Chapter 66 The Baby Girl with a Cleft Lip

Ji Yuntang was startled, only then becoming aware of the sensation on her back—the scorching warmth could be distinctly felt even through her clothes.

“That’s wonderful! It seems A He’s body is already improving.”

Ji Yuntang released him and grasped his hand, she herself was also trembling with excitement.

After treating him for so long, Luo Junhe’s hands finally showed a response. For both of them, this meant they had taken a step forward together. Their efforts hadn’t been wasted, and Ji Yuntang was happier than anyone else.

That night, the two sat together chatting for a long time, Ji Yuntang’s small hand remained nestled within Luo Junhe’s large palm the entire time.

Hand in hand, heart to heart, a sweet warmth filled the air.

Early the next morning, Ji Yuntang rose, finished breakfast, and gave Luo Junhe another acupuncture treatment.

During the wait, Luo Junhe still tightly held Ji Yuntang’s hand, reluctant to let go.

Tao Zhi and Chen Hu exchanged a smile and tactfully stepped out without disturbing them.

After spending so much time together, they could sense that the relationship between the prince and princess had grown closer.

It was also a good thing for us servants that our master and mistress were getting along so well.

Ji Yuntang lingered in the room for quite some time before finally heading out.

She hadn’t forgotten—there were still two contests today.

When Ji Yuntang arrived at Qinglong Square with Tao Zhi, she immediately noticed the crowd was larger than yesterday's.

As the third round approached, the scene grew even livelier, with the number of spectators having at least doubled.

Ji Yuntang struggled to push through the crowd and reached the center of the square, where Luo Jingshen’s sarcastic voice immediately reached her ears.

“Princess Ye, among all of us here, you’re the only one we’ve been waiting for. The Eighth Prince even said you must be afraid and wouldn’t dare to come.”

Ji Yuntang ignored him, looking only at Luo Sinian as she said, “What should I fear? I haven't stolen or robbed a thing; my conduct is above board. I was merely delayed a bit on the way here. There’s no need for such speculation about me.”

Luo Sinian surprisingly didn’t argue with her. Seeing Ji Yuntang standing here safely once more, Luo Sinian—without even realizing it himself—finally felt his anxious heart settle.

Yesterday, he had received news that Ji Yuntang had been targeted on her way back to the estate and was taken away by a dozen or so black-clad men.

He thought she wouldn’t be able to come today, yet she appeared punctually.

Luo Feizhou’s profound gaze flickered over Ji Yuntang’s face as he spoke, “Alright, since everyone is now present, let us proceed.”

Following the second round of competition, there was still one patient yet to appear.

At Luo Feizhou's order, the second patient also emerged before the crowd.

Surprisingly, stepping onto the stage was an attractive woman around thirty years old, holding a baby in her arms.

The infant was a girl, about seven or eight months old, crying incessantly in her arms while the woman clumsily tried to soothe her.

Seeing this scene, Luo Sinian frowned, inwardly puzzled.

“Madam, what troubles you? Where do you feel discomfort?”

The lovely woman lifted her head, tears streaming down even more freely. “Honorable officials, esteemed miracle physicians, it is not this humble woman’s body that has issues, but my daughter. Since birth, her appearance has been abnormal; her facial features differ greatly from other infants. We sought physicians everywhere yet found no cure. My mother-in-law even went to the mountains to find a Taoist priest, who said my child is an ominous person and must be swiftly killed to avoid bringing calamity upon our entire family.”

“But this is flesh from my body after ten months of pregnancy! I cannot bear to kill my child, nor do I believe my own child is an ominous person. Now, I have been cast out by my husband’s family. I beg all miracle physicians to help my daughter. I truly do not know what else to do.”

As the lovely woman finished her tearful account, Ji Yuntang also clearly saw the baby’s face.

Unlike normal children, there was a gap about the size of a fingernail on her upper lip, with the root of the gums exposed, looking quite alarming.

Seeing this, Luo Jingshen’s deep eyes flashed with confusion.

How did he recall that the patient arranged for the second round was a sixty-year-old man, deaf from birth?

Why had it now become a baby?

Unlike Luo Jingshen’s bewilderment, the expressions on the common people’s faces were as if they’d seen a ghost—varied and vivid.

“Why does this child look like this? Her face is so terrifying. No wonder the husband’s family couldn’t accept her. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t want her either.”

“Daughters are a financial burden; a daughter who looks like this is even worse. Even if you raise her, with such appearance she won’t be able to marry later. You might as well drown her in the river!”

“Indeed, what’s there to treat about this? Perhaps this child truly is an ominous person as the Taoist priest said? As a mother, you cannot gamble your entire family’s fate on a mere months-old child!”

…

The cacophony of voices pierced the woman’s ears like thorns, causing her unbearable pain and deepening her sorrow.

Indeed, wherever she went with such a child, she would not be welcomed.

In this era, a child’s gender and facial features determined everything from birth.

If a male child was born with good looks, he became the treasure of the entire family.

If a female child was born with facial defects, not only the child but even the mother would be despised by the husband’s family.

Simply put, backward medical standards were one aspect; people’s mindset of favoring sons over daughters was another.

Ji Yuntang sighed. She deeply understood this woman’s current feelings, after all she herself was also someone with facial defects and had lived through years amidst gossip and slander.

Because of this face, she had been beaten and scolded by her adoptive parents, looked down upon by her birth parents.

Luo Jingshen sipped tea, his gaze sweeping over the physicians below as he asked, “Who among you can cure this baby girl’s face?”

Without needing to think, he knew the second patient must have been replaced at the last minute by Luo Feizhou.

But for Luo Jingshen, this posed no threat.

The more difficult the patient Luo Feizhou brought forward, the greater the challenge for Ji Yuntang, indirectly aiding Luo Jingshen significantly.

Luo Jingshen didn't believe that a girl with such a face could still be cured by her?

The elderly physicians present looked at each other, ultimately shaking their heads in helplessness.

It wasn’t that they didn't want to treat her, but they simply didn't know how.

Such a condition was unheard of, unseen before.

The girl was too young; even if they luckily thought of a way to graft flesh onto her face, it would almost certainly leave scars and disfigure her later.

Rather than that, it was better not to treat her at all.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highnesses Prince Qi and Prince Chen, we beg your pardon, but our medical skills are too shallow; we are powerless against this baby girl’s condition.”

After all the senior physicians declared their stance in unison, they noticed Ji Yuntang sitting in her seat without speaking, lost in thought.

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