Wang Guiqin hugged the child, glanced at Wu Yulan, and hesitated, not daring to speak.
Wu Yulan’s voice was calm. “It’s a girl!”
As soon as Li Xiuyun heard this, she panicked. She anxiously tugged at her mother-in-law’s sleeve and pleaded, “Mother, please don’t sell Chunni. The next one, the next one will definitely be a boy!”
Wu Yulan said nothing. She wiped Li Xiuyun clean, covered her with a quilt, and protected her privacy.
At that moment, Chunni’s hoarse voice sounded from outside the door.
“Grandma, I’ve brought the physician back. Please open the door and let him see my mother!”
Wu Yulan opened the door and saw Chunni’s thin, anxious little face.
Looking at those eyes full of worry, Wu Yulan couldn’t help but soften her voice and gently reassure her. “Your mother is fine. Both mother and daughter are safe.”
Then she looked at the physician beside her. “Physician Jiang, please take a look at my daughter-in-law.”
Physician Jiang had heard plenty about Wu Yulan’s reputation as a vicious mother-in-law, so when he saw her gentle and courteous demeanor, he was stunned for quite a while.
…
After taking the pulse, Physician Jiang declared, “Nothing serious. She’s just severely depleted and needs proper nourishment.”
He said this mainly to Wu Yulan.
Wu Yulan naturally knew that Li Xiuyun was severely depleted—she had great confidence in her own medical skills.
The reason she had invited this physician was to get some medicine from him.
“Thank you, Physician Jiang.”
“If it’s convenient for you, Physician Jiang, I’d appreciate it if you could prescribe a few herbs for me.”
Physician Jiang nodded. “Prescribing medicine is a simple matter.”
“I heard that this baby was in a breech position?”
Breech births were extremely dangerous, and difficult labor was common. Physician Jiang found it very remarkable that Li Xiuyun had safely delivered a daughter.
“Yes, it was breech.”
“Oh? Then how was the child delivered safely?” A burning curiosity shone in Physician Jiang’s eyes.
Wu Yulan wasn’t flustered at all. She said casually, “I happened to learn a technique from someone that can turn a breech baby around. I just used that method to guide the baby’s head into the birth canal.”
Hearing this, Physician Jiang perked up. “Oh? There’s such a technique?”
“May I ask where you learned it?”
Wu Yulan had no intention of hiding it, but her medical skills weren’t something just anyone could learn.
If Physician Jiang truly was a good person, she wouldn’t be stingy.
“If Physician Jiang wishes to know, we can discuss it another day. It’s truly not convenient at the moment.”
Physician Jiang was taken aback, then realized and quickly said, “I was too hasty. Too hasty.”
“You said you needed some medicine? I’ll have my eldest grandson deliver it to you shortly!”
Wu Yulan listed the few medicinal herbs she needed.
Physician Jiang nodded slightly. “Alright, I’ll have my eldest grandson bring them over shortly.”
“Yes. How much for the consultation and the medicine? I’ll pay you all at once.”
Physician Jiang waved his hand. “We’ll settle it another day. It’s not worth much.”
With that, he shouldered his medicine box and left.
Wu Yulan knew he was just leaving the door open for future dealings.
She glanced back at the weak Li Xiuyun, then went to the kitchen.
Her second daughter-in-law, Zhao Lijuan, was carefully ladling out the congee.
Seeing Song Zhishu following Wu Yulan into the kitchen, she quickly said, “Brother-in-law, the congee is ready. The eggs are here.”
Song Zhishu reached out to take them, but grabbed nothing.
Wu Yulan took the congee in one hand and the eggs in the other, then turned and walked out.
Song Zhishu frowned. “Mother, where are you taking those?”
Seeing Wu Yulan head straight into Li Xiuyun’s room, Song Zhishu stood frozen in place.
“This congee… isn’t… isn’t it for me?”
Everyone present looked on with a hint of surprise in their eyes.
Usually, the white rice congee and eggs at home were for Song Zhishu, and only Song Zhishu, who studied, was allowed to eat them.
But this time, the white congee and eggs weren’t for Song Zhishu?
Song Zhishu watched Wu Yulan carry the congee toward Li Xiuyun’s room and immediately furrowed his brow.
“Mother, are you really going to give the congee and eggs to that wretched woman?”
Wu Yulan suppressed the urge to slap him and snapped back, “That’s your third sister-in-law! If not for her, then for you?”
Song Zhishu nodded matter-of-factly, “Of course it should be for me…”
But Wu Yulan ignored him entirely, carrying the congee straight into Li Xiuyun’s room.
Seeing this, Song Zhishu grew angry and shouted, “Mother, what’s gotten into you!”
“Fine, if you won’t give your son any, then your son won’t eat!”
With that, he turned and stormed toward his room.
Hmph, not giving me any, is that right? Later, even if you beg me to eat, I won’t!
Unless you stew me some chicken soup, otherwise, I won’t touch a single bite of that congee!
Song Zhishu muttered to himself.
Little did he know, his calculations would come to nothing this time!
Li Xiuyun watched her mother-in-law enter carrying white congee and eggs, feeling somewhat alarmed.
Previously, when her eldest brother-in-law’s child had been sold, her mother-in-law had suddenly been this kind to her as well. At that thought, tears streamed down Li Xiuyun’s face.
“Mother, I don’t need to eat the white congee and eggs. Please don’t sell Chunni!”
Wu Yulan opened the door and called Chunni in to stay by Li Xiuyun’s side.
However, even seeing her eldest daughter, Li Xiuyun still dared not eat the white congee and eggs.
Wu Yulan curled her lips and scolded directly, “Stop dawdling. If you don’t eat, I’ll sell her tomorrow!”
Sure enough, those words were the most effective.
Hearing this, Li Xiuyun hastily picked up the bowl and stuffed the congee into her mouth, though she seemed to have misunderstood something, wiping her tears as she ate.
“Mother, I’ll eat. Please don’t sell Chunni. As long as you don’t sell Chunni, even if it poisons me to death, I’ll accept it willingly!”
Wu Yulan pressed her hand to her forehead.
She offered no explanation, watching until Li Xiuyun finished the congee and eggs, then opened the door and walked out.
Relaxing, Wu Yulan felt her head throbbing.
She returned to “her” room to sort out her thoughts.
She, Wu Yulan, had been a doctor of both Chinese and Western medicine in the 21st century, who had died from overwork while researching pharmaceuticals late into the night.
She had been only thirty-five years old, never married, never had children, devoting her entire life to medical research.
Pitifully, she hadn’t even enjoyed a few days of happiness before dying. Death would have been clean enough, but unfortunately, she had been reborn as this vicious old woman.
The vicious old woman was born in Wu Jia Cun in the northern part of Dongchen Guo. She married into Song Jia Cun at fifteen, her husband died early, and now she was only forty-six.
She had given birth to four sons: the eldest Song Zhiyong, the second Song Zhicong, the third Song Zhikang, and the fourth Song Zhishu.
The eldest son, Song Zhiyong, had been forced by the old woman to go hunting in the mountains during winter and had broken his leg. He married a woman from the neighboring village named Wang Guiqin, and they had two sons and two daughters: Song Dalang, 14, Song Erlang, 13, Song Jinhua, 10, and Song Yinhua, 9.
This mean and vicious old woman, thinking her granddaughters wasted food, had secretly sold Song Jinhua.
The second son, Song Zhicong, had been forced by the old woman to repair the river channel and had yet to return. His wife, Zhao Lijuan, was also from a nearby village and had given birth to twin daughters, Song Tonghua and Song Qianhua. Of course, unsurprisingly, the old woman had sold the twelve-year-old Song Tonghua to a human trafficker.
The third son, Song Zhikang, had been sent by the old woman to the border and his fate was unknown. His wife was Li Xiuyun, whom Song Zhikang had found in the mountains. She now had two daughters: Chunni and the newborn baby.
The fourth son, Song Zhishu, was born to the old woman in her later years and was deeply doted upon by her.
At home, he was treated like a young master, waited on hand and foot by the entire family, spending his days lost in dreams of passing the imperial examinations with top honors and marrying a noble lady.
Having sorted out the family situation, Wu Yulan couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead and curse inwardly.
“This old woman really is a piece of work!”
“She favors sons over daughters and mistreats her daughters-in-law, but even selling off her own granddaughters—such a filthy deed—she could do.”
Her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren were all obedient and filial. If she hadn’t stirred up trouble, she could have enjoyed a happy family and a peaceful old age. But no, she just had to court disaster.
Gazing at the mud walls plastered with yellow clay and reeds, and the roof covered with thatch, Wu Yulan let out a sigh.
Forget it. Since I’m here, I might as well make the best of it.
Since she had become this old woman, she would live well in this old woman’s identity.
With that thought, Wu Yulan, relying on the memories in her mind, searched for the old woman’s hidden stash of silver.
And in that search, she discovered something extraordinary.