After returning to the capital, the eldest daughter saved her entire clan with her medical skills.

"And the food at home is better than other families, even the village head's family's food is not as good as ours. We can eat meat every few days. All of this was bought by your third brother with the money he earned. You should have a conscience."

“Da Niu’s father, don’t be angry. Your health is the most important thing. Since they don’t want to be burdened by Lao San and us two old fogies, let’s divide the family.”

The old woman was gentle and mild-mannered, unlike the old man who was stubborn and refused to separate the family property.

Ever since her eldest and second sons got married, there hasn't been a single day that the house wasn't in chaos. She knew that everyone had their own selfish motives, and rather than enduring it like this, it would be better to separate the family sooner rather than later.

"Old woman, you..."

“Listen to me this time. If this continues, the brothers will have more than just this little conflict. Also, no matter whether Lao San’s illness can be cured or not, he will live with us, the old couple, and not be a burden to them in the slightest.”

The old woman looked at her two sons, who were hanging their heads and remaining silent, with disappointment, and sighed inwardly.

Only she and her husband knew that their third child wasn't their biological son; their two sons were unaware. She never expected things to escalate to this point.

She was once the personal maid of the prefect's daughter, serving her since childhood until the daughter married, at which point her indenture was released and she was allowed to marry.

Years later, the young lady was suddenly brought back by someone, only to find out that she had married the wrong person. She was depressed and her days were numbered.

The son-in-law already had a cousin with whom he shared a deep affection. He only married the young lady to use the power he held to help him get promoted.

The parents-in-law favored their son-in-law's cousin, and didn't even like the young master.

The young lady was worried about the newborn young master, and her stepmother controlled her family, so she had no choice but to ask someone to bring her here, entrusting the child to her on her deathbed.

Back then, the young lady entrusted her young master to her, and she gave her a lot of money.

However, most of the money was spent on his two sons, with very little spent on the young master.

She and her husband insisted on sending their youngest son to a private school, not only because he was intelligent and talented in his studies, but more importantly because they wanted to make up for it.

The money the young lady left her was enough to support the young master's marriage, children, and academic pursuits, but things didn't go as planned, and he ultimately failed to live up to the young lady's expectations.

Da Niu and Er Niu were unaware of this matter. She didn't blame them, but they were really useless. They were easily swayed by their wives and caused chaos in the house.

"Alright, I'll do as you say. I'll go find the village head tomorrow to divide the family property."

"Yes, the third brother will be with us. Whether he wakes up or not, we'll take care of him. We won't trouble the eldest and second eldest brothers."

After speaking, the old woman glanced meaningfully at her two sons, who were silently keeping their heads down, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"it is good"

The old man had no objections. His wife was a maidservant released from a wealthy family, and she was more knowledgeable than him. She made the decisions for many things and never made a mistake.

Xue Ruanruan followed, and as soon as she got close to the door, she smelled a strong, pungent smell of Chinese medicine, which made her frown.

The room was very simple. Apart from a dilapidated wooden table, there was only a wooden bed with a pale-faced young man lying on it. He looked like he was already dead.

Without thinking twice, Xue Ruanruan stepped forward and checked the young man's nose. She breathed a sigh of relief; he was still alive.

He quickly took out a pair of silver needles from his pouch. "Old man, please step aside. I have some medical knowledge. Your son is still alive, so I'll try acupuncture on him first."

"Young master, you know medicine? Then I'll have to trouble you."

Upon hearing that his son was still alive, the old man quickly made way for her.

No matter how skilled the young master was in medicine, there was no other choice. The family couldn't even afford to eat, let alone hire a doctor.

Seeing that Ru'er's medicine was about to run out, they took the only thing in the family that could be sold for some money, the big yellow ox, to the city to sell.

Nowadays, everyone is struggling financially. They've already borrowed all the money they could. Those who used to fawn over Ru'er because of his good education are now all avoiding him like the plague.

Xue Ruanruan first took the young man's pulse. The pulse was rapid, wiry, weak, and disordered, indicating that it was caused by poisoning.

How could a farmer's son be poisoned?

Looking at the old man and his family, who all seemed honest and kind, Xue Ruanruan remained outwardly calm but inwardly puzzled.

Fortunately, the poison he was given was not the kind of rare poison that had accumulated in his body since childhood, like the one that had seeped into his bones and muscles over the years.

He took out a sharp knife and cut a gash on the young man's wrist, from which dark, black blood flowed.

"How...how could my son's blood be black?!"

The old man was shocked and stared in disbelief at the bloodstains on the ground.

"Father, could Ru'er have been poisoned?"

The old woman beside the old man had swollen eyelids from crying. They had consulted so many doctors, but they could only shake their heads helplessly and say that there was no cure, without explaining what the illness was.

"Poisoning? Impossible. Our Zhao family has never made enemies. They have no reason to poison Ru'er."

“We haven’t offended anyone, but Ru’er might be at the academy. Do you remember when Ru’er came back last year covered in filth, and he wouldn’t say a word when we asked him what happened?”

"It seems that such a thing did happen, but even if classmates quarrel and disagree, it wouldn't be serious enough to poison each other to death."

The old man was kind-hearted and honest his whole life, and had never made enemies with anyone. He couldn't imagine that anyone could be so vicious, and he refused to believe that his son's illness was caused by poisoning.

"Your son's symptoms are indeed signs of poisoning, but fortunately it's not a rare or unusual poison."

Xue Ruanruan could vaguely guess why the doctor couldn't cure the young master of this family, even though his poisoning wasn't severe.

The key lies in this prescription, a miraculous formula developed by the master himself, far superior to that of ordinary doctors.

"Poisoning? Is there any way to cure it?"

"Of course I can. I will first help your son release the poison from his body, otherwise he may not be able to last five days."

Xue Ruanruan made a bloody cut on each of the young man's four limbs, and only after the blood returned to its bright red color did she sprinkle a layer of white medicinal powder on the wounds.

The wound that was bleeding profusely just a second ago healed instantly the next. The old man had never seen such a miraculous medicine before and was utterly astonished.

"Young master, your medical skills are superb. I was blind and underestimated you."

"Old man, there's no need for formalities. I have a prescription to cure this poison. Grind litharge, indigo, saltpeter, and water powder into a fine powder, mix it with well water, and take it. You should see results after taking it for five consecutive days."

Xue Ruanruan took out paper and pen, wrote down the prescription, handed it to the old man, and then began to pack her medicine box to go see the calf.

We've been out for most of the day, and if we don't go back soon, my grandmother and mother will probably worry again.

"Cough cough..."

A faint cough came from the bed, and the young man's lips were no longer as pale as before, making him look like a living person.

His eyes were dark, and even when he was seriously ill and bedridden, they still shone with a wise light.

The torment of illness made his eyes look tired and weak, and he looked much more haggard.