with them. As a result, they were gone for several days. My daughter-in-law and I waited at home with extreme anxiety. Finally, my son returned alone one morning seven days later, but he was covered in wounds and on the verge of death. We didn't have time to ask him where the child was before my daughter-in-law immediately went to fetch the village doctor. After the doctor examined my son's injuries, he told my daughter-in-law and me to prepare for his funeral."
The old woman began to weep loudly as she reached this point.
Ling'er immediately reached out and patted her shoulder to comfort her. Having experienced a similar situation herself, she could better understand the old woman's helplessness at that moment.
However, there was one aspect she couldn't sympathize with: if they hadn't been greedy for money and had consistently refused the tempting offers made by those people, resolutely refusing to lend out their child, perhaps the subsequent events would not have occurred.
Leng Ruo Li sighed after listening to the old woman's account.
She understood the cause of the tragedy that befell the old woman's family. In essence, they had brought it upon themselves; there was no one else to blame. But that child...
"Madam, did your son tell you where the child is currently?" Leng Ruo Li suddenly asked.
"Yes, my son told us before he died that those people took him and the child into a large manor. They snatched our child away, and then they kicked my son out without giving him a single coin. My son, worried about the child's safety after being expelled, caused a scene at the manor's entrance. However, the steward guarding the manor still wouldn't let him in and even beat him. My son could only loiter near the manor for several days."
"Finally, one night, he crawled over a low wall at the back gate of the manor. Following the sound of children crying, he found the room where the children were locked up. To his surprise, my son discovered that there were six children in the room, all about the same age as my grandson. Furthermore, a person dressed strangely was piercing the children's chests with needles. My son couldn't understand what the person was doing, but all the children were crying their hearts out... Later, when that person left, my son seized the opportunity to slip into the room and secretly carry the child out of the manor. However, he was discovered by those people before he could get far. They chased after him, snatched our grandson from my son's arms again, and severely wounded my son. My son risked his life to escape home, and after telling us what happened, he died."
It took the old woman the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn completely to recount the events that had transpired in her family in detail.
"Consort, those people are simply beasts! They actually pierced the chests of such young children with needles. Their hearts are truly wicked."
Xing'er, upon hearing this, could no longer contain her anger.
Leng Ruo Li listened to the old woman's words and pondered for a moment. She couldn't simply believe the old woman's account based solely on her testimony, as evidence was crucial in any matter. However, she observed that the old woman's demeanor didn't seem feigned.
"Madam, you came today to seek medical treatment for your daughter-in-law, didn't you?" Leng Ruo Li asked tentatively.
"Yes, Consort. My daughter-in-law first lost her son, and then she lost her husband. Unable to bear the shock, she fell ill and is now bedridden, even spitting blood. I exhausted all the money in my home to hire doctors to treat her, but her condition couldn't be cured. The doctors said she was beyond saving... I came here to try my luck."
The old woman's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she spoke with a choked voice.
"Madam, please don't worry. I will arrange a carriage now to escort you home and bring your daughter-in-law to me. I will personally examine her condition."
Leng Ruo Li felt pity for the old woman. Her grandson, mere months old, was missing, her son was dead, and now her daughter-in-law was ill. She was truly at her wit's end.
"Really? This Consort?"
The old woman couldn't quite believe Leng Ruo Li's words.
Leng Ruo Li nodded firmly.
Immediately, she arranged for Doctor Yang, Nan Xi, and Jun Mohan to stay and protect her, along with Ye Wu. These three accompanied the old woman back home to fetch her daughter-in-law.
After the old woman left, several patients soon arrived at the medical hall. However, these individuals did not have any serious illnesses, only common ailments like headaches and colds that ordinary doctors could treat.
But these people coming to Anji Hall to see a doctor were merely testing the medical skills of the doctors at Anji Hall.
Leng Ruo Li did not want to bother with them and directly assigned her disciples to attend to them.
Later, a farmer who had fallen and broken his leg while gathering firewood arrived at the medical hall. The farmer's condition was quite serious; he had already fainted from blood loss and was carried to Anji Hall by two strong men.
Leng Ruo Li immediately ordered people to carry him into the hall. She asked Chu Ming Xuan to come in and assist her, then sent everyone else out. She then took out medical instruments, cleaned the farmer's wounds, stopped the bleeding, disinfected the area, administered anesthetic, set the bone, sutured the wound, applied a plaster cast, and bandaged it to immobilize it.
It took Leng Ruo Li more than half an hour to treat the farmer's injuries.