Peerless Physician: The Path of a Foolish Eldest Daughter's Rise to Power

A deathly silence fell over the room. Gu Xinyue thought for a moment and then slowly said, "I just thought about it, and I didn't say anything like that. Are you sure I said it myself?"

The group had different expressions. Granny Liu frowned and said, "Miss didn't say that; it was Xiaomei who said it."

Seeing Gu Wu and Gu Yang's true colors, Granny Liu said angrily, "This girl thinks she's the master, giving orders like that. I'll teach her a lesson."

These words successfully provoked Gu Wu and Gu Yang's anger. If it weren't for this brat, they wouldn't have been drugged, and their young lady wouldn't have disappeared.

Looking at Gu An, who was deep in thought, Gu Xinyue said softly, "Xiaomei is Xiaomei, and I am me. We have lived here together for five years. We are closer than family. I don't treat you as outsiders. Since we are not outsiders, there is no need to avoid suspicion. Besides, you are the ones who protected my life."

Everyone in the room had tears in their eyes. They had spent their lives following orders, but today their master said they were closer than family. They were moved to tears, and this feeling surged in their hearts like a tide.

Miss used to be silly and didn't talk much, and in the last two years she's become even more ignoring them. Now, however, Miss is as kind and approachable as Madam.

In recent years, they only wanted to do their own thing and dared not hope for anything else. Now everything is different. Their young lady has returned and feels the warmth of home, but at the same time, their guilt has deepened.

Gu Xinyue gently wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. She missed her mother very much. These people were arranged by her mother herself because her mother had been loyal to her like a servant.

The door opened, and Gu Ran came in carrying the medicine. Gu Wu saw this and quickly helped Gu An up. Gu An took the medicine and slowly drank it.

Watching Gu An finish his medicine, Gu Xinyue said, "Brother Gu, you have a chronic illness. I prescribed a formula. What I just took was to clear away the remaining toxins. You should rest well today. Tomorrow, I will treat your chronic illness. After you finish your medicine, I will come over to give you acupuncture. After three consecutive days, your chronic illness will disappear."

Hearing these words, Gu An was very shocked. He had once been the Marquis's bodyguard. Once, due to a relapse of his old illness, he was unable to complete his mission, so the Marquis asked him to protect the lady and young lady.

Gu An stood up, preparing to kneel down to thank Miss Gu for her life-saving grace, but Gu Xinyue quickly helped him up.

“Brother Gu, a man’s knees are worth gold. I haven’t been good to you in the past.” She pointed to her head with her finger. “I have wronged you in many ways. In the future, I will not wrong you within my power.”

Gu An said firmly, "Miss, rest assured, as long as I, Gu An, am alive, I will protect you."

Hearing the slightly choked voice, Gu Xinyue's modern soul held no distinction between the original owner's social status and her own. She believed that as long as she treated them sincerely, they would do their best to protect her.

Gu Xinyue looked at the five people in front of her, and their eyes welled up with tears again. She understood that their lives were not easy. Under this hierarchical system, they were overwhelmed with gratitude for being respected, which also helped to bring them closer together.

Gu An thought the "Brother Gu" he heard earlier was a hallucination, but he didn't expect that the young lady would actually call him. The other four people looked back and forth between Gu Xinyue and Gu An.

Gu An hurriedly said, "Miss, my brother is unworthy of such praise. Please do not flatter me."

Wiping away her tears, Granny Liu said, "Miss, you are the mistress, and we are servants. This is unacceptable."

The ordinary word "elder brother" is not suitable for addressing a master and servant in this context, but she meant it sincerely.

"Granny Liu, Brother Gu, you'll get used to it gradually. You all look pale and thin; let me take your pulse."

After taking the pulses of the three, she discovered that they had been poisoned by laxatives and their stomachs were damaged. She prescribed a medicine for Gu Ran and then said, "You've been poisoned and given laxatives. What happened? Tell me what happened these past few days." Gu Xinyue was curious about what had happened in the past few days.

Gu Ran reported what he had found out in the past few days to Gu Xinyue.

Six days ago, Gu An and his three companions noticed that Xiao Mei had suddenly become close to Granny Li, the maid. They couldn't get into the inner courtyard and were whispering about something.

Before noon, Xiaomei and her mistress went out happily. Xiaomei and her mistress often went shopping, and sometimes to restaurants and teahouses. Seeing that her mistress was happy, they didn't think much of it.

That noon, the tea and food were poisoned. Gu An, who liked to drink tea, was poisoned by the tea. Gu Ran, Gu Wu, and Gu Yang suffered from severe abdominal pain after eating the food and urinated so many times that they couldn't even remember.

They discovered something was amiss. Huilan summoned a doctor, who learned that Gu Ran and the other two had been given a laxative, which would cause diarrhea for two or three days, but wouldn't be fatal. The doctor determined that Gu An had been poisoned with a poison called "Heartbreak Powder," but it was more potent than that. This kind of poison was beyond the doctor's ability to cure unless there was an antidote.

After Gu An forced out the poison with his internal energy, he could barely move. He went to the street with Granny Liu and Huilan to look for the young lady, and encountered a panicked Xiao Mei on the street.

Xiao Mei said with a sob in her voice, "Miss and I went to Qi Ji Tea House. After the tea was served, Miss wanted to eat Fu Ji dim sum. After I bought it back, I found that Miss was gone. I rushed home to tell you that Miss has disappeared."

Seeing that Xiaomei was carrying Fuji's pastries, no one suspected her.

When they arrived at the teahouse, the waiter told them that after Xiaomei left, their young mistress fainted and collapsed on the table. An old woman said that their young mistress had a tendency to faint, and then took her away.

Gu An told them to go home, and that he would go find it himself. The people at the teahouse entrance told them that two old women and a coachman had driven it eastward.

In a dilapidated courtyard, Gu An saw the carriage. Someone had been inside, but was no longer there; he was too late.

The young lady has gone missing. The east side is closest to Su County, and he suspects that she may have been abducted to Su County. Unable to suppress his addiction, Gu An went home.

The next night, Granny Li disappeared. The next morning, Du Yao's men were looking for Xiao Mei when Gu Yang caught them red-handed, and things started to get clearer.

Xiao Mei had thought that there was no hope for her mistress to return to the city. The rich people in this place would not let a fool be their legal wife. For five years, the mistress had ignored her mistress, and she was heartbroken.

The living conditions here are much worse than in the capital. In the capital, she has a good life with plenty of food, drink and clothing, and she doesn't have to work. Here, she has to work, and she can't stand this kind of life.

Ten days ago, Xiaomei learned that Du Yao, the eldest son of the richest man in Shihu Town, was fond of beautiful women. She dressed up her mistress specially and took her to a place where Du Yao often went. Sure enough, Du Yao took a fancy to Gu Xinyue.

Xiao Mei knew that Du Yao had a formidable wife and seven concubines, so they discussed having Xiao Mei bring Gu Xinyue out.

Once Du Yao and Gu Xinyue have consummated their relationship, then tell Granny Liu to let Miss become Du Yao's eighth concubine, so that she and Miss won't have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter.

Du Yao was eagerly anticipating having a discarded daughter of an official in the capital become his concubine, and all arrangements were in place.

That morning, Granny Li found Xiaomei and asked her to take Gu Xinyue out. She gave her 10 taels of silver, saying that she had already discussed it with the Du family and there would be no mistakes. She told Granny Li that she would take Gu Xinyue to Qiji Teahouse for tea in the afternoon.

At the teahouse, Xiaomei put the sleeping potion she had prepared beforehand into the tea, and then left under the pretext of buying Fu Ji pastries, which Gu Xinyue liked. As a result, Du Yao's men arrived a step too late, and someone beat them to it.

They searched in Su County to no avail. Granny Li's family had no idea where she had gone. Based on Gu An's analysis, it was possible that she had used a diversionary tactic to lure the young lady to Black Fox Mountain.

They learned that the day after the young lady disappeared, the second-in-command of Black Fox Mountain got married. The bride's surname was Li, she wore a red dress, was beautiful, but tragically, she fell off a cliff.

Beyond the cliffs of Black Fox Mountain lies the Forest of Death. Gu An, poisoned and unable to move, and unable to find the young lady, dared not act rashly. Yesterday, Gu Ran, Gu Wu, and Gu Yang spent the entire day searching the Forest of Death, but the forest was too vast and they couldn't find her.

Gu An's health is getting worse today. Gu Ran is taking care of Gu An. Gu Yang and Gu Wu go to the Deadly Forest and run into Miss Gu An.

Hearing this, Gu Xinyue was glad she had returned. Otherwise, Gu An's life would have been in danger, and the people around her would have suffered an undeserved disaster and lost their lives. She, as the master, would have been too incompetent.

Before, when Xiaomei was around, she didn't have the chance to sit and chat with everyone, and she rarely interacted with Granny Liu. Suddenly, Gu Xinyue realized that in the past five years, Xiaomei had been both a maid and a troublemaker.

Huilan came in; dinner was ready. Granny Liu and Gu Xinyue had returned to the inner courtyard.

After dinner, Granny Liu made the bed. Watching her busy figure, Gu Xinyue recalled that for the past five years, Granny Liu had been making her bed, washing up, bathing, and combing her hair. Xiao Mei had accompanied her in reading, practicing calligraphy, and playing the zither. Now, thinking about it carefully, Xiao Mei was no longer a maid, but a manager.

Thinking of Granny Liu's unwavering loyalty, Gu Xinyue secretly vowed to ensure her well-being and happiness.

Seeing that Granny Liu had finished her work, Gu Xinyue said, "Granny Liu, you should rest for a while. I'll do these things myself from now on."

"Miss, you flatter me. I feel at ease and happy doing these things for you every day. Would you like to buy another personal maid?"