Wang Rong came back quickly. She came in and pulled away the pretentious Wang Xin, and covered Wang Ru with a quilt herself. Wang Xin was too lazy to wipe away the tears and looked at the unconscious little sister with confusion. She hoped dearly that her sister would wake up, but reality was harsh.

Zhulan motioned to Li Shi to make tea. After all, Yao Zheyu was the prince of the Hou Mansion, and she helps the male protagonist, there would definitely be a thank-you gift. She hoped that the gift from the male protagonist would still be down-to-earth, the kind she liked!

The tea was brewed. Li Shi was vindictive. Wang Xin, that girl, dared to come to the Zhou family to plot against her mother-in-law. She wanted to step on her mother-in-law to show her kindness. Bah, let alone tea, there was not even water for her.

Li Shi poured a bowl of tea and handed it to her mother-in-law, “Mom, drink tea.”

Zhulan motioned to Mrs. Li, “Sit down too, we have to wait for a while for the doctor to come!”

Li Shi obediently took a seat, then smugly glanced at the head of the household, as if to say, “See? Mother favors me the most.”

Boss Zhou, “.”

Such a serious scene, his silly wife didn’t take it to heart.

Second Zhou hooked his fingertips into his palm, his gaze deep as he looked at Wang Xin. “How dare that girl slander our mother,” he muttered. “Hmm, Fourth Wang, her own father, is too irresponsible. He doesn’t even know his own daughter’s lofty aspirations. It’s unacceptable.”

After a while, Clan Chief Zhou, his wife, and Li Zheng arrived. It was a big deal for Hou Gongzi to bump into someone, and it happened in Zhoujia Village. The Clan Chief rushed in. Seeing Wang Ru’s pale face and still alive, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hated this troublemaker even more.

The clan leader, accompanied by his eldest son, paid their respects. “We arrived late. As soon as we heard the news on the mountain today, we rushed back. You’ve been startled.”

Zhulan secretly said that she was indeed frightened. The hero was waiting to meet Wang Ru by chance, but he didn’t expect her to be so stupid.

Yao Zheyu stood up, “I didn’t expect the girl to rush over suddenly. This is my responsibility after all. I will pay for the diagnosis and medicine.”

The clan leader had already heard from his grandson about what happened. He didn’t blame the Gongzi of the Hou Mansion at all. It was obvious that Wang Ru did it on purpose. She resorted to such low-level tactics; she was so young yet had such cunning thoughts. He cursed inwardly and forced a smile, saying, “I’ve heard all about what happened. Today’s incident was entirely the fault of the Wang family girl. It is enough that you didn’t blame her.”

Yao Zheyu got to know enough about Zhoujiacun in a week. Zhoujiacun wished that Wang Ru would leave earlier. Now he probably regretted not driving her away earlier. He was gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Zhulan gestured for the eldest to pour tea for the clan leader. Clan Leader Zhou was indeed thirsty. After the rain cleared, many mushrooms appeared on the mountain. The men in the family went to gather firewood while the women went to pick mushrooms. Almost everyone went up the mountain. Who could have predicted that something would happen? They hurried back without even drinking a drop of water after changing their clothes. Fortunately, Zhou Yang Shi was capable and didn’t cause any trouble, making Hou Gongzi unhappy. The clan leader was truly afraid of offending Hou Gongzi. The Zhou family village was vulnerable and they were afraid of being bullied. After drinking the tea, they felt much more at ease.

When Zhou Wang Shi came, Li Shi quickly gave up her seat.

As Zhou Wang Shi sat down, Zhulan looked at her. Her legs were trembling, and she was tired. Looking at Zhou Wang Shi’s eyes, she wanted to eat Wang Ru, she completely hated Wang Ru.

This time Wang Xin did not dare to say anything. She was very afraid of the Zhou Wang Shi and tried to reduce her presence as much as possible.

Zhang Sanni was furious. Originally, encountering a fool meant she wouldn’t need to sell herself and could even receive a monthly allowance. She had already planned how to earn more money to prevent her parents from selling her. But then, she was forcibly bound by a death contract. Although Wang Ru said she would release her, the contract was in the hands of Shi Gongzi. What use were words? She had to obey Shi Gongzi’s orders. She knew better than to harbor any thoughts of Shi Gongzi and just wanted to do good deeds and marry someone.

She never expected Wang Ru, who failed to keep an eye on things, to court death by thinking about climbing a higher branch. As someone bound by a death contract, she dared not imagine how Shi Gongzi would punish her. She hated Wang Ru but didn’t dare to curse her to death, or else she would lose her life too.

The main hall was inexplicably quiet, and the clan leader didn’t even bother to exchange greetings. He knew that the gap was too big, so it was better not to offend others and wait quietly for the doctor.

Outside the courtyard, it was bustling with activity. It seemed like everyone in the village who could join the excitement had come to watch. If it weren’t for the guards holding them back, they would have all rushed in through the main gate to join in the spectacle.

Zhao Shi was very panicked when she heard the noise. Why were there so many people outside? Fortunately, she moved quickly and took her daughter back to the house without anyone seeing her appearance.

Xuehan said while sewing the purse, “Èrsǎo, you made a mistake in your needlework.”

Zhao Shi saw that she had indeed made several mistakes in the embroidery. She sighed and put down her needlework, “I’m panicking. I’ll correct it after everyone has left.”

Xuehan remained calm inside. “Èrsǎo, Mother is outside. She can handle things. Don’t worry about it.”

Zhao Shi felt considerably reassured at the thought of her mother-in-law. She had always believed that her mother-in-law was no less capable than her father-in-law. Seeing her xiǎogūzi unaffected by the situation, Zhao Shi couldn’t help but feel emotional. The way her mother-in-law taught her was different, and her xiǎogūzi had become more composed in handling things. Looking at her daughter, who was busy drawing, Zhao Shi felt uneasy. She hoped that her in-laws’ family would continue to thrive. Otherwise, she also considered following her mother-in-law’s example and finding a foster husband for her daughter.

The doctor arrived, Dr. Lu, whom Zhulan knew well. Zhulan had been taking his prescribed remedies for almost half a year. After spending quite a sum on medicine with Zhou Shuren for half a year, they could be considered VIP customers. Later on, Dr. Lu became less aloof and even chatted with them for a few moments. It was probably because they had spent a certain amount of money, so he started teaching them some self-defense techniques for free. In short, when the money was spent, the service followed.

Doctor Lu seemed to have seen the world at first glance. When he came in and saw Hou Gongzi, he remained unfazed and went straight to see Wang Ru. After examining her pulse and wound, he stroked his beard and said, “The wound has been treated well. I’ll re-dress it, and in the future, avoid contact with water. Change the dressing regularly every day. However, the wound is quite large. My clinic is too small to have good ointments for treating scars. If you want to avoid scarring, you’ll need to find good ointments elsewhere.”

Zhulan, “.”

Based on her understanding of Doctor Lv, Wang Ru’s scar wouldn’t heal, even with the best scar removal medicine. Doctor Lv said so to avoid trouble. After half a year of acquaintance, it was clear that while Doctor Lu had skills, he was also cunning!

Doctor Lu paused for a moment before continuing, “The patient has lost a lot of blood, so it’s important to replenish it. However, there’s an urgent issue with the patient’s liver fire, and stagnant qi is accumulating in the heart. In the future, try to maintain a calm and peaceful mindset. I’ll prescribe a few more doses of medicine to clear liver fire and regulate qi.”

Zhulan looked up at the ceiling beam, suppressing a smile. Why did Wang Ru have such a heavy liver fire? She was practically asking for trouble by living next door to them. Now that Doctor Lu had pointed it out, it was fortunate that Wang Ru was still unconscious; if she were awake, she might faint from anger.

Watching Doctor Lu clean the wound without any gentleness, it was clear that Wang Ru must have offended this old man. He held grudges, and there was nothing parental about his care; he was meticulous about money and had a petty mindset. His aloof demeanor was just an act. However, his skills were indeed remarkable, as evidenced by the prescriptions he provided. He was incredibly talented.

Yao Zheyu’s face darkened as he looked at Wang Ru, who was unconscious and clearly in pain. How foolish could someone be to offend everyone around them? He regretted once again why he didn’t settle the matter with a simple beating!

Doctor Lu took care of the wound and prescribed the medicine neatly, thinking that this trip was a waste of money. Xiaosi’s medical skills were good!

Zhulan has been taking traditional Chinese medicine for half a year and was familiar with the prices of medicines. Looking at the medicines Dr. Lu brought, well, they were all expensive. This old man was robbing the rich.

Doctor Lu wrote the prescription, “The consultation fee plus the medicine cost are twenty taels in total. Who will pay the money?”

(End of Chapter)

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