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

Chapter 58 sent the entire Wu family to prison.

The guest departs, and the host rests in peace.

After the guests left, Mrs. Xu took the lead in clearing away and washing the dishes.

Her movements were swift and skillful, showing no trace of the awkwardness and timidity she had when she first arrived in Sichuan.

People are often driven to their limits. Her daughters-in-law were all daughters of wealthy and powerful families, and they had never suffered such hardship before. From playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, composing poems, to rolling up their sleeves to do laundry, cook, and prepare soup, they even had to personally wash their eldest grandson's diapers...

The old lady felt both heartbroken and gratified watching this scene.

The wet nurse, Wu, was also efficient at her work.

how to say?

She was truly a wonderful woman. Not only did she breastfeed Mu Yang, but she also insisted on doing the laundry and cooking, practically doing the work of two people. And she had such a kind nature. Chun Nuan sometimes wondered: how could such a good woman not have a good husband?
The banquet in the courtyard marked the official settlement of the elderly ladies.

"It's so much better here than in the village." Chunyan and Chunshu were overjoyed to be assigned to a room: "There aren't so many mosquitoes, and we're no longer afraid of getting wet in the rain."

Chunnuan looked at the two little girls, who were already tanned dark by the sun, and shook her head with a wry smile. Yes, at a certain point in life, being able to eat and drink to one's heart's content without being bitten by mosquitoes or getting wet in the rain is happiness.

The whole family felt like they finally had a home.

"We've managed to live like this all thanks to Nuannuan." The old lady pulled Chunnuan down to sit: "You've been so busy these past few days."

"Grandmother, your granddaughter is alright."

"What did Miss Qiu write?"

"I haven't had a chance to read it yet." Chunnuan became more cautious: "My granddaughter left the letter in the room, I'll go check it now."

"Go ahead, it's good for you to rest for a while."

In fact, the old lady, like Madam Xu, wanted to know some news about Chunyu.

Chunnuan also wanted to know about her elder sister's situation, but she was also a little worried that something might have happened to her. There hadn't been any letters from home, which was unusual.

So, even though she had the letter in her bosom, she didn't take it out; she had to read it alone.

The letter was thick, with several pages.

I saw familiar handwriting on the first page; it was my eldest sister's.

The eldest sister wrote that she was doing well, and her child was very well-behaved, named Panpan, and she was looking forward to the family reunion in the capital. Chunyu also asked if the messenger was reliable and if he could send some things to her grandmother and the others.

After reading Chunyu's letter, Chunnuan's already anxious heart became even more anxious!
This is typical of my eldest sister; she only shares good news and never bad news. She's always been such a gentle and kind person.

Then look at Qiuyan's entry. She also wrote that they were very good friends. She described what she did with her elder sister and Panpan, and wrote in great detail how well-behaved Panpan was, how she could blow bubbles, and how her eyes were as bright as grapes...

Chunnuan realized: her eldest sister was no good, not good at all!
When spring warmed up, she took the envelope out again and, sure enough, there was a piece of cut rice paper stuck to it, with a few words written in very fine small characters.

“Nuan Nuan, I really can’t stand it anymore. Sister Chunyu told me not to say anything, but I have to tell you. Sister Chunyu is such a good person, and that bastard actually divorced her. Sister Chunyu is very capable. In order not to bring shame to the Xiao family and to ensure that she and her mother could survive, she was not afraid even after receiving the divorce papers. She directly beat the Dengwen Drum and sent the Wu family to prison. In the end, the Empress Dowager and the Empress rewarded Sister Chunyu with a thousand taels of silver and a hundred-acre estate.”

He was divorced and filed a complaint with the emperor!

Spring warmth startled me so much that I stood up!

Chunnuan read those two short sentences five more times.

After confirming, he slumped onto the stool: The Wu family, how dare the Wu family!
How much injustice must my elder sister have suffered?
One more thing: What gave the eldest sister the right to tear apart the Wu family?

Moreover, she directly appealed to the emperor. Beating the drum to appeal is not an easy thing. It requires rolling on a board full of sharp nails. My elder sister's delicate body must have been covered in sharp nails. The nails pierced her skin, which must have caused her to be covered in blood and flesh and suffer unbearable pain. How did she endure it?

Thinking of all this, Chunnuan's eyes welled up with tears.

Qiu Yan wrote that the entire Wu family had been imprisoned, and that the Empress Dowager and the Empress had rewarded her elder sister, giving her a place to stay. Judging from the letter, she is currently safe.

However, Chunnuan knew that her elder sister had single-handedly sent the Wu family to prison, which would bring her an even greater storm. People would not sympathize with the hardships she had endured; instead, they would think she was cunning and scheming.

In the capital, she could be drowned in gossip!

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager and the Empress bestowed gifts upon her and her daughter, ensuring their survival.

Chunnuan thought about many things until Chunqiang came to knock on the door.

"Sister, sister, Qiangqiang wants to eat cake. Qiangqiang's teeth are itchy and his mouth is watering."

Chunqiang learned a lot of the local dialect from the village children, such as how wanting to eat means having itchy teeth.

"Okay, I'll make you some cakes."

The Eight Treasures Cake she made with Chinese medicinal herbs was intended for Zhao Minghua's teahouse. Today, she specially brought it out to entertain guests, and the response was very good. Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Zhang, and Aunt Luo all said it was delicious.

There wasn't enough food prepared for the guests, so Chunqiang didn't get enough to eat. His teeth were really itchy, so he came to find his older sister.

Chun Nuan then realized that she had been inside for some time and her grandmother and the others must be getting impatient.

He took Chunyu's letter intending to show it to his grandmother and aunt, but then he thought that they were both shrewd people and would immediately see that there was something wrong with it.

Instead of doing that, let's just say there was no letter, and that Qiuyan said everything is fine.

Sure enough, the old lady and Madam Xu exchanged a glance and said nothing more.

They would only assume that Chunyu was not doing well in the Wu family and that it was difficult for her to even write a letter home.

Unbelievable! The eldest sister turned the Wu family upside down in the capital.

I made Eight Treasures Cake for Chunqiang, but the little guy absolutely hated it.

"It's not as good as before, sister, you should try it."

When Chunnuan tasted it, well, she must have been absent-minded and forgot to add sugar. It's really impossible to coax a child without any sweetness.

"My sister's pastry-making skills are not yet very refined; she still needs to practice more."

“Yes, if you don’t read for three days, your speech will become rusty; if you don’t write for three days, your hand will become rusty.” Chunqiang said very seriously, “Sister, you need to practice more.”

"Little guy, who told you that?"

Using this phrase here is quite appropriate.

“Chunqiang remembers what Brother Ning told Brother An.”

Wow, you have a pretty good memory!

Chunnuan pinched his soft cheek: "Study hard, and if you do well in your studies, your older sister will make you cakes."

"Sister, pinky promise."

Chunqiang actually stretched out his little finger to make a pinky promise with Chunnuan and leave a thumbprint, while muttering, "Pinky promise, never to change for a hundred years, or I'll be Pigsy."

Needless to say, these words were learned from the children in the village.

The story of Mencius' mother moving three times to find a better environment for her son's education makes sense; moving the whole family to the town was indeed a wise choice.

Aunt Huang didn't say it explicitly, but it was clear that she was very worried that the children's words and actions were being influenced and led astray.

Chunnuan also knew that the Huang family had produced a great Confucian scholar in their ancestors, making them a true scholarly family that valued upbringing.

(End of this chapter)