Chapter 945: Auntie is not a stepmother (End)
"A-choo! A-choo!" Cao Shichu sneezed several times in a row. Zhichun was so scared that she asked her quickly: "Master, what's wrong with you? Did you catch a cold? I'll make you some medicine."
"No, I'm fine. Maybe someone is talking about me. By the way, when will Zhixia come back from her medical consultation in the next village?" Cao Shichu asked. She had already trained two female disciples, Zhichun and Zhixia, so Cao Shichu could feel at ease and be lazy. She was too lazy to treat ordinary diseases and only let her two disciples practice on them.
After that, she adopted three more orphan girls to help her and learn medical skills. Her medical skills were so advanced that people nearby had thought about letting their girls come to learn from her, but Cao Shichu did not accept them. After all, it was difficult for girls with families to focus on medicine all their lives. They would probably study for a year or two and then go back to get married and have children. In this way, they would only learn half a bucket of water. Cao Shichu was afraid that they would ruin her reputation and that their poor medical skills would harm others. Therefore, it was better to take in helpless orphans. They had suffered in life and would try their best to seize any opportunity given.
"She will probably be back in the evening. The woman next door has been giving birth for almost two days. She should give birth today." Zhichun replied. She has been with Cao Shichu for more than ten years and is a steady and reliable senior sister. Cao Shichu has entrusted almost everything at home and in the clinic to her.
"Master, the people from the Anyang Marquis' Mansion in the capital city asked you to go to their house for a medical consultation, but you refused to go. If they blame you, we have to think of a way first." Zhichun said worriedly. She was always like this. Every time a wealthy family in the capital city came to ask Cao Shichu to see a doctor and Cao Shichu refused, she would always worry for a while, fearing that those big shots would use some means to deal with them.
Hearing her say this, Cao Shichu sighed helplessly and said, "Zhichun, you are so worried at such a young age. Be careful not to age quickly. This is not the first time that your master has refused to treat the dignitaries in the capital. When have you ever been retaliated against by them? Aren't we still on good terms now? So, just put your mind at ease. No matter what, I can keep our family safe and sound."
When Zhichun heard her say this, he immediately laughed and said, "Isn't this a habit left over from working for a wealthy family? Always worrying about this and that."
"Your problem hasn't disappeared after so many years?" Cao Shichu smiled. Zhichun's psychological shadow was deep enough. She comforted her, "Then you can think about it in another way. In addition to delivering babies, although I don't go to people's homes to treat illnesses, I have also cured many powerful women's illnesses. Even if I find out about a certain wealthy family, can't I still seek protection from those women I have treated?"
Cao Shichu said this, but in fact she never thought of asking others for protection. She only believed in herself.
But Zhichun suddenly understood what she said: "Master, you are right. There are many wealthy women who have been friends with us over the years. If we really need help, we can still find someone to help us."
Having dispelled his eldest disciple's worries, Cao Shichu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Cao Shichu lived a peaceful and smooth life, but Xun Yiming was in dire straits every day. Not only did he not have any news from his sister, but his grandparents and father actually gave Xun Linyuan a name of "sudden death of illness" and directly held a funeral. They wanted to completely abandon Xun Linyuan, a despicable descendant who had eloped with someone and brought disgrace to the family.
Xun Yiming disagreed, but his objection was ineffective. His three elders simply asked the servants to put on white hair and send letters of condolence to relatives and friends.
So after the funeral, Xun Linyuan was already dead in the eyes of outsiders, but Xun Yiming still didn't give up and was still looking for her in private, but all was in vain.
Life has to go on. Although Xun Yiming was very worried about his sister, he loved himself more, so he did not go out to look for her himself, but stayed in the capital and worked hard for his career.
In addition, he also had to worry about the issue of continuing the family line. He had been married for six or seven years and had a wife and a concubine, but none of the women had ever been pregnant. It was obvious that the problem lay with him.
However, he had already consulted many doctors, but every doctor said that there was nothing wrong with his body and that of his wives and concubines. They just didn't know why they couldn't get pregnant. The doctors had no choice but to tell him to conserve his energy and not to overwork himself.
Xun Yiming not only has to worry about work every day, but also has to be exhausted by family affairs. It's bad enough that his wives and concubines can't get pregnant, but his biological father also makes trouble for him. Xun Xiu is convinced that his biological mother poisoned him and made him inhumane, so he takes his anger out on him, often insulting and mocking him, saying that his inability to have children is retribution and he is atonement for his mother.
Every time Xun Yiming came to this point, he would always think of his previous life, the life in which Cao Shichu was his stepmother. His father had always been kind and calm, and had a smooth career. He treated his brother and sister with love and affection, and was a true fatherly love and filial son. It was nothing like this life, where the father was not a father and the son was not a son. The father and son turned against each other and wished each other death.
Why did he fall to such a state? Xun Yiming wanted to say that this was an accident. Even without Cao Shichu, his stepmother, he could have climbed to the position he had in his previous life through his own efforts.
But the truth is, he can't.
In his previous life, he had a father with a smooth official career who paved the way for him, a virtuous and considerate wife who was a good match for him so that he had no worries, a powerful father-in-law who promoted him, and a sister with a good reputation who arranged marriage for him... All of these were the keys to his rapid rise to the top.
But in this life, he only had a father who was disgraced and could not pave the way for him but would instead be a burden to him; he did not have a wife of equal status and a powerful father-in-law, but only a wife of ordinary family background and a father-in-law who could not help him and had to be supported by him. His entry into officialdom had not had a smooth start, with no one to promote him and no good reputation. Every step he took was difficult, and even if he tried his best, it was in vain.
Until he was in his forties, he was still a minor official of the fifth rank, which was nothing compared to the powerful official in his previous life. What made him even more despaired was that he had never had a child. He couldn't help but wonder if it was because he caused Cao Shichu to have a miscarriage in his previous life and she would never be able to have her own children, so he was destined not to have his own children in this life, because this was retribution.
And his sister, two years after eloping, was finally found by him in a brothel in a town. After finding her, it was impossible for Xun Linyuan to be her eldest daughter again. After all, she had been "dead" long ago. What's more, her grandparents and father were unwilling to accept a daughter who had been a prostitute. Xun Yiming had no choice but to send her to the family temple for cultivation.
Coincidentally, that ancestral temple happened to be the one that Cao Shichu had stayed in his previous life. It is true that good and evil will be rewarded in the end.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
