"Aunt Wang is a doctor? I really couldn't tell. But she can cure illnesses, and she's so young. I thought doctors were all old."
"I doubt it. So young, her medical skills must not be good. But we don't have any other pharmacies nearby, and going to a farther one might be too late."
"So much blood! What happened? Could it be another conscription?"
Tao Lengshuang paid no mind to the chatter, standing calmly. Since her previous life, she had been targeted and schemed against due to her age and gender many times.
At first, she would explain, but later she grew too lazy to bother.
"Do you want to treat it?" she asked.
"Might as well try with a dead horse!"
The young man gritted his teeth, hesitating yet worried. "Please save my father. My father went hunting in the mountains, but he stepped into a trap someone had set."
Tao Lengshuang soothed the father and son with her gaze, ignoring the neighbors gathered outside the pharmacy.
She first examined the middle-aged man's injuries.
Lifting his pant leg revealed a bloody, mangled wound that made many gasp in horror. Some faint-hearted individuals even fainted.
Tao Lengshuang calmly and meticulously examined it. Confirming no bones were injured, she retrieved her medical kit to apply medicine.
"Dou Dou, stand behind the counter. Don't stand here."
With so many people around, she feared Xiao Feng might be snatched away quietly.
Xiao Feng brought a stool to the counter and stood obediently behind it, watching his mother treat the patient.
The little child was not afraid of the bloody scene at all. He watched with wide eyes, curious about the treatment.
Tao Lengshuang first used silver needles to stop the bleeding.
As soon as the bleeding stopped, not only the father and son were stunned, but even the onlookers were surprised.
"So skilled! One needle stopped the bleeding. This doctor has some ability."
"We'll have to see the follow-up. Anyone with a little medical knowledge can stop bleeding. What's so amazing about that?"
Tao Lengshuang washed the wound with clean water, then disinfected it with alcohol, clearly seeing how deep and terrifying the wound was.
Seeing the wound, she examined it again carefully. "Your father is very lucky. His tendons and bones were not injured, otherwise, it would have been a long recovery."
She took medicinal powder from her kit, applied it, bandaged the wound, and then wrote a prescription, handing it to the young man. "I don't have enough medicinal ingredients here. You'll need to get the rest from another pharmacy."
Afterward, she gave him instructions and other advice, emphasizing not to get the wound wet and to rest well.
The father and son were truly surprised that Tao Lengshuang had treated it so easily. They thanked her repeatedly and then inquired about the consultation fee.
"Fifty copper coins," Tao Lengshuang said.
The fee was incredibly cheap. The young man, who had brought all his family's savings, gratefully paid the fifty copper coins and then helped his father leave.
Tao Lengshuang gave the consultation fee to Xiao Feng and then cleaned the ground.
The onlookers were discussing.
"Aunt Wang's medical skills seem alright. Such a terrifying wound, and she fixed it in a few moves."
"The main thing is the cheap consultation fee. Nowadays, seeing a doctor always costs at least half a tael of silver."
"I wonder what kind of illnesses Aunt Wang can treat. I have a distant relative who has been married for five or six years but still hasn't had a child. Her in-laws have made her life miserable."
Hearing this, Tao Lengshuang stated that she could treat most illnesses and that the consultation fee would vary depending on the condition and situation.
She needed to build a reputation for her pharmacy to attract more patients.
The neighbors chatted in small groups and then dispersed.
After tidying up, Tao Lengshuang sat on a stool with Xiao Feng, teaching him to read and write while keeping an eye out for any patients.
Their lives were relatively peaceful and comfortable, but Mo Lingxi's life was quite miserable.
To find Tao Lengshuang and her son, Mo Lingxi had used every method possible and repeatedly asked Madam Sheng for information, all to no avail.
Until one day, when he visited the Sheng residence again, he noticed that the Sheng family's servants were all beaming with joy. Some servants even hurried away upon seeing him. He had a hunch it was related to him and rushed towards Madam Sheng's courtyard.
Madam Sheng's Courtyard.
"Madam!"
The wet nurse hurried in, her expression slightly changed. "Prince Ming Rui is here. Young lady and young master, please leave quickly through the back door, or you might run into him."
Today was the day Tao Lengshuang and Xiao Feng had secretly returned to see Madam Sheng. They hadn't expected Prince Ming Rui to visit on this particular day.
Upon hearing this, Tao Lengshuang remained very calm. "It's too risky to go out now and risk running into him. Does Godmother have a place to hide? A side room or a place that's not easily discovered?"
Madam Sheng thought for a moment and had Tao Lengshuang and her son hide behind the bed in one of the side rooms. This was a place Sheng Li used to play hide-and-seek as a child.
Just as she finished hiding Tao Lengshuang and her son, she saw Mo Lingxi stride in, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Why has Prince Ming Rui come again?" she said impatiently.
Mo Lingxi noticed two extra cups of tea, as well as several snacks and children's toys. His heart tightened, and he asked, "Godmother, have Tao Lengshuang and Xiao Feng returned?"
Madam Sheng glanced in the direction he was looking, tightened her grip on the embroidery handkerchief, and calmly replied, "No."
"Prince Ming Rui can't find Lengshuang and Xiao Feng, so he's starting to talk nonsense?"
Mo Lingxi didn't believe her. He bowed halfway. "Please tell me, Godmother, where Tao Lengshuang and Xiao Feng are. I really want to see them."
Madam Sheng looked at the haggard and thin man before her, unmoved. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."
"Prince Ming Rui, I'll say the same thing again. When you've figured things out, then I'll tell you their whereabouts."
It had been so many days, and Prince Ming Rui still hadn't figured it out. This showed that Lengshuang wasn't that important to him.
Mo Lingxi had been thinking about this matter for days, but the more he thought, the more confused he became. "Godmother, I want to have a good talk with Tao Lengshuang."
"Talk about what? Talk about how you want her to obediently be a woman in your backyard?" Madam Sheng retorted sarcastically. "You haven't even figured things out yourself, so what can you talk about?"
Mo Lingxi was so cornered he could barely speak. "Godmother, ultimately, I'll only know after I talk to Tao Lengshuang."
Madam Sheng suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and chuckled twice. "Alright, Prince Ming Rui, don't linger here. I won't tell you where Lengshuang and Xiao Feng are."
"Then I'll sit here and wait." Mo Lingxi sat in a chair, looking as if he wouldn't leave until he got what he wanted.
Madam Sheng was furious but couldn't really drive him out, so she simply retreated to her inner chambers to rest.
She reclined on the couch, thinking about how to help Tao Lengshuang and her son return safely. Seeing Prince Ming Rui's demeanor, it seemed he would genuinely stay put.
She needed to find a way.
After an unknown amount of time, the wet nurse entered with a smile and whispered to her, "Madam, the young lady and young master have returned safely. Prince Ming Rui didn't notice."