The Nightmare Experience of a Useless Person

This is the third couple this month to ask the goddess for a child.

"Why do they all want a boy?" Yu Qingjun sat down as Qin'er removed the heavy crown from her head. Her eyes were pure as water as she looked at Man Niang. Now she was no longer a goddess, but simply a little girl.

"Women are wonderful too. They are gentle and kind, hardworking and resilient, beautiful and intelligent. Some are even quick-witted and knowledgeable, like Manniang and Qin'er." Yu Qingjun wiped the hairpin she had taken off clean with a handkerchief and placed it neatly in her dressing case.

Qin'er giggled unabashedly upon receiving the praise, while Man Niang seemed to recall some past events, staring blankly at the ground.

"A woman's childbirth is like the soil in a flower field, nurturing dazzling flowers, giving rise to a home, and then a nation. What a sacred power this is!"

Manniang looked at Qingjun with a mixture of love and pity. She hesitated to speak until Qin'er finished and left, then slowly opened her mouth.

"Darling, would you like to hear my story?"

What is Man Niang's story? Could Man Niang, so gentle, kind, strong, and resilient, also have a story?

Qingjun leaned on Manniang's shoulder, wrapped his arms around hers, and pressed his whole body tightly against hers.

"Back then, I was probably about the same age as you..."

Man Niang was originally the eldest daughter of the Liu family of Jiahe in Jiangnan, named Qiu Chao—Golden wind and jade dew, phoenix singing in the morning sun, Liu Qiu Chao.

The Liu family has been practicing medicine for generations. By the time of Liu Qiuchao's father, Liu Haopeng, the family was renowned for its medical expertise and its reputation spread throughout Jiangnan.

Qiu Chao learned pharmacology from her father from a young age and showed amazing talent. By the age of three, she already knew the properties and effects of most medicinal herbs by heart. She was born in a jar of medicinal herbs and grew up rolling around in piles of herbs. It seemed that she was destined to become a doctor.

When her father was seeing patients in the clinic, little Qiuchao would sit on a small stool next to him, listening attentively to his consultations. Sometimes she would recommend medicines to him, and sometimes she would ask him for advice on unfamiliar prescriptions. Whenever this happened, her father would reach out his warm hand to pat his daughter's head, his face full of love.

"Truly worthy of being a daughter of the Liu family!"

Of all the compliments, Liu Qiuchao favored this one the most.

In Xiao Qiuchao's heart, medical skills not only represent saving lives and helping the world, but also being respected and bringing glory to the Liu family. Her passion and talent for medicine are what she is most proud of.

On the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, nearly half the city's residents came to Liu Garden to offer their congratulations. Firstly, they had all received favors from the Liu family, and secondly, they naturally believed that this gifted child prodigy would surely achieve great things in the near future.

Even today, she can't forget the magnificent hairpins and crowns from that day, and the gifts that filled the entire room.

The Liu family's medical skills became famous throughout Jiangnan thanks to their secret medical knowledge. In addition to common diseases, the Liu family studied epidemic diseases. The founding emperor of the Qiu Dynasty summarized the experience of his ancestors and spent ten years compiling it into "The Secret Medical Knowledge of the Liu Family".

When the epidemic struck, while other families were still in a panic, the Liu family had already managed to control the symptoms. Therefore, to preserve the honor of the Liu family, they had a family precept: to practice medicine and save lives, but their secret skills must not be passed on to outsiders. Any woman who married into the Liu family, or any disciple from another family who became a disciple of the Liu family, must change their surname to Liu.

Among the many disciples of the Liu family, Liu Qiuchao stands out as one of the most outstanding geniuses. Young and ambitious, she enjoys immense popularity and is admired by all. Her dream is to bring the Liu family's medical skills out of Jiangnan and spread the glory of the Liu family throughout the world.

Looking back now, that day came suddenly, like a blow to the head, leaving Liu Qiuchao dizzy and disoriented.

"Qiu Chao, you don't need to attend this class. Go to your mother's place first."

When Liu Qiuchao was kicked out of the school by her father, she was stunned and her mind went blank. From this class onwards, her father was going to explain the "Liu Family Secret Learning" in detail. Qiuchao had been looking forward to it for a long time and asked her father to open the back door three days in advance so that he could save her a seat in the front.

But now, she's been kicked out?

That day, Liu Qiuchao stood in the courtyard for a full hour, sweltering in the heat, until she fainted. Only then were she helped inside by servants. It wasn't a childish outburst; Liu Qiuchao couldn't understand why, as her father's most valued disciple, she had been expelled from the school one day, even in front of all the other disciples, without a single reason…

The tightly closed doors and windows seemed to be guarding against her. Liu Qiuchao felt a pang of envy, but her pride and self-respect wouldn't allow her to shed tears.

That night, her father and mother went to Liu Qiuchao's room and talked to her a lot. She seems to still remember how the candle burned out that night.

"Qiu Chao, we all know you are a sensible child. Not only are you sensible, but you are also exceptionally talented. Your mother and I both believe that you will achieve great things in the future." Liu Haopeng spoke slowly, while Liu's mother, Cuiyun, just frowned slightly, staring at her daughter in a daze. Her eyes flickered with candlelight, and tears welled up in them.

"We won't hide this from you. The other day, the governor's son sent a matchmaker to propose marriage. The matchmaker said that the family had been looking for a long time among all the eligible women, and finally chose you. We have also met the girl. She is of good character and appearance, and has outstanding talent. The elders in the clan have also discussed it and all believe that she is indeed a good match."

Understanding her father's meaning, Liu Qiuchao turned her head away. Before, she had only thought about how to master medicine and how to bring glory to her family. She thought she would stay by her parents' side for the rest of her life and become the most illustrious and upright person in Jiahe City.

Now, her father is arranging a marriage for her, trying to push her out of this family.

Incomprehensible...

"You are already past the age of marriage. I had thought that if you found a man you liked, I would invite him to marry into my Liu family. However, a marriage like the son of the governor, a good man like him, is hard to find even in a family like ours. If you two become a young couple, you will surely be a perfect match, like two flowers blooming side by side."

Liu Qiuchao was not unaware of this simple truth, but she still felt as if her spine had been removed. She did not know that her world was so fragile, that it could be shattered with a tap from someone else. All her expectations for the future could be easily overturned, along with her pride, like a seashell being crushed to pieces.

"Qiu Chao, as you know, the Liu family's secret teachings cannot be passed on to outsiders. Once you are married, I'm sure such a family won't allow you to show your face in public. Today, I'm letting you leave the school, which has hurt your pride. Don't blame your father." Liu Haopeng patiently reasoned with his daughter. Everything he said was so logical and reasonable, and he sincerely hoped that his proud daughter would not leave him.

In fact, Liu Qiuchao didn't listen to anything her father said afterward. A hurricane had inexplicably entered her world, and in the blink of an eye, her fate was changed. She felt ridiculous, incomprehensible, unbelievable, illusory, and had a splitting headache.

Her perception was overturned. It was as if she was no longer in the home she had grown up in, and she was no longer herself, no longer the medical prodigy, the infinitely illustrious Liu Qiuchao.

……

"Guess what happened to her later?" Stepping out of the story, Man Niang still felt dizzy. She didn't know why she had ended up like this.

"Nannan doesn't know." Yu Qingjun was speechless. This was the first time Manniang had told her about her past, and it was also the first time she had realized that the all-powerful Manniang was also trapped by the cage of worldly affairs.

"Later, that self-righteous little girl, that hot-blooded young daughter, was immersed in fear every day, fearing that everything she had would be shattered. One night, she sneaked into her father's secret room, stole 'The Secret Teachings of the Liu Family,' set fire to all the copies, and ran away from home."

Liu Qiuchao couldn't understand why, as one of the most outstanding young members of the Liu family, she was chosen from among a group of dolls just because she was a woman. The opportunity to become a bride in an official's family might be something many people longed for, but in Qiuchao's eyes, it was so ironic, like a reward given to someone in a lower position.

Her pride wouldn't allow her to be subordinate, so she decided to break everything down, pick out what she wanted from the pile of broken porcelain shards, and piece together a new Liu Qiuchao, a person so powerful that she couldn't be chosen.