She rubbed her chin and touched her nose, finally letting out a helpless dry laugh and swaggering out the door, slamming it shut with a loud bang.
Xu Wanzhi slightly furrowed his brow, choosing not to argue with her at this moment and going back to sleep.
Early the next day, a woman sat elegantly in the room. It was Ding Xiang Wei’s senior sister, Zhan Suya.
She stood up to bow respectfully and said with a smile: “Young master, you’re up early! I was rude to you last night. Suya is deeply ashamed and hereby apologizes, hoping the young master will forgive me.”
Xu Wanzhi calmly put on his outer robe without changing his middle garment. Seeing her still feigning sincerity, he smiled coolly: “If Miss Zhan wants to apologize, fine. Please clean the courtyard, make peanut and red date porridge this morning, and bring me a basin of clean water.”
Zhan Suya was stunned by the straightforward orders: “Please give me something more challenging. These household chores are too belittling.”
Xu Wanzhi replied, “From what I see, this is something you’ve repeatedly avoided.”
Xu Wanzhi ignored her and walked to the kitchen. The charcoal stove still had a pot of warm water, perfect for washing, changing charcoal, and cooking porridge—all of which he was quite familiar with.
Zhan Suya, having been rebuffed twice, reluctantly followed to the kitchen and met Ding Xiang Wei, who was slightly late. She called out joyfully: “Senior sister, you’re back!”
The delighted tone of her junior sister restored some of her dignity. She grabbed Ding Xiang Wei’s shoulder and said: “Xiao Wei, the beauty you’ve found this time is quite a handful!”
Ding Xiang Wei’s face reddened slightly, helplessly saying: “Senior sister, don’t talk nonsense. Wan Zhi is a proper gentleman.”
Jia Wei heard it and went crazy, the young lady coldly glaring, stopping her servant, her gaze sweeping across the hall, deliberately stopping on Xu Wanzhi. She suddenly let out a “hehe” laugh: “That gentleman looks pleasing, call him over!”
Xu Wanzhi did not wait for the woman’s servant to rush over; he explained to the male guest and walked towards them. The young lady saw him being so cooperative and again let out a “hehe” laugh, arrogantly stretching out her wrist towards him. The patients saw their respected doctor’s assistant being humiliated by this woman but were afraid and could not express their anger.
Xu Wanzhi did not dodge, smoothly gripping her pulse point, causing the young lady to cry out in pain. He gripped tighter, pinching with two fingers and said: “You’re pregnant.”
If you dare to indulge in lust again, you’ll miscarry within a month and never be able to have children.”
“What!” The young lady’s eyes widened, and the servants’ faces turned white. A sensible servant quickly asked: “Are you serious?”
Xu Wanzhi coldly swept a glance at her, meaningfully scanning the young lady’s belly, and softly laughed: “Try having your lady cause a scene here. If something happens when you return… Oh, I won’t be prescribing any miscarriage prevention medicine.”
The servant was frightened, remembering how she had been encouraging her lady to invite many random people to her bed these past few days. If something went wrong… Cold sweat instantly broke out, and she hurried to support the young lady. The other servants surrounded her as if she had suddenly fallen seriously ill.
The servants became much more polite, kneeling down and kowtowing: “Doctor, my lady is delicate and precious, please prescribe some good pregnancy-preserving medicine…”
Xu Wanzhi hummed, coughing and blinking at the doctor: “Please prescribe some suitable medicine for her.”
This time, the doctor did not mind their cutting in line, waving his hand to write a prescription for the young lady. The group carefully surrounded her and left with the medicine. Xu Wanzhi coldly snorted – they were leaving just like that? He hadn’t even said his scary words yet! But this showed how much this world valued pregnant women.
Legend
The doctor smiled and asked: “Sir, was she really pregnant?”
He directly sat back and honestly shook his head: “I don’t know. I was just talking nonsense.” The doctor laughed heartily, knowing he had just prescribed ordinary tonic medicine to dismiss them. Even if she was pregnant, nothing would happen.
When closing the clinic, the doctor privately warned Xu Wanzhi that the young lady was a notorious bully in the city, who loved to provoke and oppress weak men. Today, scaring her with pregnancy, if she discovered she wasn’t pregnant, she might bring people to cause trouble. As a man, he should be careful.
Xu Wanzhi thanked the doctor’s kindness and returned to Sanxin Sect. Ding Xiangwei was sorting and drying herbs, while her senior sister found a reclining chair, enjoying a nap.
“Wanzhi, rest a bit. I’ll cook dinner tonight,” Ding Xiangwei looked up, smiling and asking: “Are you tired today?”
Xu Wanzhi shook his head: “I can sort these herbs – can I request porridge for dinner tonight?”
“Okay.” Ding Xiangwei lowered her sleeves, turning helplessly to Zhan Suya: “Senior sister, since you’ve been gone so long, could you help cook more dishes tonight?”
After sorting out these matters, Xu Wanzhi continued to work at the medical clinic.
He had never been afraid and always tried to avoid trouble, which was good for everyone.
Ding Xiangwei was worried, and Zhan Suya was happy to accompany him. For several days, they went out and returned together, showing an unusually patient and cheerful demeanor. The efficiency of male clients at Sanxin Hall increased significantly. Xu Wanzhi finally became impatient with Zhan Suya’s unabashed gaze, gave her a cold glance, and went to the neighboring restaurant to buy lunch.
“Oh! The husband of this family has disappeared! You can’t find him! I heard the Qu family patriarch asked every broker in the city. The brokers searched every brothel for that reward money, but where is that enviable Qu master?”
“Tell me what happened next! Was the person found?”
“If he was found, it wouldn’t be such a story!” The middle-aged woman chuckled mysteriously, waiting until everyone was completely captivated before slowly taking a sip of water: “A perfectly good woman, unable to find him, with such a family fortune – what man wouldn’t want it? Yet she’s heartbroken and wasted away to a thin bamboo-like figure!”
The story continues with a dramatic tale of a missing husband, mountain bandits, a daring rescue attempt, and a fierce confrontation where the Qu family matriarch fights to avenge her husband and protect his honor.
The narrative concludes with Xu Wanzhi hearing this story and becoming deeply troubled, deciding to travel to Yiling, with Zhan Suya insisting on accompanying him. The final scene shows the Qu family patriarch visiting his injured daughter, showing concern and care.
“Father, rest assured, Doctor Yue said I’ll be fully recovered after a few more days of rest.”
Lin Shi sat by the bedside and carefully examined her expression. Lin Lan brought over a ginseng soup, which Lin Shi personally scooped and fed her. Qu Xiaojue, not wanting to cause more worry, obediently opened her mouth and drank.
After finishing the soup, Lin Shi finally showed a hint of a smile, handed the soup bowl to Lin Lan, and said, “Lan’er, take this out first. I want to talk to Jue’er.”
“Yes, uncle.” Lin Lan glanced at Qu Xiaojue, who politely nodded at her, then lowered her head and turned to leave.
Lin Shi’s smile disappeared, and she frowned deeply: “Jue’er, look at how Lan’er treats you? For the sake of that person, you’ve ended up like this. I ask you, is it really worth it?”
Finally, it had come. Qu Xiaojue coughed and looked at Lin Shi: “Father, what do you want me to do?”
