In Anji Tang.
After watching the excitement, Leng Ruoli, along with Ye Ying and Xing'er, returned to the medical hall.
In the afternoon, she still led Chu Miaoling and the others to check the wards as usual.
Then, she sat in the hall to see patients, and an hour passed in a blink.
But just then, Tao Xiangqing suddenly rushed into the medical hall, covering her mouth.
"Cold Consort, Cold Consort, this concubine wishes to ask you... *cough*... *cough*..."
Before Tao Xiangqing could finish speaking, she started dry heaving incessantly. Seeing Tao Xiangqing's reaction, Leng Ruoli knew she was pregnant.
Leng Ruoli sighed, then took out a rather pleasant-smelling medicinal powder from her sleeve and held it under Tao Xiangqing's nose for her to inhale.
After a moment, Tao Xiangqing's condition improved.
"Cold Consort, thank you!" Tao Xiangqing's voice was low and slightly trembling, but her eyes were filled with gratitude.
"It's nothing! But what did you want to tell me earlier?" Leng Ruoli asked, looking at Tao Xiangqing's eyes.
"Cold Consort, this concubine is pregnant."
As Tao Xiangqing said this, a troubled expression appeared on her face.
"So, do you want to keep the child, or..." Leng Ruoli asked, staring intently at Tao Xiangqing's expression.
"No, this concubine wants to abort it! Please help this concubine, Cold Consort."
After speaking, Tao Xiangqing clasped Leng Ruoli's hand and begged her.
"Tao Xiangqing, don't get agitated. Lin Zhenfei is dead now, and you have regained your freedom. From now on, you don't need to call yourself 'this concubine' in front of me. You can call me by the same name as my medical hall staff."
Leng Ruoli first corrected Tao Xiangqing's self-address, not wanting to hear her say "this concubine" again. Leng Ruoli found it awkward.
"Oh, oh, thank you, Cold Consort!" Tao Xiangqing said gratefully again.
"Tao Xiangqing, if you want to abort the child, you must think carefully. You cannot make this decision out of a momentary impulse."
Leng Ruoli advised her.
"Cold Consort, I have thought about this for a long time. Only by aborting the child can I completely sever ties with Lin Zhenfei, and it will not cause trouble in my future life," Tao Xiangqing explained to Leng Ruoli.
"How many months pregnant are you?" Leng Ruoli asked Tao Xiangqing abruptly.
"It's only a little over two months!" Tao Xiangqing answered truthfully.
"Alright, then you should go back and find a place to rest well. Come to my place tomorrow on an empty stomach... I will perform the abortion surgery."
After confirming that Tao Xiangqing was determined to abort the child, Leng Ruoli gave her some instructions.
Tao Xiangqing looked confused after hearing her words.
"Cold Consort, isn't aborting a child as simple as prescribing a medicinal soup? Why is your method different from other doctors?"
"Taking traditional Chinese medicine can cause a miscarriage, but it would severely damage the mother's body. If you can't endure it, you might die directly. Some women, even if they survive, their bodies will be harmed, and some may even become infertile for life. For this abortion surgery I'm performing, I will use anesthetic medication before the procedure, so you won't feel any pain. You'll wake up and the child will be gone, and the damage to your body will not be too great. After a few days of rest, your body will recover, and you can still conceive a child in the future."
Leng Ruoli explained to Tao Xiangqing in the simplest terms.
"Oh, I see. Cold Consort, your medical skills are truly remarkable. I've heard about women who suffered excruciating pain from abortions before. If they had met a doctor as skilled as you, they wouldn't have had to suffer like that. Alas... it's truly hard to be a woman."
Tao Xiangqing sighed, and for some reason, tears began to stream down her face.
"Sigh, Tao Xiangqing, you don't need to be too pessimistic. Being a woman is actually quite good. But you must learn to become stronger through your own efforts, so that no one dares to look down on you."
Leng Ruoli patted Tao Xiangqing's shoulder and comforted her patiently.
"Yes, Miss Tao, our experiences are similar, even more tragic than yours. But I've gotten through it. Just listen to our Consort and go back to find a quiet place to sleep well. You can come back to our medical hall tomorrow for the Consort to perform the surgery. After that, you can leave the past behind and start a good life again."
At this moment, Chu Miaoling also spoke to comfort her.
"Okay, thank you, Cold Consort and Miss Chu."
After Tao Xiangqing spoke, she turned and left the medical hall. Then, Leng Ruoli continued to see patients.
...
The next morning, before Leng Ruoli could arrive, Tao Xiangqing had already come to the medical hall.
However, Leng Ruoli's Anji Tang had doctors and nurses on duty twenty-four hours a day.
It happened to be Chu Miaoling and her brother on duty today. Chu Miaoling saw Tao Xiangqing arrive at the medical hall early and arranged a ward for her to lie down and rest for a while until Leng Ruoli arrived to schedule the surgery.
But as soon as Tao Xiangqing lay down in the ward, she soon noticed a pair of eyes staring at her from outside the ward window.
She quickly got up, used her hands to pry open the ward window bars, pushed open the window, and looked outside. She found nothing but plants outside.
Just then, Chu Miaoling heard movement from Tao Xiangqing's ward and hurried in, pushing open the ward door.
"Miss Tao, the ward windows are all nailed shut. How could you pry them open?" Chu Miaoling said with displeasure upon seeing the ward window opened.
For the safety of the medical hall, their Consort had specifically had the windows on the first floor of Anji Tang sealed shut. Unless it was an emergency, no one could pry open the window bars to open the window.
This Tao Xiangqing!
"Miss Chu, please don't misunderstand. When I was lying down to rest in the ward just now, I noticed a pair of eyes staring at me from outside the window, so I pried open the window bars to see who it was. But when I looked, there was no one outside the window."
Tao Xiangqing quickly explained.
Chu Miaoling frowned upon hearing this.
"A pair of eyes staring at you? Miss Tao, have you been too tired lately and seeing illusions? Outside this ward window is our medical hall's backyard. Only our medical hall staff can go in there. Others cannot enter, unless..."
As Chu Miaoling was speaking, she suddenly remembered something and hurried out of the ward.
"Mingxuan, have you asked someone to check if Ye Ba and Ye Jiu are in the backyard?" Chu Miaoling said urgently.
"Hmm, I haven't seen those two kids for a whole night either," Chu Mingxuan muttered softly upon hearing this.