After each of the kids had run off with a handful of sesame candy, Yang Ruxin stroked her chin, her face full of interest. Yang Baihe, who had been cooped up at home for several days, suddenly took a carriage ride. Without asking, it was obvious—she must have gone to have her tooth fixed.
"Can medical skills nowadays fix teeth?" Yang Ruxin turned to look at Gu Qingheng. Yang Baihe definitely wouldn’t be willing to live with half a tooth missing.
"I’ve never seen teeth being fixed, but..." Gu Qingheng smiled, "some doctors can replace teeth. Doctor Wang from town can do it."
"Replace teeth?" Yang Ruxin frowned—medical care in that era was considered quite advanced. "What do they use for the replacement?"
"Dog teeth."
"Cough cough..." Yang Ruxin choked on her saliva, "Dog teeth?"
"It can also be teeth from other animals." Gu Qingheng accurately patted Yang Ruxin on the back. "Of course, if the person can accept it, there are also human teeth available."
"Human teeth?" Yang Ruxin’s eyes widened, "Could it be..."
"Exactly what you’re thinking, teeth from dead people." Gu Qingheng nodded, "But the source of that is somewhat secretive; few regular medical facilities will have it, and those with roundabout ways won’t be blatant about it. You need someone to refer you."
"Ugh!" The thought of having a dead person’s tooth in her mouth made Yang Ruxin retch, "If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to eat."
In those times, respecting the dead was paramount; there was no such thing as donating bodies to science. To take something from a corpse, one would have to resort to tomb raiding or theft.
"I thought you were afraid of nothing." Gu Yao walked in, having come to call his brother back for a meal, and had overheard the conversation. He teased with a snicker.
"This has nothing to do with being brave." Yang Ruxin gave Gu Yao a glance, "Being unafraid of the dead doesn’t mean being unafraid of being disgusted." An idea suddenly struck her, "Isn’t there any chance they could use metal for the teeth?"
"Yes," Gu Qingheng nodded, "they can use gold. However, that’s usually an option chosen by wealthy families. You think your aunt..."
Yang Ruxin nodded, "It seems my grandparents do truly love my aunt." Even if it wasn’t a gold tooth, the cost of a dog tooth would still be several taels of silver. For a peasant family like the Yangs, that was a considerable sum. Suddenly slapping his thigh, he said, "Oh, what a fool I am. I should find Qian Er and the others to keep an eye on Yang Baihe and see what kind of tooth she gets..." He turned to run off.
"You plan on running your legs off? Besides, since you’re going to leave them hanging, you might as well leave them for a few more days. It will be a good test of their mettle," Gu Qingheng grabbed Yang Ruxin’s wrist, "If you want to know what kind of tooth she gets, isn’t it simple? Gu Yao."
Gu Yao nodded, "I’ll go right away." Then he turned and left.
"Didn’t I think it was overkill to have Gu Yao deal with such a trivial matter?" Yang Ruxin touched her nose. With Gu Yao on the case, the truth would undoubtedly be uncovered.
"There are no trivial matters when it comes to you," Gu Qingheng did not let go. Instead, he played with her fingers—her hands were a little plumper, which made them feel better than before, but they were still too thin.
"Gu Qingheng, aren’t you afraid I’ll fall for you if you’re this nice to me?" Yang Ruxin sighed softly all of a sudden.
"Will you?" Gu Qingheng looked up, as if he could see right into her eyes.