"Ye Zhen, I need your help."
Once inside, Dr. Su said, "You can name any conditions you want, as long as it's within my power."
Unlike her usual calm and composed demeanor, she appeared anxious and flustered today.
"Don't rush, tell me slowly, what happened?"
Ye Zhen gestured for her to sit down.
Yin Yue quickly poured tea for the two of them and then led the rest of the servants outside.
The female doctor Su picked up her teacup, took a sip, and looked up with reddened eyes. "Ye Zhen, my parents passed away early, and I was raised by my grandfather, but I haven't seen him for several days. Could you send someone to check on my grandfather?"
What happened to your grandfather?
“He’s sick, and my uncle and aunt are taking care of him right now. I’m not allowed to get close…”
Thinking that Ye Zhen didn't know the reason, she wiped away her tears and continued, "My grandfather and Grandpa Li both worked in the Imperial Hospital and had a close relationship with me, so they arranged my marriage to the Li family. The wedding date is approaching, but I don't want to get married."
Ye Zhen knew that the wedding was approaching.
The man engaged to Physician Su is Li Shuhuai, the son of Li Shiling's elder brother and the current head of the Li family, who is also a royal physician.
Ye Zhen was somewhat surprised that Dr. Su was unwilling to get married. She had mentioned marriage to Ye Zhen before and did not show any resistance. On the contrary, she became a little shy when she mentioned her fiancé who was about to return home.
Ye Zhen couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
Doctor Su's face showed indignation, "He brought back a woman from Jiangnan. That woman is already pregnant. He's just waiting to marry me so he can take her as a concubine."
However, the Li family didn't want to be known for having another woman pregnant before marriage, so they told me to publicly claim that I was passionate about medicine and hoped to continue serving in the palace after marriage. Unable to bear seeing my husband without a wife, I found him a concubine to accompany him into the household.
That's outrageous!
Ye Zhen was furious when he heard this.
"They dare to be so arrogant, are they using your job as a pretext?"
The world values women to be subservient to their husbands, and after marrying into their husband's family, they must obey the arrangements of their husband's family and husband in everything.
If the Li family does not want Doctor Su to serve in the palace after marriage, they have the right to ask for her resignation.
There are many reasons for resigning.
Dr. Su nodded. "That's one aspect."
The Li family also planned to set rules for her after she married into the family. If she could not become pregnant and give birth in time, they would torture her until she became ill, making it impossible for her to serve the Empress. Then, a daughter from the Li family would take her place.
On the other hand, Dr. Su's grandfather fell ill, and only the Li family had the medicine to cure him.
Grandpa Li, who had a good relationship with my grandfather, passed away a few years ago. Now, the head of the Li family is Grandpa Li's eldest son.
However, because his younger brother Li Shiling had served in the Imperial Hospital, while the rest of the Li family were just ordinary doctors or merchants in the pharmaceutical industry, the head of the Li family valued Li Shiling highly.
In many matters, Li Shiling was the one who truly made the decisions for the Li family.
Li Shiling was a cold-hearted and ambitious person. After being expelled from the Imperial Medical Academy, he became even more ruthless.
He coveted the position of Physician Su in front of the Empress, which is why he instigated the Li family head.
The head of the Li family also hoped that the young ladies in his household could gain favor with the Empress and become like him.
The female doctor, Su, told Ye Zhen all of this.
“I once saved the illegitimate daughter of the Li family. After she learned of the Li family’s plot against me, she secretly told me about it.”
I secretly followed Li Shuhuai, verified the matter, and then wanted to break off the engagement.
Unexpectedly, my uncle and aunt accepted the benefits from the Li family and sided with them. If I did not give up the idea of breaking off the engagement, they would not allow me to see my grandfather.
Ye Zhen, my grandfather taught and raised me, and I want to save him, but I don't want to marry into the Li family and become their pawn.
The man's heart has already changed. Before she even marries him, that woman, posing as her cousin, has repeatedly provoked and schemed against her. She can already imagine how miserable her life will be in the future.
But her grandfather was the only person in the family who truly cared for her, and she couldn't abandon him.
These days, she is torn between saving her grandfather and saving herself. On the one hand, she feels guilty for being unfilial, and on the other hand, she is unwilling to be schemed against by the Li family.
She had no parents or siblings behind her, and was all alone and powerless.
She couldn't win against her uncles and aunts at home, nor was she a match for the Li family outside. In fact, she was even restricted from leaving the mansion.
Fortunately, Ye Zhen made an appointment with her, which gave her the opportunity to ask him for help.
“I’m worried that my uncle and aunt might harm my grandfather.”
After all, only if her grandfather were gone could her uncle truly take charge of the household and control her marriage.
Despite repeatedly helping Ye Zhen and realizing that Ye Wantang was faking her pregnancy due to medication, Dr. Su did not make a fuss about it.
Ye Zhen naturally wanted to reciprocate.
She immediately sent Yinyue to sneak into the Su family to check on the condition of the old imperial physician Su. Upon learning that the old imperial physician Su was still alive despite being unconscious, the female physician Su breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Yin Yue, who is not a doctor, does not know the extent of the illness.
Ye Zhen thought for a moment, "I'll take you to see your grandfather tonight."
Dr. Su was moved to tears, "Ye Zhen, thank you. From now on, I will do whatever you ask me to do."
She paused, then hesitantly added, "Besides using my medical skills to harm good people, I swore an oath with my grandfather before I started learning medicine."
Ye Zhen thought of the purpose of his meeting with her and smiled, "I won't let you harm good people, but there are some things I'd like to ask you about."
"Tell me, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."
"I've heard that you've been acquainted with the Li family since childhood. Do you know anything about Li Shiling's background?"
Dr. Su nodded. "I know. He is the child adopted by Grandpa Li, but Grandpa Li was afraid that he would feel inferior because of his background, so he told others that he was a son who was born weak and raised in the countryside."
Her grandfather was worried that she would suffer if she married into the Li family, so he told her a lot about the Li family.
Ye Zhen's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected that Doctor Su actually knew.
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