The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"Alright, studying is good. You're a teacher at a private school now."

"Studying is good, so why not take the imperial examinations?"

"How would we know?"

Seeing the waiter's eyes darting around, Du Mingxian handed him a five-tael silver ingot. "Young man, I love listening to gossip. If I don't hear the whole story, I might not be able to sleep well at night."

When the waiter saw that the other party was very generous, he knew that this person was probably there to gather information. He was in a dilemma. "If we spread this information, we will definitely be in trouble. Midwife Zhao still has some influence in the city."

"We're just chatting. I have no relation to Zhao the Midwife, so nothing will happen. Please don't worry, young man." Du Mingxian then slipped another ten-tael note to him.

The waiter didn't want to say anything, but the other party had given him so much that he accepted it with tears in his eyes. He didn't forget to add, "Seeing that you look kind, I would like to make a good connection with you. I hope you won't sell me off."

"You can rest assured, young man."

The waiter quickly lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Zhao the midwife did a lot of shady things in the capital. She never dares to go to the capital again, and her son dares not go there either, for fear of losing his life."

"Young man, tell us about the current situation of Zhao the midwife's family."

That's not a big deal; you can find out by asking anyone on the street.

"Zhao the midwife has only one son. Now he has married a daughter-in-law, who is the youngest daughter of a wealthy family. She gave birth to a granddaughter but no grandson. In order to continue the family line, Zhao the midwife has added many people to her son's harem."

"I don't know if it's because she's done too many bad things or what, but none of the women who went into the backyard got pregnant. Zhao the midwife is rich, so she keeps replacing them one after another."

Du Mingxian was extremely surprised, "This... how is this a change?"

“If a woman cannot conceive within three years of entering the palace, she will be sold off, and then new women will be added.”

Du Mingxian's mouth gaped open in shock. Even wealthy and powerful families wouldn't dare to do this. "This...this is really going to happen? Won't anyone cause trouble?"

"What's the big deal? All the women that Zhao the midwife found were bought from human traffickers, so no one said anything even though they didn't have children and were sold."

Du Mingxian said dryly, "It is indeed quite particular."

"What's there to be particular about? Maybe she's done too many bad things. Her son has too many women in his harem, which makes him afraid to go home. He just wants to live in the private school."

Du Mingxian grinned, "Having too many women isn't a good thing either."

"What good news? You didn't see it, she's so thin, it looks like she could be blown away by the wind."

"Are there any other secrets in Zhao Wenpo's family?"

"Secret?" The waiter pondered the word for a moment, then shook his head. "Other things may not have been spread, but these are the only things that have been. After all, she is a midwife, and the people she comes into contact with are all wealthy and powerful, so the servants in her household are very tight-lipped."

Seeing that there was nothing more to ask, Du Mingxian thanked him, ordered a few dishes, and the waiter left.

Lord Wen remained silent. Du Mingxian glanced at him, then glanced at him again, and finally held back from speaking. If the truth were to be discovered later, Lord Wen would likely suffer greatly.

After the two finished eating, Lord Wen's complexion improved somewhat, but Du Mingxian was still a little worried. "Aren't you really going to call a doctor to take a look?"

"There's no need to go see Midwife Zhao."

The carriage was temporarily left at the restaurant, and the two walked there directly. Zhao Wenpo's house was easy to find; it was a large five-courtyard mansion in the bustling city center, which showed that she had made a lot of money over the years.

Before they arrived, the two had already discussed it. Du Mingxian would resume wearing women's clothing, while Lord Wen, a money-grubbing father, would sell Du Mingxian to Zhao Wenpo's family.

The two knocked on the door, and the old man who opened it saw them and asked, "Who are you?"

“I’m looking for Zhao the midwife; she’s my daughter.”

Before the old man could speak, Lord Wen said with great pride, "My wife gave birth to four sons before we had this one daughter."

The old man instantly understood the meaning of those words, glanced at Lord Wen with some disdain, and said reluctantly, "Wait here, I'll go in and inform them."

As the door closed, Du Mingxian muttered to herself, "That old man was really looking down on my father just now."

Lord Wen rolled his eyes at her, "What's wrong with an old man like me who sells his daughter? I'm just a womanizer. What's wrong with being looked down upon?"

Du Mingxian chuckled.

The old man came out again soon after. "Come in."

The two went inside, where an old woman was waiting at the inner door. She led them to a small side hall and said, "Wait here."

Du Mingxian could only be thankful that Zhao the midwife's son hadn't given birth to a son, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to see Zhao the midwife so easily.

A moment later, they heard footsteps outside. Du Mingxian looked out and saw an old woman approaching, followed by the person who had led the way for them.

As soon as the man approached the house, the old woman turned deathly pale the instant she saw Lord Wen's face, and immediately took a step back. "Come..."

Upon seeing this, Du Mingxian immediately stepped forward, quickly knocked out the old woman's attendant, then silenced the old woman by pressing her acupoint, thus immobilizing her.

The dagger was drawn and already pressed against the old woman's neck. "Don't move, or you'll die."

From her initial panic to her eventual calm, Zhao the midwife gradually calmed down before returning to a state of panic.

"If you don't shout, I'll let you speak; if you do shout, I'll kill you."

Midwife Zhao nodded hurriedly, and Du Mingxian released her pressure points. Fortunately, the woman was sensible and did not shout, but just stared at Lord Wen and silently shed tears.

Before Lord Wen could ask any questions, he was already quite shocked by her appearance, and his whole body was trembling slightly.

Du Mingxian was genuinely worried that Lord Wen wouldn't be able to handle it, so she went ahead and closed the door, then pulled out a chair for him, saying, "Father, please sit down."

Zhao the midwife then looked at Du Mingxian, "You do resemble Lord Wen somewhat."

Du Mingxian gave an awkward yet polite smile. She had absolutely no connection with Lord Wen, so how could they be like that? It was blatant lying. "Why did you try to run away the moment you saw my father?"

"Having done many bad things, especially those that are still fresh in one's memory."

Du Mingxian was speechless, so it really is like that.

Lord Wen's voice was slightly hoarse, "Tell me, what did you do?"

Perhaps because her son hadn't been able to give birth to a grandson for many years, and she had heard too many stories of her son's misdeeds, Zhao, the midwife, now seemed to feel remorseful. When asked, she slowly began to speak.

"Madam Wen is a healthy person, and her child is also healthy. If... she hadn't asked me to deliver the baby, she might have given birth safely on her own, and both mother and daughter would have been safe."

Why did you harm my mother?

"I... am under someone else's control." Zhao the midwife had long wanted to repent, but had never had the chance. Now that she saw the person in question here, she wanted to tell the truth. Over the years, she had had enough.

Despite her seemingly glamorous appearance and extensive network, she always felt, in the dead of night, that something was trying to kill her.