Falling into the mortal world

The fact that Young Master Hai is helping this Lan family girl so much suggests that the child in the Lan family girl's belly is Young Master Hai's.

Although this woman's face was disfigured, she was carrying the Hai family's child, and could still gain status through her son.

Lan Qingqing hadn't expected that simply mentioning Hai Zhengshu would trigger such a wild imagination from the magistrate. Lan Qingqing knew Hai Zhengshu; people said he was a womanizer. But after meeting him, Lan Qingqing felt the rumors were unreliable.

Hai Zhengshu had fallen in love with her at first sight. He had seen her once from afar in the prefectural city by chance, and from then on, he frequently visited her, spending almost all of his personal wealth. He showered her with gold and silver jewelry, rare treasures, and even a recipe for pastries from the imperial kitchen. However, she later burned the recipe, as she didn't need it.

When the Hai family, who were far away in Kyoto, heard about this, they bound the man tightly and took him back.

Before leaving, Hai Zhengshu said that she could always use his influence whenever she wanted, as long as it helped her.

So Lan Qingqing wasn't exactly lying.

The magistrate then said somewhat obsequiously: "Madam Lan has encountered a benefactor who helped her, so naturally her business is thriving."

"Thank you for your kind words, Your Excellency," Lan Qingqing said politely to the magistrate.

Lan's father, standing to the side, was not so carefree. After all, commoners are still afraid of officials, and he didn't say a word the whole time, just kept his head down and ate.

The magistrate said to Lan Qingqing: "Don't forget me when you open for business!"

"Of course, we can't forget the adults, no matter who we forget!" Lan Qingqing said with ease.

The magistrate noticed that Lan Qingqing spoke with neither servility nor arrogance, a sign of someone accustomed to dealing with important figures. Someone like Lan's father, however, seemed perfectly normal to the magistrate. What commoner wouldn't be like a mouse before a cat when they see an official?

After the meal, as the magistrate was about to leave, Lan Qingqing handed him ten thousand taels of silver. The magistrate was shocked to see the ten thousand taels and immediately refused.

Lan Qingqing insisted on giving the document to the magistrate and said: "I will have to rely on your help in the future."

The magistrate's lavish spending on Lan Qingqing only strengthened his resolve: the Lan family was untouchable; they had powerful backers.

Seeing that the magistrate had accepted the money, Lan Qingqing smiled and saw the man out.

When Mr. Lan saw that his daughter had spent ten thousand taels of silver, he felt heartbroken. Did his daughter even know what ten thousand taels of silver meant?

It's as if their daughter has never had a concept of money.

In fact, Lan Qingqing really had no concept of money. It was precisely because Lan Qingqing had a poor understanding of money that the magistrate became more certain that the Lan family had powerful backers.

Unless you're asking someone for a favor or something else important, you wouldn't be willing to spend so much money to give away.

Even noble families in the capital wouldn't casually give away 10,000 taels of silver.

To casually give away ten thousand taels of silver, one must either be from a wealthy and powerful family or hold a high-ranking official position. Otherwise, who would be crazy? Everyone would carefully guard such a large sum of money.

Although Lan Qingqing was born an assassin, she was, after all, a heiress from a wealthy family and had never understood the concept of money. Every time she completed a mission as an assassin, a huge sum of money was deposited into her account. This money was naturally countless.

International superstars can make money hand over fist.

Although she didn't want to be the top courtesan, she was never short of money.

After seeing the magistrate off, Lan's father said to Lan Qingqing: "Daughter! Can we slow down our spending in the future? At least we can leave some for our little nephews. At this rate, my little nephews won't be able to spend your money when they grow up. They might even have to pay off your debts."

Lan Qingqing was amused by her father's words. "Dad, what are you saying? This money can be spent or earned, so what's there to be afraid of?"

Mr. Lan sighed and said, "Alright, at worst, when we run out of money, our family can go back to farming and support my nephews."

Lan Qingqing thought about it and realized that she didn't have much money left. Of the 100,000 taels, she now had less than 70,000 taels left.

Lan Qingqing and her father arrived at the clinic, intending to take Lin Shi back. Upon arrival, they found a large crowd gathered outside, and Lan Qingqing managed to push her way through the crowd to get inside.

Inside the clinic, a heavily pregnant woman was being carried on a stretcher. Several servants stood beside the stretcher. A man was kneeling on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, hoping the old doctor could save his wife.

Lan Qingqing recognized the man immediately; he was Yu Kai, the young master of Wanfu Restaurant. She approached him to inquire about the situation and learned that the young mistress of the Yu family had been in labor for a full day and night. She was exhausted, and the baby showed no signs of coming out.

The midwife was helpless; the woman's cervix wouldn't dilate, and the baby couldn't come out. The midwife could only shake her head and tell her to prepare for the worst.

Young Master Yu was unwilling to give up and visited all the medical clinics, but they all said they were powerless to help.

The old doctor took her pulse and came to the same conclusion: the baby wouldn't come out. Neither the mother nor the baby could be saved.

At this moment, the old lady of the Yu family came and pleaded: Doctor, please save my grandson!

"It's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that I'm truly powerless to do it!" the old doctor said.

Lan Qingqing went forward to check on the mother's condition; the mother's life was slowly slipping away. Without immediate intervention, both lives would be lost.

Lan Qingqing said: "Now the only option is a cesarean section. Otherwise, the child will definitely not survive."

Upon hearing that the young master Yu would have the child delivered via cesarean section, he immediately objected, saying it was unacceptable.

Lan Qingqing then said: You only have a few breaths to consider. After that time, it will be impossible for you to have a cesarean section to remove the child.

The old doctor whispered to Lan Qingqing, "Girl, this is too cruel! Your master wouldn't be able to do this to her!"

Upon hearing that her grandson still had a chance of survival, the old woman immediately said, "Since cesarean section can save my grandson, what are you hesitating for? Hurry up and save my grandson!"

"Mother, if I cut my abdomen, Zhenniang won't survive. I can't lose Zhenniang," Yu Kai said sorrowfully.

"My child! I don't want anything to happen to Zhenniang either! But if we don't make a decision now, Zhenniang won't survive either. The only way to save the child's life is through a cesarean section!" The old woman looked utterly helpless.

"Doctor, let's begin!" the old woman said.

"No! Mother!" Yu Kai cried out hoarsely.

At this moment, Yu, lying on the stretcher, said weakly: Doctor, I am dying, please save my child.

Yu Kai knew at this point that there was no other way. He could still save the baby in her womb, otherwise they would both lose their lives.

In the end, Yu Kai accepted the decision, after all, his wife was determined to save the baby in her womb.

Lan Qingqing didn't explain that it might not necessarily result in the loss of two lives, but if she gave them hope now, what if something unexpected happened? She might be hated by them, so it was better not to say anything just in case.

The old doctor had the woman carried onto the bed. After dismissing everyone, he said to Lan Qingqing, "What a tragedy! I never imagined I would save someone in this way."

"Master, stop nagging and hurry up and save them!" Lan Qingqing quickly took out the anesthetic powder and the leftover "Drunken Breeze" liquor from the restaurant—it was homemade high-proof liquor. Its disinfecting effect was definitely top-notch.

Lan Qingqing was preparing the surgical instruments when she saw the old doctor take a kitchen knife from the kitchen, muttering to himself, "Forgive me, forgive me."

Lan Qingqing turned around and saw the old doctor holding a knife, gesturing on Yu's stomach, as if he was studying where to make the incision.

"Master, what are you doing?" Lan Qingqing asked, puzzled.

"Can't you see? This is all your doing. Why did you have to be so talkative? Now your master doesn't have to be in such a difficult position anymore," the old doctor said resentfully.

Lan Qingqing couldn't bear to look and said, "Master, I don't think you can bring yourself to do it either. Let me do it!"

The old doctor looked at Lan Qingqing with some suspicion, then thought it over and decided it was a good idea. He couldn't bring himself to do it, so he let the girl handle it. After all, she was the one who caused this mess. He would just watch from the sidelines.

If this girl goes on strike halfway through, it's not too late for me to step in.

When the old doctor saw Lan Qingqing, he started putting things in the wine to disinfect them again. The old doctor watched quietly from the side without saying much.