The boy sniffled, "What can you do for me?"
Li Xiangru took a step forward but still dared not get too close, "I heard from the tutors at the academy about your family's situation. Your mother is seriously ill and needs money. You've been running around for it, almost unable to attend school."
As she spoke, she took out a money bag from her embrace, "I know you excel in all subjects at the academy, and it would be a shame to drop out because of this. I hope this token of my appreciation can help you. I..."
Before she could finish, a woman's figure appeared behind the boy, "Who is it?"
The boy wiped his nose with his sleeve and looked up at the woman, "Mom, this older sister seems to be here to give us money, but she said a lot of strange things."
"Giving money?" The woman looked surprised and instinctively shielded the boy behind her, her face wary.
Where would such good things come from? What if she was trying to abduct him!
Li Xiangru's hand holding out the money bag froze. She finally realized something was wrong.
She looked at the boy and asked, "Aren't you Mo Lian?"
"Miss, you must have mistaken the person." The woman protected her child, "You must be thinking of the ones who lived here before, but they, a mother and son, met a kind person and moved away long ago."
Li Xiangru was stunned.
How could this be...
She clearly remembered not hearing about Mo Lian meeting a kind person in her previous life, and the academy tutor hadn't mentioned this earlier either.
Li Xiangru suppressed the shock in her heart, "Then do you know who took him away?"
The woman shook her head.
She was just a tenant and didn't know such things.
Li Xiangru's mouth turned down. She glanced at the boy whose nose was running again and took out a few pieces of silver from the money bag.
"Thank you for telling me, Madam. This is just a small token of my appreciation."
The woman was stunned, feeling that the current situation was somewhat unreal.
Were there really fools in this world who gave money away for free?
By the time she reacted, the "fool" had already left.
...
Li Yue Shu, unaware of what had happened, brought Mo Lian to the county office. As soon as she explained her purpose, the county magistrate readily agreed and even personally led them to the dungeon.
On the way, the magistrate asked curiously, "Madam Shen, that thing about matching blood you mentioned, is it similar to the principle of blood relation identification?"
Li Yue Shu nodded, but then shook her head, "Blood relation identification is not accurate. Human blood can be roughly divided into six types. Blood of the same type or certain specific types can fuse with each other, so this cannot be used to prove their kinship."
These knowledge points were quite extensive, and the magistrate did not understand medicine. Li Yue Shu could only explain in general terms.
But her words filled the magistrate with wonder and amazement.
Blood relation identification was an ancient method, but Madam Shen said that people without kinship might also have their blood fuse, and she even proposed the astonishing idea of lung transplantation for treatment.
Regardless of which aspect, if it became true, it would be a world-shaking event.
The magistrate was secretly alarmed and thought of his previous plan, deciding to hold off for now.
If the lung transplantation was successful, the Tongmu County under his jurisdiction would produce a great figure who could benefit all the common people and leave his name in history!
Thinking of this, the magistrate was somewhat excited. He turned to Li Yue Shu, "Madam Shen, what are your chances of success for this lung transplantation?"
Li Yue Shu sensed his excitement and was a little puzzled, "Your Excellency wants to observe the surgery?"
"No, no, no!" The magistrate quickly shook his head and waved his hands, looking resistant.
He was a civil official; such a seemingly bloody matter was not suitable for him.
"I just want to ask, after the surgery is successful, can I personally see the patient?"
Only then did Li Yue Shu understand he was curious, and she nodded in agreement.
With the county magistrate's help, the blood collection was completed quickly.
Mo Lian carefully held the bottles and jars, his cautiousness as if he were holding rare treasures.
Even on the way back, he was reluctant to put the items on the ox cart, carrying them himself for fear of damaging them.
Li Yue Shu understood his feelings, so she didn't say anything.
It seemed she had to work overtime and get the results out as soon as possible.
Therefore, she slipped into her space that night and worked through the entire night, only managing to rest for a short while at dawn.
In modern times, she often stayed up all night doing experiments, sometimes resting only three to four hours a day for over a month. But perhaps due to the change in her body, she couldn't endure it after just one night.
Fortunately, there were few patients during the day, so she could rest a little.
Meanwhile, Shen Yi Min, Shen Ting Wen, and Mo Lian arrived at the academy to begin their day of study.
Shen Cheng Cai also came, but the page he had been showing off with recently was nowhere to be seen.
The Shen family couldn't even afford to eat, so they naturally couldn't afford to feed an extra mouth.
Shen Yi Min paid no attention to this matter and merely glanced at him before looking away.
But in Shen Cheng Cai's eyes, his expression was clearly one of gloating.
Once that vicious woman was driven out, everything Shen Yi Min had would be his. Then he would see how arrogant Shen Yi Min could be!
Shen Cheng Cai clenched his teeth, his resentful expression making his inherently ordinary and young face look particularly distorted.
But no one noticed his expression. Everyone was drawn to the events of yesterday.
"Yesterday, a young lady from Chongzhou came and sent many things to our academy. Does anyone know what's going on?"
"I heard that young lady used to be from Tongmu County. Later, she followed a noble person to Chongzhou. This time, when she returned to see her family, she wanted to help her fellow villagers, so she donated a lot of money to our academy."
"My home is close to the academy, and I met that young lady yesterday. She is truly a living Bodhisattva, beautiful and kind!"
"Our Tongmu County is not that big. I wonder which family's daughter it is. Maybe I can get to know her."
...
Everyone gathered and discussed animatedly, but a few people's expressions changed upon hearing their conversation.
Hearing the place name "Chongzhou," Shen Yi Min and Shen Ting Wen's expressions became somewhat subtle, but they quickly regained their composure.
Another person who showed an unusual expression upon hearing these conversations was Shen Cheng Cai.
From Chongzhou?
Beautiful and kind?
His life was so difficult now. Would she help him?
Shen Cheng Cai was eager, and he no longer had the mind to resent Shen Yi Min. He was thinking of how to approach that kind and beautiful young lady.
Mo Lian had been reading with his head down the entire time and didn't notice anything around him.
But a colleague who was talking noticed him and walked over, "Brother Mo, you must have seen that young lady yesterday, right?"
Hearing this, everyone looked over curiously, but Mo Lian looked bewildered, "What young lady?"
He had been by Madam's side all day yesterday. The women he had seen, besides Madam, were only Shen Chi, Shen Hen, Shen Yu, and the third young lady Shen Ting Yi. At most, including his mother and Aunt Liu, he hadn't seen anyone else.
Shen Cheng Cai suddenly stood up, seemingly anxious, "Why do you say Mo Lian saw that young lady?"