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

Chapter 111: Can't Afford to Gamble

"What a fine family, the Wu!"

Chunquan read the family letter again and was so angry that he almost slammed his fist on the table.

"Chunquan, what did Nuannuan write?"

Chunhua was very worried about Chunyu: "Did you say that the person you saw was Wu Yuanping? What exactly did the Wu family do? Are they implicated by our Xiao family? Where is my eldest sister now? By the way, when we left, my eldest sister was pregnant. Has the baby been born? Is it a boy or a girl?"

“Brother, you’re just worrying too much. Didn’t Nuan Nuan write to say last year that our eldest sister gave birth to a daughter named Panpan, hoping for our whole family to be reunited?”

"Oh, right, that's right, we did talk about it. Look at me, I'd completely forgotten."

Chunhua slapped her forehead: "Your eldest sister-in-law is two months younger than my eldest sister. By that calculation, my son should already be a month old."

Looking up at the sky, I thought, "This damned northern desert, when will I be able to return to the capital? No, when will I be able to return to Shu to see my wife and hold my child?"

He was initially sentenced to twenty years of exile in the northern desert.

Looking at her father and his two brothers, and then at Chunquan and Chunqing, Chunhua felt a lump in her throat.

The pillars of the Xiao family are all here. How will Grandmother and the other women and children survive in Sichuan?

Looking at the supplies brought by Chunnuan, Chunhua sighed again: "Fortunately, my great-grandfather and grandfather had connections with the clan in Sichuan. They spent a lot of money every year for so many years. My grandfather was right: that is where the Xiao family's roots are."

Otherwise, even if Grandmother led a group of women and children back, they wouldn't be able to survive.

At this time, we relied entirely on the help of our clan.

"Yes, my eldest sister gave birth to a daughter named Panpan."

“But it doesn’t taste good if you add a surname, Wu Panpan, no Panpan.” Chunhua muttered to herself.

"The child born to the eldest sister does not have the surname Wu, but the surname Xiao."

When Chun Quan uttered those words, Chun Hua, who prided herself on her intelligence, was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

It's only natural for a child to take the father's surname after birth. You can't say that because it's a daughter, she can't be given the surname Wu and has to be given the surname Xiao instead, right?

Although the Xiao family has declined, they still have several sons, ensuring the continuation of their bloodline.

"When the Xiao family saw that the Wu family had fallen into ruin, they became very ruthless towards the eldest sister. After giving birth to Panpan, the eldest sister's health was damaged, and the Wu family wanted to take her as a concubine on the grounds that she could no longer work. The eldest sister objected..."

"Then they divorced, and the child stayed with the eldest sister, so the surname is Xiao?"

Chunhua then realized what was happening and quickly tried to fill in the gaps in her memory.

Chun Quan... guessed the beginning correctly but not the ending.

But it doesn't matter, the result is that the child's surname is Xiao, and there was no precedent for the eldest sister being exiled this time.

No, this exile was entirely due to my elder sister's abilities.

The thought that his frail older sister had actually rolled over a bed of nails made Chunquan's blood freeze.

"That Wu family is shameless; they deserve to be exiled." Chunhua gritted her teeth. "I will definitely avenge this!"

Chunquan looked at his elder brother and asked, "What should I say?"

The idea is good, but reality is cruel. How can one seek revenge on the Wu family when one can barely protect their own family?

You must understand that this is the workplace of exiled personnel. The mines are guarded and supervised by a large number of soldiers. Even slacking off could result in being whipped, let alone trying to provoke the Wu family.

“Elder brother, this matter should be discussed carefully.” Chunquan said, “The Wu family has appeared in the northern desert. Uncle, Father, and Third Uncle all know them. We should tell them that Elder Sister has no connection with the Wu family, so as not to be used by them. Moreover, Elder Sister has a conflict with the Wu family, so we should try to avoid them as much as possible.”

“They all work in the same mine, so there’s not much chance of them avoiding each other,” Chunhua said. “My eldest sister is the eldest granddaughter of the Xiao family and is their most beloved daughter. Not only my father, but also my second and third uncles dote on her. If they know that the Wu family bullied my eldest sister, they will definitely not let them get away with it!”

Chun Quan was very tired.

I've already said, this isn't about revenge. Acting rashly won't get anything done.

Moreover, it's not worth risking your happiness or even your life for these scumbags.

That night, Chunquan told the story of how his eldest sister had been bullied by the Wu family and how the Wu family had come to the northern desert. Sure enough, all three brothers slammed their fists on the table and stood up.

"What a Wu family! I never liked them in the first place, and your grandfather didn't like them either. Your eldest sister was deceived and it's good that they got divorced. Such scoundrels don't deserve to have a wife."

“It’s good that you’re divorced. Otherwise, Chunyu would have come to the Northern Desert with you, and that would have been a real ordeal,” Xiao Changqing said. “We gave Chunyu a good dowry back then, and with the income from the dowry shop, Chunyu and her daughter should be able to live a good life.”

“Yes, Chunyu usually seems like a gentle and kind girl, but she can’t tolerate any injustice. What a piece of trash! He can’t even have a son, so he wants to take a concubine. Who does he think the Wu family is? Does he think he has a throne to inherit?” Xiao Changhai’s words were even more direct.

"Don't speak recklessly." Xiao Changping quickly stopped the third brother: "If you speak without thinking, you won't even know how you'll get into trouble."

They really do speak without restraint.

The main problem is that the person who truly has the throne to inherit is lacking a son; he only has one eldest prince, who is constantly ill.

I imagine that person couldn't even sleep soundly, probably thinking that his empire would be inherited by his clan.

Then he thought about how his grandfather had always taken care of the eldest prince.

Now that his grandfather has been beheaded by his own order, I wonder if the eldest prince's illness has improved, and if anyone is still treating him with such dedication.
In the imperial palace of the capital, the Empress Dowager and the Empress were so anxious that tears streamed down their faces.

"Has it been so long and not a single doctor has come forward to answer the call for help? Isn't the Great Xia supposed to be full of talented people and rich in resources? How come they can't even cure a child's illness?"

The empress cried as she reprimanded the others.

The Empress Dowager was also wiping away tears.

"Where did the Xiao family go?"

The Empress Dowager suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, I remember that Physician Xiao has a granddaughter who is very accomplished in medicine, and Physician Xiao has praised her many times."

"Mother, what do you mean?"

The Empress's eyes lit up: "Yes, Physician Xiao is gone, but he still has an apprentice."

Upon inquiry, it was discovered that Physician Xiao had not taken on any apprentices, and even his own son and grandson knew nothing about medicinal herbs and pathology.

When the palace servants came to report, the Empress was very disappointed.

As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment; Physician Xiao actually didn't take on any apprentices.

"Someone, summon Xiao Chunyu to the palace and tell her to bring that little girl with her. I like that child."

The Empress Dowager suddenly issued an imperial edict.

Immediately, a maidservant went out to fetch them.

"The Empress Dowager requests that I bring Panpan into the palace?"

Upon hearing this news, Xiao Chunyu recalled Nuannuan's letter.

pill!

Could it be that an opportunity has truly arrived for the Xiao family?

However, Chunyu quickly calmed down.

This is something we can't accept!

It was obvious that my grandfather was framed that day; in other words, the Crown Prince's illness and every move in the harem were all under that person's watchful eye.

If the pills were taken out at this moment, it would bring utter disaster to the Xiao family.

Yes, the enemy is in the shadows while we are in the open. What she wants is the Crown Prince's life. If she acts rashly, the entire Xiao family will be buried with him. She can't afford to gamble on this!
(End of this chapter)