A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

After leaving Jishetang, Nie Qianqian exchanged the silver notes. She immediately put the eighty taels of silver into her spatial storage. Having money in her hand made her feel at ease.

As dusk approached, she suppressed her urge to rush to the market and shop till she dropped by, and returned to Tiande Bookstore. She bought a pot of tea from a tea stall at the entrance of the bookstore and happily drank it while waiting for Gu Xiao to "get off work".

Qianqian had changed her outfit for this trip to the county. She wore new clothes and shoes, her hair was neatly combed, and she was clean and refreshed without carrying any large or small bags.

Her small face was unadorned, naturally beautiful, and her beauty could not be concealed by her coarse cloth clothes. Two strands of hair gently brushed her face in the wind, adding a touch of carefree ease. The students passing by secretly peeked at the little village woman sitting at the entrance of the library.

As Gu Xiao stepped out, this was the scene that greeted him: a girl sitting leisurely at a tea stall, sipping her tea with carefree ease, like a painting, beautiful without even realizing it.

When Nie Qianqian saw Gu Xiao, she smiled and waved to him.

Gu Xiao's mood inexplicably improved, and he walked towards Qianqian.

Gu Xiao: "Why are you here?"

Nie Qianqian handed him a cup of tea. "I came to town today to sell some things." There were many people coming and going, and it was a noisy place. She planned to tell Gu Xiao about finding the Ganoderma lucidum after she got home.

Gu Xiao took the tea with his long, slender, fair fingers, first smelled the aroma, then slowly sipped the tea, and gently put the teacup down.

Nie Qianqian had a strange feeling that this was not a tea stall on the street, but a famous teahouse in the capital, and that he was not a down-on-his-luck scholar, but a young master from a noble family.

Gu Xiao possesses an air of nobility that cannot be concealed by his attire; it emanates from within.

A hint of doubt flashed in her eyes. Gu Xiao's words and actions were always polite; he would stand out in a crowd. Even in his most down-on-his-luck state, he still possessed an undeniable air of nobility. Was he really just a scholar from a fallen family?

Gu Xiao took out a clean handkerchief and handed it to Nie Qianqian, "This is the money I earned from copying books these past few days. You can use it for household expenses."

Nie Qianqian opened it and saw that there were 90 coins. She remembered that she only earned 60 coins for copying books for 3 days last time. "Why is there so much this time?"

Gu Xiao took another sip of tea. "I've been copying more at night these past few days." He thought that if he copied more, Nie Qianqian would have less to do.

Although she was already a wealthy woman with nearly a hundred taels of silver, how could Nie Qianqian complain about having too little money? She was still happy counting her 90 coins.

She had never experienced such a feeling in her previous life—her husband regularly provided household expenses. Surprisingly, it was quite enjoyable.

Gu Xiao's gaze fell on Nie Qianqian's smiling face, and a slight smile appeared on his lips: What a little money-grubber.

After finishing their tea, the two leisurely walked to the town entrance and boarded an oxcart to return to their village.

Back in the village, they happened to run into Aunt Wang, who lived next door to the old house. Aunt Wang's eyes lit up when she saw the two of them, and she went up to them. "Qianqian! You should go back to the old house quickly! Your father, Erzhuang, has returned to the village. I just saw him leading a large group of people from the Nie family towards the old house."

Nie Qianqian's heart skipped a beat. She had been living a carefree life these past few days, how could she have forgotten about her scumbag father?

She was faster than Gu Xiao, and after saying goodbye to him, she ran towards the old house.

Gu Xiao's expression was icy. After a moment's thought, he said, "Aunt Wang, please do me a favor and go to Uncle Village Head's house to find him. I will definitely reward you handsomely afterward."

Aunt Wang was the kind of person who loved watching a good show, so when she heard there was a thank-you gift, she smiled and said, "No problem, Aunt Wang will take care of it. You go and chase after Qianqian. Erzhuang looks scary; I hope nothing bad happens to him."

Nie Erzhuang was happily returning home with money, but as soon as he arrived, his whole family complained about him.

In front of the whole family, Old Mrs. Nie cursed him, saying he was useless, couldn't control his wife and daughter, and that the two of them had stolen money, disrespected her, and moved out of the Nie family home.

After Old Mrs. Nie finished her tearful tale, it was her sister-in-law Liu Chunhua and niece Nie Wenting's turn. Naturally, the two of them wouldn't point their fingers at him and scold him like Old Mrs. Nie did. Instead, they cried and wailed, and Nie Wenting showed him the injury on her arm, tears streaming down her face.

"Second Uncle, I was just trying to persuade Qianqian to apologize to Grandmother and go home, but she actually started hitting me. My arm, waah, it really hurts so much."

Liu Chunhua felt sorry for her daughter and spoke to Nie Erzhuang angrily, "Qianqian is acting like she's possessed. She dares to hit her own grandmother and sister. What will she be like in the future? We're all family. Don't blame your sister-in-law for being blunt. Erzhuang, can you still control this child?"

His sister-in-law usually treated him very kindly. He would hand over all the money he earned from working away from home to Old Mrs. Nie. Old Mrs. Nie would give most of the money to Nie Wenye for tuition and other expenses. Liu Chunhua was naturally polite to him and had never spoken to him so harshly as she had today.

Nie Erzhuang never thought there was anything wrong with this. Nie Wenye was one of the few promising students in the village, a future scholar. Every family would support him with all their might. As his uncle, he earned money to support his studies, and he would repay him many times over when Wenye became successful.

Nie Erzhuang felt extremely embarrassed by what Liu Chunhua said. Both of them were raising children, but Nie Wenye was well-educated and reasonable, and would become a scholar in the future, while Nie Qianqian was so unworthy.

He felt embarrassed for a moment, then found an excuse for himself. He went out to work in town every day to support the family, so naturally he didn't have time to discipline the children. Teaching the children was Liu Yan's job. She couldn't give birth to a son and couldn't even teach the children well. This kind of woman really deserved a beating.

At first, he was skeptical of what his family said. Liu Yan and Nie Qianqian were such people that they wouldn't utter a sound even if you slapped them. How could they dare to do the things they were talking about? Could there be some misunderstanding?

But this thought was quickly dispelled by the tearful accusations from his entire family. There could be no misunderstanding; his mother and sister-in-law would never lie to him. They must have really done these outrageous things.

How dare they?

Could it be because he's been away from home for a while, so he's less intimidating to the two of them? It's just like the old saying, "If you don't discipline someone for three days, they'll climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles."

Nie Erzhuang was furious, feeling that his dignity as the head of his family had been challenged. Not only did the two of them not give him face, but they also made him lose face in front of the whole family.

Filled with anger, Nie Erzhuang and his family rushed to the old house.

Nie Erzhuang had expected to see Liu Yan and Nie Qianqian looking pitiful, unable to even get a meal. But when he arrived at the old house, he was greeted by the aroma of white rice and meat mixed together. The villagers were very sensitive to this smell, and the fragrance went straight into their noses.

His anger flared even higher, almost reaching the top of his head. He was working hard in town, eating only coarse flour pancakes, while his wife was cooking white rice and meat!

Are they worthy?

He rushed into the kitchen and, sure enough, saw rice, flour, and a lot of pork on the floor.

Liu Yan was cooking when she turned around and suddenly saw Nie Erzhuang. Her heart skipped a beat, and she dropped the bowl she was holding onto the ground.

Nie Erzhuang was already furious at Old Nie's house, and when he arrived at the old house and saw Liu Yan with rice and meat, he was even more enraged. Before he could say a word, he took action first, raising his thick arm and slapping Liu Yan across the face.

Liu Yan was slapped to the ground, her head ringing. Tuantuan, who had been circling around Liu Yan in the kitchen, saw Liu Yan being hit and her round eyes immediately filled with tears. This scene repeated itself.

He held back his tears and moved silently to Liu Yan's side, without saying a word, gently stroking Liu Yan's slapped face with his little hand.

The Nie family, who had been holding their anger in for the past few days, finally felt relieved at this moment. They had gone to so much trouble just to see this scene, and not a single one of them had any sympathy for Liu Yan.

Grandma Nie glanced at her sideways and snorted softly. Nie Wenting felt that her arm didn't hurt as much anymore, but she still felt unsatisfied. She was thinking about when Nie Qianqian would come back, and what she wanted to see most was Nie Qianqian being slapped hard across the face.

Liu Chunhua smiled contemptuously, "Sister-in-law, if you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? You made a mistake because you couldn't think straight. We're all family, there's no such thing as holding a grudge overnight. You should apologize to Qianqian, Mother, and Wenting, and everyone will forgive you. You can still go back to the Nie family and live a good life."

Seeing Liu Yan lying on the ground, her face ashen, her lips pursed and silent, Nie Erzhuang became even more furious: "Answer me! Can't you hear what your sister-in-law is saying!"

Other people's wives can understand the language of flowers, but his wife is a block of wood.

Liu Yan's ears were still ringing from the slap, and she couldn't hear clearly what Nie Erzhuang and Liu Chunhua were saying; it seemed to come from afar and then into the distance.

She was having trouble breathing, feeling as if she had fallen to the bottom of a lake and was about to suffocate. Go back to Old Nie's family and live a good life? Is that what you call living a good life?

In the days since moving out, Liu Yan has felt more relaxed and happy than ever before. Although they live in a dilapidated house that leaks when it rains, the whole family is living happily together, and that's what a good life is all about.

But such good days came to an end. It was like a dream, and the moment he saw the Nie family, the dream ended.

She suddenly felt so tired of living, and a deep sense of powerlessness arose within her. The thought of suicide flashed through her mind.

But the next second she came to her senses. She couldn't die. She still had Qianqian and Tuanbao. She couldn't abandon them.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Nie Erzhuang frowned more and more deeply. Old Madam Nie spoke up from the side, "Take all this food and Liu Yan home first. We can talk about it when we get back to the Nie family home."

Upon hearing what Grandma Nie said, Liu Chunhua immediately picked up the bag of white rice from the ground, and the others followed suit, picking up the things on the ground as well.

Liu Yan finally snapped out of her daze when she saw a hand take the bag of flour away. That was what Qianqian bought for the family; no one could take it away!

She struggled to her feet, not even lifting her head or looking at the Nie family members, but staring intently at the white flour sack. She followed Liu Chunhua out of the kitchen and reached out to grab the sack.

Liu Chunhua felt the bag in her hand tighten. She turned around and saw Liu Yan pulling at her. She shrieked, "Liu Yan, let go! Are you crazy?!"

Seeing this, Nie Erzhuang wanted to hit someone again, but then he saw that Tuantuan was small and was blocking Liu Yan's way. He shouted angrily, "Tuantuan, get out of the way!"

Tuantuan didn't dare to look up and meet Nie Erzhuang's gaze, nor did he listen to Nie Erzhuang's words to dodge. Nie Erzhuang was so angry that he stretched out his foot and kicked Tuantuan, sending him flying.

Nie Qianqian ran to the old house, her heart pounding from the exertion. When she arrived, she saw this scene.

The courtyard was a mess, with Nie Qianqian's stockpiled daily necessities scattered haphazardly: new bedding, cotton, vegetables, and meat. A bag of flour had been torn open, and the flour inside was spilling out, scattering white powder on the ground.

Liu Yan's hair was disheveled, and she was trembling all over. One hand was gripping the sack of flour so tightly that her knuckles turned white. There were clear finger marks on her right cheek, and half of her face was red and swollen. She didn't say a word, biting her lip to keep the tears from falling.

Tuantuan stood protectively beside Liu Yan. Their clothes, which were clean in the morning, were now wrinkled and covered in dust, with what appeared to be gray shoe prints on them.

Nie Erzhuang had his back to her and was pointing at Liu Yan and Tuantuan, cursing them.

Nie Qianqian's head exploded with a buzz, her heart ached as if it were being torn apart, and she felt as if all the blood in her body was boiling and surging endlessly.

This is her mother, the only relative who was kind to the original owner of this body, and the one who gave her warmth after she came to this other world. The other is her baby, the child she cherishes in the palm of her hand every day.

Her face was ashen. She pulled a scalpel from her spatial storage and slashed it directly at Nie Erzhuang's back. Nie Erzhuang was scolding Liu Yan for letting go of the flour bag when he felt a sharp pain in his back. With a swift movement, the scalpel fell, and blood flowed freely from his back.

Nie Erzhuang: "Ah!!!"

Grandma Nie nearly fainted when she saw the blood. "Erzhuang, Erzhuang, are you alright!"

"Nie Qianqian?" Nie Erzhuang turned around and saw that it was his own weak and incompetent daughter. He was stunned at first, and then his anger exploded. He was already tall and strong, and his angry appearance was even more terrifying, like a roaring tiger.

Nie Erzhuang pointed at Nie Qianqian's nose and cursed, "You little brat, you've really lost your mind! I'll beat you to death today!"

He originally thought that he would just slap Nie Qianqian a few times to make her behave, but now, he was determined to beat her until she begged for mercy.

"You just hit my mother, didn't you?" Nie Qianqian asked, her blood rushing to her head and her eyes bloodshot.

Nie Erzhuang was surprised that Nie Qianqian dared to question him and say such things. He was used to being a tyrant at home, and he thought it was normal to slap his wife and kick his daughter. He was furious at being suddenly confronted with such resistance.

"I hit them! So what!"

Nie Qianqian didn't want to say another word to him. Her face was as cold as ice, and her steps were ghostly. She took a few steps forward and used all her strength to slap Nie Erzhuang four times in a row. The force was so great that Qianqian's hand went numb.

This kind of scumbag father doesn't care about filial piety.

Liu Chunhua, supporting Old Madam Nie, exclaimed in shock, "Qianqian, how could you lay a hand on your own father!"

Ignoring the numbness in her hand, Nie Qianqian turned around and slapped Liu Chunhua several times. Her voice was crisp and cold, making people tremble. "What did I tell you on the mountain? Have you forgotten now? Stop meddling in other people's business."

Nie Erzhuang deserves to die for not protecting his wife and children. The rest of the Nie family are even more despicable, like bedbugs.

Seeing her mother being beaten, Nie Wenting blurted out, "You..."

Before she could finish speaking, Nie Qianqian, as if it were a buy-one-get-one-free deal, slapped Nie Wenting several times and broke her other uninjured arm. Caught off guard, Nie Wenting saw stars from the slaps and collapsed to the ground.

Nie Erzhuang was completely dumbfounded. He'd been slapped?!

He's the man of this family, the pillar of this family, and he actually got slapped by his own good-for-nothing daughter?!

Seeing Nie Qianqian's ruthless behavior today, Old Madam Nie was frightened. She wanted to tear this unfilial son apart, but she murmured and couldn't say anything for a long time.

Seeing the current situation, Nie Daqiang silently slipped behind Liu Yan and Tuantuan, grabbed them by the collar with one hand each, and shouted, "Qianqian, we're all family. Can't we talk things out instead of brandishing knives? Put your knife away first!"

Nie Daqiang originally came to watch the fun. As the eldest brother in the family, with a son like Nie Wenye, his status in the family was self-evident. He disdained to meddle in these trivial matters of the family, how his younger brother disciplined his wife, or the scheming among women.

But given the current situation, he had no choice but to take action; even his niece had resorted to using a knife.

Nie Qianqian's eyes were cold and sharp, like a razor-sharp knife, shooting towards Nie Daqiang.

The Nie family members were startled; why did Nie Qianqian's eyes look so terrifying now?

Seeing that he was holding Liu Yan and Tuantuan hostage, Nie Qianqian put away her knife.

So what if she didn't have a knife? She'd still vent her anger with her fists and feet.

She walked forward step by step, her eyes fixed on Nie Daqiang. Suddenly, she changed her movements, accelerated, and threw her fist directly at Nie Daqiang's face.

Nie Daqiang couldn't dodge in time and took a solid punch. Blood gushed from his nose. He quickly let go and covered his nose with the blood. With this sudden release, Liu Yan fell directly to the ground. Tuantuan was thrown from mid-air and was about to hit the ground.

Nie Qianqian turned around, sideways, and opened her arms to hug Tuantuan.

Nie Erzhuang recovered from the shock, his face burning with pain. What made him even more upset was that he had been slapped by his own daughter. He was now beyond furious and had lost all reason. All he could think about was killing this unfilial daughter.

Just as Nie Qianqian went to hug Tuantuan, Nie Erzhuang picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground and, taking advantage of Nie Qianqian's change of position, swung the stick at her, showing no regard for the fact that she was his own daughter.

Liu Yan saw the wooden root hurtling towards her head, and tears welled up in her eyes: her Qianqian!!!

But she herself was still lying on the ground and didn't have time to get up and protect him.

As she watched in despair as the wooden stick loomed larger before her eyes, about to strike Qianqian, a slender figure stepped in front of her, spreading his arms to shield her and taking the full force of the blow.

Nie Qianqian felt a warm embrace encircle her, and when she turned her head, she saw the wooden stick hitting his back.

"Gu Xiao??!!"