Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"Let her go." Zhou Lin picked up the dagger and stabbed his wrist.

"Han Zhi." Zhou Lie rushed in with his men.

"Brother, don't worry about me. Go protect An Ning."

Zhou Lin ignored the pain in his wrist and ran towards Shen Chuning.

She kicked the stunned Lao Wu to the ground and stood in front of Shen Chuning to prevent her from being hurt again.

After Zhou Lie and his men dealt with these bandits, he squatted down to check Zhou Lin's injuries.

Zhou Lie tore a piece of cloth from his inner robe and wrapped it around Zhou Lin's wrist to help stop the bleeding. "How could you be so stupid and hurt yourself?"

"It's nothing, I know what I'm doing. It's just the wound that looks scary." Zhou Lin comforted.

Zhou Lie glanced at Zhou Lin and said, "I hope you're alright. Can you still stand up and walk?"

Zhou Lin stood up and patted the dust off his body with his left hand.

"Brother, these people said that General Ji was colluding with the bandits. The last time we suppressed the bandits, we were just helping the bandit leader eliminate dissidents. Now Panlong Village has opened again."

After Zhou Lie finished listening, his eyes darkened. "I'll send someone to investigate when I get back."

"I suspect there was something strange about the man who fainted last time I saw someone being killed. Today, I also saw someone being killed, but I didn't feel dizzy."

Zhou Lie stopped and looked at Zhou Lin happily, "So you can go to the battlefield again?"

A smile appeared in Zhou Lin's eyes, and he nodded heavily.

Zhou Lie patted Zhou Lin on the shoulder and said with relief, "Good news!"

After waiting in the dilapidated temple for a while, a carriage came from the direction of the capital.

"Brother, you are so thoughtful that you even knew to bring a carriage."

Zhou Lie looked at Shen Chuning and the Fifth Prince, who had already moved to the straw pile. "When you asked Lan'er to go to the Shen Mansion to report safety, I guessed something had happened to Miss Shen Jiu. You can't let a girl ride back in the dark. I didn't expect you to be so brave and bring the Fifth Prince with you."

Zhou Lin shrank his neck and said, "Send the fifth prince back to the palace tomorrow. No one will find out."

Zhou Lie sighed, "There's a doctor in the carriage. I'll ask him to check your hand later."

Zhou Lin put his right hand behind his back and said, "Let's show Chu Ning and the Fifth Prince first. He hasn't woken up in such a long time."

After the doctor examined Shen Chuning and the Fifth Prince, he found that it was just an overdose of sleeping pills and they would be fine after a good night's sleep.

But Zhou Lin's condition was not good. The knife cut had injured his tendons. Although they were not completely severed, they could not be reconnected with the current doctor's skills.

The doctor said that if Zhou Lin's right hand recovers well, his daily life will not be a problem, but he cannot lift heavy objects or do fine movements, as he may suffer from hand tremors.

Not being able to lift heavy objects meant that the hope of being able to go to the battlefield that had just been rekindled was extinguished again.

He was unable to perform fine movements and suffered from hand tremors, which meant that his path to studying and taking the imperial examinations was blocked.

Zhou Lin was the first to break the silence. "Brother, it's okay. I still have my left hand. I can just start practicing from the beginning. If I can recover well enough so that it doesn't affect my normal life, can the Zhou family still not support me?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Listen to the doctor carefully. I will help you find a miracle doctor in the Miracle Doctor Valley. He will definitely be able to cure you." Zhou Lie said.

Zhou Lin stared at Shen Chuning for a while, then used the back of his hand to test the temperature of her forehead.

Noticing that she was about to wake up, he gently patted the back of her hand, but Shen Chuning unconsciously grabbed his sleeve.

"Brother, don't tell An Ning about my hand. Let Cheng Wu come pick her up when we get back. He has a way to bring An Ning back to the Shen Mansion without alerting anyone."

……

Aunt Xue walked into Tianxi Hall in the west of the city wearing a veil.

Tianxitang is a medical clinic that only sells one kind of medicine, which can help women give birth to sons.

A dose of medicine costs one hundred taels of silver. The medicine should be taken on the seventh day of each menstrual period. If you get pregnant that month, you will give birth to a boy. If you give birth to a girl, you will have to pay three hundred taels of silver as compensation.

If a woman does not become pregnant in the month she takes the medicine, she will need to spend another 100 taels of silver to buy another dose of medicine the next month and continue taking it.

When Aunt Xue walked into Tianxi Hall, a maid was talking to the doctor while carrying a basket of red eggs.

"Doctor Zhao, your medicine is really effective. Our aunt got pregnant in the second month after taking it, and it turned out to be a boy. Our old lady specially asked me to bring you some happy eggs." The old woman put the basket of eggs on the table with a smile on her face.

Doctor Zhao stroked his goatee and said, "Congratulations! Now that you have a son, I believe your daughter will be able to live happily in her husband's family."

"Who says it isn't? Our uncle's family has only one son for three generations. The birth of this young master has made our uncle's family very happy." The old woman noticed Aunt Xue coming in and said, "Doctor Zhao, since you have a guest, I won't disturb you."

Shen Chuning watched Doctor Zhao pick up the basket of red eggs and put it in the corner. In the corner, there was a row of various baskets filled with festive eggs neatly arranged.

"Doctor Zhao, does your medicine really work?" Aunt Xue wanted to ask.

Doctor Zhao pointed at the eggs in the corner and said, "My words alone are not enough. Madam, please take a look for yourself. These are just the ones delivered today."

"As long as you take my medicine and give birth to a girl, I will return you three times the money. If my medicine doesn't work, wouldn't it be enough to bankrupt you?"

Aunt Xue thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case.

"Will your medicine be effective for those who are pregnant?" asked Aunt Xue.

Doctor Zhao narrowed his eyes and said, "The medicine for a pregnant woman won't cost a hundred taels of silver per dose."

"How much silver will it cost?"

Doctor Zhao held up a finger and said, "One thousand taels of silver per dose, and this medicine is extremely dangerous."

"Money is not the problem. How dangerous is this medicine?" Aunt Xue asked anxiously.

"If a woman is already pregnant with a boy, there is no problem with taking this medicine. But if she is pregnant with a girl, there is a risk of miscarriage if the sex of the fetus is forcibly changed," explained Doctor Zhao.

"Is there really no risk if the baby is a boy?"

"That's natural. If the pregnant woman is carrying a boy, taking this medicine will not only not put her in danger, but the boy will also be born exceptionally strong and intelligent."

"I want a pair." Aunt Xue took out a thousand taels of silver.

Doctor Zhao didn't take it immediately, but advised, "Madam, please think carefully. If you are pregnant with a girl, you may not be able to keep the baby if you take my medicine."

Aunt Xue thought that the most important thing for her now was to give birth to a son. She already had Shen Jingwan, so there was no point in having another daughter. If she didn't have one, she would have none.

"I've thought it through. Get me some medicine." Aunt Xue said firmly.

"Then you have to write a contract to me, stating that you are taking this medicine voluntarily. If there is any accident, it has nothing to do with my Tianxi Hall, and you are not allowed to cause trouble in my Tianxi Hall." Doctor Zhao took out paper and pen.

When Aunt Xue saw the paper and pen, her heart began to beat fast. "What if I was already pregnant with a boy, but I took your medicine and it caused a miscarriage?"

Doctor Zhao put away his pen and paper. "Madam, you may not trust me. Wait until you have given birth to this baby and are ready to have the next one, then come back to me for medicine. I guarantee there will be no risk at all."

Aunt Xue hesitated. She had a physique that made it difficult for her to get pregnant. After Jingwan was born, she had not been able to get pregnant again. She returned to the Shen Mansion thinking that she could be with her cousin every day, but she didn't expect that her cousin didn't come to the backyard often.

Aunt Xue's eyes caught sight of the baskets of red eggs in the corner. She gritted her teeth and said, "Bring me some paper. I'll write."