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

Gu Xinyue was quietly reading in the study. It was a habit she had developed over the years. She felt empty if she didn't read. What could be better than doing what she liked in her leisure time?

Granny Liu said that Shen Quan and Gu An were waiting for her in the hall, so she quickly put down her book and came out. She was indeed very curious about the results of their hard work today.

In the hall, Gu An told Gu Xinyue that the Du family's granaries had been found. There were three in total, and they were all almost full, with not much gold or silver.

Why so much grain? When Du Hai was a child, his family was very poor and often went hungry. Later, when he became wealthy, he liked to store grain.

How did he make his fortune?

"It's a long story."

Gu Xinyue listened quietly to what Shen Quan had to say.

Because his family was poor, Du Hai went out to work in a grocery store. The store owner and his wife had a daughter in their middle age and doted on her. Seeing that Du Hai was diligent and clever, they married their daughter to him.

Du Hai was also filial, taking care of the elderly couple until their passing, and the surrounding neighbors all praised him for his filial piety.

He would help his neighbors borrow money when they were in trouble, without charging interest. Those who couldn't repay the debt had to use their land as collateral, and he kindly allowed them to continue farming it, charging only 20% rent.

Gradually, the Du family acquired a lot of land, and their business grew bigger and bigger. They acquired many shops, and there were rules for buying and selling shops.

The woman beaten to death by the Du family today was Liu Xiaoqing, a villager from Tianjia Village. She was smart, cheerful, and pretty, and got along very well with the villagers, who liked her very much.

She and Tian Fengshou, from the same village, were childhood sweethearts. Their families got engaged this year and are just waiting to get married next year.

Du Yao took a liking to Liu Xiaoqing, but she ignored him. He then led his men to rob her. Tian Fengshou saw this and tried to stop them, determined to protect Liu Xiaoqing at all costs. Du Yao ordered his men to beat Tian Fengshou up, breaking his right leg, and then left with Liu Xiaoqing.

The people who witnessed it dared not speak out but were filled with anger.

Shen Quan continued, "We haven't found any evidence of Du Hai's crimes yet, only that he ordered Liu Xiaoqing to be beaten to death. The person who was following you today has already admitted that it was Master Du who ordered the beating."

"Today, Liu Xiaoqing's parents and the villagers of Tianjia Village brought her home from the mass grave. Their anger was palpable, and many people couldn't hold back their tears. Liu Xiaoqing's family cried their hearts out, and her mother fainted several times. We plan to have Tian Fengshou beat the drum to appeal for justice and file a lawsuit against the Du family."

The tragic event brought a moment of silence to the hall. The sudden disaster was caused by the bullying within the Du family, and Liu Xiaoqing's mangled and bloody death broke the hearts of her relatives.

“The fact that Du Hai sold Li’s Pharmacy at a low price shows that he is not a benevolent person. Sending assassins to kill us shows that he is a person who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He used to be careful and didn’t leave any loose ends,” Gu Xinyue said.

"That's right," Gu An and Shen Quan echoed.

“We are investigating how he acquired his ten most profitable businesses, but unfortunately, the contracts for several of them are all in order.”

"We can't just look at the contract. We need to see when she became Du Hai's property, who her previous owner was, and what major events happened in the original owner's family when the property became his."

"We'll continue our investigation tomorrow. Your suggestion is excellent; we'll examine it thoroughly tomorrow."

Gu Xinyue shared her thoughts and listened quietly to Gu An and Shen Quan's discussion.

"After the Du family father and son went to prison, some of the victims who had been hiding will come out and bring us evidence."

“I’ve also considered this. Only when the people see that the Du family father and son are sure to fall will they dare to come back and testify,” Shen Quan said.

"If the people see hope and everyone reports the issue, things will make greater progress."

"We also found that Du Yao's wife is the niece of the former county magistrate. We found account books in Du Hai's house, which are related to the former county magistrate. We won't use this lead for now, as the relationships involved are very complicated. We'll use it after we've investigated it more thoroughly."

“The situation is unclear right now. If we alert them, the ledger will be of little use. If they are ruthless and try to destroy the ledger, we could be killed. We have to be careful,” Gu Xinyue said solemnly.

Shen Quan'an laughed and said, "Young lady, you seem to value your life quite a bit."

"Of course, you can only enjoy life if you're alive." Gu Xinyue thought to herself, you're always in danger and your life is in jeopardy, yet you can still be so calm.

Wait a minute, that's not right. They all have martial arts skills, so protecting themselves in case of danger wouldn't be a problem. I wonder if she can still do it now that she's learned martial arts.

"Miss, what are you thinking about?" Gu An's voice interrupted Gu Xinyue's thoughts.

"I was thinking that a person's life and death can be decided in an instant. Like assassins, every time they go on a mission, they choose between life and death. If they live, there is another choice to be made. If they die, it is also a choice they made themselves. Like Liu Xiaoqing, who suffered an undeserved disaster, it is good to bring the Du family father and son to justice and comfort their souls."

"Girl, do you think about these things every day?"

“I have something to do every day, and when I think about it occasionally, it’s all for the sake of living a better life.”

Shen Quan looked at Gu Xinyue again. So insightful and intelligent, Chu Yize was so lucky. With this girl by his side, his future days would be much more interesting than before.

Gu An was thinking that life, whether long or short, should be lived to the fullest, and one should strive to achieve the life one desires.

"It's late, you should get some rest."

After Gu Xinyue finished speaking, everyone dispersed.

In the afternoon, when Manager Wan came to visit, Gu Xinyue was sunbathing in the courtyard.

In the hall, Manager Wan was extremely enthusiastic, holding Gu Xinyue's hand and showering her with thanks. It wasn't until she said the clothes had arrived and asked everyone to take a look and see if they suited her that things began to flow.

Gu Xinyue finally let go, and Granny Liu took the clothes away.

To be honest, the embroiderers at Liniang Embroidery Workshop are skillful and quick-witted; they can transform ordinary fabric into exquisite garments.

Manager Wan took out a stack of silver notes and said, "Here are three thousand taels of silver notes for you. The clothes sold very well this time, and these young ladies have money."

Gu Xinyue took out 600 taels and gave it to Manager Wan: "This is your 20%."

Manager Wan pushed Gu Xinyue's hand away: "I've already taken the 20% profit, all of this is yours."

Gu Xinyue smiled and said, "Great, this big shot is really something, all the clothes are sold out."

"Yes, the important person left yesterday, and that's why I'm seeing the young lady here today."

"I wish Manager Wan a prosperous business and that many important people will come to Mianzhou."

"Alright, alright, thank you for your kind words. Do you still want to buy the rest of the clothes, young lady? I think even though no important figures are coming anymore, the sales channels have been opened up, and we can still sell them slowly."

"Alright, Granny Liu will take you there."

After Manager Wan finished counting the clothes, the embroiderer brought them over for Gu Xinyue to see. The clothes were nice, but she didn't like them. She would only feel at ease if she had the money in her hands.

“Miss Gu, I’m selling these clothes at my embroidery shop in Mianzhou. I don’t know when they’ll be sold out. How about I pay you 2000 taels in one go?”

"Okay." This is great, much better than a pawnshop, and they even offer door-to-door service.

Manager Wan smiled and took out a silver note for Gu Xinyue, who then told Granny Liu to put it away.

After seeing Manager Wan off, Granny Liu asked, "Miss, you received 5000 taels for these clothes, shoes, and some headdresses. Why are you so happy?"

"Think about it, it would take us a lot of time to buy these things ourselves, and we wouldn't even be able to afford them all."

“But, this old servant looks at the account book, and you spent a total of 8123 taels of silver on these things.”

"..."

So you've actually lost 3123 taels. But that's alright, their value is no longer what it used to be, and they can't compare to having silver in hand.