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

Old Mrs. Nie suffered a great loss today, losing face in front of her fellow villagers and paying 500 coins for nothing. She felt terrible and kept cursing Nie Erzhuang all the way from the county government office.

Grandma Nie: "These are the good wives you married and the good daughters you gave birth to. These shameless little bitches are riding on my head. You're a grown man, and you can't even control your own wife. You haven't beaten them enough. I should have beaten them to death today."

Nie Erzhuang remained silent, his head drooping, thinking about the scene in the county government office where everyone was criticizing him for beating his wife. How could this be different from what his mother had said?

But he dared not contradict his mother. He had been beaten and scolded by his mother since he was a child, and this kind of obedience to Old Mrs. Nie was ingrained in his bones.

Grandma Nie cursed for a long time until her mouth was dry and she was too tired to speak anymore.

Nie Erzhuang then asked in a muffled voice, "Mother, when are you going to do what you said about helping me find Widow Lin as my wife?"

Hearing this, Old Mrs. Nie got angry again and pinched Nie Erzhuang's waist hard. "You're already like this, and you're still thinking about getting a wife? Wait until you earn back the 500 coins first."

As Grandma Nie was scolding, she caught sight of Nie Wenye rushing over in a hurry. Somewhat surprised, she immediately put on a smiling face and went to greet him, "My dear grandson, what brings you here?"

Nie Wenye was fairly handsome, and wearing the uniform of Tiande Academy, he exuded the refined elegance of a scholar. It was hard to imagine that he was related to Old Madam Nie.

Grandma Nie looked at her eldest grandson with satisfaction. Fortunately, she had this celestial grandson; otherwise, her children would have been a real headache for her.

When Nie Wenye saw Old Madam Nie and Nie Erzhuang, he hurried forward and said, "Grandmother, Second Uncle, I came here specifically to see you. I heard that you and Second Aunt have ended up in the government office?"

Old Mrs. Nie was furious and cried out, "Of course! Those two sluts stole our money and won't admit it! We went to report it to the authorities, and the magistrate was in cahoots with them, even testifying that Nie Qianqian had helped him and that he had given her two taels of silver. Bah! That little slut Nie Qianqian must have seduced the magistrate long ago. Helping him? I bet they slept together and he gave her two taels of silver for his body! That little whore..."

Nie Wenye's brows furrowed deeper as he listened, and he finally interrupted sharply, "Grandmother, watch your words."

Grandma Nie pouted: "This... they did it, but they can't even talk about it?"

Nie Wenye felt helpless and a surge of anger rose within him: "Grandmother, if someone hears what you've said, it's slander against adults, which could lead to imprisonment and jail time. And if a relative in the family goes to jail, how am I supposed to continue my studies?"

Upon hearing that it would affect her grandson's studies, Grandma Nie immediately shut up and put her mouth shut.

"Tell me the truth about what happened today, Grandmother."

Grandma Nie recounted the events of the day to Nie Wenye in a long, drawn-out manner. The more Nie Wenye listened, the angrier he became. By the time Grandma Nie finished speaking, his face was flushed with anger.

Grandma Nie noticed the change in Nie Wenye's expression. "What's wrong with you, Wenye? Is there something wrong with what happened today?"

Could it be that they discovered something wrong with Liu Yan and Nie Qianqian? If so, they must drag Da Sun to court again.

Today, Gu Xiao has actually stolen the limelight. How can a disabled good-for-nothing compare to her literary talent?

"You have no idea how much trouble Nie Qianqian's disabled son caused today. He only knows a few words and can copy books, yet he showed off in the courtroom. If you, my grandson, had gone there, he would have been too scared to even open his mouth."

Nie Wenye lowered his voice, but the anger in his voice was hard to hide. "Grandmother, you're confused. It's just a family matter of divorce. Why did you have to take it to court! You've brought this to the county magistrate. If it gets out, do you know how much damage that will do to my reputation in the academy?"

Grandma Nie was speechless. "This..."

“If people find out about this, they will point fingers at me and curse me, saying that our Nie family has tarnished the reputation of its own members and that there is domestic violence and beating of wives. With such a family style, who would believe that I have the virtue of a gentleman? Isn’t this ruining my reputation?”

"Furthermore, who is Gu Xiao? Grandmother, it is improper of you to compare me to him."

"Second Uncle, I've always told you not to lay a hand on Second Aunt and Qianqian. When have you ever listened? If you did hit them, you should have done it behind closed doors so no one else would know. Now that everyone knows, isn't our Nie family losing face?"

After starting his studies, Nie Wenye was rarely home. When he did come home, he would only say a few words to stop Nie Erzhuang from beating Liu Yan. It was none of his business, and he never really cared. But now it's different. This domestic violence incident has affected his reputation.

Grandma Nie had never seen Nie Wenye speak so harshly before, and knew that he had really gotten into trouble this time. "Wenye, Grandma doesn't know, but if she had known that it would affect your studies, Grandma would never have agreed to report it to the authorities."

Nie Wenye raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, scolding, "Didn't you consult with me beforehand? How could you act on your own initiative!"

If anyone else in the family had said these words to Old Madam Nie, she would have chased them away with her cane. But Nie Wenye was different. Ever since he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, he had the most say in the family.

Grandma Nie: "Grandmother knows. This time, the two of them have lost their minds."

Nie Wenye was dissatisfied. He was full of talent and intelligence, but he was born into such a family and suffered because of it.

Grandma Nie looked embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, "How have your studies been going lately? Have you been eating well?"

Nie Wenye was annoyed to answer, but he still had to rely on this family to support his studies. He said indifferently, "It's going smoothly, of course. My teacher said that with my current level, I have a chance to compete in next year's autumn examination. Recently, Tiande Academy bought a set of practice questions from the provincial capital. My classmates all praised them highly, saying that they would be helpful for me to pass the examination. It costs one tael of silver."

One tael of silver was not a small amount for the villagers, but Nie Wenye could ask for money without hesitation.

Grandma Nie's heart clenched. If it was something useful for studying and passing the imperial examinations, then this money had to be spent. "Grandma didn't bring enough money today. After we go back and gather enough, we'll have Daqiang bring it to you in town."

Nie Wenye nodded, "Yes, Grandmother and Second Uncle should go back to the village quickly and not linger in the town any longer."

He was afraid that the two of them would cause trouble in town again, and he was also afraid that his classmates would see them together and he would lose face.

He didn't care much about whether his second uncle and aunt divorced or whether Nie Qianqian left home. As for Gu Xiao, who was disabled and could never enter officialdom, he was worlds apart from him, so he didn't care about him at all.

Right now, the most important thing is the provincial examination next year. After the provincial examination, he will become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) and can then go to the capital to take the imperial examination.

Thinking about all this, he concealed the restlessness and annoyance in his eyes, straightened his sleeves, regained his refined scholarly demeanor, and strode away.