The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 102

Has anyone proposed to Zhao Minghua recently?

Wen thought of an important question: why was he avoiding her like this? Could it be that he had already arranged a daughter-in-law?

"Never heard of it." Wu Ma was also well-informed: "But Young Master Zhao often goes to the Xiao family."

"The Xiao family?"

"It's the Xiao family from the capital whose property was confiscated; the Xiao family that now lives in Shuikou Village."

"Her home?" Mrs. Wen seemed to understand a little. So that's how it is!

"Let's go home first."

If I'm not mistaken, the Zhao family has their eye on Xiao Chunnuan.

"What did you say?"

The clan chief was taken aback: "The Zhao family wants to form a marriage alliance with the eldest branch of the family?"

“It’s entirely possible, Father. Think about it. The Zhao family is in the medicinal herb business, and the eldest branch of the family’s ancestors were imperial physicians. There’s no doubt that the Zhao family has benefited greatly.”

"The eldest son returned to Shu in tattered clothes, having pawned his few good pieces of clothing, and now he's spent so much money renovating this grand mansion..."

The clan chief stroked his beard and thought for a moment: "Send someone to inquire where the money for that mansion came from."

Soon someone replied: It was a young lady from the capital who brought it back.

It was understandable that Xiao Chunyu from the capital sent money back, since the Wu family she married into held official positions, and it was normal for her to send money back to Sichuan.

However, soon, Chief Xiao received astonishing news: Xiao Chunyu had been divorced in the capital, and she had filed a lawsuit with the emperor. Then the empress and empress dowager bestowed silver and estates upon her.

"Do you think the news from the capital has reached the ears of the eldest son's family?"

Chief Xiao squinted and slowly asked Xiao Changfa.

"It shouldn't be," Xiao Changfa said. "If it had reached their ears, why would they have made such a big fuss about it being the young lady who sent back the silver?"

"And another thing, families like this are the most concerned about their reputation. If they found out that their daughter had been divorced, they would probably send her to the family temple."

“Yes, the fact that the Xiao family’s daughter was divorced is truly a disgrace to everyone.” Xiao Changfa said meaningfully, “Such a big matter, we still need to remind them.”

The clan chief remained silent at this point.

"Father……"

"When will you ever mature a little?" Clan Chief Xiao was utterly exasperated with his son: "You only saw that Xiao Chunyu was divorced, but didn't you see that she filed a lawsuit with the emperor, and the Wu family was wiped out?"

So what does it matter?
"Who says women are inferior to men? On this point, I wholeheartedly support Xiao Chunyu's actions," said the Xiao clan chief. "The Xiao family's reputation cannot be trampled on. Since the Wu family wronged her, it's normal for her to retaliate."

"Yes, Dad."

And then, what other problems arise?
"The news says she filed a complaint with the emperor, and the Wu family was imprisoned, some executed, others exiled. In other words, she had a specific target in mind." Clan Chief Xiao slightly opened his eyes and looked ahead. "Most importantly, both the Empress and the Empress Dowager rewarded her. What does that mean?"

Xiao Changfa was confused by Laozi's question.

If you're going to tip, fine, but what's the real reason behind it?
"Your brain isn't working properly." She said with disdain, again showing her disdain for him being her own son: "This shows that Physician Xiao is a good person in the eyes of the Empress and the Empress Dowager, and that the Empress and the Empress Dowager are sentimental, which is why they take care of his descendants."

And then what?

Xiao Changfa dared not ask a question, only inquiring with his eyes. "This shows that the Xiao family has a real chance of rising again. Once their next generation has the ability, with the help of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, they can rise up and even return to the capital."

“That depends on whether they are destined to return from the northern desert to reunite with their families. The people here are destined to wait for their families to be reunited.” Xiao Changfa’s eyes narrowed.

"You, why do you make decisions so easily? You always act without thinking ahead..."

I feel mentally exhausted once again.

He advised his son to think things through before acting, and not to act impulsively or just because he felt like it, because some things he did would lead to regret.

Just like how he didn't want to exterminate his clan at first, but his will wasn't firm and he compromised.

Now that they've discovered the potential for the eldest son's family to rise to prominence, they deeply regret it.

Xiao Changfa's intention was actually to cause them some more trouble.

This was something that Chief Xiao considered impossible.

Clan Chief Xiao never expected that Xiao Changfa would actually cause trouble.

The person who sent it was Mrs. Xiao, née Wen.

Xiao Muyang turned one year old, and the Xiao family house in Shuikou Village was very lively.

Aunt Luo and Mr. Zhang arrived early, followed by Mrs. Zhao, who came with her son Zhao Minghua.

"Mrs. Zhao, please have a seat. We live in the countryside..."

"Don't say that, Madam. Your house is very well renovated and beautiful. Especially the stones on the ground, they've been laid out so neatly and cleanly."

"This was Nuannuan's idea. Nuannuan said that laying a layer of stones would prevent the ground from becoming slippery when wet." Mrs. Xu praised her niece: "Our Nuannuan works the hardest, she's always busy without a break."

"Yes, Miss Xiao is a capable young lady." Mrs. Zhao thought that since the matter had been brought up so much, it would be a waste not to say a few more words: "I wonder if Miss Xiao is betrothed?"

“Our Nuannuan is not yet betrothed.” Having been the matriarch of the household for many years, Madam Xu naturally saw through Mrs. Zhao’s plan at a glance: “Because our Xiao family is still in mourning, we will find a good marriage for our Nuannuan after the mourning period is over.”

The old lady was often worried about the warmth of spring, and from time to time she would count on her fingers which families in the capital had sons who were suitable for the warmth of spring.

"I wonder what kind of family Miss Xiao is looking for?" As expected, there's no engagement. That's good. My brat has a chance now.

“My mother-in-law said that we don’t have much of a family fortune and we don’t care about the family background of our son-in-law, but there is one thing we must make clear: he must treat our daughter well, he must not let her suffer any grievances, and he must not restrict her.”

The old lady knew that Chunnuan had been processing medicinal herbs and sometimes secretly making pills. She had learned about 70-80% of the old man's skills. If Chunnuan, with such abilities, were to marry into a conservative family that never left the house and wouldn't allow her to work with medicinal herbs, the old lady would be quite unhappy.

"Yes, yes, yes, a girl as good as Miss Xiao really shouldn't be kept too restrained." Mrs. Zhao exclaimed excitedly, "Madam, what do you think of our Minghua?"

"Minghua?"

The First Madam didn't immediately recognize who Minghua was.

"That's my third son, the one who's having a great time talking to Chun Ning."

"You mean Young Master Zhao?" Only then did Madam Xu realize that Mrs. Zhao meant that she had taken a liking to Chunnuan and wanted to marry her as her daughter-in-law.

I only knew him as Young Master Zhao, but I didn't know his real name.

"Yes, I want to marry her. Don't worry, I won't restrict her. Besides, we have a lot of medicinal herbs that she can use to prepare. We support her."

That's a pretty good attitude!
(End of this chapter)