But now, she suddenly didn't have to force herself to hold on anymore. The string that had been taut all along snapped, and tears streamed down her face like a torrential downpour.
"Mother--"
“Xiuxiu…”
"aunt!"
Seeing everyone in the room looking at her with concern, Li Xiuxiu felt a surge of indescribable emotion. She waved her hand and said, "I'm fine."
At this moment, the servants brought the family doctor over. The old doctor was very healthy and walked faster than the young servants. He said disdainfully.
"Young people, has the Prime Minister's residence mistreated you, not giving you enough to eat?"
The servant was sweating profusely and had no time for idle chatter: "Sir, please stop talking nonsense. Madam is looking for you. She says there is an important guest who needs you."
The old doctor, however, still had a childlike heart. Besides, he didn't think there was anything particularly urgent, and he was walking faster than the young servant.
"Well, young people still need to exercise more and eat more. I'll talk to my wife later and we'll increase your food intake and make you do more work."
The servant was on the verge of tears. He was willing to eat more, but... more work? He'd better not.
Upon arriving at the main hall, the servant rushed in to report, determined not to let the senior doctor get there first. He reached the lady and said, "Madam, the physician has arrived."
The Prime Minister's wife immediately invited the person over. She looked at Li Xiuxiu, who quickly waved her hand and said, "Let's take a look at Feng'er first. His health has been getting worse lately. I just have some old ailments, so they're not that serious."
The Prime Minister's wife nodded, and when the physician entered, she said directly, "Please trouble the doctor to examine this young master first."
The physician received the order, looked at the young man in white, and saw that he was pale and weak, somewhat resembling Xie Changling in the past. He began to take his pulse.
The more he examined the pulse, the more his brows furrowed. He spent nearly half an hour examining the pulse in the left hand, then began examining the pulse in the right hand, finally confirming the diagnosis before putting away the medicine pillow and handkerchief.
"how?"
The Prime Minister's wife remained silent, but Li Xiuxiu was extremely anxious.
...
Her child was weaker than average since birth, and the doctors said it was just developmental delay and that he would grow out of it.
As Feng'er grew older, her health did not improve. She relied on expensive medicines to stay alive, and she still coughed incessantly every day.
What's most infuriating is that they consulted almost all the best doctors in the city and even the imperial physician twice, but none of them could diagnose Yi Changfeng's illness or find the cause.
Later, she heard from the doctor that the feng shui of Jiangnan was good for people and might alleviate Feng'er's symptoms. Thinking that her maternal grandparents' home was also there, she took the things and went back.
Upon arriving in Jiangnan, the warm and humid climate actually improved Yi Changfeng's health. Just as she was overjoyed, her maternal grandfather's family was targeted by wealthy and corrupt officials in Jiangnan.
At first, she didn't know that her family was keeping it from her, but secrets can't stay hidden forever. Eventually, the pressure on her grandfather became too great, and he fell seriously ill.
Only then did Li Xiuxiu realize that it was corrupt officials who were pressuring her maternal grandfather to hand over some "filial piety money." Her maternal grandfather was a businessman and had no shortage of money.
So they kept giving them money as a sign of respect. But then Li Xiuxiu arrived, and these corrupt officials saw her as a fat sheep. The "gifts" kept increasing, and if they didn't give her any, they would suppress the Li family's business.
When Li Xiuxiu found out, she could only give more money at first, but later the money became less and less. The Li family was almost squeezed dry by them, so she had no choice but to resist and grit her teeth and refuse to give any more.
Seeing that there was no profit to be made, the group of people spared no effort to suppress them, and the Li family quickly showed signs of decline. The maternal grandfather even died with resentment in this silent battle.
My maternal grandfather's family only had one direct branch; the rest were collateral branches, and some were distant relatives. Therefore, when the Li family encountered trouble, he had to bear the burden alone.
In an effort to protect the Li family, Li Xiuxiu pleaded with the county magistrate, but to no avail. In the Jiangnan officialdom, officials protected each other; if you complained about one, another would quickly come to suppress you as well.
Li Xiuxiu reported the incident to the authorities, and her leg was almost broken. However, the county magistrate ruled that she had made a false accusation and imprisoned her, causing her to miss the best time for treatment and resulting in a lifelong disability.
The Li family soon collapsed. When she was released from prison, some of the collateral branches absconded with the last of their money. Fortunately, Feng'er was still alive, but she was on the verge of death.
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