Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

At dinner time, the princess woke up. After finishing her own dinner, Liu Siyue brought some porridge that had been cooked in the kitchen to visit the princess.

Liu Siyue propped up the princess's pillow a little, then picked up the bowl, sat down by the bed, and prepared to feed the princess porridge. The princess coughed and said, "Madam is my savior. How can I let Madam serve me again? How can I feel at ease?"

"Princess, why bother with these formalities? Your health is the most important thing."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Madam."

The princess drank only half a bowl of porridge before she couldn't eat anymore. Shadow brought her a glass of water so she could rinse her mouth.

After rinsing her mouth, the princess spoke to Liu Siyue, "I heard from An Ying that Madam went to Dongping Prefecture?"

"Yes, I just got back today."

Tell me about the situation in the prefectural city so I can make plans accordingly.

"I heard that Prefect Cai Mingqi prepared a lot of gold, silver, grain, and beautiful women to send to the capital. I heard that they were stolen. Cai Mingqi then ransacked the mansions of those officials, killed many officials, and amassed a lot of wealth."

Last night, Cai Mingqi fled by boat with his family.

"Of course I have to run! My good brother is coming. If I don't run, I'll just be waiting to die."

Hmph! Even if he runs to the capital, he'll still die. He'll have lost so much stuff, and what he plundered is just a drop in the ocean; it's completely useless.

"A man like him, more trouble than he's worth, would only suffer a far worse death if the First Prince spared him."

"Princess, your brother is coming, isn't that safer? Why does Shadow say it's not safe?"

"It's a long story. He's a dangerous and treacherous person. What kind of good person would abandon their own mother like that!"

The princess coughed twice more as she spoke, seemingly aggravating her wound, and her face turned somewhat pale.

"Princess, please don't say anything more. Just focus on recovering. Tomorrow night, I'll take you back to my home, where it's safe and peaceful."

"Aren't you afraid I'll drag you down with me!"

"Don't worry, Princess is the hero I admire, a meritorious official of the Great Sheng Dynasty. Heroes guard the border to resist foreign invasion and protect us unarmed people, allowing us to have a peaceful life. Your repeated bloodshed at the border is a promise to us people. With you here, we feel at ease."

The princess is in trouble today, so we, the common people, should protect the hero, not let the hero feel disheartened, and let you know that the people have a hero in their hearts.

"Princess, rest assured, I will always support you."

"Do you know me?"

"I know, I'll give the princess a surprise when we get to my house."

"Um?"

"The princess will find out in time; it's a secret for now."

"Princess, please rest well. I'll be leaving now and will come to see you again tomorrow."

The princess found this person quite interesting, but not a simple character. A peasant girl, yet she showed no fear upon seeing the princess and could chat and laugh with her. She also had such a skilled maidservant by her side, and she was literate and knowledgeable, unlike ordinary noblewomen who only knew about domestic affairs. She was quite concerned about national affairs.

"Shadow, go to that village and investigate this Madam Liu thoroughly. I need to know everything about her."

"Yes, Princess."

"Tell your subordinates not to call me princess or Your Highness anymore, but to call me master."

"Yes, Master."

"Shadow, are you saying that all the medicine I've been taking was given to me by Madam Liu?"

"Yes! They're all so strange. They're either powder or watery, completely different from the medicine in the pharmacy. But they're very effective, faster than decoctions."

"So, Madam Liu is skilled in medicine?"

"It doesn't seem like it. She can only talk, but she can't do anything. She couldn't sew up your wounds herself. Her hands were shaking like a sieve when she held the needle. In the end, she was the one who taught you how to sew."

The things she gave us were all very strange; we'd never seen them before.

"Oh, what are all these things? Let me see them."

"Look, this jar is called alcohol. It's used for disinfection and it's very effective. The brothers' wounds haven't festered. Madam Liu said that this shouldn't be drunk, because if you drink it, your intestines will rupture and your stomach will rot."

This is a sewing needle, along with scissors and pliers. They are all exceptionally exquisite. I have never seen such delicate tools before, and their shapes are also unique.

This is the medicine powder you're taking. It has no taste at all, but it's very effective.

The princess examined all these items one by one and found them incredible. As a royal princess, she had seen all sorts of fine things. The craftsmen of the Great Sheng Dynasty could not make such exquisite tools, and even if they could, they would not be so shiny.

The princess slept peacefully all night and did not have a fever again by dawn. After Liu Siyue had breakfast, she went to check on the princess. When she arrived, the princess was drinking porridge.

She waited outside for a while, and when she saw Shadow come out, she went in. "Princess, are you feeling any better? If there's anything that's bothering you, please tell us so we can get treatment as soon as possible. The sooner you get better, the better."

"Aside from the wound still hurting a little, I'm fine. Thank you for your hard work, Madam Liu."

"It is my honor to serve Her Highness the Princess!"

"I have other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb the princess's rest any longer."

"Um.

"Mrs. Liu, please continue to address me as Miss Xia, or by my name, Xia Lingshan."

"I'll still call you Miss Xia, it's more appropriate that way."

"Princess, you needn't address me as Madam Liu. Just call me Liu Siyue; it sounds more natural and pleasant."

"Okay, April."

Liu Siyue smiled slightly, took her leave, and went to the front yard, preparing to go to the estate. Qingwu arrived with the oxcart, "Master, where are you going?"

"Let's go to the estate."

"I send you."

"Okay, when you got back, were Qingling and your cousin home?"

"No, they're in town. I visited their shop when I came. The shop is all renovated, and they're tidying it up. They'll be staying at the shop for a while."

"Um."

The two sat in front of the oxcart until they left the city, at which point Qingwu said, "Master, a lot of things have happened in the village these past few days since we left."

"Huh? What happened?"

"Sixth Uncle's son is a grandson; he's been released from prison and is back."

"Hmm, considering the timing, it's about right."

"And there's something else you wouldn't expect: Liu Qingshan is back too, but he had to be carried back."

"Huh? Wasn't he sentenced to three years? Why is he back so soon?"

"I inquired and found out that both of his legs were broken by stones, and the remaining two and a half years of hard labor can be paid with silver."

"He's really had a tough time. He and his son only have one leg left. Huang Shi is going to be very busy. Their family is getting more and more lively."

"The two and a half years of hard labor required a payment of 50 taels of silver, which the Liu family couldn't afford, so they forced your eldest sister to sell the land."

I went back last night, and the village chief thought you had gone back too, so she came looking for me. I told her you weren't there, and she told me about this and asked me to ask you what you thought about it.

"Okay, if she wants to sell them, I'll buy them. There are some chili peppers I grew on them!"

"The village chief said that if your older sister sells the land, she will have to cancel her household registration and will no longer be able to receive any benefits from the village."

"If she doesn't get a share, she doesn't get a share. That's her own choice. Who can she blame? Even if she starves to death, it has nothing to do with me. Don't I know what they're up to?"

Isn't it just that when she can't make ends meet, she comes to me to play the victim, act pitiful, ask for favors, and beg to be taken in?

"Dream on!"

"Master, the village chief said that Liu Qingshan may have deliberately broken his leg so that he could come back sooner."

"Is that so? Is there any explanation?"