"Son, you must not do anything reckless again in the future," Madam Cui hurriedly instructed.
She was truly exhausted and on the verge of collapse.
However, no matter what, she couldn't let Xu Mingzhi get hurt in any way.
"Nonsense! I'm doing this all for the Xu family. How can I get married and continue the Xu family line without money?" Xu Mingzhi turned hostile when he saw there was no money. "Mother, go and ask them for some money, or I'll starve to death."
Of course, Madam Cui knew her current situation and couldn't possibly have any money to spare, so she could only say, "I don't have any. Your sister has already gone to the palace, and I can't see her at all."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mingzhi stood up cursing and pointed at Cui Shi, saying, "You people just don't want the Xu family to prosper."
"Then why did you save me just now? You might as well have let me die." Xu Mingzhi kept saying, "Anyway, I don't have the money to get married."
Hearing Xu Mingzhi say this, Cui felt heartbroken. She also wanted him to get married and live a good life.
"Give me the money now, or we'll cut ties." Xu Mingzhi's words became increasingly aggressive.
Upon hearing this, Cui choked up instantly: "I'll get it for you, I'll get it for you."
Ultimately, under pressure from Xu Mingzhi, she took out her last savings.
"This is my dowry bracelet." Madam Cui carefully took it out, but didn't forget to give Xu Mingzhi some instructions.
"Mingzhi, from now on, just let your sister go and don't cause her any more trouble," Cui said, her eyes red as she stared at Xu Mingzhi.
Xu Mingzhi didn't say anything, but took advantage of Cui's momentary lapse in attention and snatched the bracelet away.
“Mingzhi, you…you…” Cui was so shocked that she couldn’t speak.
But Xu Mingzhi didn't care about her. He had the bracelet in his hands, and a satisfied smile finally appeared on his face. Then he slammed the door and left.
Only Cui was left behind, sitting on the ground, sobbing.
...
Now, ever since Aunt Meng moved to the steamed bun shop with her son and daughter-in-law, she has been feeling unwell in various ways. Not only does she have to serve the two of them, but she also doesn't get enough to eat or wear. Not to mention, she also has to wait to find out news for Marquis Ningyuan.
But now...
She refused to accept her fate, so she devised a plan to give her daughter-in-law a slow-acting poison. Wouldn't that put her fake son and daughter-in-law to good use?
Aunt Meng gave a sinister smile. Fortunately, they had moved out of Tianxiang Restaurant, making it easier for her to make her move.
She acted immediately, heading out to the market to get some medicine.
Upon arriving at the pharmacy, Aunt Meng wanted a remedy that would go unnoticed but would also produce obvious symptoms in the poisoned individuals.
Aunt Meng stopped a young apprentice doctor: "Do you have saffron and motherwort here?"
The young apprentice, with his arrogant disdain, looked at Granny Meng's clothes and said, "We have the biggest pharmacy in the capital, we have everything."
Despite the young apprentice's words, Aunt Meng was not angry. Instead, she smiled and said, "Then get me some medicine and grind it into powder."
Realizing she had come to the right place, Granny Meng could only secretly rejoice. Soon, the young apprentice prepared the medicine and handed it to Granny Meng.
Aunt Meng took the medicine and rushed home to cook. She planned to dissolve the medicine into the food so that her daughter-in-law would be poisoned without anyone noticing.
She simply sprinkled some medicine powder into the food, but that wasn't enough; she desperately needed money.
She cooked the dishes and then started a separate pot to make soup. She took out the old hen she had bought, washed it, chopped it up, and threw it into the pot.
Then she took out several packets of medicine and threw them in all at once. Aunt Meng stirred the soup vigorously to dissolve the powder in the water.
The young couple returned shortly after. They owned a steamed bun shop and usually only came home to eat when there was no one else there.
"It smells so good, I could smell it from far away." The young couple followed the aroma to Aunt Meng's side.
Aunt Meng grinned and said, "Please sit down first, there's still soup."
After saying that, he went to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of soup.
"Why is the bowl so small?" Meng Lang asked, somewhat puzzled.
"These were all specially prepared for your wife." Aunt Meng looked at Meng Lang's wife with a sweet smile.
“I’m waiting to hold my grandson; this is something only women can drink,” Aunt Meng said, looking at Meng Lang.
"Hurry up," Aunt Meng urged.
The young couple smiled shyly, and Meng Lang's wife took the chicken soup, saying, "Thank you, Mother."
After saying that, he took big gulps of chicken soup.
For several days in a row, Aunt Meng cooked chicken soup for her daughter-in-law.
But then Aunt Meng stopped, afraid that she would expose herself.
Just as Aunt Meng had predicted, Meng Lang's wife began to experience abdominal pain and continuous bleeding from below.
There were almost no female doctors available, so at first, Meng Lang's wife had no choice but to endure it.
Later, when all else failed, they finally called a doctor.
But after so long, Meng Lang's wife was already terminally ill.
The doctor said, "This disease is difficult to treat. We need to use the best medicines to cure it, otherwise there is no way to save it."
The doctor's words made Meng Lang's heart skip a beat. His wife had been fine just a few days ago, but her health had become increasingly weak since her period started.
"If you want to properly treat the patient, you'll need money to support him," the doctor said before leaving.
Only Aunt Meng and Meng Lang remained, staring at each other in bewilderment. The Meng family relied solely on their steamed bun shop for a living.
Meng Lang's wife has been bedridden these past few days and hasn't earned much money.
"What should we do!" Meng Lang cried out in anguish as he knelt on the ground. If they didn't have the money, his wife would die.
"I still have a few taels of silver here, all for my daughter-in-law's medical treatment." Aunt Meng said insincerely, taking out some silver and handing it to Meng Lang.
"Mom, this money is not enough at all!" Meng Lang was on the verge of collapse.
"What should I do? I'll go borrow money." Meng Lang stood up and was about to leave.
This was exactly what happened to Aunt Meng when she went down the Huai River.
“Son, how could your mother bear to let you go? Let your mother go and borrow it. I’ll go borrow from Zhou Wan; she earns a lot at Tianxiang Tower,” Aunt Meng said to Meng Lang.
Meng Lang urged, "Go quickly, delaying will only harm the patient."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Meng was startled and quickly went out to Tianxiang Tower to find Zhou Wan.
Upon arriving at Tianxiang Restaurant, Aunt Meng grabbed Zhou Wan and said timidly, "Zhou Wan, I've come here to ask you for a favor."
Zhou Wan looked at Aunt Meng and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong, Aunt Meng?"
Aunt Meng said somewhat embarrassedly, "My daughter-in-law is seriously ill, and the doctor... the doctor said it will take a lot of money to cure her."
Zhou Wan thought to himself that he had seen Meng Da Niang's daughter-in-law busy at the steamed bun shop a few days ago. At that time, Meng Lang's wife seemed to be in good health, chatting and laughing with customers.
Zhou Wan was hesitating.
Aunt Meng could see the hesitation in Zhou Wan's heart. Aunt Meng said, "If it really doesn't work, come home with me and see her. She is really dying." After saying that, Aunt Meng covered her face and wept.
Zhou Wan felt a little sorry for her, but still took out some silver and lent it to Aunt Meng.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com