The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 288

Madam Zhu couldn't dissuade her son, but she genuinely cared about the child. So she immediately instructed the head housekeeper to prepare gifts, as she wanted to personally visit the Xiao residence and talk to Madam Xiao herself. She had her eye on this daughter-in-law and couldn't afford any mistakes.

Upon learning that her mother had sent an invitation, Zhu Lingling immediately informed her mother-in-law.

"Quickly, invite the mother-in-law."

Ms. Xu was a little tired, but her energy immediately returned.

Putting everything else aside, the eldest daughter-in-law, Zhu, is a good one.

Respecting your daughter-in-law's mother is a sign of valuing your daughter-in-law; you can't let your daughter-in-law feel disheartened.

"Mrs. Zhu, it's been a long time."

"Yeah, long time no see."

When the mothers-in-law met, the differences were immediately apparent.

Back then, they were all charming middle-aged beauties. Seven years later, when they reappeared, Ms. Xu had wrinkles on her face and graying temples.

The traces left by seven years of living in Sichuan are very obvious.

"Madam Zhu, please have a seat."

When the two met, neither knew where to begin.

To avoid embarrassment, Madam Xu called for her maid but summoned Yang Ge'er to meet her maternal grandmother.

"Mu Yang greets his maternal grandmother."

The well-behaved child made Mrs. Zhu so fond of him that she called him "my darling, my good grandson."

I immediately gave it to my grandson as a gift; it was a set of the Four Treasures of the Study.

She had heard from her daughter that this grandson had started his early education at the age of three, but the Xiao family did not intend for him to pursue a career in government, but rather to study medicine and inherit the Xiao family's mantle.

A man's ambition lies in all corners of the world; what true man doesn't want to step onto the battlefield and become famous throughout the land?

This arrangement left Madam Zhu somewhat disheartened.

But she was only the maternal grandmother and it was not appropriate for her to interfere.

But subconsciously, she still hoped that her grandson could study more.

Giving someone the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper) carries this meaning.

"Mu Yang thanks his maternal grandmother."

"This child is very well-behaved and smart. Study hard, and he will be as capable as your Uncle Ning in the future."

Uncle Ning, Chun Ning, you've always been excellent at studying.

Mu Yang will keep his grandmother’s teachings in mind.

After exchanging greetings, Xiao Muyang said to the two elderly women, "Grandmother, maternal grandmother, I am still in school and have asked my teacher for leave. I should take my leave now."

"Alright, alright, go ahead and go to your school."

Madam Xu then had her servant escort Xiao Muyang back to school.

Chun'an is also studying at the school. He is still young and will not be able to take the exam for a few more years.

Since returning to the capital, Madam Huang's restless heart has finally stirred. Her son has Huang family blood, so he is sure to pass the imperial examinations and become a great scholar who will be famous throughout the world.

Therefore, it is under very strict supervision.

Xiao Muyang felt a little sorry for this uncle, who was always memorizing his lessons.

In fact, there's no need to memorize lessons. The teacher explains it once, and you review it again, and that's it.

However, he inadvertently discovered a big problem today: Uncle An was not reading seriously, but was looking at a medical book in his great-grandfather's study.

To avoid his master's discovery, he hid the medical books inside and read them with great interest. Xiao Muyang was even wondering whether he should tell his master.

Then I thought, I can't tell my husband.

Although my great-aunt wanted Uncle An to study, Uncle An's heart was set on medicine.

Uncle Ning also learned medicine from his second aunt, but Uncle Ning's aptitude for medicine was not as good as Uncle An's.

Upon returning to the capital, my third great-aunt immediately asked my grandmother to hire a teacher to set up a school so that Uncle An could study hard.

Unfortunately, Uncle An was physically in Cao Cao's camp but mentally in Han's; he was often distracted.

When the teacher quizzed Uncle An, he was often so embarrassed that he couldn't answer. The teacher would often shake his head and sigh, then place all his hopes on himself.

At such a young age, Xiao Muyang bore a burden he shouldn't have had to bear, yet he dared not complain.

What a terrible thing to do!
In fact, not only Uncle An, but Xiao Muyang also discovered that his interest in medicine far outweighed his interest in writing articles.

For example, herbs, even roadside weeds, you have to recognize them as medicinal materials. And the most interesting thing is that these herbs can actually cure people's diseases.

Isn't this more interesting than writing an article?

My second aunt once said, "If you can't be a good prime minister, then be a good doctor."

Xiao Muyang asked himself countless nights that he truly lacked the ability to become a good prime minister in this lifetime.

Since you can't be a good prime minister, isn't it good to be a good doctor?
Xiao Muyang understood the meaning behind the calligraphy set his grandmother gave him today.

His mother naturally hoped that he would study hard and enter officialdom so that he could earn an imperial title for her.

In fact, both the mother and the third great-aunt had the same idea, but they overlooked one fact: among all the members of the Xiao family, the only one who was truly the most literate was Uncle Ning.

Uncle Ning passed the imperial examination at a young age and became a scholar. His great-grandfather and the others once thought that Uncle Ning could change the Xiao family's fortunes.

Unexpectedly, a disaster struck, and the great-grandfather died unjustly, causing the Xiao family to fall apart.

Seven years have passed, and the Xiao family has weathered the storm and returned to Beijing. What the Xiao family needs now is to restore its former glory, and this responsibility can be handed over to Uncle Ning, who feels that he is better suited to be a doctor.

Of course, he dared not tell his mother about this, otherwise she would be heartbroken.

The elders have their own considerations; he should take it slow.

In the hall, Madam Zhu stopped beating around the bush and directly stated her purpose.

"Although the fourth son is a son born out of wedlock, his birth mother was one of my servants. He was honest and dutiful and was registered under my name from birth. I treated him as my own son. He was also very promising and became a scholar at the age of sixteen. If it weren't for his birth mother's death affecting his future, he would probably have held an official position."

"The fourth son met Miss Yan from your family by chance and fell in love with her. He specially asked me to go to your mother-in-law's house to express his feelings, saying that if he could pass the imperial examination, he would ask the Xiao family to give him a chance to become their son-in-law."

"If he hadn't passed the exam, he wouldn't have been ashamed to propose to Miss Yan, knowing he was unworthy of her."

“Your fourth son is a talented man, and he will surely achieve his goals.”

Ms. Xu understood and was delighted.

It means that I'm telling you this now, I'll propose to you when you're in high school, and if I don't get the job, I'll just pretend I never said it.

To be honest, it's a step down for a concubine's son to marry Chunyan, but it's a different story if the concubine's son is a high-ranking official.

"Then, thanks to your kind words, my mother-in-law, may our two families become even closer through marriage. I've disturbed you today, so I'll take my leave now. I'll go back and tell the child so he can focus on his studies."

"Alright, Lingling, see your mother off for me."

"Yes, mother."

Zhu Lingling listened to the whole thing and was deeply moved. Her mother was truly kind-hearted. In the capital, there were very few legitimate mothers who could treat their illegitimate sons as their own.

At the same time, I also think my mother-in-law is very good and genuinely cares about her daughter.

Huang somehow found out why Madam Zhu had come. Hearing that Zhu's illegitimate son was asking to marry Chunyan, she thought to herself with a hint of sarcasm: "Even my sister-in-law has her moments of anxiety."