The original owner's wet nurse had a son and a daughter. The daughter was only half a year older than the original owner, and the son was eight years older. The wet nurse's husband was originally a scholar who passed the imperial examination, but he died of tuberculosis, and all the family's money was spent.
It is said that the original owner's mother allowed her to become the original owner's wet nurse at the Du residence because she saw how difficult it was for her to raise her two children alone.
When the nanny took the original owner back to the old house in the countryside of Dujia, she also took her son and daughter with her.
There was a doctor who usually treated the old lady of the Du family. He was from the same village and also surnamed Du. He noticed that the wet nurse's son, Kang Quan, was literate and clever, so he took him on as his apprentice.
The Xile Medical Clinic in the city somehow got wind of the fact that this Doctor Du had once served as an imperial physician in the capital. So they went to the countryside and invited him five or six times, finally managing to persuade Doctor Du to come to the city to practice medicine.
When Doctor Du left, he took his only apprentice, Kang Quan, with him into the city.
After the wet nurse passed away, Kang Quan made a special trip back to the countryside to pick up his younger sister, Kang Shu, from the Du family's old house.
In her past life, after being released from prison, the original owner of this body also visited the Joyful Clinic to look for her and her siblings. However, Kang Quan was no longer there. Where had he gone? Everyone around him remained tight-lipped. And then, there was no further news of him.
Xu Keke subconsciously didn't want Li Dakang to know about Kang Quan's existence. Without saying anything more to Li Dakang, she got up and took her leave.
Unfortunately, as soon as she stepped out of the coffee shop, she saw Kang Quan running towards her, looking travel-worn.
"When did Jin'er arrive? Why didn't she send a message? Is there something you need in the city? Are they making things difficult for you while you're staying at the house?"
Xu Keke was amused by his series of questions. "Brother Quan, you're asking so many questions at once. Which one should I answer first?"
He treated her like another younger sister. Knowing he was being too hasty, Kang Quan scratched his head and laughed along.
Kang Quan led her towards the clinic. They talked as they walked. Xu Keke seemed to sense something. She suddenly turned around and saw Li Dakang standing at the entrance of the coffee shop, looking at her and Kang Quan with an inscrutable expression. For some reason, his gaze gave Xu Keke a bad feeling. However, Kang Quan's question interrupted her, and the thought quickly passed, disappearing from her mind.
The main reason was that she couldn't figure out why Li Dakang would harm her.
After passing through an alley behind the clinic, Xu Keke followed Kang Quan into a courtyard house. The courtyard was small, with only one entrance. Inside, there were two side rooms, and including the main room, there were only three rooms in total.
The curtains were drawn inside, and the door was locked. The courtyard was so quiet it seemed uninhabited. Kang Quan unlocked the door and knocked six more times. Only then did the door open from the inside.
A pretty young girl stood inside the door. Upon seeing Xu Keke, she paused for only a moment before rushing over. "Jin-jie, what brings you here? I've missed you so much!"
Kang Shu happily pulled Xu Keke into the house. Although there wasn't much furniture in the house, it was very clean.
Kang Shu poured a glass of water for Xu Keke and Kang Quan each. She then hurriedly asked Xu Keke how she had been these past two years. Xu Keke recounted the original owner's experiences from her memories to the two siblings.
After they had finished talking, Xu Keke asked them why they were being so cautious. Had they encountered some trouble?
Kang Quan hesitated for a moment, then his face turned grim. It turned out that the young mistress of a family in the city was ill, and Kang Quan had taken Kang Shu to see a doctor.
“When I see a woman, I usually bring Kang Shu with me. She does everything, from taking her pulse to bandaging her wounds. Although it’s okay to be sick and not want to be seen by a doctor, it’s still better to avoid suspicion.”
Judging from his expression, Xu Keke knew that he must have suffered a loss before.
"Who would have thought that the day I was treating the second mistress of the Sun family, I would run into that foolish young master of the Sun family. For some reason, that fool started talking nonsense when he saw Kang Shu. He was spouting all sorts of gibberish. I got angry and didn't treat him, and just took Kang Shu away."
Who knew that the Sun family would send a stewardess over afterward, insisting on taking Kang Shu as a concubine. That idiot! Forget being a concubine, I wouldn't even marry him as a wife. I kicked those people out.
I don't know what they were thinking; they were relentless and wouldn't let it go. They even hired people to ambush Kang Shu, trying to drag her back. Luckily, I ran into them, otherwise, if she had disappeared, I wouldn't know where to look for her.
"The Sun family, the one that owns a textile factory in the city, and also a casino and opium den?" Xu Keke asked Kang Quan.
Kang Quan nodded with a wry smile, "It's their family. If it were just an ordinary family, we wouldn't be able to hide like this. This family has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds. The current police chief is a relative of theirs. The Sun family is very domineering in the city."
"Did your trip to the countryside to collect herbs a couple of days ago have anything to do with this?"
Kang Quan nodded. "I pretended to go to the countryside to collect medicine, and I took Kang Shu with me, thinking of entrusting her to my master. Who would have thought that no matter how much my master wanted to avoid trouble, people could still find him. The neighbors said that someone invited him to see a doctor, but they didn't know where he went."
There was no other way, so I brought Kang Shu back again. If anyone asks, I'll just tell them I left her in the countryside. I'm thinking of waiting until the Sun family has calmed down before making any further moves.”
In this fictional world, this is how things were during this period: power reigned supreme, and as long as their interests were violated, ordinary people had no human rights and no place to seek justice.
Looking at the worried brother and sister, Xu Keke thought for a moment and said, "It's not safe for you to lock her up in the house alone. If someone finds out, they'll just corner her inside. Besides, what's the point of keeping such a grown person locked up at home every day?"
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