Upon hearing this, Shen Qing felt a warm glow in her heart.
After finishing her chocolate, she leaned back onto the bed.
I slept for a day and a night, but I'm not sleepy at all.
Cheng Zhiwen took the medicine bowl out and soon brought in a bowl of steamed meat and egg.
"Where is Chunju?" Shen Qing asked.
Chunju always served her meals.
"She took care of you all day, so I let her go and rest."
Seeing the steamed egg with meat on the tray, and the yellow meat juice floating on top, Shen Qing asked with a smile, "Why is it steamed egg with meat?"
"High-quality protein can help the body recover quickly, while porridge and rice are too nutritionally limited."
Shen Qing scooped up a mouthful of steamed egg mixed with lean meat and ate it, thinking to himself: If I didn't know that he had studied abroad, I would really think that he was also a time traveler from the modern era.
Even as a modern person, she only heard about the concept of high-quality protein after she grew up.
When I was little, whenever I was sick, my grandma would only give me porridge for three meals a day, saying that porridge was easy to digest and nutritious. As a result, my body recovered slowly, and even after I recovered, I felt that my energy and spirit were much worse.
Actually, it was just that I was sick for a few days and my body was weak due to insufficient nutrition.
As the delicious steamed egg custard melted in her mouth, Shen Qing savored it and suddenly understood why Cheng Zhiwen had broken off her engagement with the original owner of this body.
He, a sick man who needs to eat high-quality protein, cannot live with a woman who can only provide him with porridge.
The reason for the annulment of the engagement was not what she had initially guessed.
At this moment, Shen Qing truly understood Cheng Zhiwen, and no wonder Cheng Zhiwen abandoned the original body.
After taking the white medicine powder for three consecutive days, Shen Qing's wounds were almost healed, and under Cheng Zhiwen's care, he became stronger and more energetic.
She sits by the window every day, basking in the sun and watching everything happening in the market.
On one occasion, she saw Gao Laosan's sedan chair swaggering through the streets.
Chunju also saw it and said indignantly, "Young Madam, after you left the Gao family, Third Master Gao will definitely move in and become the king of the Gao family!"
Shen Qingyun smiled nonchalantly, "It's alright, let him have his fun for a few days. Not just anyone can handle the Gao family's business. Old Master Gao is clever; he secretly has his eyes on the silk and storefronts, but he doesn't get a single penny involved. Only a fool like Gao Laosan would dare to touch that house."
Soon after that day, news of Gao Laosan's death arrived.
It is said that he died suddenly while having fun with prostitutes at a brothel, his clothes disheveled, lying on top of one of them.
The coroner examined the body and found no signs of homicide, so the case was quickly closed.
"As soon as Master Gao died, the people from the third branch of the family came and took Gao Che away," Chunju reported to Shen Qing. "Gao Liushi couldn't pay the wages for the maids and servants, so everyone left. Now, in the entire second branch, only Gao Liushi is left to guard the house."
Shen Qing lay on the rocking chair, gazing blankly at the blue sky outside the window.
After rescuing Gao Liushi from the courtroom that day, she expected the creditors to make Gao Laosan suffer, but she did not expect him to die so suddenly and quickly.
Faced with Gao Laosan's sudden death, she didn't feel happy or relieved; instead, she felt a bit scared.
She wondered if she would be the next one to die.
On the other hand, she had been back at the Gao family's house for three months. Although she often suspected that the creditors would harm her, the facts showed that nothing had happened for the time being.
Except for that time when Gao Laosan caught me and threw me into a pig cage.
But she believed that the pig-drowning incident was not done by the creditors.
Judging from the speed at which the Gao family father and son, as well as Gao Laosan, died, she had no chance of surviving once the creditor made his move.
Therefore, she was certain that the creditors wouldn't let her die anytime soon.
This is good, as it gives us the opportunity to develop rayon.
Shen Qing got up and asked Chunju to bring over the cloak.
As they were leaving, they ran into Cheng Zhiwen, who had just returned to the inn.
Shen Qing asked naturally, "Where did you go?"
Cheng Zhiwen took off his hat, shook off the snowflakes, and said gently, "I went to the prefect's office to discuss some things with Brother Zhenheng."
Shen Qing nodded: "I'm going back to the Gao family to get some things."
Cheng Zhiwen looked at her gently: "Go ahead, but be careful."
Shen Qing waved to him, pulled up the hood of her cloak, and disappeared into the wind and snow.
When they arrived at the Gao family's gate, the servant who used to guard the gate was nowhere to be seen. The gate was ajar, but with a slight push, it swung wide open.
Shen Qing and Chunju went inside.
The yard was full of withered yellow leaves, which no one swept up.
Walking all the way to the backyard, there wasn't a soul in sight. Gao Liu's door was ajar. Shen Qing approached and pushed it open with one hand.
Madam Gao, her hair disheveled, leaned against the headboard, so thin she was almost unrecognizable. Hearing the sound, she turned and looked over. Upon recognizing her, her eyes immediately welled with tears. She leaned towards the side of the bed and reached out her hand: "Qing'er..."
Shen Qing walked in with a cool expression and said, "I heard that all the maids and servants in the Gao family have run away. I've come to see you."
Lady Gao wept uncontrollably.
Only then did she realize that she could only live a decent life if Shen Qing was in the Gao family.
But when he thought about Shen Qing having an affair with another man outside, and that he was still keeping her in the Gao family, he felt extremely sorry for his son and the ancestors of the Gao family.
What she wanted was a clean and virtuous daughter-in-law who could remain a widow for her son for life and also support the Gao family.
"If only you hadn't gone out and found other men..." she cried to Shen Qing, "We could have lived a good life together, but why did you have to seduce other men... If you hadn't, the third wife's family wouldn't have said anything, and they wouldn't have had to drown you in a pig cage..."
Shen Qing remained silent.
She has no intention of proving her innocence.
Her husband is dead, so it wouldn't be a problem if she were with another man.
Therefore, she did not intend to emphasize her innocence to Gao Liushi.
She simply said, "When I was arrested and brought to court, if I had just agreed to mortgage the Gao family's house to Master Zhao, I would have been free of debt and could have returned to Yongzhou to remarry someone else legitimately. Why should I take on that debt, struggle to support the Gao family, and then risk being drowned in a pig cage by you all to seduce men?"
Upon hearing this, Gao Liu looked at her in astonishment.
"I've worked so hard to run this business and support the Gao family, but all I get in return is your suspicion and insults. I'll be much better off without the Gao family, but what will the Gao family be like without me?"
Suddenly, Madam Gao understood. Watching her turn to leave, she cried, "Qing'er... Qing'er... stay... stay... I'll entrust the Gao family to you... from now on, the Gao family will be yours to manage!"
She took a brocade box from under her pillow, and because she was in a hurry to get out of bed, she lost her balance and rolled off the bed.
The lid of the brocade box was flung open, and a square piece of jade rolled to Shen Qing's feet.
Shen Qing bent down and picked it up.
It is the seal of the Gao family.
Only by obtaining this seal can one truly become the head of the Gao family.
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