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

The Xia family received a reward from the palace.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your generous gift." Madam Xia quickly handed over a light purse: "Please sit down, sir, and have a cup of tea."

"No, I have to go back and report. Congratulations again to the old lady."

"Thank you, father-in-law."

After seeing the eunuch off, Madam Xia looked at the generous reward and knew that it wasn't just the Empress's doing, but also likely the Crown Prince's.

This profound affection is largely due to Panpan.

"Pick out the gifts that Panpan likes, and send the rest to Madam's courtyard for her to arrange."

"Yes, old lady."

Granny Su immediately instructed the wet nurse who served Panpan to make a selection.

Actually, there's not much need to be picky.

Judging from the brightly colored fabric, it must be for Miss Panpan. The gold and silver jewelry is also for the young lady. Only the gold necklace, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone are for the young master.

Hmm, Your Highness really knows how to give gifts. She gave a child who was only one day old a writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone. Is she trying to make the Xia family abandon martial arts and pursue literature?
After giving birth, Xiao Chunyu ate something and then fell asleep.

She was exhausted after giving birth, and slept very soundly.

As soon as she woke up from her sleep, Granny Zhou made her drink her medicine.

"This medicine was specially prepared by the master for the mistress. After childbirth, she needs to dispel the cold first, and then eat nourishing foods," said Granny Zhou. "The mistress had Mo Lan fetch out some spare pills beforehand..."

"Put the useless pills back. They're very precious, don't waste them." Xiao Chunyu stretched her limbs. Thankfully, this delivery was completely different from the last one.

When I woke up after giving birth to Panpan, I felt like a broken doll, as if it might fall apart at any moment, and I was in pain all over.

This time, apart from the pain in my lower body, everything else was fine, and I even had a good appetite and wanted to eat.

So the medicine that the nanny brought was completely unnecessary.

However, one should only listen to half of what others say, especially what a doctor says, so Xiao Chunyu picked up the bowl, closed her eyes, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Miss no longer needs candied fruit when taking her medicine."

Granny Zhou accidentally let slip that she was even calling her "Miss".

"Hehe, now that I'm a mother of two, I understand the saying 'Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease, and honest advice is hard to hear but beneficial for conduct.'" Xiao Chunyu said, "What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"

"Madam, the Empress's gifts have arrived. The Old Madam asked us to select some that Miss Panpan might need, and the rest have been sent to the courtyard."

Mo Lan immediately had her servants bring in the gifts for Xiao Chunyu to see.

"so much?"

"Yes, Her Majesty the Empress will reward you handsomely."

The servants were overjoyed that their master was favored by a nobleman in the palace.

"I really don't deserve it."

How could someone as clever as Xiao Chunyu not know that this was a debt of gratitude earned by Panpan?

It must be said that the Empress truly favored her.

When Panpan returned to the manor, she told him that she had seen two beautiful older sisters in the palace that day, and one of them had even helped her up... Xiao Chunyu's eyes went black upon hearing this: This child was unknowingly making decisions for the eldest prince again.

Xiao Chunyu looked at Panpan meaningfully.

"I'm so sleepy, Mommy, Panpan wants to go to sleep."

"Okay, go to sleep."

"Mommy, Panpan wants to sleep with you and my little brother, is that okay?"

"Okay, come on."

Xiao Chunyu was worried about accidentally crushing the baby, so she signaled to the wet nurse to take the baby away when Panpan fell asleep.

When Xia Guangcheng returned to the inner room after finishing his official business, he found that there was no place for him on the bed.

"Husband, are you going to sleep here?"

"Otherwise, where will I sleep?"

Xia Guangcheng asked in surprise.

"This……"

This was something Xiao Chunyu hadn't expected.

Generally, men will not go to a woman's bed when she is menstruating, as it is considered unlucky and should be avoided.

Not to mention the children.

She remembered that when Panpan was born, the man surnamed Wu never even stepped into the inner room.

He went into her courtyard early in the morning just to get a proper status for that girl who climbed into his bed.

Therefore, men and women are different.

How can life be the same no matter who you live with?

"Panpan just got a little brother today and wants to sleep with him, so I..."

"I understand how she feels. Let her sleep with you."

Xia Guangcheng glanced at the bed next to him, which was used by the maids to take naps while they were serving. However, since neither he nor his wife liked anyone to serve them closely, no maid had ever spent the night on it.

"Fine, I'll just make do here for the night."

"My lord, that bed is a little too small."

Xiao Chunyu grew anxious: "How about you sleep in the study for the night, even if it's inconvenient?"

"No need, I'm right here."

Xia Guangcheng told Xiao Chunyu that there was no reason for the couple to sleep in separate rooms.

Indeed, ever since they got married, he would always come back to the inner courtyard to rest, and never stayed overnight in the study.

This man, sometimes, still has the mentality of a child; he really can't listen to any advice.

Is it alright for a grown man, standing seven feet tall, to be huddled up on this tiny bed?
Xia Guangcheng actually spent the night on the bed, and then got up to attend the morning court session at the appointed time.

In the imperial court, the emperor announced the selection of candidates for the imperial concubines.

All eligible women who were officials of the fourth rank or above were eligible to participate in this selection process.

Everyone knew that this selection of a consort was to choose a crown prince's consort, which excited the court officials who had such ideas.

Lord Zhang gave Grand Tutor Jiang a meaningful look.

That old man is really lucky; he managed to beat him to it.

Yes, Zhang Wenxian returned to the mansion and said that she had not seen the Empress.

Upon asking, he learned that Jiang Siya had been pulled away by a little girl and had even played and dined with her. Lord Zhang's eyes went black, and he thought to himself, "That's it."

After planning for so long, I never expected a little girl to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

He had planned everything meticulously, but he overlooked one thing: he forgot the role of that little girl named Panpan in the harem.

Therefore, no instructions were given to Zhang Wenxian.

The Zhang family has a daughter who is a year younger than the Crown Prince... no, she's a year younger than the eldest prince back then, and Lord Zhang has already begun to plot against her.

They hired the best governesses and the best female tutors to teach her.

From a young age, she followed the rules and etiquette of the palace, learning everything and forcibly cultivating a reputation for being both talented and beautiful.

Yes, looking around, there really isn't a single noblewoman in the capital as beautiful as Zhang Wenxian.

In his early years, the eldest prince suffered from many bruises and sprains. Lord Zhang prayed to the Bodhisattva that the eldest prince would grow up healthy and at least marry a princess and have a grandson.

Strictly speaking, the fact that the eldest prince's health has improved and he is able to choose a crown princess is also largely due to his efforts.

Because he knew clearly that the emperor had only had this one legitimate son in the empress's palace for many years, and only this one prince.

If it fails, then Zhang Wenxian will be completely useless as a chess piece.

They spent huge sums of money and put all their efforts into supporting him, just to win him over in the draft.

Who knew that Xiaoxian and the Jiang family girl were summoned to the harem at the same time yesterday, and before she could even react, the opportunity was gone.

The imperial selection he mentioned today is actually just a smokescreen, or rather, he might also select two concubines for the crown prince.

Well, the position of Crown Princess is gone, but Xiao Xian will definitely get one as the Crown Prince's concubine. Yes, regardless of whether it's the primary wife or the concubine, the most important thing is to give birth to a grandson first.

Therefore, he did not mind Xiaoxian entering the East Palace as a concubine.

Thinking about it this way made me feel much better.

After the court session ended, Xia Guangcheng was about to turn around when Grand Tutor Jiang called him back.

"General Xia, congratulations on the birth of your son and becoming a father."

"Thank you very much, Grand Tutor."

Xia Guangcheng himself was curious, as he didn't have much of a relationship with this Grand Tutor.

Why are they rushing to congratulate me now?
"Thank you, Grand Tutor."

To Xia Guangcheng's surprise, following the Grand Tutor, a continuous stream of court officials came to congratulate him on becoming a father.

Some even flattered him, saying that the next generation of General Xia had been born, which was cause for celebration.

Xia Guangcheng could only awkwardly respond to everyone's enthusiasm.

As a military general, he was really not used to fighting tai chi with these refined old men; he wasn't good at dealing with such situations.

More suited to speaking frankly and directly.

However, these people seemed to be only there to congratulate him today, and had nothing to say about it.

After dealing with everyone, Xia Guangcheng headed home.

I was puzzled the whole way. What's wrong with these people?

Back at the mansion, Xia Guangcheng saw Panpan and his elderly mother watching the maids play shuttlecock, and Panpan was also learning to play.

"Come, let this old woman give it a try too."

"Mother, please don't kick it."

Xia Guangcheng was really afraid that she might accidentally strain her back, and it would be really embarrassing if word got out: "The old lady of the General's Mansion strained her back while playing shuttlecock!" That would definitely become a laughing stock in the capital and a topic of conversation among them.

"Granny Su, look, Cheng'er has stopped me."

The old lady laughed and said, "Does he think I'm too old and can't keep up?"

“General, you didn’t see how capable the old lady was,” said Granny Su. “Normally, it’s not advisable for someone of her age to make such strenuous movements, but that’s someone else’s elderly person. Our old lady is…”

"Granny Su, without further ado, let them see my special skill."

The old lady proved with her actions that she was capable.

"Wow, Grandma is amazing."

"Grandma kicked it so high!"

"Grandma, I declare that you play better than anyone else, you're amazing, Grandma."

When the old lady came on the field, she not only kicked the ball, but she also kicked it with flair, reaching heights that none of the maids could match.

Panpan cheered and clapped her hands with joy.

Xia Guangcheng felt somewhat unfamiliar with his mother.

Yes, from childhood to adulthood, my mother has always been strict with herself.

The man walked like the wind, stood like a pine tree, sat like a bell, and lay like a bow; every move he made had to be in accordance with her requirements.

Who would have thought that a strict mother would be so crazy: at her advanced age, she still plays shuttlecock and plays it so skillfully, which shows that she does this kind of exercise a lot.

After kicking dozens of times, Madam Xia finally stopped to rest.

"Madam, please rest."

Granny Su admired her greatly.

Honestly, she doesn't have that ability herself.

She was half a year younger than the old lady, but she was very stiff and dared not do these movements at all.

Back in the day, when she was fourteen or fifteen, she was also a skilled shuttlecock player.

As I got older, I stopped playing shuttlecock altogether.

"Granny Su, we still have to admit we're getting old. Look, how many kicks could I have back then?"

"Reporting to Madam, back in the day you could kick up three hundred men without stopping for a moment."

"Yes, there were three hundred back then, so are there thirty-six today?"

"Yes, madam, thirty-six. You're amazing."

The little girl's eyes are like stars; don't you think this old lady is adorable?

"I was already feeling tired after only thirty-six, and I had to admit defeat."

"Madam, you are already very good. This old servant can't even kick one ball." Granny Su felt that if she were to go on the field, she might really break her old back. "Madam, you were also a good player of Cuju when you were young."

"Hehe, now that you mention it, it reminds me of the days when I worked with the old general."

The old lady's smile grew even brighter.

"Mother, how do you coordinate with Father?"

Xia Guangcheng said there were more stories like this, and he wanted to hear them.

“Back then, your father played a match with General Hu and the others. Your father knew that I could play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) and that I was quite good at it, so he had me dress up as a man and play on the field. We had a great understanding of each other. It’s no exaggeration to say that we could understand each other’s intentions with just a glance.”

"So, you won in the end?"

"That's right, we beat them 6-2. And that was only because their goalkeeper was really good and made a few saves; otherwise, we would have beaten them 12 times."

Recalling those days, Madam Xia was filled with sweetness and happiness.

To be honest, after Madam Xia recalled it, Xia Guangcheng felt envious.

Marrying a wife like that would naturally add more fun to life.

Of course, he also had a lot of fun marrying Xiao Chunyu.

They would take a walk together after dinner, chat about matters of the court, gossip about everyday life, and dream about the future.

"Mother, you and Panpan rest well. I'm going to the inner courtyard to check on the children."

"go Go."

She pretends to be looking after the child; she's really looking after the child's mother.

This son is also bad with words; he doesn't know how to say anything to make his wife happy.

She's not even as good as that little girl, Panpan.

When Madam Xia looked at Panpan, she suddenly remembered the things she had opposed back then.

They even sent someone to the neighboring village to warn Xiao Chunyu.

Later... well, after my son told me about his unspeakable difficulties, I agreed to the marriage.

As it turned out, she made the right move.

Otherwise, where would we get such a smart and well-behaved granddaughter as Panpan, and such a chubby grandson?

The thought of having a grandson and a granddaughter brought a smile to Old Madam Xia's face, making her wrinkles appear on her face.

When Xia Guangcheng was in the inner courtyard, Xiao Chunyu was having Granny Zhou help her express milk.

Yes, she felt her breasts were very engorged today.

I originally wanted to hold my son and let him nurse a little, but the little guy fell asleep again.

The swelling was so painful that Granny Zhou suggested that the fluid be squeezed out.

The master and servant were so busy that they were covered in sweat and didn't even notice Xia Guangcheng coming in.

His face turned red upon seeing this scene.

"cough……"

Xia Guangcheng had no choice but to cough lightly.

"The general is back." Upon seeing this, Granny Zhou quickly retreated. As she reached the doorway, she suddenly said to Xiao Chunyu, "Madam, actually, it would be fine to have the general suck it out for you. It wouldn't hurt as much."

Huh? (End of Chapter)