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

He was certainly afraid; if his employer sued him, he would not only go to jail, but he would also never be able to find a way to make a living again. He turned to look at Liu's sister-in-law's younger brother, Liu Jixiang.

Liu Jixiang trembled with fright. When everyone's eyes were on him, he involuntarily swayed and then secretly glanced at his sister. What he saw almost made him kneel down.

He had just gotten married when his parents passed away one after another. His sister was struggling financially, but she still cared about them. Five years ago, when she came to the village, she brought his whole family with her.

Sister-in-law Liu glared angrily at Liu Jixiang, as if to say, "If you don't talk, I'll beat you to death." Liu Jixiang lowered his head and dared not speak. Little Liu looked at her husband, not believing that he would lie.

"You won't talk?" Aunt Liu came over and kicked Liu Jixiang in the butt. Liu Jixiang staggered and knelt down. Aunt Liu said angrily, "You won't talk? Then you'll eat jail food with Accountant Li."

"Sister, I know I was wrong. I will never do it again. Please forgive me. I really will never do it again."

"What's going on? Stop dawdling. The boss is busy."

"It was my greed that implicated Accountant Li."

Under the tyranny of Sister Liu, Liu Jixiang recounted the events in fits and starts, leading the villagers to believe that Liu Jixiang had gone mad with longing for his son. Gu Xinyue, ever the gossipmonger, couldn't resist stirring up trouble.

It turned out that five years ago, not long after arriving in the village, Liu Jixiang's living conditions had improved significantly, and he began to think about having a son.

She and Xiao Liu had been married for ten years, and Xiao Liu had only given birth to two girls. The younger one was already three years old, but Xiao Liu's belly showed no signs of pregnancy.

He heard that there were secret recipes for having a son among the people. When he inquired about them in Shihu Town, a woman told him that her family had them.

When Liu Jixiang arrived at her house, he stood in the courtyard. The woman brought him a bowl of tea and offered it to him. After drinking it, he felt hot all over, and the woman helped him into the house to rest.

He was so infatuated that he only realized he had slept with the woman after he came to his senses. He also saw that the woman had her hair styled in a girl's bun.

Afterwards, the girl said that it didn't matter if he had a wife and it was inconvenient for him to marry her, as long as Liu Jixiang was alright, she would be fine.

Preparing the fertility elixir is quite troublesome; she has to wait until her wandering master returns so she can make it for him as soon as possible. She hopes he will come to collect it in three months.

He didn't dare go for three months, and after another three months, seeing that his wife showed no signs of pregnancy, he reluctantly went to find the woman.

Upon entering, he found it was still the same girl, but her hairstyle had changed to that of a married woman. Seeing her belly, he was so shocked he almost lost his balance.

She was pregnant, and his growing belly was impossible for him to ignore.

The woman looked at him in astonishment, then her face instantly lit up with ecstatic joy as she said to Liu Jixiang, "You're here! Come in quickly! I thought you'd forgotten me and weren't coming back."

Liu Jixiang pointed to her stomach and said, "What's this...?"

The woman said, "The child is yours. I got pregnant after you left. I know it's a boy, and I will give birth to him and raise him myself."

Liu Jixiang didn't know what to do, but when she heard about the boy, a light shone in her eyes. Even if Xiao Liushi couldn't have any more children, he would have an heir.

He was blinded by the birth of his son and said he would take care of her to the best of his ability, but he could not give her a formal title, which she was willing to accept.

Later, he learned that the woman's name was Zhao Nan, and her parents hoped that their next child would be a boy. However, her parents did not get their wish and treated her very badly. They wanted to marry her off to an old man for money, so she ran away and lived here alone.

After that, Liu Jixiang kept helping her out. When he was short of money, he started to embezzle funds from the accounts. He asked the accountant, Li, to help him, promising to take responsibility if anything went wrong and not to implicate Li. Of course, Li felt it was inappropriate, but he did as he was told.

The child is now four years old.

Liu's wife kicked Liu Jixiang angrily, "You son of a bitch, who gave you the guts to use the master's money? Keeping a mistress, is this something we common people do? We've just filled our stomachs and you're already causing trouble. If you live a little better in the future, will you turn the world upside down? I'll beat you to death."

Liu Jixiang clutched his sister-in-law's clothes, sobbing uncontrollably like a child. He pleaded with her, "Sister, I don't want our Liu family line to end, please save me!"

Looking at Xiao Liu, Sister-in-law Liu wasn't angry; instead, there was a hint of guilt in her eyes. She said sadly, "Sister-in-law, it's all her fault. Whatever you want to do, I'll respect your decision."

Little Liu looked at everyone, and finally said to Gu Xinyue, "Master, we are sorry. We will try our best to make up for the money my husband embezzled. Can you give us a chance?"

"You'll get a chance, but the punishment won't be light." He wanted to see how this magnanimous woman would handle the matter.

“Sister, since he is my husband’s child, let’s not let him wander outside. Let’s bring him back.”

"You need to think this through. What if the child comes back and his mother comes back with him?"

"Husband, what are you thinking?"

“We’ll bring the child back. His mother will come, but she’ll be a concubine and won’t overstep your bounds. I’ll treat you well and won’t let you suffer any injustice.”

Hearing her brother's words, Sister-in-law Liu was furious. "She won't suffer any injustice? You've already made her suffer. A woman who can hook up with an honest man like you must be a cunning woman. Your wife is no match for her."

Liu's wife was furious and kicked him again. This time she kicked him harder, and Liu Jixiang didn't dare to cry out in pain.

Ms. Liu said, "Then let's bring them back."

Seeing that Gu Xinyue wasn't angry about embezzling the money, but instead was watching everyone with great interest, Granny Liu was surprised that her young mistress could be so gossipy. She couldn't spoil her mistress's fun.

"Then you go and pick them up now, we'll take a look around the estate."

So Liu's wife and Liu Jixiang's wife went to pick up Zhao Nan and her son, while He Zhong took them to stroll around the estate.

It's early October. The fields are planted with lots of vegetables and some poultry, and there are delicious fish in the river.

"Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, I leisurely gaze at the Southern Mountains." At this moment, her mood is probably similar to that of Tao Yuanming; living a pastoral life for a lifetime is not bad.

An hour later, Sister Liu returned with Liu Jixiang, whose eyes were red and who looked completely lost. Little Liu followed behind, looking at her husband with heartache.

She made Liu Jixiang kneel outside, then said to Gu Xinyue, "Master, I'm sorry, my brother has done something to offend you. Please punish him as you see fit."

She wiped away her tears and began to talk about her foolish younger brother.