“So it seems my dear father doesn’t have very good taste either?” Liu Lin looked Ye Shaohua up and down with a critical eye, murmuring to himself.
To think he would abandon him and his mother for such an ordinary woman.
Liu Lin had been smarter than other children since birth, as if heaven had given him a cheat code, and he had even won over a small sect.
As someone with such high standards, he felt that even Sima Mingxuan, who was outstanding in every way, was barely worthy of being his father.
Now, seeing Ye Shaohua, who was mediocre in every aspect, and sensing not even the slightest fluctuation of internal energy from her.
He naturally looked down on her.
On Ye Shaohua’s side, it wasn’t that she didn’t notice the several gazes fixed on her.
But she didn’t pay them any mind. Today, she had followed Dongxue to see a few patients who had undergone surgery by Liu Mingxin.
To be honest, their recovery wasn’t very good.
This was ancient times after all, not modern times. Bacterial infections and post-operative recovery were huge problems.
Especially during surgery—various sterilization methods were inadequate, and without computers or instruments to monitor the patient’s condition during the operation, basically everyone who had surgery ended up with an infection. It was just that the common people overlooked these aftereffects.
Ye Shaohua had originally thought that Liu Mingxin could make a name for herself here, and that she must have her own achievements in surgical operations. She hadn’t expected the results to be so vastly different from what she had imagined.
These results led Ye Shaohua to a guess: that Liu Mingxin must have been a surgeon who hadn’t been on the operating table for very long in modern times.
Those major surgeries that required a dozen specialists to study and analyze beforehand—she had probably never personally experienced them.
Beside her, Dongxue saw Ye Shaohua deep in thought and her brows also furrowed.
The young miss’s imagination was beautiful, but the Ye family had completely fallen now. Could they really make a comeback?
But then Dongxue thought about the wound medicine Ye Shaohua had given her yesterday and hesitated again.
The Ye family was a family of physicians.
As a maid who had grown up in the Ye family, Dongxue had absorbed quite a bit of pharmacology knowledge.
She looked down at her thumb, which she had cut last night. It was now mostly healed. This medicine’s effectiveness was even better than what the master had once used on the madam.
Dongxue knew that even the last remaining wound medicine in the imperial palace couldn’t compare to the powder the young miss had made herself.
And then there was the master. Thinking of the reputation the master bore outside, Dongxue felt deep sorrow in her heart.
Like the young miss, she wanted to clear the master’s name. Originally, she thought that she and the young miss, two orphaned girls, would be lucky just to survive. Who would have thought… the young miss actually had this kind of talent.
Since that was the case, then she couldn’t just sit and wait for death either.
Ye Shaohua told her to pawn all the family’s assets, and took Dongxue to buy a large batch of medicinal herbs.
After Dongxue brought the herbs back, she looked at Ye Shaohua and said, “Young Miss, Dongxue needs to go out and find someone. I’ll be back tomorrow. Be careful at home alone tonight. If someone knocks on the door, don’t open it no matter what.”
“Where are you going?” Ye Shaohua had been about to go to the medicine room to prepare medicine. Seeing Dongxue like this, she couldn’t help but narrow her eyes.
But Dongxue didn’t explain. “Young Miss, don’t worry about it.”
Ye Shaohua looked at the hint of anticipation in her eyes, gazed at her thoughtfully, and raised her hand to leave a spiritual mark on her.
Then she didn’t concern herself further. If anything happened, she could rush over immediately.
Although most of the Ye family’s maids had left now, Ye Shaohua knew Dongxue wasn’t that kind of person.
**
At the residence of Jiangnan Prefect Li Mingde, the guards outside were extremely strict.
It was very difficult for Dongxue to see anyone inside.
She squeezed the silver in her hand—it was what remained after she had sold all of the Ye family’s remaining belongings today to buy medicinal herbs. The young miss had given it to her without saying anything.
Thinking of this, Dongxue steeled herself and handed the silver to the gatekeeper, explaining her purpose.
Seeing the money, the guard who had originally looked cold no longer wore the same cold expression. He went in and brought out the person Dongxue wanted to see.
“Biao Xiaojie!” Seeing the person who came, Dongxue’s eyes lit up, and she explained her purpose. “Biao Xiaojie, believe me. The young miss has inherited the master’s talent. She can definitely revive the Ye family medical clinic and clear the master’s name…”
Song Jingshu’s eyes dimmed when she heard Dongxue mention Ye Bozhong.
She looked at Dongxue and sighed. “Dongxue, if I could help, I would want to help you and Shaohua. I want to clear Uncle’s name. But right now, the prefect has given all my authority over the household to his favored concubine. I knelt in the Buddhist hall for a month and was only released yesterday. Even if I want to help you and Shaohua, I’m powerless to do so.”
“Concubine? When the prefect married Biao Xiaojie, didn’t he swear to the master that he would never take a concubine?” Dongxue wasn’t completely ignorant about household matters. Looking at Song Jingshu’s tearful expression, she understood. “The prefect has chosen to protect himself and doesn’t want to get involved in any of the Ye family’s affairs anymore.”
Dongxue could understand. Once Ye Bozhong got into trouble, all those former friends of his disappeared without a trace.
After all, the person Ye Bozhong had offended was from the imperial family.
How would these people dare to get involved?
It’s always easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to send coal in snow.
But Dongxue hadn’t expected Li Mingde to go this far.
Back then, when Li Mingde was on his way to the capital for the imperial examination, he fell gravely ill and collapsed on the street with no one daring to go near him. The soldiers guarding the city gate were about to throw him outside the city to fend for himself.
Ye Bozhong, passing by, saved him. Seeing that he was a scholar going to take the exam and that his knowledge was decent, he even gave him twenty taels of silver.
Later, Li Mingde passed the imperial examination as Tanhua, and with Ye Bozhong’s connections, rose steadily in rank and married Ye Bozhong’s niece, Song Jingshu.
If not for Ye Bozhong, where would Li Mingde be today?
He hadn’t expected that after Ye Bozhong fell from power, Li Mingde would be the first to kick him while he was down. And on top of that, to treat Song Jingshu so terribly?
“Biao Xiaojie, what will you do from now on?” Dongxue looked at Song Jingshu, who had lost more than a bit of weight, feeling terrible.
Song Jingshu took out a pouch from her pocket and sighed. “Dongxue, at least I’m living well enough in the back courtyard. You and Shaohua are different. These are my savings from all these years. Take them and take good care of Shaohua.”
Dongxue refused, but Song Jingshu forcefully stuffed it into her sleeve.
After Dongxue left, Song Jingshu turned and entered the prefect’s residence.
Just as she stepped into her own courtyard, she saw her husband and Concubine Shen standing under the tree. When she saw Li Mingde’s cold gaze, her heart stung.
“The Ye family has violated the Li family rules. From today onward, you are not permitted to step outside the back courtyard. If you dare take one step out, you will be divorced!”
Hearing these words, Song Jingshu’s figure swayed slightly.
“My lord, is it really alright to treat your wife like this?” Concubine Shen held Li Mingde’s arm, her delicate and beautiful face flashing with coyness. “Didn’t the steward just overhear? He said that Miss Ye can clear Master Ye’s name…”
“You don’t need to worry about this matter,” Li Mingde shook his head. “The people who moved against the Ye family are from above. No one can do anything about it.”
As for the remaining Miss Ye? Li Mingde sneered. A half-grown child—what waves could she possibly make?
