Chapter 74 The Source of Chaos
Seeing that Xu Jingzhen had even brought up marriage, Li Sanniang stopped being coy and said directly to Fang Chengxian, "Young Master Fang, I will definitely help you cure the poison."
But I can't give you hope directly. As I said before, I've never cured anyone of poison before, and I didn't know the poison had penetrated to this extent into your internal organs. If I were to detoxify you, would it be successful? Would it shorten your lifespan?
“Just do what you need to do, Li San Niangzi. Whether she lives or dies, it’s not her fault. I’ve already written a contract for this beforehand.”
After more than an hour of contact, Li San Niang could tell that Fang Chengxian was not an ignorant villain; he was just too eager to live.
"The contract is easy to discuss. What I mentioned before wasn't whether I could cure you of the poison, or what would happen if I failed to do so."
Xu Jingzhen found this strange. If it wasn't the failure of the detoxification that was causing the concern, then what could it be?
“Third Sister, we two have been through thick and thin together in the Ministry of Justice. Chengxian and I have also been friends for many years. Just say what you have to say.”
Li San Niang turned her head and glared at Xu Jingzhen before continuing, "If you want me to detoxify you, you definitely can't continue drinking the medicine prescribed by Doctor Liang."
But from what I just heard about your family situation, I'm afraid your family members won't agree, that's one aspect.
There's another aspect, which I'll be frank with you.
Fang Chengxian sensed the hesitation in Li Sanniang's words and guessed something. He was afraid that his poisoning was really the work of the concubine in the family.
Seeing Fang Chengxian nod, Li Sanniang continued, "On the other hand, this poison accumulates over time, getting into your food or objects you come into contact with."
In an instant, several fragments flashed through Fang Chengxian's mind, and his suspicions shifted from his father's concubines in the mansion to his father himself.
"So, if you really want to get rid of the poison, you have to think carefully about how to keep it from your family and how to avoid alerting the person who poisoned you and giving them the opportunity to plot against you further."
Even distant relatives shouldn't interfere with family matters. Li San Niang didn't want to do this, but given Fang Chengxian's condition, it was clear that if he wasn't cured of the poison soon, he would be going to meet the King of Hell.
Fang Chengxian himself did not feel that Li Sanniang's words were malicious. He had been ill since childhood and was afraid of passing on the illness. The courtyard where he lived in the mansion was quite far away from the rest of his family. Although he was not mistreated in terms of food, clothing, and shelter, he was not actually close to his family.
Furthermore, due to his intelligence, although he was physically ill and could neither take up an official post nor openly travel outside, Fang Chengxian actually managed most of the Fang family's wealth and land.
The Fang family members generally treated Fang Chengxian with great respect.
As the eldest son of the family, apart from his elder sister who had married back to her maternal family, he would only meet his younger brother born out of wedlock and his father's concubines once every ten days when he went to pay his respects to the old lady. They would exchange a few polite words.
Among the elders, they would only visit me once every ten days when I paid my respects to the old lady and my father, or when my illness became serious.
Fang Chengxian was not very close to the other members of the Fang family.
Otherwise, Fang Chengxian wouldn't have been able to become friends with Xu Jingzhen, who only returned home from Wudang Mountain at the age of sixteen.
Because both of them were easygoing and open-minded, they met at a banquet together, got along well, and began to associate with each other.
Finally, Li San Niang looked out the window at the setting sun. It was really late. She had spent half the afternoon at the teahouse and hadn't sent a message to the Li family. She guessed that Li's parents were worried.
It's getting late, I should go home.
"If you two are ready, you may come to my father's clinic to find me, but it would be best if you disguised yourselves, not only to ensure my safety, but also to ensure yours."
Li San Niang originally wanted to call a donkey cart from the roadside to go home herself, but she couldn't refuse their hospitality, and in the end, Xu Jingzhen and Fang Chengxian took her back in their horse-drawn carriage.
That wasn't all. The two of them also bought the most expensive pastry gift box from Xiang Gui Ji and gave it to Li San Niang, saying that they had taken up Li San Niang's time this afternoon and that it was also to thank Li San Niang for her heartfelt advice. Who could have imagined that things would take such a turn for the better, and that Fang Cheng Xian's life would end up in Li San Niang's hands.
Of course, the pastry box is just a thank-you gift for today; there will probably be even bigger gifts waiting for Li San Niang in the future.
This time, Li San Niang was more shrewd. She got off the carriage at the intersection and walked back by herself.
Back at the Li family home, she was naturally scolded by her mother for a while, who said that since she had already left the Ministry of Justice, she should have gone home instead of going shopping alone.
When Li's mother saw the pastry box in her hand, she assumed that Li San Niang had gone shopping after being questioned by the Ministry of Justice and was returning late.
"Why did you buy pastries again? Didn't we buy candy for Dewdrop yesterday? How can we spoil her with all this sweets? What if she gets rotten teeth?"
"Mother, let's talk about it when we get home."
After dinner, the whole family gathered in the main hall to drink tea and chat. Li Sanlang and Xiao Silang accompanied Lu Zhu'er and Xiao Huang to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) in the courtyard.
Sister-in-law Li specifically told Li San Niang that this afternoon, while Li San Niang was out, Tuva brought four gifts to the Li family to thank them for helping Shen Qiu Niang, not only treating her injuries but also taking her in to recuperate.
"Judging from his appearance, he wants to marry Qiu Niang and treats us as his own family. He even brought gifts to propose marriage."
I told Qiu Niang to go and talk to him herself. Anyway, Tuva was all smiles when he left, so I guessed good things were on the horizon.
"Yes, it should be soon. When I saved Qiu Niang, I felt that there was affection between them. So, it's a good thing."
“I told my mother, and she said that since you have saved her and she has been staying at our house for the past two months, Qiu Niang has helped a lot inside and out.”
"Then when she gets married, our family will send some dowry as a token of our friendship."
Li San Niang thought to herself, "This is good too. I was originally thinking that if I opened a clinic in the future, I would like to use Shen Qiu Niang as a nurse, but she has the idea of remarrying into the Tuva family, so it won't be so cheap for her."
"Then I'll give her a piece of jewelry as a token of my gratitude for helping to look after Dewdrop when she's too busy at home."
After settling on Shen Qiuniang's whereabouts, Li Sanniang finally sat down properly. Except for her eldest brother Li, who was still on duty, everyone in the Li family was present. Li Sanniang then recounted her experience of going to the Ministry of Justice with the yamen runners that afternoon for questioning. After finishing that, she mentioned that she had been invited to a teahouse by Xu Sanlangjun of the Duke of Yingguo's mansion to hear the truth.
After this recounted the truth about Wu Shilang's death, everyone present was somewhat surprised. Who would have thought that the inner workings of the underworld were like this?
"The discord between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and the disharmony between husband and wife, are the root of family chaos. Our Li family will never tolerate such people."
As Li's mother spoke, she scanned each of them, from Li's eldest sister-in-law to Li's second brother and sister-in-law, and Li's third sister-in-law.
“Your father raised your eldest and second sons from a young age, and I trust their character.”
However, if they ever dare to do anything to betray their wives in the future, your father and I will never forgive them!
With Brother Li gone, Brother Li Er alone has to bear the weight of their mother's earnest teachings.
How could Li Erxiong dare to provoke the most powerful member of the Li family? “Mother’s teachings are right, I will remember them!”
Even the younger ones, I'll keep a close eye on them. If I find out they're not behaving properly, I won't let them off the hook!
How so?
There's always something that can subdue something else.
Li Da Xiong and Li Er Xiong were afraid of Li Mu. The four younger brothers were mostly raised by Li Er Xiong since they were young, and they were all afraid of him.
After hearing his second uncle's reprimand, Li Dalang obediently stood up and listened attentively with his younger brothers.
After listening, one must not only speak, but also bow and reply with "yes."
It's likely that only Kogoro and Dewdrop didn't understand what was going on.
Seeing that things were about right, Li Sanniang dropped a bombshell: she was still treating Fang Chengxian, the young master of the Fang family, at the teahouse.
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