Madam Sheng sat up in surprise, whispering, "They really got back safely? What happened?"
The wet nurse explained in detail, "It was the eldest young lady who was clever. She knew she couldn't stay any longer, so she took the young master and left through the window behind the side room."
"That area is more secluded, which was convenient for the eldest young lady and the young master."
Madam Sheng clasped her hands together and recited a few Buddhist prayers, patting her chest. "It's good that they're back. I was just afraid Leng Shuang and Xiao Feng would run into Prince Ming Rui. It's not that I want to break them up. You, wet nurse, can see it clearly. With Prince Ming Rui's attitude, how can I trust Leng Shuang and Xiao Feng to him?"
The wet nurse nodded understandingly. "This servant believes that His Highness Prince Ming Rui is sincere. It's likely he hasn't figured things out yet. Once Prince Ming Rui understands, it will be fine."
Madam Sheng was not so optimistic. She sighed, "Even if Prince Ming Rui figures it out, what then? He is a royal prince and is highly trusted by the Crown Prince. In the future, how could he have only Leng Shuang as his wife?"
There were so few men like her husband. In this day and age, who didn't have three wives and concubines and visit brothels as a matter of course, yet demanded that women adhere to the three obediences and four virtues.
She only hoped that Leng Shuang could find true happiness.
Meanwhile, after Tao Leng Shuang and Xiao Feng had quietly returned to the pharmacy, they disguised themselves as ordinary people.
"Mother, will Xiao Feng never see Father again?"
The child's words made Tao Leng Shuang feel very guilty. "No, in a couple of days, Mother will take you to see your father, okay?"
Xiao Feng nodded obediently. "Don't worry, Mother. Xiao Feng won't say anything about Mother."
Tao Leng Shuang didn't care about that. As long as Xiao Feng didn't reveal her whereabouts, it wouldn't be easy for Mo Ling Xi to find her.
"Shopkeeper, are you there?"
Hearing the voice of a middle-aged woman, Tao Leng Shuang instructed Xiao Feng to stay put in the side room and then walked out.
She saw a woman supporting a pregnant woman as she walked in and said, "I don't do midwifery."
The middle-aged woman smiled and said, "No, we want to ask the doctor to help us see if this pregnancy is a boy. To be honest, my daughter-in-law has already had three daughters. If she doesn't have a son, our family line will be broken."
Tao Leng Shuang glanced at the anxious woman. Despite her displeasure with their attitude, she didn't say much. She knew very well that this was a common problem in ancient times, and without a son, a family would have no heir, and their property would be divided by others.
"You need to find an experienced midwife. I can't tell if it's a boy or a girl."
Experienced traditional Chinese medicine doctors could indeed tell, but she didn't want to do such a wicked deed.
The middle-aged woman smiled fawningly. "Doctor, we've consulted several midwives, and they all say my daughter-in-law is having a son. But we're still not entirely at ease and want to find a doctor to check."
"We heard your medical skills are good. Please take a look so we can be reassured."
Just as Tao Leng Shuang was about to refuse again, she saw the woman suddenly clutch her stomach in pain.
"Mother, I'm going into labor! Quickly, I'm going into labor!" The woman, who had given birth before, calmly announced, "Our family's son is about to be born. Mother, please help me."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman, without a word to Tao Leng Shuang, went to help her daughter-in-law to the back room to give birth.
Tao Leng Shuang stopped her, pointing behind the counter. "You can give birth there. The back area is my private space. You didn't even ask me and are just barging in here."
The middle-aged woman smiled awkwardly, helped her daughter-in-law to the counter, and then anxiously looked for hot water and scissors. "Doctor, quickly bring the scissors and prepare some hot water. Can't you see my daughter-in-law is about to give birth?"
Tao Leng Shuang would not indulge such people. She crossed her arms and said coldly, "I am not anyone's servant, and don't treat me like an ordinary doctor. Also, you need to pay to use the pharmacy."
"If you don't give a single copper coin, you expect to do this and that in my pharmacy? Where in the world is there such a good thing? I'm not running a charity."
If the attitude of this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been better, she wouldn't have reacted this way. But the mother-in-law treated her pharmacy as her own and ordered her around.
The middle-aged woman glared at her with dissatisfaction, her tone slightly high and accusatory. "Why are you only thinking about money, money, money? Can't you see it's a matter of life and death? If my daughter-in-law and grandson have any accidents, I won't let you off."
Tao Leng Shuang scoffed and said with a fake smile, "I'm so scared."
She snapped her fingers, and a hidden guard appeared before her. She pointed at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. "Throw them outside. Be careful, and make sure the pregnant woman doesn't have any accidents, so these two don't blame me."
The middle-aged woman finally realized she had provoked someone she shouldn't have. Before she could apologize, she was thrown out by the hidden guard, and then saw her daughter-in-law being placed on the ground.
Tao Leng Shuang stood at the entrance of the pharmacy and said loudly, "I run a pharmacy for business, not a charity. Also, this is my pharmacy, not your family's. You don't want to pay, want to get freebies from my pharmacy, and treat me like a maid. I think you have the airs of a rich lady but not the fortune to match."
The onlookers from the neighborhood all spat at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
"What kind of people are they? If you don't have money, speak politely to Auntie Wang, and Auntie Wang will definitely help. To think they treated Auntie Wang like a maid. I've truly seen it all."
"Pah! Does the person who runs a pharmacy not need to eat, drink, or live? They want freebies and treat her like a maid, without even looking at their own shabby appearance."
"Don't you recognize this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law? They live on the next street. Especially this mother-in-law, she's known for taking advantage and shifting blame. She's caused trouble more than once."
When the neighbors heard this, they despised the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law even more. Truly, there are all sorts of people in this world; they don't have the fortune of the rich but pretend to be.
Now the middle-aged woman regretted being greedy for a bargain. She thought that since this pharmacy was run by a woman, it would be easy to get a good deal. So she deliberately brought her laboring daughter-in-law, thinking she could extort tens of taels of silver and improve their family's life.
Who knew it would turn out like this?
Seeing her suffering daughter-in-law, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Tao Leng Shuang. "Please, Doctor, save my daughter-in-law. I can't be without a grandson."
Tao Leng Shuang couldn't bear to see the child in such a state. She took the money from the middle-aged woman, then asked the neighbors to carry the woman to the back room, and gave ten copper coins to a憨厚 (hān hòu - simple and honest) looking woman to boil water.
She examined the pregnant woman's condition, frowned, and walked out, asking the middle-aged woman, "What have you given your daughter-in-law to eat? Did she eat any folk remedies or things that claim to ensure a son?"
The middle-aged woman said yes. "Everyone does this. This isn't a folk remedy. Many people have eaten it and had sons. I waited a long time to get it."